Basic Statistics

Name: Reich (pronounced RYKE)
In the "human world", he goes by the name Reich Ellis, having adopted his mate’s surname in order to have some kind of legal identity.

Age: 28

Height: Human: 6'2". Anthro: 7'1".

Eye Colour: Very pale grayish-lavender, icy-looking.

Hair Colour: What little of it he has is basically black.

Hair Style: Reich hates having long hair and has been shaving his head bald ever since his early teens. Well, not entirely bald -- he sports a very thin layer of stubble (both on his skull and on his face) that looks dusty gray from a distance. Mercer calls it his fuzz.

Skin Colour: Caucasian.

Feral Representation: Doberman Pinscher. Reich is not a pure Lycan -- he was genetically-modified as an infant, and tailored to scientists' specific tastes.

Fur Colour: In his anthro form, Reich is essentially black, with tan markings around his undersides (muzzle, throat, chest, belly, groin, inner limbs and extremities, eye dots, cheek dots) -- but in his case, the black fades to a vivid crimson red before then blending into the tan.

Fur Style: Very short, smooth, and glossy.

Tattoos/Distinguishing Features: He has very dark, almost black markings around his eyes, giving him the perpetually ominous and angry-looking stare of a troublemaking thug. In the tattoo department, he sports a large, abstract, red, tribal-esque design that takes up most of his back. It appears through the black fur in his other forms as well. His Doberman form has been "groomed" for aesthetic purposes -- both his ears and his tail are docked. His markings are not totally accurate in terms of AKC Doberman standards, however, mainly around his chest and belly. In his human form, Reich looks fairly average, albeit rather dangerous. Aside from his tattoo and multiple piercings, he also wears an intimidating, grim, moody _expression most of the time and seems generally a little threatening and unpleasant. And finally, he has a multitude of small, mostly unremarkable scars peppered over various parts of his body, acquired from his rather colorful lifestyle on the streets and in the wild.

Build: Tall, slim, and taut. He has chiseled muscularity, lean limbs, broad shoulders, and a small waist. Very little body fat.

Speed: Extremely fast when he wants to be. Lightning-quick reactions, energetic runner, disorienting fighter.

Strength: Remarkably impressive for his relatively lanky build. He’s been known to cause some major damage, both to objects and to people. He can lift huge items, throws knockout punches, and can easily take down larger (and better-armed) opponents through sheer ferocity.

Jewellery: Reich is constantly swathed in a variety of heavy, macho, bondage-type accessories, ranging from thick leather cuffs and collars to chains to rings to spikes to chokers. He is rarely seen without a wide, heavy-duty leather bondage collar -- to him, it represents his "binding" to Acadia and is his equivalent of a wedding band. He typically only removes it when he bathes. Piercings; one through his septum, and maybe 9 or 10 through each ear (lobe and cartilage). Some are rings, some are barbells, many are thick spikes resembling nails or claws.

Outfit/Weapons: Reich is a no-nonsense sort of fighter who aims to win. He is proficient with guns of all sorts, and sometimes carries a short machete-type blade given to him by Acadia, but will usually opt to shoot an opponent rather than waste time with closer-range weapons. He can also wreak terrible havoc if armed with anything like a baseball bat or lead pipe. He is infamous for charging into gunfights wielding only a tire iron and emerging as the victor.

Information: Very little is known about Reich’s childhood; he keeps it fiercely secret and does not like to be asked about it. The only information he has shared is that he is the result of an illegal "project" developed somewhere in the United States by a shady genetics research corporation. From what he can gather, he was stolen from his birth parents -- or perhaps sold -- to serve as a helpless lab rat for human genome experimentation. Though he doesn’t know it, Reich is actually one of the first successfully scientifically-modified lycans ever produced -- i.e., surgically reconstructed from infancy, as opposed to the somewhat more common method of pre-natal genetic splicing.

