Name: Oberon Bloodstein

Age: 25 (Can change)

Title: Third Prince, Head of Hunter’s Guild

Appearance: Oberon stands at 6’, the tallest of his brothers. He has piercing green eyes that dance with life and humor, and hide a heavy drive to keep himself busy. His nose isn’t the prettiest, but at least it isn’t bulbous, only sporting a small bend halfway through that makes it a touch crooked. In a way, it compliments his face, however, offering a little personality to the string jawline and bright eyes. He wears his long, dark brown/almost black hair in two long braids on each side, and the rest in a half bun. All too often, it looks like a complete mess despite the effort put into the braids. It’s almost humorous as the rest of his brothers sport much cleaner, groomed styles that are far shorter than their savage brother. But Oberon is wild in his own ways and he fits his title of hunter far better than that of prince.

He has broad shoulders and a broad chest, tapering down to slightly slimmer hips. He has strong legs from consistent horseback riding. More of his height is positioned in leg length, but he doesn't look disproportionate or off-kilter by it. When it comes to scars, he has a few knicks and marks here and there from small training accidents that are always bound to happen when using sharp blades. He does have a brand on his upper left pectoral, marking his inclusion in the hunters guild of the kingdom. The brand is circular with kingdoms emblem in the center and three ragged slashes going through. Otherwise, he has no major scars or burns.

When it comes to clothes, he prefers a slip on, off white, loose shirt that he tucks into his breeches. His breeches are usually a brown, dark navy, or black, tucked into well-kept brown boots. He'll often wear two pieces of colored cloth tied to his right bicep with the kingdoms colors. He can clean up very nicely in a royal suit, however, and even then, he can fix his hair into something tamed if he pleases.

Personality: Oberon is the kind of personality that is rambunctious and loud, with a lot to say and an absolutely contagious personality. He has a hearty laugh and a desire to make his presence known to those around him. In the guild he is quite popular, hence his position as head of the hunter’s guild. However, in his own family? He’s still quite loved but found to be a little more irritating. That said, he loves his younger brother Fynn, despite the boy being a bastard and half-mythic. He will protect the young one at any cost, especially since Flynn isn’t the favorite of the brothers.

When it comes to morals, Oberon is rather loose. He lives by the creed of the hunters guild and the laws of his father. Hunting dragons, unicorns, or any variety of things is acceptable in his mind with no thought for consequence. Why should there be? It is the life he knows (despite his love for his half-mythic brother). He can be quite loose when it comes to the bedroom as well, seeing no problem with sleeping around.

(I'm sure there's more but I'm blanking a lil)

Family:

Words are sharp, but Talons are sharper.

Name: Aerin Kaledonia
Age: Unknown
Species: Familiar Shifter

Personality: Aerin isn’t the easiest person to get along with. When put under pressure, she explodes, her temper getting the best of her. Aerin is excessively conceited, knowing she is, in every way, superior and better than anyone she may meet in her lifetime. She isn’t shy to let people know exactly that, and will hardly ever say something that isn’t true to save somebody’s feelings from being hurt. A flaw that often causes issues for her is her jealousy, even the smallest things could make her jealous and she will become spiteful. Despite being so open-minded, she has a hot temper and isn’t overly patient, combined with a more than healthy dosing of curiosity, she gets nothing but trouble for herself.

Appearance: With a height of 5'6, she stands on the slightly shorter side for her kind of shifters, but where she lacks in size, she makes up with the lean muscles that build up her body. Like with most Familiars, key points of her characteristics hold likeness to her alternate form; the grey-silver hair that cascades down her spine despite usually being tied back out of her face and the deep green eyes with subtely slitted pupils.

Smooth skin dotted with occasional splatterings of freckles, and a large variety of tattoos that bring the dark contrast to her pale skin. The tattoos range from the large lightning strike that lines down the left side of her torso, to whorls and lines over sections of her back, arms and legs; small scars litter the rest of her skin.

Shifter Form: Unlike standard Shifters, Familiar Shifters have no control over their alternate forms, with the characteristics and slight personality differences pre-determined when they come of age, their human forms changing to kin of the alternate.

