Shikoba

Name: Shikoba {She-koh-bah}

Age: 2 [11 in Plains(human) years]

Race: A Wervinlakh {Pronunciation: Wh-air-vhin-lock}

Race Information: Wervinlakhs appear to be hybrids of other animals, and a family group can be made from any type of animal, like a deer-lizard, or a bear-turtle. Even though they form family groups, if any lone Wervinlakh finds another group, the group will take them in as part of their family. They are able to have a human form, which is gained after their parents, or founding parents, determine when the time is right. (Human form information is explained in the biography)

Gender: Female

Hair: [Human Form only] Dull brown that fades into a pale sky blue from the top of her head (brown part) down to her shoulders (sky blue). Shikoba’s hair ends two inches past her shoulders. Seems to have blue jay feathers in her hair, but they are actually growing out of her head.

Eye color: A very pale blue, appears almost white.

Height: 3’ 8” / 3 feet, 8 inches {For both forms.}

Weight: 75 lbs. {For both forms}

Wingspan: 3’ 8” / 3 feet, 8 inches - fully outstretched. [Also counts for her human form, with using Transcend wings.]

Weapon(s): Actual Form; Her beak/fangs, wings, tail and claws.
Human form; Fangs, wings/feathers, tail and claws, while using Transcend only. Can pick up weapons, but wouldn’t know how to use them.

Armor: Her slime on her actual form, but it’s easily gotten rid of, especially if able to keep her away from the water for a long time, where it can harden up and/or dry out. Shikoba’s scales and feathers could count, but they’re a very weak armor. Otherwise, she has none.

Appearance:

Normal form - Looks to be a giant blue jay at first, until you get closer to see that she has scales on her, which some are a fusion between scales and feathers in other spots. Where the blue jay’s black “necklace” is a large ring of eel scales, which hides her gills when she’s out of the water. Along her back and spine, has the fin of an American Eel. The inner part of Shikoba’s wings, closest to her body, are what seems to be spiked fins, which the spikes begin to form feathers along the wing edge. At the top bend, where your elbow would be on a bird’s wing, are three bony claws, which seem to mimic a blue jay’s feet. Her tail appears to be too large, but that’s due to her tail feathers are hiding her eel tail, but the fin forms a paddle that pokes out from the feathers. Shikoba doesn’t have legs in this form. Has a reed collar woven around her neck, very strong, even though it's made from plants (it's like a hemp choker for reference).
- She prefers to fly in order to travel out of water, but she has to leap out of it first though.
- Shikoba can snap her gills shut, and keeps them closed when out of the water, and then breathes by using a skill of hers (Water Gulp). Must be near a source of water in her normal form, to even use the skill however.

Human form - Shikoba has patches of eel scales on her body, that are a part of her skin, one patch starts at her elbows and stops at her wrists on the front of her arms. She seems to be soaking wet all the time, so her pale blue shirt and skirt-shorts always seem to be a darker blue. There are some more feathers covering the back of her neck, which is also a part of her hair, and a small fin snakes down her spine. Shikoba also has webbed fingers and toes, but the webbing isn’t very big - up to a third of her finger starting from the base joint.

Carried Possessions: A leather canteen, only visible when she shifts into human form. Stores it in a small pocket of her home's spirit realm, while in her normal form.

Usable by both forms: Swamp Gem – a murky blue and brown colored, shaped like a smooth skipping stone about 2 inches in circumference; allows her to access said pocket of her home's spirit realm, carried on a collar around her neck. Only useable by her however.

Personality: Shikoba tends to be a mix of emotions, but seems to always be lead by her curiosity. She can always find something interesting, even from something normally boring. Since Shikoba’s a child, she tends to trust most adults, but shys away from others. When she meets someone new, she’s bubbly and very friendly, but she always has an animal’s sixth sense, so she may not warm up to everyone.

Virtues: Loyal, curious, willing to help anyone she calls a friend.

Vices: Curiosity, may overly trust someone. Childish, so can be easily fooled. Can be extremely shy at times, running away often.

Normal Strengths: Knows how to survive in the wilderness. In her human form, Shikoba can still swim, with or without her Transcending her tail. Both forms do not need to come up for air while underwater, since both have gills. Can fly very well in her normal form, uses her flight to travel over land, if she has to, but would normally use her human form.

Battle Strengths: Very agile in the water and in the air when she’s in her normal form. She might be a novice, but she can fight pretty well with her Transcending wings.

Normal Weaknesses: Cannot fight with normal weapons. [Human form] She can’t breathe on land without a drink of water. Can't speak at all, beside her normal chirping (doesn't use her telepathy often). [Normal form] Can only stay above water for 2 hours, before Shikoba starts to suffocate. Due to how her species is, Shikoba cannot kill anything that she guides; ex: humans and the like.

