Basic Statistics

Name: Sabine (pronounced sah-BEAN)

Age: 24

Height: 6'5"

Eye Colour: Emerald Green.

Hair Colour: Maroonish-burgundy, blending into royal purple at the tips.

Hair Style: Long, thick, and wavy. It grows from the base of her skull and hangs down to the small of her back. She often wears it in different types of braids, sectioned ponytails, adorned with beads, etc.

Race: Czenzi (pronounced ZEN-zee), a secretive, nordic feline species – they are morphic creatures, but cannot take on a fully human form.

Fur Colour: Sabine’s ancestors were of a nordic breed, designed to withstand cold and blend in with snowy surroundings, although her genes are diluted by other races within the family tree. She is primarily white, with a soft, pastel-colored base coat and striping all along her back and tail. The stripes blend into spots, and finally towards her pure white extremities and undersides. She is dual-colored – the upper half of her body mostly lavender purple, and the lower half a beautiful icy blue, melding together somewhere around her midsection. Her facial markings involve stripes at the corners of her eyes and from her "eye dots" to her ears, leaving a white path along the middle of her head, down to her muzzle.

Fur Style: Fairly short and sleek, thicker around her neck and shoulder blades. Very soft.

Tattoos/Distinguishing Features: As is characteristic of her race, Sabine’s tail is short and stubby, like a bobcat’s. She also has a rosy pink nose and pawpads.

Build: Graceful, curvy, and flexible. Long limbs, sleek form, soft and limber body.

Speed: Very swift, agile, and stealthy. Light footsteps and quick reactions.

Strength: Powerful jumper and climber, fast runner, able to chase down large prey and severely wound it, though she sometimes has difficulty delivering a fatal bite because she tends to favor her claws instead. She also prefers to use her cunning to hunt or deal with enemies rather than "getting her paws dirty".

Jewellery: Piercing is ceremonial and sacred to the Czenzi; Sabine never removes her piercings unless it’s to change the jewellery. Her ornamental wear may be silver and/or gold, but is typically accentuated with other precious stones and beads – most often of a green color to match her eyes. She may be seen sporting rings on various digits (both fingers and toes), belly chains with dangly cords, a tail ring, various arm bands or bracelets, ankle bands, or a variety of jewels and accessories in her hair – all depending on her whims. However, she almost always wears a beaded choker (passed down to her by her mother), and a light chain necklace with a circular spiral pendant, given to her by her mate Tane as part of their "marriage" ceremony, much in the way that some humans exchange wedding rings.

Outfit/Weapons: Sabine tends to favor long-range weapons that allow her to strike from a distance rather than getting up-close to her prey or opponent. She is a skilled archer when provided with a bow and arrow, but usually prefers short blades, which she throws with frightening accuracy.

Information: Born into the highest ranks of the Amanaki Misae (pronounced ah-mah-NAH-kee MEE-say) tribe as the pack leader’s only child, Sabine was a pampered and happy cub. She grew up with very little responsibility other than keeping up with her education, had plenty of time to explore and play, was nurtured and encouraged in all her endeavors, and had the entire pack ensuring her protection. She was always a bit timid, however, and often preferred to play alone rather than join the other cubs.

When Sabine was 8 years old, her father, Collishaw, accepted a new family into the pack, the only survivors of an attack on their own tribe. Of the three children, the oldest, a 5-year-old male named Tane, took an immediate interest in Sabine. The feeling was not mutual, as Sabine, a tranquil and private child, did not appreciate having this younger interloper following her around, firing off questions, constantly asking her to play, and generally being a nuisance. She ignored and maligned him for many months, but he was persistent, and the two eventually became playmates and friends.

As the years passed, Sabine and Tane grew closer – best friends, doing everything together, and knowing each other like no one else. Of course, with the onset of sexual maturity, their feelings for one another evolved and their relationship shifted into a romantic liaison. They kept it secret for some time, but it wasn’t too long before others began to notice a change in their interaction.

