Name: Lerato Jaye*
Age: 22
Birthday: Unknown; Celebrates some time in spring
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Exploring
Religion: N/A
Category: Student
Class: Specialized Schooling*
Appearance:
Lerato is a small thing, standing about 5’4” in his straightest posture. Making him seem even smaller is his stature, the man having a very thin and moderately femenine figure. Though lanky and lithe with a delicate frame, Lerato at least takes pride in keeping himself fit. However, this is to be expected, what with growing up in a forest of giant trees. Also to be expected is the seemingly eternal tan that lingers on his skin, not too dark (as his skin is naturally a very clear ivory) and just enough to draw out the faint freckles that dot his nose and cheeks. Lerato’s hair is a medium-dark brunette with an obvious auburn twinge to it, a bit shaggy but groomed enough with his arrival to Manta Carlos to be presentable. In the right lighting, however, his hair may seem noticeably lighter. His eyes, meanwhile, are a dark amber.
As Lerato wasn’t raised around humans, he wasn’t raised around human stigmas and stereotypes. Because of this, he was never taught that “boys wear pants” and “girls wear dresses”. Lerato wears what he wants to wear, and he just so happens to like comfy shorts and overly-baggy shirts with hoods attached. However, he also just so happens to like elaborate flower crowns and those cute, flowy skirts that brush his legs when the breeze kicks up, and damn the person that tries to convince him he shouldn’t.
One thing that does stay consistent with Lerato’s choice of clothing is that he doesn’t like to feel constricted. He generally prefers looser styles and softer fabrics, the clothes that aren’t too elaborate in color or design. Formal wear and other types of scratchy clothing are the bane of Lerato’s existence, and he would rather show up naked to a fancy dinner than be forced into a stiff tuxedo.
As Lerato wasn’t raised around people and generally sewed his own clothing, he was never taught human stigmas and stereotypes. Because of this, even after his immersion classes with the Academy, Lerato really just doesn’t understand gender-targeted clothing. He doesn’t really see why only girls should get to wear those pretty skirts that twirl around in the breeze, or why boys shouldn’t get to have those cute barrettes and jewelry pieces that seem so common in human society. Whatever other people prefer, Lerato is content wearing what he pleases, when he pleases, lest that be a baggy hoodie with shorts or sparkling evening gown (so long as it’s not scratchy!).
For accessories, he can often be seen in some sort of naturally-made jewelry or other adornment. One of his favorite pieces to make is a flower crown, a project he has all but perfected with his intricate placements and careful design. Though they wilt before long, Lerato’s flower crowns are as sturdy as they are beautiful, and he enjoys creating them immensely.
Personality:
Lerato Jaye, in a nutshell, is a kind soul. His connection with nature has left him with a decidedly peaceful disposition, though he does have his fair share of fiery quirks and the like. Though generally upbeat and very extroverted, Lerato can often be found off to the side by himself, weaving flower crowns and other trinkets until he finds an opportunity to jump into the fray of the conversation. He is generally polite to those around him, but can grow a bit sarcastic and snappish to those he is closer to. For the most part, Lerato is just an overall nice person, a nature-loving mute crown-maker with an affinity for forming friendships - even without a voice.
While Lerato is (obviously) quiet, he is in no way introverted. Lerato is energetic, friendly, and incredibly outgoing. Though he may not be able to converse as easily as his peers, his muteness in no way hinders Lerato’s enthusiasm towards friendship. He tries to make as many friends as possible and enjoys intimacy with others - though, if you ask him what he means by intimacy, he will respond with a series of clearly platonic images.
Yes, platonic. Unlike many of Manta Carlos’ residents, Lerato is a decidedly pure child. He does indeed know how babies are made and he does indeed know that you can do things with others no matter your gender without the intent to make said baby. However, unlike many his age, sex does not dominate his mind. If anything, it lives in the back of it. Lerato is a virgin in every sense of the word, from innocent kisses to the full on act itself, and would prefer to change this little aspect of himself slowly - very slowly, lest he die from the ultimate blush. Really, cute kisses are enough guys, srs..........
