An ability granted by his practice of druidic magic. Nephila can take the shape of wild beasts, though all his transformations feature his nine red eyes. He keeps all but two closed if he wants to be discreet. He favors feline shapes, admiring their combined agility and strength.

Nephila's magic is soft and warm. When in use, his eyes gain a slight glow, with a stronger light concentrating from where he's directing the energy through. Light particles drift away from the glow as dust would, disappearing a short distance away. He's gentle with it, treating it as a friend.

Perhaps evidence of his leonin heritage? Wherever it comes from, Nephila can muster up a bellowing roar to frighten opponents. .

Combination of his small but sharp claws, and monk training from Maina. His unarmed strikes pack extra punch.

All those eyes and ears aren't just for show. Nephila is very aware of his surroundings, and little nuances that others may miss. Unfortunately, just because he's aware of them, doesn't necessarily mean he understands all that he sees.

Lit ablaze by the god of the sun, Nephila carries a constant reminder of this new curse as a dark tattoo across his back. The details of the curse are still unknown to him, but it's fine! He's fine. It'll heal up alright..

At least in bursts. Nephila loves to chat with anyone willing to give him the time of day, about pretty much anything. Sometimes this willingness to say just about anything winds up with some unintentionally rude remarks, but he tries to be considerate and polite. After too many days of intense socializing, Nephila tends to run off into the nearby wilderness to de-stress and reset himself in solitude and silence.

Once you've earned Nephila's trust and love (in any form), there's nothing he won't do for you. Nephila would lay down his life for a good friend, and he'd follow them to the ends of the earth, to hell and back. He'll take care of you and tend to your every need if you so wish, and sometimes even if you don't. He yearns to be wanted and valued, those who give him that must try very hard to lose his devotion.

Especially around those he trusts the judgement of. Nephila knows he's not the brightest, so if he trusts someone else, it's very easy to have him go along with what you want. He's a social pushover.

To an extent that could be considered 'nosy'. Nephila has a few very specific things he wants to know all about, but he's happy to learn about anything. He may not remember, but he wants to hear about your interests..

A devoted Nephila is a powerful guardian. In combat, Nephila is at his most capable. Though he'd prefer verbal solutions for simplicity's sake, he's not above throwing fists. Even in conversation, Nephila is more likely to speak up if it has to do with defending a friend.

Nephila does make a conscious effort to be calm and collected in most scenarios, and to think before he acts. (Nephila tries to hide it, but all his patience is from practice alone. At his core he is led by emotions and impulse, and if a situation if stressful or urgent enough, that comes to the surface.)

A necklace with four small pendants made out of what appears to be dark horn. All four have shapes and patterns carved into them by Nephila, each pendant represents one of his caretakers and parents. Most people won't notice it, as it gets lost in his mane.

A feathered charm, glowing a dull, flaming crimson. A gilded bottle is tied next to the feather, containing a glittering vermillion mist. Nephila wears it interchangeably as a necklace or horn jewelry. Rumors say that it contains the tears borne of a phoenix's dreams.

A surprisingly good quality dagger, made by Nephila while visiting a town in Shrepka. A leonin taught him a little bit about basic blacksmithing, and this was the first thing he made.

Made by Maina, Nephila keeps it with him as a secondary backpack. He likes to keep memorabilia in it, both from the very friend who made the basket and to show them when he finds them again.

A pair of decorative horn covers that Nephila doesn't usually wear except on special occasions. Maina gifted them to him during a festival.

One of them, anyway, that Maina had written in. It's filled with doodles of things they'd come across, and written entries about Nephila and their travels together.