Remington

== Biography ==
=== Appearance ===
Remington is a warden hybrid. He’s tall, but surprisingly lean. He has an outer ribcage that protects his exposed core, as opposed to an internal ribcage. He has two dark turquoise horns that curl inwards, as well as a short tail. His hair is jet-black with a slight blue undertone, which is pulled back into a ponytail. He has dark bluey-green eyes and white pupils. His horns, eyes, and freckles all glow in the dark, as well as some bioluminescent markings, but those are hidden beneath his clothing, so they’re not generally visible. 
He has a tattoo that covers a large portion of the left side of his face, although many mistake it for a scar, given its “odd” shape.
Clothing wise, he wears a gray, light ¾ sleeve with a dark navy blue tunic with embroidery over it. A light turquoise strip of fabric is draped over his left shoulder, wrapping around his torso and held in place by a silver sash (which has a secondary function of securing/hiding his exposed core). A thin cape is attached to his shoulders that helps hide his tail. He wears long pants that bunch around the knees due to his long knee high boots. He wears a silver engagement ring on his left hand.
Flower symbolism runs deep with Remmy, he wears balloon flowers in his hair and bleeding hearts “grow” from his tail.
=== Drawn Reference ===
n/a
== Personality ==
Remington is bitter and cold upon first impressions, he is resentful of humans and is not afraid to voice it. He can be downright aggressive at times, and tends to let his mouth run wild with little care for others’ feelings. He is spiteful and holds grudges for a long time. He is also incredibly stubborn. Under all that, however, he is quite soft. If one does manage to gain his trust, he can be very helpful. He pack-bonds easily and will protect those he does trust like family. He is quite closed off and finds it hard to be open with others’ as a result of severe trauma.
=== Background ===
Remington grew up in a large cave near an Ancient City. The cave sported many sections, such as lush caves, dripstone caverns, and most prominently wide-open Deepslate caves. He grew up in a large family, with four siblings - two sisters and two brothers - and both parents. Living near such a large community, he often felt as though his family was much larger than it actually was. Taking frequent day-trips to the surrounding caverns, ravines, and Ancient Cities, Remington loved being “on the road”. Despite their wariness, his pack was quite open with the human village that resided close to the opening of their cave, and Remington often spent his weekends playing with the human children above ground when there weren’t any tasks to be done.
However, when he was around seven it all changed, Wardens were deemed increasingly dangerous due to more frequent deaths that befell those venturing into their caves uninvited. Remington was outcast from the village, being forbidden from playing with any of the kids there. One family went so far as to chase him out with torches after he knocked on their door. He stopped leaving the cave as often after that. Due to his hybrid status, he technically laid some claim over both territories, however he never pushed. He knew he wasn’t wanted, and he began drawing inward on himself.
He was around nine when his pack began rejecting him for his partially human heritage. It started small, his friends stopped including him, nobody ever seemed to be around or have time for him. His father decided it was best that he stopped taking Remington travelling in favour of leaving him at home. By the time he was ten, his kin had started rejecting him. His food was delivered to his room instead of one of his siblings pounding on his door to call him to the table. He was isolated from everyone, and he took it hard. As a very family oriented child, Remington was almost physically ill from the lack of affection that he was so used to receiving. His so-called family eventually abandoned him all together, they started pretending he didn’t exist, ignoring any attempts of interaction on his part. He had to rely on himself if he wanted to be fed.
They would get violent at times. In outbursts, he would go from not existing at all to being threatened and yelled at with a drop of a hat. He was blamed for his family’s problems, and often spent his nights away from home, in a desperate attempt to escape his now volatile kin.
Remington was only twelve when the Warden’s he once considered friends tried to drown him. He almost let them. It was at his favourite spot, too. A large pool of water where he would sit and watch the glowsquid’s swim as he would fish for lunch or dinner. They abandoned him there, and there he stayed. They made it clear he wasn’t welcome there anymore. So he left. He didn’t have anything with him besides the clothes he was wearing, but he took off regardless. He wandered caverns for awhile, looking for another Warden pack that might take him in. But they were few and far between, and the ones he did come across chased him out for his humanoid features.
