Roleplay City
Infusco => GENERAL INFORMATION => INFUSCO: Enter The Shadows => Approved Characters => Topic started by: Existentially Odd on June 05, 2006, 07:38:24 AM
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Name: Tau Napoleon Leander
Age [appearance]: Late thirties
Age [actual]: 19
Gender: Male
Species: Were-shifter (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=3893.0) (Human/Cougar)
Brother: Jedrek Leander
Appearance
Hair: Dark brown, usually shortish though he doesn't get haircuts regularly. Often looks scruffy because he 'grooms' himself with his fingers a lot - his fringe reaches slightly into his eyes and he has no qualms about observing people through this veil of hairtips. It has a natural propensity to curl, especially if not brushed after being wet. Oddly, his body isn't very hairy, though he has a dark, swirled covering of chest hair and generous spray of loosely curled hairs on his forearms and (more thickly) along his legs.
Eyes: Piercing light blue, his eyes are narrow, overshadowed by a prominent brow, giving him a look best described as brooding. His eyebrows are straight - across the bottom of the brow ridge - and quite thin, matching in darkness to his sparse eyelashes (and hair).
Nose: Straight, long and fairly broad. It has a slight scar across the bridge from where he was punched by another human teenager in a ridiculous, territorial fight over a female way out of Tau's league; the two centimetre scar often goes a noticeable red if he overexerts himself.
Mouth: He has a thin upper lip and a full, very shapely lower lip; his mouth is sensual and wide, promising many unspoken pleasures - even though it rarely smiles. He has a dimple in his chin.
Height: 187cm (6’1”)
Weight: 88kg (200lbs)
Frame: Tau is heavily muscled with shapely legs, a narrow waist and exceptionally broad shoulders. He is best described as powerful; his body is a long, lean machine with not an iota of bulk that isn't muscle or sinew.
Tattoos/Distinguishing Marks: Ragged claw marks on both his shoulder blades (from where he was gouged in a wrestle with another male cougar some years ago) and his upper back; bite marks that demonstrate serious shredding occurred (from the same cougar) on his left shoulder and towards his neck; a circle of round, puckered scars just above his right hip (where he was shot - with buckshot - by a farmer as a cub... the pellets are still in there somewhere); scratch marks along his forearms and legs (mostly from wrestling with his brother); a jagged, all-round scar encircling his right shin/calf (from where, as a cub, he stepped in a bear trap and his leg was snapped).
Usually seen wearing: Scuffed blue jeans with too-long legs, the cuffs of which have dragged in the dirt beneath his always-bare feet because he wears them slung so low on his hips. He will go without a shirt on every possible occasion but has two of them (plain T-shirts) stuffed into his little bag of supplies - one is blue, one is white; both have seen better days.
Usually seen holding: Anything nearby that is curious and has caught his attention.
Body Language
Common stance 1: Curled up and watching; right leg tucked beneath his bottom, hugging his raised left leg (bent at the knee, heel in against his ankle/shin) or simply resting his folded arms across his left knee. His chin or cheek is usually on his forearm, unless he has reason to be alert and staring (whereupon his head will be raised).
Common stance 2: Sprawled... comfortably... anywhere; along park benches - long limbs draped casually over the sides - on the grass, against buildings, in public seats, on carpet... generally shirtless and his jeans arranged so low his hips are evident and it looks as if the pants are threatening to walk off by themselves (which wouldn't bother him).
Common stance 3: When standing idly, his hands curl loosely at his sides - never tucking into a pocket or belt loop but occasionally folding across his chest - he tends to spread his feet to evenly distribute his weight, ready to spring in any direction.
Visual Habits: Tau walks very gracefully - generally he glides when he walks, or pounces from spot to spot (his movements rapid and occasionally unpredictable) - but if he's excited or agitated he has a tendency to 'bounce' along on the balls of his feet, as if he's running through sand. His toes rarely ever stop moving; one of his feet is often flicking as well.
Appearance
Fur: As with all cougars, Tau has the cream-coloured muzzle, belly and ruff, black-backed ears and quite dark reddish brown upper fur (the darkest extreme for a cougar) with tawny sides and legs.
