"a man begins to die when he ceases
to expect anything from tomorrow"Username - T h e M a r t i a n
Name - rigel
Gender -male
Element(s) - love & darkness
Rank - oasis guide
"in reality, hope is the greatest evil of all
as it prolongs the torments of a man" Personality -
reserved :: ruthless :: pessimistic :: unforgiving :: demanding :: territorial
First and foremost, Rigel is not an outgoing lion. He often sticks to himself, and often avoids other lions when he can. His job provides that he must spend time around the pride cubs and even other higher ranked pride members and leaders. Despite this, he still maintains a reserved demeanor and attitude. Now, he is not antisocial, as he still maintains sociable mannerisms when put into a social interaction. An antisocial individual is one capable of doing vast evils and feeling no remorse, a sociopath. While Rigel may be reserved or unsociable, he is not a sociopath. He does tend to be a little blunt and does have snappy or rude comments, but he will feel remorse for comments made against someone he does not resent.
Rigel is a ruthless individual, capable of destroying someone both verbally and physically. He is entirely capable of tearing someone to shreads with his words, and this is due to an observant nature. He is always watching for quirks and pressure points he may be able to use against someone in the event they turn on him. He is unafraid to utilize each and every sore spot he has uncovered. Many seem to avoid him because of this, and he has made enemies in the past because of this trait. He has a sharp tongue, and small comments are often made when the lion is agitated or frustrated with something. These comments are designed in such a way to eat away at whomever they are directed at. This is again his ruthlessness, which he is in excess of quite often.
Rigel, for someone with the love element, is surprisingly pessimistic. He is not a hopeful lion by any means, and believes that hope is detrimental to himself and to others in their development. Now, some have blamed this on his darkness element, tainting the beautiful love element he boasts. Others still might believe it to be his past which had not treated Rigel well. Whatever it may be, Rigel is someone who despises the idea of hope and certainly has none of his own. At least none that he might admit to. Rigel is pestered by the hope that one day he may be able to settle down, that someone may see past his ruthless and perhaps cruel exterior. This is perhaps the true source of his dislike of the idea of hope.
Rigel is a protective individual, but is not someone who will try to chase someone off from harming someone he cares about. If he believes someone poses a threat of either harming someone or taking someone from him, he has no intention of just chasing them off. He has the intent to mar, to ruin, to even kill in certain situations. Rigel is a severely territorial individual, and it is not wise to mess with what he believes to be a part of his own territory. It is recommended to step back and step down.
Rigel does have a soft spot for cubs, and they bring out a more true and a more pure side of Rigel. Around the cubs he is still a reserved individual who tries to act all tough to maintain a reputation he has garnered. However, he does become a bit playful about the cubs, joining in their little games and their little acts. Rigel is a rather charming individual when about the cubs, someone who loses the blunt and ruthless comments, and trades them for smooth and sweet words. He understands that being blunt or ruthless about the cubs might inspire them to do evil against their brethren, and Rigel is adamantly against such things. Rigel is still that same territorial individual, and is hyper protective of those cubs he is tasked with training and monitoring.
Rigel is imperfect, certainly, to the eyes of the masses. But, their is no excitement in perfection, and striving for perfection is a hopeless journey. Rigel is in no mood to try and change his personality and his mannerisms. No matter what, he is unlikely to please everyone. Despite the supposed major imperfections with his mannerisms and persona, Rigel seems to be a perfect match for his title. He pushes the cubs to strive for more, but not in a manner that is detrimental to their development. He has a soft spot for the cubs, losing the ruthless comments, and instead using words of encouragement as to ensure further development in the younger generations of the clan.
History -
p e r s i s t e n c e
"He won't survive the night. I am sorry, but just look at him? I can hear his chest click with every breath. I have never seen a cub in all my time manage to survive when they begin to breath like that." A pause came, a tense silence, sadness hanging in the air. Three cubs lay side by side, only one managing to breath, and barely at that.
"Is there nothing you can do for him?" The soft voice sounded like a whisper on the wind.
"I am afraid not. It is not in our hands anymore. I am sorry." Claws raked the stone floor as the voice vanished into the inky black night. Sobbing broke the silence next, the soft voice drawing the ailing cub against their chest. First her mate, now her cubs. What did this world have against her?
"I am so sorry, my love. I pray you do not suffer long."Golden rays pierced the black that had settled upon the den that night. Brought with it, hope. The voice raised its head, looking down upon the child, expecting to see no signs of life. Instead, the cub was breathing stronger and was making attempts to move. The softest sounds came from the cub, weak, but persistent. They remained. Against all odds, the cub had persisted, fighting against those odds. Weeks passed, each night a struggle for the cub, each night the voices claiming his eventual fall, and failure to persist. However, the cub fought day in and day out, each minute a blessing and each minute stronger than the last. These struggles were not gentle upon the cub, frailty following the cub around for much of his infancy and even into his adolescence. Weak-jointed, unnaturally thin, he was abandoned when it came to beginning one's training. They believed he would not survive.
Thus, the cub relied upon his mother, the voice of hope, to teach him what he needed to know for survival within their world.
"Mother, why don't they think kindly of me?" The cub would ask of his mother frequently, be it in one form or another. It was a question plaguing his mind day and night. Other cubs avoided him, the others pitied him, something he could not stand even more than the avoidance.
