Aluran

A broken, but surviving, Valon of the Manhattan Tribe.

Appearance

Like most Valos, Aluran is tall and thin, standing at around 6'3". His hair is bright orange and long, flowing past his shoulders and normally kept in a high ponytail with messy bangs. His eyes are droopy and light blue, and he has no eyebrows. His face is long and his nose is large and hooked. He is pale; even when out in the sun he is more likely to burn than tan. He is covered with scars: lashes on his back, buttocks and thighs, five claw marks on each side of his hips, a large gash on his right breast, marks from his wrists and ankles being rubbed raw, stretch marks on his stomach, and various other small scratches. In etsera, he has small and droopy breasts. He is not very well endowed in either respect.

His style of dress is Japanese inspired, and unless he is out doing work, he usually wears yukata-like robes in soft, pastel colors. In the colder months, he wears furs and fur-lined leather.

He appears much younger than his actual age. Physically, he is about late 20's, early 30's.

Personality

Aluran is a friendly but reserved valon who tends to come across as shy and timid on first glance, but he has no problems talking to others and will speak up if he wants. He feels emotions very deeply and he often cries with happiness, even over little things. He has a bad habit of overthinking things and becoming upset over them. Because of his PTSD, he can sometimes be irrational and lash out, or need to withdraw for a while. He is rather xenophobic and borderline racist once others find Amrika - he is afraid of change and the uncertainty it brings.

When he was a teenager, he had a bit of a violent streak and enjoyed fighting others for sport, but this ended after the Karkan. He no longer wants anything to do with receiving or inflicting pain.

Abilities

Aluran, living up to his name, is a very good singer. He is skilled with the bow and arrow, normally focusing more on speed rather than accuracy. He knows how to skin and gut animals, how to butcher them for food, and how to prepare their hide. He is also skilled at hand-to-hand close combat. He knows how to make soap, candles, and perfume. He can read and write at a slightly better rate than most urban valos.

Likes/Dislikes

Likes:

Baths
Soap
Candles
Perfume
Hunting
His family
Singing
Sex

Dislikes:

Being unclean
Karkan
Oatmeal and any food with a mushy consistency
Cooking
Pain
Change and the unknown
Being outside of Manhattan

Relationships

Tebric: His everyn. Tebric means the world to Aluran, even if they've had their rocky moments. He can't imagine living without him and his silly antics.

Egalan: Aluran's best friend. He is in love with him, and even though that love is not returned, Aluran does not mind. He is happy with how they are. Years and years down the line, Egalan joins Aluran and Teb and becomes their everyn.

Noshi: His son, although he is not biologically related. Noshi is the most important part of Aluran's life and is a beacon of hope that things will only get better.

Kaisara: The result of Aluran's capture by the Karkan. He saw him as nothing more than a monster and refused to raise him, so Egalan took him in. Aluran was full of hatred and fear of Kaisara, but as he saw him grow up from afar and from Egalan's stories, he came to accept him as his own person. Kaisara visits more often now thanks to Noshi.

Lavni: Kaisara's everyn. Aluran only sees him when he goes with his family on vacations to the Coastal tribe to see the beach and so Noshi can visit his brother and father. Aluran found his self-confidence and gorgeous appearance off-putting at first, but they get along well enough. They bonded through their mutual love of singing.

His parents: He loves his parents and is very thankful for everything they've done for him, but now that he has a family of his own, he doesn't get to visit them as much as he'd like.

Kasan: Although they do not know each other personally, the news of his disappearance and eventual return hit Aluran hard for how close to home it was. He sends Kasan gifts when he has the time, influenced by what he liked after his own experience.

History

Aluran grew up with both his dam and sire in Manhattan. His dam was from the nomadic Reindeer Tribe and so taught Aluran survival skills, including hunting. He took a liking to hunting, and it was after a hunt when he was 18 that he met his future everyn, Tebric. At first Aluran found Tebric odd, then odd in a charming way, and eventually he fell for him. They were married 2 years later and Aluran moved in with him. They were excited to begin a family, Aluran wanting to be the dam of their child.

While out hunting a year later, Aluran traveled too far from the city and fell into a Karkan trap. He fought back and managed to injure his captor, but this just caused the Karkan to be even more vicious towards him, torturing him immensely over the next six months. Aluran fought back at first, but ended up broken by the end. After half a year and certain that he was pregnant, the Karkan dumped him back outside, unconscious and bleeding profusely.

He was found not long after by another valon, Egalan, who took him to safety and patched him up, taking care of him until he woke up. Aluran was in an almost vegetative state, able to move slightly and swallow liquids but unable to walk or speak. When he finally came to, he had no memory of this time.

Aluran stayed with Egalan through his pregnancy as he was afraid of what Teb, who was a quarter karkan and discriminated against for it, would think of his child – and the fact that he did not want to keep it. He grew to love Egalan, seeing him as his savior and thinking very highly of him. During this time, Aluran initiated a sexual relationship with Egalan, so that he wasn’t entirely scarred by his experience.

After seven months of traveling around Amrika with Egalan, Aluran gave birth to the child. His uterus was drastically scarred in the process, ensuring that he would never be able to get pregnant again. Egalan fell in love with the child, and since Aluran did not want him, Egalan adopted him and named him Kaisara.

Aluran was even more afraid to return home after being gone for so long, but Egalan pushed him to return. After another month, he was back home, and after a teary reunion, back with his everyn. Egalan left with Kaisara back to his own tribe, and Aluran assumed he'd never meet the man again.

Aluran and Teb did not reconcile immediately – they both had emotions bottled up and eventually exploded at each other. Both of them were very hurt by each other's accusations, and Aluran eventually ran off, too overwhelmed. Teb realized that Aluran was different than he used to be and they made peace with each other. Life continued on for the next couple years. Aluran, too afraid to go back out to hunt, began to make soap and perfume with flowers from the garden.

One day, Aluran ran into Egalan in Manhattan. Egalan informed him that he was (and had always been) a Hawkfather, the leader of the Atlantic clan and one of the leaders of their entire people, and was in Manhattan for the annual Hawkfather gathering. Aluran was embarrassed as Manhattaners view Hawkfathers as kings, but nonetheless they resumed their prior relationship. Aluran invited Egalan to join him and Tebric – Egalan and Tebric ended up becoming good friends as well, and when Egalan visited the three of them spent much of their time together intimately.

20 years later, Aluran was finally stable enough to consider the child he’d wanted so badly when he was younger, but he couldn't be the dam like he'd wanted. Tebric had to be the dam, and after six months of trying, he finally became pregnant. The two of them were overjoyed, but when the baby was finally born, it obviously was not Aluran's son. Aluran wasn’t upset but he was shocked. Aluran and Teb were afraid of what Egalan would think, but the baby – who they named Noshi, “cloud-like” – was obviously Egalan’s son and there was nothing they could do but tell him. They had no reason to worry, for Egalan loved Noshi and asked if he could be a third parent.

Because Kaisara thinks of Noshi as his little brother even though they're not related by blood, Aluran and him have become closer, although Aluran still does not consider Kaisara his son.

Aluran is very happy now with his family, and is working on conquering his fear of hunting.

"I know what you've been through and the need to feel clean after they've touched you. Give yourself time, they can't hurt you anymore. It does get better. You're not alone."