RP!

General Setting: cold, end of times,

Miscellaneous Notes: (I was supposed to save our PM's here but I forgot and now they're lost to time T-T )

ELBOWEN CHARACTER BIOS

...

Type: Main Character

Role: Leader

Name: Freyja Andersen

Nicknames: Slender, Freckles,

Gender: Female

Age: Roughly 27

Height: 6ft 2in

Appearance: tall, big-boned, long thick inky-dark hair usually kept pulled back in a single braid, light skin speckled with freckles, bright blue eyes,

Clothes: likes wearing leather and fur. Wears thick pants with many, many pockets. Seems to always have the right thing in her pockets! Whether it's food, a specific kind of screwdriver, a rock, paper or scissors.

Personality: athletic, kind, gentle, fun-loving. She is always willing to lend a hand, or help someone out. She knows her big-built body can be intimidating so she tries to be gentle and approachable. But, can quickly get into a rage when someone wrongs her- like robs, cheats or goes behind her back, rather promiscious,

Likes: eating, reading, hand-to-hand combat, textures, children, elderly, going on adventures! studying, reading, drinking,

Dislikes: swimming, being robbed, bullies,

Other: Is rather sexually promiscuous,

Family: Adventurer twin brother named Freyr. They are very close, and are in constant communication. He has red messy hair, dark eyes, and is barely 5ft tall. He is mischievous, loud-mouthed, opinionated, wild.

...

Type: Minor Character

Role: Engineer of Animal Mechanics, Vetinarian

Name: Abraham Smith

Gender: Male

Age: 75

Appearance: dark skin, fuzzy white hair stained with oil to look darker, prickly chin from stubble,

Clothing: colorful, mix-matched, wears his 'cat' as a scarf,

Height: 5ft 9"

Personality: fun-loving, quirky, talkative, opinionated, loud. Is either at 100% energy, or 0%. Is very cranky and snappy if he's tired. Fiercly protective of his friends.

Likes: animals, reading, walking, adventure, children, robots, pulling pranks,

Dislikes: sleeping, wasting food, hurt animals, animal suffering, pain, people who don't like him, silence,

Family: Grandfather of Esther Smith, lost son (whom he forgot about)

...

Type: Minor Character

Role: Healer, Cook

Name: Esther Smith

Gender: Female

Age: 30

Appearance: plump, brown kinky hair kept neat and pulled back. black eyes. thick body. dark skin.

Clothes: sensible, simple, plain. Likes earthy tones.

Personality: serious, strict. Doesn't like you- unless you're a child. Doesn't like taking orders. Likes to be in charge of herself. Can be rude. Sassy. Sarcastic. Very judgemental.

Likes: children, cooking, cleaning, giving orders, doing work, being productive.

Dislikes: snow, being cold, guns, messes, being lazy.

Family: Grandaughter of Abraham, lost father (whom she doesn't care about)

Other: Does not want to be travelling, wants her grandfather to be put into an old-age home so she doesn't have to take care of him,

...

Type: Minor Character

Role: General Handyman, Youth,

Name: Jun Qiang 'Starlight'

Gender: Queer (born female, wants to be gender-neutral, uses 'she/her' pronouns

Age: 13

Appearance: straight black hair, kept long and in twin ponytails. Very slim. Black eyes. Long eyelashes. Very fair skin!

Clothes: fashionable, tight, somewhat impractical but very cute. Likes bunnies and rainbows.

Personality: lazy, playful, mischevious, curious, hyper,

Likes: playing in the snow, playing with the sled-dogs, fishing, flirting with people her age. learning about animals. Making costumes for the sled dogs.

Dislikes: being yelled at, being scolded, being called 'weak'.

Other: Was raised in a secluded basement, and knows virtually nothing about the world. Extremely naive, and was probably experimented on growing up.

Family: She's sure her family is out there... somewhere.

...