Though he is a generally kind person, Lerato does get annoyed pretty easily; however, he is slow to anger. Lerato’s annoyance it more of an adorable half-joke than anything to truly be taken seriously, and while he may let loose a flurry of insulting ideas, he often does this with a hefty pout and the occasional flustered blush. As much as he would rather people not poke at him, for all of Lerato’s fiery vengeance, he really doesn’t mind being annoyed too much. Even the man himself has been known to make it into a joke. When he really does want to be left alone, he’ll make himself known with truly pleading images and giant puppy eyes - two things no sane man could ever resist.
Of course, Lerato can be hurt and upset by others, but with the right words he is generally able to forgive those that have caused him pain. He rarely forgets, but he usually forgives.
However, when Lerato is angry - honestly, horrifically, smolderingly angry - something has gone terribly wrong. Mute or otherwise, his rage is a quiet one, but it is far from submissive. Lerato’s anger is the kind that, with a single glance at his gleaming eyes, can tell a person that the trust they once held will never be again, and with it all the love that accompanied. It does not come in degrees, but is triggered by something truly unforgivable and born a fully-fledged volcano. Those who bring about this kind of anger within Lerato will most likely never be forgiven for their transgressions, and though there can always be exceptions, they are few and far between.
Perhaps Lerato’s greatest frustration with himself is, surprisingly, his muteness. He rarely lets on that this bugs him, usually embracing his lack of voice in that he enthusiastically shows off his powers with communication and idea sharing. Most of the time, Lerato seems ultimately content with himself, completely unperturbed by the fact that he can’t speak.
However, contrary to how he presents himself, his lack of voice is unbelievably frustrating Lerato hates the fact that he is so easily misunderstood when trying to convey the simplest of ideas to his peers. He listens to their laughter, their singing, their moaning and groaning and finds himself suddenly bitter at times. Though he wouldn’t trade his connection with nature for the world, Lerato finds himself often wishing he had a voice. His wit would come across so much more smoothly, his happiness joyously, his sadness heavily. At times, his friends cannot even tell the difference between Lerato’s tears and his laughter as no sound emerges from his lips. He cannot hum his favorite songs nor call out to the familiar faces in the crowd. In his most resentful moods, Lerato hates his muteness. He really, really… really hates it.
Finally, Lerato doesn’t really know what it means to be loved. Of course, he knows the definition of love, and he has a vague idea of what people do when they love each other. He is also pretty sure he loved Mother, the bird who raised him. However, in the end, he isn’t really sure. Mother was, in fact, a bird, and though she seemed to hold some affection for her longest nestmate, she didn’t really… feel love - not the human definition of love, anyway. Lerato honestly isn’t sure what to make of the emotion, but he does hope he will come to understand it eventually.
Powers:
He may one day develop further nature-related powers, but these are all that he has discovered thus far.
History:
Lerato grew up within a strange and magical forest. The location on earth is unknown and undiscoverable, perhaps even an alternate dimension entirely, and can only be reached by crossing through ever-moving gateways scattered throughout the world’s deepest wilderness. Only a select few can even locate the gateways, and even fewer are judged well enough to pass through them.
No one really knows how Lerato came to live in the forest - even the male himself. Humans were few and far between, an oddity within the self-governed forest, and had not been sighted in the general area for nearly 15 years. Nevertheless, the infant was discovered five hundred feet in the air, curled within the massive down feathers of a soon-to-be-mother bird.
The bird was incredible in size, over five and a half feet tall from head to claw, and clothed in feathers ranging from a dull pink to a dashing scarlet. However, her size was not unusual in the forest; a good portion of the flora and fauna both were enlarged to incredible proportions, and their intelligence was often heightened as well. The bird’s maternal instincts overtaking her as she gazed upon the small infant, she soon came to care for him as one of her own.
Lerato was, in turn, raised as bird child. He came to consider the bird his mother and treated her as such. Being able to communicate with her only helped strengthen the bond, though she was not as intellegent as a human and did not have as wide an emotional capacity etc.
