Name: Loic
Nicknames: Shifter
Surname: MacIrvine
House Name: Fovey
Element: Nature
Age: 23
Date of Birth: January 20th
Place of Birth: Somewhere near Galloway Forest Park, Scotland
Sign: Aquarius
Location: If there's nature, he's likely there, never in one specific place for a long time unless there is a good reason for it.
Gender: Male
Height: 6'0"
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Personality: As a result of his upbringing with a Claimant father, Loic had a huge love and respect for the natural world, dissuaded from relying on modern-day technology in favor of attuning himself more with nature. He adores trickery and expression, leading to his various mischievous tendences and him carrying a very open and emotional exterior. Nothing gives him a better laugh than surprising his friends, and causing confusion in others. In a serious situation, however, Loic switches into a stoic and intimidating demeanor, flinging insults just as hard as the blows he deals, and might be notable among fellow Claimants for applying a wide variety of tactics and solutions, a result of his very active imagination.
This demeanor is not a mere guise, however, and part of his emotional core. His love for the thrill of the hunt, and his generally lonely existence made him fiercely independent, always defaulting to relying on himself and being rather stubborn on certain subjects, especially when morality is involved. This love of thrill also makes him prone to violent solutions and fiercely reacting to any kind of conflict. He is often known for throwing caution to the wind in the face of risk, for he rarely bothers to worry about anything other than the goal he set himself.
Loic is also strictly against any notion of predetermined destiny, believing that it is one's actions that determine it. He wasn't just born a Claimant, it was with the help of his father, Irvine, and his own competence that he had became a fully-fledged one.
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Weapons: Gae Bolge (Spear), Gaoth (Bow)
Major Abilities:
Skin Walking- Loic is capable of both partially and wholly transforming into an animal he had seen with his own eyes. Considering his access to his Ancient's realm, this means the Claimant has a grand variety of animals he could turn into, be they partially or fully. Not only does it allow him to fit in with the environment, but it allows him access to various abilities depending on the animal he had transformed into or taken traits of. He can choose to have his clothing either fuse into the transformation or slide off next to him. As a result of the mythical stories he still adores to this day, he has a variety of forms that consist of various mishmashes, from a mix of animal and man, to horrific fusions of multiple wildlife traits, giving him both a conduit for expression, a way to intimidate and dominate opposition, and his favorite… Screwing with people and causing urban legends.
However, he struggles with transforming into any creature that is more than twice his size, the process being exhausting and usually not worth the risk. That, and there is an indeterminable time limit to his full transformations and amalgamated forms, else the "spirit" of the animal would slowly take over, reducing him to a state of mindlessness and mentally reverting into a beast. Thankfully, he usually has a feeling when the time has come for him to go back.
Minor Abilities:
Animal Speech - Any animal that naturally appears is capable of understanding him, and vice versa
Plant Growth - While Loic is able to promote the growth of plants, he cannot directly manipulate them. Most he could do that has any impact in battle is cause an overgrowth that's hard to get through.
Immunity - Poisons and venoms do nothing to this shapeshifting giant.
Force of Nature - In a natural environment, Loic is far more empowered, being gifted with greater strength, agility, perception and reflexes. While empowered like this, a faint green hue covers his body and eyes, which then turns into a pulsating green aura when utilizing his abilities.
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Skills: Thanks to both his heritage, abilities, and the guidance of his father, Loic is a skilled survivor, able to withstand even the harshest of environments, all the while able to make various things off the remains of his prey, be they garbs or trinkets. Also imparted onto him was the deep knowledge of all things nature, from the smallest insect to the grandest of trees, another fact that allows him to survive in the various places he calls home. He was also taught martial combat, both with and without weapons, giving him good coordination, even in his myriad of bestial forms.
Fears:
As a man of action, Loic is aware that he cannot be there for everything, and fears the fact this may lead to further evils appearing where his presence would have changed the outcome…
As one with nature, he fears unnatural structures and methods, for they are often made at nature's expense, weakening his Ancient's, and therefore his, domain. This is why he tries to stay away from cities, but he considers smaller towns and villages an acceptable balance. All his weapons were hand-crafted, rather than manufactured. Being someone who lived so freely, he utterly despises forceful restriction, and if found in such circumstances, will do anything in his power to get rid of it. Only time he accepts such is if he willfully does such on himself, comes from someone close to him, or from those above him in the element of nature. Personal freedom is a sacred thing to him, and as such, fears losing it, and despises those that actively cause such suffering.
