Name: Koan

Meaning: A koan is a story, dialogue, question, or statement in the history and lore of Zen Buddhism that generally contains aspects that are inaccessible to rational understanding, yet accessible to intuition. Koan was also the name of a wandering kitsune, who would tell others that he was a Buddhist Priest. He would be invited into homes, where he would tell sermons and be treated as a proper guest

Gender: Stag

Age: Adult

Pictogram: X

How to remember it: I suppose it resembles a fox that is lying down and looking straight ahead, its tail swishing back and forth

Family: No known relatives

Mate: No one. Koan feels no need for such an attachment and only finds amusement in the concept of love and those who choose to endure it.

Official Color: #8A4117

Personality:

Koan is a clever young stag, whose intentions and nature are as multifaceted as the variety of masks that he tends to wear. While he views the forest with curiosity and the occasional contempt, there is no denying his existence in this world. He is an ever present, elusive figure, living and breathing the very stories that he experiences. If one is lucky, he may share these tales with others, most often in the form of riddles; however, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between reality and what is an exaggeration of the truth. His voice is but a whisper in the wind.

Mysterious, fascinating, and mischievous, Koan has often been regarded as the deer equivalent of a kitsune. He is very grateful for the kindness that is done to him, but at the same time, he could do just fine on his own. With the exception of the few deer that he has come to trust, he holds no true attachments, but rather remains true to his own agenda. What that is remains unknown.

Appearance:

Koan is a rather slender stag, effeminate in many ways if it weren't for his large antlers. Bleached as white as old bone, they are as elaborate as the many stories that he tends to share, far more intricate than those of any real deer. However, despite their potential weight, he carries them well and somehow manages to maintain a delicate appearance. His pelt is brown in color and quite soft the touch, accumulating in rich tufts about his heels and neck. The only markings upon it appear to be several faint white spots, remnants of a fawnhood long since past.

As if to coincide with his ambiguity, Koan will essentially wear any mask. Each mask not only carries with it a different pretense, but perhaps even a different name. He does, however, prefer the real deer and crying masks and may often be found wearing one or the other. In the occasional moment when he is without such a front, his face bears a soft complexion, his warm brown eyes seemingly squinted by what appears to be a perpetually smiling facade. Koan is, in fact, capable of a wide variety of emotions, but he rarely shares them with others.

Likes:
+ Forest magic, particularly his own
+ Rain
+ Abiogenesis

Dislikes:
- Close-minded deer
- Violence unless called for
- Unnecessary noise; he, himself, will never bellow

Location:

Koan has a tendency to wander as a whisper would, distant unless one should seek it out. He does, however, frequent the birch forest often, conversing with nature and the likes of birds.

Fanart:
By Emiva – (1)
By Scythe – (1)