[Thane Hunter]

THANE LUCAS HUNTER
"Trying to recall what you want me to say
I shake your way, I shake your way
Counting on the night for a beautiful day
I shake your way, I shake your way
And I say you can't get enough
No you can't get enough

Given a chance, I'm gonna be somebody".



S H I F T E R . WORNSWORD

My name is Thane but you can call me T, Lou or Mutt if that's got too many syllables for you to handle. I might look like I'm twenty but I'm actually twenty-seven ; hard to believe, right? Roughly, I'm 6'1 tall, last I checked, and I'd be the first to admit I'm a little on the jock-ish side, but don't hold that against me. Loads have people have told me how much I resemble Josh Hartnett never seen the guy, but he must be some handsome devil.

F I R S T . I M P R E S S I O N S

Thane has his Father's natural, sparkling charisma which exudes from every pore. He is approachable and never seems to be far away from cracking a smile or out and out laughing. He holds himself with confidence, to a point that he might be deemed overtly cocksure, but he draws the line at imposing himself and instead has a knack for sharing the comfort-zone he takes with him at all times. On first impressions, he has a firm handshake but seems like he might be missing a good chunk of education until he is ready to hold a proper conversation - Thane's a master of small talk.

When he's in a bad mood, however, his usual affability gets turned on it's head and starting conversation with him is excruciatingly painful. At those times he is perceived as troubled and withdrawn but not in a way that encourages sympathy or pity, just the distinct feeling he should be left well alone. Many a door-to-door canvasser has told him 'sorry, wrong house' when he has opened up to them in one of his glooms.

F A S H I O N . P A S S I O N

Thane likes to keep with the trends whilst adding his own touch of 'edge'. His color palette is diverse but, being quite the peacock, he picked up quickly what works for and against him. Fitted tee-shirts are a staple garment of any ensemble, preferably plain with a shallow v-neck or button up collar and he doesn't often wear busy prints unless he has a plain waistcoat or sleeveless body warmer he can team it with. Another steadfast companion is his jeans; he can't stand dress trousers and saves combats for rough work or wash day. His lower garments almost always hang low to show off his often brightly patterned boxers and fancy embossed/studded belts - harking back to his days as a grungy skater right before he was sent away to 'learn about the world'.

On the sly he reads a lot of men's fashion magazines and now that he has the free funds for it he's not ashamed to splash out copious amounts on designer labels. Ask him and he'd say it's money well spent because it's quality not just quantity, but it's clear in his face what a guilty pleasure it is, particularly since it's his parents money and not cash he's earned for himself. At least he does a good job of looking tidy.

Hunter isn't a complete carbon copy though, he can't resist big, chunky and even garish buckles and glasses and he still gets drawn to punk and alternative shops; he owns an impressive selection of bracers and band patches that he'll don at the drop of a hat. Speaking of which, he has more beanies, flat caps and fedoras than many women have shoes. Thane simply can't get enough of them and it's very rare that you'll get him to leave the house without one. This may be partially because of his rumpled looking hair which never stays styled for long but he can't bring himself to cut short. (It's bad enough that he has to trim his facial hair and he only does that because it still doesn't grow in very thick.)

D I M P L E S . A N D . T H I N G S

One of the privileges of being bound to the Earth is the hard task that is made of damaging and leaving lasting proof on a Shifter. So aside from his tattoos, the only real mark on his otherwise unblemished skin is a small pock mark between his finger and thumb that Brady gave him when they were younger. Mucking about as kids do, she thought it would be hilarious to snap off the point of a lead pencil.. needless to say it ended badly and after all the fretting at it that Thane did, when it healed it left a small, 3mm deep dent. When he touches it there's a hard lump there too, but both he and Brady are undecided about whether it is the remnants of the pencil tip or a knot of scar tissue.

W H Y . D I D . Y O U . D O . I T

That's it for unintentional or natural marks, but as for piercings he has or at least has had, a few. One of the first things he did once he had completed his four years at school was to get his nose redone. He almost always wears a ring through it, invariably in black, blue or dark green, stainless steel only touches his skin in stud form. There is a scar under his devil's point from where he used to have a labret, various dimples in his ears from past holes and he still has a discreet little bar through his tongue and a surface piercing at the nape of his neck .

