Name: Blaire McKennen
Nickname: "B"
Age (actual): 26
Gender: Presumably, Female
Species:
Summary
A common misconception with a true, fully-bred Lycanthrope is their ability to shapeshift come the course of the full moon, and the full moon only. The fact of the matter is that Lycanthropes, or 'Werewolves', differ as much as humans do. There are countless 'sub-classes' of Lycanthrope which could be delved into, but the stereotypical ones are the 'bitten'; reluctant humans who, once bitten by a Feral, manage to hold back on the transformation for around the period of one month.
Types
- Bitten: Humans who have been bitten by a Feral - using willpower, they can hold back the transformations and release them in short outbursts. It's highly unlikely to remain a Bitten, as Bitten tend to go Feral after a few years.
- Feral: This can be the fate both Human or Genetic werewolves; the weak-minded, or weak-willed, or perhaps simply prefer being a beast. Ferals are werewolves who give in to the urges of the wolf and succumb to their werewolf state. Most of them end up being killed by hunters.
- Genetic: Genetic werewolves aren't as common as Bitten or Feral, but they last the longest. Rumours of having 'complete control' over themselves when in werewolf form have recent been proven false; The secrets passed down from generations on how to retain conscious thought whilst transformed, and presumably some help from the genetic information given to the children, mean that Generic werewolves can stave off their bestial urges for a much longer period of time.
Transformation
Surprisingly, transformations can be brought across by the willpower of a Lycanthrope. Most Lycanthropes tend to transform at times of emotional distress, and once they've calmed down and collected themselves, they can force themselves back into their original form. Transformations usually take 30 seconds for an experienced Lycanthrope (usuallly the Genetic) or something up to 10 minutes, should they be fighting against it. Transformation is an incredibly painful process, involving the reshaping of bones, muscle and organs.
As a Werewolf
After Transformation, the Werewolf tends to take the form of a bipedal wolf, or a full wolf, depending on their genes/ what bit them. A Werewolf goes through 3 stages - Transformation (which has been explained above), Waking, and Asleep. A 'Waking' werewolf is fully conscious of his or her actions and can maneuver around in their new body with varying degrees of ease. 'Sleeping' Werewolves is simply a term for the middling stage when they lapse into becoming Feral (Unaware of their own actions) but still able to regain control and shapeshift back. Experienced Werewolves can unconsciously revert to human form, if they are knocked out, due to their mental training. It becomes a reflex action.
The tell-tale signs of each stage are the eyes of a Lycanthrope. If they change colour in human form, it means that the Transformation is about to begin. After Transformation, the eyes revert to their normal colour for 'Waking' werewolves, but will switch to their 'wolf' colour (Usually amber, or silver) when they progress into the 'Sleeping' or 'Feral' stages.
Weaknesses and Powers
Aside from Transformation (Which might count as a 'power'), Lycanthropes have heightened senses whilst in human form. This retains through the Transformation, but with the addition of increased physical strength, agility, and speed. They are formidable foes but can generally be taken down by other Lycanthropes, or magic.
It is well-known that Silver weakens a werewolf. Since they are a variation of a Shapeshifter, it doesn't burn like acid, but being struck by a silver blade or hit with a silver bullet causes lethargy and dizziness for the werewolf, generally reverting them to their human forms - thus enabling the hunter to kill them with ease. Some Lycanthropes wear silver collars when they shapeshift just to make their own strength manageable, but these cases are extremely rare since the strength of the Lycanthrope must be immense.
Weakness: See 'Species'
Powers: See 'Species'
Performing role/Primary Position: Knife Thrower
Secondary position (Optional): None.
History before circus:
The McKennen Clan have been werewolves for as long as they can date back in the Archives. In terms of family history, the early years were tough; back then, one barely had silver in the household to stave off massive, feral werewolf attacks. But one could call the McKennen Clan as 'foolhardy' - they didn't give up and after over 50 years of Lycanthropy in the family, they started discovering solutions.
