Personality (Myers Briggs type: ISTJ)
responsible, serious, quiet, wants peaceful/safe life, dependable, organized, hard-working, practical

Bansou is an introvert. He doesn't enjoy being around other people--whether they are human or non-human--unless he has known them for a while. Being too close to strangers tends to make him nervous and uncomfortable, so he avoids it when possible. When it comes to humans versus non-humans, he doesn't choose sides. He has had both good and bad experiences with both of them and knows not all individuals are the same. He's not quick to judge others and prefers to take his time observing someone before he makes an opinion of them.
Because of his history of having few people to care for him, he takes his time when warming up to others. He will be cautious at first, but eventually, he can become a deathly loyal friend. Despite that, if he is mistreated by someone (even if by a friend), he will quickly lose trust in them and avoid them if it gets to a point where he can't trust them at all.

Because his [involuntary] transformations are fueled by his negative emotions, he's learned a great deal about self-control. If he feels anger welling up in him, he will do breathing exercises and get away from the thing that has frustrated him (if possible), but in the case of an enemy making him upset, he will focus all his attention on his target(s) and let his emotions flow free. He is afraid of losing control and harming anyone close to him, so he is always careful to stay out of arguments. Transformations don't happen when he only becomes a little unbalanced/upset, but if it gets too far, he will start to lose control and his fight-or-flight mechanism [dragon form] will kick in. Transformations happen when he gets depressed, too, though he doesn't become a full dragon then, so it's not as dangerous for him to express. Happiness does not affect him, transformation-wise, but it doesn't come easily to him, mostly because of his current and past situations.

Despite his history of being treated unfairly by others, he is still a rather selfless individual. His mother taught him that even if the world turns its back on you and treats you badly, you should keep moving forward and never turn your back on it. He's not heroic or anything, but if there's a situation that calls for him to take action for someone else, he will do so with little to no hesitation. Either way, he still prefers to be alone and mind his own business. If a conflict does find its way to him, he will try to peacefully mediate it, but if that doesn't work, he will defend himself and whomever he believes is in the right. If a conflict does not really involve him and seems like it could work itself out, then he will do his best to stay out of it.
Bansou is neither a lover nor a fighter, but he'd rather have peace than war. Any fighting he does is purely defensive (whether defending himself or a loved one), and he avoids it whenever possible. He knows that if he gets involved in a fight, he could lose control and end the fight in his dragon form, which could be dangerous for everyone involved. If someone attempts to confront him, he likely will choose flight over fight and either talk his way out of a situation or calmly back off.

Bansou is a realist with a strong moral compass. He knows when something isn't right and will make it known to others how he feels, either by calculated action or well-chosen words. He is too intelligent to make rash decisions or take impulsive actions, and even when the situation may call for such a thing, he will hesitate to think it over for just a moment. He prefers to have a plan of action to "going in blind" and can sometimes miss opportunities due to his need to think things over.
He doesn't often talk unless spoken to or unless something important must be said, unless he is around someone close to him (then, he will talk more willingly). Bansou believes in actions over words, but often times, he will speak until it is clear action is needed.

When he must be in a group, Bansou will take the following position, but he will not follow others blindly. If the leader seems to be doing something he does not agree with and wishes for him to participate, he will refuse and leave the group, maybe stating his reasons for doing so so others may consider doing the same. He is no leader, nor does he wish to be, but if he was ever forced into such a position, he would consider everyone's opinions before making any decision. If anyone were to disagree with a decision he makes, then he would invite them to either discuss it or leave, though more likely the latter if the decision were one most others agreed on. If a decision were needed to be made quickly, he would decide for the group and step down from his position later, if the others did not approve.

History
Then...
Bansou was born in the Hokkaido prefecture within a protected national park where his mother's harpy clan lived. Yuka's kind had originated in Russia, but had been chased out when humans had gotten too populous and the dragon population that lived there with them decided they deserved the area more than the harpies did. Shortly after, many of the dragons were slain by humans, leaving that population weak and far-strewn, looking for new lands to move to. The harpies had claimed some secluded portions of Asia to live in, forever banning any dragons from entering due to their ancestors chasing harpies from their homelands. Centuries after this, both dragon and harpy populations became reclusive and hidden from all humans and one another. It was then that Demyan, Bansou's father, had attempted to hide out in upper Japan.