As the Wornswords get older and their inherent ability to regenerate grows stronger, it becomes quite a chore to get re-inked every decade or so. Thane, being the girly military school bitch that he is, would prefer not to have to endure it even quite so often as that.The three tattoos he eventually girded himself enough against to go and get are all in black line. The first he got was the family's motto 'pagan hearts beat strongest' across his upper right arm as a constant reminder, then there is the pentacle in the small of his back for the elements and finally a celtic 'tree of life' over his heart - his father had the exact same one and it's still settling.

M A N . W I T H O U T . S K I N

Like all Hunter men, Thane is as unshakeable as the rock and soil from which he was formed. Very little will test him, though he can be extremely reluctant to take up a challenge out of pure laziness. This side to his personality most often manifests itself in his tendency to be very laid back, he will not react immediately to people and situations and that can be frustrating for those around him. Even in the latest developments, he has returned to England and is expected to take up a position of power having had none of the lessons he is expected to take before being given the reigns. And yet he treats it all as though it were no big deal, and actually isn't quite sure why - in this day and age - more of a to do is being made over old rites than the passing of his parents.

It was Thane's own idea to settle his roots in America for a while. He had been happy enough to take part in the compulsory traveling - an old tradition for 'journeymen' Wornswords destined for leadership - but had never gotten to see much of America itself which he had been infatuated with as a teen. Shifters take a lot of themselves from the world under their feet, the feel of the land be it desert, soil or chalk, it forms part of who they are and usually by traveling they get a better feel for the others of their kind all over the world. Thane, like many of the Beasts, fell into the trap of settling. Eventually He did not, or rather could not, feel the tug of his homeland's leylines and after a couple of years surrounded by the concrete forest of America he got to be cut off from his own forest back in Christchurch. The wolf in him, the Earth Spirit, dwindled the longer he spent in built up areas. On returning to England he is far more at home tuning in to the radio instead of picking up resonances from the land.

Presently Thane thinks the odd discomfort he is feeling is the result of homesickness for America and grief for his parents. What he is in fact going through is a reacquaintance with the land his Clan was carved from, the leylines are deeply connected to the Hunters and if he thinks he can ignore it much longer, then he is mistaken. That is, however, Thane Hunter all over. He is an extremely modern man-child who thinks he knows best just because of who his family is. He picks and choses what ought to be priorities based on the importance he deigns something to have. This naivety extends to more than just his current situation. If someone in a bar gets rubbed the wrong way by him, it'll go over his head unless he actually cared; a lesson he's yet to be corrected on by at least another three black eyes and broken noses.

The young Alpha has a lot to learn about respecting others, especially when it will eventually come to dealing with blood enemies and appreciating the input of the Clan members when they're trying to help him out. A lot of that stems from his confidence and cheekiness growing up. Being such an undeniably likeable character, he's used to his own way and an easy ride, along the way finding that people are unable to get angry even when he is genuinely going too far. His cockiness causes fights, physical and verbal, but because he can hold his own and thinks it's all part of 'the life game' he takes it in his stride and goes on exactly as he was before. The death of his parents is going to give him some down time from being so 'Thane' all the time, and maybe then he can come back more attentive and less dismissive. Like a rock, it takes time to wear in new changes.

When talking about how Thane gets his own way, one cannot ignore the painfully obvious womanizing streak in him. An outrageous flirt, but skilled nevertheless, he can deliver the cheesiest lines and still get an appreciative giggle out of his next intended prize. Persuasion is something he factors in his day to day life and when he builds up enough enthusiasm to take on a chase, his favourite arena to practice in is the dating circuit. He can be a little shallow too, he likes the nice things in life and with a jaw like his and eyes perfect for looks of far off wonderment, it's no surprise he feels at home picking and choosing his lady-friends. Beyond his flaunts though he remains an all embracing kind of guy, no one is treated different to anyone else.. ok, it's slightly related to how he subconsciously thinks of himself as every man's better, but he holds back on lauding over everyone, so it's all good.

