Li-Yan Zhang

[Li-Yan Zhang]

Li-Yan Zhang

name: Most people know him strictly as Zhang.
gender: Male
age: 20
element: Earth
animal companion: n/a. For now.

::looking pretty good[/font]

hair color: A very easy on the eyes honey brown color of sorts.
eye color: An olive-y sort of green.
skin color: A typical slightly sunkissed white--Not too pale, not too tan.
overall appearance:
Zhang is thin, and tall, making him at times appear rather lanky. His hair has grown shaggy and long since the last time he cut it at the age of 16. It's become rather stunted in its growth since there, hovering at a length above his shoulders, with natural layers seemingly mixed in. His outfit is made of multiple layers of clothing, having originally come from the most northern peak of the Earth Kingdom before moving to Ba Sing Se with his grandparents. As the years rolled on, the layered clothes stayed quite comfortable for him.
Zhang wears a sleeveless tunic in a dark, occasionally dirty beige color which is lined in a light brown, and tied at the chest in brown leather cord. Across his chest is a leather belt, holding the dark green shoulder and sleeve attached to his left to his body. Around his mid-section he has a wide wrap of a slightly more olive green, held around his waist by a light brown sash/belt. The Earth Kingdom symbol is displayed on a hanging flap from beneath the wrap, in a mix of greens and pale yellows.
He wears loose, baggy pants from underneath the tunic and the dark green extra layers underneath, in a simple beige, slightly darker and more tan than the tunic itself. The bottom hems are tucked fine into his brown boots, which are low soled, making Earth Bending a breeze.
On each hand he wears various gauntlets, and there are also small pouches and beads here and there. His most obvious accessory however, is the long, tattered scarf that drapes around his neck and hangs behind him just past his waist. The length of the scarf allows him to wrap it around his head at times and use it much like a hood.
Quick Reference that my cousin sketched of him. In which he looks like Link from Legend of Zelda.

::what I'm thinking[/font]

likes:
- Animals
- Dry Weather
- Swords and other weapons
- Tea. Particularly tea with honey in it.
- Traveling
- Sleeping
- Music
dislikes:
- Rain
- Having to work
- Overly 'Healthy' food types
- Loud, Obnoxious people
sexuality: Bisexual
overall personality:
Zhang is a very introverted person, who almost always prefers watching and listening over opening his mouth and speaking. He's a very reserved, almost broodish sort of man, at least until you speak to him more than twice. It's only then that you learn he's got a mind for games and the occasional trick, which he often lays out with a silver tongue when he so chooses.
He's not at all the Leader-type, either, instead playing the roll of a rather fantastic follower, with a natural loyalty that would undoubtedly surprise anyone that knew his story, having grown up in an environment absent from any sort of closeness or loyalty.

::a past to remember[/font]

Growing up, "Family" wasn't really an aspect of life he experienced. He understood what it was, and what a family was supposed to be like, but that atmosphere never found its way into his home. His parents were both gone from home at nearly all times, his mother being a busy handmaiden for one of the nobles of the city they lived in, his father being a General in the military. For the majority of his life, he was left home with his grandfather, who raised him single-handed. He knew the unconditional love of another person as a child, but 'family' was more foreign to him than a child from the Fire Nation.

This never really bothered him, though. It allowed him to become very comfortable with himself, and with his privacy. Perhaps growing up 'alone' caused him to be a little too introverted later in life, but it made him who he is now.

When he was fourteen or so, he and his grandfather moved just near Republic City, to a rather peaceful town on it's outskirts. They were about two day's carriage ride from their old home, and only a day's drive in Satomobile, if you go a little too fast. His parents seemed to perfectly agree with their moving. "Maybe it will get him out of that box you've helped him build up!" Not that they'd ever tried to get him out themselves.

Life was simple in that little village. He finished school, then got to working around the village. Typically, his work consisted of loading cars and carts and helping deliver food and other goods to Republic City. He did this more and more often as he grew in age, pocketing just enough money afterwards to be able to survive without his parent's coin.

There was one time he returned from a drop off, however, where he learned that he might need that coin after all. The village he'd called home for a few years now, was burning. Apparently the leader or co-leader of some gang from Republic City game from the village--Hated the place growing up. Decided to burn it and all the innocent people in the village to the ground. Zhang's grandfather included.
When his parents learned of what happened, they quickly came, which was surprising to the bender. They tried to take their son home with them, but by now, he was fast on his road to being on his own.

Instead, they gave him plenty of Yuans, and let their boy on his way, expecting him to enjoy a simple life in Republic City.

The city had other plans for Li-Yan, however.

Only months after losing his home and moving permanently into Republic City, a group of men caught him in an alley, Zhang having just warded off a small trio of Water Benders from another gang. At first, Zhang wasn't sure why he let the group convince him to come along, but he did, working as a hitman for their gang alongside another Earth Bender girl by the name of Tai-Lau. The money was good, and the yuans his parents had given him were running thin.

However, when Tai-Lau left, he followed, the two having become rather acquainted over the years working together.