Type: Minor ANIMAL Character

Role: Being a nuisance

Name: Scarfy

Gender: Female

Age: 6

Appearance: A miniature snow-leapord with golden eyes and a long, fluffy tail.

Personality: mischievious, lazy, quirky, moody,

Likes: sleeping, causing mischief, playing in the snow, hunting mice, hugging people's necks, hiding,

Dislikes: warm water, wearing clothes, water baths, being scolded,

Family: Abraham, but not Esther,

Other: can heat up their body to be used as a warming device,

...

ROBOTIC SLED TEAM GROUP

Type: Background ROBOT/ANIMAL Character

Role: Robotic Sled Team,

Names: Happy, Doc, Grumpy, Dopey, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy (OPEN FOR CHANGE)

Appearances: Identical husky-look alikes. Each wearing a collar with their name. Sometimes wears hand-made neckties from 'Starlight'.

Note: Mainly owned by Freyja, but she shares!

Type: Main Character

Role: hunter/scout

Name: William (Will)

Gender: male

Age: 31

Appearance: Will is 6’ 2”, with slightly shaggy dirty blonde hair and green eyes. Broad shouldered and muscular, he is built lean enough to run distances but heavy enough to fight.

Personality: Will is not exactly a people person. While he is happy to work for the betterment of the group, he values his solitude and has a low tolerance for stupidity and mistakes, even honest ones. Generally grumpy with humans, he is extremely patient, gentle, and kind with his animals (his bionically enhanced wolf hybrid Maximus, or Max; his genetically enhanced mare, Sky; and his bionically modified peregrine falcon, Artemis).

Likes: animals in general (but especially his own), solitude, nature, chocolate (though few people know it), hard work, sitting by the fire at night, hunting, good old fashioned grilled meat

Dislikes: most people (especially stupid ones, and he has the tendency to think most people are), inane chatter, computerized technology

…

Type: Minor Character

Role: Computer technician

Name: Jimmy

Gender: male

Age: 23

Appearance: at 5’ 10", Jimmy is of average height, but extremely gangly. With bright red (almost orange) hair, pale skin, and freckles, his brilliant blue eyes are definitely his best and least awkward feature! Seemingly all elbows and knees, Jimmy is physically awkward in how lanky he is.

Personality: Jimmy is the epitome of a computer nerd. Socially awkward (in spite of being very friendly) but technologically brilliant, he can fix any computer, but trips over his own tongue talking to people, and definitely trips over his own feet trying to walk. He tends to be over helpful in that he's always willing to lend a hand, but is rarely good at what he's offering to do. He often gets in the way, is clumsy, but can save the day when necessary.

Likes: computers, technology, flowers (though he's only seen them in books), other nerds who can speak his language, the sled dog robots, his beanie, the color green

Dislikes: Jimmy is affable and good-natured enough but he doesn't really have dislikes

…

Type: Minor Character

Role: General mechanic

Name: Susan

Gender: female

Age: 38

Appearance: Susan is 5’ 4” and build sturdily. She is somewhat stocky and muscular, with blue hair short in a pixie cut. Though they are almost always covered because of the cold, she has extensive sleeve tattoos on both alarms, mostly of fantasy creatures (dragons, fairies, elves, castles, knights, etc.). She also has an extensive dragon tattoo on her back that comes over her shoulder, around her hip, and down her arms slightly.

Personality: Susan is very quiet, but full of sarcastic comments when you get to know her. They are just usually spoken so softly as to not be noticed. She has a very dry sense of humor, and enjoys her mechanical work. She is very much a problem solver. Quite physically strong, she is still tender-hearted, especially with animals and children. She has a secret…

Likes: all things fantasy, cars, anything with wheels really, welding, carving small wooden things in her spare time, children, quiet time

Dislikes: loud boisterous people, big groups of people, anything with a lot of activity, problems she can't fix, open water (she can't swim)

…

Type: Minor Character

Role: apprentice hunter/scout

Name: Aiden

Gender: male

Age: 14

Appearance: Aidan is 5’ 11”, tall for his age, and very lean. To some he might even look thin, but he does have a layer of muscle. He has shaggy brown hair and a large brown eyes, and while he is not overly attractive, there is a certain homely quality to him.

