Arlow's Backstory

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    Arlow was born in the Caribbean Sea of the Atlantic Ocean. He and his family of sharks liked to live at an average depth, not too deep or shallow into the water. This is why he has such vivid colors- he lived closer to the surface where the sunlight brightened the pigments on his body. It, of course, had the same effect on his siblings, cousins, and other family members. But living this close to the sunlight had its risks as well; it was closer to humans. 

Because of the repulsive humans within their range, they had to migrate out further, eventually arriving in the Gulf of Mexico. Fishermen would leave their hooks and wires in the water, people would toss trash that sank to the bottom of the sea, and dump chemical waste into the water. Several months after they had moved into the gulf, his older sister was seen by fishermen and was captured in their nets. He was unable to save her or intervene because his older brother held him away, for he knew that if Arlow revealed himself, that would indicate to the humans that there were more of them, putting the entire species in danger. But the family was hesitant to migrate further out to sea since their species had a hard time living in colder waters. This angered Arlow, causing him to make rash decisions and go against the rule of his parents in the future. Several days a week, he'd swim near the shore, entering human territory, watching them, spying for info, and seething in vengeance for his sister. 

From then on, the situation with the humans had only gotten worse. Fishermen boats were atop the waters all the more often, and double the nets were present in the water. They were curious and desperate to capture another one of the unusual species. The sea monsters were getting fed up. Frustration ensued with trying to keep trash out of their living spaces. Arlow's father was strict, cold, and short-tempered, getting into many arguments with Arlow's mother. The family was always tense when he was upset. One day, his anger got the best of him and he killed Arlow's mother. 

By this time, Arlow had been training himself for several years for the sole purpose of protecting his family. He, like his father, was fairly large in size and was already bigger than his mother and brother. And he, like his father, couldn't control his anger. Arlow turned on his father and attacked him as his brother watched in horror. It was a long, grueling scuffle. Arlow put up too much of a fight with his stamina and aggression, but was bound to be killed with the considerable size difference.  This is where his brother comes in to assist, and Arlow kills his father. It's the origin of Arlow's larger scars. 

Arlow buried his mother far underwater to keep her body safe from humans and tossed his father's body somewhere along the ocean floor where the bottom feeders could make use of it. After that, he prepared to go out to the bigger world in search of an ideal environment to start his life in. He told his brother, "You can come with me, or you can stay here." He felt he had to abandon the search for his sister, as it's the reason he couldn't be there for his mother when she died- he didn't want more problems for himself. He wanted to leave that truth for time to reveal. From then on, Arlow has been motivated by hate for the rest of his life. 

As for his brother, he agreed to leave but followed his own path. He didn't know what to feel toward Arlow, having seen him murder their father in cold blood. He didn't try to stop his brother from leaving, didn't have any problems with his decision. Arlow understood, and solemnly apologized that he had to witness the death of their father. Arlow's brother didn't have any remorse for his father, simply because he felt all the emotions Arlow did; he only handled them better. Either way, he did what his heart told him and decided to leave the Gulf. The brothers said their goodbyes and departed.

Arlow moved fast. He swam and swam, and before he knew it, he was in a freshwater ocean; a place untouched by man. It was possibly the largest lake in the world. While in these fresh waters, he discovered all kinds of new species of fish and underwater plants. There was no plastic or fishing lines in the water, and it was crystal clear with no murkiness. Luckily, his species could survive in both saltwater and freshwater, so he decided he'd stop here and make it his home. It was the perfect place to claim as his own. He dug a hole in the soil, big enough for him to be comfy in, and made it his lair.

Arlow's new territory was near a bright, colorful rainforest. He checked around and examined the lake to verify a few criteria for his living space and was satisfied, then spent a few days tidying his space and leaving scent marks to repel whatever freshwater animals may swim into his territory. One day, upon seeing the trees, he got curious of the shore and poked his head out. No humans in sight. That was all that mattered. Arlow had never come across any creatures worthy of competition to him anyway. The largest fish in that lake was about the size of his forearm.

Everything he accomplished, Arlow dedicated it to his mother, who was most dear to him in his life even when she no longer swam the oceans. In the quiet moments, he'd think of his brother and sister, wondering where they could be in the world. Wondering if he'd ever get to see them again. But there was no use in lamenting. Now, he had to focus on his new life. In the isolation, plentiful wisdom came to Arlow.