His father was a species of dragon with feathery wings, so he wasn't figured out for a long time, but eventually, it was let slip that he was a dragon. Soon enough, Elites, high-ranking harpies, caught wind, and he was nearly killed while being chased off their lands. The harpy who had married during the time he was living there was Yuka, Bansou's mother, and he had been forced out of harpy territory mere weeks before his son could be born. His mother couldn't even mourn the loss of her husband, for the Elites had her put on trial for treason immediately after they figured out what she had been married to.
It was only by the fact that Yuka was also of high rank and her father was in the Elite that she and her child were not banished or killed. She was, instead, demoted to one of the lowest ranks and forced to stay far away from other harpies, all the while under close surveillance from the Elites. Yuka had to have Bansou with very little assistance (only her mother helped her), and she raised him with no help whatsoever. Bansou had to be hidden away from other harpies, and every so often, someone from the Elite rank would come by to test him. If he had turned into a dragon while on their watch, he would be killed without mercy. Yuka had to do her best, night and day, to keep him from changing. Every so often, he would show signs of becoming a dragon, and she would have to calm him down until he no longer changed.

After many years of him growing up alone, without any drastic transformations, he was allowed outside in public, with pure-blooded harpies. He was allowed to go to classes, but because other children were either terrified by him or bullied him excessively, he had to drop out and stay home for schooling from his mother. Staying cooped up wasn't ideal for him, so he was allowed outside every once in a while, and during this time, he wasn't allowed to go near other children (not that they wanted to be close to him at all). His mother taught him how to not lose his temper, but she couldn't stop him from becoming depressed. Because the transformations were minor when he was sad, the Elites allowed it, but if he were to ever grow more than a short tail and a handful of extra feathers, he would be disposed of.

This happened shortly after his fourteenth birthday. Bansou had accidentally stayed out too late one day, and a handful of bullies decided that he wasn't really a threat because he had never transformed before. At first, they only verbally abused him, until one kid threw a rock at him, and they all decided that they could throw rocks and hit him with sticks. His transformation happened slowly at first, because he was mostly sad, but as it gradated into stress, then anger, because he wanted to defend himself, the change quickened until the children no longer wanted to do anything but run from him. It was too late for them to escape, however, and by the time he had tired himself out from the attack, one of the boys was dead, and the others were severely injured.

His mother had been out looking for him when she saw the carnage. Before the Elite could show up, she took her crying boy (who had reverted back to his harpy form) and flew off. She knew he would be killed for what he had done, and even though it broke her heart to send her child away, she knew if she didn't, they would find him. The morning after, Bansou woke up on a boat, set for Russia. He was told by his mother, the night before, that he could never return to Hokkaido, and that she believed if he found his father, he would find where he could be accepted. She only knew he had last lived in Russia somewhere, but she wasn't sure where else he could be found, other than within and around the Arctic Circle, where it was coldest. Yuka warned him to bind his wings and hide his feathers if he wanted to be safe from humans and other non-humans, and after that, she was gone.

It had taken months for Bansou to finally accept his situation and move on from his old life. He had tried to contact his mother multiple times, but any letters or phone calls he tried to make were disrupted or destroyed. For so long, he wasn't sure what to do or where to go, but by the time he was sixteen, he decided it was time to take looking for his father more seriously. He started his search by following rumors and mythology on his father's species. It took him many years of wandering around Europe before he set sail for North America, and at eighteen, he crossed the border from Canada into the United States. He didn't believe his father would have traveled so far south of the Arctic Circle, but he was close to giving up hope and knew looking in all possible places may help him on his journey.

