EBC: Taariq the Tolerant

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Name
Taariq
Pronounced Tar-ick or Tair-ick (first part rhymes with fair)

-- No known nicknames
-- Was used to being picked on for his size when younger, he doesn't tolerate others thinking of him as lesser just because he's smaller
-- Name means "Morning Star", his mother called him her star when he was a cub

Rank
Lightning Empire Gladiator

Age
Birthday: June 1, 50 BC
Starting Age: A little over two years old
Current Age: 4 Years,  5 Months
Season Born In: Spring

Species
Tiger -- Maltese Mutation -- Bengal / Javan Subspecies
He's a short little fella, being fully grown, he stands at 2'8" and is about 3'10" long (excluding his tail). This is because Javan tigers are the smallest species of tiger. His mutation caused him to be severely under developed, along with being born prematurely. Another thing to note is that Taariq's nearsighted, though it's not detrimental to his health, seeing things from a distance is problematic, which causes him to be much more alert of his immediate surroundings than most felines.

-- Javan tigers became extinct long after EBC's time in the 1970's

Traits
Dominant Traits: Amber colored eyes, stout/strong build, larger stripes (Bengal genes)
Recessive Traits: Maltese coloration, thick tail, silver-grey muzzle and paws
Carrier Traits: Thin striping, white undersides, piercing turquoise eyes, darker pelt coloration, thin build

[[Note: Carrier Traits cannot be seen. They are combinations that could have been, but weren't. ]]

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Taariq: Meeting the mentor
Taariq Offensive Training
Regret.
All for Love
The Final Hour

Because I'm lazy and don't want to explain what he's good at! *shot*



Has never had an apprentice, if Eumenide has her way, he probably never will.





Taariq has red clothe armor that's reinforced with leather and metal underneath. This outfit is actually an improvement of his old one, since it was terribly destroyed when he was attacked by his brother.

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• Compassionate
  "I stand by my empiremates. I fight for the cubs and the mothers and the fathers... For everybody who lost their loves... I fight for them... because... because sometimes you have to stand with others in order to... to help alleviate their own pain."
  
  Taariq is the kind of cat to sit and listen to other's pains and sorrows no matter how pained he is personally. As a member of his empire, he can sometimes find himself putting his own problems after that of others, and because of that, when he falls into disrepair, he falls hard. He loves his empire with all his heart, and wants nothing more than to alleviate his friends' and families' sorrows to the best of his ability.
  

• Disciplined
  "Sure Slate, I can watch the camp today."
  
  Taariq has learned to follow orders very well. He is the kind of feline that will sit at attention if you ask him to, run all the way to the edge of the empire and back... well, first he'll glare at you and tell you that you're a very crazy feline, but he will do it if his leader asks him to... though why Eumenide would order him to do that, I would never know... Anyway, the point is that Taariq is the kind of feline to follow orders verbatim no matter what, and will do whatever is asked of him if he can... and even if he can't, he'll sure try.
  

• Determined // Steadfast
  "I'm not changing my mind on this, Tempestas. I'm going out to find her."
   
  Once Taariq is set on a task he will not turn away from it no matter what happens. Be it injury, illness, personal problems, relationship issues, or various other problems, he will do his job and he's going to do it as best as he can. It doesn't matter if somebody thinks he's lost his mind/nerve... Nope, he's going to do it and you're not going to stop him.
  
  If a character wants to stop him, they can sure try, but good luck trying to sway him from his ideals.
  

• Quiet // Social Anxiety
  "What? Did you expect me to spew exposition to you? If you want to talk to somebody who's got a lot of words to say, go talk to Temp."
  
  Taariq used to be the kind of feline that would happily partake in social interaction and enjoyed being an active part of his empire. Now he pretty much keeps to his close friends and sticks next to Eumenide (despite the fact that their relationship seems to be that of a frenemy than that of friends). When approached with conversation, he often finds himself unable to contribute to the flow of the conversation as easily as he used to.
  
  He isn't exactly willing to become close friends to others as he used to, though if you prod him enough, he'll eventually come out of his shell and a small piece of his old self will shine through. When he's around his friends and family, he's much more relaxed than when he's out around others. He may return back to his old self, but for now... he's going to be pretty quiet.
  

• Protective
  "You touch her, you die."
  
  Because of all the loss that Taariq has encountered in his life, he can be very protective of those that he loves and cares about, but he has learned to temper it to a protectiveness that doesn't overtake his ability to see reason. He learned from Scion that being too protective is just as dangerous as not being protective enough. He gives those that he cares about space to breath, but is there when they need help.
  
  Sometimes, he'll even be there for them even if they don't think they need help.
  
  
• Stoic
  "Did you expect me to cry?"
  
  After the war, Taariq learned how to turn off his emotions and keep a steady demeanor towards others even when he's at his most upset. Friends and family might be able to tell when he's angry or upset, but other than slight nuances in how he holds himself and speaks, it's become very difficult to determine what he means. It seems that most interpret him as being upset or moody because of this... including some of his friends.
  
  Oops?
  
