11-19-2011, 10:25 AM
Character Name: Neela Garcia
Character Birthdate: 23rd August, 2007
Gender: Female
Species: Wolfdog, 50% Rough Collie, 25% Irish Setter, 25% Gray Wolf
Is your character a Luperci?: Ortus
Other 'Souls Characters: Kostya Arsov (Dropped)
How you found 'Souls?: I was poking random websites with sticks and this one bit me.
Are you joining a pack?: Ichika no Ho-en
If joining a pack, are you joining IC or OOC?: IC
Appearance:
Lupus 27in-70lb / Secui 34in-135lb / Optime 5ft 8in-180lb
All of Neela's forms share the characteristic long fur of her dominant breed, the Rough Collie. Neela has warm amber eyes and a delicate facial structure with a long, thin muzzle and fluffy ears, marred by a single small scar near her right ear. Her face, combined with her long fur which hides her muscles, gives her a gentle, unthreatening appearance. Neela has a dancers build, speedy and flexible but slightly underweighted compared to larger wolves. She has a little bit of extra muscle, especially on her arms, from her woodworking, and has excellent stamina, but lacks the overall muscle mass to take hits well.
Like most of her breed Neela has a thick collar of white fur around her neck and extending down her chest. This white fur colouring also extends up onto her face, where it gives way to a russet red just above her eyes and around her ears. She also had two dashes of black extending down about two inches from each ear, though this is heavily blended with the surrounding white and red. The red fur spreads down her back in a thick band, cutting through her white collar as it does so. Her tail is also russet red and is tipped with a splash of white fur. The rest of Neela's body is a mix of varying shades of brown with a splash of black here and there.
When in Lupus form Neela looks like a straight Rough Collie/Irish Setter cross, with little of her wolf heritage showing. She has the face, fur and tail of a Collie, while her Setter blood provides her with a slightly larger build than the average Collie, most noticeable in the length of her legs. In this form most of Neela's muscles are hidden by her long fur.
Neela's Secui form is where her wolf heritage begins to show. Secui form causes Neela's ears and tail to become much more wolfish and her legs and paws widen out to wolf proportions.
When she is in Secui form the dashes of black fur on Neela's face grow in size, extending down much farther and framing her eyes, the contrast of colours making her formerly warm eyes more intimidating. She also gains the typical Secui mane on her back, with said mane being mainly russet red in colour with some strands of black mixed in. Aside from the mane Neela's fur does not actually lengthen, instead it hardens and becomes more wiry. Between the texture of her fur and the increase in muscle mass Neela's Secui form shows off a lot more muscle than either of her other forms.
When shifting to her Optime form Neela's fur becomes soft again, and the dashes of black framing her eyes retreat to their previous size. Neela's Optime form is of medium height, and has a slim, graceful build accented by her long fur. Said long fur tends to stick to her body, but is most noticeable around her chest and the end of her arms. In this form her collar of white is actually complete, the red fur that makes up her stripe separates into a free flowing mane, which Neela typically ties in a ponytail with a black ribbon.
Neela does not tend to wear clothes when she is in Optime form, though she does wear several accessories that have practical or sentimental value to her, such as her hair ribbon which was a gift from her mate. The most obvious of these are her belt and arm-guard. Her belt is a thick leather belt with lots of hooks and buckles on it, along with a pair of crossed sheathes for her knives at the back of the belt. Depending on what she is doing Neela will hang various tools or other objects from this belt, often keeping a selection of woodworking tools with her when on her boat. Her arm-guard is a simple piece of leather protecting her left fore-arm, which Neela uses as a makeshift falconers glove.
Aside from her facial scars Neela has a jagged scar on her right forearm from a woodworking accident, and two matching scars across each of her wrists. All of these are hidden by the long fur on her arms when in Optime and Secui form, but can be seen when she is in Lupus form.
History:
~ 3 Months ~
The young puppy curled up miserably in the corner, huddling against the wall in a vain attempt to make herself smaller as she whimpered, a sound mixed from pain and sadness escaping her mouth.
"Shut it." The slurred voice drifted across from the other side of the sparsely decorated room as its owner was awakened by the whimpering. Instantly the puppy quieted, staring up with fearful amber eyes at the red furred female as she stood up from the chair she had been sleeping in and began stalking over to the puppy.
"Bloody brat, teach ya to wake me up." The whimpers quickly began once more, soon turning into yelps, though no noise escaped the confines of the house.
~
Neela was born in a small town just north of the American/Mexican border, the only child of a murderer and her latest victim. Neela's mother would entice men in with offers of food and sex, and then kill them as they slept. By listening to tales told by the townsfolk Neela later learned that her father had been a naïve Rough Collie, taken in by her mother's beauty and killed like the rest of her victims. Nothing different from the norm for her, until it emerged that she had become pregnant with Neela.
From the moment Neela was born her mother resented her. To her mother Neela represented the loss of her freedom to move about as she pleased, and the source of increased scrutiny that caused her "hobby" to grind to a halt.
Neela's mother, not the most kind-hearted of individuals in any context, reacted violently to this. Neela spent a large part of her childhood serving as a punching bag for all of her mother's frustration and anger.
No solace was to be found outside of the house either; Neela's mother kept Neela quiet through a mixture of threats and mental conditioning, preventing her from trying to get help. In addition the pup never quite managed to make friends easily, despite spending as much time as she could away from the house once she was old enough, her introverted nature at the time clashing with the boisterous attitude of the local children.
However all that changed one day, when Neela met somebody who would remain special to her for the rest of her life.
