Shrike Shank

Physical Appearance

• Medium-length silver/slate colored hair
• Red eyes
• Light brown skin, although he usually has a thorough tan
• Short in height, about 5’0
• Physically fit with a slender and scrappy build
• Various scars around arms and hands from handling falcons
• Rough hands and feet from being outdoors, being very hands-on, and also not wearing shoes much
• Rough patches of skin on arms where fin ridges can grow out from
• Razor sharp teeth
• Gill slits on neck

Clothing Style

Shrike perfers to wear very neutral and earthy color, or whatever will help him blend into his outdoor surroundings. He tends to wear mostly brown, especially since he makes quite a bit of his own clothes out of leather he skins and tans from wild animals. He dislikes clothing that impedes his movement or brings too much attention to himself, and he also doesn't like long sleeves, full length pants, or shoes. Since he lives by himself with his birds on an island, his clothes also tend to be rather dirty since he doesn't really care to wash his clothes or himself unless he needs to or if it's been about a week or so. He cleans up a little better when he visits home and has to interact with people though.

His most common outfit consists of a brown leather vest and brown shorts. He wears cloth bindings around his chest, arms, hands, legs, and sometimes feet. He more often than not goes barefoot though. He also wears durable leather gloves designed for effective falconry. The only accessories he wears other than the essentials is a brown scarf he wears as a belt and a gold medallion that each member of his family wears. He'll wear it around his neck normally when relaxing or at home, but he tucks it under the cloth bindings on his chest when out in the wild so it doesn't snag on anything, make noise, or reflect light.

Personality

Shrike is a quiet and antisocial man who'd rather spend his time in the company of birds instead of people. He's very introverted and prefers to avoid social interactions with other people, although he is capable of tolerating others for a while. He comes off as rather blunt and rude at times due to his lack of social skills, and he usually uses his brutal honesty to get out of conversations as quickly as possible. He also tends to be rather skittish and is always wary around people he doesn't trust, which is pretty much everyone outside his family. Shrike likes being around animals and nature more than other people, so he spends most of his time outdoors and has taught himself to fend for himself in the wild, which does him a lot of good now that he's living by himself on an island with only wildlife and his birds. He dislikes technology and cities, so this environment suits him better than his previous home, although he does visit home regularly due to his attachment to his family, particularly his mother.

First impressions of Shrike are usually that he's quiet, unassuming, and disinterested in approaching others. Aside from his antisocial behaviors, he doesn't trust very easily and tends to keep his distance from others out of caution. He's aware he's a rather small person in general, so he tries to avoid confrontation as much as possible. If he needs to handle physical threats, he'll do so with either long distance tactics or by using stealth and surprise attacks. He dislikes anyone in his personal bubble and even keeps physical contact with his own siblings to a minimum. He only seems comfortable with regular contact from his mother, whom he loves dearly and is rather affectionate with. He has a slight inferiority complex due to being the smallest of all his siblings despite not being the youngest, but he seems to accept being the runt of the family and doesn't try to compensate for it in the least. He can speak about himself a bit disparagingly since he feels he doesn't fit in that well and isn't very useful to the rest of his family (which they'd obviously disagree with), but it doesn't really seem to affect his confidence much. Although Shrike likes being alone, he does enjoy the company of his  siblings and mother, more so now that he lives away from them and only visits them every once in a while rather than being stuck with them all the time. However he never gets tired of his mother's company.

In general, Shrike is very independent and prefers to handle his problems on his own. He enjoys hands-on work and is good with crafting tools, making himself clothes, or other necessities for surviving out on his own. He's not squeamish in the least and isn't afraid to get his hands (or everything) dirty to get something done. He's doesn't really care much about how he looks or how he appears to others, and he's not materialistic in the least. He doesn't care much about being hygienic aside from the bare minimum, and since he's outdoors all the time and alone on an island, it's not like he has anyone to impress. He obviously cleans up better when he visits home since he has to be around other people, but otherwise it tends to slip his mind since he's by himself.

Shrike's primary interest in his life is obviously his birds. He owns and breeds falcons who flock primarily around the island he lives on but also make their territory in other nearby islands as well. Shrike has a high pain tolerance from working with them and is very patient with them, although he's not nearly as patient with people. He could probably be described as the "crazy bird man" considering how much he surrounds himself with birds and focuses his life on caring for them. He tends to talk with them more readily and has always wondered about what it would be like to have been born a bird instead. He is especially close with his personal pet falcon, Roc, and the two seem to understand each other better than anyone else, including his family. Shrike would put himself at any risk to protect Roc, and he gets anxious thinking about anything bad happening to him. Shrike doesn't really display many signs of having inherited his father's mental issues, but it's clear he has the potential to trigger considering he had a mental breakdown and murdered someone who shot his first pet falcon when he was younger. He doesn't remember the incident at all, but his family knows to give him all the space he needs for his birds.

Abilities

• Watyr rifting - rank 1/5
• Ayr rifting - self trained beginner
• Mild accelerated regeneration from demonic aura
• Underwater breathing and faster movement/mobility while swimming
• Skilled at tracking, hunting, climbing, and various outdoor survival techniques
• Agile, flexible, stealthy/light on his feet, and has quick reflexes
• Skilled at breeding and training falcons and very knowledgeable about birds in general
• Skilled at whistling

Strengths

• Resourceful, independent, and quick witted
• Observant, instinctual, and has keen senses
• Crafty, meticulous, and resilient
• Patient, practical, and down to earth

Weaknesses

• Physically light weight and rather easy to overpower
• Lacks developed social skills and gets anxiety from being around strangers for too long
• Prefers to be alone and aside from his family he values his birds over other human life
• Passive, tends to flee rather than fight, and not terribly knowledgeable about technology or modern issues

Backstory

Shrike was the quietest and most fragile of his siblings, never exhibiting any physical greatness that most of his other siblings showed. Although the middle child, he ended up being the smallest of his brothers and sister, and from his perception he was also the weakest in every way. His siblings showed prowess in all fields, physical, intellectual, and various others, and Shrike often kept to himself since he always felt inadequate compared. Shrike however found interest in birds and their domain of the sky, and his mother purchased him a small falcon chick that he spent all his time raising throughout his childhood. About 4 years later though his bird was shot out of the sky by a stranger, and Shrike ended up tearing him apart during a mental breakdown. Shrike doesn't recall the incident, and his family insists his bird died of natural causes, which he believes to this day.

His mother purchased him another falcon a while later, which he's had ever since, and later she let him have a small group of them that he dedicated himself to training. After growing up, Shrike decided to move to a remote island within his home region so he could breed and train his birds in peace. He regularly is visited by his brother, Cornell, during his voyages, and the two often travel together home to visit their mother. Shrike continues his reclusive life away from society with his birds, which he thoroughly enjoys.

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