Mahikan Asiniywapow

Appearance: Mahikan Asiniywapow is a female anthropomorphic mountain lion who is 23 years old and stands at 5’8”. Her thin slightly muscular body is covered in short soft grey fur. Her arms and hand are also covered in in short soft grey fur. On her fingertips she has short sharp white claws. She has black paw pads on the inside of her hands. Her legs and feet are also covered in short soft grey fur. She has short sharp white claws on the tips of her toes. She has black paw pads on the bottom of her feet. Her face is often in a friendly but tired smile that makes her blue eyes shine. She has short black hair. Her face is also covered in short soft grey fur with a matching feline muzzle with a black feline nose on the end. On her face she has red paint like a mask around her eyes and two black lines down her chin. On top of her head she has two feline ears that are pointed. The outside of her ears are covered in short grey fur with a black tip at the top. While the inside of her ears has pink skin. Her ears have been pierced with solid black ear gauges with black feathers attached to them. She has average sized C-cup breasts covered in silky soft grey fur with sensitive black nipples. She also has a tight black vagina with a pink interior surrounded with the velvety soft grey fur around her crotch. She has a small round ass covered in downy soft grey fur with a tight black anus with a pink interior. Above her ass she has a short nub of a tail covered in grey fur with a black tip on the end. She is wearing a black t-shirt and khaki cargo pants. Over her shirt she is wearing a khaki hooded vest with breast pockets and sides lined with wool. Around her neck she has a necklace of bird skull and animal claws which she found on her journeys. Under her clothes she is wearing a white bra and matching panties. On her feet she is wearing thick white wool hiking socks and brown leather steel toed hiking boots. Personality: Mahikan Asiniywapow is a gregarious, empathetic, and endlessly curious, whose love for conversation and connection has made her well known. She is gifted with a keen, logical mind that naturally grasps numbers, calculating exchange rates, inventory values, and distances faster than most . She is deeply compassionate, particularly toward animals. Her empathy extends to people too; she has a habit of taking on others’ worries. Though she loves her independence, Mahikan often struggles with the feeling of being a guest in every world she visits too Evergreener for the Cree and too Cree for the Evergreeners. She is Vegan like an Evergreener but self-motivated and spiritual like a Cree. She is easily distracted, her curiosity tugging her toward hidden herbs and the ruins left behind from the Carbon Age. These distractions frustrate the Evergreen bureaucrats who schedule her arrival. Beneath her optimism lies a subtle restlessness, a desire to belong somewhere, and to reconcile the two halves of her soul.