Finally, despite all appearances, Thane is a compassionate man. His belief is in a good offense and will never go out of his way to spark aggression - it's just unfortunate that he sparks it accidentally.. all the time. Fair enough he is an avid talker but you'll find that after he has had his say, he's just as interested in the words you manage to get in edgewise and has a surprisingly sympathetic ear under all that fashionable disheveled hair.

S H O W . O F F

Athleticism.
Don't laugh. Thane inherited his father's speed and his mothers reaction times but before he started taking an interest in training he couldn't climb, fight, throw or jump to save his blessed life. Now there's nothing he loves more than to head to the nearest leisure center and rock climb or box; I think it's given him a little bit of a competitive edge too.

Technology.
A little more than basic computer literacy - he could build a website or format your hard drive trying anyway - but that's a massive improvement on what he had before. Christchurch is a very small village in a rural area, until he went away Thane could just about work a tractor or a harvester and could skin most small game. All that is pretty much replaced now, but you ought to see him behind the wheel of his Vantage.

Authority.
Ok, so he isn't exactly equipped for Alpha status as yet, but he knows how to bark an order so as you would sit up and listen. 101 in getting your own way is not to act up, it's about delivery with confidence and something which was instilled in Thane by watching his Father and later his drill sergeant. It is effortless for him to act like he belongs somewhere he doesn't or to get someone to hop to even when they have no clue who he is. While he was away his behavior at first earned him disciplinary action but, due to just how irrepressible he is, shortly thereafter made him squadron leader and a series of cushioned positions of leadership.

Money.
The boy might have his vice when it comes to shopping but let it never be said that he can't account for the very last penny coming or going out of his bank - and he'll have a billion and one excuses ready and waiting if you care to grill him about his spendature.

E P I C . F A I L

Appetite.
What do you expect? The boy is still growing and with that fast burning metabolism its no wonder he eats like a horse and damn him if he's not carrying an ounce of unnecessary excess fat. It is only perhaps an hour or so before he is eating again, even if it's just his precious buttered crackers, and if that [i]doesn't happen? He's apt for that over so pleasant disposition he's known for to start slipping. He can't think straight and snaps until he's got something in his mouth worth chewing. Be forewarned; if you're late for dinner reservations he's going to order without you.


Pranks.
And the same applies for punch lines. He won't discriminate against a cheap one liner and won't hold it against a prank if it doesn't go entirely to plan but don't think for a moment he reserves leaping out in a mask to make you jump only for people he knows. In his opinion, the ones least likely to expect anything are people you're not actually with. It goes without saying that he's a fan of the 'happy-slap' craze, though he's a gentle giant really so it's not too violent.


Lying in.
Thane can have 'not enough sleep' even after getting his head down for 13 plus hours. He frequently catnaps and it won't matter to him where he is at the time, and while he was working, all his daylight hours were spent in 'Z-fomat'/ 'Position Triple Z' {as he affectionately refers to sleep} and his night times reserved for partying and having a good time. When you consider that his shifted shape is a wolf, it's no wonder he's got so many nocturnal habits.

Gadgets.
iPhone, iPod, iMac, blu tooth, infrared, DAB radio, sat nav, water resistant watches, electric can openers, wi-fi and so many, many more ridiculous widgets and do-dads. He really is a new breed of Wornsword in his affinity, nae, obsession with gadgetry; tens of his nick knacks have never even been used/open! They fill his pockets and clutter up his car, customs had a hell of a time trying to decide whether some of the junk he was carrying was suspicious enough to pull him out of line for.

Petite Women.
This soft spot for smaller girls started with Brady; as children they were inseparable and while away he found his attentions drawn to anything that reminded him of her. Ask him out and out and he'll reply childishly, but take a sneak peak at his back catalogue of girlfriends and there's a hell of a lot of blue eyed brunettes with cheeky smiles.

T R I C K S . F O R . T R E A T S

Energy From Leylines.
Inextricably linked to England, his flame is fed constantly by it and though he'll come to realize it only later, the warmth and welcome he felt when greeted by Brady at the airport wasn't just a happiness to see an old friend - the country itself was pleased to have one of it's sons returning after a long absence. He will also start to notice that aches and pains leave him a lot more quickly than they had elsewhere and his usually lazy approach to life is interrupted by having more energy than his body has use for. Helllooo insomnia.