Personality: Aidan is very serious for his age. He likes to think of himself as an adult, and in many ways he is: he is a very productive member of society. He worships the ground Will walks on, aspiring to be a great hunter/scout just like the other man. He discreetly follows him around, watching his every move to learn. Without even intending to be, he is very sneaky because he is quiet on his feet; he frequently surprises people, seeming to appear out of nowhere. He has a heart of gold and is incredibly loyal.

Likes: hunting and scouting, animals, climbing trees, people watching, cooking, reading (though he doesn't like anyone to see him do it, because he's very slow at it)

Dislikes: loud people, wastefulness, rudeness, large crowds

…

Special Character: bionically enhanced wolf hybrid

Name: Maximus (Max)

Age: 4

Appearance: Max looks like a giant Timberwolf, heavy through the shoulders. His withers come up to the bottom of a man's ribs, his head to a man's chest. He is very heavy and muscular. He is light gray in color, and therefore difficult to see against the snow. His eyes are bright green (night vision and heat detection sight—incidentally he can also hear incredibly well), and his coat is a little longer than the average wolf (some of his enhancements). His claws and teeth are sturdier, a hair longer, and slightly sharper than a normal wolf's. His skin is thicker, to the point where even bullets do not pierce him easily.

Personality: Max is very serious and solemn. He is extremely loyal to Will, loves him dearly. He is an excellent hunter and scout on his own and far more intelligent than the average wolf (part of his enhancements). While he cannot communicate back (at least not in words—Will understands much of his body language and signals), he understands a great deal of English. He is never not with Will. He puts up with other people (barely), but is fond of Aiden and Abraham.

…

Special Character: genetically enhanced horse

Name: Sky

Age: 6

Appearance: the better to blend into the current world, Sky was bred to be a gray and white pinto. She is similar to a cross between a quarter horse and an Icelandic pony in that she is stocky, sturdy, not very tall, and has a shaggy coat that helps her keep warm. Her genetic enhancements include increased strength and stamina, and better eyesight and hearing (for instance, in blizzards). She is also as sure-footed as a mountain goat.

Personality: Sky is brave. She is also loving and very attached to Will. Unlike Max, she is friendly with everyone, but Will is obviously her person. She would brave blizzards, hail storms of bullets, and more for him. She is far smarter than any horse should be!

…

Special Character: bionically enhanced peregrine falcon

Name: Artemis

Age: 2

Appearance: Artemis looks exactly like any peregrine falcon should!

Personality: above all things, Artemis is fierce. Fiercely loyal, fiercely protective, and just plain fierce. Will is the only one who can handle her (the only one who she will allow to handle her, though she grudgingly accepts help from Abraham when Will is away or incapacitated); everyone else she bites or just flies away from. She occasionally will ride on Aiden's shoulder, but won't let him touch her. Still, it is a great honor for him as far as she is concerned. Very intelligent and with an incredible sense of direction (even in the worst of blizzards), she can deliver messages anytime, anyplace, when not wounded. And she is built hardier than the average peregrine falcon so that she is harder to wound!

(It's gonna be a bit longer just because it's the first one!)

...

Freyja knew something was wrong even before she reached the settlement. There were no bright signal lights. And no lights meant no fuel. And if there's no fuel, it meant something was terribly wrong.

Freyja encouraged her sled dogs to speed up- but she didn't dare get her hopes up. Swollen purple bodies littered the outsides, poor people forever preserved in the cruel snow. Red-stained bodies were littered closer to the settlement, their blood crystalized and shining in the bright sunlight. She ignored them. There was nothing she could do for them.