~ 6 Months ~
Neela padded miserably through the streets, occasionally casting a longing glance towards the large group of puppies off in the distance, playing some sort of game involving a dead squirrel. For a moment she thought about going over to join them but experience had taught her that that would not end well; children could be petty, and between her dishevelled appearance and awkward tone she wasn't welcome among the others, so she carried on walking.
The puppy was surprised when she heard a cheerful voice calling out behind her. At first she thought that it was directed at somebody else on the road, but she was alone for the most part. Turning around, a confused look on her face, she saw a dirty grey timer wolf, about a month younger than herself, scampering towards her with a friendly smile on his face. As the other wolf skidded to a stop in the mud enar her he quickly broke out into a torrent of speech.
"Hey! Who're you? Do you live here? Me an my dad just moved here, my names Julian Garcia!"
The younger male had an extremely quick style of talking, and the fast pace of his words coupled with the shock of somebody her age actually talking to her left Neela stunned for a few seconds, before she managed a shy smile.
"Umm, H-hi, I'm Neela."
~
Over the next few weeks Neela and Julian became close friends. While Julian clashed with the other children over his friendship with Neela loyalty was a strong trait in the energetic boy, and over time Neela began to make more friends.
Unfortunately while this was happening her mother picked up a certain fondness for drink and Neela's home life deteriorated just as her outside life got better. Soon the constant physical and verbal abuse egan to take its toll on Neela and not even the companionship of Julian and her other few friends could raise her spirits.
But as the sayings go, sometimes things must get worse before they get better, and Neela was certainly due a change for the better.
~9 Months~
As she lay curled up in the corner of the room, one newly shifted arm wrapped around her Knee's and the other dangling limply by her side, Neela couldn’t help but think that, despite how things seemed to have gotten better for her, nothing had really changed.
If anything her mother had gotten even more violent as Neela had grown older. However when Neela had first shifted a week ago she had become extremely violent, even for her. Neela hadn't even left the house for a week, unable to move through the pain in her arm.
Through the daze of pain that clouded her mind Neela was vaguely aware of some shouting going on at the door. Looking up her heart froze with fear at what she saw.
Her mother was standing by the open door, arguing with a brutish looking mountain of a wolf. The strangers grey pelt rippled with muscles and was crossed with a range of scars and his face was screwed up with anger as he shouted at her mother. Neela couldn’t make out what they were saying, pain and fear jumbling the words as they reached her ears into one large angry mess.
The actual fight was so sudden that Neela barely saw it. Her mother had begun to lunge backwards, her hand groping for a knife when the stranger stepped forwards and swung a club straight at her mother. The club was a heavy wooden thing, banded with strips of iron and it hit her mother straight in the face, caving in the side of her muzzle.
That was all Neela saw. As soon as the stranger stepped into the room she quickly buried her face in her knees, until she heard an oddly familiar sound filter through the confusion.
Neela never noticed the large wolf approach her, nor did she notice as the brutish figure started talking to her in a surprisingly gentle voice, never even noticed when she was lifted out of the room on strong but gentle arms. All she noticed was the bright blue eyes of Julian, as he gazed around from behind his fathers legs at his friend.
~
The town was outraged when news of Neela's treatment came to light. Suddenly the young girl had people who she had never spoken to before visiting her as she recovered in the Garcia home. The public reaction was swift and violent, and Neela's mother was driven out of the town within a week.
Slowly Neela began to recover, both from the physical scars injuries inflicted by her mother in the last few weeks, but also from the mental ones left by her childhood so far. Over the following months Julian and several other close friends she made among the local children supported her, and bit by bit, piece by piece, Neela began to build her life.
~ 16 Months ~
Neela ducked nimbly under the fist flying towards her and darted forward, sending a quick three punch volley into the muscular stomach of her opponent before rearing up with a swipe of her claws forwards his neck. Just before her claws made contact she felt his muscles contract around her arm, and suddenly she was face first on the ground with a foot planted on the small of her back.
"You're getting better, Little One"
The voice was spoken in the typical slow accent that Marcas, Julian's father, was known for; an odd mix of Mexican and American. Neela's only reaction to the words was to lift her head upwards, gifting her sparring partner and teacher with a happy, if slightly feral, grin.
~
As she grew Neela started to develop her interests and figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She developed a keen, if slightly unhealthy, obsession with learning to defend herself. While many were worried by this it wasn't a particularly surprising development, and nobody commented on it.
Around the same time Neela also developed a love for all things related to music and dancing, learning a variety of dance styles; the local mix of Mexican, Spanish and American cultures providing a lot of choices there. She also began learning to play the guitar and sing, after saving up various trade goods for several months to buy a guitar from a travelling trader.
Neela also began to develop the skills that would support her through life in a practical sense. In her case this came about as a burgeoning interest in carpentry and sailing. When Neela wasn't playing her guitar or pestering somebody to show her a dance style, she was generally found down at the local docks helping out and learning her chosen trade.
Despite her busy schedule from all this activity, there was also another change in Neela's life that was slowly developing, coming to a head on her second birthday.
~ 24 Months ~
Neela ran the plane down the thick beam of wood she was working on, her mind absorbed in the task as she smoothed the beam that would soon be put into use in her own personal project. Deeming the wood smooth enough for now Neela took a moment to catch her breath and admire the work in-front of her.
Before her stood a half finished skeleton of a boat, one of her own design cobbled together from a variety of sources. While she was receiving help from a variety of the docks workers with various tasks such as gathering materials and heavy lifting this was Neela's project, and when it was done the boat would be hers.
