Creature [Okapi] Senga

[kishmet]

Name: Senga

Gender: Female

Age: Young adult

Species: Okapi

Eye Color: Light brown

Physique & Colors: Tall and slim, still built more like a young okapi than like a mature adult. Her pelt is mahogany brown, with a white face 'mask' and black and white-striped legs.

Residence: Senga travels around Equestria with her wagon full of tradeable goods. She sleeps either in the cart when it's chilly, or under the stars when the weather's warm enough.

Occupation: Wandering tinker/trader.

Likes: Senga loves summer nights that remind her of the time she'd spent with her mother in her faraway homeland. She likes being able to sleep on the grass, rather than curling up and snoozing in the bed of her wagon. When she's passing by with her cart, onlookers can often hear her humming or singing folk songs; some are from her native land, but she loves all types of music and tends to pick up tunes from the towns and cities she visits. She's fond of colts and fillies and other young creatures, because they tend to accept her unusual appearance more easily. She has a special weakness for apple cupcakes, which she tried for the first time in Ponyville.

Dislikes: As a trader, Senga dislikes thieves. She's had at least one run-in with a pack of Diamond Dogs, which means she tends to distrust others she comes across. She doesn't precisely dislike adult ponies and other creatures, but she's shyer around them than she is with children. Above all, Senga hates the cold. She has a very thin coat, as she's native to a tropical locale, so she doesn't tolerate winter very well. When she first saw snow, it terrified her. She's adjusted more to a temperate climate now that she's lived there for a few years, but she's still skittish around snow, sleet, and other wintry weather.

Character Summary: Senga was born in a mountainous jungle region, where she lived with her mother and befriended a few wandering explorer ponies. Being a shy species by nature, none of the okapis Senga knew - including her mother - had ever ventured outside of their jungle home. However, Senga had always been outgoing by okapi standards, and wanted to see the world. She convinced a trader pony, who'd often regaled her with stories of Canterlot, Fillydelphia, Ponyville, and all the other places he'd been, to take her with him on his next trip away from the jungle.

After saying goodbye to her mother, Senga set off with nothing more than a few trinkets to remember her home by. The outside world proved to be a good fit for Senga, who met many more ponies, unicorns, pegasi, griffons, hippogriffs, and other species. At first she was too shy to do more than say hello, but soon enough she started helping the trader pony hawk his wares in town. She was so soft-spoken that the trader pony initially doubted that she'd be able to draw any customers in, but her unique appearance more than made up for it. Most ponies wanted to take at least a peek at the striped newcomer.

Senga and the trader became very close, almost like father and daughter, and she eventually inherited his wagon and goods when he retired in Fillydelphia. Now she roams through all of Equestria on her own. It's a semi-solitary life suitable for a shy okapi, but she also has the opportunity to socialize whenever she reaches the next town. Senga swaps her goods for other items, usually small hoof- or magic-crafted ones that she can use to barter whenever she stops again.

Right now, most of Senga's troubles come from missing her mother and her adoptive pony father. But she sends letters to them whenever she can, via the mail ponies, and always wears the bandanna her mother gave her to help keep her warm.

Senga pic:

[Skye]

I like her thus far. When you feel she's ready, just remove the WIP tag and she'll be reviewed for final. Just need to check with Ashi to see if Okapi will be okay, though with Zecora as a Zebra, I don't see why not!

[Skye]

Scratch that, just realized Okapi are okay! Just remove the WIP tag when you're ready, and we'll have a good look!

[kishmet]

Thanks, Skye! Edited to add pic and a little more info; possibly finished depending on mods' verdict!

[Skye]

So delightful to see such a colorful character! Approved!