Railroads

name: Dakota.
nicknames: Da, Dakky, Kota.
gender: Male.
species: Mutt.
mate: Carling.
puppies: Inca, Aine, Lull, and Warren.
location: Moves throughout train stations.

personality:
Independent, snarky, sarcastic, cheerful, and savvy, Dakota is a train mutt and he loves it.
He thrives in this environment, being surrounded by oil spills and abandoned pits, and succeeds here. Dakota can pull the most adorable puppy eyes ever witnessed, and with this expression he can get whatever he wants out of the humans that come from the trains he travels on. Generally, he rarely goes hungry.
His independence is stunning, as Dakota has a certain distaste for all dogs owned by humans; and admires the faraway land of the wolves that are ruled by only their own kind. He is not much of a predator; if he must hunt to fill his belly, it is usually something already dead. Whether this is due to him being unwilling to murder, or merely if he doesn't have the knowledge to kill, he prefers his meals not breathing.
Just recently he came across a beautiful young female named Carling and the two have fallen deeply in love. It is the first time he has ever experienced something so innocent and untamed; and he adores it. They have a family together and although they continue his nomadic ways, Dakota has grown since his puppyhood. He now protects those relationships he has won, and is highly protective over his four children. It is only here he will become aggressive; the normally nuetral male rarely ever hurts others, but draws the line when it comes to Aine, Lull, Warren, and Inca.

backstory:
"The world was built for puppies like you."
His mother's voice drifted through the winter scenary with the boneless grace of fog. It was so quiet out there; the snow blanketed all the sounds, diminished the power of a few words into a less-then-mighty whisper. Gently, she leaned forward and touched her dark nose to the purple circle that chased its tail around her son's eye, but she was careful not to wake him. He slept with the air of a puppy; a few twitches of his back paws, flicks of his ears in random directions as though he was stalking phantom prey. The older female slowly climbed to her feet, and her back brushed the retired train they slept beneath.
Carefully, she leaned forward and grapped her son's scruff in her jaws, picking him up. She momentarily left the remainder of the litter, two precious, but mundane females, and carried him quite a distance, twining through the small city's streets and ignoring the early birds she passed. There were not enough humans out at his painful time to hamper her progress and eventually, she reached the main train station, the heart of the town. Gently, she lay her single son on the steps leading to the station and licked his muzzle. He awoke with a blur of vivid eyes. "Mommy?" He inquired innocently, stretching his forelegs out and curiously peering up at her. "Where are we?"
With a smile curving her muzzle into something serene and tranquil, she licked her son's ears and shook her head. "A special place, Dakota. But I can't stay." Quietly, she entranced him back into sleep; her soft voice was a lullaby to the young pup. He closed his eyes and in moments, drowsed again.
Straightening, his mother turned and began to walk away. The engineer who watched the trains was just shuffling into his office, clutching a cup of coffee in one hand and his sanity in the other, mumbling to himself about how early he had to get up, and the ghostly dam disappeared.
"Good luck, Dakota."

-----

The men and women who arrived at the train station the morning were bewildered to see the small mahogany puppy sniffing around. He consistently whined, his ears flattened to the curve of his head, his nose working a thousand times harder then it should, yet he could not find the scent plume his mother should have left behind.
Tucking his tail underneath the carriage of his hips, Dakota whined and curled up beneath the shadow of a rose bush, featured in the garden that lured further visitors to the station. Many of the people passed him by, too busy on their route to work to really stop and help him. The sound of the busy bodies slowly lured him into sleep and eventually, he dozed. He was only woken when the trains returned, a loud whistle signalling their arrival, and it jolted him straight out of the frothy dreams he had been entertaining featuring the gentle gaze of his lost mother.
The soft texture of his paw pads made tiny imprints in the snow as he silently ventured over to the office of the manager, scratching at his door. The bulky man opened it and frowned down at the mutt, who slipped inside as though a ghost and cowered beneath his desk. The man, grumbling, began searching one of the cabinets for the remainder of his lunch, hoping he had some meat to coax the thing out of his room.
"You getting ready to head home, Fred?" Someone drawled, and Dakota leaned forward enough to peer at the tall, intimidating man who stood in the doorway. The winter world behind him created a strong imprint against his black clothes and seared his image into Dakota's mind.
The fat man straightened with a snort. "Not yet. I have this rascal of a puppy stuck in here, and I can't just leave with the thing here." He shrugged. "I was looking for some meat to encourage him to get out."
But just as he turned to try and persuade his friend to buy him some, the young puppy skittered out of the room. His paws, made for only the familiar terrian found outside, barely carried his body weight as he escaped into the frigid air outside. The two men paused in the open doorway and peered out into the swirling snow as the mahogany puppy disappeared beneath some of their older trains. The employed man rubbed his chubby chin. "Do you think we should try and find him? I'm pretty sure he's a stray."
The other shrugged. "No good to do anything tonight. That puppy won't let us get anywhere close to him. Leave him be; in the morning we'll find him."