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Appearance:
Standing at an intimidating height of six whole feet, or 1,83 meters, this brown-haired Scotsman also packs a well-toned body of a man who had grown up within the harshness of nature, and would likely outclass the average human even without using his innate powers. His muscles were extremely defined, veins visible from a few sections, alongside patches of thick hair, especially on his forearms, legs, and the center of his chest, almost looking like fur in a way. An elaborate tattoo surrounds his chest, shoulders, and arms, which consists of spiralling patterns resembling that of a tree or cloud. It had no particular purpose, outside of making his appearance all the more intimidating and signifying his deep connection to the natural world. His hair is a loose, messy mane that goes over his shoulders, always showing through his hoods and waving along with the wind. It is accompanied by a short, shaggy beard that covers most of his face, being the only part of his face that looked as if it was maintained in some manner. His eyes were hazel with green flecks, but were occasionally covered by a bright green glow while utilizing his abilities, always observing his environment and in the case of people he’s talking to, focusing in on them attentively and eyeing how they spoke and moved.
The claimant usually wears a large variety of leather and fur clothing, all handmade made from his kills, as he was effectively a master hunter. The fact they were even covered in trinkets made out of various bones signified that he might follow a “waste not, want not” policy, using every bit of what he had hunted. That, or Loic is extremely superstitious, who knows? Excluding the occasional usage of his abilities, he pretty much just isn’t really distinguishable from a regular human otherwise. In hot weather, though, it wasn’t uncommon to just see him shirtless instead.
He also carries two weapons, both gifts from his parents. Gae Bolga, one of his father’s old weapons, while not actually being the real deal from Irish folklore, was still in fact well crafted, with vine-like patterns surrounding him. Said patterns sometimes glowed, serving as a sort of conduit to his abilities. The other, Gaoth, given to him by his mother, was a rather durable and flexible bow made of smoothed out gray wood. Combined with his archery skills, it is a rather precise and deadly weapon in his hands, although he mostly uses it for hunting.
Backstory:
Loic was born of a human mother and a Claimant father, meaning that he was effectively aware of his origin and eventual purpose from the start. Both of them were extremely accepting and supportive of them, raising the young boy in the wilds as they lived in a relatively isolated cabin, for they agreed that such was the best way they could take care of their child without attracting unnecessary attention. It was near her mother’s home village, though, so once in a while, little Loic and his mom would pay a visit. He was seen as a polite kid, even if a mischievous little scamp when people weren’t looking, as he fooled around and played with the other kids without a single worry in the world. His father was always worried that trouble would befall them in some manner as a result of the visits, but his mother’s side of the family, along with most of the village, were rather hush-hush about any instances where Loic accidentally used his abilities. As such, the changeling was provided an environment where he could grow and have some semblance of a normal life, with his nature kept secret outside of the many private activities with his parents. Granted, there was the occasional scuffle then and there, but those were few and far between.
To say his bond with his parents was close was an understatement, especially when it came to his father. He trained him relentlessly once he began showing the hints of his powers, wanting his son to follow in his footsteps. Sure, he was sometimes strict, but that was balanced by great care on his end. They hunted, wrestled, played games, whatever the hell didn’t they do? This bond and his increased awareness of what was going on as he approached adulthood lead to him accepting his role with eagerness, wanting to make his father proud. As he prepared for his personal mission, he was gifted with two weapons, a spear from the father, and a bow from the mother, and when he successfully returned, they had a celebration before he would go out to see the world on his own, free as the birds above and without restraint.
Fast forward five years later, and Loic was now a figure that wandered the lands untouched by cities and other industrial places, sometimes being the subject of urban legends due to his many monstrous forms causing rumours whenever they would be spotted.
(Art by Eva Widermann)
(Art by Hou Fang)
