Choking Hound (a.k.a. Ryo, Uncle Ryo, Uncle Hound)
Physical Description
Ryoten is a fit young man of mixed heritage (Native American from Ferventi, and Japanese from Hira's side) in good health and the prime of his life. He has a multitude of scars and marks all over his body, with the most notable being a claw mark on his right shoulder and a slice through his right eyebrow. He has wavy to slightly curly black hair kept loose and at shoulder's length in a rather messy style, due to often cutting it with a knife himself rather than visiting a barber. Most of the time, he has some stubble, and will wear black and red makeup around his eyes in forms common with the Pack of Ferventi.
Ryoten has a large claw mark scar on his right shoulder, and a small faded and blown out tattoo of a dagger on his ring finger. His tattoo is often mistaken for a cross.
He is a frequent user of Ferventi's Boon, taking on the form of a large black wolf with a radio collar.
Ryoten wears clothing much more typical of the Pack of Ferventi than most vampires- His clothing is often simple and lacks much of the typical patterning found in other vampires, and is generally in various shades of brown, black, green, or white. Following the birth of his daughter, he did begin to wear much more red, as is typical for new vampire parents. Most of his clothes are quite worn, stained, and worn in many layers due to being worn out, which he claims is much more comfortable.
Ryoten's most well known articles of clothing are his Caretaker Shawl, a signifier of his role within the pack, and a defunct radio collar from the
Laramidia National Park Organization, that shows a high degree of damage from previous attempts to remove it. Notably, he refuses to acknowledge the collar or that he cannot remove it himself, and refuses all assistance from LNPS members.
On Ryoten's left leg he often has a thigh holster for several knives and blades, often covered with his waistcloth. In it, he generally carries one large bush knife, a skinning knife, multi-tool, and general purpose blade. In areas hostile to the pack, this is occasionally replaced with a pistol holster and a dagger. Ryoten is also known to be fairly skilled with various hunting firearms, such as rifles and shotguns and will generally carry one with him while in the wilderness or alone at camp.
Mental characteristics
Ryoten was born in the
Red Maple District, Tokyo, to a single father following a series of summer romances with
Ferventi, God of Wolves. His childhood is considered normal by all accounts, growing up under his father's care alongside his older sisters. When he was 13, he changed his name in favor of
Ryou, the God of Wind, signifying his status as a devout of hers. Despite being a devout of the wind god, however, in his early to mid teens he began showing interest in the Pack of Ferventi and his heritage.
At 17, Ryoten left Japan to seek out the Pack and his father, Ferventi, arriving by plane to Washington, ROC. He began to record videos hiking along known Pack of Ferventi trails as way to keep in touch with his family back home, uploading them whenever he arrived at rest stops and traveler's posts with internet service. His vlogs began to pick up popularity rather quickly, and as he was without a job while seeking out the pack, became a focus of his and provided him with funds to continue backpacking across Laramidia in search of Ferventi. He gained a significant amount of followers in Sola, 20009, when he posted a vlog after finally having found the pack through meeting two of his half brothers,
Odii and
Amos Vulapin.
After meeting his half brothers, he was taken to meet Ferventi, and very quickly joined the pack under a smaller sect, the
Montanan Mountains Pack and rebranded his vlog to the Montana Memo shortly after. As a new member of the pack and still a minor, he was placed under the care of
Jun, the sect's head caretaker, and became her apprentice. When he was 22, he began his trials as a hunter for the pack and tamed his horse,
Haus. It is widely believed that some time in this period is when he met and subsequently began a relationship with his partner.
Ryoten's online presence skyrocketed in 20016, following one of his hunter trials, during which he was caught using
Boon of Ferventi- Wolfshape to hunt and was accidentally tranquilized, radio collared, and released by
Yellowstone Gulf National Park staff. Connections between him and the mysterious wolf 'Choking Hound' were quickly made, and Ryoten briefly became a meme when photos of him using the boon and unconscious were spread around social media. He was banned from the national park, though later unbanned following legal proceedings. Despite refusing to publically admit he is Choking Hound, he silently rebranded many of his pages to the Choking-Hound name. His online presence once again surged the next year following another incident, where by chance he stumbled upon a camp afflicted by
Dreamer's Disease and rescued a young boy,
Orion. Due to prejudice or misunderstanding depending on who is asked, he was arrested and blamed for the child's poor condition and accused of kidnapping, as Orion and his family had been missing for several weeks by the time he was found. Notably, several high-profile members of the pack and
Mą’ii, the Coyote God personally got involved in the legal proceedings to clear his name and also to assist in Ryoten taking custody of the orphaned boy to prevent him from being sent into foster care. Succeeding in doing so and after wrapping up a countersuit against the police department, Ryoten resumed travelling with the pack with his new son and once again resumed the Montana Memo after several months.