  
• Courageous
  "I know you're afraid, but we need to go into the city to save her."
  
  Taariq is the kind of cat to put his safety on the backburner in order to save others. Some may call it stupid, some may call it rash, others may consider him a hero, but he's not the kind of cat to really care. After all... what others think isn't important as long as his empire is safe. He will stop at nothing to ensure that he can protect the cats that need protecting.
  

Taariq was born to a small little of two with his sister Aria. He was a part of the forth and final litter. The litter had been born nearly two weeks early, and both were very sickly as cubs, though they both survived. Unfortuantely, being the runt, Taariq was immediately singled out as the weaker of the two siblings and was sold off as soon as he was weaned from his mother.

He was originally bought by a man who thought he could be used as a fighter much like his father. Unfortunately it was obvious that Taariq was smaller than expected, so he was sold off eventually. He did get to know his father for a short while before he was sold.

He came into the care of a circus and was used in fake fights and races alongside Tempestas. This was the first time he met the lynx, and although they had taken part in various races, the ones that Taariq won were often rigged.

Eventually the circus party split ways, and the two cats were put into two different parties. It wasn't until Taariq joined lightning that he was reuinted with his friend.

The night Taariq joined lightning, he had witnessed a terrible fire and watched a feline he considered to be a father to him nearly die to the flames. He ran as far and as fast as he could until he came across the felines of lightning empire, surprisingly around the same time as Tempestas.


After joining Lightning Empire alongside Tempestas, Taariq was assigned the mentor Scion by Viatrix. Their first time out together was not a good one, consideirng the fact that Scion panicked when Cynthia, Theron, and Taariq all went missing. Upon being yelled at by Scion, Taariq stood up against him for the sake of his friends, and tried to consol both Theron and Cynthia for the things that they lost in the attack they had just witnessed. This was the start of a rocky relationship between Scion and Taariq.

During this time of consoling, Theron and Cynthia both ended up crushing on the blue tiger for a short time frame. Cynthia would come to outgrow her feelings, but with how much he dedicated his time to Theron, the two grew very close over the months that she was recovering from the raid, until Reel came into both Cynthia and Theron's lives.

Once Reel joined Lightning Empire, Taariq noticed that his two friends were doing better than ever, and believed that he could take this time to focus on his relationship with Scion and train harder to become a gladiator apprentice. He grew distant from his friends and met a young liger by the name of Shani. Wanting to help the larger feline, he escorted her to Lightning Empire and was happy to know that she wished to become a member. He may or may not have had a small crush, but this soon disappeared when he found out she was Scion's daughter.

Scion and Taariq's relationship turned into that of a father and son, despite the fact that Taariq often bickered with his mentor. He enjoyed getting to know the cat and eventually came to even love the time he spent with him.

Lightning Empire then took part in a counter attack on the ciyt, which was moderately unsuccessful. Taariq hadn't been affected by the losses of the attack, but his friends were. What was worse was the day after, Reel was captured and once more Taariq was needed by his friends. Now capable of dedicating his time to more than just training with Scion, Taariq came to Theron's aid and helped her get over the greiving process, knowing that she eventually would heal from the wounds in her heart.

It wasn't long after this that Taariq went through a hunting assessment to see how much Scion had taught him. It was during this assignment that he was attacked by two hunters, one of them being his brother Tamesis. The three cats battled it out, brutally injuring Taariq. By sheer determination, he returned to camp and collapsed before Theron, only shortly before admitting his feelings to the healer apprentice.

Shortly after this, Scion was captured and things got awkward between the serval and the tiger. His training was taken over by Naram and shortly after he graduated to full gladiator of Lightning Empire. (I left out various training sessions with Eumenide and other felines as well but you kinda get the gist)

Before the war, he confronted Theron about their feelings, in which she promised to figure it out after the war... unfortuantely that never came to pass. The two got into a small argument as well, in which Theron ended their talk by saying a line that has haunted him ever since; "We agreed to a war and all those cats that die because of it… it’ll be our fault.”

After the war, Taariq was devistated to find that Theron had disappeared when going into the city. Despite wanting to go in and search for her, he was told to let his injuries heal. Weeks turned to months and slowly he fell into dispair.

Once recovered, unable to believe Theron was dead, Taariq attempted to ask Tempestas to go into the city to see if he could find the healer apprentice, but due to the soon to come change in power, and concern for Taariq's well being, he asked his friend to wait a little longer, not becuase he didn't think Theron was alive, but because he wanted to make sure his friend wasn't doing anything rash. Eventually, Taariq managed to convince Temp to let him go on a short reconison mission on his own... he was unable to find his love.

Despite once being able to console Theron and Cynthia from their troubles, Taariq began to spiral down into the darkness of anger, hatred, and depression. Although many see this as a direct correlation to Theron's disapearance, this was only a small contribution to the main issue. Taariq felt like he didn't do a good enough job as a sentinal to Lightning Empire and was unable to protect his friends and family from the effects of the war. Perry, Cynthia, Slate... many felines were hurt because of the conflict, and being unable to help them or even help himself, desperation overtook him. Unable to take feeling useless any longer, he dedicated his time and what was left of his normal life to the task of protecting Eumenide to ensure that the future of Lightning would stay safe. He also knew that Eumenide wouldn't press him for how he was acting, being that she wasn't one to speak about emotions as a whole.

