Tabiana Morovan

Meet Tabby
Name: Tabiana Morovan (Tabby)

Journal: tabbytastic

Race: Vampire - Clan Gangrel

Age: Appears around 23 (actual age in the 40's)

Height: 5'7"

Played by: Redpyre

Room: 203

Arrived: September 4, 2011

Grimoire: Leather and chains

Sexuality: Uninterested (see here)

Stats
Concept: Thug

Nature: Survivor

Demeanor: Bravo


 * Attributes
 * Physical - Generally a powerhouse. Can bench press 400 lbs and run a marathon, though she's not the most precise creature out there.
 * Social - Has a strong presence and can be convincing in her very rough way, but her appearance seriously suffers from her bestial features.
 * Mental - Resourceful and quick-witted, good instincts, but... not a deep thinker. At all. Really good at what she knows, but doesn't have the best memory, attention span, or learning capacity.


 * Skills
 * Physical - Tabby's greatest skill of all, by far, is brawling. Whether she's fighting with fists or claws, she is a master at it. Also very skilled in athletics and stealth, and marginally skilled in firearms and driving. All the skills a good thug needs to know.
 * Social - She's got a healthy knack for intimidation, and is pretty street savvy. Not the best at lying or non-threatening persuasion, but sometimes she can pull it off. Also tends to be pretty chummy with animals.
 * Mental - She has some investigation and medicine skill, and a little bit of unfortunately-acquired occult knowledge... and that's about it.


 * Disciplines
 * Fortitude - 2
 * Protean - 3
 * Gleam of Red Eyes - Can cause eyes to gleam red, enabling her to see perfectly well in normal darkness, and--despite all scientific explanation--limited vision in even true absolute darkness.
 * Feral Claws - Can grow wicked claws on each finger, which do especially vicious (and slightly supernatural) damage. Costs blood.
 * Earth Meld - Can merge with the earth itself, effectively becoming invulnerable. This is her preferred method of sleeping the day away. Costs blood.


 * Animal Features - 5
 * Maw - Causes twice as much damage and drains twice as much blood with bite, but cannot retract fangs.
 * 'Wolf' Eyes - Pupils are blurred, indistinct, and irises are blue-white. Distinctly inhuman to anyone who sees them. Also, color-blind, but can see exceptionally well in low light conditions.
 * Feral behavior - Tendency toward inhuman and animalistic behaviors and vocalizations.
 * Scales - Amberish scales dot the back of her hands and spread up onto the edges of her forearms. Extremely noticeable unless covered. Also, nails are stained a dirty gray/black.
 * Scales II (new! oops.) - Oh wait, no, her scales now go all the way up the back of her arms, decorate part of her upper arms, and make it all the way up onto her shoulder blades a little.

Appearance
Tabiana was actually a very pretty girl in life, and the evidence is still there somewhere if you look at her right. Naturally wavy hair, athletic, somewhat exotic facial structure. She can still almost pull it off again if she cleans herself up and really tries hard to act like a person. Usually, however... her hair is unkempt and obscuring, her flesh has lost its color and pulls just a little tighter over those wonderful cheekbones of hers, dissolving anything that might have appeared soft and feminine at one time. And then there is the feral nature that lurks in every motion, and all of the more blatant bestial features that mar her.

There is absolutely nothing about her that could be considered ladylike, and this is a habit that started long before her death. A typical outfit for her is a dark tank top with a grubby army shirt over it to cover her arms, fingerless gloves to hide the scales on her hands, horribly ratty (but terribly comfortable) oversized jeans, and sneakers so worn-in that they might as well be moccasins. Generally looking homeless or strung out, usually smelling of dirt and leaves, she only showers and cleans herself up when the dirt/mud/dried blood gets too bad. She doesn't even move like a girl-- either ambling with a tough guy's swagger, or slinking and leering along like an animal.

When she's not trying to hide, there's no way that she can pass as human. Behind her sunglasses, the once warm brown of her eyes is now washed out to a sickly blueish color, and her pupils look as if they've been dissolving-- blurred into the color of her irises, indistinct. And then there are... her teeth. More than there should be, long and ferocious, the fangs that fill her maw are something like a shark's. And, with how often she grins and leers, they are quite often on display.

Personality
Despite her nickname, there is very little about her that could be considered even remotely feline. Tabby's nature is much more easily compared to that of... a hyena, maybe. Obnoxious and opportunistic, and inordinately brutish whenever she can get away with it. She is a master survivor, but she can't help pushing limits. She's messy and feral and snarly, so much of her humanity and reason whittled away that she teeters dangerously back and forth on the edge of being a monster. She careens through her unlife with very little direction or meaning, but plenty of action. Kind of like a shark, if she sits still for too long, she feels like she's going to die.

Entertainment is her most obvious concern-- violence on good nights, hunting on most other nights, and maybe video games on the lazy ones. Underneath that, survival is her most compelling drive. She will go to any lengths to make sure that she remains 'alive' and healthy, coming from a loooong history of trading absolutely anything for the next best temporary protection.

