Post by Angie on Jun 24, 2010 23:53:13 GMT -5
Name: Reese Faith Statford
Age: Twenty-three
Gender: female
Sexuality: straight
Shift: Smoky short-haired house cat
Appearance: Reese
Despite her age, Reese is tiny. Very tiny. Standing just under five foot tall, she can usually pass for a kid in middle school. Admittedly, her lack of height has a few perks; she can still eat for the kids’ price at restaurants and buy a child’s ticket when at the movies.
Her eyes tend to give away her real age. Her deep grey peepers seemed old and wise; but that’s just the cat in her. Her eyes are her only attribute that hints to the feline in her. If you get close enough to look, her pupils are a bit more slit-like than what’s normal for a human. With such mysterious eyes, she’s been told she has a habit of looking through things rather than looking at things.
None of Reese’s other physical appearances are quite so unusual. Her dark brunette air is always neatly kept (she claims that, too, is the feline in her); though, it seems to grow a bit faster than usual. She tries to keep its length right in the middle of her back, but sometimes it reaches her bum before she has a chance to get it cut.
As for attire, Reese tried to keep things simple. Most time you can find her sporting a simple tank top and a pair of her favorite Softie shorts. If you catch her in shoes, you’ll find her in Pumas because she finds the irony hilarious.
Personality: A very adventurous person, Reese will try anything at least once. Sky-diving and bungee jumping give her the adrenaline rush that she’s addicted to. To date, Reese hasn’t found a high-risk stunt that she didn’t like; however, she has found a few that she’s not too good at. Anything in the water just isn’t her cup-of-tea.
When not throwing herself out of a perfectly good airplane, Reese spends most of her time alone. While she wouldn’t classify herself as a loner, she is one. Subconsciously she keeps herself from getting too close to people. From her past relationships she’s learned that letting people in only results in heartache in the end.
History: The first time Reese shifted was while volunteering at an animal shelter. She was such a sucker for anything furry with a cute face. As a teenager, most of her free time was trying to better the lives of poor, abandoned animals. While she loved dogs, she was drawn towards cats. As she used to say, they had a special connection. One day while filling the cats’ food dishes, she reflected on how she could almost feel their pain. The next thing she knew, she could feel their pain. The director of the shelter had come along behind her and locked the gate. When she tried to yell out in protest, all that escape was a soft mew.
Two days later she managed to escape when another volunteer was cleaning the cage. All she remembers is running and running. When her feet finally stopped, she was only standing on two. Human again and completely terrified of what had just happened, she never told anyone about what she could do.
Time passed and she began to accept her talent. She found herself shifting more and more often when she just wanted to escape all the stress of her real life. Everytime she changed, she’d find a different place to explore; she liked exploring the neighbor’s garden or finding a little kid to play with. She just let her paws carry her.
One afternoon while taking a cat nap at the edge of a forest, a lone fox sneaked up on her. While her keen hearing heard a disturbance, she thought it was nothing and rolled over in the sun. Seconds later the jaw of the fox was clamped around her middle and dragging her deeper into the trees. Unconscious from the injury, her body shifted back into its natural form. Spooked by the change, the fox unclasped his jaw and ran off.
When she finally came around, Reese was tucked safely away in a hospital bed. Her brother’s giant puppy-dog eyes were staring down at her full of an emotion she couldn’t quite read. When she tried to sit up in order to gain a better look at him, a sharp pain in her abdomen told her that wasn’t a good idea. Out of instinct, her hand flew to middle only to find a blood-stained bandage covering everything from her collar-bone to her waist.
It was months after she was released from the hospital that her brother told her what had happened—what had really happened. He had been the red fox that had attacked her. While hunting in the forest, he had found himself starving. The next thing he knew he was running on all fours after a delicious looking snack.
While most people would have had a negative reaction, Reese only snickered. The only thing she asked was if she tasted as good as she had looked.
Reese moved into the ‘shifter’s complex due to persistent pestering from her brother. For years, he tried to talk her out of shifting; after all, the change was optional, but Reese always refused. She didn’t want to live the boring life her brother had since he had sworn off changing. Shifting was a thrill—once you got over the initial pain.
Despite the fact that he hasn’t changed since the first time, Reese’s brother lives with the shifters as well. He likes to think he’s watching over his little sister; on the contrary, he just annoys her.
Other: Reese has a nice little reminder of her encounter with her brother in his animalistic form. A series of scars in the shape of teeth marks cover her chest and entire stomach as well as her back. While in cat form, the scars (little patches of miscolored fur) appear to be the size of a regular dog bite; but when in human form, the scars grow to fit her form. Instead of looking like she was bitten by a wolf, it almost appears like she battled a shark.
Reese is sure to keep her scar covered at all times; though, not for herself. Her brother still feels terrible about it; it’s better if he doesn’t have to face the reminder of his mistake every day.
Relationships:
Occupations: Reese works part-time as a veterinarian’s assistance while putting herself through school to become a vet.
Residence: Verge Apartments
Pets: Recently, while working at the animal clinic, a set of customers came in to put their dog down. Over the phone, they had said it was ‘the right choice for the animal’. While Reese hated to put an animal down; she understood that sometimes it was for the better. It was better than making the animal suffer.
The surprise was when the pet owners showed up with their dog. The poor thing was a puppy. A giant, clumsy puppy. Reese spent almost an hour questioning the clients—trying to figure out of the dog was diseased, if he was in pain. After offering that the pup was in perfect health, Reese pushed them to share why they wanted to put the defenseless animal down. Their response? He was too much to handle.
It’s no surprise that she’s adopted a beautiful great dane puppy. Chief.
Likes: Animals. Pretzel MnMs. Chocolate chip cookies. The loyalty of a dog. Fluffy pillows. Crowded streets. Red lipstick. Pearls.
Dislikes:Coffee. Bananas. Loud music. The color yellow. Over-powering perfume.
Hobbies: When not working at the animal clinic or volunteering at the shelter, Reese busies herself in different ways. She likes to spend the earlier morning running; it’s all the better now that she’s found a running partner in her puppy.
Recently, Reese has taken up cooking. While she’s not ready to open her own restaurant, she’s quite good. Most times she follows the recipes in the cookbooks, but she’s not afraid to put her own twist on things.
Sample:
It was an amazing feat to be awake before the sun was. Watching the morning rays peep over the tallest buildings of the city was the proper way to kick-start a day. Such an awe-inspiring sight was enough to jolt anyone awake; Reese had no need for Starbucks. She started every day the same way. After running around the city with her pup in tow, Reese paused just in time to watch the sun rise. Every day she’s witness the phenomenon in a different spot. Some days she would watch from the window of a convenience store while other days she would watch from the top of an overpass. Every day was different; but the same sight never failed to amaze her.
This particular morning, Reese was watching the sun rise from the park. She was running past the children’s play area when the first rays of the morning cast light over the city. Her bottom had found the closest seat: a child’s swing. Her petite frame had no difficult squeezing into the seat.
Beside her, Chief had found a new way to entertain himself. The park was covered in freshly fallen leaves. Usually he released his engery by running alongside his master; but now that she had stopped, he needed something else to hold his attention. Those every so crunch leaves were his answer. By mistake he realized that they crackled under his weight. One paw, and the leave crunched. It was amusing. One leaf turned into two and two turned into three. Pretty soon, the puppy was running around in circles, connected to the pole Reese had tied his lease to ensure he wouldn’t run off, pouncing on the unsuspecting leaves.
The chains of the swing clung together as Reese shook with soft laughter. Chief never stopped amusing her. She looked up from her playful puppy just in time to cast shadows over the entire city.
Beautiful.