"My dear Rigel, it is not that they do not think kindly of you or not. They worry for you, just as I do. They do not wish to bring harm upon you by pushing you past your own limits." She reasoned, trying to comfort her son. It rarely worked now. The more and more the cub was avoided or pitied, the more down-trodden the cub became.
"I am just as capable as they are. I don't need their pity, I don't need those looks or those bitter-sweet words. I am not some sick animal. Why must they treat me as one?" The cub would complain in greater frequency as time elapsed. The cub, despite the looks and the sickly words, continued to grow and fill out his fragile frame with lean muscle. His persistence was dwindling, time dragging on with those words and those looks.
The cub, becoming a teen, began to reply in harsh words to acts of pity. Still thinner than the other lions, and still prone to crippling joint episodes, he was still looked down upon. His harshness created a rift between him and others, leaving just him and his mother. Despair began to overtake the adolescent, concerned this stage would be stuck with him for his whole life. Why him of all lions? Hadn't he suffered enough already?
a n g u i s h
Despair, hopelessness, anguish, call it what you must, the cub was beginning to fall victim to these feelings of desperation.
"What cruel joke is this? Why must it be me? Certainly, I have suffered enough?" He would rant to his mother. He had begun training some time ago, and at first they were impressed by his persistence despite his overall lack of ability. But, they had grown thin in patience with regards to his self-pity and his wallowing. They had called upon his mother to amend the situation, but alas, not a thing changed in the male. He was continuing to fill out, to age, to grow out of his weakened infancy.
Relationships-
nox :: friend
rigel wrote:nox... hmmm... i suppose she may be a friend of mine. I am not entirely sure. She is far too... optimistic and hopeful for my liking. Several times she sought to argue with me over some comment I made that was too 'pessimistic' or something like that. Despite this particularly... annoying trait, I must say I would count her a friend of my own. Despite my vast differences from the council member, she has not ignored my presence or any inquiries I had presented to her. I suppose that may make up for her several drawbacks. I also do admire her for dealing with several of my outbursts made against her and still not turning her back on me. So, I suppose she is a friend of mine. Perhaps one of the few who can tolerate me... and one of the few /I/ can tolerate.
[img]malachi%20image%20bubble[/img]
malachi :: respected lion
rigel wrote: malachi, I was unsure of him at first. Something seemed, I don't know, off? Nonetheless, he happened to show respectable qualities, and thus he managed to gain my respect, and supposedly I had gained his somehow. I actually only met Malachi through Nox, as he is her guard of sorts. I respect his work ethic, his desire to strive for greatness withim himself. Perhaps what unsettles me is his anger issues. I am not calm and cool lion, but he takes anger management issues to another level. Also, his vanity irks me a bit, I suppose. He finds himself both better in looks and physical capability. Confidence is fine, but arrogance is one of the roots of evil, in my own opinion. So, I am not a fan or even a friend of the lion... however, I suppose I cannot deny my respect for him.
vanya :: respected lioness
vanya wrote: of course I know Vanya. She is one of the highest lions in the Oasis. Now, I don't associate with her often, just because I am not the most sociable lion. But, I don't despise her company, if that is what you are looking for. I respect her, greatly actually. Her work ethic is admirable, as is her unwavering loyalty to the Oasis and those that reside within the Oasis. I also respect how undeniably devoted she is to her moral compass. She will do nothing that goes against her own beliefs, something I am finding less and less. So, while I may not associate with the lioness much, I highly respect and admire the general.
eratrea :: close friend
rigel wrote:She is a cub, and the daughter of the alpha at that. I was unsure of the cub at first, as she acted far too proper for my own liking. However, as time passed and I happened to spend more time around the cub, I noticed her true nature. She has come to the Oasis during the skirmish going on at the moment... the war, which I cannot throw my support behind. Anyways... I must say I have become quite attached to the cub. I am far more comfortable around cubs than I am with adults, which was why I gained my job in the first place. Anyways... I care deeply about Eratrea, and would give anything to ensure her safety and wellbeing.
araru :: close friend
rigel wrote:As much as it may pain me to say... I actually like Araru. Yes... I suppose I may have found someone that I would consider a.. close friend. Araru is a knight in the oasis, and we met as we share the same habitat. While he may be far from my own personality, in fact some might consider us opposing in nature. They say opposites due attract. He has his flaws, but I have my own. Imperfection is something not to run from, its unavoidable. I am willing to accept his flaws just as he accepts mine. This mutual understanding and ability to work around these flaws it what has truly allowed us to become as close as we are at this point.
Quirks:
- Rigel has a habit of drawing out words at the beginning of sentences. He makes it very clear when he is thinking while he is talking, as it is made clear by pauses or drawn out words while he is speaking. It is unclear as to why he did this and when it started. But, the quirk has been a source of irritation when Rigel is speaking with other individuals.
- Rigel has a habit of avoiding eye contact with other individuals. The only times he really meets someones eyes is when he is talking to a cub, or when he is angry with someone or trying to assert dominance over another. Any other time he avoids eye contact, preferring to either focus his attention on the ground, the horizon, or the sky.
credits:
- gif at top and below used from tumblr user
- nox owned by Mechanic Drone
- malachi owned by keen
- vanya owned by Mechanic Drone
- eratrea owned by starry-knight
- frode owned by Glomp
wip...
beautiful boyo.