Backstory: Mahikan was born in Wâspison Wâskahikan meaning “Blanket House” one of Evergreen’s branches (suburbs) designed for Indigenous families raising their first children. The families in this branch had the usual services for young families alongside those that were based on their culture. Her mother, a language teacher, helped record Cree oral histories into Evergreen’s archives, while her father worked in urban ecology. They raised her surrounded by story and science, teaching her the stories of the Cree and the land that they live on that have been passed down since time immemorial alongside Evergreen environmental ethics. As a child, Mahikan was endlessly active exploring the huge parks with her parents. She was popular with her friendly and bubbly personality. She made a lot of friends that were also adventurous and they enjoyed imagining themselves as the heroes of the past. Eventually she was old enough to go to elementary school where she showed an aptitude for math and science. Her talkative personality often got her into trouble at school when she was caught talking in class or when she was looking out the window. However when she was in subjects that she was interested in she had an almost encyclopedic knowledge often learning on her own time at the library. When she is not in class she likes to write about her life in her diary. These were often accompanied with pressed flowers she finds while playing. Later when she was old enough she joined scouts her favourite part was singing and tell stories by campfires. She also liked helping her communities through volunteer work. Other times she also went to cultural days to learn about her Cree culture.Her love for animals began early. When she was ten, her family adopted a small dog that became her inseparable companion. This was not just about fostering a love of nature and animals but also showing her an example of the cycle of life. Through caring for her dog, Mahikan learned patience and empathy, as well as the grief of impermanence when her companion passed. At home, Mahikan was creative, she filled her diary with entries about her days exploring the branch. These were done alongside sketches and stories inspired by her adventures called the “Traveler’s Tales,”. As she grew up her Traveler’s Tales evolved into a hand illustrated bestiary of a fictional world with notes about their behavior and habitat. Other times she was making things like blankets, baskets and traditional clothes. She also like simulated games on her video games system these were about heroic quests and exploring unknown realms. As a teenager, Mahikan attended the local high school. Where she narrowed her interest in science to Ecology and botany. Her elective courses in woodworking, sewing, and cooking connected her to both practical skills and helped her in her future career. In class she learned about the broader politics of the Green Revolution. How many years ago when the Sol Accords which lay the base of the new constitution was being debated in the aftermath of the Green Revolution. The leaders of the Green Revolution were approached by a group of Indigenous Rights Activists and Indigenous leaders. They gave them a document with a list of proposals. These proposals were to maintain and expand the rights of indigenous peoples. The document resulted in the Orange Ribbons Agreement. Which had the government support programs to maintain indigenous languages and cultures. As well as the gradual repatriation of the last of the sacred artifacts held by the government. A reserve improvement scheme was also put into effect with substance addiction support and investment. All traditional land claims that are in the Great Nature Reserve were recognised and accepted. However, in exchange the indigenous people would be expected to live a semi-traditional life. So traditional housing and no modern industry in the Great Nature Reserve. Modern comforts were allowed to an extent but no Cars, Guns and limited intoxicating substances.This was done alongside the abolition of ‘Status Indian’. The old legal requirement to give indigenous people their rights if they had the right amount of indigenous blood. Now this was replaced by allowing the indigenous leaders to choose who counts as their one of their own. The agreement also abolished the elected chiefs replacing them with the hereditary chiefs and their chosen council. This was to stop outsiders like companies being given the green light to build or extract resources on traditional lands if they have enough Indigenous ownership. In exchange for money helping their election. However, Mahikan also attended meetings with her fellow indigenous students talking about how to build on the agreement. They wanted the government to help repatriate sacred objects from private collections. Stopping any non-indigenous person from adopting indigenous children due to historic trauma of assimilation policies. The facts that the land that the traditional villages are on land that is called the Great Nature “Reserve” harkens back to old attitudes. The people of Evergreen also forbade certain goods coming into the traditional villages like alcohol and guns as well as demanding traditional housing. There was also something to be said about Indigenous people being the leaders of conservation beyond the fence. However, the group also applauded things that the traditional villages did in this new system. Indigenous peoples provided their knowledge to the Evergreen government to support their policies. They often made their own inventions making Evergreen technology with Indigenous spirit.By the time she reached her eighteenth year, Mahikan She participated in the traditional ‘first trip to Mîkowahp’, a coming-of-age journey to her traditional village beyond the fence. This trip a common coming of age ceremony due to the perceived danger of the trip. The village is in one of the large areas that were corded off to be left to nature during the Regrowth Era now called the Great Nature Reserve. Residents outside of it in what is called The Habituated Zones are forbidden from entering, hunting or foraging without restrictive permits. The Cree and other Indigenous peoples whose traditional territories inside have some exceptions. Mîkowahp is one of these villages filled with traditional buildings and protected by a wooden palisade. These were mainly to keep the animals out. In the villages the Indigenous people live mostly in a traditional fashion but have access to modern medicine and comforts. The Indigenous people keep away from the druids who preach the new religion of Evergreen. However, they have close ties to the Retriever Corps who scavenge plastic and metal scrap from Carbon Age Ruins. The villages were not in isolation, They were connected by a trade network throughout the Green, Dark Green Zones and Habituated Zones. The villages traded herbal teas and remedies, animal products outside of the usual farm animal products and artisan goods. This was an exchange of renewable energy sources, medicines, and advanced tools and Consumers goods. The villages were not like the nature reserves of the Carbon Age; Indigenous people work in the villages or in Evergreen and its branches.The Great Nature Reserve is often divided into sectors which are divided by distance from the fence. This starts on the other side of the fence called The Habituated Zones. Then the fence is self explanatory it forms the zero mark. The first ten Kilometers is called the Druid or Green Zone. The next 25 kilometres is called the Indigenous Zone or the Dark Green Zone where most of the indigenous settlements are though there are some in the Green Zone and Beyond. These zones are generally known collectively as ‘Beyond the Fence’. The village of Mîkowahp is in the Green Zone making it an easier trip. Despite this the ceremony has the new adults be escorted by adults.Mahikan stayed in the Cree village overnight, she enjoyed her trip, the conservation projects that the Cree were entrusted to, and the songs and dances at the central fire. The craft work that she did at home were done all over in the village being an important part of life rather than recreation. Yet she struggled with the dietary restrictions, unable to eat meat she survived mostly on bread and tea.After she came home, she continued at high school. As she reached the end of high school she did her aptitude test to determine her occupation. her aptitude results marked her as someone with a sharp analytical mind and a sense of adventure pointed her to the sciences. But she believed she didn’t fit in their and wanted to see the world. So, they guided her to join the transport industry. She said goodbye to her friends and ex-partners at the graduation party. Then she traveled out to the Roots District a major junction for all the trade routes around Evergreen and the Great Nature Reserve. The district was by the fence and was occupied by other indigenous people, members of the Retriever Corps and traders.There she was given some general training: map reading and finding routes beyond the fence, basic repair of gear and physical training like route marches. This was done alongside other traders and some of the Retriever Corps. She thanked the stars that the transport’s physical training was less intense. Her mornings began with communal physical drills and route marches, while her evenings were filled with lecturesAfter completing the standard training, she was given three options of occupation: Trader, River Pilot or Pathfinder. The choice was obvious. Trading offered both freedom and connection: conversation with villagers, the satisfaction of barter, and long stretches of wilderness between each stop to clear her mind. She could visit her friends in both Mîkowahp and Evergreen and its branches. This came with another set of training: making some medicines on the trail, wildlife attack prevention, survival techniques and how to regain contact if lost. Due to her connection to the Cree and Evergreen her assignment was to the Willow Crossing–Mîkowahp route. The job of a trader is self explanatory, she brought in green technology to the villages like solar panels, modern medicines and advanced tools and consumer goods. This was in exchange for herbs, animal products outside of the usual farm animals and artisan goods. This was done on a fixed exchange rate. She carried her cargo in a almost medieval hand cart (motorized vehicles are illegal in the Great Nature Reserve) and backpack. The work was demanding. Each journey took several days. Traders were responsible for both the cargo and their personal safety. Some of the villages have become like trade waystations like Mîkowahp.Initially, Mahikan was assigned to a small caravan. But she quickly developed a reputation for wandering off. She was collecting herbs, crafting baskets out of spare fibers or sewing designs onto plane blankets. Her traveling companions found her distractions frustrating and slowed the caravan. She was eventually kicked out of that caravan and her taking the trade route alone. This is a lonely existence, but she distracts herself with the crafting of artisan goods.Despite Evergreen’s insistence on efficiency, her unconventional habits became her signature. Her delays impacted the Evergreen’s schedule making her unpopular with their bureaucrats. At the same time her handmade goods fetched higher value in the markets upsetting the fixed prices.