Mother was confused for a while as to why Lerato did not grow as quickly as her other chicks, having no experience with the young of other species, but eventually just grew to accept it
Lerato first ‘left the nest’ at age 6, taking baby steps at first that eventually turned into full-scale climbs up and down the gigantic tree. He befriended both the normal sized and equally large animals and plants that inhabited the tree and was content. Occasionally, they would also bring him trinkets from humans long past. It was with these that Lerato discovered necessities such as clothing, roofs and, most importantly, flower crowns. He eventually learned how to create these himself. Human trinkets also began to litter the nest after a time.
By age 12, Lerato took his first journey off the giant tree and into the forest below. As time passed, he increasingly drew farther and farther from his tree, sometimes spending several days away from the nest. However, he always did return, and Mother greeted him pleasantly as such.
By age 19, Mother was growing old. She had already outlived many of her smaller earthen cousins of the same species, her longevity most likely brought on by her larger size and increased relative intelligence etc - the animals of the Forest were more evolved than average, though only to a degree. Lerato began to shorten his journeys to stay near his mother.
In the months nearing the end, Mother grew increasingly sick and frail. Eventually she could no longer fly, and Lerato kept her alive by gathering food and feeding her. He was with her when she died, Lerato being newely 20 years old, but Lerato dealt with it much better than he ever predicted it would. It helped that he could still feel her presence within the earth, resting and recovering in its core before it would inevitably rise into a new being.
However, with the death of mother, Lerato no longer had ties to his childhood home. He eventually packed the items he wished to take with him - several books, a few next trinkets, food, etc - and left the nest, conveying to those being around him that it was not vacant and avaliable for any homeless creatures.
Lerato traveled aimlessly for two years, generally just exploring the forest as he walked. One day, aged 22, he came across a strange gateway. Upon inspection of it, he was suddenly sucked in, his vision going black before he found himself in an entirely new world. As he looked around him, the strange gateway had vanished, as had every trace of his former home. Terrified of what had become of him, he began to flee, traveling for hours in a panic before a strange figure stopped him. The figure explained to Lerato what Manta Carlos and Starlight Academy were, and invited him to attend. With no way home and nothing calling him there anyway, Lerato hesitantly accepted the offer.
After arriving, he was launched into a few weeks of intense immersion classes. They taught him many human customs and a bit of basic human knowledge that would serve him well throughout his time. He also was prompted to pick a name, and after reading through several lists, he settled on Lerato Jaye. Then, with that, they let him loose into Manta Carlos, free to explore the new world he had come into.
Additional Information:
* As said in his history, Lerato chose his own name. His first name is Latin-American in ethnicity and means “Song of my Soul”. It is also a South African name meaning “Love”. Meanwhile, Lerato chose his surname, Jaye, to tie back to his only true family (and because he thought it sounded pretty).
** Lerato never attended school. As such, he has been placed into a special schooling system to bring him up to speed with the rest of his age group. It is accelerated, but he’s trying.
Age: 22
Birthday: Unknown; Celebrates some time in spring
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Exploring
Religion: N/A
Category: Student
Class: Specialized Schooling*
Appearance:
Lerato is a small thing, standing about 5’4” in his straightest posture. Making him seem even smaller is his stature, the man having a very thin and moderately femenine figure. Though lanky and lithe with a delicate frame, Lerato at least takes pride in keeping himself fit. However, this is to be expected, what with growing up in a forest of giant trees. Also to be expected is the seemingly eternal tan that lingers on his skin, not too dark (as his skin is naturally a very clear ivory) and just enough to draw out the faint freckles that dot his nose and cheeks. Lerato’s hair is a medium-dark brunette with an obvious auburn twinge to it, a bit shaggy but groomed enough with his arrival to Manta Carlos to be presentable. In the right lighting, however, his hair may seem noticeably lighter. His eyes, meanwhile, are a dark amber.
As Lerato wasn’t raised around humans, he wasn’t raised around human stigmas and stereotypes. Because of this, he was never taught that “boys wear pants” and “girls wear dresses”. Lerato wears what he wants to wear, and he just so happens to like comfy shorts and overly-baggy shirts with hoods attached. However, he also just so happens to like elaborate flower crowns and those cute, flowy skirts that brush his legs when the breeze kicks up, and damn the person that tries to convince him he shouldn’t.
