Sashenka [done]

Personality: Sashenka is a very open little girl. She doesn't see much sense in hiding stuff from other cats, be it others' secrets or her own. This is why other animals find it hard to share things with her, even with her friendly nature. Sometimes her "friendliness" goes a bit too far. She is what one would refer to as a slut. Her life isn't 'sex, sex, sex', but she isn't very discerning about who she mates with and how many partners she has. Sashenka sees this as a positive thing and likes to think of herself as a more modern cat than her fellow ladycats. Though she tries to act accepting of cats that follow other mating systems, she can't help but to feel a little superior to them on the inside. Like a typical Siamese, she is extremely vocal. It almost feels like she's chit-chatting from the moment she wakes up to the second she falls asleep. She is normally extremely impatient, but, if she truly desires something, then she has patience for days. Sashenka is constantly thinking about what it going on and planning for every possibility she can think of. This sometimes leads to her staring off into space or losing track of what's going on in the middle of a conversation. She adores kittens but is not a very good mother; she can take care of their physical needs, but the actual raising does not come very easily to her. This is why her first litter decided to sever ties with her, a fact that haunts her late at night. Sashenka believes that the issue of her weak mothering will resolve itself with age, but the possibility that she will always be like this hangs around her thoughts like a dark cloud. Loves the taste of chicken. Has a deep mistrust/fear of dogs, especially where young - feline or canine - are concerned.


Appearance: See image. Heterozygous for long hair and blue coloring.



History: Sashenka was born into a small pride living on a small farm in the country, a good ways from Hexasol. Her mother, Larissa, was an aged queen who had been the favored pet of the farmer's wife. When the masters died, she quickly dominated her fellow barn cats. Those willing to submit to her were allowed to stay. Those who tried to fight her for control were either driven off, never to return, or crippled and left for the coyotes to kill. The tiny pride prospered for several years. The surrounding fields and forests yielded plenty of prey, and they managed to maintain the flock of chickens that the farmers kept by killing them rarely and protecting them from the few remaining predators. There was little worry of anyone raiding the coup, really; most of the other cats and seemingly all canines had left the area for some city called "Hexasol."

Larissa took many mates over the course of her life. Sashenka's father, a tom named Nicholas, was her last. They had five kittens, Sashenka being the runt. Larissa was ashamed of her. Sashenka had to be secretly adopted by one of Larissa's younger sisters, one that could be trusted to keep quiet. Thus Sashenka grew up raised by an aunt, believing her true siblings to be cousins and cousins to be siblings. She had quite the happy kittenhood. The pride adored her for her petite size and mischief, as well as her striking resemblance to her "aunt" when she was a younger.

Change came to the pride when Sashenka was just over four months old. A strange tom came to the pride. He was huge, with a long, slender body, a boldly spotted tawny coat, and a fierce, wild-looking face. Giuseppe, as he asked to be called, attempted to live peacefully among the pride at first. Larissa, growing increasingly paranoid and heavy-handed in her old age, would not allow this. She heard the whispers of younger cats that had grown friendly with the new tom. They liked his kindly nature and were in awe of his great strength and speed. A handful had even thought about having him as leader. Sashenka, having been mistreated by Larissa all her life, was among them. Larissa knew that she did not have long for this world, but she had no desire to be dethroned before her death.

One night she sent a group of her supporters to approach Giuseppe as he hunted. They instructed him to leave or be killed. When he refused to flee, they attacked. The fight ended with one of their number dead and another crippled. The third fled when Giuseppe came after him. The tom himself was partially blinded and received minor cuts and bites. When he came back to camp that morning, he was quickly surrounded by his friends. None of them came particularly close, as his fur was caked with blood and his face twisted in a snarl. He approached Larissa and challenged her. The queen accepted, enraged at the assassination party's failure, and ordered her followers to stand back. Giuseppe quickly pinned her. He offered her the chance to live if she left the pride. When she refused it, he killed her. He told her supporters to either leave or follow him. The majority left.

Giuseppe settled into his new position in a few short days. He quickly began the search for a mate. Plenty of females showed interest and attempted to proposition him. None of those actively in pursuit of his affections made progress. The she-cat that finally caught his eye was a little Siamese mutt, just about five months in age. Sashenka was at first embarrassed by the older cat's attention. At her aunt's persuasion, however, she became more accepting. The two became official mates after a week's courtship, and Sashenka was pregnant shortly after. Everything seemed perfect until Sashenka went into labor.

That night, as Giuseppe went off to select a chicken to celebrate the birth, he was attacked. Dogs pushed out of Hexasol by war and a swelling population had discovered the farm. The pride was slaughtered. Sashenka and the kittens were the only ones spared, as she had picked a shed to give birth in far from the main body of the colony. She found an old fox den a good distance from the border that would work well as a replacement den. She began to move the kittens early one morning, before the dogs were well awake. She managed to move three before the shed nest was discovered. She came to get the fourth kitten and discovered it and its sibling, murdered and drenched in dog scent. The young queen was too frightened for her other children to dispose of their bodies properly.

Sashenka, traumatized by the canines' massacre, was unable to give her surviving offspring the nurturing they needed. When they were a few months old, large and strong enough to hunt and protect themselves, the kittens bid her a cool, unaffectionate goodbye. With nothing to anchor her down the blue-eyed beauty began to roam.
Season born: Spring


RP Sample: From Cimoron Island:
Though he was a grown stallion by most equine's
standards, Adam had never traveled so far from his home herd before. It
had felt strange trotting away from the cave last week. He had lived
there his entire life. All of his kin - immediate and distant - lived
within his parents' territory. Virtually every herd member in his age
group could be counted as a good friend of his. His first love - and
on-again-off-again girlfriend - was also left behind. (He did not feel
as odd leaving her behind, as they had recently gone through a rather
rough breakup.) The pitch-black stallion knew every square inch of the
herd land; if suddenly struck blind, he would have been able to navigate
it just as easily as if he still had sight. Leaving behind everything
he ever knew, ripping his life's entire foundation away, was
simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying.



The horses that populated the island were much like those back home in
terms of their personalities. Their appearances, however, were as
different as night and day. While there were fairly normal looking
horses running around, there appeared to be just as many (if not more)
heavily mutated ones. He had seen fangs several inches long, rainbow
coats, wings, horns, bone spurs, paws instead of hooves... He was sure
that there were some ugly specimens out there, but for the most part he
saw them as quite attractive, partly because of their novelty and partly
because some of them were actually rather lovely.



The island itself was just as strange and beautiful as its inhabitants.
Right now he was swimming across a narrow expanse of ocean toward a
smaller island, at the center of which was a massive, likely active
volcano. Yesterday he had walked along the fringes of a frozen
wasteland. Before that, he had toured a tar pit, explored a bizarre
wooden water vessel, delved deep into a crystal cave, and trekked across
a small desert. Adam had absolutely no idea how such a great variety of
climates could exist on a small island in the middle of the sea, but he
was not about to try and figure it out. Comprehension of such a thing
probably defied the capabilities of the average mortal mind.



Adam climbed up onto the small island's shore, dripping wet, his coat
gleaming in the sun. He quickly glanced around to make sure that no one
was watching him. Then, abandoning his princely dignity, the Friesian
shook like a wet dog. Droplets of water flew everywhere, decorating the
surrounding sand with damp speckles. His mane slapped wetly against his
neck. His tail somehow managed to stay stuck to the inside of his hind
leg. He looked back at it, a scowl on his face. "Oh, please!" he grumbled. Huffing, he began trying to get it unstuck with his teeth.
Link to image of character: Here