After only being in the U.S. for half a year, all hell broke lose. Non-humans were suddenly a big reality for human beings, and most humans didn't like it. Without warning, an organization called the Non-Human Special Forces (NHSF) popped up and began forcibly taking non-humans from their homes, work places, and anywhere else they could smoke them out at. It was chaos. Many non-humans went in hiding, as Bansou did, but some of them went on the offensive. Those who decided to "bite back" were, in most cases, "put down." Somehow, the NHSF was prepared for the situation. Somehow, they seemed to know about the best ways to take down and capture non-humans, when supposedly no one in modern days had seen or believed in the existence of non-humans.

After seeing such violence and mayhem befalling other non-humans, Bansou would have left the country, but many countries were starting to come up with their own policies, and the NHSF continued to pop up in places around the world. He became concerned that his father or mother had been captured--or worse--in the raids, but he couldn't just worry about his parents, because the NHSF was just as much a threat to him as it was to them. Just a few months into the fiasco, NHSF agents began knocking on doors, asking questions about suspicious activity or sightings. It was only a matter of time before they would knock on his door.

It turns out, they didn't need to knock on his door to find him. He made one little mistake, and his life was made infinitely more unpleasant. All he wanted to do was let his wings out while in his apartment. He was alone, it was night out, and his wings were killing him from being cramped against his back all day. He didn't notice his shadow on the curtains. He didn't see the man walking a dog just outside of his building. He didn't know the NHSF was onto him until it was too late.

They came, not knocking, but barging into his apartment that same night. He was caught off guard, and the instant he saw the uniforms and the guns, his heart rate raced and his stress levels spiked. He couldn't control it, and the agents didn't have a clue what they were truly up against. All they had were a few files on him from when he had traveled the world and one guy's claims of seeing wings. They didn't know what he could become, and when he transformed, they were ill prepared for stopping it. He didn't kill anyone, but a few were literally frozen to the spot where they stood. They may have had helicopters, but it was spring and still cold enough for Bansou to fly fast and far. The agents might as well have not tried to catch him at all.
It was summer when they did end up catching him. Even though it wasn't sweltering hot in Northern Minnesota, it was warm enough to keep Bansou on the ground, weak and unable to use ice to defend himself. He had been hiding in the forests, where it was a bit cooler than in more open areas, but he made a mistake when he decided to stop for a dip in cold water to refresh his energy. He had no idea that there were campers just on the other side of the lake, and he was too tired to notice as they walked close enough to him to see he was no normal human. The NHSF agents were there in a flash, and though he tried his best to escape, it was in vain. This time, Bansou could not transform to get out of there, and he was captured all too easily and sent off to one of the NHSF facilities like every other non-human they'd captured.

A mixture of relaxants and heat kept Bansou from making any attempt at escape. The facility figured out what he was by blood tests and expert opinion, and for months, they studied him. Most other dragons had been killed due to the danger level of them being alive, but because he was only half dragon, he wasn't perceived as as much of a threat and was allowed to live. While they did their tests and poked and prodded him because he could do nothing to stop them, Bansou was busy planning to escape with other inmates of the facility.

At the age of twenty-one, Bansou and his associates escaped from the facility. Their escape allowed others whom he did not know to escape as well, although many of them were recaptured shortly after. Bansou and his three friends had to flee the States for a slightly more accepting country, Canada, where many humans opposed the capture and slaughter of non-humans. One of his friends (Jasper, a harpy), left the group to live there with some family, but the other two, a couple of older women (Ixchel , a nagual and Mahk, an akhlut), decided to stay with him because one of the two had originally lived in Alaska before being captured.

Now..
Mahk believes that there have been stories of a few creatures that resemble Bansou in the area where she used to live. The trio must journey northward to find out if the rumors are true. They still must avoid any contact with persons who do not accept non-humans, as many people still will contact the NHSF if they find out Bansou and his companions aren't exactly human.

