Icarus the Sylvan Todd

Name: Icarus
Name Meaning: Named after the Greek folklore Daedalus and Icarus, a tale of a boy and his father who were trapped in a prison cell but escaped by wings made of birds' feathers and candlewax, which was done by Daedalus. Once out to sea, however, Icarus flew too close to the sun despite the urging of his father and the wax melted, causing the wings to fall apart and send him to the ocean where he drowned.
SSP#: 020
Gender: Todd
Age: 4
Subspecies: Sylvan
Height: 

1'3" at shoulder.
4 feet from tip of nose to tip of tail. (Tail length two feet.)

Weight: 34 Ibs


Personality: He's a very easy going guy with a friendly streak that often times places him in danger. This sometimes makes him appear stupid, but Icarus actually knows a lot more than he lets on; while outwardly he may appear carefree, inwardly he's already thought of at least twenty different manuevars and approaches to a situation. Thinking ahead has helped him many a time in the past, almost always throwing enemies off guard when they were sure he'd be an easy target. Another shock is, depsite his demeanor, he's a pretty vicious fighter. In general he dislikes to fight, like most sylvans, but he's not afraid to use any weapon at his disposal to dispatch an opponent when backed into a corner. Once the threat has disappeared, and he's not too badly hurt, he'll fall back to his usual personality like nothing had happened, or will do so if he realizes the situation had been his fault and immediately apologize for it if his opponent will listen. He finds pride to be silly, and lorcas that fight over it are even sillier. Why risk your life for something like that that gives you no benefit? Even when he's won a fight, he wouldn't rub someone's nose in it or make the loser feel even lesser, though he may give warnings to discourage them from coming back.

He's a curious guy as well, but one with cautioun. While his sylvan nature may warn him to be careful, his curiosity does push him over the boundaries of other sylvans, perhaps, in order to make new discoveries and keep things interesting. Nevertheless, the caution is still there, and he would never push himself to do something especially dangerous or if something doesn't feel right (usually....). The same caution compels him to know about every inch of his territory and explore it as often as possible to make sure there are no intruders or threats, and any he may come across- such as a tree with weak limbs- he'll jot down mentally and make sure to avoid it in the future. 

Always willing to make a friend than an enemy, he's not afraid to approach potential allies. At least outwardly he doesn't show fear. He wouldn't just approach anyone, either, it's more so a gut feeling he relies on and if both the person and situation seems appropriate. He'll even go up to Highlands to speak with them despite their more aggressive behavior, which very often has earned him weird looks. Icarus is definitely an odd one, a lorca that probably few understand, but once they get to know him, they learn that he's not all bad. He especially adores his adopted daugther, Pariah, his most favorite person in the world, and he likes to think that she cherishes him as well and enjoys his company. He's honestly very worried about the future when one day she'll leave the nest, a part of him hoping she'll stay with him for a long while, but he tries stifling that feeling as much as possible. He knows that wouldn't be a good thing for either of them, so he braces himself for when that day will eventually come and prepare her as best he could as well as himself.


History: He grew up in an elm tree among the highest branches with his family. He actually had a brother, which was very rare for sylvans to have two kits instead of one. The twins got along exceedingly well, doing everything together, and were very much close. They were very similar in appearance as well, when they didn't have their patterns yet and just the kit spots, they always enjoyed confusing their parents and move around without holding still long enough to be told apart. 

One day they were home alone, which didn't happen often. Usually one of their parents would remain behind while the other hunted, but because winter was coming, food was getting harder and harder to come by, especially when you had two kits to feed. This happened about at least twice before, and their parents were very severe when telling them to stay in the den while they were gone. At first the twins were okay with this and abided by the rules, but their short attention spans began taking affect. Since nothing ever happened, Icarus' brother managed to convince him to go outside and practice branch-jumping with him. At first Icarus was very hesitant and didn't think it was a good idea, but he was bored, too, and his niave young mind didn't think anything bad would happen so long as they stayed near home. So they played among the many branches, playing tag or hide and seek, and even chasing some bugs they caught hanging around. Time escaped them and when Icarus stopped to catch his breath, he looked around for his brother. He didn't see him anywhere, but he could hear the branches swaying and a few twigs snapping above his head. He knew that had to be his brother, which worried him since that was way higher than what they were used to. He called to be sure and told him to come back down, but his brother reassured him that he knew what he was doing. He was moving further away, and Icarus called again more insistantly that he should really come back down, and was about to lie that he could hear their parents coming to scare him down when a very loud snap filled the wood. The next thing he knew, Icarus saw his brother plommet, a frozen look on his twin's visage as they briefly made eye contact, and then he was gone. He hit a few branches on the way down, but they did nothing to slow him, and before Icarus could even blink he already met the ground. For a few horrifying, breathless seconds, he just watched his brother feebly lift his head, then fall back and go completely still. 

