D.J. Warner
General Information:Name: D.J. Warner
Nickname: DJ (Yes the D stands for something and so does the J- She doesn't talk about it.)
Species of Shifter: Kermode Black Bear (Spirit Bear)
Human Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Hetrosexual
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Physical information:
Gender: Female
Age:32
Human Hair Color: Brunette
Human Eye Color: Violet
Human Distinguishing Marks:
DJ has always been very aware of the grouping of freckles on the back of her arm that make up Ursa Major. She used it growing up to tell her brothers she was more bear than they were. Her grandmother told her that the grouping meant that she was meant for special things in the future and just like Ursa Major points to the North Star she was to guide others to achieve her purpose in life.
Human Description of General Appearance:
The most intriguing thing about DJ are her eyes. A deep violet they are truly unique. When she was born the matriarch of the pack (her grandmother) declared that DJ was a special cub. She pointed to the grouping of freckles on DJ's arm and the color of her eyes as an indication that she would be a guide for those in need.
DJ is athletic and fairly slim in build. Her shoulder length brown hair is layered and while she is known to wear it free- from time to time it can be seen in braids or in a messy ponytail. Like most bears, DJ is fun loving and wears her clothes to match. She wears jeans and comfortable shirts. She keeps her makeup natural, yet stylish.
The most intriguing part about DJ is the way she carries herself. There is regularly a skip in her step and she seems to have an amazing energy. Truth is, she is a bit of a non-sleeper. Being a tad hyperactive, DJ is known to stay up and read books, knit sweaters, fix furniture, refinish floors. While she looks like a slight woman, she carries herself with an aura that makes people realize there is something more.
Shifter Color:
DJ is a black bear, but she is a rare blonde version known as a Kermode Bear
Shifter Eye Color: Brown
Shifter Distinguishing Patterns or Marks: She is a blonde version of a black bear.
Shifter Description of General Appearance:
When DJ Shifted for the first time there was a bit of a stir in the Pack. Her grandmother; however, was practically crowing that she was right. Instead of being black like her brothers, sisters, mother, and father, etc- DJ found herself the most beautiful shade of golden white. She soon learned that she was a Spirit Bear- yet another sign according to her grandmother that she is to be a spirit guide to others. Her muzzle is slightly grey and her paws are black, but the rest of her fur is a pale white. She is not a particularly large bear 270 lbs, but she strong and smart in a wrestling match, where her excess energy tends too be an advantage.
Interestingly enough one of DJ's favorite past times as a bear is climbing trees and picking fruit, which proves the old myth very wrong- that the safest thing to do when running from a bear is to climb a tree.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Society Information:
Would your character optimally be an Alpha, Beta, Omega, or Other? Beta
Occupation in Society: (What would they do? Sentry, Computer Specialist, Bartender)
Social Worker
What was your position in your former pack (if applicable)
Spirit Guide
What brought you to Three Valleys?
Because of invading pack troubles, DJ has been charged to bring a pack of cubs to Three Valleys for their safety. She has moved from being a social worker to being a foster mom for a pack of kids that even in the short bus ride from Austin, she has come to care about as her own.
Love History (If applicable)
None- It's difficult to develop a relationship when you're lauded as being the guiding star of the pack.
Shifter Designation: Dominant or Submissive?
Dominant
Answer the following questions to determine your starting number:
1- If your character walked into a bar where the bartender was being robbed at gunpoint what would your Shifter do?
Worried about the clerk's safety, DJ would intervene. Using her negotiation skills DJ would try to talk the robber down. She can be very persuasive especially with her gift, using it to depress the emotions in the room, so he would listen to reason.
2- If your character saw a Shifter cub wandering into a busy street after a ball, what would your Shifter do?
DJ would charge forward at a full run dragging the child out of the way of the car. Once the cub was out of danger she'd take a whack at the car and yell at the driver for not paying attention and then turn her anger on the kid. If she still had her dander up, she'd drag the kid home and yell at the parents for not watching their cub.
3- Your Shifter is participating in an athletic event and comes in second to another Shifter how do they react?
She'd be genuinely happy for the other contestant. Second place isn't bad and it was a fun competition.
4- Your Shifter is in the middle of an important negotiation when the person in charge of the meeting suddenly collapses with a heart attack- what would be your Shifter's first reaction?
As the person in charge fell to the floor, DJ would look to see if someone was helping him. If no one moved there, she would tell someone to help him while she dialed 911 and then hit up the First Aid kit for aspirin and water, bringing it to the victim and keeping them calm until the paramedics arrived.
5- Your Shifter has been unjustly arrested for disorderly conduct and is thrown in General Holding. There are seven large men or women in the cell with you. What does your character do?
Immediately using her ability to suppress emotion to get the group to stop advancing. From there she would talk them down, try to get them to open up, perhaps get one of the police officers that was watching the group. Try to get a consensus and potentially some changes in their lives.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personality Details:
Personality:
DJ is much more complicated than she appears on the surface. She is a wash of worry about direction. While she can help others see their paths, she has trouble finding her own trail- everything tends to look like a maze, and she can never see whether she's doing the right thing or the wrong thing, until after it's happened. She outwardly is calm if not a little intense.