[[read further info on his story from his previous ref sheet]]

Likes the cold, flying on thermals, reading (science, mythology, geography), mountains, seafood
Dislikes losing control, heat, fire, his trust being betrayed, others worrying about him, war, having to bind his wings, red meat
Fears fire, closed spaces (he has claustrophobia)
Family [future] wife: Etsuko (human) ; father: Demyan Rayt (black-ice dragon) ; mother: Yuka Bourei (Japanese mountain/Hokkaido harpy) ; half-sister: Kira (ice dragon hybrid) ; step-mother: Raina (white-ice dragon)

Other
He has a cloaca, like in his dragon form, thus making his genitals inside his body (like reptiles and birds). His mother's species is actually a subspecies of European harpy. Some even have bird-like feet and hands (though the elites look more human than not). He's inherited the scaling on his body from the harpies' feet and hands, though the scaling on his face likely appeared instead of horns, like his father [dragon] has. His tail [in dragon form] is sturdy and short, thus making it easier to steer when flying.
His skin is cold to the touch, but it can vary in temperature depending on his mood or environment. When he becomes a dragon, his skin becomes more leathery and darkens. His bones are nearly hollow (and porous), similar to a bird's, so he is pretty fragile, but he is also not very heavy because of that (making it much easier to fly). He cannot carry too much weight while flying, and if he does carry something a bit too large (like more than one human), then he cannot fly very far.
He often transforms when he is under a large amount of stress or emotional hardship. On one end of the emotional scale, if he becomes sad or depressed, his transformation is slow and only goes as far as giving him a small tail and a lot of feathers. During this time, he also can form a large, hollow, ice ball around himself, sort of like a defense mechanism. The ball is rather thick and makes it hard for him to hear anything going on outside, but it will eventually melt when he calms down again, and he will once more resume his humanoid shape.
In his dragon form, he has a nictitating membrane (third eyelid) in his eye that keeps it from being damaged and cleans debris out. His humanoid form doesn't have this.

When he reaches the other end of the emotional spectrum by becoming angered, his transformation is quick and fluid. He will become an out-of-control, ice-spitting dragon, usually unable to tell friend from foe. During these times, it is best to get far away from him until he either passes out from exhaustion (changing him back to his normal form) or settles down into a calmer state. Sometimes, he can aim his anger at specific people or things, and in these cases, he can sometimes keep himself from attacking anything other than his target (especially if that target was what made him so upset in the first place).
If he transforms under his own control (which he doesn't do too often), he will usually find a private place, remove his clothing, and transform. Clothes would otherwise become ripped, torn, and unusable. The transformation is rather painful, either way, though made much less painful when he is in a cold environment. He cannot transform if he is weak (usually, this happens when he is around too much heat). Only in emergencies does he transform willingly.

When placed in a hot environment or near open flames, he will essentially "melt." His core temperature must stay below freezing, or he could die. If he stays near a heat source for too long, all of the cold from his outer body will recede to keep his inner body cold. Similar to how frostbite works, he could potentially lose a limb from it not being the ideal temperature. That is why he tries his best to stay in areas where it is freezing all year long, and only visit places beyond that when it is winter. If it is not cold enough for him outside (any temperature within ten or so degrees near freezing is best), he can neither produce ice nor fly. When in freezing cold weather, he can produce ice from his breath and skin (kind of like sweat, but gathered to one spot), and that is when it is easiest for him to transform and fly fast and far. In the cold, he is also best at healing and can heal from a regular wound in less than a day. Anything more serious can be healed by a sort of short hibernation in a thick casing of ice that he makes around himself, similar to the ice ball he makes when upset. It takes twice as long for him to heal in a hot environment (which is something his enemies may take advantage of).

Bansou can speak a handful of languages from his travels. His main language that he uses (now that he's in North America) is English, but if he were to ever go back to his original home of Hokkaido, he could easily switch to Japanese again. He learned Russian while in that area, searching for his father, and knows a bit of French from passing through French Canada. In other northerly countries, he didn't spend as much time--definitely not around other people--so he didn't learn native tongues there. While traveling around humans, he had to pluck any feathers that were visible and hide his wings by binding and covering them. If he's healthy, the feathers will grow back in a few days (like human facial hair), but if he is unhealthy, the feathers could take weeks or months to regrow and will even fall off.