Aerin's Familiar is a large grey-silver scaled Dragon, standing at over 17 feet—sharpened Talons protruding from each toe, and the tip of each large wing. A thin membrane stretched out between the wing panels, looking almost translucent in the light. Her long scaled tail reaches over 10 feet behind her, tapering out to a thin point. Large dark grey horns protruding from the top of her head, and similarly coloured sharpened canine teeth give the appearance of fangs from the elongated snout. The same dark green eyes that her human appearance sports, only with more pronounced feline pupils.

The bar was eerily empty for a weekend. The usual regular patrons that frequented the place seemed to be keen on avoiding the inn tonight, only a few remaining, despite being huddled in corners of the dim building. Aerin herself was unsure of why she was here tonight, the food was terrible, the drinks were even worse and without the usual bustling patrons to keep her entertained, the place was a complete shithole. Giving up on waiting for mundane conversation, she left. The streets outside were a blight in contrast to the inside of the Inn, with people rushing around the dark street, ignorance leaking off them in waves.

It had been days since she had the chance to return to the skies, with the hunter pests popping up every few weeks, she had to be cautious. Aerin had managed to avoid them thus far but she knew it was only a matter of time before they either sent another one, or there was already another watching her, waiting for the moment she got careless and revealed herself right in front of their eyes. But it had been almost a week since she could shift for more than a few minutes, and the tiny voice in her mind grew relentlessly, more violently as her skin itched to change.

She knew it was only a matter of time before the need took control and it was clear she needed to find a secure place to Shift while she still had the choice in the matter. The only issue with trying to stay low-profile and avoid hunters meant she tended to stay within cities, which didn't give her much option on safe places she could satiate the Familiar's need to Shift and she knew from the beginning that the half an hour every few days she spent sitting under the dock and Shifting, was not cutting it. Aerin needed a few hours at the very minimum if she was to last another day.

The hood over her head began to feel infinitely heavier as she made her way through the dark streets, sticking to the corners and shadows as much as possible, avoiding the passing glances she received.

The only place she could risk the Shift would be down at the dock, using the shadows and darkness of the night to fly a few hours over the open water. The rooftops just weren't high enough in this area to risk flying there, so the water was the only choice. As the looming expanse of water grew closer, her entire body seemed to be pulled closer to it, her body seemed to sense what her intentions were, her body growing more energised as she prepared for the Shift. The dim presence at the back of her mind grew stronger as she neared her Shift.

The risk was massive, but it was her only chance. Knowing she was in the clear as much as was going to be possible for tonight, she let the Shift take over, the pain of the bodily chance becoming a dull numbing over her limbs as she shifted. The large wings she now sported quickly threw her into the air, her talons barely finishing fleshing out before she was in the sky. With the Shift complete, she manoeuvred back towards the Dock, beginning the flight over the coast, mapping out in her head how far she could go before she'd have to return to the city. All worries about the Hunters and the risk of her flight very quickly dissipated as she felt the steady thrum of her wings and the overpowering joy from her Familiar as she flew, moonlight bouncing off the silver scales, painting her a pearlescent stream in the night sky. Breathing in the icy air, she settled down into the comfortable pattern.

“Why are we doing this?”

Fynn’s soft voice broke the silence of the town as he walked beside his brother, occasionally jogging a few steps to catch up. His tail swayed as he peered up at Oberon with concern and curiosity in his almost enchanting hazel eyes that seemed to reflect the moon. The man paused for a second at the question, his head tilting in the boy’s direction.

“I’ve told you, Fynn. We protect the kingdom and since no one else has been able to capture or kill this one, I’m here.” He reached down with his free hand, ruffling the boy’s hair with a wide, warm smile. His other arm shifted the crossbow he held resting on his shoulder as he looked into the sky and watched the stars for a moment. “I’ve hear rumors of it being here. A strange woman… has to be the shifter. And if it knows we’re on its track? It won’t be shifting much. Depends. That’s the interesting thing, Fynn. There are different kinds of these beasts.”