Neela was so caught up in her admiration of the boat that she didn't notice Julian calling her name until the timber wolf was a half-dozen metres behind her. When she did notice him her ears perked up and she turned around, happily greeting him with a hug and noticing that he was carrying a curious wrapped package as she did so.
Julian returned the hug but quickly broke away, clearly eager about whatever was in the package, which he was gesturing to wildly as he smiled at her, though he seemed to be making sure to hold it steady.
"I brought you something!" He exclaimed, gesturing towards the odd package, which caused Neela to frown in confusion.
"What for?" She asked, cocking her head. While she wasn't adverse to gifts the package looked fairly large for a random gift.
Julian's ears drooped slightly at her confusion, "Your birthday remember?" While Neela never placed much importance on her birthdays Julian did, and was fond of surprising his friends with gifts on their. With a flourish he removed the cloth from the package, presenting it to Neela proudly with a flourish, "Happy Birthday!"
The package was a thin bird cage, and inside was a beautiful looking bird, which took a break from preening its feathers to gaze curiously at Neela. Neela was breathless for a few moments as she gazed at the bird, and then threw herself at Julian, hugging the boy.
~
The bird, which turned out to be a young Peregrin Falcon and was named Grynn, quickly became a common companion with Neela, often perching either in the thick fur on her shoulders or on the customised arm-guard she had made for him.
It wasn't a big surprise to anybody in the town when Neela and Julian announced their mateship; the two had slowly been growing closer ever since they met and it was a well known fact that Julian had doted on the slightly oblivious collie for some time.
With her attention split between her dancing, her work and now Julian Neela found herself the busiest and happiest that she had ever been. While she had had a rocky start to her life, it was truly turning out to be a good one for her.
~ 28 Months ~
The full moon was shining brightly, casting a wonderful array of colours onto the glittering snow, which in turn blended into a colourful rainbow as Neela and Julian danced, their twirling and swinging movements taking them in circles around the clearing..
If was moments like this that Neela would remember most about her relationship with Julian. They had gone through many of the normal stages of a relationship and all of those moments were precious to her, but this was something special and unique to them.
Dancing was one of her passions, so was Julian. So this, wildly dancing with her love through a glittering midnight forest, was heaven. The two weren't dancing any particular style, simply moving in a freestyle dance where they spun and ducked based on instinct, and there were no rules other than that they hung onto each other, dancing the night away and just enjoying being alive.
By an unspoken agreement the two of them began to speed up, their dancing becoming faster and closer together, until eventually it reached a crescendo and the two fell down into the snow together.
i]
~
~29 Months~
[i] The Meria Lea rocked gently in the night waves, occasionally knocking against the pier with a low thud. Neela, who was lay sprawled out on the deck, ignored the sounds in devour of staring out across the darkened water, her eyes probing across the reflection of the moon on its surface.
Neela was taking the quiet of the night to reflect on her life, the tranquillity and lack of activity leaving her in a melancholy mood.
Majorly featuring on her mind was the new life, growing inside her belly. Neela was determined to be a better mother to her unborn child than her own mother had been to her, but in quiet moments like this there was always a lingering uncertainty and sense of self-doubt lingering in her mind.
Suddenly a new noise cut through the night, the steady pad of somebody climbing the ships ladder. Neela didn't react to the intrusion as a familiar scent reached her nose, though she did sit up as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her from behind, the hands coming to rest on her stomach while a nose buried itself in the fur of her neck.
Neither Neela nor Julian spoke, despite both their energetic natures the two found that they could communicate well without words. Instead Neela just raised one hand to intertwine with Julian's and sat there, the silence suddenly much more enjoyable now she had company.
~
Leon Garcia was the first and only child that Neela and Julian had together. Despite having no siblings to keep him company Leon had the full attention of both Julian and Neela as he grew up.
After this point Neela's life stabilised itself into a pattern of work and happiness. Neela finally finished work on her ship, which she named the Meria Lea and moved onto other projects while Julian joined his father working as a guard for the town. As he began to grow older Leon joined his mother as a carpenter, though he showed more of a preference for building houses than boats.
In this peaceful manner, life went on for nearly a year and a half. But things can never stay the same for ever and just as a bad life may take a turn for the better, so may a good life take a turn for the worse.
~46 Months~
30 Seconds. That was how long it took for Neela's life to fall apart.
When she looked back at what had happened, she could never even remember the argument that had torn the two apart, could never remember her last words to her beloved.
What she did remember was the unfamiliar rush of warmth as her rage over took her and she attacked. She remembered the feeling as her knife cut open his throat, and his blood spilled over her hand. The feeling of despair as she realised what she had done.
What would stick with her for the rest of her life, was the look of betrayal in his eyes.
~
As it turned out Neela, who had once taken the fact that she was more like her unknown father than her mother as a source of solace, had inherited something from her mother; her temper.
The Collie had inherited her mothers hair-trigger temper and violent rage, though her own softer nature smothered the rage slightly. This meant that her temper had never come up before now; she had never known what she was capable of when pushed until it was too late.
The two had been arguing over Julian's ambitions. He had taken well to the warriors profession and wanted to join a group of wandering mercenaries to, in his own words "Travel the world and help people."
Neela was opposed to this, and the argument quickly began to escalate as the two argued over his going. As they argued the feelings of betrayal at being forced to choose between her love and the livelihood which she depended on silently drew forth the threads for age that Neela had unconsciously buried deep within her mind.
Slowly the anger built up and enticed Neela to attack, and with a single angry slash she tore out Julian's throat, killing him.
The second after she had done it Neela was devastated, her rage quickly receding at the sight of her mate's blood on her hands, but by then it was too late, Julian was dead.
