leilani is, for the most part, very happy with his life. he spends most of his time now sucking up to buddy up with the other people around him, and the rest of his time doing his best to be a good boy. even though he does spend a lot of time trying to make friends, he's rather soft-spoken and quiet! most beings would mistake his natural speaking voice for a whisper, and his whisper for no noise at all.

of course, that doesn't come without it's issues. he's rather stubborn, and often refuses help unless he's ordered to accept it, or he ends up working things out on his own, ignoring input from others on anything he's trying to work on. it's not uncommon for him to try and take on heavy workloads despite them not being suited for him for various reasons. an innocent enough example would be him saying he can handle cleaning the base, and then burning himself out within a few hours, but still refusing any kind of hand-outs from anyone else. he will get the job done.. just not as quickly as promised.

the upside to this stubborn nature is the fact he really does do his best to go over the top with everything he does, always doing his best to be the best.

he has a lot of inner anxieties and paranoia, but generally hides it with a happy attitude. it's rare to see him breaking down and indulging in his sadness, but that doesn't mean it never happens.

Early Life

He doesn't remember.

Adolescence

leilani didn't ever know of his past. he didn't have a single memory from before his teenaged life, not before waking up on a cold table. the scientists, if that's what those cruel people could be called, strapped him down, their eyes shining with delight. another success, they called him, before throwing him into a cage.

in that cage; he found hope.
three more, like him, all scared and crying.
two were still rockruffs, were still coming out of the haze of medication. the other was a lycanroc unlike him, but who looked at him with kind eyes. they remembered, they knew.

the other lycanroc, fused with a kantonian ninetales, was called kouhaku. they told leilani, and the two rockruffs, that they were all family. kouhaku was the eldest. pika, one of the rockruffs who had been fused with an alolan vulpix, was the youngest. she was also the one most afraid when the scientists came back, reaching their hands into the cage and pulling at her scruff.

the other three did not sleep that night. they were kept awake by the panicked, pained howls of their little sister.

leilani vowed, then, that he would throw himself into the fire, literally and figuratively, to keep his family safe. even if he didn't remember them, there was a strong pull in his heart that told him it was true, and they were all he had left.

so, when the scientists came back, holding a limp pika in their arms, leilani was the first at the bars offering to go next. the scientists took it as progress, as a sign he would be the best of the group. they gladly took him out, and threw him into endless training. he was forced to learn ice moves, which mainly left him choking and coughing on chunks of ice that were supposed to go to one move or another, and ended badly. that contributed to his soft voice. his throat is still sensitive.

there was no fighting involved, no getting stronger. he was a lab rat, forced to endure learning moves he shouldn't, not as the species he was originally. but he endured it all, as long as the scientists left his siblings alone. they would give him extra food, for being a good subject, but he would only hide it and give it to the rockruffs when they were alone.

the older of the two pups, masaaki, confronted him one day. he yelled, for hours, about how leilani wasn't actually protecting them. how he was just trying to save face. how he was trying to be the favorite pet of the scientists, so that they wouldn't hurt him. leilani was absolutely heartbroken. he didn't know how to tell his brother that that wasn't the case at all. instead, he became quiet.

he stopped sharing meals.
he stopped speaking to his family.
he stopped visiting their cage.

the scientists applauded him, for his loyalty.
he felt sick.

he didn't want to exist.
he just wanted to run to his family, to apologize, to be happy. but he couldn't. they'd hate him, surely.

so, he stayed to himself, waiting and praying to get out. and somehow, his prayers worked. the facility he was stuck in was raided, and an evil organization were the ones who gave him his freedom.

Adulthood

his family escaped elsewhere, at least, he hoped. the organization took him in, and sent him to a branch in sinnoh where he was greeted by the higher-ups, and despite being anxious, leilani pledged his life to them.

in a way, they gave him what he wanted most.
his family's freedom. even if it meant his own unending service, at least his family was free.

now, he works hard in the hideout, doing his best to befriend everyone, and make the higher-ups proud. all he wants is to stay safe, and make people happy with him. masaaki's speech still weighs heavy in his head, and it makes him crave praise more than anything else in the world.