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EBC: Septimus of the Hunters

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edited | 23/04/2015 | updated art ref and bio / Sept now an apprentice !


:iconempiresbeforeclans:

The king and his men
stole the queen from her bed,
and bound her in her bones.

The seas be ours, and by the powers;
where we will
we'll roam.




G E N E R A L




Name
Septimus
{pronounced SEP-ti-mus}
● meaning: Seventh Son
● previous names: ---
● nicknames: Sept, Sep

Rank
Apprentice
● living through his months as a Tribune in contentment, Septimus is now an apprentice of the Bounty Hunters, where the training is as harsh as the humans imagination. He will spend the beginning of his apprenticeship in the Coliseum with a human trainer before being handed back to the Hunters if he is deemed fit, hopefully with the strength to take down Empire cats and the scars to prove his worth.

Species
Asiatic Golden Cat
●  a rare cat to see in these lands, their numbers are few and far between in the Empires. Septimus' golden brown pelt and facial markings are unique to his breed, as are the heavy shoulders and large paws that give him his particular build -- he was bred for looks as well as strength, which isn't hard to believe.

Age
1 year
Starting Age: 3 months {born in spring}

Traits
Dominate Traits: dark neck fur [AA], gold eyes [Aa], muzzle stripes [Aa], eye spots [AA], dark ears [Aa]
Recessive Traits: light ear fur [aa], dark paws [aa], tail stripes [aa], light muzzle [aa], back stripes [aa]
Carrier Traits: back spots [aa], light paws [Aa], red fur [Aa]

Physical Description
A small, compact cat with the strength of a lion. Septimus has muscular legs and large paws, and a body that is low to the ground and hard to move. His abilities lie in his strength, and he is able to take hits that others would crumble under. A fluffy neck shows he is still young, and it will smooth out once he gets older. A long thick tail provides him the balance and support he needs when moving through the battlefield and dodging opponents. His defining feature, however, are the dark-and-light markings on his face -- a trait that is special to the Asiatic Golden Cat breed. His large eyes are as golden as the sun, and often startle others who see him for the first time. He's used to others taking second glances at him as he walks down the street; being a rare breed in a city of cats has its perks.




P E R S O N A L I T Y





PERSONALITY

{ stoic } - { loyal } - { cunning } - { quiet } - { calm } - { two-fisted }

    stoic

      Emotions aren't a thing Septimus allows others to see, and it's sometimes hard to tell if he even feels them. Mostly it just relates to emotions that show weakness, such as anguish, pain, fear, sadness, etc. Even rage and hatred. He's often seen with a look of cool neutrality on his face, although around those he considers friends he opens up enough to show half-smiles and shining eyes. Happiness is a new feeling to him, but he is much more inclined to let a smile break his visage than tears. It would take something truly horrible for him to show rage and anguish. It could be he's just a generally contented creature, or he is just a master of burying his darker emotions. Or maybe it's a touch of both.

    loyal

      Nothing can break this cat's belief in others once they've gained it. Septimus is loyal to one cat and one cat only, and that's Thanatos. Through him, he is loyal to the Bounty Hunters and the city of Massilia. However, Thanatos's word comes above all others, and he would follow his father to the ends of the earth if he asked. With others, he is more finicky to which whom he places his trust in, but it's not impossible to gain his loyalty. Anyone who's not an Empire cat he has a basic liking to, although his hatred and disgust for them don't run nearly as deep as some of the other Hunters. They're more of an ... inconvenience in his eyes.

    cunning

      His watchful and intelligent nature has developed into a cunning mind and a sharp tongue. He's less of a trickster and more of a strategist, however, and likes to use the things he picks up from conversations to make plans rather then tear them down. He still has a way to go if he ever wants to co-ordinate battles, however, and he'd rather spend time watching the older Hunters' and looking for ways to overpower them in a fight. His sharp eyes and sharper mind are better suited for finding weak spots in a cat's fighting style, not planning a skirmish. Leave that to the cats who actually know what they're doing.

