Name:

Dash

Age:

3 years old

Family:

All gone; doesn't remember his real family and his human owner died

Color:

Sandy-tan with white going from his belly all the way up his sides. Has a black face-mask and white furry rump. Black horns.

Species:

Pronghorn Antelope

Mate:

None-- he's the only one of his kind for hundreds of miles and he can't interbreed with deer.

Fawns:

None

Siblings:

His twin brother was killed in a stampede

Friends:

Pretty much everyone! Dash is a very jovial fellow and believes that a stranger is simply a friend he hasn't met. Becomes very chummy with Bambi and the deer in the forest.

Personality:

Very good-natured and friendly. Even though he can't reproduce with deer, he's a big flirt and loves showing off for the pretty does.

Likes:

Speed. Ever since he learned he could run faster than any other creature in the forest, Dash lives for speed. He also loves meeting new animals and cozying up to pretty does.

Dislikes:

He hates being unable to run. But he also hates it when anyone feels sorry for his disability, or worse, has trouble deciphering what he has to say. He hates the fact that he's the only one of his kind in the whole forest; he doesn't even know what he is but he feels a kinship with the deer which is why he hangs out with them. The deer have no idea what he is either, but accept him due to his cervine-like qualities.

Voice:

None. Due to a larynx injury obtained as a fawn, Dash is a mute. He is unable to speak. He speaks with his facial expressions (and he's a very expressive fellow!), head-nods, pawing at the ground and of course, with body language.

Bio:

Dash was born a few hundred miles south of Bambi's forest. The further south one would travel from the forest, the sparser the trees got, and the mountains faded into the vast open prairie of the desert. It was at this desert/forest border where Dash's race lived. The antelope are very similar to the deer, but in the end, they are of a completely different species. Where the deer prefer the rolling mountains and coniferous forests, the antelope prefer wide open plains where they can show off their amazing speed.

Dash's mother was one of hundreds of pronghorn antelope that called the region home. It was spring, and it was time for the antelope to drop their fawns. Dash was first born and his twin brother entered the world only 15 minutes later. The wet little fawns would lay motionless all day until their mother returned to feed them by evening. This went on for 2 weeks until Dash and his brother were big enough to follow their mother out onto the plain.

The fawns were still too young and wobbly to compete with the older antelope, who flew without wings through the sagebrush at even the slightest sound. What followed was a freak accident. A fox---not more then 100 yards away from the grazing mother and slender fawns-- attacked and killed a rabbit. The rabbit squealed loudly upon its capture, sending the herd of pronghorns into a stampede. During the mad rush, Dash was knocked over by a passing pronghorn and then had his throat stepped on by his own mother in her attempt to flee. The pain in his throat and the excitement of the stampede sent Dash running in the opposite direction. His brother was crushed during the frenzy.

Dash only ran about 500 yards into the well-spaced trees before instinct kicked in. He threw himself to the ground and lay very still. He lay there for hours, shivering and wheezing. His throat was sore and swollen and he found it difficult to breathe. When he tried to bleat for his mother, he found himself mute. He continued to lay still and quiet for 3 days. By then he was too weak to even stand up. His heart leaped into his throat when a strange two-legged creature approached him and scooped him up. Scared and weak, Dash blacked out.

He awoke some time later in a warm little cabin. He had been out for a few days and the human had been feeding him milk with a tube. The human was an old hermit who lived alone deep in the woods, at least 80 or more miles from the prairie where Dash was born. The old man was also not quite sane, and would often speak loudly as though he had many visitors in his home when of course, there was no one there. Dash made this his home for years, and he became very fond of the little crazy old man, who gave the fawn his name.

Even though Dash lived in the forest with the old man for 3 years, he hardly ever met any other animals, aside from a crow who would often land on the old man's shoulder, and a raccoon who would pilfer the man's food pantry. The old man never seemed to notice or care. He appreciated the company. And he loved his little antelope to no end.

But one morning, the old man didn't get up to let Dash outside or give him a dish of tasty apple cider as was their custom every morning. In fact, the old man never woke up again. Driven by hunger and the instinct to be as far away from death as possible, Dash eventually broke the door down. He plonked away, heading north. But as the thought of being utterly alone began to set in, Dash's pace became quicker. The trees gave way to a meadow, and Dash took off. And he didn't stop. What was naturally meant as a sprint to allude predators soon became a mad race to get as far away from his old life as possible. Everything he knew was left behind that day. When he finally did slow down and come to a stop, Dash had put his home over 200 miles behind him. And he discovered a new ability that he fell in love with--Speed. He made it a routine to sprint as fast as he could around the forest, learning landmarks and eventually developing a new style of aversion. He could run through a tree-crowded forest as fast as he could an open meadow. He could duck and dodge any object in his path. He is a very poor jumper, though.

Dash soon realized he had a very handy skill. And he also realized he wasn't the only one in the forest; there was much more to this place then crows and raccoons, too! He nearly lost his legs from under himself when he saw deer for the first time. He watched them eagerly and listened on their conversations. He wished he could speak to them, but found it just as fun and creative to communicate using his facial expressions and body language. He could see that these deer were not the same thing as him, but compared to all the other creatures in the forest, they were the closest in resemblance. Eventually, he pulled up enough courage to follow one of the deer home.


Dash enjoys feeling like he belongs, and though the creatures he now shares his life with are a little different then him, he can't help but feel that the females of this race are really attractive. He smoothly flirts with every doe he meets. The does don't seem to mind (although their mates could do without him!)

WILL ADD MORE IF HE IS ACCEPTED IN THE CONTEST

Relation to Bambi:

Lives in a deer herd (not sure if it's Bambi's or Prince's brother's herd...will specify later.)

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For Hige's contest.

MODS:

The Prognhorn Antelope is a North American species. Please do not deactivate and tell me to move him to Lion King Source!