Devastated, Neela fled the town.
~46 Months~
Neela crouched on the ground, one foot on her attackers back. One of his arms was trapped behind his back by her own, while her free hand held a knife to his throat. It would be easy to kill the male now, except for one fact.
He was her son.
There was none of her earlier rage present as she stared down at Leon, who had found his father dead and caught up with her at the docks. Not even his attempt to kill her or his constant death threats, even now spilling from between his lips, could break through the cloud of numbness that surrounded her mind.
With a whispered, "I'm sorry," Neela yanked upwards, dislocating her sons arm at the same time as she struck the back of his head with the butt of her knife. Tears running down her face she left her son stunned on the floor and fled to her ship, and the solace of the sea.
~
Devastated and confused Neela fled the town in her boat, sailing aimlessly up the American coastline. One moment of rage had destroyed her life, one moment of anger had stolen her love from her. As she travelled Neela quietly vowed to herself that she would never let herself be controlled by her rage again.
The journey was uneventful. Neela spent the majority of her time onboard the boat, fishing for food and only steering into land every few days, to sleep and gather water.
Slowly days turned into weeks which turned into months and eventually, after 4 months of travelling, Neela found herself touching down in Nova Scotia.
Personality:
In general Neela is a very energetic person. She is very animated, both in her social interactions and in her movements, having developed a wide variety of tics over the years due to her dislike of being still. She tends to be outgoing and friendly, often making jokes about anything and everything that she finds amusing, and often unintentionally offending people with these, jokes, though she isn't completely tactless. She is very confident in herself, often to the point of cockiness, and isn't afraid to say so if she feels that her skills are being questioned or challenged.
Neela also has a gentler, quieter side to her personality. She appreciates the beauty that can be found in nature, and holds a particular fascination for the full moon. Generally on the nights of the full moon Neela can be found lazing around on her boat or by a source of still water, depending on the conditions of the sea, and staring at the moons reflection. Winter is Neela's favourite time of year as she finds snow beautiful and her thick fur helps keep her warm, conversely she is not overly fond of summer as she is apt to overheat unless she sticks to the shade.
Neela holds a strong distaste for those who lord their power over others, be it the power of a high position in a pack or physical prowess, though she knows better than to voice this dislike if faced with a wolf that is her superior through common sense.
Despite her generally positive outlook on life Neela is affected by a growing sadness, especially in her more recent years. The death of her mate, at her own hands no less, and having her own son swear to kill her has affected Neela deeply and she is apt to fall into fits of depression, especially if she is alone and has nothing to do or think about. Because of this Neela has taken up carpentry more seriously recently and makes an effort to surround herself with others, in an attempt to keep her mind busy and distracted. One of the driving forces in Neela's life is her desire to help others, as though by helping everybody she comes across, she can redeem herself for her crimes.
Neela's attitude towards fighting is somewhat ironic. On one hand her mother has left her with what is almost an obsession about being able to defend herself, something that has been reinforced over time by her lack of muscles and poor ability to take hits, causing Neela to train her body and knife skills almost obsessively. However on the other hand, Neela despises fighting and will usually freeze up when presented with an actual fight, despite her decent skill. The only time Neela is able to reliably fight is when she is under the influence of adrenaline or rage.
Neela's temper is the part of herself that she fears the most. While not an angry or disagreeable person by nature, Neela has a hair-trigger temper in certain situations, such as emotionally charged arguments or fights. When Neela's temper is triggered she will fly into a rage and viciously attack the source of her anger, often not stopping until she is physically restrained or has killed whatever she is attacking.
Neela has a strong passion for anything related to rhythm; music, singing and dancing are all things that Neela enjoys deeply, though dancing is something that she has the most passion about, and singing the least. Neela learned to play the guitar at the urging of her mate, and started learning how to sing to go along with this skill. While Neela isn’t amazing at the guitar she is decent, and finds playing it relaxing. Dancing is Neela's true passion, when she dances Neela tends to let her mind wander freely, letting her body move automatically to the beat; either from actual music or an internal beat.
Being raised in a costal town Neela spent the happiest parts of her childhood around, in or on the sea. The sea has shaped a great deal of her life; she became a carpenter so that she could work on her boat, she shared her love of the sea with her first mate and when her life fell to pieces, it was to sea that she fled.
Belongings:
Woodworking Tools
Fishing Equipment
Guitar
Pair of Knives
Meria Lea, A ship made from a combination of various designs. While it shares the characteristics of various ships it could be classified as an unremarkable single masted ship, 20 feet long. The ship contains several waterproof compartments for storing equipment and a small sheltered section towards the bow of the ship which is lined with blankets and could comfortably hold a sleeping Luperci in Lupus form.
Npc:
Name: Grynn
Age: 2 years old
Gender: Female
Species: Peregrine Falcon
Appearance: Fairly typical for a Peregrine Falcon, Grynn has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head. She is one of the larger examples of her species, weighing roughly 3lb and with a 110cm wingspan. Her feathers are shiny and well groomed. Her back is slightly darker than the norm and her front slightly lighter, presenting an attractive contrast that Grynn is proud of.
Personality: Unflinchingly loyal to Neela and fierce towards any who might threaten her, Grynn considers herself a protector for the older wolfdog, especially as Neela's recent mental state has inhibited her ability to care for herself. Grynn is a very independent and intelligent bird, and it is clear that she is Neela's companion, not her pet, with Grynn generally helping Neela more than Neela manages to help her.
Grynn is very proud and vain, and will react favourably to gentle strokes and compliments about her appearance. She tends to treat strangers with a general sense of disdain, generally preferring to not interact with them unless they become close to Neela.
