Zuke

### Build

Sleek, tall, and strong — it’d be hard for any wolf to find something to complain about when it comes to Zuke’s appearance, at least. Very conventionally handsome. His short tail does stand out a bit, though.

## Application Sheet

Zuke was a handsome black wolf with bright orange eyes. He arrived in Mhor after the Hive Wars, seeking his ex-fiancée Solune and her twin sister, Twyla, in hopes of reconciliation... entirely unaware of all the important events he'd missed. Solazar was his brother. His design was concepted by Lachtaube, and he was created and RP'd by sea-lamprey.

## Personality

***Friendly***

At first blush, Zuke’s an easy guy to like. Outgoing, playful, sincere, and always ready to lend an ear to others’ troubles (even if he doesn’t understand them), he’s a good friend to have…most of the time, anyway.

***Dense***

Make no mistake, this dude’s got the social awareness of a rock. Subtle hints, passive aggression, sometimes even outright aggression — it all goes over Zuke’s head. If you want him to know something, it’s better to tell it to him straight… He’s really not likely to get it any other way, especially if he’s busy getting carried away with his own assumptions. Zuke’s not a complete idiot, but when it comes to handling intricate social situations, he’s just about guaranteed to end up with his foot in his mouth.

***Tractable***

Zuke was always more of a follower than a leader, but after the fiasco with Twyla and Solune, he’s doubled down on his tendency towards obedience. He won’t say no to someone he considers higher-ranking than him — even if what they ask of him goes against all common sense. He feels best when he’s not the one making the decisions — after all, it doesn’t seem like he has what it takes to make good ones.

***Passionate (but Repressed)***

When Zuke feels something, he feels it strongly, and most of the time, he isn’t afraid of showing it. When he’s sad, he cries — when he’s happy, his smile’s as bright as sunlight. When he truly loves someone, that love is all-consuming… But he doesn’t want anything to do with love anymore — really, it just messes everything up, you know? Best to keep a lid on all that. Those that have known Zuke since his youth may notice that he holds himself back far more often than he used to.

***Brave (but Pushy)***

If someone’s in danger, Zuke will step in without hesitation — he believes it to be his duty as a strong, fit wolf. To self-sufficient types, his unerring sense of chivalry can become grating — because if he thinks you’re in trouble, there’s no WAY he’ll let you handle it on his own if he thinks he can help. Even if his help is 100% not wanted.

## Pre-Group History

The world young Zuke grew up in was a gentle one. Born into a small and tight-knit family alongside his brother Solazar, Zuke was free to run and play with whomever he liked — all the neighboring families were friends of his parents, after all, and there were plenty of pups around to play with! Two of those pups were the identical twins Twyla and Solune — Zuke became fast friends with the pair, and spent many sunny summer days romping among the flowers with them while his quiet brother looked on and smiled. He often had difficulties telling the twins apart, but as pups this was hardly a problem at all — it didn’t really matter who was who when they were all best friends!

But they could not stay children forever. As Zuke reached the end of his first year of life and began his passage into adulthood, learning his role as a hunter in the pack, his parents began to think of the future. To renew ties with the neighboring families every now and then was traditional; arranging a marriage between their children was a common way to do it. Solazar was the eldest son, but he was always too independent; Arina and Ledvek’s attempts to propose the idea to him failed miserably, but carefree Zuke was another story. After talks with the twins’ parents, they came to Zuke with a question:

“That Solune girl — you get along quite well with her, don’t you? How would you feel about marrying her?”

Zuke gave this some thought. “...Sure, why not!”

And so the two of them were betrothed, with their marriage date set for a couple years ahead, when they would be considered full adults in the eyes of the pack. Despite his easy assent to his parents’ wishes, Zuke was a little worried at first — he was very fond of Solune, and she was fond of him, but what if the betrothal made things different between them? Would they stop being friends?

His worries dissipated quickly, however. If things were changing, then they were changing for the better — he was as happy joking around with Solune as he had ever been, and if anything, being betrothed gave them more excuses to plan fun outings together on the rare occasions Zuke was free from his hunting duties.

It was on one such outing that things started going wrong.

The senior hunters had given Zuke the whole day off; naturally, he immediately rushed off to find Solune, having found a wonderful surprise to show her! There she was — a beautiful white-furred figure sitting by the fishing river. Zuke wasted no time in goading her into a race, leading her towards the meadow of monarch butterflies he couldn’t wait for her to see.

Solune was unusually energetic, bounding through the meadow faster than he’d ever seen her go — he’d usually won their races before, but this time she was running circles around him! Zuke thought nothing of it at first, assuming it was simply the euphoria of playing among so many beautiful butterflies that was giving her that extra bit of zing. Maybe she’d just been holding back on him all this time!

Until he made one offhand comment.

"I... didn't realize... you were so fast!" he shouted breathlessly as he tailed her through the tall grass, splitting waves of butterflies in two. “Solune” spun around on her heels and pounced, surprising him and knocking him to the ground with a hearty laugh.

"That's why I'm the hunter!" she teased.

Wait.

What?

Twyla was the huntress, not Solune. All along, the wolf he’d been having such a lovely date with wasn’t his betrothed — it was her sister. Zuke felt like he’d crumble into dust from sheer embarrassment. Thankfully, Twyla laughed it off and they were able to part on good terms. He’d just figure out another date to take Solune on — everything was fine…

Except it wasn’t.

As Zuke tried to fall asleep beside his brother that night, all he could think about was that morning in the meadow. The graceful way Twyla moved among the butterflies, her effortless athleticism, the radiance of her smile…

Zuke liked Solune, liked her sharp wit and the way she always had the sense to rein him in when he got too carried away.