    quiet

      A man of few words, our Septimus. He's grown slightly more open than when he was a cub, but still, it's not hard for him to go days without speaking if he doesn't feel like it or no one he's comfortable with decides to talk to him. He's one of those 'I'll talk to you if you talk to me first' kind of folks, and is almost never the one to initiate a conversation. Sitting in comfortable silence with someone close to him is one of his favorite activities, or even just sitting by himself watching the day go by in the city. He has never once raised his voice, even to call out hello to a friend, and usually he just responds to others with nods or a chest-rumbling (called gurgling) that is common with his species.

    calm

      There isn't a lot that can get him riled up and spitting. Even in fights, he stays calm and collected and doesn't let his opponent faze him. Going hand-in-hand with his quiet and stoic nature, he can keep a sharp and focused mind even in the midst of battle. Insults and harsh words don't do much to him, and he'll never reciprocate to being provoked. He's as cool as a cucumber, even though he's not quite sure what that saying means. Patience is also something he has a seemingly endless reserve of. He'll never loose his cool in an argument or when being criticized, and he'll question others when they do. He doesn't seem to understand others when they get livid just talking.

    two-fisted

      Septimus is strong, both in body and in spirit. When he does talk, he's straight-forward and doesn't waste words, although he tries not to be too blunt and insensitive. His lax demeanor hides a more virile core, which comes into play during training and battle -- as if flipping a switch. Two sides of the same coin, this calm and seemingly docile cat can become a ferocious predator when the need arises, although is manifests more as battle prowess than true aggression. First and foremost, he's a stoic and quiet cat that can become a cunning killer when commanded.




H I S T O R Y




DEVELOPMENT

[the prodigy]
Septimus was a quiet cub when he was first introduced into the Hunters as a Tribune. He rarely spoke to anyone, but he didn't avoid company either. He liked to watch the other Tribunes and Hunters go about their day, learning what he could by listening and observing. He preferred to spend his days sleeping rather than training or doing anything else, and usually only talked to others when they spoke to him first. There wasn't much to him during his time -- he was all small squeaks and wide gold eyes.

[becoming a hunter]
As he grew older, Sept's personality began to solidify. His quiet and stoic nature stuck around, but he began to open up to others in small ways: a smile here, a quiet laugh there. He also became more comfortable with his own strength, and his fierceness in training and battle are unparalleled. He's still not very attached to others in the Hunters, but that is as it should be, since you never know when one of them may end up dead. At this time he is focused more on his training and apprenticeship than anything else, though he's slowly learning that relationships with others may be good for him as well.

----

HISTORY

The city has always been my home. I don't remember my mother's face, or my father's, or even what their names were. They were golden cats like me, that’s all I know. Part of a breeding program to produce strong and large cubs for the Coliseum, I heard. But there’s tons of those across the city. The humans had selected my parents specially because they had the best genes for their species. And so my brothers and I were born.

They didn’t last long. There were seven of us in total, and I was the youngest and the smallest. They got to eat first, to be cleaned first, and I was left out. I can’t recall much from that time. I was young. They were young. I remember being hungry all the time. I remember rough humans hands and small glaring eyes. And the knowledge that I had to eat if I wanted to live. And to eat, I had to get rid of the rest.

I … don’t even remember how I did it. All I knew was that if I wanted to survive I had to take out the competition. So I did. I don’t know whether I killed them outright, or if I lashed out and forbade the others from eating until they starved, but … suddenly it was just me. My six brothers were dead, and I was the sole victor. Thanatos told me they were weak, that only the strong can survive in this world. I know his words are the truth.

So, my brothers were all dead, my parents most likely horrified, and next thing I knew I was on the streets. It wasn’t hard for a cub to get food, especially one with big gold eyes and chubby cheeks. I got by, keeping to the lighter areas and fearing the dark where the strays kept watch. I wasn’t strong enough to face the true city cats yet. I was still only a cub. I spent a few weeks like that, begging for scraps and sleeping on rooftops. It wasn’t half bad. But that’s when Thanatos found me.

