Post by bits on Sept 5, 2020 21:25:15 GMT
jackRABBIT (jack)
loner ∙ male ∙ 56 moons ∙ pansexual
Appearance
Description sentence:
A sturdy, scarred tabby-cat with copper eyes and a missing tail tip.
☆☆☆
Gene String: Aa Bb CC DD Ll ss oY
(heterozygous agouti, black carrying chocolate, homozygous full colour, homozygous non-dilute, heterozygous short-furred, homozygous no white-spotting, no red)
Appearance:
Jackrabbit is the product of years of survival. His fur is thick, but short - interrupted by a number of scars collected throughout his life. He's strong; hard muscle made less for agility and more for the confident application of brute force. If not for the easy grin and the casual gait when in motion, one could misconstrue Jack's rugged appearance to be intimidating. Scar tissue between his shoulder blades limits his mobility, the fur no longer growing where claws and teeth made themselves known at the base of his neck, along his shoulder, and (in the case of a distinct set of claw marks) along his cheek, barely skirting the outside of his copper eye. When he moves, it is with easy and telegraphed motions, a slow saunter along the edges of a field or a confident balance along fence posts. He's on the larger side when compared to other domestic cats, and his bulk is primarily muscle (genetics were on his side from the start, with necessity doing the remaining work).
Personality
Positive Traits: • Easygoing • Practical • Charismatic | Negative Traits: • Evasive • Dim • Unimaginative |
Personality:
Jack would never tout himself to be a thinker of any sort - he's not nearly creative enough to match the clever problem-solving that saves the skin of many a loner. What he lacks in creativity, he makes up for in practicality. A lifetime of survival has taught him (often through trial and error, as his less-severe scars can attest) what works and what doesn't. He may not be a quick-thinker, but he is a man of action (if not impulse, where applicable). Jack would be the first to tell you that his continued survival is due in large part to his easygoing, adaptable nature. It's difficult to catch him off guard, though whether this is due to his adaptability or his lack of preconceived notions is impossible to determine. He's nailed down the practical skills he needs to survive - he can handle himself in a fight (though he'd rather not), and while his tracking skills don't go far, he's a decent hunter when he doesn't have to play the long game. More often, Jack is something of a scavenger - no stranger to skirting the edges of farms and twoleg nests to take advantage of leftovers and free food.
Despite being a loner, Jack is remarkably sociable. He's shared tales with loners, kittypets, and even the occasional rogue without blinking twice. Storytelling is a favourite of his, though anyone with half a thought can tell that his tales tend to be exaggerated - more of an entertainer than a historian. Still, he is easygoing by nature and has no qualms with sharing space (or even resources) with those he comes across. While not necessarily trusting, he tends to offer the benefit of the doubt to anyone he meets - something that isn't always rewarded with kindness in turn (the scars left by teeth and claws are different ages and vary in severity, cautionary tales that he prefers not to tell). Despite being longwinded, Jack has a talent for speaking without necessarily saying anything - evasive in a practised way, avoiding topics of his personal life and certain trains of thought.
Oddly enough, Jack's memory is excellent. He may not be known for having originality, but he has an almost eidetic memory. Stories, faces, names - he doesn't forget what he's seen and told. Applying that information is another beast altogether; connecting the dots is still a skill best left to others.
Skills & Combat
Strengths: • Fighting (physical strength) • High pain tolerance • Climbing | Weaknesses: • Slow • Zero healing knowledge • Tracking |
Character Background
History:
Jackrabbit was not the fastest of his siblings, nor was he the smartest: even as kittens, both his sisters tended to outpace him in most regards. The family lived on a farm, making their home in the hayloft of the barn with a couple of the more sociable farm cats. Jackrabbit's father wasn't necessarily in the picture, but he was a known factor - a grizzled older tom who had less care for family matters than he did patrolling his domain on the farm. Jack's mother, pragmatic and sharp as a whip, didn't bother trying to teach Jack the quick-thinking and tracking that she imparted on her daughters. Instead, she spent more time teaching him to defend himself - and his younger sisters, something that would only come into play once they had all grown and Jack stood at least a head taller than either of them.
Life was fairly uneventful until Jack reached 10 moons. His kithood (and what would be early apprenticehood within the clans) was riddled with games and exploring the barn and nearby farmland. His sisters would tease him for his slower movements (and sometimes slower thinking) but with no real vitriol. If any other cat on the farm thought to do the same, they'd be met with matching glares from the two younger members of the litter. Jack was a salve for the family, his soft heart making him something of a gentle giant as he shot up in growth. But kittens don't stay kittens forever, and when Jack and his sisters were 10 moons old, Jack's father began to pay more attention.
Farm cats don't have leaders, necessarily, but Jack's father was respected and listened to by the others on the farm. He was the largest of the farm cats, and had a good head on his shoulders - but Jack? Jack was kind and well-liked, and that sat poorly with the old grizzled tom. The two of them went out together, under the guise of father-son bonding, and Jack's father gave him an ultimatum - leave, or fight.
He left.
Without a word to his mother or his sisters, Jack left - the details of that conversation, that ultimatum, plague him. The threat against himself, and the implications of danger to his sisters, was enough to drive out the young tom without a fight. He has told no one - what his father told the others, he has no idea, but from that day onwards Jack was on his own.
The first few months were the hardest, with Jack having to exercise hunting and fighting skills that he'd never become proficient in. His adaptability served him well: an impulsive jump into a river saving his skin from a coyote while scarring his hind leg; a sweet purr and exposed belly earning him scraps from a twoleg kit; countless times where he followed impulse or made blind leaps of faith to save himself. As time went on, Jack learned - learned how to spot signs of coyotes in the area, learned how to make himself approachable, learned to fight (conflicted all the while). Having wandered and travelled extensively, he's seen a lot and heard a lot - and he's happy to relay the details if one is willing to listen. Some of his more notable stories include (in chronological order):
- Riding on a monster at the farm at 6 moons
- Escaping a coyote by jumping into a river and almost drowning
- Living in the twolegplace for four months
- Escaping a minor forest fire by hiding in a camper
- Almost getting eaten by an eagle (talon marks where his tail meets spine)
- Losing the end of his tail to a badger (escaped)
Jack travelled briefly with a companion, Daisy, when he was 18 moons old.
In recent months, Jack's travels have brought him closer to clan territory than he had any intention to be. However, he has few concerns about the proximity, and is taking his time to explore nearby areas.
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Family:
Mother: Pepper
Father: Mahogany (Maho, may-ho)
Siblings: Pigeon (sister), Mouse (sister)
Mate: n/a
Kits: n/a
Other Notes
Shop Purchases:
n/a
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Other:
Anything Jack says or does is subject to being a Complete Falsehood or Considerable Exaggeration