I do not expect to reach perfection...but I do try to at least get close enough to brush against its cheek, so that I may feel closer to the gods and to the ideal me.

Anyone recall this gal? Well one guy did, and during a talk to help me get out of my art rut he brought her up and we got to talking about Tilak. So Shen, if you're out there, thanks a lot for the help.

This is what I have of Tilak's (very basic, very unfinished) story.

Tilak, an Indian elephant, admires the strength and power of African elephants and wants to be as strong and beautiful as they are, while still being true to her family roots. To her lament, though, she was born with a rather scrawny build for her species, which made her look ugly to the eyes of would-be suitors. But rather than just give up, she decided to find a new kind of beauty, one that she could adapt to suit her unusual build and at the same time give homage to the warriors of that mysterious continent she admires so much.

Tilak looks to yoga, a long-forgotten practice among elephants,using that to build her body for speed and agility, rather than strength, as well as find a means to make her unique body even more special. Combining that with her studies of African elephant culture and fighting skills, she becomes a well-renowned combatant with a fair number of victories under her belt (as well as a few very humbling losses) against curious challengers looking to try and see what Tilak is for themselves.

But Tilak doesn't fight for the love of violence or as a means to fame. All she wants is to be able to love her allegedly "flawed" body so that perhaps, in time, she can be accepted by her own kind as one of their own, just a different one.

For the record, yes, reference was used for that pose, though it's from a different angle than the ref I used.

Hopefully this means I still got it ;_;