<strong>Character Information</strong><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Selena Nicola Vargas<br/><strong>Nickname:</strong>Niki<br/><strong>Nationality:</strong>Peruvian/Incan<br/><strong>Age:</strong>30<br/><strong>Height:</strong>5’7 ½”<br/><br/><strong> Appearance </strong><br/>Selena is in a word gorgeous; she could easily model for some of the most glamorous of magazines if she had not chosen a more academic pursuit. She has the tall, slender, athletic figure of a gymnast, with long legs always accentuated with either tight leather pants or tight designer jeans. Her long dark brown hair flows down her back in waves; it is rare that she will restrict her hair. Choosing to work outside during the summer months, she sports a deep reddish bronze tan on her naturally rich olive skin. Her gaze is that of a seductress, her chocolate brown eyes always suggesting something more.<br/><br/>While lecturing or signing books, she chooses to dress more professionally, wearing more conservative clothing. In off hours, she enjoys tighter clothes, wearing low-cut blouses, tight leather pants or jeans and knee-high boots that tie up the back and her ever present black leather jacket.<br/><br/>Selena:<br/>(http://www.morena-baccarin.com/pictures/public1/public12.jpg)<br/><br/>Jaguar Form:<br/>(http://www.bigcatrescue.org/images/BlackJaguar.jpg)<br/><br/><strong> Personality </strong><br/>Selena is curious, stubborn and driven, a combination that has allowed her to accomplish anything she pursues. When discussing something she is passionate about, it is likely the victim will be there all night and will need duct tape to silence her. She exudes confidence, never one to back away from any situation, though she is also approachable and is one of the most liked professors on campus, though this may have more to do with her appearance.<br/><br/>When with potential partners, be they male or female, she is playful, seductive and can either be dominant or submissive.<br/><br/><strong> Background </strong><br/>Born almost three decades deep within the Andes Mountains of Peru to an Incan mother and Peruvian father, Selena Nicola Vargas came into the world screaming just as the full moon reached its highest peak in the clear midnight sky. She would be their only child, and though she was brought up with the rich traditions of the Incan people, her parents wanted a better life for her. Like so many before them, they traveled north to the United States, sneaking across the border in the dead of night with their young daughter; she was six at the time.<br/><br/>The crossing was rough on the family, her father suffered greatly and died only a few months later, leaving his wife alone in an unfamiliar country with Selena. She made due, working odd jobs here and there, mostly as an off the books house cleaner and nanny, all the while she put her daughter through school. She was fortunate that California required that any child be given an education, regardless of citizenship. Selena, Niki to most, excelled at her studies, especially in the social sciences and made friends easily, becoming one of the most popular kids in school. Her beauty was apparent at a young age and she had many suitors both male and female, she avoided all stereotypes, keeping at her studies and gymnastics.<br/><br/>Just as she was coming of age, her life finally coming together as she was granted citizenship had been accepted to UCLA with a full gymnastics scholarship, tragedy struck. Her mother, coming home late from work one evening was struck by a drunken driver and killed instantly while waiting for a bus. Grief-stricken, Selena buried her mother the day before she entered college. She poured herself into her studies, receiving her bachelors in geography with a minor in history, concentrating on her own heritage, the Incan empire. She continued her education, receiving her teaching credentials and a master’s degree in computer assisted geography, concentrating on map making.<br/><br/>She applied for and received a position as an assistant professor at the local university, she was very young at 23, but her talent amazed those that interviewed her. She began her career teaching the general education courses, world geography while she developed a curriculum for an upper division course on the geography and history of the Incan people. All the while, she designed a trip with several archaeology professors from the University of Lima to Machu Picchu. They were planning a three month long trip over the summer months of her twenty-fifth year; she would do their mapping using her laptop and satellite positioning as well as documentation.