In 20019, when he was 27, his daughter
Myrena with his partner was born and he once again took a break from The Montana Memo for nearly a year while caring for his growing family.
Public information
Ryoten's public background is largely unknown, as he is quite closed off about his own history. From his posts on numerous profiles online, several things have been gathered about him, although most, if not all, have not been confirmed to be true:
- Ryoten is one of Ferventi's children, but this may be symbolic, as Ryoten has mentioned a man named Hira or Hyira, depending on how he spells it, being his father before.
- Several times, Ryoten has mentioned he was born in Japan but he 'was called something else back then'.
- He did not grow up in the pack and only joined in his late teens.
- The infamous Choking Hound, a strange wolf in the Yellowstone Gulf National Park, is all but confirmed to be him due to him frequently posting pictures of the wolf, and that his banner online is Choking Hound captured by park staff. Multiple members of the pack also often use the image as a rebuttal when teasing or taunting him.
- He has children, although how many and with who is unknown. Often in his vlogs online there are at least two young children from the pack at his side.
- He is not married, but not single. Who his partner is is unknown, as they don't like to be on camera.
- Ryoten's partner has been on his vlogs before, but he has never pointed out who they are to respect their privacy.
- Ryoten differentiates between Hira and Ferventi, calling Hira his father almost exclusively in Japanese, and Ferventi his dad or 'pops' in common.
Up until his teen years, Ryoten received an ordinary education in the Tokyo public school system. Starting in his mid teens, he began taking supplemental courses in order to graduate early at 17 in order to prepare for leaving Japan in search of Ferventi and his pack. Upon joining the pack, he received standard caretaker training, undergoing multiple emergency medicine courses, animal husbandry training, and became CPR and nurse assistant certified. As mentioned in many of his vlogs, he still continues his education, often taking online courses centered around environmentalism, maintaining native environments, and has shown great interest in multiple forestry programs. As one of the pack's caretakers, he is also trained and certified to assist in the education of the pack's children as a teaching assistant and childcare is one of his primary duties.
Ryoten is a
Caretaker in the Pack of Ferventi and the personal apprentice to Jun, his sect's head caretaker. His primary duties are centered around childcare and animal husbandry for the group, ensuring that all of the pack's children and animals are well taken care of, healthy, and trained or educated as needed. He aspires to shift focus into becoming one of the pack's hunters, spending larger amounts of his time teaching the group's children to hunt, forage, fish, and provide for the group as part of his own training.
Financially, he is supported by his vlog, The Montana Memo, making enough money through ad revenue and merchandise to live quite comfortably with his family. He has stated in several vlogs that he earns signifgantly more than his lifestyle suggests, and that he could likely live out his entire life without either him or his partner ever needing to work. His vlog also tends to be his major focus, educating outsiders to the pack's lifestyle, culture, and proper ways to maintain and protect native ecosystems in the region.
He has been banned from the Yellowstone Gulf Park multiple times, but due to being a member of Ferventi's pack, has had this appealed and lifted. In addition, he has also broken into the park by jumping fences, barriers, and sneaking in with Ferventi's boon.
His vlog is extremely popular in northern Laramidia and other areas favorable to the Pack of Ferventi, enough that he can support his family and several members of the pack financially full-time. Ryoten's popularity has grown enough that he is a recognizable figure in the pack, in a similar vein to his more famous half siblings, such as Amos. Odii, Akinra, and Haskala. Particularly in Montana, Ryoten is considered a minor celebrity due to his large following.
Ryoten was responsible for killing a multitude animals in the
Yellowstone Gulf National Park while using Ferventi's Boon to take on the form of a wolf. This caught the attention of park rangers, as his attacking method- suffocation by latching onto the throat of large prey such as elk and bison, was highly unusual for a lone wolf. He was tracked down by
Wren Beckett and
Weiss Beckett, shot with a tranquilizer rifle, and radio collared to study his odd behavior and movement.
Only afterwards was it revealed through the radio collar that he was part of the
Pack of Ferventi and later identified based on that afterward, he took to wearing a thick scarf or shawl to hide the collar. He later stated that his attacks on the animals was a test of his strength by the pack and him hunting for food. Both park staff and his pack mates often tease him for being so careless as to not only be captured by mortals, but tranquilized and collared like an ordinary animal.
