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 Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 9:06 pm
 Name: Jayke Brodric
Age: 15
Aspect: Animal
Beacon: Totem Bracelet
School: Applereach
Alias: Skinwalker
Strengths: Loyal, compassionate, quick
Weaknesses: Wild, rebellious, unattached
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:12 pm
Traits
Strengths
Loyal- He may not be the easiest boy to befriend, but should you succeed, he's your friend for life. He'll stand by you no matter what you choose to include him in and won't hear an ill word about you.
Compassionate- He has an exceedingly tender spot for animals, and will go out of his way to help them if he sees them ailing. Likewise, if he sees anyone harming an animal.....you might want to have a good doctor on speed dial, because he will NOT hold back.
Quick- A talent he comes by naturally, Jayke is a very good runner, which is symbolized by his lightning-bolt shoes. This has served him well when he's running wild or doing something he would rather not be caught doing.
Weaknesses
Wild- Growing up among such unorthodox influences, Jayke was never really taught how to be anything that even remotely resembles a gentleman. As a result, he does whatever he feels like, and to Hell with the consequences or how it makes him look. If you dare him to do something, chances are he'll do it, whether it's running naked through the school or filling the principal's car with bees.
Rebellious- After losing his parents at an early age, he tends to feel as though the world is doing nothing but trying in a half-assed way to replace them. And since nothing in the world can replace his real parents, he doesn't treat any of the foster parents that see fit to take him like real parents, not doing what they say if it doesn't suit him and sometimes even acting up to remind them that he will never consider them his parents no matter what.
Unattached- Along with his parents, Jayke lost countless companion animals in the short time he grew up, whether he lost them to death or separation when the next pair of fosters flat-out refused to take pets. This has left him with a mentality that nothing good in his life ever lasts, including any kind of friendships, and as a defense mechanism, he tries hard to not get used to any friendships he might make, be they with animals or people, though still making the most of them when he has them.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:21 pm
Powers
Beacon- A small totem bracelet adorned with decorative clay beads and sections for attaching various animal charms, also created from clay.
Appearance- To transform, Jayke has to hold his bracelet arm straight out and speak the word 'Nomihtu', which is a native word for 'see' and represents his getting ready to take a journey by sight into the bodies of his animal kin. Hot air surges up from his feet, turning his skin aborigine brown and making his street clothes vanish, to be replaced by a simple lower wrap made of leather (think small towel), and a head bandanna pulling his hair back and adorned with beads and feathers. When the wind fades, white tribal markings appear on his face, arms and legs, and his eyes turn completely white.
Power- In Native American folklore, a skin-walker is a person who could take the form of any animal that they choose. Jayke cannot literally change INTO an animal, but he can use the hand-made charms on his totem bracelet to temporarily project his subconscious into the animal that the charm represents. For instance if he wished to 'become' a fox, he fashions a charm in the shape of a fox and attaches it to one of the spots on his bracelet. To activate it, Jayke must grasp the charm with his free hand and warm it, thus causing his subconscious to be projected out and into the closest fox, the animal mind taking a back seat until Skinwalker's mind is withdrawn.
~ The bracelet only has room for five charms at a time. They are fashioned with clay found in an abundance in the woods around Jayke's house.
~ Each and every charm is one-use. After using a charm from the bracelet, the charm crumbles to powder and Jayke must make another.
~ Obviously, the charm only works if the animals are local and available for thought projection. It wouldn't do much good fashioning a charm for a polar bear or a whale if you're in the middle of the city (might seek approval for part of a plot to be his attempting to try this power out at the city zoo).
~ When he is inhabiting an animal, Jayke's body is motionless and unable to defend itself. It's in his best interest to hide while he inhabits an animal. Any injuries the animal sustains are not passed on to him, however if the animal is knocked out or slain, Jayke's subconscious flees back into his own body.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:24 pm
Parental Units
Past and Present
Original Parents: William and Calandra Brodric
-Both world travelers/naturalists/documentary writers.
Both deceased from unidentified illness in Malaysia.
Survived by one son, Jayke, age 8.
First Fosters: Cody and Sofia Salzer
Father: Banker
Mother: Housewife.
Had one son, which Jayke sent to the hospital after catching him throwing rocks at a stray kitten.
Duration: 5 months.
Second Fosters: Matthew and Tanya Lawley
Father: Computer repairman
Mother: Teacher
Only child, constantly bickering with his foster mother on matters of teaching, openly rebellious and refusing to 'grow out of it' until they deemed him hopeless and unfit for teaching and thus, keeping.
Duration: 1 year
Third Fosters: Nelson and Sharron Engleman
Father: Marketing
Mother: Housewife
Duration: 2 years
Fourth Fosters: Clayton and Roxie Windburn
Father: Amusement park worker
Mother: Secretary
Had two other sons and a daughter. In Jayke's opinion the worst family he has ever been in; tried to run away at least every other night, claiming that the mother treated her children like slaves and insisted that they treat her like a queen because she was the 'primary breadwinner.'
Duration: 4 weeks
Fifth Fosters: Neil and Marjorie Gleaves
Father: Accountant
Mother: Private tutor
Had a small daughter. Jayke's refusal to call his father 'sir' might have been overlooked in this primped and proper household, but the final straw was when Jayke grew tired of having a living doll for a baby sister and showed her how much fun 'communing with nature' could be, the end result being her coming down with pneumonia and nearly dying.
