Zee and Sirius Fatalis FINAL LITTER

I am not immune to Zeerius propaganda...

Out-of-Character Name: Virgil <3
Character's Name: Stratum Fatalis
Adult Height: 40"
Size: XL
Gender: Male
Build: Heavy
Appearance Description: (option two)

Pup -- A little butterball, all downy fluff and rolls of puppy fat. It becomes obvious quite early on that he’s not meant to stay tiny forever. Stratum will quickly find himself stumbling on oversized paws and struggling with awkwardly long legs. The tips of his ears will stay floppy for longer than the average pup, and bounce with each heavy step for the first few months of his youth. Coupled with those big, starry eyes of his, he’s at risk to be whisked away by the first stranger to happen upon him out in the big wide world. As he grows, the gentle roundness of his puppy fat will linger for a while, until eventually his growth spurt hits like a freight train.

Build -- Stratum is built like a bastion of the earth itself. That dun and coal coloured coat draped over a burly frame, everything about him is sturdy and imposing. He cuts an incredibly intimidating figure, with powerful shoulders wreathed in muscle and prominent muscles in his jaws and neck. The size of his thigh muscles leave little room for doubt about the consequences of stepping in front of the charging behemoth, which would almost certainly snap a smaller foe in twain. His long legs are not unlike tree trunks, retaining their rippling musculature even when the rigorous training of his youth tapers off. His massive paws leave the ground trembling with each stride, even if the thick fur of his paws muffles the heavy steps. Stratum moves with a great deal of weight behind each stride, unabashed about making his presence known. Stratum has an incredibly deep, broad chest with enough muscle and insulating fat that his hugs are pillowy soft and his right hook is devastating. His neck and head are blocky and solid, with rounded ears that add a bear-like quality to his face. The broad planes of his face are adorned with high set cheekbones and an endearing crookedness to his smile from his oversized fangs.

Coat – He proves immediately to be quite a unique wolf, with a coat that seems like it couldn’t decide which parent it wanted to take after. Stratum is a chimera- the familiar onyx hues accented with ivory stand in stark contrast with the other half of his dun and turquoise pelage. His body appears almost perfectly split down the middle, with his right half being coal dark and his left half draped in burnt gold. The stark line of contrast between the two hues drifts along his spine at a gradual rightwards angle, which leaves his tail entirely gold coloured as the dark hues engulf his right hip. Where his pelt bears its muted golden hues, a faint saddle of a deeper brown stretches from crown to tail tip, as though he had been lightly toasted by the heat of a fire. Mismatched stockings upon his limbs mirror the chimeric nature of his pelt; Stratum’s dark right limbs bear dun coloured socks, and his blonde left limbs wear ebon stockings.

Each paw is dipped in ivory, most notably on his hind paws. The white sock climbs up his left heel to end at its apex, while the right sock covers only the paw itself. Upon his forepaws, his blonde right paw wears a faded ivory sock, while the toes upon his obsidian left paw are painted with ivory around the edges of each pad. These same thin streaks of white mark his knees and forelegs, creating feathered stripes over the long bones of his limbs. Across his hips and belly, matching sets of pale stripes reach towards one another like lovers’ grasping fingers that are doomed never to touch. Along the length of his tail, alternating streaks of turquoise and alabaster mingle with the pale underside of his banner. Stratum’s ruff is snowy white, mingling with the contrasting colours of his chimeric pelt and muddying the distinct lines of where two pups became one.

Where his markings become truly enthralling is over the split hues of his face. A little more than half of it has been claimed by the jet black hues of his sire, though the markings that have settled over his features are unaffected by his unique trait. The end of his snout from nose to chin is stained in ivory, as well as the tips of his ears and a thin stripe between his eyes. Muted turquoise marks the tip of his muzzle and outlines the rounded points of his brows. Over his left eye, two sets of the infamous Fatalis slashes overlay one another- one white, one green-blue.

Eyes & Scent – Stratum certainly takes after his parents, with striking blue eyes. However, a fun twist of his chimerism has lent him subtle differences in the two gems. The left is cerulean as a cloudless sky, and the right is a pale silvery blue. There’s a subtle downward tilt to the corners of his eyes that lends a hint of kindness to his expression, even when locked in a very familiar scowl (who could he possibly have gotten that from?) that seems permanently painted onto his features when he’s working on something or another.

As his fondness for herbology develops, he’ll begin to take on the sharp tang of fresh herbs alongside the earthy aroma of damp stone. The specifics of his natural perfume will change with the seasons and the availability of herbs, and in the winter he’ll wear a far more notable stink of charcoal from working with armour while he waits for the growing season to start back up.