Much to his own surprise, Eumenide actually did pick up on the listless routine that Taariq had started, and eventually got so fed up with him acting the way he was that she gave him a rather rude and much needed wake up call. Although much of what was exchanged with them revolved around Theron moreso than his other depressants, the initial "slap" was enough to make him realize that wallowing in his own shame would do nothing for his empire. He promised himself and the tiger that he'd try to do better, if only to ensure that his family and friends didn't worry about him.

Four months passed and Taariq has come back from his despair better than ever, though he still misses Theron and regrets the night he lost her, he doesn't try to think about it too heavily for the sake of his adopted son and his own. Instead, he is thankful to be reuinted with his adopted sister, Shani, and the other felines of his empire that did survive. He still hangs around Eumenide, but it's less for a crutch and more becuase he respects the newly made leader and wants to ensure that she and the empire they share stay safe. He wouldnt follow her to the ends of the earth, but he definitely agrees with many of her ideas.



-- When dedicated to a task, it's hard to pull Taariq away from it

-- Hypersensative to his immediate surroundings due to being attacked as an apprentice and becuase of his sight issues, he has a habit of looking everywhere when he's on patrols and when he's hunting.

-- Mentioning hunters, Theron, Massilia, Stone Empire, or Laertes often causes Taariq to grow quiet, . Although he doesn't know that Taze was the one to "kill" Theron, he does know that Taze was the one to start the war, and becuase of that, he has a burning hatred of the leopard and the empire he created in his exile. He also hates every bit of his ideology and will be the first to stand with Eumenide when she makes the changes she does during her leadership.

-- When upset, he often shuts himself off from everybody he knows. He's the kind of cat that is there when others need help, but doesn't mention when he himself is having issues.

-- Used to hate being picked on for his size, now only a few cats can really get him going when they mention that he's small

-- Although an expressive character, Taariq has slowly began to pull away from others and close himself off, turning more stoic around felines he doesn't know. He seems to be a very cold and quiet feline on the outisde to those that don't know him.

-- Taariq is actually afraid of fire, but he doesn't know it becuase the last time he saw fire was when he joined lightning.

-- He hates the hunters, but has hunter lineage in his family

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Mate
None

Crushes
None

Old Crushes
Theron
Serval, TRD Solus, "Deceased"
rattarie 

Cubs
None

Family Lineage
Nicodemus
Father: Tiger ; Fighter ; Alive

Mystery
Mother: Tiger ; Breeder ; Alive

Sohan
Brother: Tiger ; Alive
Owned by Staniqs

Ruqayya
Sister: Tiger ; Alive
NPC

Tacita
Sister: Tiger ; Alive
NPC

Aria
Sister: Tiger ; Alive
NPC

Tamesis
Brother: Tiger ; Hunter Apprentice ; Alive
NPC


TBA (Taariq's old relationship tracker is outdated both in art and writing)


"The air was heavy as the smell of rain surrounded the camp. Gusts of wind pierced the hot air on occasion, causing cats to stop and enjoy the feeling of the wind in their fur as they worked to pull their clinking metal armor on. The entire camp was alive with movement and sound. Nobody wanted to be left behind in this mess except for a select few that wished to stay behind and ambush any hunters that would be stupid enough to attack the Lightning Empire Camp on a night such as this. Some cats were saying goodbye to each other, nuzzling up against their loved ones to let them know they’d be okay for the night.

In the west a large storm was brewing. Lightning strikes and the rolling sound of thunder could be seen and heard from the distance. Each clap of thunder caused a few felines to stop and listen, their eyes turning towards the storm with anxious eyes. It was as if Adraksh and the gods knew what the empires were planning on this night, much to Taariq’s dismay. He had hoped the night would be a silent one, but maybe it was better that it wasn’t.

The blue tiger closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a slow breath as he pulled on his leather armor, double checking it for any possible sections that might not have been patched up from his last training session. Odd, how he hadn’t warn it when he had been attacked, but that had been months ago, and it wasn’t exactly the time for him to turn towards those thoughts. Quickly, he stood up, listening to see if he could find anybody that still needed help with their straps or miscellaneous parts of their armor, but it appeared as if everybody was prepared and ready. 

Taariq couldn’t help but feel his skin crawl as images of battles and blood skittered across his mind, causing his stomach to churn uncomfortably. He shifted slightly, his amber eyes searching the camp calmly for any signs of a specific white serval, but it appeared as if she wasn’t in the immediate area. The tiger let out a short chuff, his eyes falling to his paws for a moment as he let his thoughts wander for a little bit. Everything felt so dark and cold and grim and it seemed as if the other felines in the camp could feel the tension. Everybody was worried about the up and coming attack..."

Taken from: Where The Lines Blur

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TBA


TBA

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Taariq © DappledSun
for