Oberon continued his walk again, glancing around the quiet streets as though the very stones were holding secrets from him. He didn’t notice the way his little brother looked at the cobblestone under their feet and scuffed the toe of his boot against the rough ground, or the way his tail lightly flicked between his legs for a moment. Uncertain eyes looked into the beautiful night sky as they walked towards the Dock, and for a moment, he faltered in his walk. A shadow? He sent a furitive glance at his brother before speeding up to catch up again.

“I know but… shifters are human too, right? So wouldn’t it be a she? Why do you have to kill her?” Fynn pulled his brother’s arm, the youth trying to pull the man’s attention away from the sky in the distance.

Oberon stopped again and turned, crouching down in front of Fynn, “Why did you ask to come if you didn’t want to see this? You didn’t have to come.” Nothing but gentleness filled his tone and he placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “You’re only fourteen. It doesn’t matter what people say, Fynn. You don’t have to prove yourself to me. You’re my brother, whether or not you want to join the guild one day. Nvirii is a piece of shit, ignore him.”

Nvirii. Nvirii was an absolute bastard of a monster with a heart as scaled and tough as the skin that painted his long slender body. His soul dripped dark with the umbran scales that covered him. He was the voice of the basilisks in the guild, with a big mouth and enough respect (or fear) from the others to do almost anything he wanted, albeit be head of the guild, which was Oberon’s job. Frankly, it was either Nvirii or him who was to hunt the shifter, and Oberon had no faith in Nvirii to be ethical or humane.

“Would you like to stay at the inn? I can come get you afterwards. We’ll say you were there.” Oberon loved the boy and would do anything to take care of him, including letting him stay away from the killing if it made him feel better.

“No… no. I want to come.” Truth was, Fynn was terrified to see a shifter killed, and he still couldn’t understand why they needed to be hunted. Weren’t they as human as him? The thought caused him to glance at his tail that flicked around his legs before glancing at Oberon who didn’t have a tail. None of his brothers did… because none of them shared a mother with him. Fynn’s head fell a little and jogged a few steps to catch up with Oberon again, the man already striding back towards the Dock. Rumors had flown that the shifter went there, and Oberon insisted on going there at night, and if nothing, early the next morning. He argued it was the most secluded place and if his suspicions were correct, the shifter would have to shift.

Silence fell between the brothers with eleven years between them. The sounds of the ocean and touch of salty air welcomed them towards the water and Dock ahead. In any other scenario, the two brothers would have sat at the end of it, legs dangling as Fynn shared his fears and dreams with the brother he loved most. Not that they often had a chance to do something like that, but on the rare occasion Oberon would spoil the boy with a trip to get away from the pressures of the palace and guild.

Once at the Dock, Oberon crouched down on a sandy area, next to the docks stretching out towards the expanse of the sea. He pressed his hand to Fynn’s shoulder, pushing him down while his green eyes scanned the night sky. “Shhh…” he insisted softly, tilting his head towards the boy’s tail brushing through the sand with a light sweeping sound. Fynn blushed and pulled his tail into his hands while Oberon shifted. He placed the crossbow in his arms, inserted an arrow, and planted the butt end against his own shoulder while he gazed through the sight, sweeping it around while he looked out.

A few minutes passed and all seemed quiet, Fynn about to release a soft breath of relief… until a shadow covered the stars, silhoutting wings in the night. Oberon sucked in a breath, pressed his face close to the bow, and followed the path, shifting to be slightly in front of the moving creature.

“There you are…” he muttered beneath his breath, finger pressing the trigger when a sudden force slammed into him, the arrow flying off its path. Fynn tumbled beside Oberon as the man tried to catch himself in the sand, the crossbow burying itself into the cool night grains.

“Fynn! What are you doing??” The man’s voice snapped more than he wanted as he stumbled to his feet, a look of betrayal in his eyes. “Do you…” He looked into the sky, following the shadow with his eyes, “... know what you’ve done? Fynn! What..”

