NAME Rory McCormickAGE 16
BIRTH DATE Oct 31 (or Sunderland equiv.)
GENDER Male
HAIR COLOR Black
EYE COLOR Extremely light blue/grey (white-ish)
HEIGHT 6'2" (and still kind of growing)
RELATIONSHIP STATUS Single
SEXUAL ORIENTATION Heterosexual
GUARDIAN Shadow
FAMILY STATUS Below the poverty line, but not uncomfortable
OCCUPATION Horse Trainer / Trick Rider
RESIDENCE Nomadic, lives with his clan as they wander
HOBBIES
Rory enjoys spending time with the horses his family trains and cares for, particularly the horse his father gifted to him that he named Kettle (short for A Fine Kettle of Fish). He often goes for long rides about wherever the clan's made camp, more comfortable in the company of a non-judgmental horse than the humans he lives around. He also has a talent for working with wood, liking to carve little animals.. and will sometimes leave the carvings as presents for people he likes.
FAMILY
Rory's family consists of his father Anson, his mother Maggie, and three sisters Jane (older), Lizzy, and Sophia (both younger). Anson is a horse trainer and in charge of the group that trains the horses for the show. Maggie and Jane are both trick riders in the shows. The two younger sisters are not yet old enough to participate in the shows. Jane is also engaged to a young man that works as an acrobat in the circus.
APPEARANCE
Tall and lithe, Rory comes off as more wiry than any other build. He has quite a bit of muscle to him, having worked with horses as long as he has, but he's no beefcake. His hair is very black with blue highlights when the sun hits it just right. It is very thick and straight and somewhat coarse. He has almond-shaped eyes with very pale bluish-gray irises giving the appearance that his eyes are almost white in color. Because of his insecurities about his eyes, he tends to let his lids droop a bit, giving him a slightly sleepy or relaxed expression. His skin is very pale, despite his work outside, and is dusted about the shoulders and across his cheeks with light freckles. He is not unattractive, but would not be winning any pageants, either. He tends to dress in dark trousers that are patched and frayed at the bottoms and loose-fitting button-down shirts and more than likely goes barefoot. When training horses, he does wear boots and a padded jacket to help protect himself when thrown. The occasions he might have his torso bare in public are rare indeed since his back has numerous scars across it from where he was beaten as a child.
PERSONALITY
Despite being raised in an incredibly loving home and growing up surrounded by his family and clan, Rory is an incredibly shy individual. Being born light-eyed in a clan of dark-eyed and rather superstitious folk, he was accepted by them due to being blood-related, but also kept at arm's length by anyone outside of his family as most felt uncomfortable looking the boy in the eyes. He is a skilled horse trainer and trick rider, though he is more reluctant on the latter, not liking being in the spotlight. Although he is not a loner, at least not by choice, he does spend a lot of his time alone, not having any real friends. He is very close to his family, especially his father whom he works with while training the horses. He longs for the day to meet people that don't feel uneasy when seeing his eyes or that can see past them to the person he really is.
BIO
Born into a clan of nomadic people that own and operate a traveling circus, Rory is the second eldest of four and the only son. He has a rare genetic throwback that gave him extremely light-colored eyes. This would only be the start of his problems in life. Shunned by the majority of his clan due to their superstitions, Rory grew up closer to the horses his father trained. Working alongside his family, he first learned to ride the horses and work them through their routines during shows, but as he got older, he began to dislike being in the shows and pulled back to work behind the scenes, training the horses with his father.
As a boy, he was put through a rather traumatic experience when he and his mother were shopping in a market at a town the clan had stopped by near the border. He had no sooner wandered from his mother's side when a merchant accused the boy of stealing apples and snatched him up, dragging the boy back into his booth. The merchant's son held the boy down while he beat Rory with his belt, tearing the shirt from his back and eventually his tender skin from his back. The beating was ignored by other merchants and patrons, save for one. The head servant of a local noble household stepped in, unable to bear the brutality to the child anymore, effectively keeping the merchant from beating the boy to death with his belt. His mother stepped in after the servant stopped the beating and whisked him away back to the clan to be cared for. Rory has had a hard time trusting people outside of his clan since. He is not as hard-hearted as his mother after the event, but all the same, he can't help always wondering if people in the towns won't once again turn on him over another fabricated crime.
Agreeing to spend some time establishing a smaller circus circuit to stay closer to Pallisade, Rory and some of the others of his clan have set up tents and vardos (wagon houses) outside of the capitol city to entertain its residence. Though nervous at being so close to such a large hub of "outsiders," the boy is also curious about the city and its people. While generally shy, he is open to whatever adventures this new venue might bring.
