Lycus Conan Doyle
AKA
Pup, Little Pup, Puppy, Dog
Age
Lycus looks to be in his late teens or early twenties. In reality, he's not quite yet fifty years old and rather childish, which is why many refer to him as "Little Pup" and other such names.
Race
Hellhound Shifter
Appearance
He stands at 5'10 and a half with a lean build. His messy dark brown hair nearly falls into his red eyes. His skin is tan and rough, covered with scratches and bruises. His clothes are typically stained, torn, or patched. The only shoes he wears are a pair of worn black sneakers. He has canine characteristics, like sharp teeth and pointed ears, even while in human form.
When in hellhound form, he's about as big as the werewolves from Twilight (forgive the comparison). His fur is dark brown and his eyes are a luminescent red.
Personality
Lycus was born after the fighting with the humans took place, so he doesn't hold the same hostility for humans as older creatures do, though he is much more distrustful of humans than of fellow creatures. From vague memories of his mistreatment in their foster care system and stories he's heard of the war, he's developed the mindset that all humans loathe creatures and with how stubborn he is, it'll take quite a bit of effort to change that. His childish sense of pride has frequently gotten him into verbal and physical disputes. He can be sarcastic and pouty and has a tendency to hold petty grudges that dissolve rather quickly. Those who don't have a lot of patience may find him rather tiresome. Despite being immature, Lycus is friendly and excitable once he warms up to someone and is fiercely protective and loyal to those he likes. If someone were to so much as look at Clara the wrong way, there'd be a fight in no time.
Biography
Lycus was born to a creature and a human, one of the first Rose Children. His mother was a stubborn woman, and she wanted to raise their child as a human. His father protested that raising him as a human wasn't possible. It would be even more impossible to convince her of this. After a month of being kept among the creatures, she tried to run away with her son. She made it to the outskirts of human civilization before his father caught up. Tears in her eyes, she spun on her heel and sunk a knife into his chest.
"He's a creature. You can't change that."
It took him telling her this with his last words for her to finally understand. Her eyes grew cold as a change of heart set in.
"I never asked for any of this. I didn't want to give birth to a monster."
She looked down at the child in her arms with a newfound disgust. She had killed his father, and no longer wanted to be his mother, so she stuck him in human foster care without a word of goodbye.
As Lycus grew up, he felt nothing but resentment for his parents. He had no memory of them; even his name "Lycus Conan" was given to him by the foster care system. He was thrown in and out of homes quicker than most kids. He understood. Afterall, if his own parents didn't want him, why would anyone else? He got accustomed to hearing the phrases "bad boy" and "dog-like" to describe him, so it came as no surprise to him when he discovered he was a hellhound.
He was quickly transfered into the creature foster care system. After a decade or so, he nearly forgot what it was like to live with the humans, but still held onto the pain of being rejected and left by so many families, including his own. He wasn't cycled through homes in creature foster care as often as he was with the humans. His third home had four other foster kids living in it, all of them cruel and nasty. Upon hearing Lycus' story, the eldest recalled hearing about his parents in the news. He told Lycus the story of how his mother killed his father then abandonned him among the humans. Lycus was shocked and outraged, immediately shouting protests in defense of the parents that he himself loathed. The kids laughed and called him a stray puppy. Unable to handle the teasing any longer, Lycus ran away.
He quickly got lost on the unfamiliar streets, and to make matters worse, it began to rain. Drenched and trembling, Lycus sat down on a street corner and hung his head. With how soaked he was, it was impossible to tell whether his cheeks were moist with rain or tears. Lycus rose his head when the rain suddenly stopped, meeting eyes with a young woman holding an umbrella over both of their heads. Her name was Clara Doyle, and she let him spend the night with her. The kindness she showed made it surprisingly easy for Lycus to open up to her. The next morning, he told her he ran away from his foster home because the kids there had been teasing him. She adopted him the very next day, and his name was changed to Lycus Conan Doyle, the last name given to him by foster care becoming his middle name.
Now, he's viewed as either a pest or younger brother by most creatures. He's used to hearing phrases like "Can you fetch this for me, Little Pup?" and "Have you been a good boy lately, Lycus?" to refer to his canine nature, either playfully or teasingly.
Powers
Pyrokinesis
- can create fire in his hands
- can shoot fire in balls or beams from his hands (mouth in hellhound form)
- can form a sword made of fire
Mediumship
- can commune with those who have entered the afterlife
- may be able to briefly summon a spirit (very low chance of success)
Weaknesses
Pyrokinesis
- body will overheat if powers are used for too long
- cannot produce fire if drenched or if body temperature is lowered
- fire may spark with powerful emotions (more of a side effect than a weakness)
Mediumship
- prolonged chatting with the deceased lowers energy and morale
- cannot raise the dead
- spirits trapped in the mortal realm are drawn to bothering him
Fears
Lycus fears abandonment, isolation, pitch darkness, death, and losing Clara.
Morgannis
