USERNAME
KenmilltoSky
NAME
Aurelius ("Aurel")
Meaning: golden
HISTORY
For an entire year, darkness dwelt across the rainforest, plunging the wildlife into an almost ever-lasting night. Temperatures dropped significantly for months and weather patterns became erratic and unpredictable. Naturally hot and humid, the conditions of the rainforest changed dramatically and it suffered severe flooding from the storm clouds that remained ever-persistent above the trees. Plants, starved of sunlight, stretched to the sky in an attempt to find the sun's light and yet they ultimately withered and died. The herbivores that survived the intense bouts of flooding suffered the new issue of lack of plant matter to eat. Whilst fungi thrived, herbivores starved, and there was a rapid decline in the population. Following the huge blow in food sources, carnivorous animals also began to decline as they began to become subjected to food shortages. Tenvis cats, thanks to their incredible nocturnal sight, had an initial advantage over other felines in finding food... and yet there were only so much food to sustain such a large population. Eventually, even they were affected by the darkness.
A year of misery almost obliterated the fragile ecosystem of the rainforest. On the night of the 31st of December, the moon covered the sun, creating a solar eclipse. The moon and the sun aligned at the exact moment of the new year: and, at the very same moment, Aurelius was born.
Fittingly named 'Aurelius', meaning 'golden', the cub was born with a vibrant coat and bright eyes. All cubs born in the year before - the 'dark year' - had drab, faded coats and colourless plumes. His mother viewed his creation as hope for the end of the suffering in the rainforest, and a return to the light.
As if by miracle, the following year showed a return of the sun. Starved plants replenished themselves and re-grew, sprouting rapidly from the lifeless forest floor. Fresh nutrients and new growth supported the minimal herbivore populations and by their birthing season, the population had quadripled. Carnivores, which had suffered the worst from the darkness, slowly regained their numbers until the rainforest was almost back to full life. The sunlight had breathed life back into the rainforest and signalled the end of the suffering that the animals had endured.
Bright and breathtaking, Aurel developed rich dark plumes as he grew. The contrast of the light and dark on his coat cover lead to many suspicions that he was the essence of the shift between the darkness to the light. His mother, especially, revered him for being 'the golden light in the darkness'. Playful and sweet, the cub seemed to favour bright wildlife (including butterflies and flowers), adventure, and climbing. Seemingly smaller in build than most other males, he sprouted longer legs and exceeded in climbing, jumping and running. Strangely, though nocturnal by nature, Aurel preferred to be out in the sunlight adventuring, and he especially favoured the sunrise and the sunset.
However, despite his beauty and agility, it soon became apparent that Aurel had a serious flaw: his night vision was very poor. Despite being taught extensively by his mother, his poor vision lead to problems with hunting. The darkness offered the adolescence no solitude and he found seeing prey incredibly hard. Unable to avoid this obstacle, the Tenvis was forced to seek other ways of survival, and he took to eating various fruits and honeys. Hunting in the day seemed marginally easier for the cat, yet his success rate was less than half of that of a usual Tenvis, and the energy exhausted trying to hunt seemed to out-strip the energy gained from feeding. Instead, he lived on a diet mainly consisting of insects, fruits, and slow-moving reptiles, along with a variety of other food sources such as honeys.
LIKESDISLIKES
The Sun
Death
Sunrise
Suffering
Playing
Hunting
Climbing
Storms
PERSONALITY
Selfless and caring in nature, Aurel seems to be more concerned about everybody else rather than himself. Unaffected by his poor nocturnal sight and bad hunting skills, he would give up his meal without a second for another hungry and wanton Tenvis cat (especially if the cat was very young or elderly). His pure heart and inquisitive nature results in him being carefree and playful; he sees the world in bright colours and hardly dwells on the bad. Instead of suffering on things he cannot change, he tries to instead see the positives, and urges others to do the same.
He is especially curious above all else. He loves nothing more than watching other animals and insects, and often finds himself merely observing from high up in the trees. Birds also fascinate him and he has no appetite for them: consequently, he has had the pleasure of watching birds close-hand, sometimes to the point of almost being within reach.
Though mostly a loner, especially since he has an unusual love to be out in the day, he is loyal and protective. His love for his mother is unconditional and he would never betray her; any friends he makes get the exact same treatment. He is careful and good around cubs, and though brave to an extent, he avoids any physical conflict as much as he can.