Eyes: Tau's human genes dominate his cougar ones and he retains the clear, light blue eyes he was born with as a cub, even in cougar form (thanks mostly to his father's strong genetic influence).
Nose: Reddish pink, darker than many cougars. Has a few scars running across it, from when it was punched in human form - and the many times it has been bitten or scratched during tiffs with his brother.
Body length: 187cm
Tail length: 90cm
Weight: 88kg (200lbs)
Frame: Tau is a lithe killing machine in cougar form, very large for his species with the usual bigger front paws (than the back paws) and small, rounded ears.
Tattoos/Distinguishing Marks: Ragged claw marks on both his shoulder blades and the space between them on his back; bite marks that demonstrate serious shredding occurred on his left shoulder and across his ruff towards his neck - fur is missing in noticeable streaks; a circle of round, puckered scars just in front of his right hip; scratch marks along his fore and rear legs; a jagged, all-round scar around his right rear leg, just above the paw. His fur has never grown back from where the trap caught him (in truth, it is patchy wherever he's had serious scarring).
Always seen wearing: Nothing.
Occasionally seen holding: His bag of supplies in his mouth.
Body Language
Common stance 1: Poised, tail flicking as he observes the environment.
Common stance 2: Rolling around growling and wrestling Arik down.
Common stance 3: Sprawled out on his side, head up, watching life roll by.
Visual Habits: Flicks the tip of his tail constantly; sticks his (abused) nose in places it doesn't belong.
PersonalityTau is quite a serious person. He approaches life with open curiosity and fearlessness but has a tendency to prefer his own company or that of his children. He has some understanding of authority and the hierarchical structures inherent to the smooth running of a large city and he has the sense to respect it (especially if it means trouble for him). He is fairly easily distracted by new smells, situations and people that take his fancy, and he is wont to intrude where he isn't welcome - unable to pick up on obvious (to all but him) social cues that he need not act the responsible one and investigate everything. He doesn't talk overly much or give away his emotions with obvious facial expressions and body language but he will demonstrate his pleasure (or the lack thereof) with boisterous physical contact (hugging, wrestling, grabbing, nuzzling... even biting, if the situation warrants it).
Occupation/Job: Used to work the graveyard shift at a petrol station, became Oligarch for Shifters but is somewhat at a loss as Shifter Leader now that the Oligarchy has disbanded.
Interesting Facts / Quirks: Tau has a limited education - only remembering what he picked up while hospitalised for eight weeks as a six year old and what his mother was able to instill in him after that. He can read and write basic things... slowly... and tends to leave all the 'paperwork' communications to Arik or Nebi. His literacy skills picked up markedly with some tuition and lots of support from his fellow Oligarchs. He will purr in human form on occasion.
Hobby/Hobbies: Observing human behaviour to better blend in, playing sports involving balls (especially soccer). Interfering with his children's lives and trying not to upset Alacer too much.
Likes: Being in familiar environments, approaching new people, places and smells on his terms, having Arik do as he says, his family.
Dislikes: Overcooked meat (no blood, no eat), loud, mouthy humans, having Arik not give a flying fuck and do whatever the hell he wants, getting into fights with Arik.
Strengths: His physical fitness, endurance and cat-like reflexes.
Weaknesses/Flaws: Silver, his inquisitiveness - he's a wild animal at heart.
Personality: Gruff, honest, inquisitive. He is territorial and always curious about everything. He will check everything new and interesting out and is usually surprised and rather miffed when it leads to trouble. He tries to listen to Morgaine, because she tells him the right and the wrong way to do things to people.
Occupation/Job: Looking out for his cubs.
Interesting Facts / Quirks: Tau can leap up to five and a half metres, straight up (into a tree or onto some other surface that strikes his interest) from a sitting position. He can bound over twelve metres forward. He is unable to roar but can emit a 'scream' that is not quite as heart-stoppingly eerie as that which the female of his species can produce... but it's quite close. He purrs frequently and his claws are retractible. After eating his fill of a kill, he will bury or hide the remains and return to it later. Although technically born second, Tau had an 'older sibling' mentality because he was the biggest and had had the most experience with humans. He will mark his territory occasionally, to keep Arik humble. He is ready to find a home range of his own and succumb to the solitary urgings of his nature (away from Arik) but he loves Morgaine and is constantly drawn back to her. He also feels it's necessary to stay close to his snake shifter children.