It seems he doesn't know how to remove the radio collar, or is just unwilling to, and he denies still having it even when it can be clearly seen around his neck.
Ryoten is a skilled tracker, hunter, and hiker, specializing in using Ferventi's boon for all and more comfortable with that form in the day time due to its immunity to sunlight, at least in comparison to ordinary vampires. He has a great deal of knowledge concerning survival in the woods and mountains, especially alone.
Personality Characteristics
Despite being highly allergic, due to being a vampire, Ryoten greatly loves the smell of garlic and has threatened to eat it on multiple occasions 'just to see if it tastes as good as it smells'.
Ryoten also loves to film his experiences, frequently vlogging his life with the pack as he views it as something others may want to experience as well.
Ryoten has a massive ego and often regarded as someone being far too vain and concerned with his public image, especially online. He very frequently will be vlogging or filming his actions, even to his own detriment.
Social
It is not confirmed whether or not Ferventi is his biological father. Ryoten is still considered to be a demigod by many, including Ferventi himself, due to how likely it actually is that Ryoten is one of Ferventi's biological children. Due to this acceptance, he has made no efforts to actually prove he is one of Ferventi's biological son and sees no need for it, a stance shared by his father Hira and his full siblings. Many members of the pack, especially those known to be children of the wolf god, are accepting of him and consider him to be one of the family.
Ryoten is unmarried, but not single. He is in a relationship with one of his fellow members of the pack, though their identity is unknown to the public, as they do not like being filmed or the spotlight and lack of privacy that comes from fame online. Ryoten, though quite the opposite, is extremely mindful of this fact, and does not share any information about his partner without express permission from them first. The few times they have appeared on his vlog and he has noted who they are, their image has been censored and often voice artificially changed to protect their identity. He takes a similar stance with his son Orion, who only appears on the vlog when he as explicitly expressed interest in doing so.
As a father, he is incredibly patient and understanding to his children. Ryoten often spends a great deal of time assisting with their interests and helping them grow them. This has been particularly evident with Orion, the oldest, taking many trips to stargazing locations, observatories, and astronomical museums with his son.
He is a devout of Ferventi, though previously was one of Ryou, the God of Wind, to the point of having legally changing his name to reflect this. Ryoten has said himself there is no bad blood between him and Ryou or her cult, and that she was very understanding of his change in faith to follow that of his father's cult. To quote him directly: "She said there ain't no reason to be mad about it, cause she lost me to my pops of all people and knew it was probably gonna happen some day anyhow." He still frequently participates in the Festival of Wind.
To those within the pack, Ryoten is known to be quite confident, a bit of a braggart, and at times a pest. Although quite accomplished and at a young age, he will occasionally overstep his bounds with others in the group and is known to from time to time give orders above his station. For the most part, his behavior is generally tolerated on account of him being a caregiver and that his orders, when given, are almost always for the better of the group as a whole. Among the pack, he is known to be "all bark, no bite" during conflicts within the group itself, and is very quick to back down from and avoid fights and interpersonal drama altogether, though with a good deal of trash talk along the way.
To outsiders of the pack, he is known to be quite a lot more cautious, quiet, and even at times suspicious. Ryoten will not divulge anything more than he feels outsiders need to know about himself or the sect, and will quickly end conversations that attempt to pry. His "all bark, no bite" attitude with pack members does not hold true for outsiders, as he will very quickly made good on threats to those that he feels are a danger.
His online persona is quite different to that of in person. Online, Ryoten is known to be quite friendly, open, and extremely talkative, especially to his audience when vlogging or streaming.
Ryoten has several dogs that often he will post pictures of online. He has a
Reese's Ratting Dog named Baby that is in several of his more viral posts, such as a compilation of her waking him up by tugging on his hair, one of her trying to drag him out of a river while swimming, and several videos show her wrapped in his shawl while wolfriding.
Ryoten uses an uncommon mix of words, euphemisms, and jokes, mostly to due to speaking multiple languages. He will often crack jokes in Japanese that do not translate well into Common or Spanish, or use the pack's terms for things that do not make sense to outsiders. He has a midmest accent, though in Japanese, his Tokyo accent is quite evident, and will occasionally bleed through to other languages. Ryoten's voice is quite raspy and he is known to talk rather fast, drawl his words, and occasionally clip or shorten his words.
(alleged) Son (Important)
Towards Ferventi, God of Wolves
History
Ryoten is supposedly one of Ferventi's many children from one of his many affairs. Though Ryoten did not grow up among Ferventi's pack nor with any of Ferventi's more well known children for most of his life, Ryoten sought him out anyway, later becoming a fully fledged member of the pack and integrated himself into their lifestyle. Ryoten's insistence at seeking out his father himself by tracking him and the pack's movements deeply impressed the wolf god, and as such, named him one of his true children despite a lack of solid proof that biologically, he actually is.
