Chinja

:"In case you haven't realized, life's not fair. Look, cub, we're gonna do what we have to to live. Now let's get moving."
:―Chinja, Red Horizon
Chinja is a female aardwolf.
==Appearance==
Chinja has rumpled, pale silvery tan fur with jet black stripes. Her teeth, claws, paws, and areas of her pelt are caked with dirt and dried blood. The fur on her head sticks up in a scruffy fringe. Across the right side of her face are three lateral scars, slim and tapering at both ends, and dark red in color, contrasting sharply with her light fur. Her muzzle is slim and narrow, and her ears are round and unusually large. She shares the same round features that her siblings have, but hers are morse harsh. Her paws, tail, and muzzle are black, and black stripes extend from either side of her muzzle and run through her eye to the base of her ear. Her rheumy eyes have bright ruby red irises.
==Personality==
Chinja is the most intelligent of her family and her words are therefore held in higher regard by her siblings, who are content in doing when she says. Initially, her vocabulary was exceptionally advanced and her manner of speech slightly eloquent, similar to her father's, but after their deaths it regressed to being rough and crude.
Chinja does not act as her siblings' leader, but is the one who comes up with the most plans and ideas. The death of the group's parents affected her the most, causing her to become wild, savage, and bloodthirsty. She was the one who fashioned the group's violent lifestyle, as she bears a strong hatred for other Drylanders. The only animals whom she cares for at all are her siblings. She greatly enjoys fighting and killing, and is always pleased when an opportunity for a deadly battle presents itself. Due to past events, Chinja despises jackals and honey badgers.
==History==
===Early Life===
Chinja and her siblings were born at the base of the Poromoko Cliffs in the Drylands, with Chinja being the oldest. They lost their parents at a young age to a family of jackals. This drew them very close together, but it also forced them to grow up faster than they normally would have- and as a result, each bears a guard that they rarely ever drop and varying degrees of distaste for other animals, even young Ardhi. As they grew older, instead of seeking out abandoned tunnels and dens as is the usual method of aardwolves, they chose to drive animals out of their current homes, occasionally killing them if the creatures prove especially reluctant to leave. When Chinja and the others were adolescents, a fierce honey badger who was very unwilling to flee her den scored her sharp claws across Chinja's face, leaving three nasty scars.
===Red Horizon===
Chinja is born in the rainy season in a den dug by her parents, Faraji and Tendaji. As she suckles from her mother, she bites and claws rather fiercely to get milk, which causes Faraji to name her Chinja, remarking that her antics are similar to those of a mad hyena.
Far later, Faraji calls her four cubs back into the den at sunrise. Chinja is the last to obey, as she likes watching the sunrise, believing its bloodred color to be beautiful. Once the cubs are nestled against their mother, Faraji begins to tell them how to survive on their own. Upon hearing that they will need to leave before Faraji's next litter of cubs, Chinja asks if Faraji is replacing them. Faraji denies this, and though Chinja is uncertain, she accepts that what happens will happen. When Faraji tells them that they'll start a family when they're older, Chinja doesn't know whether or not she would like to, since though she likes cubs, the only ones that she has interacted with are her siblings. As Faraji continues, Chinja looks around, first to glance at the sunrise again, then to observe the den. She asks her mother how to obtain a home like the den, but before Faraji can answer, Tendaji enters the den, explaining that he had to circle around a jackal to get home. Chafu feels that Tendaji should have killed the jackal, and Chinja shoves her sister playfully.
Tension suddenly arises, and though Chinja asks what's wrong, she is ignored. As she and the other cubs are shoved out of the den by Tendaji, she persists with her questions, to no avail other than a single word; "jackals". They are taken to a crevice and hidden there, but as soon as Tendaji leaves, Chinja emerges and leads the others back to their den. The scent of blood invades Chinja's nostrils, and she remembers the first time that she smelled it. At the den, they find both of their parents savagely killed, with Faraji being eaten by two jackals. She orders the others away and resolves aloud to leave and obtain their own residence, and drive others out of their homes if need be. Ardhi protests, and she snaps at him, but instantly feels guilty and explains that they'll do what they must.
The group soon drives a weasel out of their home, and though Chinja fights fiercely, Ardhi makes the final kill. Chinja enjoys herself, and suggests doing so again to earn more dens, as that is the way of their life now.
Category:Characters
Category:Original Characters
Category:Songfire's Content
Category:Females
Category:Hyenas
Category:Aardwolves
Category:Drylanders
Category:Young Animals
Category:Siblings