Ruben

Ruben

Species: Lion × Cougar
Pronouns: He / Him
Origin: Sadoba — a superstitious fishing island

🌊 Overview 🌿

Ruben is grounded, warm, and quietly attentive. He carries the steadiness of someone raised with responsibility and community at the centre of his life, though beneath that calm he is easily flustered. Emotions can catch him off guard despite his otherwise composed nature.

🌿 Personality 🌊

• Gentle, dependable, and patient
• Warm and reassuring to be around
• Emotionally perceptive
• Easily flustered in moments of vulnerability
• Calm under pressure

🌙 Backstory 🌿

Ruben was born on Sadoba, an island whose people lived by stories rather than certainty. Superstition, myth, and reverence shaped daily life, and the sea was observed with respect rather than studied.

Central to these beliefs was the Moon Goddess. The people of Sadoba said she once witnessed terrible events, and her grief caused her to weep. Each tear fell into the ocean, slowly swelling the tides. The rising waters were not predictable, only endured as part of her sorrow.

Over the years, the sea crept inward. Elders were moved further inland, and some paths became reachable only by boat. Still, no one left. Whether from stubborn faith or contentment, the people of Sadoba adapted rather than fled.

Ruben grew up fishing, hauling ropes, pulling nets, and working boats alongside friends and family. Labour was communal, strength shared. The braids in his mane were cultural rather than practical, woven by friends as gestures of affection, sometimes threaded with muted ribbons or small metal rings.

The flood came without warning. A violent storm struck on a moonless night. Wind, rain, and rising water collapsed the careful balance the islanders had maintained for years.

Despite the chaos, panic did not take hold. The community moved with calm that had always defined them, guiding one another, calling names through the dark, refusing to abandon anyone.

Tavi navigated the cliffside caves in search of Ruben, finding him amid rising water and debris. Together they escaped, Ruben sustaining injuries that left one scar on his elbow and another across his back — marks earned through survival.

Ruben left Sadoba that night with little more than his body, his memories, and the quiet weight of everything lost. The sea — and the moon above it — remain ever-present in him, not as things to fear, but to respect.

🌿 Illustration Slots 🌊