Character Birthdate: 23rd August, 2007
Gender: Female
Species: Wolfdog, 50% Rough Collie, 25% Irish Setter, 25% Gray Wolf
Is your character a Luperci?: Ortus
Other 'Souls Characters: Kostya Arsov (Dropped)
How you found 'Souls?: I was poking random websites with sticks and this one bit me.
Are you joining a pack?: Ichika no Ho-en
If joining a pack, are you joining IC or OOC?: IC
Appearance:
Lupus 27in-70lb / Secui 34in-135lb / Optime 5ft 8in-180lb
All of Neela's forms share the characteristic long fur of her dominant breed, the Rough Collie. Neela has warm amber eyes and a delicate facial structure with a long, thin muzzle and fluffy ears, marred by a single small scar near her right ear. Her face, combined with her long fur which hides her muscles, gives her a gentle, unthreatening appearance. Neela has a dancers build, speedy and flexible but slightly underweighted compared to larger wolves. She has a little bit of extra muscle, especially on her arms, from her woodworking, and has excellent stamina, but lacks the overall muscle mass to take hits well.
Like most of her breed Neela has a thick collar of white fur around her neck and extending down her chest. This white fur colouring also extends up onto her face, where it gives way to a russet red just above her eyes and around her ears. She also had two dashes of black extending down about two inches from each ear, though this is heavily blended with the surrounding white and red. The red fur spreads down her back in a thick band, cutting through her white collar as it does so. Her tail is also russet red and is tipped with a splash of white fur. The rest of Neela's body is a mix of varying shades of brown with a splash of black here and there.
When in Lupus form Neela looks like a straight Rough Collie/Irish Setter cross, with little of her wolf heritage showing. She has the face, fur and tail of a Collie, while her Setter blood provides her with a slightly larger build than the average Collie, most noticeable in the length of her legs. In this form most of Neela's muscles are hidden by her long fur.
Neela's Secui form is where her wolf heritage begins to show. Secui form causes Neela's ears and tail to become much more wolfish and her legs and paws widen out to wolf proportions.
When she is in Secui form the dashes of black fur on Neela's face grow in size, extending down much farther and framing her eyes, the contrast of colours making her formerly warm eyes more intimidating. She also gains the typical Secui mane on her back, with said mane being mainly russet red in colour with some strands of black mixed in. Aside from the mane Neela's fur does not actually lengthen, instead it hardens and becomes more wiry. Between the texture of her fur and the increase in muscle mass Neela's Secui form shows off a lot more muscle than either of her other forms.
When shifting to her Optime form Neela's fur becomes soft again, and the dashes of black framing her eyes retreat to their previous size. Neela's Optime form is of medium height, and has a slim, graceful build accented by her long fur. Said long fur tends to stick to her body, but is most noticeable around her chest and the end of her arms. In this form her collar of white is actually complete, the red fur that makes up her stripe separates into a free flowing mane, which Neela typically ties in a ponytail with a black ribbon.
Neela does not tend to wear clothes when she is in Optime form, though she does wear several accessories that have practical or sentimental value to her, such as her hair ribbon which was a gift from her mate. The most obvious of these are her belt and arm-guard. Her belt is a thick leather belt with lots of hooks and buckles on it, along with a pair of crossed sheathes for her knives at the back of the belt. Depending on what she is doing Neela will hang various tools or other objects from this belt, often keeping a selection of woodworking tools with her when on her boat. Her arm-guard is a simple piece of leather protecting her left fore-arm, which Neela uses as a makeshift falconers glove.
Aside from her facial scars Neela has a jagged scar on her right forearm from a woodworking accident, and two matching scars across each of her wrists. All of these are hidden by the long fur on her arms when in Optime and Secui form, but can be seen when she is in Lupus form.
History:
~ 3 Months ~
The young puppy curled up miserably in the corner, huddling against the wall in a vain attempt to make herself smaller as she whimpered, a sound mixed from pain and sadness escaping her mouth.
"Shut it." The slurred voice drifted across from the other side of the sparsely decorated room as its owner was awakened by the whimpering. Instantly the puppy quieted, staring up with fearful amber eyes at the red furred female as she stood up from the chair she had been sleeping in and began stalking over to the puppy.
"Bloody brat, teach ya to wake me up." The whimpers quickly began once more, soon turning into yelps, though no noise escaped the confines of the house.
~
Neela was born in a small town just north of the American/Mexican border, the only child of a murderer and her latest victim. Neela's mother would entice men in with offers of food and sex, and then kill them as they slept. By listening to tales told by the townsfolk Neela later learned that her father had been a naïve Rough Collie, taken in by her mother's beauty and killed like the rest of her victims. Nothing different from the norm for her, until it emerged that she had become pregnant with Neela.
From the moment Neela was born her mother resented her. To her mother Neela represented the loss of her freedom to move about as she pleased, and the source of increased scrutiny that caused her "hobby" to grind to a halt.
Neela's mother, not the most kind-hearted of individuals in any context, reacted violently to this. Neela spent a large part of her childhood serving as a punching bag for all of her mother's frustration and anger.
No solace was to be found outside of the house either; Neela's mother kept Neela quiet through a mixture of threats and mental conditioning, preventing her from trying to get help. In addition the pup never quite managed to make friends easily, despite spending as much time as she could away from the house once she was old enough, her introverted nature at the time clashing with the boisterous attitude of the local children.
However all that changed one day, when Neela met somebody who would remain special to her for the rest of her life.
