Profile
“The Ani are an exotic species that do not seem to originate from this world. Something about them renders them completely incapable of causing direct harm, but in exchange, they specialize in the well being of others and can even directly heal those they choose to assist.” ~ In-game Description
~*~
On the world of Sonaria, Two is an alien; just a young adult, by his species’s standards. One day, the small ship the inquisitive Ani was piloting crashed, leaving him stranded without a communicator or way off the planet. Unfortunately for him, Two didn’t manage to crash land on a civilized world, but rather on a wild planet. There is no civilization here; only the laws of nature. Eat or be eaten, might makes right, predator versus prey. The kicker? Two can’t do damage, not even by clawing someone’s face. It’s part of the Ani physiology; they can heal, but they cannot harm. Great in a modern civilization, not so great out here in the wild.
Two quickly learned that he can’t communicate with any of the wild creatures, though he knows they are intelligent, predator and prey alike; more so than the average animal. He’s managed to carve out a strange niche for himself, by being kind: the other creatures know him, know he can heal. Know the golden beam of his healing orbs by sight, and that they mean safety. And being here, among the creatures of Sonaria…Two has seen that kindness still flourishes, even here. He’s seen creatures help each other purely out of altruism, sharing food when it was more convenient for one to let the other starve, or helping the sick and injured to safety even when it meant risking their lives.
He’s even seen friendships struck up between predator and prey, of bonds not even the natural order can break. Of course, others are jerks in the ways Two thought only civilized beings could be, but…well. The creatures of Sonaria seem caught in this strange gray area between beast and being, and Two doesn’t quite know what to make of it.
But for as many of the creatures that merely tolerated the Ani’s presence, others came to call him friend. Two is incredibly curious, and his current situation hasn’t put a damper on that at all. He loves to explore, even if he and his friends have had to run for their lives on more than one occasion when a larger predator has burst through. The Ani has gotten VERY good at running, if he says so himself. And if he doesn’t run fast enough, well…Two dies.
And yet, he already has.
Something strange and bewildering happened, several seasons after he crashed on this world. Two made the mistake of approaching a larger predator, an injured one that wasn’t so tolerant of his healing skills. It was a coin toss, really, with these kinds of creatures, and that time, Two lost. With a single scream and a snap of powerful jaws, Two died.
And then…miraculously came back.
The ever-present orbs of the Ani, they went dark and lifeless, dropped on the ground, once he died. Two of them cracked and dark, the third, still lit. And incredibly, that orb eventually cracked, and a baby Two came spilling out with the dust.
That…that was NOT supposed to happen. Should be impossible, really; their healing orbs didn’t WORK like that. They should crack, dropping lifeless to the ground, the light spilling from them and flickering out. But…it hadn’t. And Two was unmistakably, impossibly alive.
Two would soon learn that this wasn’t a unique occurrence. Whether he had the single orb of a child, the pair of a teenager, or the three of an adult, he always came back to life. No matter what kind of death he’d had.
Life became…even weirder after that. Two literally couldn’t die; deadly mistakes became extremely painful annoyances, lessons learned. It didn’t put a damper on his adventuring spirit, but he quickly learned not to make that same mistake twice. At first, his resurrections shocked the creatures he shared a territory with, but over time, it just becomes a fact of life. That guy got eaten by a Sana’Ata? Meh, he’ll come back, he always does. Got buried by a landslide? He’ll walk it off. Caught in a flash flood? See, he’s fine.
Sometimes Two wishes his friends were that lucky. Losing people never gets easier.
Over time, Two has adapted, learning the rhyme and rhythm of the world. What plants were safe, the best places to take shelter in, the signs of a hunting predator, how to read territorial markings, the works. He learned what places were dangerous during certain seasons, and what places sane creatures wouldn’t follow him to.
And yes, not parts of the year, but seasons. Sonaria’s seasons aren’t linear; spring can turn into winter, which can turn into cherry blossom or famine on a dime. Yes, there’s a cherry blossom season, and the Saukuryn are extremely prolific during it. All seasons are the same length, even if they appear to happen at random. Or at least, if there IS a pattern, Two hasn’t figured it out yet.
Bizarrely, the volcano only erupts once every seven summers. Depending on if Sonaria decides to have a lot of summer seasons close together or go a long time without one, the volcano can go longer or shorter periods of time before erupting. And blasting meteors into the sky, because of course it does. Two got flattened by one of those once; that HURT. It was funny in hindsight, but at the time, it had just sucked.
Seasons upon seasons upon seasons have passed since he first crashed on Sonaria, and Two hasn’t seen another Ani or civilized species in…he’s lost count of how long. Being booted from his home every so often combined with the randomness of Sonaria’s seasons has made keeping track of time almost impossible. One day, he hopes someone will find him, but…Two isn’t holding his breath. Besides, he’s not sure he wants to know if it’s just the planet that renders him technically immortal…or something else. Something permanent.
But until then, if that day of rescue ever comes, Two will stay here, with his friends. Healing injuries, exploring nooks and crannies, and even scrambling up a tree to avoid getting eaten on more than one memorable occasion. No, Two may be trapped, but he’s not miserable. Every day teaches him something new, and Two is awed at the ever-changing mystery of the world he’s found himself on. It’s a harsh and terrible place, but also a place of kindness and beauty. It’s a world of dichotomy, of contradictions, and the explorer inside Two itches to find each and every secret hidden there.
