Description
Xalo;
╰☆ O T H E R N A M E S ☆╮
None yet
╰☆ A G E ☆╮
1 Year
(born March 13th, 48 BC)
╰☆ G E N D E R ☆╮
Female
╰☆ S P E C I E S ☆╮
Jaguar (Panthera onca) x Serval (Panthera uncia)
╰☆ V O I C E ☆╮
Medium and smooth, but very strong and firm.
╰☆ R A N K ☆╮
Apprentice
╰☆ T H E M E S ☆╮
Suddenly by Superchick
Innocence by Avril Lavigne
April Child by Micheal McLain/Kurt Bestor
Family & Traits
Let me know if you'd like to be related to Xalo, or play some part in her history.
Mother: Ivy; Jaguar (Noble; Massilia)
Father: Sumil; Snow Leopard (???)
Sister: Unnamed, Snow Jaguar (???)
GeneticsDominant: 50% Chance
pale green eyes [paternal]
long fur [paternal]
long tail [paternal]
rosette pattern [mixed]
chest markings [maternal]
tail markings [mixed]
Recessive: 25% Chance
silver-brown fur [mixed]
spotted paws [maternal]
white tail tip [maternal]
longer tail end [mixed]
m-shaped/dual spot markings [paternal]
dark chin [paternal]
belly markings [maternal]
Carrier: 15%, 10% or 5% Chance
blue-gray fur [paternal, 10%]
light pearl-gray fur [paternal, 5%]
snow leopard markings [paternal, 10%]
amber eyes [maternal, 15%]
reddish brown fur [maternal, 15%]
jaguar markings [maternal, 15%]
short fur [maternal, 15%]
Physical Attributes
Xalo is a hybrid, as as such, she has traits of both her parent species.
While it's hard to tell immediately, it's a fact that she does have quite a bit more of her mother's traits, as far as her body shape goes... the most of which is shown in her heavily muscled body and strong forequarters, as well as having short, stout legs. From this comes strength and a very strong bite.
The part of her that shows her father's traits seems to be more apparent. She has a lot of fur, like her father, but her tail is a bit different from Sunil's. While it is long, the fur is only as dense on the end... the rest is of medium length. She also has the ears of a snow leopard... small, and placed lowly on the head. She has a lot of lung capacity, as well as the ability to jump pretty far, attributed by her slightly longer legs.
Xalo's broad head comes from both parent species, and her muzzle length is a mix between the snow leopard's short muzzle, and the jaguar's longer one.
As far as her abilities go, her balance and stamina are her strongest qualities. She also has strength and agility (not including fast reflexes and dodging) as secondary abilities, the first being more prominent than the other.
You'll notice that her armor was based off Cynthia's. The horse design was made by Vulcan (in other words, DappledSun designed it). You can find a copy for your use here:
History
She feels lost in her own life,
Treading water just to keep from going under
And she wonders if she's where she's supposed to be...
She never knew a whole lot about her parents. Any relationship Xalo could have had with them was lost in the high expectations and their constant bickering. Looking back now, it seems obvious to Xalo that their relationship wasn't what it should have been. Right now, Xalo is too young to understand why. But Xalo's birth was arranged. In the beginning, it seemed they loved one another, but polite words given by her kind father Sunil were mistaken for flattery by her vain, snooty, violent mother. In the end, Ivy always seemed to overrule Sunil, and so most of her ideas on parenting were what came through to Xalo and her sister.
Ivy took her owner being a nobleman very seriously. She always held her head high, and was very polite and elegant when not in the arena. This was something she passed on to her children. It was something that Xalo struggled with from the start. At first she hated it, but her mother was persistent, so eventually it became almost natural for Xalo. However, it put a lot of strain on the cub, and as a result, when she was younger she wasn't able to play as much, or enjoy herself. As a result, today she's not always as playful as other cubs, being able to stay relatively calm and controlled, but won't hesitate to join in on a game without good reason.
She came to like her father more than her mother. Sunil was calm and respectful, and caring towards his two cubs. For this reason, though he never really developed a strong relationship with her, through their secret games, cuddles and stories of the great Indian mountains she grew fond of him. Unfortunately, after a rather bad fight with Ivy, she never saw him again.
Tired of trying to do it right,
Her dreams are just too far away to see how steps she's making
Might be taking her to who she'll be...
With her father out of the picture, when her two cubs were three months old, Ivy became more strict. Xalo's mood dampened. She always tried to do what her mother said, but through the next months of her life, the pressure really got to her. The more she tried to impress her mother, the harder it seemed to be. She never once resented trying to be dainty; rather, she was convinced that she could never be a good cat if she wasn't elegant and polite like her mother wanted her to be, even if deep down she was the exact opposite. And as the end of the weaning process approached her, it seemed like Ivy wouldn't even look at her. Then the day came, and the two cubs were sold. Her sister was bought by someone inside Massilia, but Xalo was purchased by someone in a nearby village. As her cage was loaded onto the wagon, she couldn't help but wonder if mom wouldn't have sent her away if she'd done a little better. This is why she still keeps up the behavior her mom taught.