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name: Carling.
nicknames: Carl, Darling.
gender: Female.
species: Mutt; some fey in bloodline.
mate: Dakota.
puppies: Inca, Aine, Lull, and Warren.
location: Nomadic.

career: Carling is, quite literally, a courtesan of the fey court. This is not the modern definition of a courtesan as an expensive prostitute; rather, it is "a woman courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person".

personality:
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backstory:
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name: Inca.
nicknames: Inc, Incy.
gender: Male.
species: Mutt; some fey in bloodline.
father: Dakota.
mother: Carling.
siblings: Aine, Lull, and Warren.
location: Nomadic.

personality:
Inca is the wild card of his family; the little monster as his horns so delicately pronounce.
He is an energectic male, consistently moving, suffering under a rabid case of wanderlust; which means he constantly wants to be doing something, going somewhere, and if he isn't, he mopes and whines. This urge to leave makes him rather distant from his family; and when he does get roped into spending more time with them, he is more then often focused on the distant stars.
Inca loves astrology and stars in general and can get lost in their mythological embrace for hours. He feels as if watching them move allows him to move; spiritually.
In truth, he is a very spiritual person and why this doesn't make him a hippie, he does love his freedom and will fight for it in others. While not aggressive, Inca respects and acknowledges basic rights; and will do anything to make certain everyone experiences them.
He overlooks females and males quite often, as he is rarely interested in taking a mate or even lovers. His lust to travel has given him a bad reputation for anybody searching for a steady relationship, because if companions don't come with him, Inca will leave them.

backstory:
[wip]

name: Aine.
nicknames: Ainey.
gender: Female.
species: Mutt; some fey in bloodline.
father: Dakota.
mother: Carling.
siblings: Inca, Lull, and Warren.
location: Nomadic.

personality:
A spiritual and gentle female, Aine turned out a distinct opposite to her mother's independent and risque personality. Instead, Aine's attitude is calm and relaxed, and rarely can she be worked up into anger or some other passionate emotion.
In fact, often Aine is seen as distant from her emotions, almost as if she merely ignores them. She has a trend of gypsy beliefs and has a strong sense of ghosts and other supernatural beings. The single feminine thing about her is her soft voice, which is lulling and chiming, as if mimicking bells.
She is naturally attracted to unusual things, and loves uncovering a trinket that someone has never heard of before and wearing it around. Aine usually collects small jewelry and such and although she may keep it for a day or two, she always buries it again shortly, hoping that some other treasure-seeker will find it after her and find a delight in it that she also did.
She is dependent on her family and dislikes being away from them despite the attitudes of her brothers who venture far and wide. The one she is closest to is Lull; she feels as though he understands her the most and is comfortable telling him anything.

backstory:
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name: Lull.
nicknames: Lullaby.
gender: Male.
species: Mutt; some fey in bloodline.
father: Dakota.
mother: Carling.
siblings: Inca, Aine, and Warren.
mate: Lithium.
location: Nomadic.

