Post by Kalevala on Dec 16, 2011 0:57:34 GMT -5
Name:Serinne
Age: 2 years
Gender: Female
Alliance: Cloudflock
Position: Hawk
Species: Chinese Grey Shrike – Lanius sphenocercus giganteus
Appearance: For predatory birds, shrikes are quite small, but as a species, the Chinese Grey Shrike is the largest of the genus. As with similar species, they have almost disproportionately large heads, starting with a wicked, curved beak, with a notched tomium, as in raptors. The giganteus subspecies is characterized by being a darker, slate grey on the upperparts, with a broader black facial mask. The feet are largely useless for capturing prey, but their beaks are incredibly sharp. What they lack in strength they make up for in ingenuity; shrikes are very crafty when it comes to finding food.
Personality: Serinne is competitive and ambitious. She relishes the chase, and has earned herself the reputation of being incredibly inventive and tactical while hunting. Indeed, she’s an accomplished killer, and she’s all too eager to prove the point (aka gloat). Unfortunately, that’s as far as her thinking goes. Socially, she’s totally helpless, constantly trying to one-up raptors of a similar size, and generally acting belligerent. Kestrels and small accipiters are often challenged to hunt with her, and must suffer through her insufferable attitude throughout the whole process.
History: Hatched in the territory of Cloudflock, it was only natural that she train in its ranks. Serinne had never been sensitive about her size, particularly when she raked in so many kills (albeit, very small kills), and her high level of confidence allowed her to excel in several ways. From the outset, she had been very independent, hunting for herself before either of her older siblings had. She grew skilled at following wildfires, taking advantage of the fleeing game when predators were supposed to be the least of concerns. She became highly competitive, storing excess in her larder, which she was pleased to show to any passerby. Needless to say, this made her first encounter with a vulture very personal. One that had ventured into Cloudflock territory, and one raiding her larder no less! After it remained unfazed by her verbal abuse, she called for help, attempting to mob the bird to the best of her ability, bashing it on the back or head, and using her size and swiftness to her advantage. She hadn’t expected to be grabbed by the tail, and she lost all but her 4 outermost rectrices. Thrown to the ground, it was incredibly lucky that aid arrived when it did, and she has since been incredibly grateful (and slightly more polite) to the birds involved in her rescue. She formed a particularly close attachment to Valta, a raven and fellow Hawk.
Other: Ever the optimist, Serinne perched by the entryway to a small burrow, hoping whatever little rodent resided in it would return. She had really bungled that catch; starting from the beginning she was at a poor vantage point, but the mistakes seemed to mount as she went on. She miscalculated wind speed and distance and had stooped too soon, and now all she could do was stare wistfully into that pathetic hole in the ground. Ugh, if only I could dig. She glared down at her feet, scrunching up her black toes in frustration, trying to gather the pieces of her dignity. Useless! It took everything she had to muster up the resolve to leave it, and she reluctantly opened her wings, bursting from the ground in a grayscale flurry. Already in a foul mood, the last thing she needed to see upon her return was a figure in her tree, shoulders hunched as it appeared to be eating her hard earned catch. That was it. Swift tongue poised to berate the thief, she suddenly found herself frozen, piecing together the features of the bird before her. Anxiety clotted hot and thick in her stomach as she saw the featherless head rear up from the thorns. Swallowing thickly as it devoured a young stoat, he didn’t seem to notice Serinne as she swooped overhead, her chest swelling with anger as she noticed the gore smeared on his beak
“Oi! Ugly! If you don’t want to hang from a spine too, you better get your hideous, misshapen bum out of my tree!”
The vulture blinked lazily up at her, looking completely unimpressed. This provoked another stab of fury, and not thinking too clearly, Serinne closed her wings, diving between the branches. She hit the offender squarely between the shoulders as he tried to resume feeding. The vulture issued a sharp hiss, finally facing her, a flash of irritation in his eyes.
“You have made a right mess of things already, and I am in no mood to be trifled with. Leave.”
She bit out the last word as sharply as she could, backpedaling in the headwind to remain stationary, ready for another attack.
- And I’m too lazy to write more so I hope that’s good enough. :’D
Name: Valtameri (usually goes by Valta)
Age: 4 years
Gender: Male
Alliance: Cloudflock
Position: Hawk
Species: Common Raven – Corvus corax tibetanus
Appearance: Valta is very standard in appearance. He is a lustrous black, and very large for a raven. The tibetanus subspecies is characterized by its great size, long bill with a deeply curved culmen, shaggy throat hackles, and glossy plumage. He carries himself rigidly, and is prone to all sorts of bizarre postures that indicate his moods.
Personality: While he greatly admires chivalry and courage, Valta has a rather fatalist attitude. He has seen too much in his life to uphold values for the sake of righteousness, but deeply believes in doing what he can to help his community. He tries to be helpful, but often comes off as just dishearteningly non-idealistic. He has long held aspirations of being appointed Eaglet, and he’s always full of theories and potential solutions. He personally thinks diplomatic ties could be formed with vultures, and that if they weren’t so fiercely persecuted, they wouldn’t be so hostile. He holds his own against others, but isn’t quickly irritated. Valta tends to be very cautious and wary about entering new places or confronting new objects, and those qualities apply to newly met birds too. He develops a snarky, kind of obnoxious sense of humor with friends.
History: Valta keeps quiet about his history, but it is known that he and his brother disappeared from Cloudflock for a while, and he returned some months later in horrible condition. His brother never came back, and Valta refuses to speak of what happened. He has been mistrusted by some because of this, but he insists that they did not leave of their own accord, and in the meantime does everything he can to make up for it.
