Dominant; Dark pelt (AA), short legs (AA), green eyes (Aa), large spots (Aa), large paws (Aa)
Recessive; Thick-furred tail, standing spinal fur, small muzzle, barred legs, white-tipped tail
Carrier; Amber eyes, ocelot-spots, small paws

|| Focused and Ambitious || "Leave me alone for, like, the rest of the day."

When Faeles needs to get something done, she will tirelessly work on it until it's done. No distractions, no disturbances. She is not easily sidetracked and will outwardly ignore anyone who tries to get her attention when she's 'in the zone', regardless of who they are.

|| Handy and Innovative || "I can probably figure out how to fix that armor."

If she sees something that's broken, she will immediately try to fix it. Someone's rattly piece of armor, the leaky roof over the apprentices' den, a fallen log blocking the creek...anything. Most times, she won't even ask. She'll just start going for it.

|| Snappish and Defensive || "Gods, I guess I can't do ANYTHING right around here, can I??"

Don't tell her she's wrong, she will fight you. You might win, because she's pretty little, but she will fight you, and it will be unpleasant. When other cats try to tell her she's not doing something right, she will snap at them, ignore them, and do things her own way.

|| Elitist and Entitled || "Pfff...damn Falcons think they know EVERYTHING."

As far as Fael's concerned, Gatherers are the best rank. They're the only ones who ever do anything around camp, the only ones who get anything done. Why are the Strategists in charge? They just sit around and talk shit all day. What do the Falcons even do with their time? At least the Anecdotists have some pretty good base knowledge and they're sorta useful. But Gathering's where it's at.

|| Emotional and Empathic || "I'm sorry. I wish I could do more to help."

Along with her need to fix everything she sees, she also needs to help fix other cats. If someone is hurting, no matter who it is, her empathy kicks in and she needs to help them. She needs to. It could be the most dangerous Hunter in Rome...hell, even if it was Lene sitting in the woods crying by herself...Fael would try to do anything she could to help.

|| Protective and Loyal || "If you so much as LOOK at her wrong, I will leave your corpse out for the vultures."

You will never catch Faeles letting someone else get hurt under her watch. She will do everything in her power to protect those she is loyal to. Everything. Even if it's just threats and snarls.

|| Talkative and Confident || "Hey, how are ya? Haven't seen you around in a few days, what have you been up to?"

Always chatty, you can always count on Faeles for a good conversation. She is genuinely interested in what you have to say. Yes, even your nap yesterday. She'll love to hear about it. She'll love to talk about it. She'll want to know more and talk to you about her day and be social all the time.

|| Reckless and Optimistic || "Meh, this is probably an okay plan. We'll see."

As far as planning and strategy goes, Faeles doesn't really care. Even if somethings seems a little...off...she'll go with it, because she won't feel like coming up with a better plan herself.

|| Social and Eccentric || "'Oi! What's yer name? Haven't seen you around here before."

Always curious and social, Faeles will be the first to introduce herself to a newcomer. They might as well create a new rank called "Welcoming Committee" and make her the Head. In fact, you don't need any other cats. She'd do it all herself if you asked.

|| Honest and Straight Forward || "I'm not gunna lie...that armor looks ridiculous on you."

She's not going to lie to you; the way you styled your hair tuft today could use some adjustments. And you have some mud on your cheek. Gods, we should probably just give you a bath. Fael will fix everything, don't worry.

    Faeles’ fate was predetermined before her parents had even met. Seth, an ocelot from Rome, was a Bounty Hunter posing as Solii to breed strong, healthy cubs for the Bounty Hunter program. Her mother, Pilea, was a dark-furred clouded leopard who lived in the outskirts of the city of Rome her entire life, her parents being escaped Coliseum fighters. When more and more cats began leaving the city and infiltrating her territory, she became more hostile and only wished more to be left alone. But when Seth found his way to her little nested area, promising freedom and safety from the Bounty Hunters in exchange for one favor, she hesitantly accepted his company.  

    Turned out, that one favor was a little bigger than Pilea had originally been thinking. Seth wanted a child; he wanted a child he could take back to the city with him to train as a Bounty Hunter. Pilea, desperate to be left alone, hesitantly agreed. So a few months later, she gave birth to two cubs; her son was stillborn, but the other, a dark-furred female hybrid, was healthy and strong. She named her Faeles, meaning thief, after her thieving father. Pilea was never very affectionate towards Faeles. Whether it was because she knew Faeles would soon be leaving her life or if it was because she truly did not love her daughter, Fael would never know. But a few weeks after her birth, she met her father for the first time, and saw her mother for the last.

