AppearanceRace: Kelvic (Talderian Tiger)
Gender: male
Age: 2 (11 Human Years)
Birthday: 12, Summer of 511 A.V.
Birthplace: a lonely hut in the sea of grass (Cyphrus)
Appearance: The months with long hours of hard backbreaking work during his captivity clearly show in Animal's still growing body. Thank to his tiger form he was always well build and muscular but now he is very strong for a boy his age and developed an unusual amount of muscles on his childish body that many grown man could be jealous about. Especially his arms and upper body have a lot of muscle but even his legs look very muscular too. During work and other activities that need strength his muscles bulge and ripple beneath his skin. Despite all this muscles Animal is well coordinated with a catlike grace in his movements.
The boy is about half a head bigger than most human children of the age equal to his development but at the same time his face looks younger. His shoulder length brown hair is normally worn open. The boys eyes are yellow to golden around the outside but towards the inside they got more greenish and usually sparkle with life and joy. As these are the eyes of the tiger they look a bit unusual on the boy and if light fell into them in the darkness they glowed from reflecting that light like it happens with other animals at night.
Animal's teeth look quite strong, are more pointy than normal with unusually long canines. If they are visible these might be the most obvious signs the boy was no normal human without it being too obvious.
The boy's skin has a strong tan all over his body as he never wore any clothing until he was saved. His hands are heavily callused from hard manual work and the soles of his feet are callused too from going barefoot all his life. There are many scars all over his body and some of them are quite big. Especially the three biggest and longest ones across his chest and belly look like the woulds might have killed a grown man but somehow he survived them. Most of these scars looked like bites and scratches and came in different sizes as if the boy fought a lot of animals and monsters. Other scars looked like they have been caused by severe beatings with sticks or whips.
On his right breast and left buttock Animal has big deep slave brands in form of a broken arrow. Some black powder had been rubber into the fresh brands which caused them to stay black and clearly visible.
Animal doesn't like clothing and prefers to go without. Thanks to the high immunity against the cold of his northern tiger form Animal has no need for protection against cold or bad weather unless there is a really bad snow storm for example. The boy feels the cold but it doesn't affect him like it would a normal human and he dislikes cloths more than the cold.
The only thing he usually wears is a nasty looking spiked choke collar like it's used to control dangerous animals. This collar is made out of connected chain links whose ends are not rounded but run out into spike like ends. On one end these spikes are rather short, blunt and bent to the inside. They are meant to hurt but not to injure the skin if they are pulled together and pressed into the wearers neck. On the other end the spikes are about three to four inches long, very sharp and bent toward the outside of the collar. These are meant to protect the neck against the bites of attacking animals. On one end of the spiked parts of the collar a normal chain is connected. This chain goes through an iron ring on the collars other end so it can be pulled together like a noose. On the free end of the normal chain an even bigger ring is connected that can't be pulled through the other ring. This end with the big ring hangs down the middle of the boys chest.
During his captivity and his escape some sort of locking device had been fitted to the boys choke collar which stopped it from opening to more than a narrow fit around the boy's childish neck. A special tool is needed to open this locking device or you need a blacksmith.
In his tiger form Animal is really an impressive sight. Still not fully grown he already measures more than 9 feet in head and body length and a good 3 feet of tail added to it. His shoulder height is 3 feet and 4 inches. The animal is built strong and muscular and radiates the impression of youthful power.
The big paws of these tigers make it easier for them to walk over snow and other soft surfaces and their big retractable claws and long strong teeth make then dangerous foes in a fight.
With these tigers usually living in the northern talderan forests Animal has rather long thick and soft rusty-yellow fur with whitish undersides and black stripes. Thanks to the thick fur Animal's smaller scars are not visible in his tiger form but the big ones are visible thanks to light color changes of his fur. The blackening of the boy's brands doesn't effect the fur but around these scars the fur is shorter and a little darker thanks to the damaged tissue. The brand on the boys chest is well hidden unless the tiger's underside is clearly visible but the one from the left buttock is easily visible on the tiger's left upper back haunch.
The tigers eyes look the same like those of the human form.
Without the additional locking device that forced Animal to remain in his human form the spiked choke collar is measured long enough to fit the tigers neck too. There is still a little room left for growth but after the tiger is fully grown it will be a rather tight fit. Thanks to the animal's thick fur the collar is not very visible on the tiger. The blunt inner spikes are not much more than a nuisance through the thick fur but the long sharp spikes on the outside are still a good protection against animals attacking the throat or neck.
