"I'll do it. That's all you need to know."
BASICS
NAME: Goes by "Hunter," Real name Brynden
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: He/him/his
ORIENTATION: Not your business (Heterosexual)
BIRTHDATE: Early Winter 2740
AGE: 33 as of 2773
LOCATION: Fort Weyr
OCCUPATION: Itinerant wherhandler
WING: Dawn Squad
APPEARANCE
EYES: Light greyish blue
HAIR: Black, worn long, with some split ends. Clearly not cut often
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6'2, slender
PLAY-BY: Vampire Hunter D
FULL APPEARANCE: Hunter is a tall, pale man, his skin lighter than it should be due to keeping a mostly nocturnal schedule. He's a little too thin for his height and build. He wears his dark hair long, the ends uneven. His nails are also a bit longer than most men's, some of the tips jagged. It doesn't appear he cuts either as regularly as he should. He favors dark, simple clothes, easy to maintain and hard to see the dirt on. If he is required to be awake during the day, he wears a large, broad-brimmed hat to shield his face and eyes from the sun.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY: Hunter sees the world as a fundamentally hostile place and tries to plan for every contingency. He doesn't seem to frighten easily, but in truth, he isn't so much fearless as so paranoid he's become a bit numb to real danger and has some difficulty distinguishing between likely dangers (like threadfall) and implausible ones (like that a nearby wher will suddenly go feral and decide to attack him). He'll do things that seem to make little sense, trying to prevent a threat he thinks no one else can see, his imagined fears distracting him from the real things he needs to address. He doesn't really trust anyone and worries anything real he lets slip will someday be used against him. That said, he'll follow orders when given and will do favors for people if they ask or if he sees a way to solve a problem they've confided in him. He'd rather not be thanked, unless it's with marks, feeling awkward accepting other kinds of acknowledgment.
Hunter doesn't particularly love his work, but it's as close to a purpose or meaning for his life as he's yet managed to find. He's a professional, who follows orders and goes in, goes out and gets things done, with a minimal of fuss. He embraces his place as a wherhandler and keeps a strictly nocturnal schedule. He practices combat regularly, with a variety of weapons, both traditional and improvised, and fights dirty in a real skirmish.
Hunter has spent his life trying to avoid long term entanglements. He values his ability to do what's best for him, not worrying about protecting or pleasing other people or fulfilling any commitments or promises he's made. He enjoys his somewhat rootless life and doesn't see the appeal of settling down or devoting himself to a larger cause. He doesn't have any particular political opinions, generally not staying anywhere long enough to care how things are done.
Hunter is polite, but a bit stiff and emotional moments make him uncomfortable. He listens more than he talks and generally avoids personal topics.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Mother: Kinlen, holdless (crime: killed her lover after finding out he was married)
Father: Brynda, holdless (crime: cattle theft)
Foster Father: Gehrman, wherhandler
Possibly siblings or half-siblings. He's not sure.
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Nothing long term or serious, but he's had a few flings over the turns
BIRTHPLACE: Somewhere in the wilds near Fort
HISTORY: Brynden was born to a pair of holdless parents, somewhere in the wilds outside of Fort. He never learned what they did to earn their brands. His memories of them faded over the turns and what he does remember is fairly hazy- the sound of his mother's voice, a feeling of safety, the crackle of a campfire.
Brynden was separated from his parents during a storm when he was eleven. He was out hunting- just old enough to set traps and use a slingslot on his own. Brynden took shelter in a cave to wait it out and wasn't able to find his way back, not yet being an experienced tracker or navigator.
Brynden spent the next turn searching for them and fending for himself. He hunted and gathered and scavenged what he could from the refuse of passing traders, occasionally stealing when he stumbled across something left unsupervised. When he was twelve, a caravan guard and wherhandler named Gehrman caught him trying to pilfer the remains of his breakfast. Gehrman, for reasons Brynden never quite understood, decided to take him in rather than punishing him.
Unsure what crimes the parents he'd been named for had committed and not wishing to risk his welcome if the caravan had heard of them, Brynden introduced himself simply as "Hunter." Many in the caravan rolled their eyes at this scrawny kid declaring that his name didn't matter, only that he was a hunter, who knew how to live off the land. But he refused to give his name, so Hunter it was.
Hunter was initially in over his head. He knew little of trading or guarding and wasn't particularly useful. His ability to hunt rabbits and songbirds did little to help provision a caravan the size of theirs. But Gehrman was patient and trained him. As the turns passed, he learned and grew taller and stronger, turning into a competent enough night guard.
Gehrman and Hunter didn't stay with their first caravan, or any particular caravan, for long. When they passed another caravan willing to offer more marks or heading for a more profitable or temperate climate or simply when they were ready for a change, they switched, traveling Pern with various caravans, some better than others. They rode and slept in the carriages by day and kept watch at night. When Hunter came of age, Gehrman purchased him a wher egg from a gold known to be large, strong and fierce. It hatched a bronze who declared himself Yndesk.
Time passed and eventually Gehrman, somewhat weakened by age, took a bad fall and broke a hip. Gehrman and Hunter stayed at a nearby hold for some time, while Gehrman recovered in the care of the healers. After a few months, Gehrman decided it was time to settle down and put his turns of wandering behind him. Hunter stayed for a bit longer but ultimately said goodbye and decided to keep moving on. Hold life didn't suit him.
He continued traveling, never staying with any one caravan for more than a turn or two, doing the occasional odd job or favor for passing traders or holders. Temporarily between caravans, he's currently staying at Fort Weyr, as he looks for the next promising opportunity.