As confident as DJ appears in public and especially around those in authority, it all shatters when she meets a male she finds interesting or worse yet attractive. She, in the past, has become nervous and her ability spills over. It suppresses his emotions, and he loses interest.
DJ has a temper- like most Dominants it comes out through her protective instincts. She will put herself at risk in order to help the underdog. She watches out for those who are in need and is highly empathetic. Her heart gets in the way often, putting her at risk. She is hurt regularly, but oddly never regrets it.
An odd side effect of her complex life is that she doesn't sleep. Part of it is worry that she will miss something causing another tragedy like with her father and cousins. Part of it is anxiety, and part of it is the natural nervous energy that exists in her life. Because of her natural sleepless state she has plenty of projects, which makes her seem odd to those who meet her.
Strengths:
Calm in crisis situations
Negotiator
Counselor
Good with cubs
Creative
Focused
Weaknesses:
Anxiety
Can't connect to people
Lonely
Distracted when not on duty.
Fears:
Dying alone
Never feeling an honest emotion
Spiders
Claustrophobia
Background/History:
When DJ was born in Pine Bluffs, Arkansas, her grandmother was quick to point out that she was going to be special. The significance of the freckle pattern on her arm and her violet eyes became a compass point for her future as her Grandmother declared her a spirit guide. Before she could talk the pack took her every gesture and gurgle as a sign.Despite knowing that she is good at her "calling" DJ has always wondered if her grandmother created a self-fulfilling prophecy rather than reading the stars on her arm. From an early age, she was trained in negotiation, calming strategies, and counseling. Her aura of "special" made it difficult to interact with her peers. The other cubs were strange around her. They thought she was supposed to have special powers- a couple cubs thought she would be able to fly. Most of the adult's, even though they weren't as vocal as the cubs, thought she would become a Seer and regularly asked her about the future. This was all very distracting to DJ and she retreated to her Grandmother's side. Training was a good excuse.
When the Gray Plague hit- DJ was convinced by her father and most of her cousins to take a trip into St. Louis for supplies. She had thought it wasn't a good idea, but finally relented and went with them. One of the first Missouri Anti-Shifter riots occurred on that day. As the city fell into chaos and the violence began to spread, DJ and her family became trapped in a shopping center. DJ pressed out her powers calming the frightened and angry Humans, but it was too much. More and more people entered the building. She couldn't suppress them all. Everything went black.
She awoke in the shopping center beneath the body of her father and her cousins. They had protected her when she fell, eventually burying her in in the pile of family carnage. She pulled herself out, was arrested, talked her way into being released, and returned to her pack. Her luster as a guiding star vanished when the pack heard about the massacre. Only her grandmother spoke to her- the rest treated her as if she'd died in the shopping center. Her Grandmother told DJ that she was never supposed to be a superhero. She was the Alfred to Batman, Gandalf not Bilbo- Which made DJ laugh. Still she couldn't live with the pack.
Venturing out on her own, DJ left following her gut West. She traveled to where the Grain Coalition was formed, learning from those leaders about the vision of the future. Eventually she became a negotiator for the herds. DJ moved to The New Republic of Texas when they announced their progressive stance on Shifters and quickly became an adviser. She helped put together the End of the World Summit and was there when they announced the end of mankind. When the bear, Longclaw, proposed Three Valleys- DJ stopped and paid attention. She saw it as a chance. She could see the vision in what Longclaw thought possible and worked behind the scenes to convince the other delegates that he was right.
When the vote happened, DJ finally could see a path for herself. Over the past three months DJ's work has changed. She is currently working to move a group of foster cubs up to Three Valleys. She is dedicated to making Longclaw's vision a reality. This- she believes is her purpose.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skills and Abilities:
Is your Shifter Pure or Halfling? Pure
Were you mentored or trained in your abilities? If so, by whom? Mentored by Grandma Ida
Education:
High School and College- Degree in Counseling Emphasis in Social Work
Special Learning Prior to fall of Society:
Trained as a Life Coach
Trained as a negotiator
Trained as a Spirit Guide
If Pure:
Would you like to be considered for a special ability? Yes
If Yes, which ability are you interested in having? Soother
Proposed way that the ability works for your Shifter: DJ is able to dampen the emotions of the people around her as if pressing a blanket down on them. Some people who have experienced it say it feels like being in a warm fog where thoughts become very clear and focused. DJ in turn pulls the emotions into her- Her grandmother taught her how to compartmentalize them, but she can still feel them. The more people she soothes the more emotion she has to work through in herself.
Proposed price that your character has to pay for that ability:
The pocketed emotions build DJ's energy so she becomes super hyper, but once that dissipates, she becomes numb to emotion herself. Depending on how many people she's soothed the longer she goes without being able to feel herself. It's like being in a perpetual depressed state that she has to fight through in order to come back to reality.