Friends:Kalli Ruisseau – A human retriever and salvage artist from Willow Crossing. Kalli repairs and recycles Carbon Age artifacts into useful tools. She often trades scrap materials with Mahikan. Their friendship borders on siblinghood. They often share tea while watching the mist roll over the riverbanks.

Sîpihkosis – A beaver engineer from the Green Zone who maintains irrigation systems near the trade posts. Patient and pragmatic, he and Mahikan exchange tools and repair techniques, and he occasionally joins her on short segments of her route.

Romantic & Sexual Tendencies: During summer break in her senior year she and a fellow students went out camping for a week along the fence. There, Mahikan experienced her first taste of romantic and sexual exploration. Her open-heartedness and curiosity led her to identify as pansexual. As an adult, her solitary lifestyle made romance rare but meaningful but fleeting. She values intimacy as something tender and human, not possession but exchange another form of trade between souls.

Motivations: Mahikan is motivated by the desire to find her place between the Cree traditions of her ancestors the ideals of Evergreen. She sees her trade not as commerce but as a living exchange of culture. Her compassion for life drives her forward, as does her deep respect for the land she travels. Her greatest dream is to open a cooperative workshop combining Cree crafts with Evergreen technology.

Hobbies: Sketching and journaling — keeps detailed illustrated records of plants, animals, and encounters along her route.

Herbal crafting — brews teas, tinctures, and salves from the herbs she collects, some for trade, others for personal care.

Basket weaving and textile art — creates intricate designs mixing Cree motifs with Evergreener geometric styles.

Singing traditional Cree songs and modern folk tunes while walking.

Star mapping and navigation practice — she studies the old constellations and their Cree equivalents.

Quirks: Talks to animals as though they can respond, often thanking them for their company.

Collects pebbles, bones and feathers from each journey and labels them by location.

Keeps her diary locked in a tin box lined with pressed flowers and a strand of her childhood dog’s fur.

Writes small thank-you notes or sketches and leaves them hidden at waystations, a practice she calls “breadcrumbs for the kind.”