    Faeles was too young to really realize what was going on. She somehow understood that this strange ocelot was her father; likely because of their similar appearances. And she somehow understood that she would likely never see her mother again. Not that it bothered her; her mother hadn’t left exactly the biggest impact in her life. No, she was much more interested in the dark-furred ocelot who barely said a word in the whole time she knew him. His bright amber eyes were painted with determination and purpose…two traits her mother had never projected. This male had a reason for being…what did her mother have?

    She had fallen asleep by the time they reached the city. She awoke in an odd-looking cave with many strange smells. She later learned it was called a room, and she was inside one of the Roman Bounty Hunter Garden living quarters. In the corner of the room, her father and a large cat, larger than one she had ever seen before, sat and talked. His name was Benedictus. She listened, and they didn’t seem to care if she knew what they were saying. Faeles had been bred for this program. She was born to help foster the Bounty Hunters, and to be a fighter for their cause. From the get-go, she was entranced. Her life would have a meaning greater than that of living in a makeshift den and eating mice every day. She would get to do something with her life. Make a name for herself. Become powerful.

    That was the last day she saw her father for a long time. But it hardly mattered, because she had a new life to focus on; one of a Bounty Hunter. She was given over to the Caretaker, Fox, who was somehow even bigger than Benedictus. Some of the Hunters were even bigger than Fox. Who knew there were such large felines in the world?

    The first day she saw a human up close, though, was the day she realized she could never work for them. They were so…defenseless. They had to carry around sharp sticks and metal blades to make themselves seem stronger than they really were. Their claws were dull and blunt, their teeth were flat and useless, their bodies were slow and clumsy and awkward and could hardly even jump. This is who her father brought her to fight for? Pah. Felines should rule over humans.

    Faeles soon began apprentice training with the Hunters, but she knew she’d never graduate to become a full Hunter. She’d already started planning what she’d do after her escape. Dreaming of her new life that hadn’t begun. Picturing herself growing up on her own, without the aid of the humans, without anyone’s help. Unfortunately, she was assigned a mentor who was quite perceptive of her frequent daydreaming. Dura was a female red cheetah, bred for speed and agility, as most cheetahs were. And Dura was tough. And devoted to the cause, damn. After Dura noticed Fael’s lack of devotion and motivation, she began to get more and more brutal, not realizing it was driving Faeles further and further away from the Bounty Hunter program. Her days began before the sun rose, usually to Dura violently attacking her in her room while Faeles was deep in sleep. It then continued with Dura racing her in circles around the Roman Hunter training arena. Who would beat a cheetah? Literally no one. And certainly not Faeles, who was built more for strength than speed, anyways. They’d then take a short break for a short meal, then it was back to the arena for fight training. This was Faeles’ least favorite part, because she almost always walked out with bruises and scratches. Dura was an experienced Coliseum fighter from birth, and she sure didn’t sugarcoat it. The cheetah mentor was never easy on her apprentice. Claws and fangs were always allowed, as well as insults and angry demands. The fight training consumed most of the day until all of the other apprentices started turning in for the night. Once everyone else left, Dura would take Faeles into the Coliseum stables where a large number of fighting felines were held and let her see how pathetic they looked. But Faeles didn’t think they were pathetic. She thought they were terrifying. She would then return to the Garden and go straight to sleep. The young ocelot leopard hybrid didn’t even have enough free time to make any friends.

    After a few months of this tortuous training, Dura finally woke her up calmly one day, after the sun had risen, after all the other apprentices had long since gone off to train. Faeles was grateful for the day to sleep in, but nervous. What could that mean? Was she being executed? But Dura silently took her out to the top of the city wall to look out at the Defector territory. The territory she had been born in. It was huge…bigger than she’d ever pictured or remembered. There were cats hiding out there, cats she would be expected to attack; how would she ever find that many? How were the Hunters ever going to track down these felines in this massive expanse of territory? Dura launched into a long lesson about the Defection and why it was important to take them down, but Faeles had quit listening. She’d made her decision.

The next morning, when Dura came to wake her up, Faeles wouldn’t be there. She would have found a way to sneak out of the Garden and out into the streets, where she’d spend the majority of her life.

    She learned to steal from the weak humans, and she learned to enjoy it. If she was able to understand human speech, she’d know they had started calling her the Night Thief. She hunted rats and birds in the alleys sometimes, but mostly she liked to eat the human chickens or pigs. She decked out her simple Bounty Hunter armor in human charms and jewelry. She never stayed in one place for too long; she was smart enough to realize that if she got comfortable, she’d be caught. So she was always moving, always traveling. She learned that some humans kept felines as pets, and she learned she could actually trick the pets into stealing things for her. The times when she could accomplish this were the most fun; human pets were easy to be tricked, and they were always so elitist, so they always just took for granted that everyone would fall head-over-heels for them. A little flattery went a long ways in the streets.