Other:
Age: 2 years
Gender: Female
Alliance: Cloudflock
Position: Hawk
Species: Chinese Grey Shrike – Lanius sphenocercus giganteus
Appearance: For predatory birds, shrikes are quite small, but as a species, the Chinese Grey Shrike is the largest of the genus. As with similar species, they have almost disproportionately large heads, starting with a wicked, curved beak, with a notched tomium, as in raptors. The giganteus subspecies is characterized by being a darker, slate grey on the upperparts, with a broader black facial mask. The feet are largely useless for capturing prey, but their beaks are incredibly sharp. What they lack in strength they make up for in ingenuity; shrikes are very crafty when it comes to finding food.
Personality: Serinne is competitive and ambitious. She relishes the chase, and has earned herself the reputation of being incredibly inventive and tactical while hunting. Indeed, she’s an accomplished killer, and she’s all too eager to prove the point (aka gloat). Unfortunately, that’s as far as her thinking goes. Socially, she’s totally helpless, constantly trying to one-up raptors of a similar size, and generally acting belligerent. Kestrels and small accipiters are often challenged to hunt with her, and must suffer through her insufferable attitude throughout the whole process.
History: Hatched in the territory of Cloudflock, it was only natural that she train in its ranks. Serinne had never been sensitive about her size, particularly when she raked in so many kills (albeit, very small kills), and her high level of confidence allowed her to excel in several ways. From the outset, she had been very independent, hunting for herself before either of her older siblings had. She grew skilled at following wildfires, taking advantage of the fleeing game when predators were supposed to be the least of concerns. She became highly competitive, storing excess in her larder, which she was pleased to show to any passerby. Needless to say, this made her first encounter with a vulture very personal. One that had ventured into Cloudflock territory, and one raiding her larder no less! After it remained unfazed by her verbal abuse, she called for help, attempting to mob the bird to the best of her ability, bashing it on the back or head, and using her size and swiftness to her advantage. She hadn’t expected to be grabbed by the tail, and she lost all but her 4 outermost rectrices. Thrown to the ground, it was incredibly lucky that aid arrived when it did, and she has since been incredibly grateful (and slightly more polite) to the birds involved in her rescue. She formed a particularly close attachment to Valta, a raven and fellow Hawk.
Other: Ever the optimist, Serinne perched by the entryway to a small burrow, hoping whatever little rodent resided in it would return. She had really bungled that catch; starting from the beginning she was at a poor vantage point, but the mistakes seemed to mount as she went on. She miscalculated wind speed and distance and had stooped too soon, and now all she could do was stare wistfully into that pathetic hole in the ground. Ugh, if only I could dig. She glared down at her feet, scrunching up her black toes in frustration, trying to gather the pieces of her dignity. Useless! It took everything she had to muster up the resolve to leave it, and she reluctantly opened her wings, bursting from the ground in a grayscale flurry. Already in a foul mood, the last thing she needed to see upon her return was a figure in her tree, shoulders hunched as it appeared to be eating her hard earned catch. That was it. Swift tongue poised to berate the thief, she suddenly found herself frozen, piecing together the features of the bird before her. Anxiety clotted hot and thick in her stomach as she saw the featherless head rear up from the thorns. Swallowing thickly as it devoured a young stoat, he didn’t seem to notice Serinne as she swooped overhead, her chest swelling with anger as she noticed the gore smeared on his beak
“Oi! Ugly! If you don’t want to hang from a spine too, you better get your hideous, misshapen bum out of my tree!”
The vulture blinked lazily up at her, looking completely unimpressed. This provoked another stab of fury, and not thinking too clearly, Serinne closed her wings, diving between the branches. She hit the offender squarely between the shoulders as he tried to resume feeding. The vulture issued a sharp hiss, finally facing her, a flash of irritation in his eyes.
“You have made a right mess of things already, and I am in no mood to be trifled with. Leave.”
She bit out the last word as sharply as she could, backpedaling in the headwind to remain stationary, ready for another attack.
- And I’m too lazy to write more so I hope that’s good enough. :’D
Name: Valtameri (usually goes by Valta)
Age: 4 years
Gender: Male
Alliance: Cloudflock
Position: Hawk
Species: Common Raven – Corvus corax tibetanus
Appearance: Valta is very standard in appearance. He is a lustrous black, and very large for a raven. The tibetanus subspecies is characterized by its great size, long bill with a deeply curved culmen, shaggy throat hackles, and glossy plumage. He carries himself rigidly, and is prone to all sorts of bizarre postures that indicate his moods.
Personality: While he greatly admires chivalry and courage, Valta has a rather fatalist attitude. He has seen too much in his life to uphold values for the sake of righteousness, but deeply believes in doing what he can to help his community. He tries to be helpful, but often comes off as just dishearteningly non-idealistic. He has long held aspirations of being appointed Eaglet, and he’s always full of theories and potential solutions. He personally thinks diplomatic ties could be formed with vultures, and that if they weren’t so fiercely persecuted, they wouldn’t be so hostile. He holds his own against others, but isn’t quickly irritated. Valta tends to be very cautious and wary about entering new places or confronting new objects, and those qualities apply to newly met birds too. He develops a snarky, kind of obnoxious sense of humor with friends.
History: Valta keeps quiet about his history, but it is known that he and his brother disappeared from Cloudflock for a while, and he returned some months later in horrible condition. His brother never came back, and Valta refuses to speak of what happened. He has been mistrusted by some because of this, but he insists that they did not leave of their own accord, and in the meantime does everything he can to make up for it.
Other:
