My characters:
Name: Av
Age: 17
Species (human or alatum?): Alatum
Gender: Male
Appearance: He stands at about five foot seven inches. His skin is fair—uncommon among alatums, who often dwell in areas with a lot of sunlight. The sun hasn't left his complexion unmarried, however, as his numerous freckles would protest. His hair is short, but long enough to curl and make a big tangled mess when he doesn't brush it. Av's eyes are a pale blue, not quite like ice, but more as if the sky was a paint that had faded with time and begun to peel. Av is thin, like most of his kind, with defined bone structure all around. His collarbone juts out, but not unhealthily so, and his jawline is soft, but defined. He often wears a pair of army green joggers and wears a woven bracelet given to him by his younger brother (even if the thing sometimes gets snagged on his arm feathers). His wings bear a likeness to a barn owl, large and broad with countless pale, warm colors littering the feathers. These feathers also cluster around his ears, neck, back, forearms and calves.
Personality: Av can be secretive and on edge more than what someone might be considered normal, but it's largely the result of a deeply rooted protectiveness towards his younger brother. He has a deep mistrust of humans, as he's never seen one that hadn't tried to harm him or his kind before, as well as a general mistrust of most alatum leaders, who he blames for not taking actions to preserve their race. Outwardly Av can act hostile and defensive, but really, Av is just scared. He's tired of being hunted and wishes to live a normal life, which often undermines his attempts at coming off threatening by giving him an air of meekness.
Backstory: Av's mother, father, aunt, and grandfather were all some of the first alatums to be hunted down. None were spared except his grandfather, who had to live the rest of his life with a crippling injury to his left wing. Av grew up under his grandfather's care, being taught second hand the cruelty of humans. Around the time he turned twelve, his grandfather passed away, leaving Av without a blood family. Of course, the small community in which they lived was more than happy to care for him, but it didn't feel the same. Shortly after the passing of his grandfather, Av met a young alatum called Pan, who lived with his mother and grandmother. Pan's father had been killed. He was only five at the time, so there wasn't much they could bond over, but the younger alatum quickly wormed his way into Av's heart by giving him a poorly-woven bracelet made of grass in order to "cheer him up". After that, Pan rarely left Av's side, and the two were inseparable. Av started calling Pan his "brother", and strives to protect him from all harm.
Companion (optional): None.
Other: Av's wings allow him to, like an owl, glide silently for extended periods of time. However, they do not allow for many evasive maneuvers or extended fast flying, which is extremely dangerous if he were to ever get caught by hunters. Another thing—Av is more active at night. He's not nocturnal—not entirely, at least—but his senses are sharpened at night, whereas things are too bright and loud during the day for him to function properly. He often pushes through the disorientation, however, as Pan is entirely diurnal. Most people don't know this about him and call him "lazy" when they catch him napping during the day. Before his grandfather passed, Av received from him a whistle that when blown would produce a sound so shrill that it should throw hunting dogs into chaos. This kind of tool is not uncommon in alatum society, as it also alerts other alatums in the area. Av copied the design and fashioned a new one, giving it to Pan for emergencies.
Name: Pan
Age: 10
Species (human or alatum?): Alatum
Gender: Male
Appearance: He stands at about four foot four inches. Pan has a very tan completion with thousands of freckles and scars from various bugbites (God knows Av tried to stop him from scratching, but he just doesn't listen). More often than not, Pan is covered in bruises from falling or tripping into things, but regardless, he's always smiling. He has strawberry blond hair with slightly darker roots, and despite how much his hair is brushed, it's naturally a mess. His eyes are as gray as passing slate on a mountain. He, too, is thin, but unlike most males in his kind, he can't stand not wearing a shirt. He's an oddity in that way, he supposes, but he quickly got tired of people ogling at his bruises and scrapes from his many "adventures". He likes the color blue, so as often as he can, he's wearing a thin, light blue hoodie, along with some khaki shorts that barely fit his small frame. Pan's wings resemble a fairy-wren's, mostly shades of gray with tinges of dark blue and white in the mix. Blue feathers cluster around his ears, neck, back, forearms and calves. His wings are long enough to support his weight in the air, but only just, and he has among the smallest wings in alatum kind.
