Application
Character: Cy / Cypher
Series/Fandom: The Wild Road and The Golden Cat
Deviance: 1
Age: Not a kitten, but not far from kittenhood, either. Maybe one or two.
Gender: Female
Species: Cat
Appearance: http://pics.livejournal.com/cyfor/pic/00002pdx/s640x480; http://pics.livejournal.com/cyfor/pic/00001xh7
She's a long-haired gray tabby with four white socks and small paws. She's very small and sturdily built; stubby, too, so that from a distance she looks like a kitten. The way she moves doesn't help. She has a kitten's uncoordinated gait, and often turns summersaults or chases her tail for no reason. Her tabby markings look like flames rippling down her sides.
Tag describes her as being all eyes; tawny yellow, direct and strange and full of laughter. She has a pink nose and a white spot under her chin that makes her look slightly-off kilter, like she's always tilting her head or listening for silent sounds. She has a spark plug embedded in her forehead, the skin around it healed perfectly all the way up to its base. It is usually hidden (at least mostly hidden) by her fur. She is almost always filthy. Or at least was, until meeting Sealink, who happens to be a very determined groomer.
Psychology: She's crazy. Schizophrenia probably comes closest. She's cheerful and wild and spouts apparent nonsense almost all the time, though there are signs that she has telepathic abilities in some form, and weaves fragmented bits of the past and future into her words. She has an attention span of about thirty seconds, unless she finds something particularly riveting, and regularly tries to eat the inedible. Everything from linoleum and bits of plastic or wax paper to metal and someone's old shoes.
Her understanding of reality, or at least her ability to interact with it, is limited at best. She has a kitten's approach to everything, and may forget something she was told just minutes before if it doesn't really apply to whatever she's doing in that moment. She also is emotionally sensitive beyond the norm, understanding moods far better than most, though she may (and often does) choose to ignore the troubled emotions of those around her.
General Skills/Abilities: She has a certain amount of power gleaned from her time with the Alchemist, though little ability to use it without his direct manipulation. As such, when she uses what little power she has, bad things tend to follow. Her use of the power also draws the Alchemist's attention; there's some suspicion that she's only with Tag to serve as a spy. She is able to read minds, to a certain degree, and can penetrate mental defenses fairly deeply, though when she does it's usually by accident. She has a strong ability to hypnotize, mostly through vocalizations and speech, and can also, in sporadic moments, see the future or the "truth" of a situation, at least part of it. She is rarely able to articulate clearly what she sees.
General Weaknesses: She's a cat, and limited to what a cat of her size and stature can do. She also is prone to fits when the Alchemist uses his powers, and can be forced to act as a beacon and call down Big Badness on whoever is near by.
History: She doesn't have a history, at least not one that she knows, from before the facility and the Alchemist. It isn't entirely clear whether she was let go or escaped. Either way, she wandered for a while before falling in with Tag, a big Burmilla who rescued her from two lanes of rush-hour traffic, in which she was dancing with a butterfly. She attached herself to him after that, following him around while he suffered through a fever caused by a rat who cursed Tag when the cat hunted him down.
During his recovery, much of which took place under a bridge with a pack of feral cats, she and Tag encountered Sealink and her consort, Mousebreath. Sealink, a hard-assed calico Maine Coon who has tales of travel from all over the world, saved Tag and Cy from the mob of bridge cats after Tag beat their leader in a fight. Mousebreath, a torty so heavily patterned as to look almost black, took a shine to Cy, and he and Sealink proposed to travel with them. Tag agreed, and they set out to find Ragnar Gustaffson Couer de Lion (whom Tag refers to as Prince Stupid) and his mate, Pertelot Fitzwilliam, the King and Queen of Cats, whom Tag had been charged to bring to a place called Tintagel.
Soon after, they had their first encounter with the Alchemist, and Cy nearly died, not heeding the Alchemist's call but being tortured by his power nonetheless. Ragnar saved her. Shortly after that, she made her first appearance on the Plane.
Reality Description: They live in a cat's world. That is to say, it's our world, but from their viewpoint. They treat humans with the same sort of care or dismissal that a human might give a stray cat, and don't hesitate to use people to get what they want. It's survival of the fittest, after all. Sealink put it best: "No one owns me, kitten. Nor ever will. But we share this world with human folks for good or ill, and we got to work around them. I heard some cats call humans it as if humans got no feelings. Wrong. Course, that's only my view."
One substantial difference between the world as we know it and as they do is the Wild Road. It's precisely what it sounds like; an old way, one to which only those tied to the earth, bird and beast, have access to. It's a path out of time, the place where the souls of animals go when they die, rushing endlessly along in a cold gray wind. When an animal runs the Wild Road it becomes what it was at the beginning of everything, runs across the landscape of the world as it was before road and canal changed its face. This power lasts for a few short moments after they leave the road; it's the reason for sightings of old, dead beasts the world over. Someone traveling the Wild Road can go hundreds of miles in a day, but travel through it also shortens the runner's life. A modern cat (or other creature) is not equipped to handle the power of the animal that it once was.