“I’m sorry!” The boy blurted out as he scooped up the crossbow and held it to his chest. “You can’t kill her! She’s… she’s no different than us!”

Oberon blinked and reached for the bow, “Look at us Fynn! It… she is! She’s a threat…” Fynn yanked away, keeping the weapon from his brother’s reach.

“I’m not like you either! Or anyone! But… but you won’t kill me!” His tail flicked as if to make a point before he turned and began to run, struggling with the weight of the weapon. “I’m going to find her!!”

The man stood stunned, the weight of his brother’s words sinking into his soul. “Hey! Fynn wait!” And off he ran after the boy.

The night sky gave her the relief she knew she and her Familiar needed. Aerin had come to start calling her 'Ketsyah'. As tradition for Familiars, upon her first Shifting ceremony at only 12, the Familiar must be named before the Shift can be completed. If the Familiar rejects the name, the bond is rejected as well, leaving the Shifter to be exiled by their family. In recent times, the rate of rejection has been increasing at a horrifying rate. All three of Aerin's siblings had been rejected.

When Ketsyah accepted Aerin's name and bond, it had been a cause for celebration. Until it became her funeral. Bonded Familiars were a dying species, which meant it was only a matter of time until Aerin herself was dead. Every bonded death impacted every remaining Familiar, meaning Ketsyah felt every death of her brethren, and Aerin knew that every death meant another one of her kind had been hunted.

The previous dozen Hunters that had come after her had earned the fate they thought she deserved herself. The brutal death they intended for her only fell onto their necks, and when she grew bored of doing it herself, she allowed Ketsyah to have control and take matters into her talons. The Dragon relaying her joy at avenging her sisters to Aerin every time.

Despite this, Aerin knew her future was grim. The Hunters outnumbered the Familiars, even with the ones she killed, and they were brutally relentless. She couldn't risk spending much more time in this city, they knew a Familiar was here, and it would only bring more Hunters here until she either left or was dead.

It was incredibly unsafe for Aerin to be letting her mind drift this much which in a Shift, Ketsyah's concern about it drifting into her, the soothing presence gently nuzzling in the back of her mind. "I know, we'll handle it, like always" Aerin reassured her, softening the beating of her wings, allowing the wind to carry her along as Ketysah tittered in joy, ecstatic to be in the air and free again.

The pure feeling of wild joy and freedom that wafted from Ketsyah every time she was flying was enough to soothe any worries of Aerin's. The creature was magnificent and while it devasted her that she knew they'd continue to be hunted for the rest of their lives, the little moments like these made it all worth it.

Aerin and Ketsyah had been in the air for an abysmal two hours before she began to feel that creeping feeling on the back of her neck. Hunters were back, she could feel it. Her eyes quickly began scanning around her, and she circled back, flying high along the coast until her initial takeoff point and the Dock came back into view. After a few seconds, she spotted the two figures down on the sand, looking like they'd just gone through some kind of struggle.

With the way her stomach began to immediately tighten, at least one of them was a Hunter. Once again, she was infinitely grateful for Familiar senses. She would have never spotted the two men without them. Ketsyah's growl echoed into her own body, bringing a snarl onto the lips of the Dragon. Aerin and Ketsyah had been through this feeling enough times to know the risk of engaging. But they also knew that delaying the interaction only made it more difficult for the Familiar.

Cursing herself and the Hunters, she banked around, bringing her down to the damp sand. The Dragon landed with a soft thud on the ground before she Shifted back into her own body, her human eyes adjusting without the bonus of Dragon senses, Ketsyah was barely satiated with the Shift time but stayed quiet as they surveyed the Hunters nearby. Aerin knew there was no way they hadn't seen her, and that this night was about to get a whole lot worse than they had expected.

"Have you two come to meet the same fate as your previous comrades? Because I really would be delighted to send you to them if you ask nicely." Aerin called out to them, her fingers tingling to grab one of the sheathed blades at her side.