Voice & Gait – Adulthood will bring with it a sudden drop in his voice, and a rich baritone will rumble from somewhere deep in his chest when Stratum speaks. Like the rest of him, it will be incredibly imposing and perhaps even threatening. So he finds himself trying to counteract that effect by simply staying quiet. Can’t scare a little kid with how deep your voice is if you don’t say anything, right? When he does speak, it’s often quite softly. Cave walls carry voices well enough, he rarely finds himself needing to shout.

** (this only applies if he ends up with the disability, if not I’ll rewrite it nbd)
He walks with a limp, even when he’s not in pain. He doesn’t have full mobility in his joints, and he’s not the most graceful beast out there. But he gets by, and he doesn’t complain about it. Stratum favours his hind left leg, which is just a tiny bit more affected by the strange crystal growths that push up through the thin skin of his knees and elbows. The swing of his limbs is more of a lumber than a prance, but one could just as easily attribute that to the impressive bulk of his build. Regardless, his eyes are always scanning his surroundings and he rarely stumbles.

Personality:
YOUR HEART IS A MUSCLE THE SIZE OF YOUR FIST, KEEP ON LOVING, KEEP ON FIGHTING

Shy-- Stratum struggles with his place in the world, uncertain of how to conduct himself or where he stands amongst the crowded masses. It mostly manifests as silence during meetings and hesitance to share anything personal with strangers. It suits him just fine to leave the lime light to his many siblings, who are just as keen to make themselves known as he is to relish in obscurity. While it may be ill-suited to a wolf of his lineage, he’ll never be able to shake the urge to avoid the spotlight. He keeps to himself on his bad days, preferring to work quietly on his own tasks or creative endeavours until someone or something pulls him out of his funk.

Mellow-- He's broadly accepting, and prefers to live and let live. Stratum doesn't waste much time with judgement or offense, and prefers to outright ignore pointed remarks. It makes him an exceptional friend and confidant, where he'll listen to anyone's struggles or problems without comment. At the end of it, he might not have the best advice, but you'll walk away without that lingering feeling of anxiety or rejection that sometimes follows you after a deep conversation. Growing up with such an intense, driven family Stratum has had to learn to let many things go in order to keep moving forward.

Thick Skinned-- Kids who have been dealt a rough hand in life (or granted the privilege of status) tend to go one of two ways when it comes to their tempers. Rather than being quick to anger, wearing a mask of empty pride, Stratum is nearly impossible to rile. The most vile degradation handled with nary a slip in the bored facade of his broad features, he'll simply sit there and wait for someone to lose interest in berating him. You can only scream at a brick wall for so long before you're simply too tired to continue. Stratum was quick to master the grin and bear it technique- even if he's hurt by what's being said, he won't act simply for the sake of denying someone else the satisfaction of getting under his skin.

Kind Hearted-- The core of his being is impossibly soft and warm. He wants only the best for everyone, at the end of the day. He loves his parents, he loves his siblings. As time goes on, he will love healing- helping those around him recover from minor sicknesses to traumatic injuries and everything in between. Life is cruel and the world is unforgiving, but he doesn't have to be. Stratum is the type to help a stranger without any expectation that the favour be returned, and the kind of wolf who would put a baby bird back in the nest if he could. Some might see it as weakness, a waste of energy that has no guaranteed reward- but he's not one to listen to that kind of nonsense.

Alignment: True Neutral
Skills: healing & fighting
Mutations: Saber fangs & antlers probably!
Themed Mutation or Disability: Plz. Plz gib.
Trapped within the synovial fluid of his joints, unusual concentrations of minerals took up residence in a freak turn of fate. Upon his birth, the progression of his condition will lead to the gradual emergence of tiny shards of blue-green crystals from within his most major hinge joints. Knees and elbows hindered by the protrusions, he moves a bit slower than most, and in the hours before a storm hits he can hardly move at all from the marrow deep pains. The worst of the growths is rooted in his hind left leg, where the crystal that pushes through his flesh is wider than that of his right knee- disrupting the bending of that joint just that much more. His limp favours that side, especially when the weather turns and his bones start to ache fiercely.

Intended plots / other: I would love for him to be super into fight training as a little one, and as his joint condition progresses he's forced to learn how to contribute in some other way, so he starts making armour and weapons for the pack while also learning healing to help his loved ones. Maybe eventually progressing to be a pretty skilled and respected healer, and turns armour crafting into a hobby? Basically he'll be disabled and REALLY upset about it because Fatalis kid.

alternately he just realizes that he'll never stack up to his more accomplished siblings in fighting and just like.. tries a few other things before he lands on healing. A little bit of inner turmoil before he settles into a skill he likes.