[Yuroshi]

Xiomar Marthelm

Xiomar had always known he was a bit of a strange kid, from the moment he was able to think for himself. But, as his parents dropped him off in the middle of a temperate rainforest, leaving the child of barely 13 to take care of himself in an extremely dangerous environment, the fact cemented itself into his mind. Had it been anyone else, the child almost certainly would’ve perished... but Mar was never normal. It didn’t take long for his oddness to set in, and strange things started to happen. Well, maybe not so strange in that a tiger mother heard his cries and saw a free meal...
But strange in the fact that when the tigress went to eat the little one, she found that she couldn’t. After all, it wasn’t often another species could communicate with her, and the faint little stripes... they were too like her own cubs. Angry with herself, the mother tiger snarled out for her own cubs to come meet this strange not-tiger, perhaps hoping for the cubs to finish off the strange one who seemed so unafraid. If so, she was doomed to be sorely disappointed- all three of her four-month old cubs seemed happy to meet this strange one. Her littlest, strangely colored cub immediately latched on to the strange one as though he were his sibling too! For a while, the tigress simply sat and watched them play, before she snorted slightly and turned around, whacking them with her strong tail. She resigned herself to what she was about to do and began to walk off, senses completely alert. With four extra mouths to feed, things were going to get much more difficult.

It had been a month since his abandonment, and subsequent rescuing, and little Mar was lost in his thoughts. He knew he’d gotten lucky with the tigress- regardless of being able to communicate with large predators, and his ability to calm them.... well, hungry was hungry. The fact that he could speak would mean nothing to a starving beast, especially if it hadn’t been a mother. As he romped through their den with his new “siblings” he couldn’t help but shiver a bit as he imagined what could have been, before thanking whatever dieties could possibly be listening for the luck he had. It didn’t take long, though before he was distracted, his littlest brother tugging on his tail effectively stealing his focus. While he did love his other two siblings, little Rajah was his undeniable favorite, and he his. Khan and Gheera were still good siblings, but the two spent less time with their oddities of a brother and denmate, their pelts allowing them to blend in far better. They were also more frequently taken on hunts with their mother- Shere, as she was known. As it was, only Mar and Rajah were in the den at the moment, engaged in a fierce wrestling match... needless to say, little Rajah was winning. Or rather, not so little anymore. As Mar was pinned, he paused for a moment in struggling to look at his brother... for being a runt, he sure was growing fast... speaking of which, so were the other two, catching up to their mother far faster than was normal... but what did he know about tigers? Not enough to know for sure. Rajah stopped gloating to look back at him, but the smug look remained, and the moment was broken with a loud slap as Mar brought his paws up, clapping his brother’s face inbetween his little paws with a laugh. As their play-fighting began anew, the thought of strange changes flew from his mind, to be forgotten until much, much later.

As time went on, Mar, Rajah, Khan, and Gheera became closer and closer, each honing their skills, specializing, learning. For Mar, it was... strange. Tigers, after all, are quite a bit different than kalons, even purely in the size department. But he had other gifts, and was determined not to waste them. His mother had convinced him of that- not his birth mother, of course, but his real one. The tigress. While she taught her tiger cubs of the ways only a tiger can master, she encouraged Mar to chase those skills unique to himself. More specifically, his ability to speak. This ability... it wasn’t exactly words, not to the predators at least. It was more simple sounds, subtle gestures, but the meaning was clear, a sentence spoken directly to the mind. At first, it was like a child, struggling to find the right words, simple sentences just enough to get the meaning across. But as he practiced, his skill-his magic- grew along with him. He was sent by his mother to communicate with other powerful beings- these lessons doubling with his siblings’ as they were tasked to follow him unnoticed, to protect him from any who would wish harm on the little one. Most of the predators never bothered to harm him, too fascinated by the tiny one, endeared by his stumbling efforts to speak. And as they grew, so did his language. Now, merely a year later, he could speak fluently the language of the hunters, learning to convince and persuade. He learned the ways of the sly and the cunning, and grew to be a force to be reckoned with. He couldn’t help but grin, only 14 years of age, as he realized how powerful simple words could be.