Character ConceptThere are two main forces that drive Animal.
Being ripped away from his parents at a very young age he longs for companionship and bonding. His instincts draw him to meet other people and find somebody to connect to.
On the other hand he had been severely mistreated and used by just such people as soon as he met other humanoids besides his parents. They even tried to force him into bonding. This makes him weary of strangers and he fears he might be enslaved and mistreated again. Staying in the wilderness and alone seems to be the safest option.
After his escape Animal's first goal is to get as far away from his captors as possible and he tries to avoid other people because he fears they might bring him back there or enslave him themselves. But forced to remain in his human form by the narrowed choke collar he realized that he can't survive on his own.
Animal needs somebody to help him and the person or persons he meets surely will affect the way he decides about how to go on.
I hope I can find another active player or even better a group with somebody he can bond with. In that case Animal will soon go back to his joyful childish but rather independent personality.
He is not aware about the consequences a bonding at his young age will have for him but even if he learned about it his instincts will drive him into it sooner or later.
At his age and after his experiences Animal has no defined ethics to go with. At the moment his mind is that of a child with certain animalistic characteristics and if he's bonding this may stay that way for a long time. Having enough food, the company of a close friend and possible bondmate and enough freedom should be enough to keep him happy.
Meeting others, especially children or Kelvic, in situations similar to his own ordeals would bother him though and he would try to help in some way.
At the start Animal has only very vague ideas about money. He never used any before and has no idea about the worth of things. He may learn about it but he is nobody who would try to get rich at all cost. More likely it might be the other way around.
Likes:
Animal enjoys to be petted in animal and human form. He doesn't mind lying or sitting on the ground beside somebody to enjoy such a petting.
Unlike many humanoid children the boy likes vegetables as long as he's in human form. Especially if they are well and tasty cooked.
At first he hated the spiked choke collar his captors forced on him but during the fights against other animals and monsters he had to do for them he became aware that it was a very useful protection. Now he got used to that collar and decided to keep it. But without the locking device that forced him to remain in his human form.
The boy likes to joke or to play with peoples minds. As an example he will learn how to make rather deep purring noises in his throat and make them if he's petted. Looking already like a slave he finds it funny to act like his companions or bondmates slave and see how people react to it or if it later looks like he is acting up.
Dislikes:
Detests wearing clothing. Until he escaped he can't remember a single instance he needed any of these useless coverings but again and again he saw which troubles they caused others. After being forced to stay in his human form for so long the fact that they keep him from changing was the most abhorrent thing about them. But besides that they hinder your movements, get dirty, smelly and tend to rip all the time. In hot weather they make you sweat and in rain they get wet, cling to you and make you even more miserable than you would be without. His skin dries quickly after getting wet but cloths need a long time to do and stay heavy and soaked with water. He can't change the views of all these people but he will not wear these awful things until there is just no other way around it.
He doesn't like the smells and dirt in the cities. They insult his rather keen nose. He can adjust to it after a while but prefers to stay out of such places if possible.
Seeing other children or Kelvic mistreated bothers Animal quite a bit. He is aware that he can't help all of them but if he sees a way to help them at least a bit he tries to do so.
Character HistoryWith Animal's young age it's not surprising that his story is quite short.
As far as Animal knows his parents both lost their bondmates through violence before they met each other. His father being a big deer and his mother being a lynx they decided to go to Cyphrus and built a cabin in the loneliness of the sea of grass. There they hoped to be able to live safely and grow up their child.
It took them about three year to conceive a child. On the 12th day, Summer of 511 A.V. a little boy was born to them. Soon it became obvious that the child was to be a beautiful Talderian tiger.
For more than a year and a half the boy was very happy and grew up to be a strong healthy child. His parents taught him how to hunt and survive in the wilderness all on his own and they tried to teach him what he needed to know to survive in the civilization. Sadly all too soon these happy month ended.
Being a Kelvin child and about a year an a half the boy already developed into a well build strong and healthy child. Regularly he went out on his own to hunt in his young but already well grown tiger form. The see of grass had it's dangers even for a young tiger but his parents knew it was time for him to make his own experiences and to learn to survive on his own. Kelvin children had little time to grow up and the boy was lucky that his animal form needed about 4 year until it was considered an adult. With some luck he might live for about thirty years which was rather long for a Kelvin. For his parents it was a relieve that there shouldn't be any other humanoids for days around. On this day they would be proven wrong.
