Bio and Personality

[myquietmind]

Roxanne grew up in an old and rich culture, one that survived against the odds for thousands of years. The rules and traditions of her culture were formed by generations of secrecy and constantly being on the run for their lives. They are a people that can actually turn into foxes. They have dozens of origins stories for why this is true, but no one knows for sure. For most of their existence they were hunted by their close cousin who could turn into wolves. The rivalry also had many origin stories, but nothing concrete. Sadly, their history was recorded orally. Nothing was written down for fear of being found out. The stories that have gone from generation to generation are no longer considered accurate as each clan around the globe has a different story.

Roxy grew up in a time of safety. The clans were able to get the humans to hunt their rivals, the wolves, to extinction through tricky and fear. Not a single one has been seen in almost a hundred years. The fox clans have expanded and thrived in that time. The fear that shaped their world has turned into a hope for the future.

She was born in a small town in Montana. Her parents were always very loving and attentive, if not particularly directive. They believed in a more free range version of parenting. They were very happy in their little cabin outside of town with their business that they ran from home. With no neighbors near by and busy parents she spent most of her childhood alone. Their house was in a deep forested area with lots of woods to explore and she spent lots of her time in her fox from practicing hunting and running in the thick brush.

By the time she went to school she was slightly socially behind. She had a tough time making friends in school, but among her own clan she started to find friends. She had more experience in her fox form than most the other children and pulled ahead in their games and hunting (It was common for rabbits to be let out for anyone to hunt. It’s often the highlight of a nighttime gathering and those who win are looked upon with great pride.). She became more confident in regular school when one of her clan, a boy name Cory, joined her class. They became fast friends even if they were different. Cory was outgoing and popular with students and teachers like. Roxy was more withdrawn still, but started to make friends and even have playdates.

When Roxy was eight she was out shopping with her parents. They were at an outdoor swap meet when Roxy wondered off. She made it well outside the sight of her parents before she realized she was lost. As she wandered, two men started to follow her. She sensed it and tried to avoid them, but in her fear made her path too obvious. She raced away from them into the street. They were able to grab her there and dragged her towards their car. She wiggled, struggled and finally bit and was able to get away. She changed forms between two buildings and hid behind a trashcan. All they found was a little girl’s dress and ran off. She found her parents shortly after and was fine, at least physically.

There were not as many playdates after that. She never really got over being hunted and caught. She was quieter and timid for a long time. Cory did his best to help her re-adjust, but not even his friendship could bring her out among people. Even among her own kind she started holding back, never the star of any of their games. Although in secret she practiced and worked hard to keep her skills.

In middle school she started to make friends again, but only because she started getting picked on for being a loner. By high school she had recovered most of her social confidence, which had never been great, but never felt confident enough to go out for sport teams or plays, anything where she’d be the center of attention.

Her whole world changed during one clan gathering in the winter her senior year of high school. Three major events happened, all within months of each other.

First was the arrival of a very special and very unusual girl about her age. Her name was Fiona. She was pretty, graceful and tragic all at once. Fiona’s fox form had three markings that had been spoken of in a prophecy. It was said that when that fox was born the wolves would destroy the foxes way of life. Their kind are especially superstitious about the old prophecies. Two others had passed, fulfilling the details their elders had spoken of and their awareness of these events had helped them survive, at least that’s how the stories told it. Fiona was instantly granted a position of great respect and interest. Roxy avoided her like the plague, but at the same time hated how people that had never given her much attention doted on the new comer who acted as if they only annoyed her.

The second was the arrival of their new chief Dominic. He was Spanish with erotic figures, long hair and an infectious smile. While the concept of chief is complex and less powerful than the title may suggest, it was still a position of respect. The chief needs to show leadership skills and be given the position by the elders after watching their performance both in the fox games and abilities to lead. They were largely an organizer, someone who helped make sure everyone was heard and only made the big decisions when an agreement couldn’t be reached. Roxy was instantly infatuated by him. He gave her only the briefest amount of attention, a simple thank you, but it was enough to send her imagination into overdrive. He was everything that she had always wanted, but secretly feared to hope for.

The third was far more personal and embarrassing for her. One of the few fox characteristics that follow from form to form is the foxes heat cycle. For them it starts in summer to fall account for the longer reproduction cycle of the human form. While they have it at all ages, young woman have it worse when they’re going through puberty and in some cases it goes away completely after a woman has a child. In a common case it’s a change in scent and an extra interest in sex. For Roxy, who had a more intense reaction, it became an obsession and a need that bordered on painful with no amount of self gratification could heal. Every scent of a male, even human or wild fox, made her body strongly react. She had to be taken out of school and couldn’t go into town for fear of making a fool of herself. She suffered for a week until finally calling Cory and asking for help. It’s a semi-common practice when symptoms are that intense and nothing to be frowned upon their culture. Afterwards she felt at ease again, but fears it’ll be just as bad the next year still fill her with dread.

