Post by Tahlae Zou on May 27, 2012 10:32:48 GMT -5
Tahlae Zou
name: Tahlae
gender: Female
age: 18
element: Fire
animal companion: Sharae the Dravine- Age: 7 (young adult)
Dravines are hybrids creatures which bear characteristics of dragons, avians, and felines. Blocky heads which are rather rectangular in appearance stem from thick necks. A crest of feathers is found starting from the base of the skull and extending down the back of the neck. When alert, anxious, of otherwise perturbed the feathers will puff up and make the already thick necks of dravines look larger still. A stocky, muscular body which could be compared to a large feline's and powerful legs descend into dragon-like paws. Large wings are anchored at the shoulders, and can fold comfortably against the dravine's back when it moves on land. A long tail which dragon-like is tipped with feathers which form a paddle of sorts, for better maneuverability in flight. Dravines stand about the height of a draft horse, with a wingspan twice their length (from nose to rump).
Much of their body is either furred or feathers, though the head is protected by scales, as are the front of the forelegs and rear legs, and the top of their rump. The only feathered locations are the crest of their neck, their wings, and the end of their tail. The coloring of dravines reflects their love of warm places. A warm golden-orange base covers their bodies, with rich blue markings particular to each individual.
Dravines are not particularly graceful on land. In fact they can be downright awkward in their younger years. While they may have powerfully built bodies, they were not meant for maximum efficiency on land. In the air, however, dravines are graceful and agile, their bodies proving to be enduring in flight and easily capable of sustained flight with a light load (for the average dravine this consists of about 150 lbs).
Dravines are carnivores, and prefer fresh meat. Many will blatantly refuse to touch anything old or rotten. In regards to their behavior, dravines are exceedingly loyal to their owners and those who are close to their owners. They are peaceful creatures, however, and prefer to avoid conflict when possible. For this reason when war broke out in the world many of them went into hiding, and the species was all but forgotten. Intelligent creatures that can figure out simple problems and understand basic commands, dravines are becoming increasingly popular in their native home, the Fire Nation. Dravines were a relatively unknown species for some time, being driven into hiding in the war, and re-emerging recently. They make their homes near volcanoes and are apt hunters in open terrain, where they can drop down on prey from the skies.
::looking pretty good[/font]
hair color: Tahlae’s hair is astoundingly white, like a drift of pure, untainted snow
eye color: Tahlae’s eyes are a captivating blue, flecked with tiny sparkles of silver which catch the light and reflect it dauntingly
skin color: Pale as ivory and flawlessly smooth
overall appearance: Tahlae is a short wisp of a woman, slender and delicate looking. She stands at a mere 5’, and perhaps weighs a grand total of 105 lbs when wet. She has a slight build, with a small bust and a tiny waist, though she isn't nearly as weak as she might seem at a glance. Despite being easily compared to a porcelain doll, she carries the lean, flat muscles of someone who has trained for stamina and agility.
Her pale hair is kept long, and she hates to cut it. Much of the time she simply pulls her tresses into a ponytail, but when she feels like dressing up or for special occasions she will go for buns and pigtails. Her bangs, however, always manage to escape any form of captivation and fall across her brow, framing her shapely blue eyes and drawing attention to her sweet, almost innocent features. Her pale hair and skin are attributed to a lack of pigmentation, Tahlae has a very mild form of albinism.
She frequently wears black or red clothing of various hues, and on occasion she can be seen in colors aside from them. Most of the time Tahlae wears dresses, favoring them due to the feminine appearance. She moves gracefully, and in observing her one might see how closely she is connected to fire.
Examples:
LINK
LINK
LINK
The model of these images has given me permission to use her stock for my character. Screenshot: LINK
::what I'm thinking[/font]
likes: Sharae, fire, the sun, training, hunting, challenges
dislikes: Darkness, storms, water, crowds, boring places, being confined
sexuality: Bisexual
overall personality: One might think Tahlae is a quiet girl, one who listens and does as she's told. One might think that she was the perfect daughter, the ideal future wife, and that she wasn't really capable of trouble, not with her fair appearance and her tiny stature. One would have been guessing based solely on her looks.
Tahlae is deeply in-tune with her element. Borderline crazy in some minds. Her mind has wrapped itself around her element in such a way that she can almost hear fire. She understands it's nature intimately and at times loses herself to the consuming hunger which fire innately burns with.
This is not to say she is violent or cruel by nature. Tahlae may be extremely wary of those she does not know, but once she warms up to someone, she can prove loyal for life. She simply doesn't want to be hurt, doesn't want to be caged up and kept like a little bird with clipped wings. Her freedom and will mean the world to her, and to keep those she'd do anything.