Freyja slowed down when she reached the settlement, slipping through the huge wooden gates that was supposed to keep the wind out. too bad it couldn't keep raiders out.

Freyja knew what to expect. No survivors. The sick would have been killed. The adults taken for slaves- the animals taken for work, and the children... Well, she didn't know what happened to the children- no one did.

But maybe... just maybe- there would be some survivors. Or even people who came after the raiders... Scavengers. Or refugees.

Freyja dug into one of her many pockets, and took out a flare. She let it loose- signalling to anyone (please let there be someone), that she was here to help.

Not even two minutes later, she heard a shout. Freyja's robo-dogs looked around wildly, and Freyja shushed them. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw the figure in the distance.

"Abe!" she cried- rushing forward to greet her dear friend. The old man still had that cat around his shoulders, and he didn't look a day older than when she had seen him years ago.

They shared a quick hug, and Abe immediately went over to talk to her sled dogs. Typical Abe- always with his animals. Right behind him, came Esther, Abe's ever-present grandaughter. She was carrying a huge backpack of their things, as well as a giant bag. She looked miserable.

Freyja gave her a quick one-sided hug, and Esther looked exhausted. She said they just arrived, and found noone else, but were gathering resources.

Freyja offered, "Want to travel together to the next settlement?"

Esther breathed a sigh of relief, "Only if we could find a carriage. I'm not walking all that way with all this stuff."

Freyja smiled, "Of course. I'll go look for one... watch my sled, will you? And please- don't let Abe give them any more upgrades."

And so, Freyja went exploring the ruins, checking a few bodies for any signs of life- none. With every dead pulse, she felt her hope diminish. She just hoped more people would have seen the flare...

Will was exhausted. He turned Sky's head toward home, using the pressure of his calves against her sides as additional guidance. The sturdy little mare snorted, her breath creating puffs of fog in the cold air, as she broke into a jog. She was ready to be home as her master.

They broke through the edge of the trees, coming onto the rolling hills, the settlement still some miles ahead. With his small cadre of animals, Will had left the settlement three days prior to go hunting in the woods. His rifle, one of the few guns anyone owned in the settlement, was stuck in the holster on the front of the saddle, but he hadn't used it this trip. Bullets were harder and harder to come by, and so easy to waste. So he had used his bow and arrows to bring down the scrawny young buck that was lashed to the back of his saddle.

Will reached a gloved hand behind him to touch the dead creature and reassure himself that it was there; it was very important because it would feed many this next few weeks. Satisfied, he plans to the side and saw a giant wolf trotting parallel to him and his horse about 50 yards away. He smiled slightly, and whistled. The wolf immediately turned and loped toward them. Maximus was ready to be home as well.

A shrill screech from the sky had him glancing up, looking for his falcon, Artemis. But before his eyes could find her, he saw the red flare burst into the sky in the distance. Heart hammering, he realized it was over the settlement.

Almost before he could ask her to, so synced were they, Sky exploded into a gallop over the hills, ears pinned back and her head held low for speed. Leaning over her neck, Will heard Max snarl beside them as he kept pace.

It seemed they were at the settlement in a matter of minutes. Will’s stomach dropped as he saw the area surrounding the wall strewn with bodies. Thundering through the gates, he leapt off of Sky before she had even slide to a stop. He saw Abraham and Esther ahead of him with a stranger. He strode toward them.

Nodding to the newcomer, he turned to Esther, seeing that Abe was already distracted with the sled dogs. “Any survivors?” he asked bluntly. Please let Aiden be alive, he thought, but his face showed nothing.

…

The sledmobile lurched to stop at the top of the hill as Susan slammed on the brakes. Built something like a small topless Jeep on skids, able to carry supplies and four passengers (albeit a tight fit), the strange vehicle was Susan's own design, and carried everything she owned in the world.

She has slammed on the brakes at the sight of the flare, but now hit the throttle and zoomed over the snow toward the ravaged settlement. It was a new place to her, but maybe she could help.

