[ Basic Information ]

[Nicknames]: Candi (though prefers to be called Candice).
[Age]: 3 years (24 dog years).

[Breed]: German Shepard Mix.

[ Physical Description ]

[Body Type]: Fairly average, sleek and slightly muscular limbs/haunches.
[Height]: 1.8 ft (at shoulder), or 56cm.

[Scent]: Smells of sand and rust, though has a faint sweet smell of desert flowers.
[Fur Type]: Long, dry, unkempt.

[Voice]: Soft-spoken, honest-sounding; somewhat low in pitch, and cold (at times).

[ Personality ]

[Intelligent]: Perceptive and a good tracker, Candice can piece together solutions to problems. Her intellect may come from her heart clinging to sanity, the Edeners... whenever there's a question she always wants to know the answer (aside from information about curing the Infection among the Wastelanders, that's a question she is easily irritated by).

[Soft-hearted]: Not soft-hearted to those around the same age, but hates seeing younglings in any sort of danger - a soft spot for pups. This could be due to the fact she grew up enduring raid after raid from other Wastelanders with no other dog but her mother, Drinda to defend her, who eventually was killed entirely, leaving Candice to live on her own. Seeing pups, the only state of innocence in a dog's life, made her defensive to them and their vulnerability. She knows too, that she can't trust even herself - it could possibly be one day that she could be the attacker rather than the victim.

[Assertive]: She can't stand her friends being hurt and won't hesitate to stand up for them if they're being yelled at, beaten or emotionally (or physically) hurt. Though she is primarily an anxious dog, it doesn't really mean she's self-centered and will take a stand for her friends. She'll even stand up to dogs who could easily kill her; a slight weakness.

[Stubborn]: She doesn't always like to follow orders or be pushed around (unless done by a higher-ranked being). She can whine and possibly irritate the dog giving her an order; this trait is not at all a good one, as it often gets her into trouble. Being stubborn around others definitely emphasises her loner-like ways.

[Sadistic]: Due to her own pain, she tends to enjoy seeing other things in pain as though a spiteful revenge toward living as an Infected; she despises being this way and will sometimes even go so far as to inflict pain to others herself (however rather than dealing the task, she rather would watch another being be hurt).

[Anxious]: Knowing her life is now changed due to a different perspective of the Infection, she is now a paranoid soul, often chewing at her fur and licking her lips. This trait makes her a tad disoriented to her environment when lost in thought. She often doesn't like thinking there is hope for her or the Infected as she knows there isn't.

[ Strengths + Weaknesses]

[Good Hearing]: Candice's hearing is very sensitive as a German Shepherd mix; she often picks up sounds before dogs with lesser hearing. She likes the ability but also dislikes it. She likes it because she can listen for danger easier and eavesdrop from far away, but she also dislikes it because the sounds of whining, crying dogs, growls, and snarls - it's all distracting for her, and reminds her the Wasteland is all about her, left and right, in her life.

[Swift]: Flexible and with wide strides, Candice can grip onto running prey or escaping enemies. Due to her swiftness, she's built a perceptive aspect in her ability, to sense things around her and seek emotion from friendly dogs. However, Candice tires quickly and as such, she usually keeps quiet, pace at a lower speed, eyes locked on her target. Until she's gotten close enough, she'll jolt into a run, chasing her enemy/prey.

[Perceptive]: Due to being perceptive of herself, she is highly perceptive of others. Candice not only detects from others, but reads signals in the environment, such as alarm calls off of infected birds, or the wind carrying a 'different' scent; even sensing the Edeners. She uses the gift not just to read emotion from other dogs, but also as a guide to fighting/hunting. She senses movement, and through that she learns tactics to fight back.

[Easy to Anger/Insult]: She is a hateful dog at a point, but usually keeps her hate and anger hidden. However it is shown when taunts and insults are given from foes - she tries to resist their words, but is left at the other end with no comebacks but to fight her enemy back with teeth and claws. This makes her an easier target due to her senses being distracted by rage. Her anger can sometimes overcome and she can thrash back and forth, digging into any flesh that come to her teeth and claws, or worse yet - the Infection.

[Fear]: Fear distracts her and to a point, she gets so pulled in, she finds it hard to return. Dwelling in her fear and hatred for the Infection, she loses faith in life, becoming depressed, confused... maybe even empty. However using her fear and anger together can sometimes (not always) motivate her to fight to find some escape from the Infection.

[Tires Quickly]: In battle or running for longer distances, she loses energy at a quicker speed. Mainly due to the fact she's more of a 'dive straight into battle' type dog in the normality but if she senses it is a bad idea to sink the teeth straight in, she waits for silence and trusts that stealth could aid an easier kill. As for running, she could hold maximum speed for 3-5 minutes tops, before completely tiring out.

[ Family ]:

Drinda - mother (deceased).
Luke - father (status unknown).