Personality: Pan is a real trickster. He has an air of mischievousness that he's maintained since the age of three, and he remains mostly unconcerned by others who try to school him into a "proper" member of their species. He thinks social norms are a load of "bird crap", anyways, since their species is basically dying out. In short, Pan is a trouble-maker. He loves pulling (mostly harmless) pranks and sharing a good laugh with his family—Av included—which he holds a deep love for. Despite this, Pan is highly intuitive and kind-hearted, willing to do whatever it takes to lift someone from a gloomy mood. Above all, Pan is curious to see the world. He doesn't see how all humans can be bad, which means Av views him as a major optimist.
Backstory: Pan's father was killed by hunters around the time he was three. It broke his poor mother's heart all over again whenever the small Pan demanded to know where his father was, but it hurt her even worse when he eventually stopped wondering. It was a combination of hard work by his mother and his father's mother that kept him alive and healthy, as well as (mostly) out of trouble. Despite this, Pan still seemed to crave the attention he couldn't get from his late father, and so he started acting out. It was around this time that Pan discovered Av, sitting by himself on one of the fences that surrounded their small community. Pan learned from his mother that the last of Av's family had just passed away, and the then five year old decided he wanted to cheer him up. From there on, Pan realized that not all family was united by blood.
Companion (optional): A small bluejay that Pan calls "Jay". Pan feeds him little seeds and Jay, in return, scouts out the best plausible victims of his next prank. Jay also keeps him updated on where Av is, if Pan can't find him himself. What Pan doesn't know, is that Jay also keeps Av updated about Pan's whereabouts, for enough seeds.
Other: Pan's wings are great for evasive maneuvers and for quick flying, but he cannot fly for very long periods of time and tires very quickly. He needs to eat a lot in order to maintain his energy enough to fly. Thanks to Av, he has his own whistle that works as a deterrent if he's ever being hunted down by dogs. Pan also has a unique talent for weaving things, such as bowls or bracelets, and can make various sounds with woven grass that resembles music.
Name: Dagen Charles
Age: 25
Species (human or alatum?): Human
Gender: Male
Appearance: Dagen has the whole "smooth olive", model-like skin tone thing going on. He has scars criss crossing his left forearm, ones that look almost as if a bird of prey has torn the skin there while landing or taking off from his arm. While he usually keeps this covered by the sleeves of his jacket, he doesn't attempt to hide it. He also doesn't talk about what caused it. Dagen is tall—about six foot one—and has well-defined muscles. He has slight stubble around his chin and jawline, and shoulder length black hair. His eyes are dark brown, almost black, and lack the warmth most people with brown eyes are associated with. His normal attire is a white tank top and black jacket, as well as black jeans and combat boots. He often can be seen with a pair of blank dog tags around his neck, although no one knows what they're for.
Personality: Most everything about Dagen is a front. He pretends to be kind and caring, and can usually sell it pretty easily. He has slight dimples from smiling, although those that know him well theorize it's from the amount of smirking he does. Dagen is intelligent—amazing at tracking and understanding the minds and motive behind people, as well as the process of elimination when ruling out unlikely situations. He can be cruel to people he doesn't like, but tends to maintain an impassive exterior more often than not.
Background: Dagen's parents were hunters who lived out in the country, surviving off the land. Dagen never particularly like the farming or gardening aspect of that life, but he lived for the hunts his father would take him on. He got quite good at pinpointing the exact area of deer, and his traps were constructed with a skill other hunters envied. When the alatum hate group first formed, Dagen had little to no interest. At least, until others started hunting them. Alatum wings were something to be desired on the black market, and Dagen, being a relatively poor countryman, wanted part. He's killed several alatum in the past few years, but then catching them alive seemed to be worth more than their wings, and Dagen switched to capturing them alive. Some people wanted them for slavery, some wanted them for experiments—Dagen didn't particularly care. Now, Dagen has "joined" a small activist group that is trying to make contact with the alatums, and he's waiting until they find where the nearest community lives.
Companion (optional): A German Shepard named Sal. This dog is an attack dog, trained to protect and kill, and Dagen issues german commands to order Sal around.
Other: He's an undercover slaver working on his own. He's proficient with a crossbow, and prefers slowly killing things compared to a quick and merciful death. Along with this, he keeps an army knife in his boot and another on his belt, both concealed from sight unless someone was actively searching him for them.