Her eyes surveyed the two, one of them was a Hunter, especially with the large crossbow she saw with him. But the other, Aerin was incredibly curious about, he didn't look like a Hunter, he was too young to showcase the kind of brutal killing the Hunters made. But what intrigued her the most was the tail that she spotted coming from the younger one. It was incredibly uncommon for Hunters to be non-human species, at least in her experience. So whatever this was, it was something she wanted to look into, even Ketsyah seemed to be confused, the emotions piling into her matching Aerin's own.

"Oh, my dear boy. What are you? You don't look like a Hunter, and you certainly don't act like one. Brother? Son?" She asked him, blissfully ignoring the Hunter as she approached the pair. "Hunter got lax and accidentally knocked up a Nymph or something, leaving you stuck with him when they likely killed her too?" Aerin spoke to him, feline eyes narrowing as she looked over him.

Oberon raced after Fynn, boots digging into the sand as he fought for footing in the loose substrate of the earth. One thing Fynn had on his older brother was balance and agility, his tail flicking and waving to make up for each slipping stride of footing. Still, it wasn’t enough to make up for the speed difference, the man tackling the boy and managing to get his hands on the crossbow again, rolling away. He staggered to his feet, holding the weapon to the side, expression painted dark with fear and anger at the boy.

“This is different, Fynn! If we’ve been discovered, we could be dead! This dragon has killed every hunter before us, it’s dangerous! It’s not about the human… it’s about the dragon within.” Despair filled the man’s voice as Fynn continued to back away, the boy huffing in response to his brother’s words. For every step put between them, the danger increased for his little brother. How Oberon regretted bringing the boy… nothing was worth this danger.

As if on cue, the dragon banked across the sky and landed in front of them was spectacular in her own right. Strong wings stretched before folding gracefully at the creature’s side, dark green eyes surveying them for a moment before the animal shifted into something human. Oberon tensed, his gaze bouncing between the shifter and his younger brother, who now stood between them. Running to Fynn would only be detrimental, possibly causing this thing to attack, and there was not enough time to save his younger brother if that was the case. Fynn had a unicorn horn dagger, but would he use it?

“You don’t speak to the boy like that,” Oberon hissed between his teeth, body tense and at the ready when she spoke. He was in no position to make demands, but his protective ire rose and he dared a single, slow step towards them, shifting the bow ever so slightly in a position to try and slowly load a bolt if given the right opportunity. “And you sure as hell don’t speak of his mother that way…”

Fynn’s mother… she was indeed a nymph, a beautiful, kind, nymph brought to the palace as a slave. Oberon’s father fell in love with her and chose to bring her on as a mistress. If anything, King Julian loved her more than his wife, and he cherished the nymph, protected and charmed her. But a palace was not a nymph’s home, and after Fynn’s birth, she barely had the life force to continue, leaving Julian in predicament. He loved her and didn’t wish to lose her, but he loved her enough to let her go, offering to let her return. But Fynn… Fynn couldn’t go with her. The boy was too human and she too nymph… and her gentle heart would not leave her son and man she loved. With it, she withered, faded to dust with no life force, and Fynn was left, a cherished boy to Julian. She had been loved by all the palace, even by the Queen herself, by some miracle.

“My mother was loved.” Fynn spoke with dignity, tilting his head at the woman, taking no offense to the harsh tones in the way that Oberon did. Instead, the boy dared a step forward, causing Oberon to flinch. “She was a Nymph. Everyone loved her. She wasn’t killed at all. She’s the reason we have a ban on their hunts and how we’ve come to consider their slave trades illegal.”

“Fynn, enough… come here, boy,” the man hissed again, his shoulders throbbing with the tension that seemed to be trying to meld them together. The boy was giving too much away, showing that his mother had some link to power. The last thing the man wanted was to give away their royal status, perhaps making them even more favorable to kill.

“I’m not a hunter. I came with my brother. Do you have a name? Why… why did you come here? Of everywhere, why be here? What do you want?” Fynn was born to be a diplomat, his hands well away from his daggers, slightly held out to show he was no threat. “My brother is hunter… I can’t help that but I can try and stop this. I know what it’s like to be different, so what makes you such a danger?”