One thing that does stay consistent with Lerato’s choice of clothing is that he doesn’t like to feel constricted. He generally prefers looser styles and softer fabrics, the clothes that aren’t too elaborate in color or design. Formal wear and other types of scratchy clothing are the bane of Lerato’s existence, and he would rather show up naked to a fancy dinner than be forced into a stiff tuxedo.
As Lerato wasn’t raised around people and generally sewed his own clothing, he was never taught human stigmas and stereotypes. Because of this, even after his immersion classes with the Academy, Lerato really just doesn’t understand gender-targeted clothing. He doesn’t really see why only girls should get to wear those pretty skirts that twirl around in the breeze, or why boys shouldn’t get to have those cute barrettes and jewelry pieces that seem so common in human society. Whatever other people prefer, Lerato is content wearing what he pleases, when he pleases, lest that be a baggy hoodie with shorts or sparkling evening gown (so long as it’s not scratchy!).
For accessories, he can often be seen in some sort of naturally-made jewelry or other adornment. One of his favorite pieces to make is a flower crown, a project he has all but perfected with his intricate placements and careful design. Though they wilt before long, Lerato’s flower crowns are as sturdy as they are beautiful, and he enjoys creating them immensely.
Personality:
Lerato Jaye, in a nutshell, is a kind soul. His connection with nature has left him with a decidedly peaceful disposition, though he does have his fair share of fiery quirks and the like. Though generally upbeat and very extroverted, Lerato can often be found off to the side by himself, weaving flower crowns and other trinkets until he finds an opportunity to jump into the fray of the conversation. He is generally polite to those around him, but can grow a bit sarcastic and snappish to those he is closer to. For the most part, Lerato is just an overall nice person, a nature-loving mute crown-maker with an affinity for forming friendships - even without a voice.
While Lerato is (obviously) quiet, he is in no way introverted. Lerato is energetic, friendly, and incredibly outgoing. Though he may not be able to converse as easily as his peers, his muteness in no way hinders Lerato’s enthusiasm towards friendship. He tries to make as many friends as possible and enjoys intimacy with others - though, if you ask him what he means by intimacy, he will respond with a series of clearly platonic images.
Yes, platonic. Unlike many of Manta Carlos’ residents, Lerato is a decidedly pure child. He does indeed know how babies are made and he does indeed know that you can do things with others no matter your gender without the intent to make said baby. However, unlike many his age, sex does not dominate his mind. If anything, it lives in the back of it. Lerato is a virgin in every sense of the word, from innocent kisses to the full on act itself, and would prefer to change this little aspect of himself slowly - very slowly, lest he die from the ultimate blush. Really, cute kisses are enough guys, srs..........
Though he is a generally kind person, Lerato does get annoyed pretty easily; however, he is slow to anger. Lerato’s annoyance it more of an adorable half-joke than anything to truly be taken seriously, and while he may let loose a flurry of insulting ideas, he often does this with a hefty pout and the occasional flustered blush. As much as he would rather people not poke at him, for all of Lerato’s fiery vengeance, he really doesn’t mind being annoyed too much. Even the man himself has been known to make it into a joke. When he really does want to be left alone, he’ll make himself known with truly pleading images and giant puppy eyes - two things no sane man could ever resist.
Of course, Lerato can be hurt and upset by others, but with the right words he is generally able to forgive those that have caused him pain. He rarely forgets, but he usually forgives.
However, when Lerato is angry - honestly, horrifically, smolderingly angry - something has gone terribly wrong. Mute or otherwise, his rage is a quiet one, but it is far from submissive. Lerato’s anger is the kind that, with a single glance at his gleaming eyes, can tell a person that the trust they once held will never be again, and with it all the love that accompanied. It does not come in degrees, but is triggered by something truly unforgivable and born a fully-fledged volcano. Those who bring about this kind of anger within Lerato will most likely never be forgiven for their transgressions, and though there can always be exceptions, they are few and far between.