Though the event would have been scandalous enough because of their relatively young ages – 17 and 14 – the real issue became the sudden rift it caused between their families. At first, each set of parents were voicing the same concern -- that the kids were too young and foolhardy and should wait a while in order to do things more "traditionally" and ceremonially. But these arguments gradually took a different turn when Collishaw insinuated that perhaps Tane wasn't a suitable enough mate for his only daughter. Tane's parents (Deszo and Makah) took great offense, and after a brief but hateful feud, they defected from the pack, along with their two other children.

As they were considered very valuable and likable tribe members, many others protested their departure and appealed to Collishaw for leniency and compassion. He refused to apologize or seek out Tane's parents to coax them back to the pack, feeling that this would be seen as a sign of weakness. Unfortunately, his decision backfired on him -- his stubbornness and elitist attitude alienated many tribe members, who felt that his tunnel vision and selective loyalty were the true weaknesses in his leadership. Deszo and Makah and their cubs were secretly summoned back to the clan, and Collishaw, unaware, presumed they'd returned to make amends. He was stunned when he found himself challenged by Deszo for dominant status, with the entire rest of the pack supporting this new rival. Too proud to simply back down, he accepted the dangerous challenge and paid dearly for it in a gruesome, bloody battle, during which he received the greater majority of his many scars and was blinded in his left eye. Deszo spared his life out of respect for the leader Collishaw once was, but banished him from the pack forever. Humiliated and defeated, he left in bitter shame, accompanied by his faithful mate, Donoma.

During all the arguing and insults of weeks prior, Sabine and Tane had remained as neutral as possible and urged their respective parents to see eye-to-eye and understand their situation, to no avail. Neither family wanted anything to do with the other, and both sides insisted the young couple cease their relationship immediately. Frustrated and forcibly separated, the kids would see each other by any means necessary in outright defiance of their elders’ rules. When Tane’s family left the pack, he refused to go along – which did not sit well with Collishaw at all.

After the whole violent and dramatic ordeal of Collishaw’s fall from grace, however, Sabine and Tane had had enough. Rather than being driven apart by their families, they decided they wanted nothing further to do with all the feuding and scrutiny and judgement. They ran off together, far away from their native territory, and more or less "eloped" to live as mates, despite the absence of all the traditional ceremonies and procedures. They found strength in each other, and survived in total isolation for a few years.

In spite of their close friendship and their happiness together in quiet solitude, they did long for "more". Having a less than stellar connection to their own kind, and choosing not to have children of their own for various reasons, they developed an interest in humans and their strange little society. The pair would often lurk around human settlements, but with no malicious intentions -- merely to observe and study, perhaps poke into things curiously. They grew a bit careless, however -- especially impulsive and reckless Tane -- and were spotted by human witnesses enough times as to prompt widespread rumors, fear, paranoia, searches, and killings. This unwanted attention is what eventually led Cravencro to learn of their existence and seek them out to join the sanctuary of the Matihao Whenua. Initially suspicious, they soon accepted the offer in order to leave their dangerous and precarious lifestyle behind and start fresh.

Sabine now feels much safer and "settled" into her new pack, is happy with her beloved mate, has made some new friends, and is slowly finding a purpose in the world. After a pilgrimage back home led to a reunion with her father, Collishaw (and the discovery of her mother’s death some time ago), Sabine has patched things up with her surviving parent and even managed to coax him into joining the new clan so that they need never go another day without remembering how precious family is. Tane, who was turned away by his own parents during the trip back to Amanaki Misae territory, is beginning to prove himself in Collishaw’s eyes as a devoted and strong mate worthy of the former leader’s only daughter, and Sabine is pleased at every bit of progress they make towards becoming friends, even if it is terribly slow and arduous in coming. She must maintain a sort of peacekeeping balance between them at all times, but it is a role in which she thrives.

Character Copyrights: Sabine, the Czenzi species, and all related characters are © Renée "Ren" Atkinson 2005.

Reference images:
See Gallery.