Battle Weaknesses: Dislikes the cold, and ice can seriously injure her; since both forms have water in their lungs, and the slime on her can freeze solid over time. Her human form is her only way of walking on land, so if she’s on land in her actual form, Shikoba will be unable to fight well, or not at all.

・ Her bones can be broken easily due to being part bird (same in Shikoba‘s human form, but her bones are only slightly denser), and she needs to stay still in order to transform.

・ If her wings are broken, she’s mostly defenseless and she has a very short range with her bite/peck, or attempts to attack with her tail. Extremely slow as well {not good on land).

Spells/Skills:

~Normal Form Only~

Slime Wing/Tail – *used with either limbs*Can throw her slime at an opponent, to either freak them out, or to try and bind one still for a moment. Her slime is thick enough to stop some medium sized fish outright, and may be sticky enough to stop a limb from moving, even for a short while, depending on the strength of the opponent.

Snail Grab - Shikoba can secrete a type of slime that enable her to cling to objects. She mostly uses this to keep herself from falling off of things, like tree branches, or rocks in a river. The slime dries up after a couple of minutes, to an hour, depending on the area she’s in at the time. It has no offensive value.

Spirit Rift: Not a true skill so to say, but a way that she can transport around, via going into the spirit realm. According to her ancestor's knowledge, the spirit realm has tears in it, that can connect to other worlds, transporting one spirit to another realm's area. Shikoba can use these tears to do so, but they are sometimes impossible to see. The rifts themselves have a slight gravitational pull, but only when a spirit gets in range.

Restrictions: Shikoba can only enter another realm upon getting permission from that world's Greater (god/goddess/whoever rules the realm).

Since this visit can happen accidentally, there are even more restrictions as well. Only useable in her Normal Form!
If the travel is accidental, Shikoba:

• Cannot leave the spirit realm, and as such only appears as a spirit to those sensitive/can see spirits.
• Shikoba cannot guide any lost spirit she finds, due to they belong to the world's Greater.
• The Wervinlakh cannot communicate with anyone, even with her Mind's Voice skill.

~Human Form Only~

Transcend - Allows Shikoba’s human form to use a part of her actual form’s body to attack in new ways. She has to focus to use this, as well as stand still to summon it. All of her actual form’s parts are somewhat translucent and ghost-like, but they are solid whenever she attacks with them.

***She cannot use all of these at once, unless it’s the wing/claw one.

・ Wings - Hold her arms partially outstretched, before her actual form’s wings appears. She can use her wings as a shield, or individual feathers as swords, or throwing knives.

・ Claws - comes out with her Transcended wings. Used for up close strikes, Shikoba can apply her slime, by licking her claws for added effect.

・ Fangs - A bit awkward for her to use, since she doesn’t prefer to bite. She can cause an infection to the bite area. The Wervinlakh can spit out her slime as well, but needs to follow up with a Water Gulp soon, or she may faint mid-battle.

・ Tail - She can use her tail as an added kick, or to whip up a quick gust with her tail feathers to blow back some opponents and projectiles to the ground. Can also be used as a third hand, due to it’s prehensile, and could grab hold of a fallen weapon or save her from a fall if needed. Shikoba’s tail can also assist her with jumping, due to her light weight.

~Natural Skills {Used by both forms}~

Water Gulp - Shikoba is able to breathe on land by drinking water, but not in the actual sense. Her body has adapted so that whenever she drinks, the water is actually going into her lungs, which she modified to act like her actual form’s gills. Shikoba cannot breathe forever from one drink, she needs to drink at least eleven times a day, since she’s young.

A single Gulp lasts for almost 2 hours, unless she’s more active than normal, like during a fight or sprinting, then it‘ll last for 15 to 30 minutes.

Shikoba is not very picky, since she grew up in brackish (salt & fresh mix) water. She can drink both freshwater and saltwater, but tends to prefer the mixture, if able to get it. She also needs to get the used up water out of her, but she prefers to do that under the water, otherwise she throws it up.

Mind’s Voice - Shikoba is able to speak to people telepathically, but the person she’s trying to talk to needs to be looking at her. For the person she’s trying to communicate with, they may feel a slight chill run through them for a second. If she’s talked with a person before, she can speak to a person without looking at them, but the person will only hear her voice as a slight whisper.

・ She can also use this to speak to other animals, but it happens automatically, instead of having her to wait for a response.

・ Can only speak to one person at a time.

・ The person she’s trying to speak to can stop her from speaking by having a strong will and forcing her voice away.

・ Shikoba herself can stop this by closing her eyes for a moment (a mere blink).

Slime Stitch - Can use her slime to close wounds, and slightly heal the wound, but only if she has access to fresh/clean water. If she tries to do this, with say; salt water, she would just invite infection, and worsen the wound even more.