Fynn was a stark contrast to Oberon, the man looming as a shadow behind him, trying to shift the bolt delicately into its slot to have it at the ready. The elder brother’s arm twitched and his nose flared, eyes narrowing. “Fynn… the danger is the dragon… that’s not just a woman, there’s a dragon in there.”

Aerin continued to ignore the Hunter, eyes dilated solely on the younger boy. A half-breed Nymph. She had only met a handful of Nymphs in her vast lifetime, even fewer half-breed ones. They seemed to be rare or stayed in hiding, like her own kind. Either way, it was quite interesting to run into one, even if he was associated with the bastard hunter. The most thought-provoking part seemed to be the way the Hunter interacted with the half-nymph. The protective stance, and warning body language. He was trying to protect him.

But to Aerin at least, it seemed like the boy was just naive, too young to understand the peril they were both in. The previous Hunters that Ketsyah and herself and already killed, already knew the danger they would be walking into when they came after her, but to bring a young, untrained boy along was putting them both into a new kind of peril. Aerin might have been a little soft of kids in her time, but that didn't mean she was going to let him walk away after she'd slaughtered the other Hunter. Even if she wanted him to, the nymph wasn't surviving this.

Ketsyah's memories flooded into Aerin's brain once again, as they had every time they had come up against a Hunter. Each time they faced a Hunter, it was the same flood of emotions and memories from Ketsyah. Aerin wasn't even sure if the familiar was aware of the memory sharing, but she wasn't ever going to bring it up, just in case.

{Blades flew around her, the anguished cries of her brethren shattering the Dragon's eardrums. Wave after wave of agony rippled through her organs, the pain her sisters were feeling as each of them was felled by the Hunters. The dark blue-tinged blood drowned the grass under her talons, splashed all up her sides, and covered her wing wings in a slick coating. All around her, she saw the flying arrows, hitting their marks in the few remaining Familiars, and her eyes met with Boemus, her father. His own eyes reflected the pain she felt too. As the last remaining male Familiar, he held authority over the females. The weary and pained voice immediately flowed into her mind, Ketsyah's eyes remaining solely on her father. "Flee, now. Protect Aerin until your last breath. Hide as long as you can." Understanding flowed through Ketsyah, she needed to ensure at least one of her kind survived this extinction. Meeting the eyes of the few remaining Familiars, she realised they were sacrificing themselves to ensure her escape. She was the youngest and had the most opportunity to survive longer, it was the obvious choice to make her run, even if it meant allowing everything she'd ever known to perish at her back}

The Dymprean held sway over the Familiars and their chosen human forms, but the influence was only passed to a new Familiar every century. After the last Dymprean was killed by a group of Hunters, Boemus took up a temporary role in charge, until the next change-over in three years. While this was the way for Familiars, their human alternates weren't allowed to know, which pained her to keep secret from Aerin.

The rapid flashing of pained emotions and images began to cease from Aerin's mind, the usual gut-wrenching feeling replaced them. Despite how many times she'd seen and heard what happened to Ketsyah as a hatchling, right after affiliating with Aerin, the pain she felt through her memories was as heartbreaking each time. Her familiar was still so young, so seeing the horror she experienced never got easier.

If only as a cop-out to not have to kill the young Nymph herself, she gave Ketsyah the permission she needed to take control of their form. The familiar burn began in her limbs as her skin grew into thick scales, wings sprouting from her back. The transformation was much quicker than before, the need to protect Aerin drove Ketsyah to push the limits on transformation. The hunters needed to perish before she lost the last of her loved ones.

The large dragon now stood over the Hunter and his Nymph brother, gentle fumes of smoke beginning to trail from between her sharpened teeth, a snarl curling on her snout. Struggling slightly with the human speech, she extended her powers slightly to allow her to speak directly into the heads of the two men before her.

"Let the boy run and not come back, and I'll make sure your death is nicely quick," Ketsyah spoke to the Hunter, feline-like pupils narrowing down onto the weapons over the Hunter. Her wings stretched out in an attempt to increase her intimidation abilities, beating just enough to stir up the sand beneath her talons.