Esther managed to give a tired smile to Will. She gestured around, "Take a look for yourself- doesn't look like anybody's alive."

She added bitterly, "Not even the animals. Most bio-animals had been stripped for meat. And don't ask about the humans skeletons around either."

...

Freyja noticed the newcomers- with his companions of animals. She smiled- it's been a while since she's seen a horse. The man had a young buck on the mare's back- and Freyja's first thought was to barter for a leg, but she ignored it. The gun didn't escape her sight either.

Freyja waved to him, a pleasant smile on her face, "Greetings, I'm Freyja. Explorer, Vigilante and friend to most. Who are you?"

She was most facinated by his mare, but she didn't dare touch her. And was that a wolf-dog? Oh dear, her sled dogs better not get too excited. Freyja glanced behind her, but Abe had already put her dogs to sleep-charge, their long legs sticking up to the skies.

Scarfy- that silly little cat- was making its way towards them, full speed at the wolf-dog.

...

Hands on his hips, Will did as Esther suggested himself and looked around what had previously been his home. Many of the buildings had been burned, the others obviously ransacked. Piles of debris and discarded and destroyed items were strewn everywhere. But that was far from the worst of things.

The worst of it were the bodies. He had seen many of them coming into the settlement, but the sight of the ones now, cut down in the middle of the road; laying burned half in, half out of houses they have obviously been trying to escape…death everywhere.

Death, even death on the large scale like this, wasn't a new or foreign concept to anyone here, anyone living in this day and age. But that didn't make it any less horrible. Will's hands clenched in impotent fury at the sheer pointlessness of all the violence. There had been almost 50 people in this settlement, now gone forever.

He turned back to Esther, face still as stone, eyes cold as ice. “We'll have to collect what we can and get out of here as soon as possible. This place will start attracting scavengers in no time, and they will likely be armed. I'm going to take a look around for any more survivors.”

He turned on his boot heel to march away, but stopped abruptly when the newcomer spoke, introducing herself. Will let a beat of silence fill the air after her introduction, making the atmosphere awkward as he crossed his arms.

“William,” he answered bluntly, not offering a hand. He stared impassively for a moment, before glancing back at Esther and reiterating, “Survivors.” Then he walked past Freyja, Max trotting at his heels, completely missing the cat approaching…

…

Susan drove slowly through the gates, seeing the upside down sled dogs first, the horse second, and the gathering of people third. And then her eyes took in the rest of the settlement in all of its devastation. With a tired sigh, she climbed rather nimbly out of her vehicle despite her stocky frame. She cautiously approached the group of people, raising her hand tiredly. “Need some help?" she called her she drew closer, wondering who was in charge.

Impassive. Serious. Probably emotionally constipated.

These traits popped out to Freyja when (William, was it?) made it very clear that he wasn't a people person. She wasn't surprised, most people weren't. They were living in a time when it was better to test now, trust never. She was, although, eased to know he was on decent terms with Esther.

Esther was, after all, a good judge of character.

And speaking of characters, just as William went off looking for survivors, a woman came towards them. Freyja went forward first, a friendly smile on her face as she extended her hand, "Hello there, I'm Freyja, these are my friends,"

Freyja easily introduced Esther, who nodded her head stiffly. Freyja also gestured to Abe- who was now lying on the ground, his own legs up as he mimicked the sled-dogs. Scarfy the cat was quickly following William, trying to catch up.

Freyja said conversationally to the new person, "And who may you be?"

...

It's been a while since someone visited Starlight. Usually, her father would bring her some meals- or some new toy- or do some more tests. But... it's been such a long time, and Starlight was tired of pacing around in her tiny room.

It was easy to pick the door lock- but when she peeked out, the basement was empty. No father. No friends in lab coats. Not even a nanny. Not even the lab machines were on!

Where did everyone all go?