Anything deeper than these obvious instincts is hard to find. It only comes out at odd moments, and she never quite expects it when it does. It's when she's well fed and feeling good, while the Beast is sleeping in its cage, that she randomly seems to remember pieces of herself. Sometimes misplaced compassion, or just a glimmer of something wistful and unsure. Sometimes it comes out as something seeking and needy, but always in only small and disjointed pieces. It doesn't happen often, but she does have the capacity to grow somewhat close to those that she can identify with. She used to be very loyal and protective in life, even mothering to an extent, and has gone through a couple of close coteries of Kindred in her unlife. This tendency resurfaces every once in a while, namely when children are involved... though she tries to avoid making attachments, after seeing so very many creatures that she's cared for meet unspeakable ends.

History
Tabby lived an undignified and ugly life, barely scraping an existence out of the city's floor. Foster homes, the edges of gangs, trailer parks and rundown apartments-- she lived like a weed with roots digging desperately into sidewalk cracks. There were times that she got by with sheer stubborn toughness, and other times she needed to surrender her body and other freedoms to get by. Sometimes, it was straight-up violence that saved her and gave her a name. She hardly remembers any of that now.

The only thing that followed her from that life, the only thing worth remembering, was Sophia. They called each other 'sister,' meeting when they were both children in some foster home and just kind of sticking together after that. Sophia was a handful of years younger than Tabby, and frequently acted even younger than that. Even in her teenage years, Sophia was little more than a child, timid and broken, and Tabby gladly stood in as the strength that she didn't have.

The girls were snatched off the street one night, just as they left stumbling from a bar that Tabby had sneaked them into. No one noticed any of the kids that went missing that night--a half dozen of them from all around the city--no one ever heard the tale of how they died. They were destroyed at the hands of monsters and brought back, only to be then thrown together into a pit. They'd barely opened their eyes again, hardly been allowed to realize that they were somehow no longer dead, before they were locked in a big metal box buried in the ground. Maddened with the trauma and hunger of their new unlife, the newborn horrors tore each other apart, setting into each other tooth-and-nail while their creators stood by and listened. Once the sounds of screaming and rending finally ceased, the pit was opened and the old monsters looked in, eager to see who the last-standing survivor would be... and were surprised to see that there were two. They tried for a little while to get one of the girls to kill the other one so that they would properly have a winner to admit into the clan, but the girls refused all prompting. So, both Tabby and Sophia became members of the Sabbat circle of the city that night.

At first, the girls had hoped that maybe this new start--granted with an obscene amount of power, able to enact revenge against anyone who had ever blemished their lives--could be the answer that they had literally spent their lives trying to attain. This hope was dashed, however, when the vengeance finally ran dry and they discovered that they were still the smallest fish in a very big and soul-crushingly awful pond. Their story of barely scraping by, surviving by crawling belly-up around the sharp and gnashing teeth of bigger animals, continued here too.

They tried again, when the Camarilla hunters finally ran down and destroyed their coterie. They quickly turned on their Sabbat brethren in an attempt to show their pursuers that they wanted out. Against all odds, they skirted destruction and were given a chance to prove themselves among the Camarilla. They made themselves as useful as possible, bending to an entirely new set of rules, licking boots and obediently cracking skulls until they were officially allowed into the city.

Under the rule of the Prince, they were still little more than thugs, but at least they had a place. It had taken decades, but they seemed to have finally put distance between themselves and the dark stages of their life, set on a path that could actually carry them forward. For once, they thought they would be allowed to begin building something for themselves, instead of merely grappling for footholds on the edge of destruction. This final dream met a catastrophic end while the girls and their small coterie were hired out by a well-respected Ventrue in the city, who wanted them to accompany him in moving against a powerful Kindred who was rumored to have been secretly dealing with the Sabbat. The girls were leery to set foot anywhere near someone with possible connections to the horror of their old unlife, but their experience on the subject was demanded. They had no choice but to obey.

The operation itself went flawlessly. They were able to battle their way through security, infiltrate the building, and successfully corner their target in his lair... and it was here that their employer revealed a little secret. The shadows in the room bent to his will, rising up with a life of their own--a life that the girls hadn't seen since their time under the wing of the Sabbat. The 'Ventrue' slaughtered his target, as well as the entirety of the coterie, save for Tabby and Sophia. Just before the girls lost their minds to fear, he held them and delivered a very clear message: "Remember who your true masters are."

When the girls tried to return to the Prince to report what had happened and reveal that this renown Kindred was actually a monster of the Sabbat, they were surprised when one of their few remaining allies caught them in the street and told them to run. He told them that a blood-hunt had been called on their heads, ordered by the Prince. Their friend explained, as a final courtesy before he would be forced to hunt them as well, that they were being blamed for the siege on the compound. The girls tried to explain that they had been framed, that the false Ventrue was the one who belonged to the Sabbat, and that he would be on the security footage they had stolen while in the compound. He agreed to give them one chance, inviting them to his haven to watch the tapes.

The room was silent when they pressed play, and the interior of an elevator lit to life on the screen. There stood the image of the girls, their coterie... and no one else. The 'Ventrue' that had been standing right next to them was nowhere to be seen.