She fears very few things, but those which she does fear terrify her. Thunder leaves her shaking and in bad storms she usually spends the duration of such storms cowering in a corner or in the protective cover of Sharae's wings. Tahlae is also afraid of the dark, something she is loathe to admit because of how very childish it seems.
::a past to remember[/font]
Luxury. Pride. Status. This is what Tahlae was born into. The Zou family was esteemed and wealthy, and when their first born child was born so very. .. Differently from what they expected it caused a great deal of fuss. Both of her parents had dark hair and dark eyes. When they realized their daughter could be considered a freak, Tahlae's parent's took measures which were perhaps a bit extreme. They loved their daughter and wanted to protect her. Their way of doing so was to shelter her, to keep her locked up in their home and way from prying eyes. She was schooled at home, she learned firebending at home. Her play dates as a child consisted of children carefully selected by her parents, and they were watched closely the entire time.
Tahlae knew form a young age, she hated confinement.
She learned quickly anything and everything she was taught, and she took to Firebending like a fish does to water. All the while, one thing was on her mind. Escape. Tahlae knew she needed to get out of the place she called home. She knew she needed to find a new way of life.
When her eleventh birthday came around, her parents decided to get her a special gift, a pet. They asked their daughter what she wanted, expecting a response of something simple, such as a fire ferret. Without missing a beat, Tahlae's eyes lit up and she told them she wanted a dravine. They tried to talk her out of it, and get her to accept something small and cute. She refused and stood her ground. After a full week of nothing but arguing on the matter, her parents gave in and took their daughter out to find one. Tahlae was taken to a local breeder, and beasts of various ages were paraded past her, none of which she wanted.
When asked why, she simply shrugged and said they were all missing something. The search for a dravine that wasn't missing whatever it was Tahlae was convinced the rest were took over a year, and it happened purely by accident.
In dire need of respite from her daily life, the young girl crept out one night, managing to get herself off the premises. It was the first time she had ever been out, on her own. It was exciting, it was wonderful, and it was frightening. She wandered for hours, leaving the city and exploring the nearby area. She was so caught up in her exploration that she didn't realize she had no idea how to get back, or where she was going.
As the sun rose, Tahlae found herself utterly lost, hungry, and terrified. Unsure what to do, the frightened child made her way into a cave.
Then, they met.
A snarling creature lunged from the darkness within the cave at her, with wings that caught the little bit of sunlight that managed to penetrate. Tahlae screamed and did the only thing a terrified Firebender could do. She used fire to protect herself, throwing out her hands and creating a wall of flame that stopped the creature in it's tracks. It bellowed and raged, but didn't come any closer, even after Tahlae's fire died out. The two just sat and stared at each other. The creature refusing to budge for reasons unknown to Tahlae, and Tahlae to frightened of being eaten to try and flee.
They sat for hours there, watching one another, until a quiet, trilling sound came from the depths of the cave. It dawned on Tahlae then what must have happened. She had stumbled on a dravine's nest, and the mother was protecting her young. The girl's eyes widened in understanding, and she could have kicked herself for not thinking of it sooner.
It was at that moment that the yearling dravine tottered up alongside its mother and peered curiously at the child who had caused such a commotion. It trilled again, and ignoring the hiss from the mother it marched right up to Tahlae and gave her a proper sniff, before making a sound which was a cross between a purr and a grumble and flopping itself onto her. Tahlae squeaked, but did nothing to prevent the animal from climbing on top of her, despite them both being close to the same size, and the dravine being heavier.
When she was found, still in the cave and still with the young dravine (though the animal had now taken to snuggling up beside her and sleeping with it's head in Tahlae's lap, the child refused to leave without her new friend. It took four men to drag her away, and even after they finally got her out of the cave and started heading home, they found a new problem presenting itself. The dravine young had followed them, and was causing a horrible ruckus. They had no choice but to let Tahlae have her way and bring it along.
After that, Tahlae was content (as much as she ever would be) to do as told and continue her daily life of boring confinement. As long as her new pet Sharae was around, she could enjoy her small world. She advanced well in firebending and her scholarly pursuits, right up until her sixteenth year of life. When she discovered what her parents had in store for her in the next few months.
She was to be married off and sent away. She was going to face a life of even more confinement than she already did.
She was not going to tolerate that.
Tahlae took Sharae and ran away, fleeing her homeland and setting out to try and make her way in the world.