Life was going well for the little ones. Shere was grateful for her decision to bring in Mar, for her brood seemed to be better off for it. Of course, as things tend to do when you have rebellious teenage children (even if one is roughly 14, while the others were merely a year and a half-tigers age differently, after all), it didn’t take long for danger to strike. The children became confident, and when food supplies became lower, the teens became reckless. Shere simply could not provide for them all on her own during the down season. They might have still been young, but they were already larger than she was! She almost couldn’t believe it when she looked at her runt, though she couldn’t call him that anymore. He was far larger than any adolescent tiger had a right to be, bigger than his sisters as well. Still, usually her family would be fine, the cubs with their cunning, tiny brother able to find food for themselves. But today... today, they were reckless. The children left their mother’s territory in search of better hunting grounds, in their excitement not noticing the scent marks of another. Still, the children hunted, for that’s what they were meant to do, and today they were successful in a way they’d never been before. In a wild, fast, and dangerous battle the four took down a large boar, barely avoiding being gored by its tusks. It was nearly as large as the tigers were, and they couldn’t wait to bring it back to share with their mother. They began to drag it back, moving quickly with the four of them together- although slower, as the children had eaten a little in their triumphant celebration and had food in their stomachs. Unfortunately, they did not move fast enough. It happened so fast, Mar merely saw a blur before Gheera went rocketing away from their kill, rolling as she growled fiercely, engaged in a battle with a huge, scarred tiger. Even as her brother and sister joined in, Mar knew it was a doomed fight- regardless of the number advantage, this tiger was at least 8 years of age, and his experience made him far more dangerous than any children could be. Besides, this was his territory, and he was easily able to make it to where only a single of his siblings could attack him at once. As Mar saw his siblings gaining wounds, a panic built up inside him, and with it came power. As he heard a fierce roar from behind, he let it loose, touching a paw to his mother’s belly as she lunged over Mar to protect her cubs. As Shere landed, she found that she had tripled in size, power flowing through her veins as she let out a near-deafening roar. The last thing Mar heard as he blacked out was the roar, and he descended into the nothingness happily with those a words ringing in his mind.
YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY CHILDREN!

Mar drifted in and out of consciousness for a while after that- the first time nearly panicked, but quickly calmed by the feeling of the jaws that carried him. He just managed to let out a relieved sigh before he was gone once more into his mind, an exhausted sleep overtaking him. When he finally woke, it was to the soft belly of his mother, and his siblings curled around him- battered and scarred, but all alive, and from the looks of their jutting stomachs, successful in their hunting. Mar nearly cried from his joy at still having a full family, but a painful thought soon cut it off. He was different, he was weird. He was magic. His last family had abandoned him when they realized this fact, dropping him in the forest without a care that he would likely die. Would this one do the same? He sucked a breath in, desperately hoping this wouldn’t happen... but that breath woke his mother, and their eyes locked. He was terrified.
He should have known he didn’t need to be. His mother simply ran her tongue over him, and softly thanked him for what he had done. She explained, finally, how her cubs were far larger and stronger than usual. She told him that he had a magic, and a gift like no other. A gift which allowed him to share his own life with others, to make them strong. Neither noticed that the other tigers had woken until they moved closer. Shere simply smiled, and told them how they were far more intelligent too, stating together. She encouraged him to continue using his power, and asked him to remain with her cubs. They knew that soon they would have to move away from her.. they were nearly grown. But for now, they were together, and that was all they could ever ask for. As Mar buried his face into the soft underbelly of his mother, feeling his siblings lay their heads on him as they curled closer around him, he couldn’t help but smile. No matter what happened, this would always be a memory he treasured. Above all else, this was one he could never forget. For then, he truly realized he had a family.

Mar, Khan, Gheera, and Rajah eventually did leave their mother, setting off. But I like most tigers, the siblings all remained together. Of course, Khan and Gheera often took off on their own, the two sisters having a close bong with each other like the brothers did. They couldn’t always be together, after all. But they were connected, through Mar especially. He knew he could always reach his siblings. They were bonded through heart and mind. As Rajah became incredibly large, Mar even started riding on the tiger’s back. Now, they travel together. They cut quite an imposing figure- one kalon on the back of a gigantic tiger, two more flanking them. They have set off to protect other little ones who are punished for being different, ready to do whatever it takes to protect them. They are nomads, but they are together, and Mar couldn’t ask for anything more.

Personality: Mar is a bit of an oddity, to put it simply. While he is kind and caring, especially to his family, he also is fully capable of being ruthless to protect his family. He is protective and confident, but not arrogant or cocky. While he can easily fade into the background, like any good predator must, he also can change his posture and stature in such a way that it is impossible not to notice him, and the way he seems to leak pure power. If you are his friend, though, Mar is just a practical and friendly guy, a little quiet sometimes sure, but always there to have your back.

Extras:

Mar and his siblings- Rajah is a partial melanistic tiger, and all are extremely large.

-a little bean with the power to communicate with all species of animals, but easiest with larger predators
- seems really sweet most of the time, and is, but understand the way of the natural world and doesn’t balk agaisnt needed violence
- keeps powers hidden so won’t be recruited into the army, or executed because it’s too dangerous to leave free
- is able to share energy with bonded animals to make them more powerful and impressive
- passively “leaks” the power so animals raised by the kiddo are guaranteed to be extremely powerful and amazing
- more of a ranger than anything, and able to live off of the land, but has the backup plan of joining a circus if necessary
- has a knack for finding the most endangered and rare species
- will protect any animals that are chosen as friends to the death if necessary
- doesn’t mind getting paws dirty but will avoid conflict when possible, because doesn’t see the need for the “man-made, power inspired slaughter of other sentients”

[Yuroshi]

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