Hobby/Hobbies: Wrestling with his children, observing humans, investigating interesting smells, marking territory.
Likes: Raw meat (preferably hot) of the deer, elk, rabbit and stray dog varieties, interesting smells, his family.
Dislikes: Bear traps, farmers, foreign male cougars, wolves (there is a natural rivalry), his son (at times).
Strength: His physical prowess. His compassion and willingness to help.
Weaknesses/Flaws: Silver, his relentless (domineering) attitude and eternal inquisitiveness.
History: Tau and his brother, Jedrek, were the final litter for their were-shifter mother, Leyna (at eight human years of life). As a result of her pairing with a human male - that she developed a brief fascination with - her cubs' shifter genes were diluted a little more than they would have been, had she chosen a cougar mate - this is evident in Tau's aberrant eye colouring and Jedrek's freckled lip (and muzzle, in cat form). The boys spent the first three years of their lives with their mother - a little longer than normal cougars would but warranted, due to their unique nature - and then spent two years wandering about together as cougars. At almost six, they entered the city as humans, a change that eventually molded Tau and ostracised Jed, who returned to the wild.
The Early Years (1-3)
The most pertinent, shaping factor in Tau's life occurred when he was around nine months old - while straying just a little too far from his mother and littermate, he jumped down off a rock onto a bear trap. Yowling in desperate pain, he caught his family's attention - they arrived to find his back right leg nearly severed and blood everywhere. His mother shifted, released him and encouraged him and Jed to shift into humans as she got him to a hospital. His leg was saved - just - and he spent his first long time (eight weeks) as a human. As an apparent six year old child, it was not unusual that he might have accidentally come off the worse for wear in a competition with a bear trap... but his jumpy nature and wide-eyed observation of the human bustlings and rapid speech occurring was not quite so easily explained... nor was the fact that his birth had never been recorded with the government. Leyna played it dumb, had both boys registered (as fraternal twins) and promised to always ensure they were correctly vaccinated (both got quite sick from the round of injections they were subjected to, but it helped them in the long run).
At this time, Tau learned to become as literate as he was ever going to; he was schooled at the hospital (they accepted his mother's story that they just weren't ready for public school yet - they were obviously socially inept - so he was taught as if he was almost intellectually impaired... though this attitude soon wore off the teacher when she saw he was actually quite bright and keen to learn). His accelerated growth seemed to aid him and he learned to read haltingly, write worse and count to one hundred in the short time he was exposed to education. He also learned a good deal more about human infrastructure, though it baffled him endlessly. After his release from hospital, Tau shifted back to cougar form and returned to roaming the wilderness with his family. Occasionally, his mother would insist they become human so that she could teach them her own version of understanding life. All went swimmingly until Jedrek had a run-in with an elk - see Jed's history (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forums/showthread.php?p=32271#post32271).
The Past(4-8)
Once the boys left their mother's care at around three years of age, they had a fabulous time roaming far and wide, getting smacked out of a lot of other cougars' territories and occasionally venturing into towns as humans looking for some fun. It was never entirely to their taste, but it certainly kept things lively.
When they encroached on one too many territories - and began to feel the same amount of boiling blood towards one another - they decided that perhaps it was time to try living as humans for a while... perhaps find some mates and have a litter or two before their shortish lives ran out. This decision augured their arrival in the city... the one place that has more intriguing smells than the forest and the potential to offer them a were-shifter mate (to avoid further diluting their genes)... or at least a hell of a lot of fun for a few years. They managed to find themselves some employment and an apartment in which to live - it came with two bedrooms containing a single bed each but the rest of their furniture was created predominantly from stolen milk crates.
