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 (if they were wearing any in the first place). 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 amongst humans she tends to cover herself up in so much clothing that even the Taliban might find it excessive. Okay, slight exaggeration there, but you get the idea. The thing is, though... it doesn't really help much. 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 Did I mention she's a wee bit arrogant? Because she is. 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 (which she can do sometimes), she's still highly unlikely to stop attacking someone until they are dead. Merely TELLING her to stop won't cut it (because she's obviously superior to you in every way and isn't going to listen to your so-called orders) - she'll need to be physically restrained. (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 3 points of Pure Breed as far as the weresharks are concerned, with all the benefit that Background would bring (bonus social dice, increased chance of Rokea babies). 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 (human Rokea kinfolk) most DEFINITELY don't have it. Yet, somehow, she does. The bond confers all the benefits of actually being Kinfolk (delirium immunity, the ability to have Rokea kids), but none of the drawbacks - that is, Betweener-hunters do not consider her to be Kadugo (she couldn't possibly be, she's not even human), and thus do not kill her on sight. After all, whatever else she might be, she is Rorqual first and foremost. (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. 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.)