The Hunter

Name: Goes by his occupation, which is "Hunter"  
Age: around early 40s
Pronouns: he/him
Species: human
Height: 5'5"

 A hunter of beasts and men recognized by his battered appearance and known for forgoing more effective weaponry in favor of using his own fists and at times other melee weapons. He has never been seen using any sort of firearm and truthfully thinks they're for cowards, much preferring to start and end things by his own hand. He makes a living in hunting and destroying hulking creatures that have been changed by the strange substance unearthed centuries ago called polychirium. He is primarily employed by workers and small town officials to get rid of dangerous and fearsome creatures who have grown too comfortable with encroaching on homes or livestock. He also has been known to hunt down outlaws for bounties though he has an odd habit of occasionally using the bounty rewards to assist in payment of standing and/or legal fees for the outlaw in question. He greatly dislikes doing bounty work, as he is anti-authoritarian and does not believe in the concept of prisons.

He is also known to accept alternative forms of payment, primarily tools, food, repair work, or traveling goods. He seemingly enjoys bloody bouts with creatures and people much larger and stronger than himself and does not engage with those he feels he has a clear advantage over. His methods are hard for onlookers to stomach at times, as he often walks away caked in viscera from both the other party and his own injuries. He has a reputation among people as being akin to an upright beast, brutish, cruel, caring only for carnage, and not hesitating to spill blood. He is loathed by those in power and many officials for his stubborn refusal to work with them as well as his tendency to mercilessly bring an end to any shady side gigs they may have going at the request of vengeful families or victims of extortion. He oftentimes will pick up those in unfortunate situations caused by these nobles or corrupt officials and employ them until they become stable enough to leave on their own. 

Numerous and consistent attempts against his life by his plentiful enemies have made him a shrewd judge of character, he never fully lets his guard down and stays prepared to act if need be. He comes off as paranoid and utilitarian, sleeping fully clothed and upright, never carrying more than he needs, as well as always figuring out escape routes or potential weapons in any environment he finds himself in. His disposition is not softened by his lack of manners, dislike of pleasantries, and refusal to practice basic social etiquette. He has little to say and barely acknowledges others unless they speak to him first, and even then there's no promise he'll respond. He speaks in short blunt sentences and he does not typically accept offerings of hospitality, often trying to very clearly get things over with as quickly as possible. The exception to this is the elderly and small children, to which he is as polite as he can manage to be.

 He is incredibly unforgiving and quick to act, often not considering the full scope of his actions until after the fact, though he tends to not dwell on things for longer than he feels necessary. If you prove yourself to be an earnest threat he will not be merciful, he doesnt enjoy hurting people but he will do it without hesitation. He is more introspective and observant than one may assume and spends a lot of time getting reads on people that he interacts with or telegraphing how to effectively move through social situations while still reaching a desirable outcome. He tends to make sweeping assumptions about others because he has noticed behavioral patterns and figures that they can be applied to nearly everyone. He is very familiar with the expectations put onto him by others and their disillusionment when discovering he is not the man they think he is. Those who expect him to be an unhinged beast are unnerved by his normalcy and his need to help others where he can, and those who consider him a compassionate hero of the people are horrified by his remorseless brutality in his line of work and his lack of reservation about killing.

 He tends to assume he knows what people are going to think and feel and how they will react to things and preemptively will behave according to those assumptions. He keeps a distance from others due to a general distaste for traditional social interaction as well as to save himself the trouble of dealing with peoples changing perspectives of him. He does however request that those he helps keep his assistance a secret because it benefits him to have the reputation of a compassionless bloodlust fueled monster of a man in his line of work, as well as prevents people from trying to become friendly with him only to become disappointed. He spends most of his time alone or covered in gore, and is more than okay with that. 

Relationships:
The Chimera- He was hired to investigate the frequent disappearances of folks from a remote town which were suspected to be caused by beasts roaming the dense forest surrounding it. Instead of wild bloodthirsty monsters, he found a solitary but sizable structure that soon revealed itself to be a den of inhumanity impossible to properly describe. Hunter, deeply upset by the realization that the missing individuals had been used as guinea pigs by the madman operating this desolate laboratory sought to destroy the place as well as any research that could be used to replicate these events. He set fire to the structure after laying the remaining creatures within to rest. His actions brought confrontation from the head of the residence, a broad shouldered man with coiling black hair streaked with grey, who upon seeing the state of his home began to berate Hunter for the destruction. Hunter slaughtered him before he could finish speaking. He then roamed the flaming residence searching for co-conspirators but found instead someone cowering in a dimly lit and locked bedroom, swiftly snatched them from it and left. Once he got a closer look at the person he quickly realized that the resemblance to the man he had killed was uncanny, and that their body had clear signs of operation and deduced that this was one of the man's creations. This displeased him initially. After explaining to the townspeople what had happened, he offered the person who clearly did not want to remain in the area a job with him out of a sense of guilt and obligation, and the two began traveling together. Hunter made himself scarce not wishing to remind them of the events that had unfolded, assuming they must hate him for his role in them. Gradually, their interest in him and desire to spend time with him caused him to second guess his perception of them, and the two grew closer. He and they began to have talks and he began to intentionally pick destinations he thought they would like. After spending several comfortable years with one another they have become someone he genuinely loves and cares for. He finds their quiet contemplative demeanor and broad-mindedness a comfort, and feels like they see him for what he is and love him anyways, and he does the same. He finds himself feeling earnestly lonely without them. 