~ 6 Months ~
Neela padded miserably through the streets, occasionally casting a longing glance towards the large group of puppies off in the distance, playing some sort of game involving a dead squirrel. For a moment she thought about going over to join them but experience had taught her that that would not end well; children could be petty, and between her dishevelled appearance and awkward tone she wasn't welcome among the others, so she carried on walking.
The puppy was surprised when she heard a cheerful voice calling out behind her. At first she thought that it was directed at somebody else on the road, but she was alone for the most part. Turning around, a confused look on her face, she saw a dirty grey timer wolf, about a month younger than herself, scampering towards her with a friendly smile on his face. As the other wolf skidded to a stop in the mud enar her he quickly broke out into a torrent of speech.
"Hey! Who're you? Do you live here? Me an my dad just moved here, my names Julian Garcia!"
The younger male had an extremely quick style of talking, and the fast pace of his words coupled with the shock of somebody her age actually talking to her left Neela stunned for a few seconds, before she managed a shy smile.
"Umm, H-hi, I'm Neela."
~
Over the next few weeks Neela and Julian became close friends. While Julian clashed with the other children over his friendship with Neela loyalty was a strong trait in the energetic boy, and over time Neela began to make more friends.
Unfortunately while this was happening her mother picked up a certain fondness for drink and Neela's home life deteriorated just as her outside life got better. Soon the constant physical and verbal abuse egan to take its toll on Neela and not even the companionship of Julian and her other few friends could raise her spirits.
But as the sayings go, sometimes things must get worse before they get better, and Neela was certainly due a change for the better.
~9 Months~
As she lay curled up in the corner of the room, one newly shifted arm wrapped around her Knee's and the other dangling limply by her side, Neela couldn’t help but think that, despite how things seemed to have gotten better for her, nothing had really changed.
If anything her mother had gotten even more violent as Neela had grown older. However when Neela had first shifted a week ago she had become extremely violent, even for her. Neela hadn't even left the house for a week, unable to move through the pain in her arm.
Through the daze of pain that clouded her mind Neela was vaguely aware of some shouting going on at the door. Looking up her heart froze with fear at what she saw.
Her mother was standing by the open door, arguing with a brutish looking mountain of a wolf. The strangers grey pelt rippled with muscles and was crossed with a range of scars and his face was screwed up with anger as he shouted at her mother. Neela couldn’t make out what they were saying, pain and fear jumbling the words as they reached her ears into one large angry mess.
The actual fight was so sudden that Neela barely saw it. Her mother had begun to lunge backwards, her hand groping for a knife when the stranger stepped forwards and swung a club straight at her mother. The club was a heavy wooden thing, banded with strips of iron and it hit her mother straight in the face, caving in the side of her muzzle.
That was all Neela saw. As soon as the stranger stepped into the room she quickly buried her face in her knees, until she heard an oddly familiar sound filter through the confusion.
Neela never noticed the large wolf approach her, nor did she notice as the brutish figure started talking to her in a surprisingly gentle voice, never even noticed when she was lifted out of the room on strong but gentle arms. All she noticed was the bright blue eyes of Julian, as he gazed around from behind his fathers legs at his friend.
~
The town was outraged when news of Neela's treatment came to light. Suddenly the young girl had people who she had never spoken to before visiting her as she recovered in the Garcia home. The public reaction was swift and violent, and Neela's mother was driven out of the town within a week.
Slowly Neela began to recover, both from the physical scars injuries inflicted by her mother in the last few weeks, but also from the mental ones left by her childhood so far. Over the following months Julian and several other close friends she made among the local children supported her, and bit by bit, piece by piece, Neela began to build her life.
~ 16 Months ~
Neela ducked nimbly under the fist flying towards her and darted forward, sending a quick three punch volley into the muscular stomach of her opponent before rearing up with a swipe of her claws forwards his neck. Just before her claws made contact she felt his muscles contract around her arm, and suddenly she was face first on the ground with a foot planted on the small of her back.
"You're getting better, Little One"
The voice was spoken in the typical slow accent that Marcas, Julian's father, was known for; an odd mix of Mexican and American. Neela's only reaction to the words was to lift her head upwards, gifting her sparring partner and teacher with a happy, if slightly feral, grin.
~
As she grew Neela started to develop her interests and figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She developed a keen, if slightly unhealthy, obsession with learning to defend herself. While many were worried by this it wasn't a particularly surprising development, and nobody commented on it.
Around the same time Neela also developed a love for all things related to music and dancing, learning a variety of dance styles; the local mix of Mexican, Spanish and American cultures providing a lot of choices there. She also began learning to play the guitar and sing, after saving up various trade goods for several months to buy a guitar from a travelling trader.
Neela also began to develop the skills that would support her through life in a practical sense. In her case this came about as a burgeoning interest in carpentry and sailing. When Neela wasn't playing her guitar or pestering somebody to show her a dance style, she was generally found down at the local docks helping out and learning her chosen trade.
Despite her busy schedule from all this activity, there was also another change in Neela's life that was slowly developing, coming to a head on her second birthday.
~ 24 Months ~
Neela ran the plane down the thick beam of wood she was working on, her mind absorbed in the task as she smoothed the beam that would soon be put into use in her own personal project. Deeming the wood smooth enough for now Neela took a moment to catch her breath and admire the work in-front of her.
Before her stood a half finished skeleton of a boat, one of her own design cobbled together from a variety of sources. While she was receiving help from a variety of the docks workers with various tasks such as gathering materials and heavy lifting this was Neela's project, and when it was done the boat would be hers.
