Leo Starling

Leo has a mop of dark blue hair that is perpetually mussed from his constant napping and could, realistically speaking, really do with a brush and a trim. At 175cm he's not really short but not really tall, which is perfectly fine by him, and is relatively pale. His teal eyes, when not sleepy, are twinkling with some kind of mischief or mirth and he always seems to be smiling some way or another.

He dresses casually, and due to running fairly warm rarely wears more than a t-shirt and jeans. However, he is never without a small cat-on-a-moon pendant, either as a necklace or a bracelet. Leo has two piercings in each ear and they rarely ever match each other. His ears and tail are surprisingly and unexpectedly well-kept, each smooth, glossy, and bearing the colouring and patterns of the classic black tuxedo cat.

Leo may be reserved but is not antisocial by any means. Although he loves to sleep and nap more than anything and is fairly lazy, he'll never shy away from a conversation, his sharp tongue and teasing nature often getting him into more trouble than he's ready for. He's loyal to a fault, often getting extremely attached to people who he deems as kind and assigning them fond nicknames (a favourite being "kitten").

He's protective to the point of being possessive, extremely judgemental of strangers getting close to those he cares about and bearing intense grudges on those who wrong him. He notices more than he lets on, but will rarely act on what he sees for fear of meddling too much.

Leo lets his cat side run rampant, always seen with his cat ears and a tail bouncing around, and often thinks with his instincts before his mind. However, he very rarely ever transforms - to him, the energy expended does not equal the reward.

• Superior senses: heightened eyesight (especially at night) and strengthened hearing​
  • With senses above the average human, Leo's eyesight and hearing are his two strongest senses and enhanced even in his human form. He has brilliant night-vision, and has little trouble seeing in darkness. His vision and hearing means he becomes distracted and overwhelmed easily, and intense sounds can leave him reeling. He also has a slightly improved sense of smell, but this is only really prominent in his cat form.​
• Agility and enhanced reflexes:
  • Lithe and nimble, Leo is able to move with the speed, dexterity, and stealth of a cat. He uses this mostly to sneak up on people to spook them, but can go unnoticed if he really tries or needs to.
• Allergies:
  • Due to his feline physiology, Leo cannot eat some things toxic to cats - this includes drinking alcohol (he's an extreme lightweight), and some dairy. He also has a vibrant hatred for citrus, no matter the kind.
• Ability to transform:
  • Leo can transform into a cat with focus and time. He looks like your basic black tuxedo cat, except with the same teal eyes. In cat form, he is able to still understand speech and read, but can only meow in return.

None!

Leo had a decently nice childhood. He was born to a shifter mother and a human father, making his ability to shift weaker than average while simultaneously making it harder for him to suppress his feline side and maintain a fully human appearance. Despite this, he was a bright kid and had a natural love of learning. Despite his lazy, cat-like nature, he studied hard and excelled in school, earning good grades and excelling in class. However, due to his enrolment in a "normal" school, he had to constantly retain a fully human form, the effort growing increasingly taxing on him as he grew older and his cat side became more prominent. By the time he managed to graduate high-school with passable grades, he was skipping classes and staying home more, finding himself much happier when he didn't have to control a part of himself.

It was not long after he graduated that his parents learned of Manta Carlos Island from some of his mother's friends, and hurriedly arranged to send him there. They urged him to pursue a college education, but Leo decided that he had learned enough to figure out his path in the world. They gave him the pendant he always wears as a parting gift, serving as a memento with which to remind him of home. Now, he flits about the island, living the life of a stray as he searches for more of a permanent living situation and a job with which to support himself so he no longer has to rely on the money his parents send him.