Ethereal Guidance - A natural skill to all Wervinlakhs, it allows them to see and guide spirits of the dead to their living families and or loved ones. Shikoba only needs to blink once in order to see a spirit, which she can tell if they are lost or not, and then she fades from the normal world, and seems to be blurred by a slight fog around her. She will then speak to the spirit as normal and guide them back to their families/loved ones. She leaves a glowing trail for them to follow. Once that is done, she’ll fade back into the normal world and continue on her way.

・ Shikoba will not help the spirit of an evil person, such as a murderer or anything similar.

・ Spirit Tell: The spirit of dead person tends to be coated in fog if they are lost souls. White means they are not lost, or chose to stay alone. Black means the spirit was of an evil person.

Transformation - A thick, obscuring slime coats either form to block the visual change, while it seems to glow a light blue inside, which becomes clear two minutes later and the other form takes the changed one’s place. The slime used in the transformation is absorbed by either form, in an attempt for her to conserve water.

・ Requires Shikoba to use Water Gulp beforehand, otherwise she will faint during the shapeshifting process, due to her being unable to breathe during it.

History and Biography:

{History section.}

According to the people that live around the Avenguard swamp, Wervinlakh’s are considered to be one of three things: monsters/demons, body snatchers, or guides for the living. All three roles are due to how a Wervinlakh gains its human form; from copying the appearance of a dead person that has been forgotten.

Most people in the town closest to Avenguard swamp, which is Bramble Cove, consider the Wervinlakh’s to be guides more than anything else. Below is an excerpt from Bramble Cove’s history:

...Once a Wervinlakh copies a human’s form, there is a mark upon the dead one’s forehead, which usually appears as a small feather or leaf. Then the now human Wervinlakh is charged with leading a living human to the dead body, since it’s rumored they can sense that the dead person wishes to be found again, even after they passed on. The Wervinlakh, after locating some people then leads them back to the dead, but without disturbing anything around them, no branches broken, no puddles disturbed, nothing. It’s as if the Wervinlakh, for that moment has become the dead one’s ghost.

After the people find the dead one will the Wervinlakh now alter the human form they’ve gained, since newfound knowledge indicates that the Wervinlakh holds respect for the dead one’s form, until the dead one is reunited with the living, making their newly gained human form their own. It's rumored that a Wervinlakh can only keep one human form, but some humans believe otherwise...

There are some Wervinlakh’s that live in Bramble Cove, despite being unwanted by most of the other towns. Most others live with nature, like the ones that live in Avenguard swamp, which include Shikoba and her family group.

According to her family, and the knowledge passed down by their ancestors, the humans are called Plains to the Wervinlakh, since they have been on this earth for far longer than the Plains have. But the Plains have taken over most of the planet, while the Wervinlakh tend to stay in secluded areas, living within nature. There are some that dislike the humans, and have greatly contributed to their view of the spirit-guides as being mere monsters.

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{Biography section} – NOTE: All of the Wervinlakh speaking is actually a variety of animal speech. I put it into < ... > To help. Sorry if that get's annoying though.

Shikoba kept swimming around the mangrove estuary, looking for more fish to eat. She could catch small animals by leaping from the water with the propulsion from her tail, but preferred chasing fish, since that’s what she grew up on. The young Wervinlakh was strange among her family, due to she was the only aquatic one.

Something that looked like a bear with a turtle shell around it’s body, plodded over to a bank at the estuary. It grunted for a moment, before a voice echoed in her head, Hey, sis. Could you come out for a while? I need to tell you something important…

The bird-eel climbed onto a low rock and looked at her brother, Spadeclaw, with a squirming fish in her beak,What is it, brother?

Mother wants to speak with you. It's your time to gain your human form.

Shikoba replied, Oh. Are you hungry at all, brother? I could catch you something.

The bear-turtle nodded yes, but not before his stomach growled, Nice timing, sis. Shikoba kept hold of the fish as she swam over to her brother, putting the fish next to him. She chirped happily as he began to eat it, then swam back to catch her own. After they finished, the aquatic Wervinlakh jumped onto her brother's shell, clinging on with her slime and claws, as he plodded back to their parents.

Slowly arriving there, Shikoba's mother, Brightmaw, sat waiting patiently for them to come back. She looked to be a hybrid of a harpy eagle and a horse; looking similar to a gryphon of myth. The rest of her family was out on their afternoon hunt.