Neela was so caught up in her admiration of the boat that she didn't notice Julian calling her name until the timber wolf was a half-dozen metres behind her. When she did notice him her ears perked up and she turned around, happily greeting him with a hug and noticing that he was carrying a curious wrapped package as she did so.
Julian returned the hug but quickly broke away, clearly eager about whatever was in the package, which he was gesturing to wildly as he smiled at her, though he seemed to be making sure to hold it steady.
"I brought you something!" He exclaimed, gesturing towards the odd package, which caused Neela to frown in confusion.
"What for?" She asked, cocking her head. While she wasn't adverse to gifts the package looked fairly large for a random gift.
Julian's ears drooped slightly at her confusion, "Your birthday remember?" While Neela never placed much importance on her birthdays Julian did, and was fond of surprising his friends with gifts on their. With a flourish he removed the cloth from the package, presenting it to Neela proudly with a flourish, "Happy Birthday!"
The package was a thin bird cage, and inside was a beautiful looking bird, which took a break from preening its feathers to gaze curiously at Neela. Neela was breathless for a few moments as she gazed at the bird, and then threw herself at Julian, hugging the boy.
~
The bird, which turned out to be a young Peregrin Falcon and was named Grynn, quickly became a common companion with Neela, often perching either in the thick fur on her shoulders or on the customised arm-guard she had made for him.
It wasn't a big surprise to anybody in the town when Neela and Julian announced their mateship; the two had slowly been growing closer ever since they met and it was a well known fact that Julian had doted on the slightly oblivious collie for some time.
With her attention split between her dancing, her work and now Julian Neela found herself the busiest and happiest that she had ever been. While she had had a rocky start to her life, it was truly turning out to be a good one for her.
~ 28 Months ~
The full moon was shining brightly, casting a wonderful array of colours onto the glittering snow, which in turn blended into a colourful rainbow as Neela and Julian danced, their twirling and swinging movements taking them in circles around the clearing..
If was moments like this that Neela would remember most about her relationship with Julian. They had gone through many of the normal stages of a relationship and all of those moments were precious to her, but this was something special and unique to them.
Dancing was one of her passions, so was Julian. So this, wildly dancing with her love through a glittering midnight forest, was heaven. The two weren't dancing any particular style, simply moving in a freestyle dance where they spun and ducked based on instinct, and there were no rules other than that they hung onto each other, dancing the night away and just enjoying being alive.
By an unspoken agreement the two of them began to speed up, their dancing becoming faster and closer together, until eventually it reached a crescendo and the two fell down into the snow together.
i]
~
~29 Months~
[i] The Meria Lea rocked gently in the night waves, occasionally knocking against the pier with a low thud. Neela, who was lay sprawled out on the deck, ignored the sounds in devour of staring out across the darkened water, her eyes probing across the reflection of the moon on its surface.
Neela was taking the quiet of the night to reflect on her life, the tranquillity and lack of activity leaving her in a melancholy mood.
Majorly featuring on her mind was the new life, growing inside her belly. Neela was determined to be a better mother to her unborn child than her own mother had been to her, but in quiet moments like this there was always a lingering uncertainty and sense of self-doubt lingering in her mind.
Suddenly a new noise cut through the night, the steady pad of somebody climbing the ships ladder. Neela didn't react to the intrusion as a familiar scent reached her nose, though she did sit up as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her from behind, the hands coming to rest on her stomach while a nose buried itself in the fur of her neck.
Neither Neela nor Julian spoke, despite both their energetic natures the two found that they could communicate well without words. Instead Neela just raised one hand to intertwine with Julian's and sat there, the silence suddenly much more enjoyable now she had company.
~
Leon Garcia was the first and only child that Neela and Julian had together. Despite having no siblings to keep him company Leon had the full attention of both Julian and Neela as he grew up.
After this point Neela's life stabilised itself into a pattern of work and happiness. Neela finally finished work on her ship, which she named the Meria Lea and moved onto other projects while Julian joined his father working as a guard for the town. As he began to grow older Leon joined his mother as a carpenter, though he showed more of a preference for building houses than boats.
In this peaceful manner, life went on for nearly a year and a half. But things can never stay the same for ever and just as a bad life may take a turn for the better, so may a good life take a turn for the worse.
~46 Months~
30 Seconds. That was how long it took for Neela's life to fall apart.
When she looked back at what had happened, she could never even remember the argument that had torn the two apart, could never remember her last words to her beloved.
What she did remember was the unfamiliar rush of warmth as her rage over took her and she attacked. She remembered the feeling as her knife cut open his throat, and his blood spilled over her hand. The feeling of despair as she realised what she had done.
What would stick with her for the rest of her life, was the look of betrayal in his eyes.
~
As it turned out Neela, who had once taken the fact that she was more like her unknown father than her mother as a source of solace, had inherited something from her mother; her temper.
The Collie had inherited her mothers hair-trigger temper and violent rage, though her own softer nature smothered the rage slightly. This meant that her temper had never come up before now; she had never known what she was capable of when pushed until it was too late.
The two had been arguing over Julian's ambitions. He had taken well to the warriors profession and wanted to join a group of wandering mercenaries to, in his own words "Travel the world and help people."
Neela was opposed to this, and the argument quickly began to escalate as the two argued over his going. As they argued the feelings of betrayal at being forced to choose between her love and the livelihood which she depended on silently drew forth the threads for age that Neela had unconsciously buried deep within her mind.
Slowly the anger built up and enticed Neela to attack, and with a single angry slash she tore out Julian's throat, killing him.
The second after she had done it Neela was devastated, her rage quickly receding at the sight of her mate's blood on her hands, but by then it was too late, Julian was dead.
Devastated, Neela fled the town.