When his parents finally came back home, they found Icarus huddled in the den with a distant, traumatized look, and could do nothing to gain his attention. Later they found his brother, and the next few days were emotionally straining for them all. Only his father remained sane and calmed his mother to the best of his ability, which over time gradually began to help. He had no idea what to do for Icarus, however. For about a mouth he remained silent, never saying a word, and did very little. He would eat when prompted and when hunger was really getting to him, but even then it was in small portions. When he finally seemed to be coming back to himself and actually notice his surroundings, he refused to go out on the branches, and instead remain home at all times. One day, however, all of it just seemed to stop. He was suddenly bright and cheery again, which delighted his parents, and was eager to go out and do things. When they mentioned his brother, however, he would suddenly become very confused, a pained look on his face while some of his earlier emotions would start to swell in him without knowing why; horror, grief, sickness, and so on. He'd get exceedingly uncomfortable and not want to speak, and the more they pressed him on it, he would suddenly break down. After that, they never brought him up again, and Icarus returned to normal. 

Icarus' brain had receded the memory of the incident, blocking it out entirely. It didn't stop there, either. It was slowly hiding all memories of his brother; he still sort of remembered him, but it was very vague, only bits and pieces. As he grew, these became less and less, until he nearly forgot his brother entirely. "Nearly" because he still felt someone had been there, and very, very rarely he'll have flashes and glimpses of him in his mind. He does his best not to think about it too often because of the strain of doing so does to him.


Once Icarus was a well grown male sylvan, he set off on his own like most sylvans do and it wasn't long until he found a place to call his own. He stayed there for a good long while, having his own adventures, when one day he found something hidden in a bush down bellow. The something turned out to be someone. It was a sylvan kit! She looked to be uninjured save for claw marks on her back that he determined to be from a bird of some sort that carried her off from home, a hunch that was also helped by the young kit when he asked. She didn't tell him directly, it was mostly a game of charades, but it seemed like the most likely event. Her name was Pariah, an albino sylvan kit, and Icarus took her back home with the promise of finding her parents. He's looked since then and kept an ear out as well as an eye, but there was hide nor tail of them anywhere. Eventually she asked about them less and less, and has started referring to him as 'Dad', which fills him with pride each time. Raising a kit on his own has been scary and difficult work, but he takes it in stride and with great determination, wanting Pariah to be the best sylvan she could be and one day survive on her own when the time comes. Because of the fact she's albino and would have a much harder time surviving than other sylvans, he's started teaching her survival skills early, giving her an early start in hopes of developing her own techniques one day.


Eye Color: Limegreen
Marking Type: Sun Spots
Uncommon Traits: Heart Ear Spot (upside down)
Rare Traits: Lyrefeathers
Sire & Dam: Foundation
Offspring: NONE blood related.

Pariah, adopted daughter. (Owned by EncounterEthereal)

Perks:

• Planner
• Graceful & quick
• Cautious
• Likes round-ish objects
• Element of surprise
• Vicious when necessary
• Excellent memory

Shortcomings:

• Has an "unnatural" fear of seeing others fall from heights regardless if they know what they're doing or not
• Prone to nightterrors occassionally, though may have no recollection of it when he wakes up
• Curiousity sometimes beats caution
• Can be too trusting
• Can be too forgiving for his own good
• While he plans ahead, sometimes he's not "in the moment", which can catch him off guard if he isn't careful. This often results in his body moving before his mind does, which isn't always a good thing.

---

Icarus © to VoxMagi
Lorcaelans are created by and © to EncounterEthereal & XanderDragunov

They are a CLOSED species, you may not create your own! If you wish to know more about them or get one of your own, please note one of the creators and/or check out Lorcaelan-Registry, which is also given at the very top of this bio. Thank you!
Feel free to ask any questions you may have here as well.

Artwork & design © to EncounterEthereal