Ferventi assisted in Ryoten adopting his son, Orion, and is thought to have played a huge role in assisting Ryoten through his few stints with the law. Most notably, when Ryoten was falsely charged with kidnapping and neglect when he rescued Orion from Dreamer's Disease, Ryoten had the help of one of the Coyote God's lawyers- thought by many to have been a direct move by Ferventi.
On all of Ferventi's holidays, Ryoten is known to travel to the main sect of the pack to spend time with his father and update him on his family, even asking for the wolf god to give his partner a blessing when they were pregnant with his daughter, Myrena. After Myrena was born, Ferventi visited Ryoten and his partner personally, to congratulate them and also give a blessing to the newborn.
Nicknames & Petnames
Ryoten almost exclusively calls Ferventi 'dad' or 'pops' quite casually, much to Ferventi's amusement. In turn, Ferventi has adopted many of Ryoten's siblings' nicknames for him, such as 'Little hound', 'Black hound', and runt.
Shared Secrets
Ferventi has done many favors for Ryoten, and secretly harbors him as one of his most favored children, due to that Ryoten embodies most of the god's aspects aside from associations with war and violence. This fact is not known to Ryoten himself, and Ferventi has told a scant few, the secret mainly being known to other gods. Shia and Mora themselves are aware of this, and have suggested that Ferventi make the demigod his heir, though Ferventi has refused, citing that Ryoten appears to enjoy a more humble life.
History
It is thought that Ryoten adopted Orion, due to their ages and what is known about Ryoten's history. Orion greatly admires and looks up to Ryo, and often is at his side or helping him in some way.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Hiking, hunting, film
History
Odii and Ryoten have met on occasion, similar in age compared to Ferventi's other sons, but are not close. They do regard one another as family, but rarely spend time together outside of yearly family gatherings or festivals in honor of their father.
Since Ryoten has brought his children into the fold of the pack, however, Odii has grown to spend more time with his half brother and often dotes on his new nephew and niece, Orion and Myrena.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Odii was one of Ryoten's many benefactors in adopting Orion.
History
Haskala and Ryoten met during one of Ferventi's annual feasts, and quickly fell in favor with one another due to their shared interests and being more tolerant of the urban world than their other siblings. They have remained close friends, and at the wolf's feasts, if they are both present they are almost certainly side by side, catching up on one another's lives. Haskala will occasionally join Ryoten's vlogs as a guest, and he has promoted her gang, the Black Coyotes, several times. Due to such a good relationship, Ryoten suggested to adjust the migration routes of his entire sect of the pack to swing into Haskala's territory during winter.
Nicknames & Petnames
A nickname Haskala has given Ryoten is 'Black Runt', due to him being one of the youngest of their group among Ferventi's children that maintain contact with one another. Ryoten is known to call her 'Sissy' as a joke.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Among the furthest removed from the main sect of Ferventi's cult, Haskala and Ryoten share a common ground on the rejection of many aspects of their family's way of life and culture. In particular, neither shares the quite common rejection of the urbanized world shared by their siblings, instead embracing it.
Shared Secrets
Haskala was one of many of Ryoten's siblings that vouched for him and assisted with him adopting his son, Orion. Haskala also is the one who contacted Ma'ii on his behalf.
History
Haus was caught, broken, and tamed by Ryoten as a test by the pack in his handling of animals. Ryoten was able to capture Haus from the back of one of the pack's wolves and lasso him, and as Haus was the lead stallion of his herd, the rest of the horses followed, allowing him to pass his test. Although it took some time to build enough trust with him to be ridden, Haus is now Ryoten's main travel companion in the wilderness, particularly in rough terrain. Haus isn't easily spooked by large animals, wolves in particular, making him a good horse for Ryoten to use while hunting or travelling with the pack.
Nicknames & Petnames
Haussie
History
Nishka, belonging to Ryoten's partner before the pair met, allows Ryoten to ride her and is just as comfortable with him as her owner. She has learned a fair amount of tricks for helping Ryoten and will often help to pull him up onto her back due to her large size or pick things up for him when he is riding her.
History
When Ryoten joined the pack, he was first placed under Jun's care as a new member. He quickly took interest in her day to day work and began to assist her in her duties, with time and earned respect becoming one of her apprentices. Jun oversaw Ryoten's trials to become a caretaker himself, and on his success in passing them, was one of the hosts celebrating his newfound role. The two remain close, splitting many of their duties together, and regard each other as family.
