Drawing credits to me for all. And holy crap I am proud.

Aidan is tall, dark, and handsome. Bronze tan skin is pulled over a lean, well-muscled composition and stretched tight over old scars. His face is angular, proportionate, and smooth, though his mouth always seems to be stuck in a mild frown.

His round eyes are an electric blue and are framed by thick eyelashes. The storm gray undertones only reflect and enhance his serious, dangerous nature. A long scar runs from the middle of the left side of his forehead across his eye and down to the end of his upper jaw. Aidan's hair is black and is cut in a sort of grown-out crew cut, where the top reaches about two inches long and the sides are shorn closer.

Aidan stands at six foot four and weighs in in the 180s at most. His body is definitely more of a lithe build, but his wiry strength is obvious and not to be overlooked or underestimated. He holds himself straight and walks with confident, almost prowling movements.

He is most often seen wearing chaps over his pants, a button up shirt, and occasionally a dark-dyed leather vest. Aidan wears a wide-brimmed hat most of the time, and he has an old, beige bandana tied around his belt. His leather boots are plain and obviously well-worn, but they've withstood the tests of time and nature.

Aidan is clean shaven or, sometimes, shows a bit of stubble, but he can't grow a beard and he has given up on such attempts. Besides, a clean face looks more dangerous on an outlaw than a beard does, right? Or is he just saying that?

Personality:

Aidan is fiery, but it rarely shows through his mask of professionalism. When it does show, all Hell breaks loose and he becomes a danger to anyone opposing him. This has never happened to or around his friends and fellow gang members, and he tries extra hard to keep his irritation to himself around them.

He is an extremely stubborn individual, but he will listen to reason and follow orders. Aidan is as mentally capable as he is physically, and he is definitely more of a leader-loner personality type. He does not stand for disrespect or dismissal. Those who offend him or get on his bad side will know it; he will make no effort to hide it. Aidan will only show respect or loyalty to those who he deems worthy; this, of course, does not apply to rangers, judges, executioners, government officials, or any supporters of such.

He left "civilized" society for a reason. His upbringing was not the most enjoyable, and he was often treated as less than human due to his mother's... malcontent after the War; her running off and having a one night stand with a Yankee soldier did very little to bolster a good reputation for her or the son that followed. He is not a dog, nor is he a servant. He is a menace to society, and he damn well better be respected because he could punch your head off.

Aidan is altruistic, believe it or not. He will put himself in danger to save another, especially someone in his group. He takes duty seriously and will always try and find a solution in which the fewest innocent lives are placed in jeopardy. Every loss takes a toll on him, but he does his best not to show it around others. He does, however, break down occasionally, and it is an uncanny sight to behold.

His likes are few and far between, especially given his circumstances. He enjoys food and winning fights. He enjoys outsmarting others and proving that you don't need a lizard tail or metal skin to be a good soldier. He likes spending his freetime alone, drawing or watching normal people live normal lives.

Aidan likes weapons, likes the surge of adrenaline just before a fight. He likes order and strategy, but he's completely fine with wreaking havoc. He will occasionally do math problems for fun, and he knows animal breeding enough to pop out some random facts about the raising, breeding, and training of horses, cattle, and dogs; it is one of the few topics that can get him rambling.

Aidan hates the part of the adrenaline rush that makes you feel like you have to pee. The feeling happens too often for his liking, and it ruins the moment. Along with that, he hates the feeling of other bodies being pushed up against his own. It's gross. Arguments, losses, most vegetables, insubordination, and teenagers are some of his least favorite things in life. And poor attitudes. He is very much a "suck it up, buttercup" sort of person.

Strengths:

Aidan is extremely versatile with weapons. He excels at sniping, or long range shooting in general, and is very accurate. Hitting small targets with a rifle from a long distance is relatively easy for him, and, when he can, he will almost always use this tactic. He is also well-versed with knives, pistols, and other throwing objects.

Aidan is very physically capable. He can keep up a brisk jog for hours on end if he needs to, and, while he is not bulky, his body is hard and wiry. He packs a good punch and can hold his own when fighting dirty; it's when he is locked brute force against brute force that he begins to falter.

Strategy and mind games are favorites of his, and he uses them often -- mostly against his enemies. His methods usually follow the rules, but occasionally he... overdoes it.

Weaknesses:

Aidan has a temper. It's a fiery, violent eruption when he goes off, and he does go off. He doesn't show his emotions at all until they've been built up for so long that he just explodes.

He works well in a team -- but he doesn't do well in submissive positions. He is not a sheep, and he does not like to be treated as such. Aidan will hold a grudge forever, especially when it pertains to how the recipient regarded him as a blind follower.

Due to a recent explosion he was near, Aidan's left ear has ceased to function for the time being. He is slowly regaining hearing in that ear, but, for now, he is partially deaf.

While he is decent at hand-to-hand combat, he does not excel at it and often avoids that kind of confrontation; the chances of him winning a short-range encounter without a gun or knife are slim, and that bothers him.

Equipment:

He has a bedroll, two canteens, a holster for a rifle, rope, and dried meat tied to his saddle. Aidan has some cooking supplies on him as well, including one cast iron skillet, seasonings, and a set of silverwear with a cup.

On his person, Aidan has twine braided into a bracelet of sorts that attaches to his belt loop. Woven into this bracelet is an extra pocket knife, a whistle, and his flint and steel. He also has a pocket knife in his actual pocket. He has a duster, but this is almost always actually on his back.

Aidan carries a long range hunting rifle, a revolver, extra ammo, and a deer knife as well. If any of his equipment is able to be stored in a hidden spot somewhere, if the gang is not on the move, he will store some of his items for as long as possible.

Backstory:

Just throwing this in for fun. Aidan never knew his father, or anything about him, really, except for his name: Johnny Ryder. His mother grew up in an upper class Virginian family, the Cravens, but she was known to have had an affair with the former Yankee soldier in the local jailhouse.

When Aidan was born, the scandal was enormous. He was raised with the same warmth as the family showed their former slaves, and it was clear to him that his mother didn't care much about his wellbeing, either, after being humiliated so. Aidan was educated, though, and his smarts sped up his schooling process until he had reached the maximum level of education his grandparents would allow for "that child."

He didn't really care about how his family saw him, though, and he left one day. At fourteen, he headed west, following the railroad tracks around and becoming a relatively good pickpocket and bread thief. A couple years later, he was a notorious horse thief and cattle wrangler. Then, he joined the gang and upped his crimes to robbing banks, stealing weapons, and outright murder.

He has been in the gang for eight years now, and he thoroughly enjoys his lifestyle -- well, when the government isn't chasing them.

Horse:

His horse is a 4-year-old stallion named Coyote. Coyote was wrangled off of another horse thief, who stole the stallion from a mayor, who had purchased the animal from a herder who had captured a group of mustangs. Aidan is the only human who seems able to get close enough to Coyote to ride him, and one of a small handful that the horse has a friendly bond with.

This horse stands above 15 hands but below 16 and is a powerful, sure-footed creature. He is not the fastest or the strongest, but his stamina is hard to rival and his temperament is fierce enough to ward off most potential predators and other outlaws. He acts more like a dog than a horse at times, and is bombproof when he decides to be.

Other:

Open to affiliations and all that jazz