Tao

Tao Kallan (TAY-oh) is a feisty tiger therian who is ready to tackle adventures of any kind.

Appearance
Tao is a slim, toned female of medium height and Nubian complexion, physically in her early twenties. Her naturally straight hair is bright golden-yellow, with black stripes coordinated with the markings on her scalp beneath. The stripes grow out with the rest of her hair, but she is partial to keeping it short (though messily). Stripes of the same color cover her entire body (arms, legs, face, back, and tail) and as with any tiger, the pattern is unique. Her eyes are vibrant green and feline as a tiger's, and her palms and soles of her feet bear thick pads. Her ears are furred orange, with the characteristic black-and-cream "false eyes" on the tips. Her legs, feet, and tail are also furred, and claws replace nails on her fingers and toes.

Personality
As a born fighter, Tao loves the thrill of a good brawl, whether it be an impulsive scrap in the street or a coordinated, weapons-out battle. Despite her explosive personality, she keeps her head clear in heated situations - especially those she creates herself. While not at all shy or introverted, she is a natural loner due to her hard-headed stubbornness. She works best alone and even better against others, preferring casual rivalries to actual friendships. Fortunate is the soul whom she calls friend. She uses her love of fun and competition to bury uncomfortable feelings such as grief, loneliness, and especially romantic ones, which confuse her the most. These feelings do not exist, okay??!! Despite her ability to hold rational thought under stress, she often overextends herself when the blood runs hot, throwing herself into situations much too large for her to deal with or addressing people with too much enthusiasm or anger and driving them away. She views frightening things merely as new challenges to take on, which she does with glee.

Abilities
Tiger Senses

Sense of smell and hearing are stronger than your average human's, and she has night vision.

Firestarter

This covers creation of sparks with a snap, or heating small objects in her hands.

Flame Resist

She is somewhat resistant to her practiced element of choice, but not immune.

Burning Hands

Allows her to light her hands on fire and extinguish them at will, as well as maintain and control the flame's intensity. (unlocked through RP)

Strengths - Weaknesses
✔ Fighter → She’s got moves and muscle and can take quite a few hits

✔ Survivor → She knows how to last in the wilderness a loooooong time

✔ Rhythm → Despite her lifelong rejection of her family's practice of the arts, Tao has an excellent sense of rhythm and beat and can tap a drum quite well - and dance along to it even better.

𝙓 Hard-headed → Good luck getting her to function on a team or to follow orders she disagrees with

𝙓 Loud → When around other people she can get pretty… shouty. Usually not tactful things, either.

𝙓 Short fuse → Not always in an angry way, but she’ll challenge anything with a “fight me,” and not sarcastically.

𝙓 Ignorant → There's a lot she just doesn't know yet, from slang to locations to magic to technology.

Extra
★ She's flown twice on dragon back, fulfilling a lifelong dream of flying, and longs to go again someday.

★ Her hair used to be long, worn in a ponytail. She cut it short not long after breaking free.

★ She has pads on her hands and feet, and fur on her ears, tail, lower legs, and feet.

★ Enhanced vocal chords allow her to make these kinds of sounds.

★ Her speech is still pretty old-fashioned, but she's making a conscious effort to adopt modern speaking patterns.