Grey

Grey is a cat of unknown breed. He has vibrant orange-green eyes, slightly flopped ears, and pale pink paw pads. Just like his namesake, his short and smooth pelt is grey with a darker grey head and back markings and cream face, underbelly, paws, and tail tip markings. He does have claws but always keeps them trimmed short and smooth to avoid scratching delicate surfaces by accident.

Grey has a pair of black glasses to help him see better, but he doesn't always wear them. The lenses are tinted green.

In anthro, Grey favors comfy and baggy clothing, even when going outside. His outfits tend to be made up of jackets, hoodies, and jogging pants. He likes to wear large scarves but changes to smaller scarves in warmer weather.

Grey does not have any powers or special abilities!

Grey is a nervous wreck and constantly on his toes; being paranoid and anxious all the time hasn't boded well for him. He tends to overthink everything and has trouble sleeping on most days. The smallest things at the corner of his eyes can make him jump - shadows on the walls, a jingling bell, or even his own tail. While he is easily terrified and seems to come close to tears at times, it's rare to see him cry. He holds it back well and doesn't let people see him break down. In fact, he's ashamed to show his more sensitive side, even around friends. If he absolutely does go into a panic attack, he tends to hide himself somewhere where he feels "safest" from people and objects, which is often his own room. When at home, he has extra measures to stay comfy and calm.
He really hates loud noises and the dark. Every time he looks into the darkness, he feels an uneasy feeling crawl up his spine. He never feels safe if he can't see what's ahead of his own feet. TV static is the absolute worst. It makes him a million times more anxious than a typical firecracker would.

Underneath all the anxiety, he is actually highly intelligent and skilled in mechanics. He works as an engineer for a reason, after all, and excels in math; he can do most formulas in his head alone. His skills cover basic machinery to building plans to even robots and intelligent AI, but he prefers that the "AI" part of his resume remains under wraps. He is passionate about machines and doesn't take lightly to people who would use them to bring harm to others. When left on his own, he likes to build things from scratch for fun and even offers repairs to his friends for free. Tinkering helps keep his mind off of lots of things. Once in "the zone," he's much more relaxed and sociable.

When working, Grey is almost a different person, being much more serious and grounded. He views work separate from his home life and doesn't like making excuses for himself. It's either he gets the job done, or he doesn't. He's much more direct when conducting business matters. If something needs to be discussed, he'd rather show up in person instead of writing an e-mail or letters. Waiting for replies only makes him anxious. He isn't the type to brag about or show off his intelligence; he likes to work behind the scenes, away from all the attention. As long as he can get the job done, he'll be content.
It's rare that he ever gets a compliment for his work, so he gets extremely quiet but flustered every time.

Even when he was "Lynx," he was rather meek and easily overshadowed. Most people didn't even realize he was the famous "Lynx." He was never a part of the company "face" and had remained hidden away. It was to the point that, when he did leave his old company, nobody had noticed they even lost a member. There are still rumors about his whereabouts in the city to this day. For various reasons, he would rather forget about this part of his past and will avoid the subject if it's brought up.

Once he warms up to someone, they'll find that he's an incredibly sweet and caring guy. Troubled, sure, but he tries! He'll be there for friends if they need to vent or want a shoulder to cry on. Since he spends most of his time at home, he's almost always available - online or in person. It's easy to get a hold of him. If he has visitors, he likes to make sure that his friends feel at home and even cooks food for them.

Calm discussions and debates are among his favorite types of chatter. He enjoys deep thinking subjects and finds that discussions help him learn more about the world, without having to physically explore it. He'll never raise his voice in an argument and is more likely to shrink away if it gets aggressive, which is why he'll only consider debating with friends and only friends. He knows that if it goes south with them, it's not the end of the world. It's easier for him to apologize to friends.