There are smaller, tamer paths, that don't change the shape of the runners. They go less of a distance, and fade over time if they aren't consistently used. They don't take as much of a toll; in fact, they can serve as small escapes, respites from the world.
The Golden Cat is a mythological being, said to be born from the King and Queen of Cats, that will heal the world. It's a creature of fantastic power.
The Alchemist is a human who is all too aware of the lives and actions of the animal world. He wants to control the Wild Road and the Golden Cat itself, harness the power, and become part of the Wild Road in truth. He has lived for hundreds of years, and has devised a way to travel the roads with the help of transformative powers and the mummified leg of a panther. However, his use of the roads is warping them. The souls of its animals are becoming lost, tangled, or corrupted, and travel on the Wild Road has become exhausting and potentially fatal, rather than rejuvenating and dangerous. The Alchemist experiments on animals, primarily cats. He has swarms of creatures at his disposal, sad and confused creatures that respond to his whims and mob whoever he sends them out against in mindless, lost flocks. Cy is one of the Alchemist's cats, one who has managed to retain something like a consciousness, though she's obviously insane and rather oblivious when it comes to the most obvious things.
The Majicou is Tag's "boss" in some sense. He is the one who has watched over Tag from afar since kittenhood, and charged Tag with the task of finding the King and Queen. He is the maintainer of the Wild Road, and draws power from it. He is capable of becoming his ancestral self while outside of the Road, and Tag is terrified of him. The Majicou rarely leaves the roads himself, sending messengers like the fox Loves a Dustbin or the magpie One for Sorrows instead. He has lived as long as the Alchemist, maybe longer, drawing strength from the Road. One could say it's his life support system; the longer he lives, the shorter a time he can spend outside it.
The King and Queen are Ragnar and Pertelot. Pertelot is ill when Tag finds them, and Ragnar, though he does his best for her, is something of an idiot. He is very strong however (being a Norwegian Forest Cat has its advantages), and has the ability to heal those he touches with his tongue. He's a good, solid creature, thick or not. Pertelot is a high-class gray Egyptian Mau, a frail, loving animal prone to visions of the past.
Series/Fandom: The Wild Road and The Golden Cat
Deviance: 1
Age: Not a kitten, but not far from kittenhood, either. Maybe one or two.
Gender: Female
Species: Cat
Appearance: http://pics.livejournal.com/cyfor/pic/00002pdx/s640x480; http://pics.livejournal.com/cyfor/pic/00001xh7
She's a long-haired gray tabby with four white socks and small paws. She's very small and sturdily built; stubby, too, so that from a distance she looks like a kitten. The way she moves doesn't help. She has a kitten's uncoordinated gait, and often turns summersaults or chases her tail for no reason. Her tabby markings look like flames rippling down her sides.
Tag describes her as being all eyes; tawny yellow, direct and strange and full of laughter. She has a pink nose and a white spot under her chin that makes her look slightly-off kilter, like she's always tilting her head or listening for silent sounds. She has a spark plug embedded in her forehead, the skin around it healed perfectly all the way up to its base. It is usually hidden (at least mostly hidden) by her fur. She is almost always filthy. Or at least was, until meeting Sealink, who happens to be a very determined groomer.
Psychology: She's crazy. Schizophrenia probably comes closest. She's cheerful and wild and spouts apparent nonsense almost all the time, though there are signs that she has telepathic abilities in some form, and weaves fragmented bits of the past and future into her words. She has an attention span of about thirty seconds, unless she finds something particularly riveting, and regularly tries to eat the inedible. Everything from linoleum and bits of plastic or wax paper to metal and someone's old shoes.
Her understanding of reality, or at least her ability to interact with it, is limited at best. She has a kitten's approach to everything, and may forget something she was told just minutes before if it doesn't really apply to whatever she's doing in that moment. She also is emotionally sensitive beyond the norm, understanding moods far better than most, though she may (and often does) choose to ignore the troubled emotions of those around her.
General Skills/Abilities: She has a certain amount of power gleaned from her time with the Alchemist, though little ability to use it without his direct manipulation. As such, when she uses what little power she has, bad things tend to follow. Her use of the power also draws the Alchemist's attention; there's some suspicion that she's only with Tag to serve as a spy. She is able to read minds, to a certain degree, and can penetrate mental defenses fairly deeply, though when she does it's usually by accident. She has a strong ability to hypnotize, mostly through vocalizations and speech, and can also, in sporadic moments, see the future or the "truth" of a situation, at least part of it. She is rarely able to articulate clearly what she sees.