As a child of the McKennen Clan, Blaire went through the same process as all her brothers and sisters did; At the age of 6, she went 'hiking' with her family each week. It was the start of a long, grueling mixture of difficult training for mental fortitude against what will, sooner or later, be inevitable, and nostalgic memories of playtime in the McKennen Castle (It most certainly was a castle, located deep in the pine forests of Scotland) with her siblings.
Of course, one cannot expect a child to behave all of the time. Being rather mischievous, Blaire ignored the warnings of her parents and ventured into the thick, misty pine forests surrounding the Castle. Many a McKennen have done so before, and became quite lost - the trick to it was using a werewolf's heightened senses to discover the way out. Bliare didn't have any of that yet, though, and her clumsiness attracted the attention of some of the Feral McKennen Clan roaming in between the gnarled boles of the trees.
The moment Blaire screamed for help, however, around 5 gunshots were heard, 5 glistening silver bullets missing their targets but managed to scrape the skin and cause some grazes onto these beastly family members. Her older brother and fully trained werewolf, Malcom McKennen, had discovered her moments before the inevitable and took her back to the safety of the castle. From that moment onward, a stronger bond was tied between the two as brother and sister; Blaire frequently asked Malcom to visit the castle, despite his orders to make his own life away from the luxury of the McKennen Clan. Many Christmases and birthdays were spent in his presence, and Blaire grew up with awe for his stories of the outside world.
Only 10 years ago, at the age of 16, did she finally experience her first Transformation into a Werewolf. The second stage of her training began; after a few years, she managed to cope just like her relatives do, learn the secrets of the condition and exploit them to her own gains. It was hard work, and lead to many a sleepless night in the 'dungeon' - named as such since it used to be a wine cellar, now reinforced to contain the 'Sleeping' werewolves.
Blaire, like many of her siblings, was isolated from the usual socialization with humans save for a couple of trips down to the local village and market-place. She broke curfew once or twice in her later years, getting drunk at the taverns and losing track of time - and whilst her parents were kind, they were also quite strict and the punishments were severe.
Finally, at the age of 19, it was custom for the McKennen children to leave the luxuries of the castle behind and make their own way in life, else there'd simply be too many werewolves in the castle and the surrounding forest to go past unnoticed. Only mere days before her departure, she received word from her parents that she wasn't to do this journey alone; Malcom had arrived through the doors a few minutes ago, bags packed, ready to take her out into the world.
Excited and overjoyed, Blaire and Malcom stepped from their beloved home and into the big, scary world outside and as of yet, the pair still continue to travel together, trying to find a place where they can get their bearings in peace instead of withholding their true nature from the public.
Personality:
Just because she's an adult, doesn't mean she's instantly mature.
No, Blaire is foolhardy, mischievous and excitable, with a tendency to wander off when she isn't being watched (Which is rarely ever, since dear brother Malcom tends to drag her back into safety more out of a grown habit than anything else, much to her dislike) and eat strange and funny foods just for the hell of it.
But a lifetime of mental training and physical exercise simply cannot be shaken off that quickly. She's not exactly 'super strong' whilst in her human form, but her eyesight, hearing and smell are specifically honed to do well in her knife throwing acts, lest she ends up accidentally hitting someone. When she wants to be, she can be quite cunning and intelligent, but it's more of a passing phase - something that kicks in when she's in danger or otherwise.
Of course, she is also (somewhat) human, and has her faults. She's quite nervous and scared around new people and tends to 'forget' that humans don't like werewolves, mainly because she's been cooped up with only her family as company for the majority of her life. And silver seems to affect her especially badly - even with the pain that comes from silver in the blood, just being near it causes headaches and dizziness for Blaire. Touching it renders her practically useless, and getting cut by it gives her immense agony and the wound tends to bleed for longer.
Performing appearance (if wanted):
Other: I would say that I like Ice, but then I'd be lying~ Oh, and this CS is linked up with Hovelmeier's CS, Malcom McKennen.