The Cook- While traveling through some particularly "active" wilderness, he noted unattended belongings and the signs of a massive beast. He decided to pursue it and was greeted by a huge undulating centipede-like creature with arms spilling down its back and tough leathery skin bunched up around each segment of its body. With the assistance of some clever rope laying and corralling into trees he managed to subdue and fight the beast until it heaved its last. As always, he decided to empty the digestive tract of the creature looking for human remains to bury or if possible identification so he could return the body to a family but instead he found a live man lodged in the things throat, confused and terrified but still breathing and conscious. After recovering from his ordeal the man calmed down enough to explain to hunter he had been trying to find his way to a home he had just inherited and was hopelessly lost when suddenly he was in the air and then in the dark. Hunter showed him where his things were and wrote in a few landmarks on the map he was using so he could find his way, but the man insisted on letting him repay Hunter for fishing him out of that creature, he won out against Hunter's stubbornness and the two arrived at the residence and the man explained he was a chef, went by the nickname Cook, and that he was planning on turning this place into an inn because it was much too big for one person. Hunter tried to reimburse Cook for the meal and the lodging but the man refused. Hunter made note to return as a proper customer and over the course of years became friends with Cook. Prior to meeting Chimera, Cook was the most important person in his life. They have a complex relationship of conflicting priorities but he's content with just being able to keep in contact with him, and visits him whenever he gets time to. The two eventually enter a romantic relationship along with chimera as cook heals some as a person and stops pushing hunter away as much. 

The Captain- A dear friend of Hunters, he only sees her periodically but stays with her for a while whenever he does while the two catch up on whats been going on in their lives and jobs. Shes one of the few people in the world who can consistently make him actually laugh. The two have similar dispositions despite how different they seem on the surface, and similar beliefs about the world which makes them comfortable with the other. He and she trade jobs that would be more suited to the others skillset, such as hunter giving her more coastal hunting jobs and her giving him more inland ones that they hear about from people. The two were at one time almost an item but decided it would be for the best if they remained friends, they have absolutely no awkwardness or hard feelings and if anything the time made them closer. Theyre basically besties. 

Shipwright- The person who made his weird RV-boat-house-thing that he travels and lives in. He sees them seldomly for repairs or check ins and gets along with them fine. Not quite as close as captain and not quite a Friend but someone hunter doesnt hate talking to, which is rare and to be appreciated. They helped him out when he was younger and he tries to return the favor.

His hometown- After being orphaned as an infant, he was raised by the entire town he lived in, spending the most time with older people who became his various grandparents. He was very loved and learned a lot about how important it is to take care of those around you, and was instilled with an appreciation and love for handiwork. He was shy and preferred spending time with his grandparents and learning from them, he struggled to keep up with other children his age but with advice and guidance he managed to be on good terms with them. As an adult he rarely visits anymore because most of the people who raised him have passed, and he does not want people to know thats his hometown so nothing bad happens to it. When he does visit he checks in on the residents and makes sure peoples various needs are met, its one of the only places that understands him for who he is and he has fond memories of it.

Funfacts

-repairs most of his tools, clothes, vehicle parts, ect himself

-his hands naturally curl into fists at rest

-the only thing he knows how to cook well is soup, and makes it for new people who travel with him to comfort them casually

-cant swim and is nervous around deep water

-he is also afraid of things that fall into the uncanny valley

-has a slight under bite

-keeps his beard shaved except for when he has to travel to snowy areas because he kept finding other peoples teeth and blood in it

-rarely laughs and just doesnt smile unless hes trying not to scare children

-cats love him, dogs are scared of him, he doesnt mind animals but doesnt favor them either

-has a slightly hunched posture

-goes through clothes so quickly that he has only one outfit for going to town that he doesnt fight in and a set of sleep clothes

-actually has a house that he rarely stays at that is simply a windowless doorless cube that is only accessible through a basement or separate tunnel system he made himself, he mostly stores things there and has no furniture besides a desk, a pantry, an oven and a bed

-likes to read

-tried to get cook to live with him and travel but was turned down, still cares about him greatly

-doesnt externalize it well but he likes how much Chimera likes to grab and hold people

-hes careful about how he chews because his teeth are completely fucked up and he would like to keep them