About

From the very earliest days of her youth Elizabeth, or ‘Boto’ as her mother affectionately called her for reasons she would not find out until later in life, was what could only be described as a ‘unique’ individual. At first this was primarily noticeable on the physical front; her eyes had a subtle pinkish-red hue under certain light and she was born with just four fingers on her right hand instead of five. As she grew and developed further, however, it became abundantly clear that she was a very notably ‘different’ girl. Though she was able to speak both English and relatively fluent Spanish (her mother taught her that in her spare time) she possessed a stutter that she could not overcome. Though she seemed confidently friendly she was well-known for being easily startled and becoming panicked if left on her own. She developed some bizarre and somewhat off-putting habits; she had an odd fascination with attempting to mimic certain noises she heard aloud regardless of the situation she was in at the time, which others rapidly found to be annoying, and had a fondness for the rain that none of her fellow children shared. Few knew what to make of her then… little did anyone know, however, just how truly unique she would turn out to be.

Despite her abnormalities Elizabeth was able to make it through her youth with comparatively little trouble. That eventually changed, however, a few months after she had turned 18. She suddenly found her entire body to be struck down with unending and incomprehensible agony; unable to so much as take a step out of bed, she managed to call her mother and ask her to take her to the hospital. Her mother, however, seemed to know what was wrong and came right away… not to take her daughter to the hospital but to tell her that, from that point on, she would no longer be part of the human race she’d always thought herself to be a part of. Given who and what her father was her mother had always expected something like this to happen, but hadn’t known when. Her father, as her mother explained, was an Encantado; the Encantado were a race of shapeshifters who took on the form of Amazon River Dolphins and rose from the waters to interact with and copulate with human beings. She’d indulged in a one-night stand with one such Encantado whilst on a photography trip to that part of the world, though she’d not known what he was until after the fact when she’d heard about their kind from one of her group’s guides. Elizabeth was hurt that her mother had not told her about this sooner and had given her no warning of what she was at that very moment turning into. Unlike the Encantado she had no such capacity to fully shapeshift between dolphin and human form; as such her body was compensating for that by forcing her to mutate and take on dolphin-like traits. She knew she’d not be able to live among humankind in the form she was now in the process of taking on. Once the painful mutation had finished, and Elizabeth lacked virtually any and all physical traces of her former human self, she decided the only thing that could be done would be to set off in search of the Amazon in order to find the true Encantado kind, in the hopes of becoming one with them rather than spending an eternity as a freakish outcast.

Boto was the nickname her mother had given her growing up. Only after finding out her true heritage did she understand why; the word ‘Boto’ was a name often used for Amazon River Dolphins, likely a reference back to her Encantado father. As she fled to the sea with the goal of finding her way to the Amazon River she decided that along with her new body she would take on a new name as well; she subsequently adopted the name Boto as her new first name instead of a mere nickname, a change she has stuck by to this day. Though she appears quite monstrous at first glance she is quite a curious, friendly soul; she delights in investigating new things or interesting places. When she’s travelling over particularly deep stretches of the sea she gets particularly anxious, as it reminds her of how alone she is. In this instance she will attempt to call for help and company, uttering dolphin-like calls into the deep or mimicking the ‘speech’ of whales to communicate with them and call them to her side. If no whales, dolphins or merfolk respond to her cries she will panic and bolt for the nearest coastline in an effort to feel more secure before she sets off again. It’s for sake of her nervousness in travelling alone that she hasn’t been able to find her way to the Amazon River yet.

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