Ululani/Intro

Vastly Superior Dolphin Traits

Date of Birth: March 7, 1842 Place of Birth: Pacific Ocean Nationality: None Ethnicity: Cetacean / Hawaiian Race: Rorqual (Kami) Apparent Age: Adult / Midtwenties Profession: Dolphin Nature: Survivor Demeanor: Judge Kinfolk: Rokea (sort of) Consecrated to: Sea "[On Earth], man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much — the wheel, New York, wars, and so on — while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man — for precisely the same reasons." -The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Prettier than Thou If there is one thing that's a match for her arrogance, it is her beauty. Even a rather attractive human may as well be a Nosferatu in comparison; hers is the kind of blatantly supernatural beauty that makes Sidhe green with envy, causes Toreador to just stand and stare, and likely makes Satyrs need a change of pants. It is NOT even the slightest bit subtle. It shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as the word 'subtle'. Short of the completely blind, there is absolutely no way in hell that anyone would mistake her for merely a very attractive human. (Appearance 8; Merit: Surreal Beauty.) Of course, she spends a lot of time in the form of a dolphin (her natural form, in fact), and when she does go out among humans she tends to cover herself up in so much clothing that even the Taliban might find it excessive. It doesn't help as much as one might think - even when completely bundled up, she STILL seems to draw a lot of attention somehow, and as a dolphin... well, humans do occasionally make websites about how to have sex with dolphins... (Flaw: Surreal Quality.) Better than Thou She is just a wee bit arrogant. True, Rorqual in general ARE very much respected by most denizen of the sea - to the Merfolk and Murdhuacha, they are essentially thought of as living Freeholds, whereas the Rokea tend to think of them much like land-borne shifters think of their Caerns. After all, that's what Rorqual *do* - they gather Gnosis (and/or Glamour) from undersea Grottoes, bringing such energies to Rokea and/or Mer. The very thought of harming a Rorqual is pretty much anathema to Kunspawn and Mer alike (one of the few things Merfolk and Murdhuacha actually agree on), and they all tend to go out of their way to protect a Rorqual in need. The thing is... she's just one little dolphin, capable of carrying enough Gnosis to 'refuel' one, maybe two Rokea at most, yet she's somehow gotten it into her head that she is EVERY BIT as important as some gigantic whale Rorqual with Gnosis (and/or Glamour) pools approaching or even exceeding triple digits, capable of sustaining entire cities of Merfolk or countless slews of weresharks. She definitely isn't THAT important, but she won't hear a word of it. As for her supposed 'superiority' to humans intellectually, well... she might not be a total dumbass, but there's certainly nothing at all superhuman about her intelligence. She's not going to admit to that either. While we're on the subject of being crazy: She also has a tendency to get carried away in combat - even if she hasn't actually Frenzied, she's still unlikely to stop attacking someone until they are dead. Merely TELLING her to stop won't cut it - she'll need to be physically restrained. She's not about to go around and randomly attack people, mind - most of the time she's fairly pleasant. When she DOES get into fights, though... (Derangements: Delusions of Grandeur, Homicidal.) Sea-Bound Being a Rorqual and all, it is probably no great surprise that she is very closely tied to the ocean. When she's on, in, or within sight of the ocean, she makes any and all Willpower rolls at -1 difficulty. On the other hand, if she's been away from the ocean for more than 24 hours, she suffers a +1 difficulty increase to her Willpower rolls instead. Likewise unsurprising is the fact that she's a natural swimmer; all her Swimming rolls are at -2 difficulty. (Flaw: Pelagic Compulsion. Merits: Pelagic Harmony, Ability Aptitude (Swimming).) Shark-kin, and yet not She shares a deep spiritual bond with the Rokea; she effectively has Kinfolk status and 3 points of Pure Breed as far as the weresharks are concerned, with all the benefits that would bring (but without the downside of Betweener-hunters trying to kill her - she is Rorqual first and foremost). That's probably going to confuse the hell out of a lot of Rokea, though - Pure Breed is not a Background the weresharks even HAVE, and Kadugo most DEFINITELY don't have it. One is either a shark, or one is not - there is no middle ground. Yet, somehow, she feels unusually sharky for a non-shark. (Power: Skinchanger Kinship.) Miscellaneous Dolphin Things Even in human form, she sticks to a typical dolphin diet - primarily fish, squid, and some shellfish, preferably raw. Land-meat might do if the alternative is starvation, but it tends to give her some stomach pain, primarily because she's not really in the habit of chewing before swallowing. Fruit and vegetables aren't even an option she'd consider. A few other dolphin traits to consider: dolphins do not have a sense of smell (though they do have a sense of taste). She doesn't either, not even in human forms. As for other senses - she is effectively colorblind while in dolphin form, because dolphins are just that (though they see exceptionally well in the blue-greenish spectrum). This does NOT carry over to her human forms, though. Still, suddenly being able to perceive all these strange new colors can be disorienting at times, though perhaps not as much as the sight of all those random spirits, ghosts and chimera floating about all over the place. Another thing that dolphins don't do? Read. You try finding readable books underwater, see how that goes. (Flaws: Strict Carnivore, No Sense of Smell, Illiterate.) (Merit: Spirit Sight.)