Delphi (The Beginning)

Delphi is a character in The Beginning, and a greyhound who belongs to VictoriousQueen88.

## Appearance

Delphi is a tall, lean, skinny greyhound puppy, with a long, slightly curved tail and floppy ears. She has a long snout and big brown eyes, as well as a black nose, and a pink tongue.

She is a mainly color classified as red in the dog world (though it’s really more of a reddish-brown), although the tips of her ears are slightly darker. Her back paws are white, as is her front right paw (a little less so, though). There is a thin white blaze going up to her forehead, connected to her white snout. Her chest and entire neck (including the back) are white, as are parts of her underbelly that aren’t visible from the top/side.

## Personality

Dephi really seems to think she knows it all.

She’s quite snarky and full of sass (as well as brutally honest), which does not mix well with the fact she is also headstrong and stubborn. She has a tendency to be jealous, and wants to be the best there can be. She’s prickly and refuses to let just *anyone* in, and can get defensive in arguments. She is determined, however, and very, very, *very* fiercely loyal to her human; she’d do anything for that kid. She loves to run, and is very competitive; this makes her very invested in fetchball.

Deep down, though, Delphi is very sweet and loyal, as well as somebody loving who just wants to be loved. Her greatest fear is that she’ll be ignored and abandoned, so she clings to the things she has (ie. her human, her place at Pup Academy) and won’t let go.

Eventually, Delphi realizes that, maybe, just *maybe,* if she lets down her walls, she’ll gain the family she’s always craved. She steps back and manages to befriend a few pups (undecided who; suggestions?), and warms up to others, showing a sweeter, friendlier side that she used to hide away. She regrets everything she’s said, and begins to improve.

## History

Delphi does not remember much about her family before they were taken away from her. She remembers the warmth of her mother, the little yips of her siblings, and humans - even if that bit *is* a little fuzzy. She also remembers cold, wet pavement, and scrounging around on the streets only to find little to no food. Greyhounds are lanky, thin dogs, but something told Delphi that it wasn’t like this.

She remembers seeing lights one night, and a pair of humans picking her up to bring into a nice, warm house. Delphi remembers blankets, and the best food she’d had in days (maybe the *only* food she’d had in days). She remembers kindness and love and being petted.

She also remembers it being taken away one night. She doesn’t know what happened, but the house grew cold, and nobody came home for hours. Thinking the worst, she slipped out an open window, and never came home. Again, cold pavement and soaked by the rain with no place to hide. Again, weakness and starving and loneliness. She didn’t know what she’d done wrong.

The next humans who took her in, though… she managed to get to know them much better. They had a child, a sweet one who picked her up and sang silly songs and cuddled her and made her feel so *loved.* One that named her *Delphi*, for one of the many places on the map on the wall in the room they shared. One that she vowed she would never let go of.

Delphi stuck to her people like glue, and tried to be the best dog she could be. She’s always had an overactive imagination, and soon enough, when she listened to stories of other dogs and heard the tales of strays, she was afraid that she’d be replaced and abandoned again, just like with her last humans. She would fight for her people, she would *stay here,* and she *would* be good enough for them.

When Delphi was approached by the Great First Dog, she was skeptical about Pup Academy. She barely knew what a school *was -* just that her kid would leave every day for something she didn’t understand, and it made her upset, feeling that she wasn’t doing enough for her family. After hearing a little more about it, though… well, she wasn’t nearly as quick to jump to conclusions. She accepted a position and was enrolled in the academy, determined to be just like her person.

And maybe…

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

## Trivia

* I guess you could call Delphi something of a proto-Bite; she’s rude and consistently tries to be on top. She *does,* however, begin to warm up and try to make up for it/make friends.
* Delphi is a Growler.
* Delphi initially didn’t want to talk to the Great First Dog - once she heard the words “it’s like your human’s school”, though, she changed her mind instantly.
* “Delphi” means “hollow”. It also refers to the Greek Oracle of Delphi, which was said to predict the future - foreshadowing how Delphi undergoes character development in the future.
* I haven’t decided the gender of Delphi’s owner yet. They probably won’t appear, though, so I’m not sure if it’s all that important.

* Delphi really likes squeak toys, and her favorite chew toys are tennis balls. She goes *wild* around toys, and loves fetch (and fetchball!).