A few days later, and Arlow's new home is all set. Nice and tidy, no intruder fish wandering around, and best of all, no human waste. desire to explore finally drove him to hoist himself out of the water with his two arms. His gills closed and his diaphragm cast air through his open nostrils for the first time. Arlow was impressed by his own body, but curious more than anything. The grass felt strange against his rubbery skin. Prickly. Like a sea urchin, but harmless. Still leaning on his elbows, he looked up at the trees and stood up on tall legs that had sprouted from his pelvis. The antennae on the top of his head twitched about, turning in different directions as he was exposed to new sounds, sights, and life forms. Even new smells with the addition of his working nostrils! And although he saw no moving animals, he could sense hundreds of tiny life forms within a 60 meter range. Suddenly, a tiny dragonfly zipped around his head and hovered in front of his nose. Arlow had seen flying animals before, but never anything like this. The way the small insect could hover in that one spot perplexed him. A bird could never do that. Its wings moved so fast, he couldn't even see them. It looked to be floating in midair. He lifted his hand to try and grab it, but it zoomed up and over his head before he even noticed. Arlow turned and watched it fly away over the lake in awe.

While standing and looking out at the land, he made an unprecedented discovery. 

"I grew legs?" 

After staring at them for a moment, he sat down on his rump with a loud quake and observed his new legs. They were built like an human's; long and slender with ankles and toes. Frills and fins branched out on the edges with his pattern of stripes strewn along the outer side. They had clawed toes and padded feet. His tail was still there, branching out from his spine. These new legs were soft, unlike the rest of his hard rubbery body. Similar to a newborn's skin. He stretched his joints and wiggled his toes, enthralled by the feeling of having functional, moving legs. And since they were built differently, he didn't have to worry about looking too much like a human. And the best part to him was, he could properly exact his revenge on the humans. They were equals; the land was now Arlow's territory. It was time to find out if walking on land was all it was cracked up to be. However, he knew that having legs would take a little getting used to, as he wasn't even sure how to walk yet.

Several minutes into his exploration, he found that being out of the water dried his skin a bit and felt unpleasant despite the humid forest air, so he turned and slipped back into the water, taking a small souvenir of the land with him; a purple flower. The violet color reminded him dearly of his sister. Once he was back in the water, his nostrils closed, his gills opened and began to function again, and his new legs receded back into his body after some time. When he got back home he replanted it into the sand, hoping it would survive. The flower still lived even underwater, and seemed to wilt whenever Arlow was away. When he was home, the flower looked healthy, but every time he came back from hunting or exploring, he could sense that the flower's vital signs had dwindled. Arlow took this as a sign that the flower needed his presence, and he cherished it. He searched for a plethora of purple items and placed them around the tiny flower as decoration, being gentle to avoid disturbing its roots. 

By the time he'd gotten settled down in his own home, he was around the age of 24. He was quite muscular and stood at a height of 49 ft. The length including his tail would be 55 ft. Finding a potential mate in these fresh waters would be tough, and Arlow already knew that a female of his species would be extremely hard to come across. Perhaps if he really searched and used his senses, he could find another family of tiger sharks in the ocean somewhere. If ever he might find a female, Arlow made it clear that he would fight to win her from any male- kill if he had to. And this wasn't because he wanted a family badly, but because of the violent urges Arlow still had inside him. To help quell his unpleasant thoughts, he'd often vent through tearing down and ripping trees apart. It wasn't something he could help.

Eventually, trees weren't enough. Arlow grew to turn this savage behavior onto his prey, pulverizing their bodies and twisting them to break their bones. He of course did this after he efficiently killed the animal, as he wouldn't want to hear any squawking or squealing. But when he got angry or frustrated with a hunt, he went right out and used brute force; snapping an animal's neck, strangling it, delivering a hard blow to its head, smashing it with his fist, among other options. Arlow feels no remorse for his actions because he's never reflected on himself, and simply has no regard for how he is seen by others. He was just so angry. He needed someone to calm him down. Anything not to become another version of his father. 

[More on this in his profile]