After graduation Roxy started to feel anxious. She made it through school with a B grade average, although she could do better and had no achievement to speak of. She felt like she was floating and utterly lost. She had no particular interests or plans for the future, but joined the local community college to continue school anyways. She felt lost and uncertain. Going to her parents for help was bittersweet as they only encouraged her to follow her heart. She took their advice seriously and decided to try and get Dominic’s attention. She started putting her best foot forward and winning the monthly competitions in hunting and races.. She wasn’t perfect and there were some that still bested her, but she could hold her own. She even spoke to him a few times, but was too nervous to continue conversations. Her attempts might have been small, but they were huge to her. Having them go almost unnoticed was painful. He was also paying lots of attention to Fiona and everyone suspected they had a romantic connection.

Now fall has come again for her and she’s just begun a school year that holds no interest for her. She’s still going through the motions, desperately wanting fulfillment, but having no idea what that would be.

Personality: Roxy is a very centered person. She accepts both of her animal and human natures and understands the limits and strengths of both. She’s more comfortable in a wild forest than in a city, but can adapt if necessary. She knows both comfort and safety are a luxury that can be taken away at any time. She’s always looking for an escape route and planning for the future hardship. While she suspects this aspect of her personality is from the fox side, paranoia and anxiety can be a very human emotion.

She’s ill at ease in a city situation, because so much is out of her control. There is a rhythm to a nature setting that she feels and understands. The lurking predators make sounds, the snakes hiss before they strike and birds cast shadows. Seeing and responding to those is second nature to her. The sometimes violent and chaotic behavior of people has none of those warning signs. Her parents taught her to expect the best of people and when people proved her wrong, she lost more trust than if she’d been ready for it in the beginning.

She is physically strong, fast and has keen attention to detail, all attributes she learned and trained hard for. She’s always pushing herself to be better in her physical training, not realizing it’s out of fear from what happened to her as a child. She’s a skilled hunter in her fox form and often eats wild prey instead of processed food. It’s completely a preference, since she can and will eat both, but she’s especially picky about what people would consider human food. She can’t bring herself to touch frozen meals at all.

Inside of her mind is completely different than other people. It’s as if she’s looking out of two different pairs of eyes at the same time, but fully able to understand both images. There is the human mind, with it’s reason and emotions and the fox mind which is silent, yet fully aware in ways the distracted human mind isn’t. When she’s upset or embarrassed she lets herself focus on that mind and slides into that simplicity. While many of her friends found their fox side to be a distraction or feared it’s animal nature (wanting to hunt or fight), she made it into a source of peace and accepts it fully. It’s that acceptance and release through hunting that keeps the beast inside of her an asset instead of a hindrance. Although when she’s merging more towards her ‘quiet mind’ her features often look more fierce and confident, even if she’s not feeling that at the moment. It’s a facade that’s proven very effective for her.

Roxy prided herself on making her way through the middle. She believes it’s more dangerous to be noticed and given her ability, it’s better to be average. That doesn’t mean she enjoys it. She’s often jealous of those that get attention and holds a grudge against those who get the spotlight she envies. She’s the very jealous and at times it shows, mostly in looks and ignoring the object of her scorn.

Her ability to talk to men, especially attractive ones, is shakey. She often comes off as cold and distant, because she’s pulling on her ‘quiet mind’ to keep herself calm. She’s never had a real relationship with a guy before and tells herself that it’s only because her standards are too high. It really has more to do with her insecurity and fear of trusting.

While personal interactions are a struggle for her, Roxy can take care of herself and other’s in a crisis. She’s creative and thinks outside of the box. That’s why she was able to escape her captors when she was younger without given away her ability. She can think quick on her feet and often lead others from danger. In her future she’s going to be attacked by hunters and help the three children she’s teaching get up a tree before they are caught and distract them by becoming human again, which leaves her naked and therefore hard to ignore.

Despite her low self confidence, she is completely comfortable in her body. The shift from human to fox leave her naked each time and among her clan that is perfectly normal for men and women to walk around each other nude. In the style of a nudist community they don’t see as sexual. If it wasn’t for all the attention she would get, she’d be comfortable walking down Times Square nude.

Roxy is a young woman slowly coming into her own. She’d figuring out her effectiveness as a leader and pushing the boundaries that she’s put there for herself. She wants respect and is learning how to go about earning it. Secretly she also wanted the attention she’d been avoiding, but has no idea how to get it in a positive way. The meek withdrawn girl is learning how to lift her head and let her voice be heard, but it’s a hard process.