    Except until she met one cat. A female Iberian lynx by the name of Lynn didn't take well to her compliments, but she didn't attack her. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and grabbed Faeles a chicken and told her to be off. Surprised, Faeles took the bird, but kept her eye on the lynx's house for a few days. Lynn sat in the windows often, an ornate collar around her neck, and, shockingly, snarled often when the humans came close. After Faeles had determined that Lynn didn't much like the humans, she decided to return. Lynn immediately went to get her some food, and, again, Faeles accepted without question. She continued this trend, coming back to Lynn's house every few weeks, then days, then soon she was frequenting every night. Lynn and Faeles grew close, and Faeles would often come by just to rant about the piebald lynx who kept stealing her meals, Faolin, instead of coming for food. One night, the humans had dogs out patrolling the streets, looking for strays and escaped wild cats, and Lynn hid Faeles in her human's house where they wouldn't find her. After that, Faeles often spent nights over. She learned that Lynn hated the Hunters because they had killed her parents and taken her from the wild. Faeles didn't tell her about her Hunter past; best to leave that hidden for now. Faeles began to truly care about Lynn and became genuinely excited to go see her every day.

    On her last day in the city, Faeles had brought Lynn a gift. A stolen gift, albeit, but a gift all the same. It was a pendant she had taken from some lady's jewelry collection; by far the most elaborate charm she had ever taken. It was a small golden bird, embedded with small gems. Faeles had planned on giving it to Lynn as a thank you for everything she'd done...until she got to the house.

    Immediately, she felt like something was wrong. Lynn wasn't in the window. Faeles hesitated, but approached the house with caution. She knew that Lynn's humans rarely walked by this window, so it was safe for Faeles to let herself in...usually.

    The first thing she noticed was Lynn, sitting on the floor with her head hanging low. Then she noticed the other feline in the room...a larger, older, scarred cat, her head held high and proud, her eyes piercing Faeles'. She wore black leather armor with a crest painted in red on her side...the Bounty Hunter crest. Dura.

    Dura had been telling Lynn of Faeles's history and duty. Faeles couldn't even imagine what lies Dura was spinning; telling Lynn that Faeles was a troubled apprentice with the determination to seduce every cat in the city just to spite her Hunter mentor. Faeles quickly tried to explain herself, but Lynn wouldn't look at her, and Dura kept interrupting her. Out of frustration and hate, Faeles attacked Dura in the middle of Lynn's house. The fight was evenly matched...until Lynn intervened, shoving Faeles off of her old mentor, trying to tackle her herself. Shocked and hurt, Faeles scrambled out of the window, out of the yard, and lost Dura somewhere in the streets. She swung by her little stash of charms and trinkets, then fled the city, where she found the Ferox. When she learned of the ranks, she immediately volunteered as a Gatherer; she knew the streets, and this way she could keep an eye on Lynn in secret, and maybe one day, give her the little bird charm that she would always keep with her.

Feathers settled around Faeles’ paws and scattered across her back. She held the chicken’s neck firmly in her muzzle, even though it had stopped struggling a few moments ago. The weak little humans wouldn’t mind missing one chicken. They could even keep the feathers she’d leave behind. Maybe she’d even leave them a leg—Ooh, what was that?

    Faeles rose, chicken still dangling from her jaws, her eyes locked on a corner of the chicken coop (the rest of the birds had already scattered in terror). There was something catching the light back there…something shiny.

    She slowly approached, as if the shiny thing was going to leap up and run away if she moved too fast. But of course, that was ridiculous. Shiny things didn’t move. And--yes--when she reached it, she knew exactly what it was. A little metal charm. An earring or part of a necklace, likely. It was a perfect circle, with indents of other perfect circles inside of it, like rings. One of the humans must have dropped it inside the coop at some point and lost it. Well, now it was hers.

    She put the chicken down behind her and bent down to grab the charm. As she was stuffing it under her leather armor, though, she heard something. A creak…or…what was that--?

    A flash of whiteish-gold appeared in front of her, leaping in through one of the windows, and in a flash, it was gone in a fit of laughter. And so was her chicken.

    “Hey!” Faeles cried out, and leaped out of the coop after the other feline. “Hey, get back here!”

    The other cat was bigger, but not faster. When they were out of the human’s territory and out into the street, Faeles launched herself forward and tackled down the other cat. A lynx, by the looks of it.

    “Give me my chicken!”

    “It wasn’t yours to begin with, child!” the other cat snarled, but it was almost as if she was laughing. No, mocking her.
    
    “Well I--caught it!” she yelled, grabbing the chicken by the leg and yanking as hard as she could.

    The leg separated from the rest of the body with a pop, and the force flung Faeles off of the larger feline’s body, sending her tumbling back into a pile of human garbage. When she regained her composure, still holding the leg in her mouth, the lynx was up and running away with the majority of her meal.