Every time the boy changed into his tiger form and went out to hunt he explored a little further away from his home. On this day the boy found a little spring with four small trees growing around it. Happily he went over to it to drink some water but never made it there. He didn't see the sling hidden on the ground before he stepped with his left front leg into the trap. With a strange sound a big branch snapped back into his normal position and the thin but strong sling cut deep enough in the tiger's front leg to draw blood and ripped it far enough into the air that it pulled the animals upper body into the air. The sudden force dislocated it's shoulder too. The boy never felt such pain before and nearly lost consciousness. For minutes he fought against the sling but only made the pain worse. For a moment the boy thought about changing his form into a human boy but he realized this would cause his full body to hang on his dislocated arm which might do even more damage to him.
At the evening a single hunter came to check his traps. He was surprised to find a young tiger in one of them. With the animal being totally limp he thought the tiger was already dead and cut him loose. Despite his pain the boy saw his chance of escape and changed into his human form to run away with his still unhurt human legs but the hunter was faster and overpowered him.
After relocating the boy's shoulder and treating the light cut the hunter bound his arms and upper body to kept him from changing back into a tiger. Using a rope as a leash around the boy's neck he marched him for days back towards his village. Back then the boy was developed like a seven or eight year old human boy and no match for the hunter.
Before they reached the hunters village they met a group of gypsies with their wagons and some cages with all sorts of wild animals and smaller monsters in it. After some haggling the hunter sold the boy to these gypsies and left.
The gypsies locked the little Kelvin into an empty cage and forced him to change into a tiger. After they knew how big the tiger was they put a spiked choke collar around the boys neck. The design of the collar allowed it to fit the boy and the tiger but by putting a special locking device on it which needed a special tool to open it they made it a tight fit around the boys neck. If he fought the collar it still pulled together and pressed the short inner spikes into his neck but he couldn't change into a tiger without killing himself. Animal still fought against this awful restraint but it only resulted in a sore neck.
Chained up with a long chain connected to the ring hanging from his collar like he was a dog the gypsies put him to work. They called him Animal to humiliate him but despite his fear and under the circumstances the boy's youthful mind thought the name was funny and didn't mind that name. That day his name became Animal and no other name was used until he couldn't remember the name his parents gave to him. It might have been something starting with 'Kem...' but after some months he wasn't even sure about that.
That night after Animal was exhausted from hours of hard manual work they branded him like all their animals with a big brand showing a broken arrow onto the right chest and left buttock. They rubbed some strange smelling black powder into the wounds and after they healed Animal found out that the powder turned the brands black and made them more visible than normal brands. For the night they just chained him to the wheel to one of the wagons.
They never even thought about giving him clothing and Animal didn't mind that at all. In the wilderness around his parents home he never wore anything before anyway and never did all his life.
The next morning at first light the leader of the gypsies brought him some simple but healthy food and it was enough to fill him up for a long day of hard work. He had to help to break down the camp and had to help to push one of the wagons that had a somewhat lame horse in front. In the evening he was again put to work around the camp. That evening he was fed again and chained to a wagon for the night.
Not used to such work Animal was beaten to keep him going or if he made something wrong.
The next two days it was about the same routine than the day before but another day later they reached a village in the early afternoon. Just as the first houses came into view Animal was locked into an empty cage and warned not to talk but to act like a wild animal.
After getting used to the idea Animal thought that it was fun and much better than doing a lot of work. Until it got dark people from the village moved along the cages and stared at all the dangerous beasts inside. Soon words made the round that there was a feral little boy in one of the cages and soon the biggest crowds gathered in front of his cage. Animal had a lot of fun and shocked the people with his made up feral sounds, jumping into the bars or clawing at the people with his hands like some sort of cat.
As it became dark the villagers moved away. A couple minutes later some of the leading gypsies came to his cage and praised him for his show. They removed the locking device on his collar through the bars and allowed him to change into his tiger form. Then they told Animal he would be fighting against two of the wolves. They warned him not to kill or to hurt the wolves too much or he would be severely punished.
They pushed the cage to some sort of arena they had built with already made fencing and to Animal it looked like the whole village was present. On the other side stood another cage with the wolves.
As soon as the cages opened Animal and the wolves jumped out. They attacked and soon it became obvious that the wolves fought to kill. Under the shouts of the villagers Animal had to defend himself without being allowed to kill himself. He never fought such a fight before but the older wolves couldn't be a real match for a young strong Talderian tiger. After a couple minutes the beaten wolves retreated and the fight was over but Animal bled from about a dozen smaller bites and scratches. Nothing too serious but very painful.