personality:
A kind-hearted young male, Lull is much like the folklore of the kirin; a mysterious, distant, rarely seen and silent unicorn that wanders through the most beautiful of forests and leaves behind the startling feel of wonder.
His voice is as soft as his attitude and is almost never raised above a whisper; this is because things can be done with his voice, things he both fears and loves. Lull has the voice of a siren, a certain gift that was bestowed upon his mother long before she met Dakota; it was said that one day, she would produce a pup who would have the power to make anyone bow before him.
Unfortunately, it is Lull who got this, and he fears speaking in full tongue; so more often then not he seeks to communicate with gestures and scribbled letters in the dirt, which leads many strangers to believe he is merely mute. Lull is comfortable speaking only when he is alone, and loves being in the forest when fall has first struck and the leaves are fluttering to the ground.
The most telltale trait aout Lull is how he moves, which is smooth, without a hitch or a hesitation. It is almost as if his paws always know where he is going, and he doesn't even need to stop and think about if its correct. This means he can easily approach someone without them hearing.
The smile he wears the most is something called his 'apologectic' smile, a gentle curve to his muzzle that says sorry in a single angle.

backstory:
[wip]

name: Lithium.
nicknames: Lith, Lilith, Li-Li.
gender: Female.
species: Goddess of Death and Beauty.
mate: Lull.
location: Other Realms.

personality:
A goddess who fears permanently of raising her voice, Lithium is well-known for being soft-spoken. Her voice is a powerful thing indeed, and when she speaks everyone listens, whether they be enemy or friend. This natural affection for her voice makes males and females alike distinctly allured to her, and this has proven to change Lithium into something both dainty and fleeting.
Like a mythological beast, she can depart from sight within seconds; her small paws made brisk work on whatever ground she is set to and she can wind through a forest in simple minutes, leaving behind those with lesser senses. The single place Lithium finds herself comfortable in is the forest, where the tall trees act as guards and she can speak at a normal level, not having to fear for someone stumbling up on her and it wreaking havoc on their mortal mind and body.
Despite being so powerful, Lithium finds herself again and again on the mortal plane, consistently drawn to it as though there is something waiting for her there. This something was found when she met Lull, a handsome mutt who spoke only in a whisper; and when she begged him to admit why, he told her that his voice was like a siren, attracting everyone who was not strong enough to resist.
In him, Lithium found a companion she could be free with. Her own voice did nothing to him, and his didn't effect hers; it was an amazing compromise, this way that both could be themselves and relax with each other when before they were forced to be distant.
Despite being the goddess of death, Lithium rarely finds herself in contact with it, and she relishes finding life wherever it can be. She has a force of reapers that act beneath her orders and sends them out to guide the souls she has been charged with back to her dwelling; and this constant interaction with death and destruction has given her a gentle love for life and growth.

backstory:
[wip]

name: Warren.
nicknames: War, Warly.
gender: Male.
species: Mutt; some fey in bloodline.
father: Dakota.
mother: Carling.
siblings: Inca, Aine, and Lull.
location: Nomadic.

personality:
By far the most independent of all of his siblings, Warren is hard-headed and direct with his words, at times nearing almost blunt. He does not believe that others need to have their illusions and will shatter them as soon as he sees them.
A male based purely on instinct, he does things impulsively and rarely thinks about it. This unfortunately means he blunders often and hurts others' feelings, which earns him many enemies and broken-hearted lovers. Warren sometimes feels pity and guilt over this, but he can usually do nothing, as his family is nomadic and he normally travels along their meandering paths.
He dislikes having friends as he hates the idea of commitment and tries to keep faraway from others. His single weakness is his one dream girl; it was an idea he made up when he was just a tiny puppy and he laid out the entire personality she would have, even with an adorable addition of being an 'angel'. He has long since given up on this dream but sometimes, when he's not paying attention, he will still search for her in the mundane strangers he comes across in all towns.
His speech is usually considered Southern, as he speaks with a drawl; but he is lacking in that expected Southern kindness. He isn't very polite to strangers, sometimes rather territorial, and although not violent, he will occasionally stoop to that level. He prefers being on his one and hates when others rely on him, stating that it makes him feel 'suffocated' by their dependence.
He shows a soft side only to this idea of his dream girl, and will sometimes get caught up in the moment. He knows she doesn't exist; or, at least he thinks so.

backstory:
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