Renatta Porta
The Basics
Name: Renatta Porta
Gender: Female
Age: Looks to be her early 40s.
Race: Shapeshifter
The Physical
Physical Description: Renatta looks something like a Silver Screen beauty who was displaced in the time stream and spat out in modern day NYC. Most of her wardrobe comes from vintage boutiques. Her style of dress is somewhat conservative. You'd be hard-pressed to find any strappy or short dresses in her closet. She has an affinity for long, fur coats, fancy dresses, and heels. On any given day, she is adorned with pricey jewellery. She is very picky about her perfumes. Keen sniffers can catch the rich, white flowery scent of tuberose and jasmine, chased by notes of an intoxicating floral powder that is hard to place.
Her eyebrows are plucked thin and she tends toward subtle, classical make-up looks. Her hair is dark brown with reddish undertones, cropped short, and incredibly curly. Her eyes are a cold blue. Her eyelashes are usually curled and done with dark mascara. There's a small beauty mark under her left eye. She is usually painstakingly put together and rarely bothers with shaving.
She stands at about 5'9", taller in heels, and is an average weight. Overall, she is a tall, elegant woman. She speaks English with a Slovene accent, and she tends to have a sort of slow, soothing drawl. She rarely smiles and her serious countenance, coupled with her height, sometimes comes across as intimidating. Which suits her just fine.
Alternate Form: A gray wolf. If you squint, you could mistake it for an abnormally large German shepard. It has a long, black-tipped bushy tail and its coat is a mixture of grays and browns. It has dark brown facial markings and yellow eyes. If you're unfortunate enough to see it, the uncanny intelligence in its gaze is apparent.
Talents & Weaknesses
Skills:
- Folk medicine.
- Apothecary.
- Singing, various instruments.
- Strong business acumen.
Powers:
- Shapeshifter: she can take the form of a gray wolf. With the senses and hardiness of a wolf, and the intelligence of a person, it makes for a formidable hunter. Given its magical nature, it a little more durable than your typical animal and if it finds a quiet, calm spot it can heal faster. The wolf was meant to be a community guardian. It is an excellent sentinel and, when necessary, a ruthlessly efficient killer.
Vulnerabilities:
- Fire. The wolf is very scared of fire, and that fear tends to override her rational mind.
- Mortal. She can bleed, die, and age like anyone else.
- Heirloom. Her mother's heirloom allows her to shift with clothing and makes it easier to ground the wolf's instincts. Without it, there is the potential for her to lose her mind to the wolf.
Under The Hood
Personality: Past experiences have eroded her sense of wonder. The things she has seen and endured has slowly broken her faith in true love and the kindness of strangers. Her time working under a particular boss, in a particular type of establishment, has given her an incredibly low estimation of the typical, American man. They are animals, and not the impressive kind. Renatta has become a serious, somewhat jaded person throughout the years.
She comes across as cold and difficult to impress. She doesn't trust easily and protects her own throat above all else. She wears many different faces. In business, she is a social engineer. She is a frightening matriarch when it suits her. She is a warm hostess. She is a naive "mail-order bride" who had nothing to do with her late husband's heart attack. In reality, she simply feels lost, guilty, and homesick for something that no longer exists. She wants to believe in mankind tending toward good and justice, but they make it difficult. Sometimes she hopes to wake up and find that the last twenty years of life has just been one long, painful dream.
Many vulnerabilities are kept close to her chest. She has learned the hard way how to appear as though she is turning the other cheek, enduring disrespect and mistreatment, while she puts all her ducks in a row. People are sneaky and mean, so Renatta tries to be sneakier and meaner. Her enemies often don't realize she is the one orchestrating their downfall and misery until it is much too late.
Despite all the ruthless plotting and cold exterior, there must be some sort of warmth left inside her. She treats her children well. She has a natural protective streak. She is fiercely protective of young women in particular. There are no limits to what she will do for those important to her.