~46 Months~
Neela crouched on the ground, one foot on her attackers back. One of his arms was trapped behind his back by her own, while her free hand held a knife to his throat. It would be easy to kill the male now, except for one fact.
He was her son.
There was none of her earlier rage present as she stared down at Leon, who had found his father dead and caught up with her at the docks. Not even his attempt to kill her or his constant death threats, even now spilling from between his lips, could break through the cloud of numbness that surrounded her mind.
With a whispered, "I'm sorry," Neela yanked upwards, dislocating her sons arm at the same time as she struck the back of his head with the butt of her knife. Tears running down her face she left her son stunned on the floor and fled to her ship, and the solace of the sea.
~
Devastated and confused Neela fled the town in her boat, sailing aimlessly up the American coastline. One moment of rage had destroyed her life, one moment of anger had stolen her love from her. As she travelled Neela quietly vowed to herself that she would never let herself be controlled by her rage again.
The journey was uneventful. Neela spent the majority of her time onboard the boat, fishing for food and only steering into land every few days, to sleep and gather water.
Slowly days turned into weeks which turned into months and eventually, after 4 months of travelling, Neela found herself touching down in Nova Scotia.
Personality:
In general Neela is a very energetic person. She is very animated, both in her social interactions and in her movements, having developed a wide variety of tics over the years due to her dislike of being still. She tends to be outgoing and friendly, often making jokes about anything and everything that she finds amusing, and often unintentionally offending people with these, jokes, though she isn't completely tactless. She is very confident in herself, often to the point of cockiness, and isn't afraid to say so if she feels that her skills are being questioned or challenged.
Neela also has a gentler, quieter side to her personality. She appreciates the beauty that can be found in nature, and holds a particular fascination for the full moon. Generally on the nights of the full moon Neela can be found lazing around on her boat or by a source of still water, depending on the conditions of the sea, and staring at the moons reflection. Winter is Neela's favourite time of year as she finds snow beautiful and her thick fur helps keep her warm, conversely she is not overly fond of summer as she is apt to overheat unless she sticks to the shade.
Neela holds a strong distaste for those who lord their power over others, be it the power of a high position in a pack or physical prowess, though she knows better than to voice this dislike if faced with a wolf that is her superior through common sense.
Despite her generally positive outlook on life Neela is affected by a growing sadness, especially in her more recent years. The death of her mate, at her own hands no less, and having her own son swear to kill her has affected Neela deeply and she is apt to fall into fits of depression, especially if she is alone and has nothing to do or think about. Because of this Neela has taken up carpentry more seriously recently and makes an effort to surround herself with others, in an attempt to keep her mind busy and distracted. One of the driving forces in Neela's life is her desire to help others, as though by helping everybody she comes across, she can redeem herself for her crimes.
Neela's attitude towards fighting is somewhat ironic. On one hand her mother has left her with what is almost an obsession about being able to defend herself, something that has been reinforced over time by her lack of muscles and poor ability to take hits, causing Neela to train her body and knife skills almost obsessively. However on the other hand, Neela despises fighting and will usually freeze up when presented with an actual fight, despite her decent skill. The only time Neela is able to reliably fight is when she is under the influence of adrenaline or rage.
Neela's temper is the part of herself that she fears the most. While not an angry or disagreeable person by nature, Neela has a hair-trigger temper in certain situations, such as emotionally charged arguments or fights. When Neela's temper is triggered she will fly into a rage and viciously attack the source of her anger, often not stopping until she is physically restrained or has killed whatever she is attacking.
Neela has a strong passion for anything related to rhythm; music, singing and dancing are all things that Neela enjoys deeply, though dancing is something that she has the most passion about, and singing the least. Neela learned to play the guitar at the urging of her mate, and started learning how to sing to go along with this skill. While Neela isn’t amazing at the guitar she is decent, and finds playing it relaxing. Dancing is Neela's true passion, when she dances Neela tends to let her mind wander freely, letting her body move automatically to the beat; either from actual music or an internal beat.
Being raised in a costal town Neela spent the happiest parts of her childhood around, in or on the sea. The sea has shaped a great deal of her life; she became a carpenter so that she could work on her boat, she shared her love of the sea with her first mate and when her life fell to pieces, it was to sea that she fled.
Belongings:
Woodworking Tools
Fishing Equipment
Guitar
Pair of Knives
Meria Lea, A ship made from a combination of various designs. While it shares the characteristics of various ships it could be classified as an unremarkable single masted ship, 20 feet long. The ship contains several waterproof compartments for storing equipment and a small sheltered section towards the bow of the ship which is lined with blankets and could comfortably hold a sleeping Luperci in Lupus form.
Npc:
Name: Grynn
Age: 2 years old
Gender: Female
Species: Peregrine Falcon
Appearance: Fairly typical for a Peregrine Falcon, Grynn has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head. She is one of the larger examples of her species, weighing roughly 3lb and with a 110cm wingspan. Her feathers are shiny and well groomed. Her back is slightly darker than the norm and her front slightly lighter, presenting an attractive contrast that Grynn is proud of.
Personality: Unflinchingly loyal to Neela and fierce towards any who might threaten her, Grynn considers herself a protector for the older wolfdog, especially as Neela's recent mental state has inhibited her ability to care for herself. Grynn is a very independent and intelligent bird, and it is clear that she is Neela's companion, not her pet, with Grynn generally helping Neela more than Neela manages to help her.
Grynn is very proud and vain, and will react favourably to gentle strokes and compliments about her appearance. She tends to treat strangers with a general sense of disdain, generally preferring to not interact with them unless they become close to Neela.