Tremors
While he was away, if Thane were to summon enough interest to get angry about something, it would be felt as an energy, broadcast via unheard sound vibrations that would unsettle birds and disquiet humans. Now that he is back on home turf, he might now and then notice now a literal vibration in a 5 meter wide circumference. Useless for the time being, but maybe if he learns some practical discipline instead of the showy stuff they taught at 'army camp' he can gain a bit of control over it.

Shift-Shape
His ability to change is not uncommon. However, the control he had over it as a child was but is unfortunately a skill he lost touch with. So, where before he could alter just parts of himself, these day's it has to be a full change and it will stay that way until he reacquaints himself with the real Wornswords way of doing things.

In his shift shape, Thane smells strongly of healthy earth and takes the wolf form of his father and grandfather before. His eyes are green flecked with gold and quite vivid when he's wide awake. He finds it hard to shift at the moment, needing to concentrate especially hard to connect to his element - again, something that will start to change now he's back on English soil.

L I K E S

Buttered crackers... just, butter on crackers.
Duck egg blue.
Stylized films - Burton, for example.
Catchphrase comedy.
Pranks on other people.
Military biographies.
His Aston Martin Vantage, V8 engine an b.e.a.uuuutiful.
Chocolate cereal.
Hot weather.
Orchids.
When girls pull faces.
Running.
Art Nouveau.
Classic Rock, Drum and Bass; but never should they meet.
Horizontal stripes suit him.
Coconut Shies are good fun, especially when you manage to throw the ball so hard the Nut smashes.

D I S L I K E S

Political satire, because he just doesn't get it.
Having things backfire on him.
Period dramas are for girls.
Public air guitaring.
Rich tea biscuits.
Remembering what he killed and ate the night before.
Being out-dressed is never any fun, nor are copycats.
Facial piercing gone mangy.
Generic music.
Court of Pearls, should go without saying.
Those who count on their fingers.
Speed limits.
Dirty windows and mirrors.
Slot machines - he never wins but can't keep away from the one armed bandits.

D O W N L O W

-- Smoothing his sideburns when he's thinking leaves his hair
greasy but at least it seems to help him focus.

-- Eating cereal as a substitute for a decent meal. It's stuck with
him since he was a kid and was the first thing he did on returning
to his house.

-- Ironing his underwear is ridiculous, and they'd be warmed up
quicker if he would just put the sodding things on.

-- Thane can't function for the rest of the day if he leaves his bed
unmade.. damn drill sergeant.

I M M E D I A T E

Father. Knight Thackery Hunter. Alpha. Tree Surgeon.
Mother. Minerva Genevieve Hunter. Alpha. Holistic Therapist.

Growing up, Thane was never far at all from his parents' side, he trailed along with them and absorbed all they had to tell him and teach him. In truth, he was also quite the daddy's boy, and even though he himself had more interest in skating and causing trouble with kids in town - which his Father let him get away with - he would drop it all to watch his dad skin rabbits or go camping. It took him a long time indeed to get over his homesickness and just enjoy the opportunity of travel when he was sent off aged 17.

His parents were also the bearers of a blood feud started in the Bronze Age between the Court of Pearls and the Wornswords. Then the Romans came to invade England, the Court came with them, enlisting local Sirens by aggressive coercion. The Shifters stood no chance of helping their countrymen in the most obvious ways they could, other than starting earth tremors and shifting at night to decimate Roman soldiers. Since that time they have killed off each others members whenever the opportunity arose, unfortunately it came back on the Hunters a week or so ago. Thane has come back to bury his parents and take up a hefty mantle.

S I G N I F I C A N T

Artemisia Brady
Alright, we can just come out and say it here. This lil' guy adores that lil'r gal, they were always together as youngsters, if one was in trouble then the other wasn't far behind to take the wrap and when he left she was the only one to write to him. He hasn't actually stepped foot back on British soil for roughly a decade and in the circumstances he's got enough on his plate without also working himself up over 'serious' emotions.