Jed didn't agree with Tau's move into the sphere of the Oligarchy. They fought terribly over it and decided to go their separate ways, Jed returning to the wilderness. Tau remained in the same apartment (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=2795.0)(so that his littermate will know where to go in case he decided to visit) but he used the money he earnt as an Oligarch to upgrade his living conditions. His wardrobe was also greatly upgraded but Tau still didn't feel like he fitted in.
The Recent Past (9-12)
Time flew and before he knew it, Tau had mated with Alacer, who was a snake shifter he was kindly sharing his home with when she came to the city and approached him as her Oligarch. Alec gave birth to four of Tau's children; two were snake shifters and two were cougar shifters. There was a girl and boy in each twin pairing. Alec named her snake daughter Cascabel and her son Lyre, while Tau named his cougar daughter Nebi Leyna and his son Arik Jed. The cougars aged at an accelerated rate like their father, the snakes aged at a human rate like their mother.
Tau was a good father, sharing his time equally with all his children - though he trained his cougars better than he did the snake shifters he helped create. As toddlers, they disconcerted him, though Cascabel shared Tau's temperament and she was especially attached to him. Life wasn't easy for Alacer, who fell in love with her mate and regularly grew frustrated that he didn't return her human affections, disliking the fact that she got his body but the children got what heart he had. When she realised that she was also vying for Tau's affection with Morgaine, she decided it was time to leave. She took Cascabel and Lyre with her, though Tau has kept in touch with them as they grew.
Current (13-19)
Tau hasn't been in the city much for the past six years. He was either travelling to see Alacer, Cas and Lyre or roaming wild. Morgaine found a relationship that left no room for Tau, so he became even more invested in being a cougar. He returned to the city occasionally to see if she'd ended her relationship yet but she hadn't until fairly recently.
Tau has come back to the city to be with Morgaine. Now that his children are grown and aggravating, she's the reason he stays. He feels vaguely bad that the city's political structure was compromised and he didn't do anything about looking after the Shifters but he's not interested enough to volunteer to right its course and participate.
The latest drama in his life is being told by his son that Arik - once so gentle and easygoing - wants to become a vampire so he can live forever. Tau is horrified by the news, finding it to be an unnatural choice and offensive to the ethos of a cougar shifter. Arik has even signed up to Lovebite to lure men to him to seduce them into siring him - Tau can't understand his sexual proclivities, either, though he isn't as worried about Arik being gay as he is dead and gay.
Anything Else To Add: Although Tau has the ability to shift between his were and human forms, his time is more limited than most. He will only live around fifty-five human years, appearing to have aged to the equivalent human degree whenever he shifts form. In the final stages of his life, shifting forms will have taken such a toll on him that he will be forced to choose the form he wishes to expire in, as their mother did. She will die as a cougar.
Roleplays featuring Tau
Honey, I'm Home (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=2921.0) (Tau returns home to find Jed's marked 'his' territory)
Of Suits And Mohawks (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=3666.0) (Tau meets Morgaine)
Of Suits And Mohawks II (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=4047.0) (Tau is taken by bike to meet Ami and talk about shifters)
Curiosity (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=5648)(Alacer comes to the Chambers of the Oligarchy and meets Tau, her oligarch)
Houseguest (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=5723.0)(Tau takes Alec to his home)
Novacaine (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=5488.0)(Tau gets reacquainted with Morgaine)
Anything But Numb (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=5878.0) (Tau brings Morgaine home to watch him shift, much to Alec's distaste)
Adventures In The Urban Wilderness Part I (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=6026.0) (Morgaine takes Tau shopping for a mobile phone)
Curiosity Killed His Concentration (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=6177.0) (Two weeks on, Tau is still trying to figure out his phone so Alec helps him... with rough sex)
High Anxiety (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=6326.0) (Tau and Alacer take a trip to the Chambers and find out she's expecting two snake babies and two cat babies in four months' time)
~Two year jump~
Chaos Theory (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=6833.0) (Tau is brought to the Oligarchy's final meeting, uncertain about where to go from there)
First Moon (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=6924.0) (Tau, Nebi and Arik go to help Dominik with the werewolves' first full moon shift since the Oligarchy disbanded a few weeks beforehand)