About

Toka is a kind hearted soul that would rather stay in and read under some blankets than anything else. He’s fairly mild-mannered and shy, and would really rather not stand out more than he has to. Making decisions isn’t Toka’s strong suit, and he’ll have to weigh out all the pros and cons of each option before being absolutely sure, which can be frustrating to others a lot of the time. Despite this, Toka could be considered pretty smart and intuitive. Aside from the fact that he likes to learn and read for fun, he’s adept at problem solving, and can also read people and situations fairly easily. With those he’s not close to he’s generally pretty closed off, though he’ll still make a good effort to be friendly and easy-going, as he’s always open to make new friends - with those he does trust, he lets himself loose, usually trying to crack a witty joke or two and striving to have an optimistic attitude that’ll let everyone have a good time. Toka is always there to lend an ear for those who need it, but tends to bottle up his own problems because he doesn’t want those he cares about to have the burden of worrying about him.

When stressed or in a situation that he’s not familiar with, Toka tends to be rather scatterbrained. This can cause him to be rash in his decision making, if he isn’t doing the opposite and over analysing the problem instead. If it gets really bad, his anxiety can cause him to lash out. This anxiety often limits him from trying out new things because of his fear of these exact situations, so generally he’s pretty reluctant to do things that he isn’t familiar with. Fortunately, those more outgoing friends he knows are usually there to try and help him navigate these environments - and so far, it’s never been a disaster like he’d expected. One situation that he’s slowly becoming more comfortable with is having his jewel on his chest exposed - he’ll only take his bandana off around those he really trusts, even though there’s not really much difference in reality in either situation.

All subjects, especially science, fascinate Toka, and he can spend hours on end reading up on areas so specific that he’ll surely never have to need it in any situation. His thirst for knowledge never seems to be satisfied - there’s always one more question he has, one more thing he needs to know - and that’s something that’ll probably never change. Toka’s need to know things, and his tendency to pipe up with a ‘fun fact’ whenever the opportunity presents itself could be considered obnoxious, but Toka’s amusingly oblivious and just wants to use what he’s learned. Sometimes he’ll blank plans or cancel them to continue his research, something that he realises isn’t a great thing to do, and he plans to stop.

Physical

Toka’s fur has a pink/purple tint, but can be drawn more naturally (though this is not preferred). It’s pretty scruffy, and he’s funny about keeping it clean and soft. His blood is a glittery substance, thicker and syrupy than usual. His ears are huge and round, almost bat like, which gives him great hearing, but makes loud noises a stupidly detestable experience for him. His scleras are very dark - so much so that it’s unclear whether his eye-sockets are hollow or not - and who knows? His eyesight is pretty poor, and he’s very sensitive to bright lights, which give him headaches. This means he needs glasses, but he hates wearing them and will only do so if reading or something similar, which is often enough that it’s still the majority of the time. The jewel on his chest is a citrine - its brightness reflects his energy levels, and even his emotions if they are extreme enough. For example, the less energy he has/the more tired he is (physically, but emotional energy does play a part) the greyer the jewel will be. If he has high adrenaline levels, it will glow slightly. If he is extremely emotional, it will also glow. The citrine also affects his health. If it is cracked, chipped or damaged in any way, his physical health will reflect this and how bad the damage is, and also emotional health to an extent. If it is shattered, Toka will die. However if the gem is damaged it will regenerate over time, but this is still a very slow process. Despite this Toka is still able to get sick from outside sources even if his gem is in pristine condition.

History (opt, just for interest lol)

Toka was born in to a pack of african wild dogs - the son of the chief, the heir to the throne. This chief, named Kivuli, was the opposite of what Toka was - shy and kind of meek - while Kivuli was battle scarred, intimidating, and an exceptional leader. Kivuli was determined to raise Toka to be his successor and the ruler of the pack, however Toka wasn’t so keen on the idea, and would rather spend his time sleeping or looking at bugs, or something. He’d rather be anything but the next ruler, but the gem on his chest is a royal family trait that goes back years, so he’d be put on the spot if he tried to blend in in town. So one calm morning, Toka sneaks in to the pack spinner’s, and steals some cloth. He uses this as a bandana of sorts, and sneaks out in to the townland. At first he’s terrified - if someone caught him, he’d be sent back to his father immediately. To his surprise, Toka’s fears don’t come true. People don’t recognise him because he hasn’t shown his face before as much as he can help it, and the bandana covers where his jewel would be. This routine carries on for years. Toka makes friends, and starts to come out of his shell without the constant pressure of learning to take his place as leader.

But it doesn’t last long - Kivuli catches him. He assumed his son was going out and learning how to hunt, how to lead, how to govern all by himself, and he has trusted him, and was proud. The chief is angry, and tells him he’d not to leave their den without supervision until he learns what his real responsibilities are. Toka abides out of fear of what will happen if he doesn’t, but he’d miserable. He’s miserable that his friends got no explanation, he’s miserable that he couldn’t get a word in to defend himself, and he’s miserable that he’s forced into a role he so dearly hates. The pup’s resentment builds up, and one day he snaps, and tells his father that he doesn’t want to be the chief, how he hates it and he’s never been happier than when he didn’t have to have those responsibilities.

Needless to say, Kivuli isn’t happy. They debate and argue for weeks on end, and only when his usually passive son won’t let up does he cave. They aren’t sure what to do for the future, but that’s not what Toka’s too worried about. He loves his tribe, but he knows that he’ll never fit in to the role he was supposed to have. Leaving is what Toka knows he wants to do - but he does make sure to apologise to his friends he made first. He talks to Kivuli, who begrudgingly accepts that his son is leaving. Toka takes his leave, and move to a town miles away. He’s not used to the more urban environment, but he enjoys the fresh new start. It’s most likely where he meets Juni, and all his other friends, and freedom is something he treasures a great deal.

Relationships

wishes [ close friend ]

Wishes and Toka could be considered unlikely friends. He could probably step on her if he wanted to, and sometimes he finds himself wanting to. Though their joke-threat, banter filled relationship, Toka cares very much for Wishes even through all their bickering.