General Weaknesses: She's a cat, and limited to what a cat of her size and stature can do. She also is prone to fits when the Alchemist uses his powers, and can be forced to act as a beacon and call down Big Badness on whoever is near by.
History: She doesn't have a history, at least not one that she knows, from before the facility and the Alchemist. It isn't entirely clear whether she was let go or escaped. Either way, she wandered for a while before falling in with Tag, a big Burmilla who rescued her from two lanes of rush-hour traffic, in which she was dancing with a butterfly. She attached herself to him after that, following him around while he suffered through a fever caused by a rat who cursed Tag when the cat hunted him down.
During his recovery, much of which took place under a bridge with a pack of feral cats, she and Tag encountered Sealink and her consort, Mousebreath. Sealink, a hard-assed calico Maine Coon who has tales of travel from all over the world, saved Tag and Cy from the mob of bridge cats after Tag beat their leader in a fight. Mousebreath, a torty so heavily patterned as to look almost black, took a shine to Cy, and he and Sealink proposed to travel with them. Tag agreed, and they set out to find Ragnar Gustaffson Couer de Lion (whom Tag refers to as Prince Stupid) and his mate, Pertelot Fitzwilliam, the King and Queen of Cats, whom Tag had been charged to bring to a place called Tintagel.
Soon after, they had their first encounter with the Alchemist, and Cy nearly died, not heeding the Alchemist's call but being tortured by his power nonetheless. Ragnar saved her. Shortly after that, she made her first appearance on the Plane.
Reality Description: They live in a cat's world. That is to say, it's our world, but from their viewpoint. They treat humans with the same sort of care or dismissal that a human might give a stray cat, and don't hesitate to use people to get what they want. It's survival of the fittest, after all. Sealink put it best: "No one owns me, kitten. Nor ever will. But we share this world with human folks for good or ill, and we got to work around them. I heard some cats call humans it as if humans got no feelings. Wrong. Course, that's only my view."
One substantial difference between the world as we know it and as they do is the Wild Road. It's precisely what it sounds like; an old way, one to which only those tied to the earth, bird and beast, have access to. It's a path out of time, the place where the souls of animals go when they die, rushing endlessly along in a cold gray wind. When an animal runs the Wild Road it becomes what it was at the beginning of everything, runs across the landscape of the world as it was before road and canal changed its face. This power lasts for a few short moments after they leave the road; it's the reason for sightings of old, dead beasts the world over. Someone traveling the Wild Road can go hundreds of miles in a day, but travel through it also shortens the runner's life. A modern cat (or other creature) is not equipped to handle the power of the animal that it once was.
There are smaller, tamer paths, that don't change the shape of the runners. They go less of a distance, and fade over time if they aren't consistently used. They don't take as much of a toll; in fact, they can serve as small escapes, respites from the world.
The Golden Cat is a mythological being, said to be born from the King and Queen of Cats, that will heal the world. It's a creature of fantastic power.
The Alchemist is a human who is all too aware of the lives and actions of the animal world. He wants to control the Wild Road and the Golden Cat itself, harness the power, and become part of the Wild Road in truth. He has lived for hundreds of years, and has devised a way to travel the roads with the help of transformative powers and the mummified leg of a panther. However, his use of the roads is warping them. The souls of its animals are becoming lost, tangled, or corrupted, and travel on the Wild Road has become exhausting and potentially fatal, rather than rejuvenating and dangerous. The Alchemist experiments on animals, primarily cats. He has swarms of creatures at his disposal, sad and confused creatures that respond to his whims and mob whoever he sends them out against in mindless, lost flocks. Cy is one of the Alchemist's cats, one who has managed to retain something like a consciousness, though she's obviously insane and rather oblivious when it comes to the most obvious things.
The Majicou is Tag's "boss" in some sense. He is the one who has watched over Tag from afar since kittenhood, and charged Tag with the task of finding the King and Queen. He is the maintainer of the Wild Road, and draws power from it. He is capable of becoming his ancestral self while outside of the Road, and Tag is terrified of him. The Majicou rarely leaves the roads himself, sending messengers like the fox Loves a Dustbin or the magpie One for Sorrows instead. He has lived as long as the Alchemist, maybe longer, drawing strength from the Road. One could say it's his life support system; the longer he lives, the shorter a time he can spend outside it.
The King and Queen are Ragnar and Pertelot. Pertelot is ill when Tag finds them, and Ragnar, though he does his best for her, is something of an idiot. He is very strong however (being a Norwegian Forest Cat has its advantages), and has the ability to heal those he touches with his tongue. He's a good, solid creature, thick or not. Pertelot is a high-class gray Egyptian Mau, a frail, loving animal prone to visions of the past.