He never told me why he decided to adopt me. I was small, starved, three months old and already the blood of six cats on my paws. Maybe he saw promise in me. Maybe he felt pity for me. It doesn’t matter now. I know he loves me as much as his own, and I don’t need to know why he did it. But he took me in, back to the Hunters, and made me a Tribune. I got to eat whenever I wanted, sleep on soft pillows, and watch real fighters train. Suddenly, life didn’t seem so bad. I had a roof over my head when I wanted, and an open sky when I didn’t. And I had found a father who loved me and believed in me.

He told me about the Empires, and how they betrayed both him and us. I won’t forget that story, nor that night.

That’s also when I got to meet Scaeden. He took me under his wing much like my new father had, and showed me the city and how to handle the humans that cared for us. He took time out of his day to train me and show me how to fight even though I was only a few months old. I met another Tribune, too, a leopard named Prisca. She didn’t talk much, although neither did I, and it was nice just sitting in the silence with her. I … don’t know why we don’t talk so much anymore …

… We should continue the story, shouldn’t we? It wasn’t so long after that that I got promoted to an apprentice. And apprentices are trained in the Coliseum for the first few months before being handed back to the Hunters. My first fight … didn’t go exactly as planned. I had never faced a cat who actually wanted to harm me before. Scaeden’s paws were always soft when we trained. This was entirely different. There was screaming, and a human standing to the side, and I could feel cuts on my skin and blood underneath my claws, and all of a sudden there was teeth at my throat and pain everywhere. The human was screaming but the other apprentice wouldn’t let go. And there was that familiar feeling from when I was a cub … and I remembered Thanatos’s words and I knew that if I let myself be beaten like this, I would let him down. And I couldn’t let that happen.

Kill or be killed, isn’t that the saying?

I almost died of bloodloss, but I had won the battle. My very first. I can’t remember how, but there was fur and blood all over my paws so I must have clawed him down before I passed out. Thanatos congratulated me but I could see the worry and fear he tried to hide in his eyes. I hadn’t let him down, though. My brothers couldn’t kill me, and neither could anyone else. Not while I could still stand. I … didn’t enjoy scaring my father like that, though. He got me a neck brace to wear with my armor, though he refused to admit that it was because I frightened him.

I’m not allowed to train for a few more weeks to allow my throat to heal. Not that I’m complaining too much. I feel like I could sleep for a year after that fight. I’m just glad I’m the one who lived, and not him.




Q U I R K S  &&  F E A R S





● has a love of heights and will often climb as high he can on whatever structure he can find

● often found sleeping in odd places and in odd positions (i.e. on his back, half on top of a rock)

● when standing near cats he trusts he'll stand very close to them, a habit he still keeps from his cub-hood

● despite liking being alone, he appears to have a fear of being left alone

● when not training or preparing for battle, he's quite lazy and slow (and hard to picture a fat ball of fluff like him as a fierce warrior)

● resident "small drop of sunshine" of the Hunters and Thanatos's "tiny son"

● can sing surprisingly well -- however, no one has ever heard him besides a few hummed notes here and there




T R A I N I N G  &&  M E N T O R S





→ tribune

→ apprenticeship

    mentor
    Thanatos / Various Hunters
    ● Apprentices in the Hunters don't get assigned specific mentors, but Septimus makes a habit of going to his father whenever he needs help with particular moves or maneuvers. He is a fan of Colisuem training with the older Hunters and humans despite his unfortunate start with his very first fight. He is early in his apprentice training, and hasn't had much time to develop his own fighting style, but he'll get there eventually -- hopefully without anymore near-death experiences.

