Dagnabbit
Itilkala
I don't rightly know what Itilkala is. If I thought a unicorn and a bison could be the grandparents of a single critter, I'd think he is one of those. Certainly he seems to have a bump on his forehead where a unicorn might grow a horn, but it's never gotten pointy in all the years I've been his caretaker.
Most folks can't properly say this critter's name, as it was bestowed by people whose protruding tusks have an important influence on how the sounds are made. When anyone but an Orc or Bugbear tries to say it, they get the sounds just wrong enough that Dagnabbit does not hear his name.
Fortunately, he has responded well to the nickname bestowed by Mr. Bianchi during Itilkala's first winter in Purgatory Gulch!
Itilkala/Dagnabbit has proven tough to identify. He was found as a toddling infant in a herd of bison on the Longgrass Plains. Obviously he had been separated from his parents, had become desperate and anxious, and had latched onto the first mother-shaped critter about the right size which did not drive him away. He also had some lacerations on his baby face that needed careful treatment for infection, by the time an Orisnuc clan found him.
The clan brought him back to their current campsite where they had several lapir available to play wetnurse. They taught baby Itilkala in the same way that they would teach any future riding bison.
Itilkala took to the clan's gentle training well.
Mostly.
There was the problem of his occasional tantrums, especially when his healing face was bothering him.
And sometimes he would try to smash his face against one of the other animals, then push upward, like a unicorn attempting to gore.
And if he decided that he disliked a person, he was willing to put his head down and head-butt the walls of a building to get at the offender.
But he likes celery, he likes rhubarb, he does not mind winter weather, he makes high-pitched squeaky noises when he is happy like an excited puppy whining with joy, and he does not startle at sharp noises. He is a good, if odd-looking, riding bison.
When Itilkala had been with the clan for seven years, they decided his growth had slowed down enough that he was probably an adult -- or close enough to it, anyway -- and they were starting to have trouble in getting him enough food each day to ward off the grumpies. They had regular contact with Frederico Bianchi in Purgatory Gulch who could probably feed the stubble from harvested crops to Itilkala. And maybe one of the caravans he sees during the year will recognize what he is?
Physical Description
Body Features
This is a strange-looking riding bison! He does have long brown hair in the classic riding bison's "paint" pattern, mostly white and maple brown with ruddy undertones in summertime. His head is a little bumpy between his eyes and going down the center of his snout. That might come from some serious injuries he suffered during his first two months of life, or might be the start of a unicorn horn. His feet have more toes than a bison usually has. He is broader across the ribcage than a unicorn for sure, taller from breastbone to backbone than a bison of his size, and he does not have the curly side horns of a bison bull.
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Children
Current Residence
Gender
male
Eyes
dark brown
Hair
ruddy brown where it is not white, in a "paint" pattern
Height
6' 7" at shoulder
Weight
5200 lbs
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