[Note: Old art featuring VJ's previous design]

"Oh shit."

Benjii never liked it when his little sister swore. The connotations behind the emphasis of the cuss however told him they likely had company.

"How many?" he asked.

"Too many."

"Ahh, fuck..."

~**~

Little snippet from the ongoing Story #5, "The Wildbeast Hunt".

VJ's made a tactical error in saving someone's life, and Benjii, ever-faithful as her self-appointed older brother, tries to get her out of it by smuggling her off of Premaria Island before anyone catches on. Unfortunately, Benjii didn't count on the cunning of House Kestral, nor did he factor in that they're currently the resident Royal Family, and everyone else on the Island is a potential spy for them.

The locals aren't about to let VJ's faux pas go quite that easily. Can Benjii get himself and his Commanding Officer out of this next level of high-end trouble, or are they both going to be neck deep in the soup?

The plot thickens...

~**~

Before anyone asks, Benjii is tall. He's 6"3.5 compared to VJ's 5"9.

Yes, Benjii also has a set of three solid bone "claws" on his hands. These are directly affected by his limited grasp on Draconi'dia magicks; whilst he's unable to sustain the magicks past their normal duration (10 - 15 minutes), he can summon both lux and ice blades, good for a fast getaway, not so good for prolonged combat. I have to finish off his reference sheet with a better detailed look at how his blade-spells actually work.

Benjii is pretty skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and has a lot of power behind his punches. He is still married in DSF: ORIGINS (to the lovely Raye O'Lyh - owned by the lovely Raygirl), he's the only member of the team married at that point (Dylan is divorced, by his own admission, but that's a story for another time). He accepts VJ as part of the team in the early parts of Story #3, "Orders, Secrets...and Lies" and is there during her recovery in Story #4, "Honest Truths and Dangerous Perils". By Story #5, VJ is never seen without Benjii by her side. He takes it upon himself to look after her as he considers her his "little sister".

There's a point to Benjii taking on this role, which will be revealed in the course of Story #5.

For now...he's gotten her in a world of trouble trying to smuggle her off of Premaria Island, and this tactical error could cost him more than just his rank and file...

DSF: ORIGINS Literature and Character Design: Commander Vee-Jay Hedgehog & Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Franklin "Benjii" Carmichael belong to Victoria S. Rodda, 1991 - 2015