Jun was present for and assisted in the birth of Ryoten's daughter, and was actually named Myrena's godmother by the young couple.
Nicknames & Petnames
Ryoten will often jokingly call Jun 'Auntie', and she in turn will shorten his name to just 'Ten'. Occasionally, she calls him hun or honey, a nickname she used for many of the young adults in the pack, but is used much more commonly when referring to him.
History
Selene, as leader of the Montana Mountains pack, took in Ryoten when he joined the cult at the insistence of Ferventi. Since then, she has been his superior and was responsible for putting him under the care of Jun, who assisted in his training and eventual graduation into a caretaker himself. She oversees the majority of his duties and work and also approves or denies his hunting trips as needed, as well as allowing him to record and film many aspects of their group's day to day life.
Selene was also a primary figure in allowing Ryoten to take time off to adopt Orion and the one who had reached out for assistance from Odii, Ryoten's half brother and one of the leaders of the cult as a whole.
History
Vera was sent by Mą’ii, The Coyote God to act as Ryoten's defense lawyer after his arrest following his rescue of Orion. Ryoten was accused of child trafficking and abuse of the boy quickly and on little evidence, with local law enforcement refusing to look at evidence of an outbreak of Dreamer's Disease in the region being the cause of the child's illness and death of his parents, instead accusing Ryoten of being responsible when he found Orion and brought him to town to get him medical treatment. Vera's intervention was a favor on Ma'ii's part, due to their good relationship with Ferventi, God of Wolves, Ryoten's father.
Vera got the case dropped and also assisted in the process of Ryoten making a case to adopt Orion himself to keep him out of the foster system. Since then, the two infrequently keep in touch and Ryoten occasionally sends updates to Vera on Orion. She also has several pieces of merchandise from his vlog series, The Montana Memo, that he gave her as a thank you gift.
History
Very little is known about Ryoten and his partner's relationship or when it started. It's speculated that his partner may have joined the pack when he was in his early 20s, and they may have started dating around then. Ryoten himself has lent credence to the idea that he and his partner may have started dating before his partner was even a member of the pack, and they may have joined because of him and to continue their relationship, though he has not explicitly confirmed this. Although there is very little public information about Ryoten's partner, of what is known, they are extremely dedicated to each other and their family, and are often joked about by other members of the pack as being "sickeningly sweet" and "attached at the hip".
In 20017, Ryoten petitioned for custody of an orphaned boy, Orion, insisting that he be released to him and his partner's care rather than the foster system. Ryoten stated that his partner was supportive of this and pushed for outright adoption, as the pair were looking to start a family anyway, and Ryoten had become quite attached to the boy. In early 20019, Ryoten's partner became pregnant and they later gave birth to their daughter, Myrena.
Other members of the pack occasionally make fun of the couple, pestering the two to get married.
Nicknames & Petnames
Ryoten will not call or even refer to his partner by name when he is filming, however, many of his nicknames for them are well known: Babe, Hanii, Honey, and other typical forms of endearment.
One of Ryoten's vlogs revealed a pet name his partner has for him is '(their) Hare', a nickname the pack refuses to let him live down peacefully and will jokingly mock him for.
History
Burke and Ryoten are good friends, and frequently work together as their respective roles feed off of one another's performance. AS an aspiring hunter, Ryoten often looks to Burke for advice in completing his own trials, as Burke specialized as a hunter prior to him.
At first, the two butted heads frequently, with Burke viewing Ryoten as a cocky newcomer, and Ryoten in turn viewing Burke as an arrogant know it all. The boys would frequently get into spats and fueled their mutual dislike for each other through competitions, bets, and trying to one up each other. Over time, their rivalry quelled, and instead became a strong friendship as the two began to work together with much more intertwined responsibilities. Despite this, Ryoten is still a frequent target of pranks and friendly ribbing from Burke, that the other man fires back just as quickly in good fun.
All that said, Burke's mean streak does tend to come out once again whenever he oversleeps and has to be (quite loudly) woken up by Ryoten, and he has been known to toss him out of camp for it from time to time.
History
Ryoten initially oversaw Yosha when they were a new addition to the camp, similar to how Jun did the same with him, making sure they were adjusted before allowing them to come into their own. He believes he may have decided Yosha was fit too early, due to their personality and lack of cooperation with others, and often worries that they are an accident waiting to happen.
Despite this, they are amicable around camp, and Yosha often joins Burke in teasing him, which Ryoten mostly brushes their antics off, though will occasionally have quips of his own.
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