Perhaps Lerato’s greatest frustration with himself is, surprisingly, his muteness. He rarely lets on that this bugs him, usually embracing his lack of voice in that he enthusiastically shows off his powers with communication and idea sharing. Most of the time, Lerato seems ultimately content with himself, completely unperturbed by the fact that he can’t speak.
However, contrary to how he presents himself, his lack of voice is unbelievably frustrating Lerato hates the fact that he is so easily misunderstood when trying to convey the simplest of ideas to his peers. He listens to their laughter, their singing, their moaning and groaning and finds himself suddenly bitter at times. Though he wouldn’t trade his connection with nature for the world, Lerato finds himself often wishing he had a voice. His wit would come across so much more smoothly, his happiness joyously, his sadness heavily. At times, his friends cannot even tell the difference between Lerato’s tears and his laughter as no sound emerges from his lips. He cannot hum his favorite songs nor call out to the familiar faces in the crowd. In his most resentful moods, Lerato hates his muteness. He really, really… really hates it.
Finally, Lerato doesn’t really know what it means to be loved. Of course, he knows the definition of love, and he has a vague idea of what people do when they love each other. He is also pretty sure he loved Mother, the bird who raised him. However, in the end, he isn’t really sure. Mother was, in fact, a bird, and though she seemed to hold some affection for her longest nestmate, she didn’t really… feel love - not the human definition of love, anyway. Lerato honestly isn’t sure what to make of the emotion, but he does hope he will come to understand it eventually.
Powers:
Lerato can sense the life force in everything that comes from nature, even if normally considered inanimate or vegetative.
Lerato can communicate with everything he can sense a life force within.
All of these powers come at a cost, however. Lerato is completely mute, unable to create even the slightest of noises. Upon inspection by a doctor, one would find his vocal chords completely intact, but he cannot utilize them whatsoever.
Perhaps at some time, Lerato may be able to make his voice work enough to make small, short noises, but he will never be able to achieve full words or even sounds that last longer than a few moments.
- This sensory includes all plants, water, wind, fire, unrefined/natural stones and sunlight.
- However, it does not include manmade objects such as plastic, artificial glass, cement, buildings etc. Lerato can’t sense life in things such as iron support beams in buildings or ropes, even if they’re made from somewhat natural materials.
- After he gets to know someone, Lerato can memorize their life force and tell it apart from others. If he forms a truly intimate bond with the being, he can continue to sense the soul even after death, so long as it recedes into the earth and not to a new dimension, and can follow it as it reincarnates to a new being.
- When a flower is picked etc, Lerato can sense the life force leave it - but he is not saddened, as he can also sense it return to the earth which originally gave it life
- He feels that the earth itself is alive and can feel the life force simmering within it. “Mother Earth” is a literal concept here.
Lerato can communicate with everything he can sense a life force within.
- This is not done verbally etc. It is more that Lerato can understand the ideas the life forces try to convey to him, and he can respond to them in a likewise manner.
- The communication is done through what is technically a branch of telepathy, but no where near as clear and concise as the classic definition.
- Lerato communicates to the life forces through the direct exchange of ideas. If applicable to the being, they may see a rapid succession of images that speak to their subconscious, conveying the idea.
- Human-level intelligences and the like may become easily confused, especially when Lerato is trying to explain more abstract or specific ideas. More simple-minded creatures, such as plants, birds or fish, often understand most easily as, generally speaking, they too think in ideas rather than words.
- Lerato also has the ability to understand any language, whether that be a spoken human language, the flash of fins between fish or the clashing cries of primates. He can instantly understand any language that exists, but would have a difficult time teaching the languages to others without a specific strategy in place. Lerato can also understand languages such as sign language, morse and braille, as well as the written languages he reads.
All of these powers come at a cost, however. Lerato is completely mute, unable to create even the slightest of noises. Upon inspection by a doctor, one would find his vocal chords completely intact, but he cannot utilize them whatsoever.
Perhaps at some time, Lerato may be able to make his voice work enough to make small, short noises, but he will never be able to achieve full words or even sounds that last longer than a few moments.
He may one day develop further nature-related powers, but these are all that he has discovered thus far.