Starlight was usually forbidden to climb up the basement stairs, but this time, her curiousity beckoned her. So, she slowly crept up, and fidgeted with her lock picks until the secret basement door clicked open.

The house was in a mess- broken glass everywhere! And somebody ripped the couch- and broke the cupboards, and even her father's books were gone!

Maybe they're renovating.

Starlight easily tiptoed around the broken glass. When she glanced outside, she giggled in delight upon seeing all that snow. If her father was here- he would have yelled for her to go back to her room, but... he wasn't here... so maybe she could play in the snow for a while!

Starlight was clad in just a thin nightgown, but she dashed outside, relishing every opportunity to play in the beautiful snow. The cold snapped at her skin, and she shivered in delight. Any minute now, her father would drag her back inside- but until then, she could have some fun!

There were some other people sitting in the snow, but they weren't moving. Huh- probably sleeping. Starlight made a snowball, and threw it at them- it hit their face, and they didn't even move.

Weird.

Starlight noticed a figure moving in the distance- finally, a playmate! She made a snowball with her bare hands, ignoring how her entire body was trembling. She threw the snowball as hard as she could towards the figure, eager to get a reaction.

Who the hell was that woman? And why was she in such a damn good mood considering the circumstances?

Will found himself fuming as he stalked away from the small gathering, swinging his gaze left and right at the various destroyed buildings on either side of the main thoroughfare of the shattered settlement. He bent over several bodies and checked their pulse, only to find them cold. Gods above, was there really no one else who has survived?

…

Susan accepted the end of the tall, black-haired woman standing before her. “I'm Susan,” she said quietly, then jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the sledmobile. “That's my rig. That man said something about survivors?” She cut her eyes to the back of the man walking away and shoved hands awkwardly into her pockets. “Need help looking? You guys got a plan for all these bodies?”

For as long as anyone could remember the ground have been to frozen to bury people. Burnings were usually the way to go, nowadays. But with this many dead, it would be so massive as to attract eyes from everywhere. It wasn't Susan's decision; it wasn't her settlement. But if they did plan to start a massive bonfire, she wanted to know so she could get the hell out before the raiders arrived.

…

“You don't look so good, man…”

Young Aiden crouched in the new darkness of the cellar, holding the last stub of the candle up to his companion's face. Jimmy waved his hand feebly in an attempt to get Aiden to remove the light from his face.

“I’m—" Jimmy shifted his leg as he said this, and then immediately groaned in pain, regretting the movement, his pale face becoming even more bloodless. “Just get us out of here, Aiden," he finished, feebly.

Aiden glanced at Jimmy’s left leg, his own belt wrapped tightly around the older man's thigh as a tourniquet to staunch the bleeding from the large gash in his calf. Hours ago now, Aiden had run in the burning building, determined to pull out Jimmy safely, while Jimmy was equally determined to gather up all of his files (“This is EVERYTHING!” he had shouted at Aiden, over the roar of the flames. “Don't you understand?”). The two men had been struggling with one another when the roof has caved in, almost killing them. It would have, had it not been for the cellar, the floor beneath their feet collapsing with the roof, plunging them into hopeless darkness it seemed, but they were alive!

And trapped, of course.

Aiden went back to the opposite corner of the cellar and resumed banging the broken pipe against other exposed pipes. Hopefully someone would hear and investigate … hopefully.

…

So focused was he, Will was terribly surprised when the snowball zoomed past his nose, barely missing his face. What the hell?

His head whipped around in the direction the snowball had come from and he saw… what the hell? His mind seem to be stuck on those words.

But seriously, he knew every person in this settlement, yet someone was deeply inside of it, surrounded by death and seemingly unperturbed; a young person played in the snow. He approached cautiously.

“Hi there," Will said, his voice actually bordering on politeness and warmth. “I don't think we've met… I am Will.” Max approach from behind on silent feet, and stood at his leg. Will reach down and absentmindedly rubbed his ears. “What's your name?"