The entire "project" had the rather appalling goal of conducting these experiments upon unwilling/powerless subjects merely to see if it could be done. The victims had no significant "purpose", per sé -- no plans to use them as soldiers, to exploit them for money…from birth to death, they were to be scientific tools, furthering a demented notion of exploration and research, sequestered in captivity for the duration of their lives, kept as "pets". The alternate form instilled into Reich, for example, was that of a Doberman Pinscher, adopted simply because a particular scientist liked the breed. His lycan form was even altered to correspond to a visual aesthetic -- his ears and tail were cropped as if he were a real dog, bred for looks and personal tastes.

The spliced subjects, understandably, could not be contained or maintained as easily as animals. Human intellect and emotion made many of them difficult, psychotic, all too aware of their miserable conditions and complete lack of identity. Troublesome or aggressive individuals were made to suffer even more inhumane torture than the day-to-day cruelties imposed upon their "broken" brethren, treated with little more regard than disobedient beasts.

Education was necessary for testing and monitoring purposes, however, and Reich quickly put the gift of knowledge to use. He managed to escape the compound at age 7, only to be recaptured in under 24 hours and savagely punished. He was singled out as an "example" for the others in order to discourage any notions of independent behavior within the group.

Slowly biding his time and rebuilding a foundation of trust, Reich then escaped again at age 10 once his captors had decided he no longer posed a flight risk. This time, it took them over 4 days to find him and drag him back.

Reich had proven himself too dangerous and cunning for his "creators’" liking. They couldn’t have their subjects escaping and shedding any light on their illegal human harvesting, and therefore came to the conclusion that their resident "problem child" should be terminated, just as one might euthanize a dog too vicious to train. Reich, for his part, sensing his impending doom, launched a frenzied last-ditch effort for survival and managed to fight his way past his captors, inciting panic and causing terrible destruction in the process. The compound caught fire and was eventually completely decimated by the flames. Some test subjects perished in the blaze, but others escaped along with Reich and laid waste to the scientific staff that managed to flee the building. These survivors immediately scattered and disappeared before any attempt to collect them could be organized.

Reich zeroed in on urban environments and made his way to New York City, living on the streets among small gangs of derelicts and other castaways. He detested the lycan elements that were forced upon him and kept them well-hidden, deeming them loathsome, shameful, and a liability. He shunned his "gifts" entirely, even when they could have proven extremely useful to him, and chose to live as a human 24/7.

On the mean streets of New York, however, human society operated by the law of the jungle. Reich survived by whatever means necessary, carrying on a pointless, chaotic existence comprised of drugs, hard drinking, gang wars, premature deaths, and fruitless attempts to find a sense of identity and belonging. He spent his adolescent years fiercely angry, depressed, and bloodthirsty, feeling completely violated and robbed of who he was supposed to be, crumbling in a slow downward spiral.

At age 18, during a raid of a rival gang’s joint, Reich cornered a 14-year-old girl who struggled viciously with him before abruptly transforming into a gold-and-white wolf and fleeing in an instant. He realized she was a lycan, like him, but he did not recognize her as anyone from the old compound.

He returned to the neighborhood after the assault, hoping to find out where she’d come from and if there were others. He eventually tracked her down by resorting to using his lycan abilities -- for the first time in years -- to follow her scent.

The girl, now homeless again thanks to his gang’s attack, did not take kindly to his reappearance at all -- but she could tell that he was a fellow lycan and therefore humored his curiosity. He was told her name was Acadia and that she did not come from any lab -- rather, she was a "pure" lycan, born naturally with the genetic mutation. He’d had no idea such people existed.

After a few hostile re-encounters, the two felt a spark of mutual intrigue and spoke more frequently, while still maintaining their suspicions. Reich soon felt responsible for the girl once he learned that she’d been tossed out by her real family because of her "defect" and had been prostituting herself to earn her keep within her group, until his own gang had taken them out and left her out in the cold, so to speak. He brought her into his gang and kept her safe from the other members, who were not exactly welcoming towards her -- or in some cases, a little too welcoming. Within a week, the pair had bonded enough to become something of a couple.