History:
Lerato grew up within a strange and magical forest. The location on earth is unknown and undiscoverable, perhaps even an alternate dimension entirely, and can only be reached by crossing through ever-moving gateways scattered throughout the world’s deepest wilderness. Only a select few can even locate the gateways, and even fewer are judged well enough to pass through them.
No one really knows how Lerato came to live in the forest - even the male himself. Humans were few and far between, an oddity within the self-governed forest, and had not been sighted in the general area for nearly 15 years. Nevertheless, the infant was discovered five hundred feet in the air, curled within the massive down feathers of a soon-to-be-mother bird.
The bird was incredible in size, over five and a half feet tall from head to claw, and clothed in feathers ranging from a dull pink to a dashing scarlet. However, her size was not unusual in the forest; a good portion of the flora and fauna both were enlarged to incredible proportions, and their intelligence was often heightened as well. The bird’s maternal instincts overtaking her as she gazed upon the small infant, she soon came to care for him as one of her own.
Lerato was, in turn, raised as bird child. He came to consider the bird his mother and treated her as such. Being able to communicate with her only helped strengthen the bond, though she was not as intellegent as a human and did not have as wide an emotional capacity etc.
Mother was confused for a while as to why Lerato did not grow as quickly as her other chicks, having no experience with the young of other species, but eventually just grew to accept it
Lerato first ‘left the nest’ at age 6, taking baby steps at first that eventually turned into full-scale climbs up and down the gigantic tree. He befriended both the normal sized and equally large animals and plants that inhabited the tree and was content. Occasionally, they would also bring him trinkets from humans long past. It was with these that Lerato discovered necessities such as clothing, roofs and, most importantly, flower crowns. He eventually learned how to create these himself. Human trinkets also began to litter the nest after a time.
By age 12, Lerato took his first journey off the giant tree and into the forest below. As time passed, he increasingly drew farther and farther from his tree, sometimes spending several days away from the nest. However, he always did return, and Mother greeted him pleasantly as such.
By age 19, Mother was growing old. She had already outlived many of her smaller earthen cousins of the same species, her longevity most likely brought on by her larger size and increased relative intelligence etc - the animals of the Forest were more evolved than average, though only to a degree. Lerato began to shorten his journeys to stay near his mother.
In the months nearing the end, Mother grew increasingly sick and frail. Eventually she could no longer fly, and Lerato kept her alive by gathering food and feeding her. He was with her when she died, Lerato being newely 20 years old, but Lerato dealt with it much better than he ever predicted it would. It helped that he could still feel her presence within the earth, resting and recovering in its core before it would inevitably rise into a new being.
However, with the death of mother, Lerato no longer had ties to his childhood home. He eventually packed the items he wished to take with him - several books, a few next trinkets, food, etc - and left the nest, conveying to those being around him that it was not vacant and avaliable for any homeless creatures.
Lerato traveled aimlessly for two years, generally just exploring the forest as he walked. One day, aged 22, he came across a strange gateway. Upon inspection of it, he was suddenly sucked in, his vision going black before he found himself in an entirely new world. As he looked around him, the strange gateway had vanished, as had every trace of his former home. Terrified of what had become of him, he began to flee, traveling for hours in a panic before a strange figure stopped him. The figure explained to Lerato what Manta Carlos and Starlight Academy were, and invited him to attend. With no way home and nothing calling him there anyway, Lerato hesitantly accepted the offer.
After arriving, he was launched into a few weeks of intense immersion classes. They taught him many human customs and a bit of basic human knowledge that would serve him well throughout his time. He also was prompted to pick a name, and after reading through several lists, he settled on Lerato Jaye. Then, with that, they let him loose into Manta Carlos, free to explore the new world he had come into.
Additional Information:
* As said in his history, Lerato chose his own name. His first name is Latin-American in ethnicity and means “Song of my Soul”. It is also a South African name meaning “Love”. Meanwhile, Lerato chose his surname, Jaye, to tie back to his only true family (and because he thought it sounded pretty).
** Lerato never attended school. As such, he has been placed into a special schooling system to bring him up to speed with the rest of his age group. It is accelerated, but he’s trying.
