Pack Name & Number:

Crimson Skies [#241764]

Name:

Caliper

Pack:

The Starlit Ones

Rank:

Warrior

Species:

Dog [Canis familiaris]

Breed:

Mudi

Gender:

Female

Age:

3 years

Appearance:

Caliper is a medium-sized canine, about 43 centimetres (16.9 inches) tall from the ground to her withers. She is lightweight, weighing 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds), her ribs just visible but mostly hidden under her wavy fur. Her frame is rather slim, legs thin and dainty, built for stamina and running. Caliper isn't very muscular, which adds to the slim, almost fragile, look she has.

Her pelt is a beautiful ashbrown merle, a pale taupe marked with darker tones. Her paw pads also affected by the merle gene, being brown marbled with pale pink, though her nose is a medium brown. Caliper’s muzzle, underbelly and throat are light taupe, and her legs are the same, save for her darker-mottled hind right leg. Her hind left paw is also darker. Her ears stand upright and are triangular, covered with the same ashbrown merle colouring, and slight curliness can be found at the bottom. The fur on her coat is short and dense, rippled with waves that bounce slightly with her movements. Her tail is slightly fluffy, with a striking white tail tip. The left side of her face is a light brown, while the right side is darker.

Perhaps the most noticeable feature of Caliper, apart from her coat, is her eyes. They are a pale blue, standing out from the brown shades around her eyes and seemingly pierce the soul of whoever makes eye contact, though they are soft and kind. However, when she is provoked, the softness turns harsh and cold.

She has several scars, though they are mostly small and hardly visible through her wavy coat. The most significant scar is smooth and pale, hanging around her throat like an old collar.

Personality:

focused || fast learner || dedicated || hard-working || skittish || loyal || kind || generous || quiet || energetic || alert || empathetic || volatile || humorous || anxious || forgiving || indecisive || intelligent || curious

Unusually for a herding dog, particularly a mudi, Caliper is quiet and saves her words. She loves a conversation with friends as much as the next canine, of course, but she doesn’t make noise for the sake of it. Perhaps contrastingly, she is still very much energetic, switching between standing stock-still and pacing around from moment to moment. She is alert at all times, ears pricked and twitching slightly - she pays attention to the small details. It’s no surprise that she’s skittish, her vigilance fueled both by her herding instincts and internal anxiety.

Generally speaking, Caliper is a follower. She takes the lead if necessary, and can even do quite well at it, but prefers to receive orders rather than give them. Most of the time she is woefully indecisive, only able to make choices when the others are unable to. She is loyal to those she feels deserves it, and usually respects authority figures. That being said, she recognises when a leader is messing up, intentional or not, and will take action to fix it.

Kind and generous, Caliper is easy to like. She takes the time to ask how someone is, and is content to give her share of a meal away in a heartbeat. She loves having friends, and will stay with them for life if possible. Her humour is subtle, and often dry, and she unapologetically finds herself hilarious much of the time. She’s also capable of cutting sarcasm, though Caliper usually doesn’t intend it to hurt others. She’s empathetic, a strong listener, who feels the pain of others, though she remains mostly level-headed in order to assist however necessary. Linked to her herding training, she is even able to sympathise with prey, and needlessly drawing out their deaths greatly upsets her.

Caliper is diplomatic, striving to understand each side of an argument and mediate a peaceful resolution. She prefers to stay out of conflict by any means necessary - compared to the wolves and other canines, she is smaller, and more vulnerable. However, her ingrained instincts are brought to the surface when she is brought into conflict, and if she is provoked beyond this point, she goes on the attack. Despite her fragile appearance, she is dangerous - her teeth are sharp, and she knows how to bite where it hurts. When she is like this, it takes some effort, usually helped by a friend or authority figure, to snap her out of it. The guilt she feels after these events is immense, even if her attack was justified, and she forgives her provokers very easily. She just wishes she could keep a level head in fighting, but it overwhelms her anxiety and she loses herself. Thankfully, these episodes have only occurred twice before.

It’s different with hunting, however. Caliper adores utilising her herding skills for a useful activity. She is slim, agile and fast, wearing prey down during hunts, and has a great amount of endurance and stamina. She applies herself wherever her skills are needed by the pack, diligent and focused. She finds herself constantly occupied, though this is something she enjoys, either helping the pack or pursuing her own interests. Highly intelligent, she is a fast-learner and adapts quickly, memorising everything she can about a situation in moments. She is interested in almost everything, her endless curiosity giving her a constant hunger for knowledge.

Likes:

◊ hunting - she takes any opportunity she can to pursue prey and loves the thrill of the chase. This is influenced by her love for herding

◊ running - energetic, she can tear through the forest at an incredible pace

◊ being busy - while she is a more quiet personality, Caliper can hardly stay still and prefers to be occupied at all times

◊ helping others out

◊ nighttime - something about the moon is so soothing…

◊ learning - easily trained by her owner, she has continued her curiosity and chases knowledge like it’s a rabbit. At the moment, she’s interested in herbs and healing, and gleans tidbits of information whenever she can

◊ rain, and the smell of it

Dislikes:

◊ fire - it awakens bad memories for her, and she never wishes to feel the heat of it again

◊ being looked down upon for her size/species - her size has its disadvantages, but she works hard to make up for it. Being judged for her species, however? It’s cruel.

◊ confined spaces - unless she’s somewhere safe, like a den, Caliper usually feels trapped

◊ being cutoff - she’s not a huge talker, but she wants others to listen when she has something to say

◊ violence - if she is caught in it, she loses herself, and so avoids it at all costs

Other:

The scar around her neck is a constant reminder of that day, when she was tethered loosely to a post while her owner sheared the sheep. The fire had come from nowhere, scorching the rich colours of the painted shed that she loved (“Viridian green,” her owner had said, dipping the brush again). The flames were too quick for her owner, and Caliper would never forget the sight of it all, but she had pulled and pulled, and the edges of the rope cut into her neck as she broke free and ran.