After roughly treating his wounds Animal was fed with a big chunk of raw meat. After he finished it he was forced to change back to his human form and allowed to sleep in the cage.
This set the overall pattern of Animal's existence for the next months. Outside the villages or settlements he was put to hard backbreaking work all day long. Inside the settlements he sat inside his cage as feral boy over the day and fought as tiger against wild beastss or monsters at night.
At least he was fed enough and healthy food. Being a Kelvic Animal grew quickly and probably because of his tiger half and all the hard work he became really strong and grew unexpected amounts of muscles for such a young boy.
The stronger he got the harder they made him work. As soon as they thought him strong enough he had to pull one of the smaller wagons like a beast of burden and the size of them grew with his strength. The better he got in his fights the more dangerous his foes got. After a while they even allowed fights for life against beasts of the villagers. It was no surprise Animal was severely injured a couple of times and gathered quite an amount of scars of all sizes. These added to the scars from his beatings that got more brutal too as they feared he might become dangerous for them.
The gypsies made a lot of money out of Animal but as he got bigger the leaders of them tried to force him onto bonding with them. Had they known more about Kelvic they might have succeeded but the leaders only tried to use pain and punishment to force him into bonding. Any gypsy treating him friendly and especially some child trying to help him might have caught the trust of the lonely mistreated boy but the leaders wanted the bonding for themselves to get better control of Animal. To ensure nobody else did so accidentally all other gypsies had been forbidden close contact with the boy.
(If the meeting with a possible companion/bondmate has to be inside a town the following part will be adjusted to the situation.)
It was during the last days of the summer 513 A.V. as the nightly camp was fully hit by a massive thunderstorm. Torrents of rain, gale-force winds and lightning hitting the earth again and again kept the gypsies hiding inside their wagon. Animal had been chained to the wheels of one of the cages as usual. He crawled under the cage to get at least a little cover. Suddenly the storm caught on the wagon and threw it onto it's side. It took Animal a few minutes until he realized that the side of the wagon smashed the simple lock that connected the chain to his spiked choke collar.
The boy needed no further invitation to run. He had no idea where he was but there was a wood two or three miles north of him. He ran to it because he thought it was his best chance for escape. He didn't look back and ran until he dropped from exhaustion. He climbed into a tree with a big crotch and fell asleep in it.
After he awoke Animal soon became aware that he was in trouble. Using his tiger form Animal would have survived without too many problems. He only needed one bigger animal once every five to seven days. After devouring it until the tiger was stuffed he could go on in his human form for quite some time without getting hungry again. But unable to change into his tiger form and without anything despite his spiked collar there was little chance for a successful hunt.
Moving on Animal had to rely on gathering. For a couple of days he did okay with living on bugs, maggots, some roots and fruit and a few other things he found but then the reserves of his body had been depleted.
From there he got a bit weaker every day. Two times he was able to kill a rabbit by throwing a stone and sometimes he caught some critters the same way but that was just not enough to keep him going for more than a day. All those muscles needed energy.
After about ten days Animal knew he had to find help to survive. There might be a high risk involved but as far as Animal was concerned anything was better than slowly starving to death.
For a couple of day the boy looked already for signs of humanoids after he decided to do so. Now he spotted something that might be the help he was looking for or his death. He was already very weak, barely able to stay on his feet and this might be his last and only chance.
LanguageFluent Language: Common and Feline Speak
Basic Language: Shiber
Poor Language: ---
Skills| Skill | EXP | Total | Proficiency |
| Hunting | 14 SP +10 Racial | 24 | Novice |
| Stealth | 5 SP | 5 | Novice |
| Unarmed combat | 26 SP | 26 | Competent |
| Wilderness Survival | 5 SP | 5 | Novice |
LoresLore of Nature: Predators
Lore of Nature: Prey Animals
(these had been taught to him by his parents before he was caught)
PossessionsSpiked Choke Collar (fits size from Animal's child to tiger neck)
Locking Device for Choke Collar (reduces Size to Animal's child neck)
Heirloom: none
HousingLocation: Lonely place in the see of grass
House: a simple wooden shack with one room
Ledger| Purchase | Cost | Total |
| Starting | 0 GM | 0 GM |
Thread Listlast days of Summer 513 A.V.:
Survival in Human Form19th of Fall 513 A.V.:
Caught Between The Earth And Sky ![[Issues found by Gossamer]](./images/failmark.png "[Issues found by Gossamer]")
Kemlo aka Animal 
by Kemlo on October 9th, 2013, 10:23 pm 
