Elric is the epitome of a loner, though not necessarily by choice. In his twenty-three years of life, he had known nothing but the forest that he has called home. He knows of those who live out their lives in the nearby village; he's heard the things they whisper of the unknown entity beyond the treeline. What he doesn't know is whether or not it is him they speak of.
His memory before a young age has been lost to him for many years. As far as he is aware, he has always lived among nature, carrying out the duties which he was assigned. Sometimes he wonders why the shadows that instruct him had a reason for prying him from a comfortable life, or if he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Regardless, he knows if his routine is neglected, unspeakable tragedies may occur. This was never a risk he was willing to take.
you go to sleep on your own and you wake each day with your thoughts and it scares you being alone; it's a last resort
a n n i e
Not a moment in Annie's twenty-four years of life has been easy. She was a blessing to her parents who struggled to conceive, followed eight years later by her sister who was less so. Their mother died in childbirth with Nellie, leaving Annie to care for her sister as though she was her own. Their father was absent, gone for weeks at a time for work and dismissive when he was home. While he was away, Annie taught herself how to use guns, whips, and lassos to defend what little family she had left. Shortly after turning twelve, she was pleased enough with her talent that she absconded with four-year-old Nellie, who shortly after began showing signs of their mother's lycanthropy. Annie has dedicated her life to raising a werewolf alone, often in isolation. As Nellie grew older, she became more adventurous. Annie's paranoia is ever-present, always afraid she'll wake up to find her sister gone and a trail of death in her wake.
Recently, she has kept her eye on a local coven of witches. Wary of the supernatural, she's hesitant to engage, but drawn towards the power they wield. Perhaps with it, she could keep her sister safe forever---or even cure her altogether.
human
Anna Adalaide Flood
don't let me in with no intention to keep me; Jesus Christ, don't be kind to me, I will come back
n e l l i e
Fear has been at the epicenter of Nellie's short life. At fifteen years, she has no memory of her dead mother and few of her estranged father. Her older sister and sole mother figure, Annie, instilled a self loathing of herself that led to an aversion to herself and others. Her inherent distrust in both goes against her nature, however, as she has always craved interaction and adventure. Lacking the wherewithal to maintain any relationship other than the tentative one with Annie, Nellie has found herself increasingly lonely. As she grows, as does her resentment towards her sister. Though dangerous, her condition is predictable, and as far as she is concerned, manageable. As the arguments began to increase in frequency, Nellie finally began to feel she was making progress with Annie. Though she craves freedom, she never wanted to lose her sister in the process.
All of that has met a setback, however, as a string of vicious murders have been left in their wake. Regardless of Nellie's insistence that it was not her, she knows a piece of Annie still doubts her honesty. As the evidence stacks against her, even Nellie is beginning to question her own memories.
werewolf
Eleanor Helen Flood
today I felt a switch in my veins; used to be a shadow, now the shadows scream my name
w h i m s y
Whimsy is a master of deception and jack of her trade. As a traveling merchant, she cures and sells specimens of plants and animals alike to the morbidly curious public. Rarely does she stay long, as her strange ways are often met with hostility. She remains unfazed, however, never once bothered by the opinions of the lesser.
With even the name of her mother darkened by distant memory, Whimsy has always been a nomad. Whether she presents her God-given name as Winnifred, Whitney, or Winona, Whimsy is one nickname that sticks. Her mere presence commands attention, magnified by her bazar behavior. She seems to be drawn to the seedy underground, with a talent for prying the worst from the upper crust of society.
She is currently running from a particularly disastrous incident for which she would readily accept blame if anyone thought to ask, as regret is hardly among her repertoire of emotions. Leaving her destruction behind only opens her path to wreaking more havoc in the future.
witch
Winnifred Rose Davenport
we're only animals; I didn't mean to start a forest fire; brush the ashes off your shoulder, let's get lost in the wild
k o d a
Born with werewolf blood in his veins, Koda became an anomoly to be feared. Once revered by his tribe as one of the chosen, nothing but scorn and disgrace rained upon him after an especially tragic event.
As an adolescent, Koda was already a skilled hunter. Swift and quick in hand-to-hand combat, he had a promising future ahead of him as an influential member of the tribe he once called family. That is, until, one night when he was entrusted as the leader of a hunt with other boys his age. Jealous and bitter, one of them managed to lure the third away from the group. The first returned alone, bearing fresh meat he claimed to have carved from a stag too large to retrieve on his own. Koda was irate with the boy for going off alone, and to feign apology, he was offered the slab. Come nightfall, no more than a few bites of his gift had been consumed before he knew something was wrong. It was then the vengeful boy admitted that what he had eaten was not stag, but the boy he had wandered off with earlier.
Koda was furious, but not as much as he was petrified. The consumption of human meat began his transition to a wendigo, conflicting with his werewolf blood. When they returned home, he was shunned by some and pitied by the less superstitious. It wasn't until the following full moon that his control over bloodlust was lost, transforming into a mangled shadow of his previous form. Innocent members of his tribe shredded by his hand was enough to drive him away, where he found work as a stablehand. It was a gamble, whether or not the next moon would bring a bloodbath. On the occasion it did, he would move on come the morning, becoming more and more numb to his fate as time passed.
keep the earth below my feet; for all my sweat my blood runs weak; let me learn from where I have been
w a l k e r
Captain Walker set sail for an honest living. As a young man, he had every intention of supporting the woman he loved, Alexandria, in marriage through trade. Though his heart ached at the thought of leaving her, he dreamed of wealth and an early retirement while finding adventure on the sea.
He had, of course, been naive.
After a decade and a promotion to captain, he has become a man more bitter than the one he once was. Resentment began to build early in his marriage as his wife struggled to conceive children on his brief visits ashore. She blamed him as absent and incapable, fights growing traction when he retaliated with placing the blame on her barren womb. Years went by before they were graced with a daughter, and for a while, things were good. They were enamored with Kait, but the more time he took off to spend time with his family, the more they struggled. Eventually, he was forced to return to his ship, gone again for the better part of each year.
His wife has bared two more children since then, of which he is sure are not his. He agreed, however, to claim they were so his daughter would not suffer the repercussions of a broken family. He suffers for only her as the hatred between he and Alexandria settled into something deeper and more permanent. They are separated on all but paper as far as each of them are concerned, and when he returns to his home port it is only to visit Kait and put on a facade for her mother and younger siblings.
He now fears the retirement he once dreamed of; afraid of facing the life he sails to escape.