<span style="font-weight: bold">Xali Aravith</span><br/><br/>Physical Description<br/><br/>This tall, lithe leopardess has normal coloration for a jungle leopardfolk, with fur ranging from light orange to blonde dotted with black rings, and a long swatch of pure white fur running from her throat down to her navel. Her green eyes are usually narrowed, and she is always smiling, though that smile has a cruel edge more often than not. The color of her fur is contrasted by the long tresses of bright red hair which cover her head and cascade down to her lower back. Her slinky tail is particularly long and muscular for her size, and she relies heavily on it for balance. Xali has a figure many females would be envious of, with a narrow waist a a bust that sways enticingly as she walks. Oh, and how she walks; Xali's every movement is uncannily smooth and graceful, but rather than seeming effortless, her actions are rigidly controlled, practiced and deliberate. Likewise, her sweet, purring voice has exceptionally elegant diction and seems oddly formal to many furs. Xali never stops posing; she always gives thought to how to present herself most artfully, even when she's completely alone.<br/><br/>Xali has a more extensive wardrobe than most practical-minded folk of the southmourne. Most of her garments are made of silk, some are embroidered with gold and semiprecious stones, and all are finely tailored. For everyday wear, she favors a reasonably loose thigh-length blouse. The pads of her feet are tender and pampered, and unlike most of the southmourne's animal folk, she usually wears boots or sandals when traveling outdoors. She is very observant in matters of fashion and immediately passes judgement on the appearance of anyone she meets, though she may not choose to comment on it (at least to their face).<br/><br/>Personality<br/>The way this extraordinarily clever leopardess treats strangers is largely based on whether she wants something from them (and she usually does). If so, she is aggressively charming, making a snap analysis of her target and quickly formulating a strategy of flattery. Xali has an uncanny knack for deductive reasoning, observing a variety of small details and placing things and people into categories in a heartbeat. However, when she deals with someone who is seemingly weak, stupid, and of no use to her, Xali is haughty and dismissive at best, and a vicious predator at worst. Although she is insufferably nosy and constantly looking for weakness in others, she values friendships and working relationships highly and will do her best not to upset them. Xali never burns bridges behind her.<br/><br/>That said, Xali has no real moral compass; though she is skilled at convincing others otherwise, at the core she is totally self-centered and motivated by her love for pleasure and luxury and the need to feel superior to others. She feels no need to justify her actions to herself, though she's skilled at justifying herself to others.<br/><br/>Unlike most leopardfolk (or animal-folk of any kind), Xali has a great appreciation for the 'civilized' culture of Rel, and most of the odd affectations which other anthros perceive in her were picked up during her time as a "slave" in human lands. She greatly appreciates human art, human music, human learning, and human food (especially humans AS food). In the course of her shady life, Xali has become virtually addicted to the pleasure of devouring living prey (her old master's favorite 'trick', and one that Xali employed to great effect against his enemies) and is always looking for opportunities to safely indulge her hunger. Rather than relying on brute strength, Xali has developed a sort of 'vore fighting style' emphasizing leverage and strategy, allowing her to overcome and ingest a stronger or tougher opponent. She isn't tremendously picky about who goes into her stomach (though she greatly dislikes the taste of scaly or chitinous creatures, as well as goblinoids and other 'filthy' creatures), though she is too cautious to take random victims, preferring to secure meals in the course of work as a mercenary or assassin.<br/><img alt="Image" src="http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt13/liberall33t/Cherushi_Redrawn_by_gunslinger87.jpg"/><br/><br/>(Background posted, char-sheet more or less finalized, I think I'm ready to roll!)<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Ha, reading the story introduction, I'm forced to wonder if this is really going to be the kind of story you'd want to tell the grandkids about. <br/><br/>Also after reading his background I'm forseeing a really awkward conversation with Kahimori.<br/><br/>Xali: "Oh, you were captured and kept prisoner by humans too? How did you like it?<br/>Kahi: "I was imprisoned by a group of mages in a cold-iron cage and kept there for most of my life, as far as I remember. I was exposed to every extreme of heat and cold, and the mages tortured me day in and day out. How did YOU like it?"<br/>Xali: "Uh, well, after I escaped from my first owner I found a master who gave me a luxurious feather bed to sleep on, all the tea and chocolate that I wanted, fine clothes of silk and lots of jewelry, and an extensive, well-rounded higher education that some human <span style="font-style: italic">nobility</span> would envy. Oh, and personal instruction in the arts of magecraft under an archwizard." <br/>Kahi: "..."<br/>Xali: "..."</div></div></div>