Tesleen

Sigun (Sister)

## Application Sheet

Tesleen was a dark-furred wolf with pale silver eyes. Born and raised in Hintertomb, alongside sister Sigun, Tesleen entered the Domain along with their pack, and their story is just beginning. Tesleen was created and RP'd by excedere.

## Personality

* ***Empathetic, Persistent, Sentimental, Industrious and Proactive.*** Tesleen is a wolf that believes in remembering the past and extending a paw to be kind to others. They believe in showing compassion and understanding, especially when the Hinterkin are involved, and their empathy brings the sharing of emotions, stresses, hurts. On the other paw, Tesleen does not back down from their commitments; to others, to themself, to the Tomb. What they go at, they go at with all their heart, and they will not stop until the job is done. In their pursuits, Tesleen gets up early, off to the races with their initiative. *The early bird gets the worm,* they would say in a world in which birds were not anathema, off like a worker bee to find salvation in their duties. Working for the interests of the Tomb soothes them, and they are happy to put their paws to good use. They are a small pebble within the boulder that is their pack; they will share the feelings of their kin, and they will be there for others, and they live to prove that the world is more beautiful when one becomes devoted to others, to soothe with the words *you are wolkin, and no matter what, you are valuable.*
* ***Pensive, Perfectionist, Predictable, Emotional, and Blunt.*** Much like the nature of the sea, Tesleen is predisposed to lingering on their thoughts. Is this the best path to chart to meet with another pack? Is Neu the one to influence their rarely-dreaming mind in the latest days? Oftentimes, that pensiveness becomes a fixation on what they aren’t getting right. *Again,* they think. *This must be better. It must be, for the wolkin.* There is rarely a ‘perfect’, but when that day comes, they are resplendent in their satisfaction. Oftentimes, this manifests through practicing things over— and over— and over. *Until I cannot get it wrong,* they often think. Their perfectionism lends itself well to being a creature of habit. Once they settle into a routine, it is hard to get them out of it. Back when they and Sigun were Irises together, Tesleen would get up at the same time every evening, pace the same rounds around wherever they were, and be off with the night, always meditating as dawn broke. Tradition settles well with them, a comforting weight on their shoulders. However, when routine is broken or something unexpected happens— Tesleen cannot always control their emotions. They feel with all of their heart, and they cannot go cold, go frozen like others can. They cry easily, and can bite back with words just as easily when angry, or prance in satisfaction at a hunt gone right. This is not to say that they are always full of emotion— just that it comes easier to them, just like how they are often truthful and blunt with their words. Pawing around a subject— is wrong. It is easier to speak and be clear, to speak and be known.
* ***Pessimistic, Obsessive, Inflexible, Insecure, and Hypocritical.*** To say that Tesleen, with all of their empathy, with all of their kindness for their packmates, to say that they are *optimistic* would be wrong. They are of the dust, and the Great Ones are unkind, always watching. Always waiting. There is always an omen around the corner— either figurative or literal, given their Omen’s existence. It would not do to expect the best. *Hope for the best, expect the worst,* one could say. Perhaps these kinds of thoughts are what keep Tesleen up when they should be sleeping, always practicing, always watching the moon, always running. They tunnel vision, and it has always been hard for anyone but Sigun to bring them out of their obsessions: mouth-rolling stones one day, checking every corner of an area over and over again the next, honing their skills until they tire themself out the next again. They must do the best they can. They must check on those they love. They must…
	+ In some cases, this brings them to the point of being obstinate, stubborn, unflinching. But more commonly, Tesleen is unbending; it is hard to change their mind on anything but what is completely out of their wheelhouse, like fighting or healing. They will not compromise on anything besides that: their health, their charted course to accomplish something, their ideals. *I am only good if I am useful to the wolkin. I am what I accomplish. My body is the dust incarnate to do as my Omen desires.* Unsurprisingly, they do not practice all that they preach as a result. They comfort others to feel valuable, to not lean on their work as a measure of worth. They will be kind to others; they will not be kind to themself. What a shame.

## Pre-Group History

Tesleen was like the sea: beautiful and ever-changing.

Of the spring moon, their first breath came as the Flame-Core Laguz watched his melded, the Spark-Spire Verity, give birth to their two children: as dark as the earth, dark enough to hide from the Great Ones with hints of warmth that brought to mind the sun. Good, solid pups to nestle in their family’s den, a prize above wonder that the two held to their hearts. They named them for what they were: Sigun, who wore more of the warmer colors, an older name for *sunlight,* and Tesleen, *blessing,* for the darker fur of the earth to hide them from the gaze of the moon.

As they grew, they blossomed with the flowers of the ground, transforming and becoming wholly new creatures. They played, and they ran, and they ran faster and faster around their parents every time. Blank slates became those that looked up at the moon with the knowledge that they were of the earth, of the Dust, and that they were wolves of the Tomb through and through.