[ Infected Details]:

[Symptoms]:

• Inflamed/Bloodshot Red Eyes
• Bleeding from Ears/Eyes/Nose/Mouth
• Heightened Temperate & Heart/Breathing Rate
• Vomiting/nausea

[Secondary Symptoms]:

• Coughing
• Slight tics
• Paranoia

[ History]:

Pup-hood:
Born among the Fetid Creek of her mother Drinda, the young pup Candice was born in secrecy and stealth from raiding Wastelanders. The pack was searching for all kinds of dogs to kill and Candice was no exception; in fact Drinda and Candice were both a heavy target for raiding dogs, leaving Drinda with many scars and for Candice, a quick slice across her eye. It was harsh for the two; when Candice had grown to one year, she had outrun the cruel dogs for miles, accompanied by her mother. Candice would have dreams of the horrible dogs (and still has them now), bursting into the den with teeth bared, dripping blood and a hungry, sadistic look in their bloodshot eyes.

Seeming like everything was fine with easier kills and less drama, Candice soon noticed her mother was gradually becoming fiercer and wouldn't eat the prey she hunted. Candice had felt these feelings too; one day, Drinda told her daughter she wanted to go on a hunting trip for a few days. Candice looked after herself fine during the time she was gone, but when she came back Drinda had grave news. The raiders had returned and she told her that in their path, they left bloodied paw-prints, claw marks and carcasses. Attempting to flee the area with no signs of their presence, one raider burst into the open, snarling and salivating frothy blood. As it leapt, Drinda called to her daughter: "Flee, don't worry about me, just go!"

Before she could escape, the raider clutched onto Drinda's neck; Candice felt tears leak as the horrid gasping and sounds of suffocating emitted from her mother's throat. Hearing a few words, "G-g-g....go... please," Candice's tail tucked and as she fled, she could hear the sounds of the raiders on her tail. Managing to escape them, she joined forces with a pack known as the Python's Fang.

Chapter 1:
Candice used to believe she was born into a healthy world, careless and free. Murder, scavenging, cannibalism... it was all normal to her, that is until she came across her first Eden convoy. A dog, looking so hygienic, clean... she looked into their eyes through their mask from a distance, until she was spotted - she and a few others who lived with her went into hiding. Through this sighting, she developed a strong interest and curiosity in these strange dogs.

One day, Candice's leader, Fendro, sought out to abduct a lone Edener and the risky act was a fierce success; known by the name of Kenba, he was a low-ranking scout but nonetheless he had enough knowledge to give... but would he tell them their rites? After continuous denial and secrecy, Kenba's mask was eventually torn off by Fendro out of anger. Not only was the mask now removed but Fendro's fangs had sunk past the fabric into the flesh, leaving Kenba now as an Infected.

He eventually explained to the Candice and her group that the things they wore over their faces were called 'masks' and were worn to protect from an illness that all life of the Wastelands had. She asked him about the life-customs of the Eden dogs, and comparing them with her own she felt there was a massive difference in behaviour. As the curious soul she was, Candice began to feel connected to the Edeners, now equipped with knowledge of them. Knowing her life was no different and only a new view of life shone, she had at first felt a fierce hatred for the Wastelanders (including herself), which gradually branched to depression and fear for the Wastelanders and her own group, Python's Fang... life in the Wastelands would definitely be seen in a different way to young Candice.

She continued her life as she did any other day, feeling the same pain in her eyes, the same dry, rustic scent emerging from her fur. Kills around her group were growing, madness was beating hard and the pain-staking murder of Kenba killed by Fendro had brought more anger, more fear for her kind. There had to be some way of curing this, but how could she cure something she had lived with her whole life? How could a sickness that she and every other dog around her was born with, grown with and died with, possibly be curable? She sought the answer, and devoted her life to finding a way. Kenba told her there was no cure when he was alive, but she refused to believe his logics... there was a way, there had to be.

From that day on, Candice fled her group and became a loner, wandering the paths of the Wastelands. Fendro's insanity, Kenba's death... the rotting smell of decay all about and the death-screams piercing her ear-drums... she feared she had gone mad already.

Chapter 2:
Hiding away in the hidden spots of the Fetid Creek, Candice began to feel the sickness setting in deeper and deeper. It became difficult to eat, drink and sleep. Her dreams were filled with terror of Kenba's death, her own mother's death and the vapors in the air corrupting every soul to a devilish side. Candice would wake, sweaty and reeking of fear; her eyes would drip blood, her stomach felt like a burning coal and she was salivating heavy amounts of blood. She saw others... others further down in the Infection. Parts of their flesh had been bitten or just simply had rot away, their fur coats looked damp with sweat.

Candice and Art © Spectra-Sky
Base © Their Dark Eden

This illness... it's taking all life in the Wastelands, corrupting and disposing of it...