<br/><br/>The trip was planned she was to leave in two days and yet she could not skip the seminar on the “Real History of the Shaolin Temple” by Zhang Senfeng. She was complete packed for her trip, with several pairs of boots, most of her equipment had been shipped ahead of time to their base camp at the base of Machu Picchu and now she just needed to relax. She arrived at the seminar just as it was starting, sitting at the back, an aisle seat, her long legs protruding in the aisle. She listened intently to his lecture, her chocolate eyes continuously locking on his jade green eyes; she was drawn to him and could tell he felt connected as his gaze returned to hers whenever it could.<br/><br/>After the seminar she approached him to ask a question, he waited until the others had left and then immediately invited her to tea at a private tea house, it was unlike her to be so trusting of a stranger, but she was compelled to accept his offer. They talked into the night, until an hour before dawn, the topics ranging from each other, their lives, his history much more rich and intriguing than her own, their interests, and her upcoming trip. She vowed upon her return in late August, three months later, that she would again join him for tea.<br/><br/>She arrived at the base camp in Machu Picchu on schedule and immediately set to work setting up her equipment, she spent the next couple of months working on the outskirts of the dig, mapping the location of each object found, the dig itself. They were unearthing a previously unknown temple to Mama Killa (“mother moon”) the protective deity for married women. Throughout her research there, she felt a presence watching her as she approached the nearby jungles, but never could she spot it.<br/><br/>They were in their last month of work, it was early August and that night was to be the full moon. She had felt the presence continuously now, whenever she was near the trees, always being stalked, she had mentioned it a few times to the others, but they did not feel it. They were working late into the night, she was mapping out the edges of the temple when a large jaguar leaped from a nearby tree, striking at her, she turned at the last moment saving her own life as the animal struck her shoulder instead of her neck, she cried out, the others came quickly, but not quickly enough for the animal had drawn blood, biting down on her right shoulder. She was rushed to the hospital and stayed there for the rest of her stay in Peru, returning to her position in the States several weeks later, with just a small bandage on her shoulder.<br/><br/>She spent the next week writing up her results and sent it to the other two, their work with appear in Archaeology magazine the following month. She kept her promise to the Chinese Vampire, setting up another tea date with him on what would be the full moon in early September.<br/><br/>She arrived punctually at the appointed time, entering the Tea house and immediately being directed to the private room, where her date had already started preparing the tea. The moon had remained hidden most of the evening and it was not until well into the tea ceremony that slid from its cloudy covers, it was at that moment her first violent change occurred, the tea cup dropping to the ground as she fell to the ground, shifting to a jaguar form. Senfeng knew immediately what was happening and was able to guide her to a safe feeding ground, where she gorged on deer. The following night, having slept through the day in a guest room at his manor, she awoke to his concerned face above her.<br/><br/>Five years have passed since that fateful night; her life in many ways has changed dramatically and in other respects has remained the same. She leads two lives now, one as Senfeng’s lover and animal to call; the other as a famous author and lecturer of geography and Incan history.<br/><br/>For some time after being infected, she had successfully kept her disease a secret, allowing her to continue her career teaching young impressionable university students the basics of geography and the secrets of Incan history. For three years she was successful, until a group of activists, terrorist as far as Selena was concerned, discovered her true nature, they attempted to kidnap her to get back at her lover for his part in several of their deaths. She had to use her abilities to escape, knowing that her capture would mean certain death for her and humiliation for the vampire she loved.<br/><br/>She resigned her teaching position immediately after the knowledge of her disease was public, choosing to continue her research and writing, already having published one article. She already had a deal for her first book, which came out the following year to much acclaim. She also spent more of her time working with her lover, dealing with vampire politics and all that surrounds the world of the undead.<br/><br/>In those years she has learned much from her lover, he has taught her karate and meditation techniques to calm her animal, she has learned control of the beast, able to take the hybrid form as well as that of her animal. She splits her time between vampire functions and her teachings, so much so that most of her belongs have migrated to his manor. He has put aside a large room for her office, which she has covered in her books, computers and maps.