Reich left his gang shortly afterwards to wander the streets with her and hook up with other groups who would take them both in. They connected very deeply with each other and spent the next few years roaming New York, merely surviving, but glad to be doing so with someone they could trust and genuinely feel for. Although they loved one another more than they’d ever loved anyone in their lives, their relationship was extremely difficult due to their miserable lifestyle and Reich’s many, many psychological/emotional issues. They would often have explosive fights, angrily split up, and lose contact for weeks. Typically Reich was at fault for every separation and always the one to break it off and storm out. But inevitably, he would return, humbled, ashamed, and repentant, unable to function in day-to-day life without her to soothe him and keep him sane. Acadia would take him back, time after time, ever-patient and forgiving of his wild mood swings.

Over a period of six years, Reich had (accidentally) impregnated Acadia on four occasions, but she suffered from poor wiring in that area and always miscarried. With each pregnancy, she convinced him to drop some of his more severe drug habits, become more responsible, and help her work towards building a better life for their upcoming family, but he often regressed into destructive behavior after each tragic disappointment. Still, she gently persisted in her guidance, and the two left New York for good to start fresh in a more peaceful environment.

Acadia encouraged Reich to embrace his animal side and distance himself from urban crime, to learn to rely on himself rather than feeding off the underbelly of society, and find some measure of beauty and peace in nature. He refused to look upon his lycan heritage as a "gift", but did consent to living in more rural, isolated areas, and eventually accepted that she felt perfectly comfortable and "at one" with her lycan attributes even if he could not do the same. Their relationship remained peppered with highs and lows and exasperating difficulties, but had at least taken on some sort of positive direction.

When Reich turned 24 and his mate was 20, she unexpectedly became pregnant again. The couple prepared themselves to face more heartbreak, but this time the pregnancy was miraculously carried to term and Acadia gave birth to a healthy baby boy, whom they named Mercer. Reich instantly adored his only child and turned into SuperDad, finding purpose and resolve in obtaining a better life for his new family and doing everything in his power to provide for them and protect them -- an enormous task, to say the least, as lycans everywhere had become the victims of more and more hate groups, mob killings, scientific experimentation, exploitation and slavery, and even government-sanctioned cullings in certain countries.

The couple had been living rather unremarkably in a small town in Nebraska for a year or two -- a modest home, minimum-wage jobs, struggling to blend in with their unconventional appearances. As lycan panic ran high throughout the nation, however, the odd little family was the target of a modern-day witch hunt. Reich lashed out at the harassment and only managed to pour fuel on the fire. From one day to the next, their quiet small-town life had crumbled and they found themselves singled out at every turn as they fled from city to city.

It is at this point that they were approached by Cravencro and offered sanctuary in an isolated village in the forests of Colorado, purposely created to shelter lycans like themselves from outside persecution. Initially suspicious of a trap, they decided they had little option left but to give it a try, and consequently joined the cozy clan known as the Matihao Whenua.

Acadia fit in with the other lycans and beautiful environment almost immediately, and the pack included a number of other young pups for Mercer to grow up with, but Reich has yet to fully settle into the surroundings, even two years after the transition. He still has all his former psychological problems and is still very socially disagreeable, which renders it rather trying for the other clan members to warm up to him. He is difficult at best when it comes to order and hierarchy within the group and does not like to be given rules or limitations. He often clashes with various individuals, particularly the clan’s other males. However, he understands that the sanctuary -- and the gift of allies -- are essential for him and his family and that he must not "rock the boat". He will play along when he has to and does his part in helping out. By the same token, his village-mates can take his behavior and personality with a grain of salt because they understand the sort of things he’s been through. Sadly, Reich has not yet found complete refuge from the horrors that plague him, and perhaps he never will. But, all in all, his life situation as it stands now is probably looking the most optimistic it has ever been.

Character Copyrights: Reich, Acadia, and Mercer are © Renée "Ren" Atkinson 2005

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