Pompeii

Aleyna (Nurse, NPC)

## Application Sheet

Pompeii was a dark gray male wolf with light brown eyes. He was born into the pack of Hintertomb, joining the Domain alongside his pack. His story is just beginning. Pompeii was created and RP'd by newt-onix.

## Personality

On the surface, Pompeii is an incredibly intelligent, kind, and curious wolf with good intentions at heart. Once he opens up to others, his anxieties and his worries bubble to the surface. He is desperate to prove himself, not only to himself, but to his father and the pack. Since the Southpoint Collapse, what little stability he felt like he had created for himself felt like it vanished into thin air.

Overall, he is good natured and enjoys the company of others, almost always armed with jokes, stories, and comforting words to others. He heavily relies on the approval of his pack, both to bolster his self esteem but also to fit the shaky image he has of himself. He has some decent abandonment issues, and can cling more violently to others if he feels like they are trying to distance themselves.

Highly empathetic, he is always more in tune with others’ emotions than his own. He bottles his up until he simply can’t, and then it spills out, often in anxiety attacks or self-punishment in the form of seclusion and silence. Being so reliant on others makes Pompeii perfectly adaptable to almost any situation. Externally, he’s comfortable and easy-going with change, and isn’t bothered when sudden changes happen. He takes it in stride and tries to help those he considers close to him ease with the transition as well, all the while stifling his own feelings and thoughts on these same issues.

Pompeii is terrible at lying, and as such has adopted a hearty, honest persona that, while may come across as rude, means well. His kind tone can also come across as condescending without him realizing, which leads to him apologizing very quickly. Pompeii can’t handle any kind of critique against his character, including how he acts, how he performs, and his role in the pack. This quickly leads to shut downs and shut outs.

After his father left, Pompeii has developed abandonment issues and relies on those around him to bolster his self worth and confidence. He will often seek out comfort in the form of offering it to others instead, and he refuses to acknowledge when he might need help until he simply cannot ignore the issue any longer.

## Pre-Group History

Born to a sweltering summer heat far from under the careful god-face of Time, life was not destined for Pompeii from conception. His mother, Aoede, a Spark Spire, was weakened from sickness during pregnancy. She was young, her first litter, and her mate, Cicero, a Flame Chassi, was less than forgiving. Unable to continue her duties throughout most of her pregnancy, she was caught in a days-long labor that was bloody, torturous, and painful. She was able to give birth to three pups, but two were born with no life. The largest and last born, a son, survived, but it wasn't enough. Cicero was distraught, demanding for Aoede to continue her fight, that giving into this punishment from their gods would be too much, even for him. Despite this, Aoede gave up her life shortly after the last pup drew his first breaths. Without a name, from the ashes, Cicero named his only son Pompeii.

Fortunately for both Pompeii and Cicero, another nursing female named Aleyna offered to care for Pompeii until he had weaned, though she never filled any sort of a motherly role for him, too busy with her own children to give him the extra care beyond meals and the occasional bath time.

Cicero bit his tongue and stepped up as a father. He would teach Pompeii the pack's ways, cautioning him heavily of the angry gaze of the stars, how to appease, and how to best make himself fit into the pack. From a young age, he was instructed on the many intricacies and fears the pack harbored. He found no solace in others, as Cicero would disapprove of most friends. He found himself chasing his father's affection, to which he received nothing. He learned well, and took his father's lessons to heart, as this was one of the few intimacies his father allowed him.

During his adolescent months, he did start to open up and began to more desperately try to prove to his father that he was worthy, but no matter what he did, Cicero turned a blind eye. The two lived in a tense balance, with Pompeii wanting nothing more than to gain the approval of his father. This came to a head when he was just about a year old, and Pompeii had taken it upon himself to roughhouse with a few of the other wolves his age, including Beryl, who’s parents Cicero held in high esteem. During their tussle, Beryl had tackled Pompeii just a bit too rough, causing his tail to snap at an unnatural angle. Cicero could no longer keep his silence.

It is unknown what Cicero said to his son, as he had nearly dragged him out of sight. The two returned hours later, with Cicero his usual stoic self and Pompeii's cheeks stained with tears.

Upon their return, the Core in the pack were never able to get his tail to heal correctly, leaving it permanently kinked and a good reminder of the lesson Cicero gave that day. He threw himself into learning what he could to become a Chassi, like his father, gaining muscle and slowly but surely becoming a formidable force. He built unsteady relationships with others, preferring to give himself wholly up to others, offering comfort and skills where he could. At a young age, he completely gave up on himself, just like his father had never believed in him.

Everything in Pompeii's life collapsed with the tunnels of his former home. He was quietly talking with other packmates during the collapse, and was horrified to see dust billowing out of the caves after the extraordinarily loud rumble. Terrified, and not knowing where his father was, Pompeii bolted from the scene, neglecting to help the others dig out the buried wolves far under the earth. He found his father not far. Out of breath, and terrified, he tried to lean up to his father as his sole remaining family member. Instead, the larger wolf shoved him to the side wordlessly, and without looking back, Cicero left.

He left Pompeii sitting there in stunned silence, paralyzed, and feeling more alone and feeble than he had in his entire life. On the ground, Cicero's stone lay. Perfectly smooth, black and grey. He took a deep breath, picked it up, and threw the stone as hard as he could into the silent forest.

Not soon enough, it felt, was the new Omen chosen. Feldspar, though Pompeii held little opinion about the matter. With no family to call his own, he tried to worm his way into others, but felt more and more unstable the longer the pack migrated. He felt no longer safe in his chosen path, and was grateful for the second chance in life. He decided, if he could not protect himself, his family, or his pack, he would provide all he could until he drew his final breath.

He had to.

## Trivia

* Pompeii has started polishing and then discarded several stones throughout his lifetime. He seems unable to choose one, though he has had a cloudy orange one for a few months now.
* Pomp has a particular fondness of clouds, as well as the smell of smoke.

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* newt-onix's deviantART Gallery