Hickory

<soundcloud url="https://soundcloud.com/protoscan/s-dirk-unite-synchronization" color="#aa7b55" height="20" width="20"></soundcloud>Hickory is a Mudwing soldier living during the time of the DoD and JMA, aka the current day. He currently lives in the Mudwing Palace, though spends a good chunk of time travelling to other kingdoms. 
This oc is mainly for the hidden canon contest, but if you want to engage with him, feel free to leave a comment!
==Appearance==
Hickory is a lanky, small Mudwing with sepia colored overscales, darker brown scales bordering those, and a light tawny underbelly. His eyes are a pale yellow with soft flecks of brown. Hickory has a few scars along his body, mostly concentrated around his front legs, belly, and tail. His build is wiry, partially due to not eating well as a dragonet, though he has put on more muscle mass after being taken in by Queen Moorhen. 
*Scent Pond water and sap
*Scales
:    = Overscales
:    = Underscales
:    = Markings
:    = Eyes
:    = Wings
==Personality==
Hickory is loyal to a fault, with a generally unassuming demeanor at first glance. He is calm and rational for the most part, and tends to think before he leaps. That said, behind his calm facade, Hickory is a surprisingly angry and potentially violent dragon. He is unafraid to stand up for his beliefs, and has no tolerance for injustice. Hickory turns his anger into energy and motivation, and, when spiteful enough, will exhaust himself to the point of collapse to prove his point, whether it be a project or a fight or a verbal battle. Hickory isn't good with emotions and, while craving affection, is very touch-averse with the exception of Queen Moorhen or his sibs. He is incredibly loyal to Queen Moorhen due to almost being raised by her, and views her as a combination older sister and mother to him. He blames himself for the death of most of his siblings, and his tireless and protective attitude is partially an attempt by him to make sure he never slips up again and lets another dragon get hurt because of him. 
==History==
*mild gore warning
Hickory's sib group was not the best. Hatching second to his bigwings, Sienna, he assumed a more second in command role within their group. Sienna was headstrong, but selfish and irresponsible, putting the lives of her sibs at risk for often trivial things, such as petty revenge against another Mudwing troop or catching even more prey. In her place, Hickory grew to take on a protective nature with his sibs, resentment for his sister growing, though he was unable to do anything, and unwilling to hurt her at all, as she was still his sister and only remaining family. 
When Hickory turned 3, Sienna gained the brilliant idea to enroll them in the military, as the wages were good and they were lacking in food and any kind of money, and she reasoned they "probably wouldn't end up seeing too much battle anyway.", as it was during a point where the war seemed to be winding down, and none of the tribes realized it would last as long as it would. However, it soon became apparent they would be expected to fight, and the night before they were set to fight against the Icewings, he fought with Sienna, suggesting they should run while they still could, perhaps the queen would pardon them since they were so young? Sienna was too stubborn to back down, and Hickory stormed off in anger.
However, that night, an Icewing ambush hit, decimating numerous amounts of Mudwing soldiers and provoking the war on further. Hickory, waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of conflict, ran back only to find the camp filled with the frozen, bloodied bodies of other Mudwings. Racing towards where his siblings had slept, the only thing he found was the remains of his siblings torn apart, with one of his sisters, Partridge huddled in the corner shellshocked, her wings frozen by frostbreath. Hickory was left devastated, but vowed to move on. 
Both of them deserted the army, heading inwards into Mudwing territory and working odd jobs, as Patridge's wings never healed properly, leaving her unable to fly. By the age of 5, they had made their way to the Mudwing Palace, where Hickory was able to get his job as a guard. Queen Moorhen took notice of the troubled younger dragon, and began to talk to him, even as he tried hard to avoid talking to her, and refused to respond except in clipped, short responses. 
Queen Moorhen began to grow on him though, and after one sad emotional breakdown, Hickory began actually to talk to her, loosening up, as Queen Moorhen also began to do the same. With Queen Moorhen's help, Patridge was able to secure a job in the Mudwing Palace, and he began to look up to Queen Moorhen as a role model, taking an example of her calm attitude and way of tackling problems, rather than Hickory's explosive temper and reactions, as well as viewing her as a mother figure. 
Rising his way up the rankings, Hickory currently resides as one of her most trusted soldiers, and as such was able to go along to the Skywing Palace, where he talked to Peril in canon, reminding her that Clay exists when she had been enchanted to forget him. 
==Relationships==
*Name | Tribe | Relation | User | Status"Hickory's thoughts."
*Sienna | Mudwing | Sister/Bigwings | NPC | Deceased"She was the single cause of all of our problems, irresponsible to her core, and didn't seem to give a rat's whisker about any of us... And yet, I still miss her. Does that make me a bad person?"
*Partridge | Mudwing | Sister | NPC | Alive"Words can't describe how much you mean to me. I'm so glad you're alive, flight or no flight. Not to get too sappy, but I'm proud of you for everything, and for sticking beside me. "
*Moorhen | Mudwing | Mother figure | Canon character | Alive"You've grown on me, I'll admit it. You might be the only other dragon I trust in this kingdom, so consider yourself lucky."
*Mantykor | Sandwing | Friend | User:BlackDragonKid | Deceased"An impressive dragoness, and one I would definitely not want to be on the bad side of. She's a truly capable fighter, and a solid friend as well, an uncommon combination. "
tba
==Trivia==
*Hickory is big on not using weapons, and has trained to be able to disarm and take down dragons bare handed.
*Hickory was originally going to be named Mallard or Cottonwood.
*Hickory's personality started out the complete opposite: calm, relaxed, and go with the flow.
*Hickory has repressed anxiety, mostly brought on from the trauma of his sibs dying.
Category:Characters
Category:Work in Progress
Category:MudWings
Category:Males
Category:LGBT+
Category:Occupation (Soldier)