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WIP ref of Anethra who is my oldest "original original" character; she's from the 4th grade (previous characters were based on my Ty stuffed animals haha and then this purple owl-looking thing popped up out of nowhere along with much of the plot for Felvin) so basically she is my baby :V

--please read if you're going to draw her
this ref is basically of her simplified, more toony design, so take it with a grain of salt. she might have more, subtler details and splotches elsewhere but these are the "essentials".
Features: the "Peregrine" markings, short 1st ear tuft feather, and serrated bill are all not optional as they indicate her specific background. also i'm not super picky about colors (and these probably aren't her exact ones either haha) so long as she is reddish violet with light bronze-y skin and her markings are darker than her other feathers, 's good.

Outfits: above outfits are just an idea and basis, feel free to design or reference others! Basically most androgynous, semi-casual things in a dark palette are ok. She also tends to gravitate towards low-key health goth type things but obviously logos and the like should not be present on her. Flannel shirts are fine, too (though she usually lives in a tropical area where she cannot wear them much).

Personality: can appear rather grouchy and aloof (has a hard time expressing herself or allowing herself to express herself), ambitious, proud but ultimately very insecure and needed of external validation (hence why she remains in her line of work) but can also be suddenly excitable and even dorky about certain subjects and events when she lets her guard down

/end "please read"

Bio

Anethra is a fairly built female fel of mixed Tlin-Faunijan [rainforest South American] and Western-Drakanik [European] heritage She is the one assigned the task of “fetching” Nightshade and delivering him to the faunijauvi* (a semi-nationalist militaristic operative she got rather coercively enlisted into).

(Further details SUPER LONG LOL)

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Her name is a corruption of “Anether” [purple] and “ra” [child/child of]. When used together the words indicate something odd or alone– a reference to the color’s relative scarcity in nature. On the Fosor streets she grew up on this was a frequent pejorative hurled at her. Anethra did all she could do: reclaim it as her own. Now, the color purple is an important part of her identity and is even the color of her jur [magic].

Anethra is skilled in the rare art of shapeshifting and in her specific case takes on three other forms: that of a dragon, raven, and griffin (in order of familiarity and ease). Most importantly, she can do this with little to no pain or sickness which is even rarer. This is partially owed to her psychological problems, namely, a pattern of dissociation-related phenomena but also to her similarly pathological need to prove herself to others.** Anethra relishes in discipline. Grueling, hard work is what she knows and what she trusts more than anything else. It is routine and feels more trustworthy. She feels it is the main barrier between the current her and who she was in the past so she puts a lot of faith in it.

Anethra tends to compartmentalize her identities and look like a stick in the sand towards others but she actually has a few longtime friends (e.g. Litora) and plenty of interests independent of her recruitment. She’s mostly just afraid to be hurt and probably has something akin to Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to her history as a child soldier without any solid healthy guardian figures. During her free time in less stressful circumstances she loves to dabble in cartography, linguistics, fictional and romantacized pirate stories, calligraphy, and experiment with juice blends. She also has an obsession with a certain Glavoik boy band but she tries her best to keep that under wraps.. .

Anethra was separated from her father at an early age and is unable to recall any details about him but she does remember a great fire and being sickened by its smoke. (H MM HMM)

*Basically it is increasingly “preventative warfare” in tactics and touts that it represents the peoples of the Faunijan Republic (and the greater Faunijan continent for that matter) and that it needs to exist in order to keep the imperial powers of some Western Drakanik countries like Brythe at bay. While Brythe did invade and occupy Faunija for nearly 70 years before independence was achieved once more, many still fairly question the legitimacy of the organization’s claims and the justness of its actions as well as it being so funded.

**It also helps that Anethra has unlocked an additional “step” when shifting. Most shifters morph into the desired body from their current but Anethra first completely abandons her physical form and indeed, can make herself cease to exist for a few seconds to accomplish this. This comes with many consequences for her and her soul is effectively less stable due to it– leaving more room for inversion (otherwise known as demonization) to occur.
Of course, during times of great harm or stress her body can less controllably activate shifting and not undergo this step, causing intense pain.