Chloe BlackHawk
His current affair who still resides in America. She's a shifter too, and a lot more forgiving than she ought to be. They have been together about 6 months and she knows most things about him.. except Brady, he's kept it on the down low that his best mate is a girl. And vice versa Chloe does not exist on Brady's radar.
Chloe had an abortion and didn't tell him. They met and had a one night stand a year ago, she kept in touch but never could get up the nerve to tell him. Maybe if he was a better Wolf he might have picked up on it, and over time their casual friendship became a relationship.

T H I N G S . I V E . S E E N

Wornswords born in Christchurch are born into a very close knit family. Most of the members live in the nearby village so there is always someone around to fall back on and their is a mutual respect for the order of things. Up until the age of 17, every last one of them attends school like usual kids, they're partially human after all, and receive after school tuition from their Den Mother; including legends and fables, keeping your true self from full humans, pack history and so forth. However, Hunter men get a different treatment as they are destined to shoulder the responsibility for the oldest Shifter clan in England. On their seventeen birthday they are sent into the world to travel for a decade and a half, gain a knowledge of the world and learn of the loneliness of being without your unit and thus come to know their worth.


Naturally, being the only child of Knight and Minerva Hunter, Thane was the son who would go and start his journey towards manhood. In the olden days this would entail hitch-hiking, sailing, walking for miles and so forth, but the world is dangerous for a Shifter when he has yet to grow into his full powers. So the natural solution was to place him away from his family, but in a moderately testing environment and with a few clicks across the inter-web, Harding's Military Institute was found; Thane would go and learn discipline and travel to various locations and terrains across the globe under the hard edged supervision of Sergeant Harding. A difficult transition for a kid who liked to lounge around or hurl through Southbourne car park with his school friends, and with the added stipulation he was to have minimum contact with his Clan, it was made all the worse.


He persevered because he had to, modern as he was, the Rites were always adhered to, and so for four years he immersed himself in the training school and came out top when he graduated - something his Father proudly put down to the boy's heritage - and he got to see his parents for the first time since he had left. Then, old enough to have most of his strength and beyond the point where he would continue to age like a human being, he embarked on the solitary leg of his journey. Thane as a young teen had always adored American sitcoms, movies and tv shows but in all the time he'd been part of Harding's school he had not had the chance to see it. Months had been spent in the barracks and then it was off to Africa to build wells, India to guard cattle and Australia to patrol the highways. So, naturally, once he had his duffle bag over his shoulder, he went to the nearest town and stayed a year.


Shifters are notorious in their nature to set down roots and keep them there, so it took a lot of cajoling from his parents and Brady to get him to move along but he took to traveling by car, bus and even plane, moving through big cities that but miles of concrete and sewerage networks between his feet and the raw earth. Over time he became more man than human and each city only made it worse, he was not connecting with the other shifters of the Earth and could barely tell them apart from the other faces walking by him on the street. And it went on like this, and might even have gone on longer still were it not for Chloe.


He had had romances, Thane is a virile young man after all, but she had a spark about her that kept him intrigued. She was quirky and reminded him of his friends - or specifically one friend back home, with her Earthy spirit and tickling laugh. Chloe Blackhawk, it came about, was from a Native American clan, pretty much as old as Thane's, and it only became evident on their second meeting that he did not know her for a Shifter.
She started taking him out into the Countryside and they had been traveling together for two months up until the death of his parents. However, even Chloe's influence wasn't really helping him to reconnect too greatly, and Thane was less prepared for putting his feet back on British turf than he was the passing of his family.

H E R E . A N D . N O W

So now he's back, five years too early and who knows how many years of tuition from his father and time as a Beta away from being ready to take on leadership. He has kept Callow on as Beta as his parents assigned him only two nights before their death, and has promoted Artemisia for support - this he did in the car on their journey from Heathrow Airport in London and when he was too jet lagged to do anything but fall into bed, it was left with Brady to tell Kimbrough via text message that he was being bumped back down to Elite.. at least for a while. Thane needs the support of his best friend now, and having never really liked Kimbrough back when he was a child, Callow was a natural choice to keep on.


Plot wise, we're about ready to pick up from just after the funeral.