Tesleen was always the first to come to heel at the paws of their father to hear stories, to learn and drink everything in with Sigun mere breaths behind. Intertwined as they were, it was together that they learned of their duty to the pack, the celestial curse they were under. It was there that the bud of devotion to their duty took root, strong and entrenched.

Somehow, though, it was Sigun who first took a task upon their growth while Tesleen had been following in her wake. They were distracted by the itching in their paws to *run,* to *move,* to be *faster* while Sigun’s eyes had followed other pack members, thoughtful and curious.

What could they do but follow Sigun into becoming an Iris? They found that they loved the task. They took to it like a duck to water, all of it; traveling, talking with others, Wae’s knowing eyes watching on as they loped along vast tracks of land around the territory to build stamina, talking as they did to multitask. The work was fluid; they moved from one thing to the next, taking trips out to survey the land around the territory with a Spark or Flame to mentor them..

It was nice, doing such a thing at Sigun’s side so often. When they were at home, they slipped around each other, the warmth of Sigun balancing the coolness of Tesleen’s earthen pelt, and they were always…there. They had the same friends, three with glittering eyes and warm laughs *(Wynn, Citrine, Spinel,* they remember to this day. *Wynn, Citrine, Spinel.)*. They had the same interests (moon-watching, stone-rolling in the mouth, bounding around trees like an obstacle course, tongue twisters, the list went on—), the same laugh, the same way they curled into each other whenever they met from being apart.

They graduated to Sparks at the same time, their words running into each other, completing each other’s sentences as they laughed and talked to the congratulations of their friends before going out together for their duties. Months of happiness. Tesleen grew closer with one of their friend group as well, the lovely Spark-Spire Wynn, and it was lovely to bound back with Sigun back home to have another special wolf to greet.

Just before Verity would take his test to become a Flame, the Southpoint Collapse shook Tesleen’s world to the ground.

At first, the question was *where is she, where is she, oh Gods, the fire in the valley burns—*

And then they saw Laguz go in to save Verity, panic whipped up in his howls—

And then Sigun found them in the rubble, dust covering their paws. A strange expression, when Tesleen whispered out that Laguz had gone after their other parent.

The dust settled. They would rebuild. Sigun was still there, and all of their friends but one were alive, including Wynn, but…

*…I’m sorry, Tesleen. Teskin. I…I don’t think I can stay here. Not with— not with what…happened.* Sigun.

*Spinel is…gone. I…how can you remain, when we can’t even put an obol in his mouth? You won’t come with us?*  Wynn.

*…Guess we’ll see you around.* Citrine.

What happened to devotion? What happened to trust? What happened to them all from being together? No sad expression stopped them and their friends from leaving. No howls, no cries, no screaming, angry and frustrated and self-blaming. *If only I had stopped Father from going in after her. If only I had been fast enough to get Verity or Spinel out myself. If only I had been enough. If only, if only, if only.*

But the fact remained: they were of the Hinterkin, and they could never live a different sort of life. They had to rebuild, even if even their heart had left them. Even if Sigun, Wynn, and Citrine had banded together, away from what was truly at Tesleen’s core: the Tomb.

Even if everyone they had grown close to was now— gone. Just like that. The life of an Iris had meant never getting too many friends, but…they had been steady rocks at their side.

But they weren’t an Iris any longer, and the friends of that life had left them. *A new slate.* A reminder to keep gazing at the moon.

As the new Omen started picking up the pieces, Tesleen doggedly trudged along, finding new meaning in duty, in devotion, in living. Even the work of any old Ember had to be done, and it had to be done well. The question was: would they harden and gleam, or would they break in the reforging?

After all, Tesleen was like the sea: uncompromising and bleak.

## Trivia

* Tesleen is on the older side of a Young Adult; think roughly 3 years or so.
* There is nothing that Tesleen likes more to settle down than to *run:* full, loping strides, for as long as they can. They’re not the fastest, but they can go the longest, and they have enough stamina to work as hard as they can for long periods of time before taking care of themself. Any wolf who likes a good run can easily get on their good side.
* They like to sing while running! They’ve gotten pretty good at holding notes that don’t whip away in the wind, and a lucky wolf can catch them when they’re in good moods to sing and hum as they race along.
* Any thought of leaving the immediate area the Tomb is in, especially without packmates, gives them a great deal of anxiety. Whenever talk comes around to future tasks, now that everyone’s an Ember, they’re clearly not going to be an Iris again, but…they don’t seem to be sure of what they *want* to be, either. Just…as long as they won’t have to leave the territory that the Hinterkin come to call *home* no matter what.
* Currently Tesleen is trying desperately to reconnect with packmates to have some kind of anchor, but their grief has been driving them away from company during this first part of their travels. They want purpose to settle the dust swirling inside of them, to tamp it down and let them breathe.

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* excedere's deviantART Gallery