But what if he liked her sister more?

No — he couldn’t. He and Solune were to be married; everyone had decided that, and he’d agreed to it. He was just being stupid, that was all. The feelings would pass and everything would go back to normal.

But the feelings didn’t pass. If anything, they grew stronger — Zuke began yearning desperately for Twyla, for any moment that their eyes might meet and they might share a small, private smile. For the first time in his life, he became duplicitous — pretending that he’d mistaken Twyla for Solune again was worth the awkwardness if he could steal a few moments with her.

He couldn’t talk about his feelings with anyone — not with his parents, not with his brother, and certainly not with his usual confidant, Solune herself. Trapped within the prison of his heart, what were once the mere embers of attraction flared into an uncontrollable blaze. As time passed, he began to delude himself into thinking he saw what he felt reflected in Twyla’s eyes. She was always so kind to him, and on the occasions they were assigned to hunt together, it seemed to Zuke as though they were perfectly in sync… Could it be…?

The preordained marriage date loomed closer with every passing sunrise, and each day Zuke viewed it with more dread. Solune kept asking him what was wrong, but he couldn’t tell her — eventually he started to avoid her entirely, because every time he looked at her he felt sick with guilt over what he was feeling. He missed being friends like they used to be, but how could they be, when all he wanted was to be with her sister?

It was all too complicated for Zuke. He kept waffling back and forth — he’d promised he would marry Solune, but if what was between him and Twyla was true love… Didn’t he have to follow his heart?

He was paralyzed, unable to make a decision —

— Until the day before the wedding.

He and Twyla were told they’d be going on a hunt in the mountains that day. Alone. Together. To Zuke, it felt like a sign from the spirits. They were meant to be, he was sure of it! Feeling freer than he had felt in moons, Zuke hurriedly confessed the feelings he’d kept to himself all this time to his parents and then, deaf to their protests, rushed off to meet Twyla at the pass.

The following hunt was the most time he’d spent alone with Twyla in ages, and it was perfect. When night fell on the mountains, they had caught a plump rabbit each (another sign that their love was true, Zuke thought foolishly). They began to walk back down the mountain pass with their catches, but that was when Zuke made his move — he stopped, and when she turned back to face him, her pale fur luminous in the moonlight, he spilled out the contents of his heart to her. It’s always been you.

And was met with utter disbelief. At first Zuke thought Twyla was just worried about the consequences of eloping; he tried to assure her that everything would be fine — she kept trying to scoot past him, to make her way down the mountain, but Zuke, frustrated and confused, blocked her way — surely they’d be able to figure things out; true love always finds a way, after all!

But as their argument continued on into the wee hours of the morning, panic started to seep through Zuke’s thick barriers of denial. The rock-solid certainty built from seasons of pent-up emotion crumbled, bit by bit. Twyla didn’t love him? He’d broken his promise for nothing?

Finally, Twyla fled back up the mountain; he tried to chase after her, but she’d always been swifter than he. He spent hours searching the mountainside to no avail. The time that Zuke had been supposed to wed Solune came and went as he wandered the mountain, only adding to his misery. When he tracked down Twyla at last, he was far too tired to stop her from returning home even if he had still wanted to. If she had indeed ever loved him, all those fond feelings were certainly long gone now. Zuke could only follow her home, heartbroken and ashamed.

Their homecoming was even worse than he’d feared. His parents were furious; Twyla even more so, once she realized the true breadth of what he’d done. Worst of all, Solune was already long gone — off on a soul-searching journey, she’d said. Zuke didn’t know how to feel about that; part of him was relieved that she had apparently taken his betrayal of her in stride, but…

The following moons were a living nightmare. Zuke was ostracized by the whole pack; his parents prevented him from seeing Twyla entirely, as if she would even want to look his way after everything that had happened. When Twyla finally left to look for her sister, Zuke wasn’t able to see her off — it was his father who told him she was gone.

After Twyla left, Zuke’s punishments were gradually lifted, but he still felt adrift; a stranger in his own home. His two best friends were gone, and no one was sure when (or if) they would return; his brother, Solazar, had already left long ago to find his own way in the world. Zuke alone was left to stew in his mistakes.

Eventually, he couldn’t take it any longer. Zuke approached his parents with a proposal — he’d leave the pack and bring back Solune himself. He realized now that his feelings for Twyla had been nothing more than a stupid, pointless obsession; repairing bonds between their families was more important, and what better way to do that but renew the betrothal between himself and Solune?

After some deliberation, Arina and Ledvek hesitantly gave their blessing — though privately, it was perhaps less due to their confidence in Zuke’s ability to succeed and more in the hopes that he might find a better future in the outside world.

And so a very long and winding journey began…

## Trivia

* Fully believes that the Ideal Life is to get married (to a she-wolf his parents picked out), have a litter or two, serve his pack obediently and well until he dies etc etc. The wolf equivalent of a white-picket fence and 2.5 kids. Whether this is actually what he desires deep in his heart isn’t worth considering…
* Very cuddly.
* He always found it interesting to listen to Solune talk about herbs, and he really likes plants in general, but unfortunately, he has a terrible memory for them. Outside of basic cures, he’d be more likely to hurt a patient than heal them. Good at making bouquets, though!
* Has a very narrow view of what wolven life is and can be, due to his own upbringing. It isn’t a malicious, willful type of ignorance — he just Doesn’t Know Shit.
* Possesses an unfortunate tendency to be stubborn only at the worst possible moment.

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* sea-lamprey's DeviantART gallery