You can call me Lexxi and I'm in the GMT time zone. You guys suckered me in with all teh sexies and I guess I'll be sticking around to post a bazillion times per week. Tell you something though, we could do with more shifters!

from the roots

R P . SA M P L E

t had never mattered how much extra food of his own he took with him or bought on the plane, by the time he landed he always felt ravenous again and today was no different. Chloe, Art, his parents, the Clan, everything was thrust to the side; his sole objective and reason for being was to find consumables and the Endless could pick up the pieces of whoever the hell was in his way. However, the pile of dead bodies looked set to rapidly mount when the realization crept in around him that he would need to go through baggage claim before he could get within a quarter mile of one of the in-port eateries or fast food bars. Great.


With an exhausted sigh he planted his hand on top of his beanie and dragged it off of his head in an unselfconscious, momentary lapse of his vanity. There was a queue, as he had known there would be, to make sure no oversights had been made, and like cattle everyone was corralled between what looked like a pair of concession stands, only without the hole to make exchanges through. All the passengers of his flight were having to get out their passports and flash them to the personnel within; a lot of people had clearly not been expecting this and had packed their documents away in their hand-helds. Double the frustration to Thane, whom had simply tucked his pass away in a back pocket of his low slung Criminal Damage jeans, and knowing he was stuck behind at least thirty other people who hadn't, that were inevitably going to increase the wait until he could reach food, well.. it just made his stomach rumble harder.


His thick fingers ruffled through his hair and the strands stuck up at odd angles. He had showered before he'd left but in the duration of the flight there was plenty of time between sleeping pills for him to fret. A rare occurrence for the young... Alpha (get your head 'round your title later fella, he reminded himself) but what else could he do considering the climate he was bound for, that he'd be walking straight off of the plane and directly into, and when Thane was working things over in his mind, it was soothing to run his hands through his hair. Again though, his hair and everything else could take focus once he was fed, and now he was coming up to the concession he was trying not to bounce too much on the balls of his feet - looking even remotely anxious was a bad idea what with the amount of bomb threats these days. The pass was flashed and approved and he was out of the terminal and jogging around and through families.


Hunter's luggage stood out a mile away and he couldn't have cared less. While it took him just three minutes to spot and grab his gaudy, day-glo green suitcases, everyone else was coming to terms with the fact that those piffling little rainbow striped straps weren't as unique as they thought. As he walked away, luggage wheels rattling and catching on ill-fitted linoleum, an altercation was breaking out between an old woman and an Asian man about who's name was written in chicken scratch on the handle tag. Thane just smiled gleefully, and probably would've turned back to stick his oar in were it not for the incessant and savage roar from his abdomen.


A healthy diet was something Thane was usually keen on. He burnt off junk easily but it made him sluggish until his next decent meal. But, when needs must, and they certainly did with the line for the Marks and Spencer cafe went on more than three meters, he was going to take the easy route. Propping his roll-along up on all four of it's points, he went about re-arranging his hair under his woven hat and placed the biggest damned order for McDonald's that he could ever remember making - it didn't even bother him that the gawky looking till operator peered past to see who else he was ordering for. At 7 in the morning, apparently no one just getting on to, or off of, a plane thought egg McMuffins were the way to go, so it took only the time it did for him to pull himself under a chair for his veritable feast to arrive.


Two Big Macs through his starter course, he started to settle down and get his head screwed on. Chewing on a full cheek's worth of processed meat and far saturated bread bun, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and took it out of flight mode. When nothing was incoming he thumbed his way through the menus and re-set the network to something local but it made no difference. Thane rolled his eyes, reaching for his shake and sucking down a long gulp, taking another bite and sending off a message.

just off plane. wer r u? x

It was the first time he'd used this cell to send Arti a message, their correspondence was usually in letter format or e-mails with the occasional video-gram thrown in for fun. The kiss at the end was an after thought, typed in just before sending. They were old friends, and good friends, a kiss could be ok, right? Hesitation, and then he sent it, snapping the little Motorola shut and trying not to think about it. Food, food was good, yeah, good old food. And he ate and waited for a response from his 'taxi', putting the fluttering in his stomach down to the side-affects of hunger, best resolved with more food.

[admin mae]

. C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S .
guess that means they like you

You've made the ranks as a Shifter, love, very well done indeed.
So what're you waiting for? Get to the good stuff already and go rip
some throats out!

.. or post your plot page if you're into that kind of thing.