As they fled from the haven, Tabby found herself thinking about the old vampire legends, and how little anyone really knew about them. She'd heard that the Lasombra, those vicious leaders of the Sabbat, were cursed with that silly idea that vampires had no reflections. In their case alone, it was quite true. She had to laugh, however--a fit of resigned and horrified chuckling--at the fact that she suspected no one really ever thought about the fact that they might not be able to be picked up on camera either. She certainly hadn't until that moment.

The girls never stopped running. Pursued by both the Sabbat and the Camarilla, they had no place to rest, nothing to do but continue to combat impossible odds to survive each night. Their sanity slipped, bit by bit, as time went on, whittled away by the Beast hounding and taking little bites out of them wherever it could. Eventually, Sophia couldn't keep up. The girl fell behind during a chase one night, and Tabby followed the laws of the wild... leaving her behind for the larger wolves. When confronted with the end, she abandoned Sophia in order to save herself. A large part of her will never forgive herself for failing the girl, but... she tries her best to focus on the rest. She does what she can to ignore the gaping hole where her wounded humanity lies, and keeps her attention that wild thing inside of her that is slowly consuming everything else; that thing that fights with rabid tenacity for itself and nothing else.

Extras!

 * Her being a vampire and unable to really derive pleasure from it anymore, Tabby is entirely uninterested in sex on its own. She does have the capacity to mimic all bodily processes involved, however, and is not above occasionally using it as a ploy to feed. In life, she was bisexual--though she treated men and women very differently.
 * Her favorite band is System of a Down. She generally likes hyperactive, loud, 'unpretty' music.
 * As far as fashion, music, and technology goes, her absolute favorite decade is the nineties. It's really the only decade she paid attention to and enjoyed herself in. She's pretty much hopeless with anything computer-related though.
 * In many ways, she's not a typical Gangrel. She has very little knowledge of nature, and vastly prefers the cityscape over the forest. She's essentially a City Gangrel--the one who sired her just happened to be the one Country Gangrel in their pack. She's also far more gregarious than more Gangrel. She likes being around people, has no concept of personal space barriers, and enjoys simple physical contact (as much as a Cainite can, anyway). Especially during her time in the Camarilla, she spent most of her time with Brujah, and considers herself closer to their clan than her own. Her roaming independent nature as as a Gangrel is still there though, making her flighty and unmotivated compared to them.
 * If there is one thing that Tabby is good at, besides punching/clawing things, it is taking hits. She's unnaturally tough because of what she is, be she's also had a lot of practice. Her rough life, coupled with 'growing up' around those Brujah (who all pack Potence) have made damn sure that she's used to being knocked around. She's got a great pain tolerance, even by Cainite standards, and tends to just take punches instead of dodging or blocking them in a fight.
 * Hates crowds, being restrained, and anything that reminds her of the Sabbat.
 * Enjoys video games, quiet women, and making men squirm.
 * People she's bitten so far: Robin, Adel, Michael, Krista, Gabe, Majid, Cian

Relationships

 * Monster - How she ended up looking out for this little runt, she'll never quite understand. Something about monster kids just gets to her, maybe. And after losing Matt... well, she doesn't correct him when he calls her "Tabby Mom" anymore.
 * Gabe - He's an undead asshole. Luckily, some of her best friends over the years were undead assholes. Whatever you would call their relationship, it's very fucked up. She finds herself liking him more than anyone has any business liking a zombie. Kind of misses that little bit of time that he was tasty and human, though.
 * Birdy - This guy's awesome. He has the best blood, runs a fun little mercenary outfit, and he doesn't seem to mind a good brawl. She hardly even minds that he's kind of a dick... and occasionally breaks her face... or corrodes her mouth with acid blood... or shoves spikes through her jaw...
 * Freddy - This guy is also awesome. He's less of a dick than Robin, but knows how to party better. Also has some pretty fantastic blood. She jumps at the chance to hang out with him whenever he's around.
 * Lover Boy - She... doesn't know what to think of this guy. He was a huge amount of fun, his blood didn't make her go crazy--like everyone's around here seems to--but... then there was that whole awkward sired-him-but-didn't thing. Very leery now, but wants to find out wtf happened.
 * Sir - So far, this bitch is fun. She's easy to torment but stands up well to it, and she's cute. Her blood is really fucked up though, and Tabby can't decide whether she loves or hates it. It causes crazy feelings, hallucinations, but she can see color and even dream afterward. Either way, she's stalking her.
 * Little Guy - Torment has officially commenced. She finally lost her patience (and Cian got close enough) and she attacked him. At least she was (relatively) nice about it.
 * Cheerios - Thought this guy was hilarious... until he proved to be some kind of terrifying angel monster. There was a frenzy involved. It wasn't pretty.
 * Loser (dead?) - Worst blood. WORST. And he was a loser. Sometimes fun to torment, though... and he seemed to be following her? Won't admit that she kind of misses him.
 * Dead Kid (dead) - She... really liked this kid. He reminded her of somebody. She couldn't get herself to be too much of a monster around him, and hung around his grave for nights on end when he was put to rest. Will always miss this kid.
 * Bitchy Girl (missing?) - Bitch who was trying to hunt down the undead, and cursed her buddy. Not okay.