He doesn't enjoy being outside and only goes outside if absolutely necessary - for his job, groceries, and other needs. Despite having friends, he commonly turns down offers to "hang out" and doesn't like meeting many people in person. The only way someone would get to hang out with a person like Grey is to drag him out the door by the legs. He prefers to stay within the safety and comfort of his own home. He'll stick to chatting online and all that stuff.

Grey keeps around plenty of things to feel comfortable within his workplace and his home, like comfort items and clothing. Whenever he starts to feel anxious again, he tries to keep himself busy with something else. He likes to sit alone in complete silence, undisturbed and swimming in his own thoughts, but sitting down with some gentle music and a good book or his laptop does just as well for his nerves. Having a huge blanket to curl up in and a cup of tea are bonuses. He loves anything that grant him a feeling of being safe and secured. Even if it's hot outside, he'll wear a scarf and jacket - nobody can tell him otherwise. Since his workplace and home have air conditioning, he doesn't worry much about heatstroke.

He has a habit of double checking everything. His mind doesn't rest until he can be completely sure. He'll double check the stove, the locked doors, and even his windows, just in case. Wait, was the stove already turned off? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to check things over a third time...?

Grey currently resides in the city of Luminea in one of the many apartment complexes. He has a plain living space and keeps everything as simple as possible.

He spends most of his time working at the office or chilling at home. There isn't much to say about his social life...

Grey was born in Chromell, the most technologically advanced capital on the continent. He grew up with loving yet overprotective parents who never really let him outside and constantly told him stories that made him fear the outdoors. They watched a little too much TV and always worried that something terrible would happen if he was left out. Their poor influence ended up partially shaping him into the overly anxious individual he is. Despite that, he was given a good education and was a top student of his graduating high school class. He always aimed for the highest possible and never settled for less. At a young age, he was able to transfer to a prestigious university, where he continued to study as an engineer. He eventually graduated and had an easy time transitioning into a job due to his skills and family connections.

After working in his company for around a year, he was offered a higher position and eventually became known as "Lynx" under one of the company's main projects. He was tasked with helping develop new machinery and AI for the company. In a way, he was responsible for changing the future of Chromell and it's younger sister, Lumin. While his co-workers knew him as "Grey", the public knew him as "Lynx" without a face. The project paid well, allowing Grey to support his family, so he stuck with it.

At first, their projects were innocent - all they did was develop new tech to aid people and better their daily lives. Grey was content with this. But the company began to spiral downwards and onto a darker path. With the need for new weaponry to protect the city, his company was ordered to develop weapons instead. He was against the idea but had no choice but to follow. It wasn't a good idea to get fired from the biggest company in the city. He needed the money, but he had also gone against his own morals.

Little by little, he began to doubt his work and his friends. He walked an uneasy path and continued to build upon it with every new project he helped with. His doubts eventually developed into horrible anxiety, as he knew and eventually saw what his creations were being used for. It didn't feel right. The guilt continued to slowly eat at him. All of his confidence began to spill away. He began to lose sleep over his thoughts.

It wasn't until their largest project, known as "Delta," that Grey was at his breaking point. Their final biggest project was to develop a weaponized AI to be used as an "ultimate weapon." He was one of the main engineers behind the project - the one who designed her nigh indestructible form. The company forced each engineer to work harder this time. All they worked on was the project for several months. After the development and launch of "Delta", named "Nabla" by her creators, he watched as she was used in testing, and, eventually, a real battle. Instead of feeling proud of his accomplishments, he could only feel guilt crushing every part of his body. That night, he was alone at home. He broke down.

The next day, he showed up to work, but with a letter of resignation. Delta, who had barely known her creators at the time, had made an attempt to reach out to him, but he ignored her. It was unclear if her intentions were friendly or malicious. He was quick to step down from his position and was jobless after that.

A few months later, Grey moved to the younger sister city, Luminea, in order to escape what he had done. He fled as a coward, unable to bear it all.

When he arrived to Luminea, he felt free for the very first time...but only for a while. He easily found a job within a small company there and began to live his life out as normal as he possibly could, hiding his past from everyone around him.