    Bullet; White Have your apprentice meeting the hunters for the first time: n/a
    Bullet; Green Have your apprentice in the coliseums for the first time: EBC: the good (almost) always die young -- Pt. 1 / EBC: the good (almost) always die young -- Pt. 2
    Bullet; Yellow Have your apprentice fighting their trainer: n/a
    Bullet; Orange Have your apprentice participating in a mock hunt around the city: n/a
    Bullet; Red Have your apprentice going on their first hunt for Empire cats: n/a





F A M I L Y  &&  R E L A T I O N S





FAMILY
→ blood
???
mother; alive; Massilia
rp'd by 
---

???
father; alive; Massilia
rp'd by 
---

6 brothers, all nameless
deceased; Massilia
rp'd by 
---

Thanatos
adopted father; alive; Bounty Hunters
rp'd by 
tie-falcon


FAMILY
→ heart

Septimus currently has no mate, crush, or cubs !

RELATIONS
EBC: Septimus's Relations by rattarie



S T A T I S T I C S  &&  R P / E P  T R A C K E R





TDR Statistics
Tactics: 7
Endurance: 6
Speed: 5
Strength: 10
Defense: 9
Attack: 7

STRENGTHS //

        --

WEAKNESSES //

        --



RP/EP TRACKER

Septimus RP/EP Tracker by rattarie



A R M O R  &&  I T E M S





ARMOR

    phi armor
    ● Sept's armor is made to look akin to Thanatos's, only not as elaborate or extensive on account of him just being an apprentice. It's rather simple armor, pretty much just cloth and iron with a bit of leather, but it works for him. After he almost died in his first Colisuem fight, Thanatos gave him a topaz-studded neck brace to protect his now-weakened throat. The blue Phi symbol on his left shoulder guard is to go along with the red Theta symbol on Thanatos's. The ragged blue cape is mostly just for show, as are the cloth bracers on his hind legs. He likes the simplicity of it, as he isn't that big a fan of armor anyways, but he promised his father he would wear it to protect himself, even if it's just a bit.



ITEMS

    golden earrings
    ● Scaeden has had a big impact on Septimus's life so far, and when he was still a Tribune he decided to get a pair of earrings to match the Hunter's. Seeing as Scaeden's are green to match his eyes, Sept got gold ones to match his own, and he is hardly ever seen without them.




R O L E P L A Y  S A M P L E





Sample
taken from actual roleplay

A soft touch on his head caused Septimus to relax his body. The tiger’s presence made him feel a bit safer, and allowed him to put some distance between himself and his nightmares. The feeling of the dark fur against his side made him feel more grounded, and gave him something substantial to hold on to. Taking a deep breath, he felt his heartbeat slow, and his whimpers soon quieted.

The deep tone of the leader’s voice made the cub’s ears twitch, but he kept his gave fixed on the ground. It was only when he heard the mention of battle that his golden eyes darted to the tiger’s soft blue gaze, his eyes widening in pleasure as he went on to call him a brave little warrior. The darkness of his dreams soon faded to the back of his mind as he listened to the tiger, and his blue eyes seemed to chase all his fears away.

As round as his own eyes, Septimus turned his gaze to the moon that swept over the sleeping city. Thanatos’ words filled the small Tribune’s head with images of the goddess leading her guardians through the streets of the city, chasing away all the dark creatures that lurked in sleeping cats’ heads by the light of the moon. He imagined himself hunting by moonlight alongside Thanatos, the silver light illuminating their prey while keeping them safe and hidden. His yellow eyes filled with awe as he blinked up at the moon.

The sound of sliding fabric caught his attention the moment before he felt the soft material of Thanatos’ cape curl around his small form. He stared down at the cloth for a moment, considering whether to tell the tiger of his nightmare or not. In the end, he simply stated, “My mommy and daddy don’t love me anymore. My dreams say that they never did.” He sniffled, and turned his eyes back to Thanatos’. “The shadows tell me I'm all alone.”




*Septimus is always open to RP, so feel free to send me a note!

Septimus © rattarie 2014
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© 2014 - 2024 rattarie
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wiskrr's avatar
//HYPERVENTILATES
I LOVE THIS CHARACTER SO MUCH.....