And suddenly,
It isn't what it used to be...
She was sleeping when it happened. There was a sudden bump, waking the cub immediately. Her cage was knocked over, and terrified, she huddled in the corner. The impact had knocked the cage door open, but she was too scared to leave. She could hear was seemed to be cats outside, and soon one of them was able to find her. As it turned out, a group of Lightning Empire cats had attacked the wagon, in a raid attempt. There had been little of use to the empire on board, but they had managed to find young Xalo. It would be wrong to leave her there, so she was brought back to camp, where she was adopted into the empire. It all happened so fast that she wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but eventually she came to like her new home. She never forgot her real family, but came to enjoy her life. She was still young. Nothing had really happened that would do more than confuse or startle her, and she had her whole life ahead of her yet.
And after all this time,
it worked out just fine!
A lot has changed for Xalo since arriving to Lightning Empire, and in a good way. Not only does she not think that she'll be sent away anymore, but she is generally happier and more social than she was when she first arrived... much more free in spirit and soul. In addition, she has a new family... a new father, and a new mother, her mentor Cynthia. Things are looking up for the young snow jaguar, and if anything's for certain, she can only grow into what will one day be a valuable gladiator for the empire.
And suddenly,
I am where I'm supposed to be
And after all the tears,
I was supposed to be here!
-- Superchick, "Suddenly"
Personality
Polite
derp
Calm
derp
Obedient
derp
Respectful
derp
Observant
derp
Friendly
derp
Focused
derp
Independent
derp
Eager
derp
Tomboy
derp
Playful
derp
Outgoing
derp
Pushy
derp
Sensitive
derp
Witty
derp
Clumsy
derp
Energetic
derp
Self-critical
derp
Mature
derp
QUICK NOTES:
~More than anything, Xalo fears failure. Because of her strict upbringing, she takes criticism very seriously and is afraid of disappointing her superiors.
Roleplay Examples
[Penelope; 599 Words]There was a full moon tonight. The light bathed Ice Empire's camp, casting a soft, bluish white glow on the landscape. For the most part, things were very peaceful aside from some small sounds emitted from the Apprentice's Den, barely heard over the sound of crickets chirping all around the Massilian escapees.
Little Penny turned in her sleep. Little, uncomfortable sounds came from the lynx cross occasionally, until eventually the apprentice sat up, her eyes wide and pupils dilated. Sighing, she looked down at her paws, playing lightly with the moss and grass underneath her. She'd never been one to have nightmares often... much less about the death of Master. That was a day she tried not to look back on, if she could help it. And after all, it'd been months since that day... she didn't understand why she couldn't forget it. It was over. She had a new life now. That should be enough to let it go... right...?
The pale lynx laid down again in her nest, but as she tossed and turned, memories both good and bad conflicted in her mind; sleep simply wouldn't come. Eventually, her fears turned to the darkness around her, almost feeling consumed by it, as if it might swallow her. Wincing in fear, she immediately shot up into a standing position and darted outside, hoping that it might be at least a little lighter away from the enclosed space of the den.
Once outside, she took a deep breath, and glanced around real quickly. Alone.
...perfect. Just what she needed right now. At times like this, when she felt rather distanced from her empire mates... Penelope needed to be alone. Though a small part of her still wanted a friend or two, right now it was better to feel lonely.
Then she took notice of her surroundings. It was funny... there were patches of lighter color on the ground. Was that... snow? Slowly and cautiously, the lynx approached the patch, and gingerly stepped on it with her paw. But when she did, she felt no cold sensation on her pads. In fact, her paw also got lighter than in was when she wasn't touching the patch of grass. She had to repeat this a few times before she realized that this wasn't snow... it was light. Penny gazed up at the sky, to see a bright orb shining above her. So, that was it, then. Moonlight.
She'd really never seen the moon before... even when she was with Master. Because of her experiences in the cages of Massilia, the darkness had always terrified and threatened her... but with such a large and bright moon... she felt it was tolerable, to be out here... and it was kind of nice... and now that she was able to get a look at them, the stars were pretty. It was certainly brighter out here than it was in the apprentice's den. It wasn't always like this, but... for some reason, today the moon was bigger. That must be why she was less unnerved by the darkness. It didn't stop her from moving her ears in different directions or looking over her shoulder often, but for the moment, she was mesmerized enough by the brilliant sky overhead that she wasn't going to run away just yet. And besides, it would be even darker in the den... where else was she going to go? The only place with light was the city, and she most certainly wasn't going there. No... for now, all she could do was enjoy the moment until she got sleepy again.