Duration: 8 months
Sixth Fosters: Clinton and Kelly Malkin
Father: Restaurant manager
Mother: Housewife
Duration: 10 months
Seventh Fosters: Harry and Annette Sharp
Father: Real Estate Agent
Mother: Designer
Duration: 1 year, 1 month
Current Fosters: Devon and Lillian Prange
Both 'liberal arts' (odd jobs, selling of homemade goods)
Only child, apparently getting along much better than with all previous foster parents.
Duration: 1 1/2 years and counting
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:28 pm
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:32 pm
Jayke closed his eyes and let the sounds of the forest engulf him, draping over him like a blanket. He heard the rustling of a squirrel as it joyously bounded in the trees above his head, felt the tiny whoosh of air as a dragonfly ventured close to his ear, delicate wings thrumming. He focused on each and every sound, magnifying it inside his head until he fancied he could hear the tiniest strain of the trees as they grew, inch by time-filled inch. He heard the slightest of pulls as a leaf detached itself from a branch overhead and began its journey toward the forest floor, dancing about among the sunbeams like a dancer weaving in and out of spotlights. He could hear and feel everything.
His jacket and shirt lay beside him in a heap; he was bare down to his waist, where his jeans remained, soaking up the moisture from the earth that he was sitting on. In his cupped hands was what his real mother had called a lake-shell; an ordinary stone scooped out and made into a hollow bowl by the waters of the lake. Within that bowl was a mixture of reddish-colored mud that he had scooped up from just a few feet away and crushed herbs that he had gathered from the very forest he was sitting in. The earthy smell filled his senses as he dipped two of his fingers into the mixture and smeared it along the bridge of his nose. His entire upper body was covered in such smears, forming intricate patterns of swirls and dots all along his arms, chest, and his back where he could reach it. Each and every smudge and dot meant something to him as he sat there, feeling the warm air dry the mud, making it a part of him. He had learned this ritual long ago from some friends in a village where there had been such an abundance of mud that they had put it to good use as a ritualistic paint. What better way to get closer to the Earth than to wear it? He now felt truly a part of the Earth, a decorative thread in the tapestry of the world.
Eyes still closed, he set the lake-shell aside, dropped his hands to his knees and began to hum, letting the sound vibrate in his throat and rise to match the hums he could hear all around him. The trees, the dragonfly....yes, he was them all. He was the Earth, and the Earth was- "Hey, little dude!" The voice cut through his reverie like a ritual knife, and Jayke opened one eye in annoyance. "Hello, Deston." He had to hand it to Deston and Lilian, his current foster parents: unlike so many others before them, they never insisted that Jayke call them mother and father, or mommy and daddy, or even worse; sir and ma'am. He opened his other eye and watched as Deston walked toward him, smiling and tan with his long braided hair and hemp sandals. "Don't you look a fright. Smells nice though. Is it herbal mud?" Seeing that he wouldn't be able to continue, Jayke rose up and resisted the urge to brush himself off as he explained, the irritation in his voice fading. "It's a ritual some friends showed my family when I was little. It helps you become more in tune with the Earth around you." Deston nodded as he picked up the lake shell and passed it under his nose. "Huh. Rosemary, wild mint and.....loose tea leaves? Radical."
Jayke watched as his foster father set the bowl down and sat down on the ground beside Jayke, not seeming to mind the damp ground any more than his foster child. "Sit down, little dude. Need to talk to you." Sighing a little, Jayke sat back down and crossed his legs, making himself comfortable and fixing Deston with his intense green eyes. "You're teacher called Lilian and I," Deston began slowly, "Told us you were having a little trouble in school." Jayke felt himself bristle inwardly. Those stupid-a** teachers; what did they know? Just because of his background they seemed to think he was some kind of inbred savage, never hesitating to add their scorn to their tone when they spoke to him. And then there was that stupid manitee of a school bully who he'd seen trying to pull the ears off of a baby rabbit. He didn't care if they hadn't made it to the hospital in time to sew the ear he had yanked off back on. He had needed to know what it felt like.
As if sensing his discomfort, Deston reached out and patted Jayke's dirt-encrusted knee. "Hey man, I know how you feel. You're a really powerful, outspoken guy, and Lord knows we need more people like you in the world, ones that aren't afraid to stand up for what they love. But you know, there are times when like it or not, you have to lower your gaze and pretend you understand The Man. Hey, it won't be forever, you know. Once you get through all that hash they try to feed you, then you'll be free to relearn everything. Just hold on to what makes you who you are. I guess what I'm saying is, be yourself, but make sure you can keep yourself out of juvie, huh?" Jayke couldn't help but smile a little as he listened; another wonoderful thing about Deston and Lillian was that they saw him as unique and not 'troubled', and actually seemed to care more about the person that he was now instead of the person that the figures of authority would like him to be.
He nodded and shrugged his shoulders a bit sheepishly at Deston, the very picture of a little boy just wanting to be himself. "Alright Deston; I'll try to be more careful. Maybe if I hang out more around the places the morons stay away from, then I'll be less tempted to pull the ears off of people." Deston chuckled as he stood up. "That was pretty far out, once you explained it. Those cops just didn't get it. They never do." Brushing the loam from his bleach-dotted pants, Deston smiled down at Jayke, still smattered with mud. "Well, I guess that's it. See you back at the house, little dude, and don't be late; Lilian's making organic pizza." "With hummus dip for the crusts?" Jayke quipped as he reached for his lake-shell. "You know it!" the reply rang out through the trees, though the form of Deston had already disappeared from view. Yummy, Jayke thought to himself as he dipped his fingers into the mud and commenced to dabbing a pattern on his forehead. Setting the bowl in his lap, he closed his eyes and returned to the world around him.
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