The gryphon spirit-guide watched her cubs approach, and stood up, paying attention to the aquatic Wervinlakh more. < There you are, dear. I'm sure your brother has informed you of why you're out here? >

Shikoba nodded, and chirped back in reply, < Yes, he did mother. >

< Then, you need to go and help a spirit find their loved ones. In order to help, you must be able to spot a lost spirit. >

The bird-eel nodded, < It's something natural for every Wervinlakh, but it takes time to master, right? >

Brightmaw nodded back, < That's correct. I've been informed by a serpent, that there is a spirit in these woods, who was unfortunately taken by the serpent itself. I want you to find it and aid it. >

Shikoba nodded once more, before she flew off, stopping at various ponds along the way. Night slowly fell as she continued onwards, until she heard a light wail - something new to her, but it was a common locator for a spirit, if a Wervinlakh could not see a lost soul at first.

As the young hybrid circled around, her whole form turned ghostly as she focused, and let herself fade into the spirit realm of her world. Shikoba was not dead however, as it was an innate magic that kept her alive, tied into her soul. The aquatic Wervinlakh spotted two children as she landed; one was the body of a little girl, and her spirit hiding behind a rock.

The girl screamed as Shikoba approached, “G-go a-away you b-bodysnatcher!”

Within the spirit realm, the Wervinlakh's speech is no longer stuck as an animal, it is able to speak in a common tongue. “That is not what I am, young Plain. I'm here to help you find your way back, as well as form a pact, if you agree.”

The child stepped out from behind the rock, slowly, “What do you mean by a pact? I won't let you take my body! My parents will be here soon, I know it! I don't need you!”

Shikoba nodded, “I understand, but you've been out here for nearly a day, and the path I took to find you leads through dense vegetation. It may take your family almost a week to find you on their own, maybe longer... By a pact, I mean...” She sighed, not wanting to scare the spirit even more, “I guess the easiest way to say it is: I will not, nor want your actual body – just the base of it. ...Imagine a building of your kinds. It starts with a basic structure, does it not?”

The girl did start to seem scared, but slowly responded, “Th-that's right... but how would you gain... my body's base?”

“It's not exactly your body's base, but a simple one. I can not, nor ever wish to copy the body of a spirit at all, it would lead to confusion among your kind,” She just had recited slightly what her mother had told her during her various trainings, but even then, Shikoba wasn't confident in the definition.

The young Plain appeared to be confused for the longest time, “So... you'll help me find my family, and you'll get a base of a human's form... right?” The Wervinlakh nodded in response. “Ok... what do we have to do?”

“In order for us to form a pact, you need to touch your body's head at the same time I do. Then, I'll appear as you do now, but in a solid state, so I can lead your family here. This... is my first time doing this as well... so I'm sure we're both nervous of each other.”

The child nodded, but slowly approached Shikoba, visibly shaking as well. “Whenever you are ready, little Plain.”

The spirit of the girl reached out and touched her body's forehead, and a feather tip touched it as well. The body glowed for a brief second, and the child's spirit seemed to phase out slightly, turning partially invisible, as a copy of her stood nearby.

Shikoba, in the child's form, just nodded, before she ran off. Using her spirit traits, she followed the white line common for any lost spirit - as it links them to their loved ones, but some are unable to follow it without a guide's assistance. Eventually the copied child came upon a group of humans, two being tied unknowingly to the white ribbon.

The woman spotted her first, and cried upon seeing her, "Mary..." Shikoba slipped deeper into the treeline, before the whole group quickly ran after her, they all trying to call out to the child to stop running. The Wervinlakh faded completely upon entering the glade where Mary's body lied, a faint feather symbol on her forehead.

The woman, Mary's mother, burst out into an inconsolable sobbing, as some of the men approached it. "...Damnable bodysnatcher got to her..." a man spat out, as the others glanced around, wanting to see the beast that did it. Mary was standing right next to her mother, holding her hand, as her body was slowly carried off, back to the village.

Shikoba had gone back into the real world shortly after the group left, and flew back to the estuary, fully exhausted from the experience. Shots rang out some hours after, and light from a fire slowly swept up to the estuary, the bird-eel watched from a hidden rock as some silouetted humans ran about.

One approached the waters, matching one's appearance that Shikoba recalled - Mary's father. His eyes were full of hate, "Come on out bodysnatchers, I know you can live here!" It was easy to see blood coating some of his shirt, as she dived into the water, avoiding a reactive shot towards the sound. The man kept firing into the water, faintly seeing her approach but it was in vain, due to the bullets quickly fell and lost all their momentum.

The bird-eel lept at the man, making him fall back in shock, before she dove back into the waters, moving out into the ocean quickly. The man had gotten up and continued to shoot randomly into the water, hoping that he could kill the beast.

Shikoba eventually surfaced in the dark sea some hours later, able to see the smoke from there, as well as faint images of her family group - all spirits though. She let out a single cry to the air, as she was unable to guide her family to safety, let alone give them rest. The lone Wervinlakh curled into a sandy alcove to sleep, already missing her family due to the Plain's hatred of her kind.