Basic information:

Name:       Kesuk

Name meaning:    water, sky

Age:  young adult, a little older than Tuktu (© Saske) and Bambi

Fur coat:     mainly silvery grey, dark brown on top of the head and running down his back, outlined by lighter brown, white socks, black rings over them (only on the front legs), tanned belly

Eye color:  blue

Species:    caribou

Gender:   bull/male

Herd:    was born in some herd in the north, is a loner for some time, then joins Taifa’s herd (©Saske)

Relations

Mother:  Corazon

Father:  Tunerk

Siblings:   none; open

Crush:  was in love with Buniq, now likes Shila

Mate:    none; open

Offspring:   none; open

Friends:      Siku (best friend) and Buniq; open

                     Elan ((c) Saske), Chenoa ((c) Hige is epic), Trasadatita ((c) JetxLucy)

Foes:     Tornuaq, Man, Indigo (© Saske), he doesn’t trust Taifa and Caius

Other information

Personality:   One of Kesuk’s most noticeable character traits is that on the outside, he is almost never serious. He loves telling jokes, either to lighten up the mood or to get on someone’s nerves. Victims of his jokes are mostly people he can’t stand.

The only situations when he is serious is when someone is really devastated (in this cases, he can actually be pretty sensitive), when it’s a life-death situation or when he is furious. And he gets upset very easily.

He is good at observing people and in 90% of talks he can tell if someone is lying to him or not just by watching them for a while, which is the main reason why he doesn’t trust Taifa.

Kesuk is a reckless bull and often doesn’t know what he gets himself into when he decides to help someone or is searching for adventure. He causes many problems because of this and suffered many injuries from facing Man, carnivores and bigger caribou. His parents rather him to be close to them, but he sneaks off when they don’t look at him.

He is used to not having food and rarely complains about being hungry.

Likes:     spring, his parents, his friends Buniq and Siku, clear nights, adventures, telling jokes and stories, getting on other animal’s nerves, freedom, not being alone, his ability to know if someone is lying or not

Dislikes:  harsh winters, thick snow, Tornuaq, being separated from his family, being imprisoned, when something doesn’t go the way he likes, being alone, Man

Voice:    Simon Baker (Patrick Jane in The Mentalist)

History:  Kesuk was born into a medium sized herd in the nord, a few months before the harsh winter began which would eventually bring Tuktu’s herd to move south.  

He had a loving mother and a strong, gentle father. For a few months, his only concern was not to lose when he and his friends began to play tag. But when fall and winter came, he learned what real need and misery were.

His parents did anything they could to find enough food for themselves and their son and to keep him out of the fights that began whenever the slightest bit of some plants was found. When night fell, they let him sleep between them to keep him warm.

But just like they were longing for food, Man was. So one day when the herd had moved too close to one of Man’s settlements, they attacked Kesuk’s herd, making it scatter in all directions. Many herd members were killed or captured. Kesuk and his parents weren’t among them, but now, only about one and a half dozen members were left.

Four calfs were among them; Kesuk, his best friend Siku, a shy cow calf named Buniq and the herd leader’s son, Tornuaq, a conceited, determined bull calf.  Whereas Kesuk made a quick friend out of Buniq, whom he hadn’t talked much until then, he continued not to like Tornuaq. He especially hated him when they both developed a crush on Buniq.

Over time, more of the herd members died because of Man or the harsh winter, until it finally came to an end. When spring arrived, there were only about a dozen. The herd was sad, but they decided they had to move on, and two cows even gave birth to new calfs. All seemed to be well for a moment.

Kesuk often sneaked off with his friends during spring and summer. Even Tornuaq joined them on their adventures. But because of this, Kesuk often tried to prove how brave he was to impress Buniq, which caused him to get in trouble a lot. Tornuaq liked this as it made Kesuk look stupid before the young cow, which he wanted for himself.

But then, fall and winter arrived once again and with them need and hunger. A series of death started when one of the little calfs was killed by wolves, more herd members died because of Man. At the end of winter, they even lurked the now small group of caribou into a trap to capture them.

In this mess, the older caribou struggled to make the young ones escape. Kesuk’s father even threw himself at one man to give his son the chance to flee. He was killed right away while Kesuk watched in horror. But he was pushed forward by his mother.

He snapped out of his trance and began to run. But then, he saw how a man tried to capture Buniq. He saved her, but hurt his leg in the process. Both young adults ran away, not looking back, just hoping that some herd members would make it as well.

But they didn’t. The only ones who had managed to flee were the two of them. Sad, they decided to stay together until they would find another herd. They couldn’t move very fast, though, because Kesuk had problems with his leg.

To their big surprise, Tornuaq found them around one week later. He told them that he had later escaped as well. When Kesuk suggested they could all three together, Tornuaq said that he would take Buniq as his mate and that there was no place for others.

As anyone could guess, Kesuk was reluctant to go away and the bulls began to fight over the cow. But it was an unfair battle. With his bad leg, Kesuk had little to no chance and Tornuaq overpowered him. When Kesuk was lying on the ground, bleeding from the injuries Tornuaq had caused him, the other bull wordlessly herded the shocked cow away and left his rival to die.

Kesuk had no idea how long he laid there, but when he was getting cold, he shakily stood up and limped to find some food and a shelter for the night. But he could barely move. His leg was worse than ever and his body ached from the fight. His silvery fur was dark from blood.

After some time, he had accepted that he would probably die from starvation or because a predator would kill him. He often though about his family during that time, grieved his father’s death and hoped his mother and Siku were still alive. He wondered if they missed him as much as he missed them. And he thought about Buniq, hoping she was alright. Of course Tornuaq wouldn’t hurt her, but…

Not even he was able to crack a joke in this situation. It was then that Saitou (© Moki Hunter) and Punuk (© Ansem555) found him. They asked him if he would like to join their herd, and since he had nowhere to go and felt this was his only chance of surviving, he accepted. He didn’t like Indigo, but then again, he told himself it wasn’t important whether he liked him or not.

He now lives in Taifa’s herd and recovers from his wounds. But he doesn’t trust the cow, which causes him to quickly join Tuktu’s side.

RTB: moves to Bambi’s forest and lives there, meets Bambi characters