He eventually took to living alone. Hollowing out a small space to live alone, far away from any Warden pack, as to not infringe on anyone. He spent years alone, he grew up alone, and he chose to stay alone. This was around the beginning of The Great Purging. He was captured briefly, and his horns and ribcage were regularly Harvested for the time he was there. His core was Harvested once, luckily he managed to escape soon after, before anyone could Harvest it again. He holed up underground once more after this incident.
One day, when he was around nineteen he met another warden hybrid. A boy around his age, who had also been run out of his pack around the same time Remington had. Despite his efforts, Remington fell head over heels for the boy, as they had taken up living with each other. After years of isolation, Remington had no idea how to interact with others, but his lover patiently taught him how to again. When he was twenty, Remington hand forged engagement rings for the two of them, as bleeding hearts had begun to grow from his tail, and he knew he was loved for who he was then. His lover accepted, and they quickly entered their honeymoon phase. With no way of being officially wed, they just told each other they were already married.
Unfortunately, one morning Remington awoke to an empty bed, and a note left by his lover. The note explained that his lover couldn’t keep resisting the pull he felt towards his pack, he wrote that he’d be back soon, and that he hoped that Remington would please wait for him to come back. He was heartbroken, and more importantly he wanted his other half back. Family be damned. But by the gods did he wait. He waited for months, waiting, hoping, praying at times. He simply gave up soon after. He accepted his abandonment once more. He tried to drown himself that time. It still didn’t work.
So he left, not bothering to look for his (now ex) lover, he took to the above ground. Travelling quietly and swiftly, he slipped through villages and killed those who tried to hunt him down. By his twenty second birthday, he was exhausted, and he collapsed against a tree in a forest near Dawn, where he would soon come to meet the inhabitants.
== Wardens ==
Once harmonious with humans, Wardens were declared Dangerous due to frequent villager deaths.
Wardens are very territorial, they protect their territory with a fight, so those unwelcome there will face a grizzly end. However, if accepted into a Warden pack, they will protect you with their lives. Wardens pack-bond, and they pack-bond hard. 
Living in the Deep Dark, all pure blood Wardens are totally blind - hybrids are gifted with sight, but they have limited dark-vision, and still rely heavily on their senses of smell, and hearing. Their cores are protected by an outer ribcage, and the core has a constant, steady thrum that pulses and glows. Warden kin can tell each other apart by the thrum of their cores, and it is a comforting sound for many.
Wardens are very family oriented. Their family is their biggest priority, and they pack-bond together. Wardens exiled from their family’s is uncommon, but on the rare occasion it does happen, the Exiled is unlikely to find another pack to bond with.
=== Rituals ===
Wardens have specific rituals that are performed when accepting a new member into their pack. The one entering the pack is required to make pendant(s) for the Warden(s) who invited them into the pack. Once made, they will be exchanged with a/the pendant(s) that the Warden(s) have made. This bond is for life, and it’s taboo for these pendants to be rescinded. If one had a pendant and it was rescinded, it is considered a great sin, and they will be rejected from any/all other Warden packs.
=== Habitat ===
Wardens live in Deep Dark caves, below the surface surrounded by deepslate and ores of all kinds. Wardens are known to convert the surrounding caves (lush caverns, dripstone caves) into living quarters and storage, but not as frequently due to the higher light level.
=== The Great Purging ===
After being deemed Dangerous by the people of the Overworld, Wardens were hunted down. Their numbers dwindled as a result of these hunts, forcing many Warden packs to retreat deeper into the earth. Humans refer to this event as “The Great Purging”. It is referred to as such due largely in part the lies that the humans were fed about the Wardens, leading them to believe the Overworld was being “purged” of a Great Evil. 
=== Harvesting a Warden's Parts ===
A small black market for Warden parts opened soon after The Great Purging, and many Wardens that survived The Great Purging were captured, and kept in illegal “prisons”, where their horns, outer ribcage, and sometimes even their cores, were Harvested and sold.
Warden’s can survive without their horns and ribcage, however it is uncomfortable and involves a painful removal that’s done unwillingly, these parts take a few weeks to grow back. A Warden can even survive in some cases without their core, as it will grow back quickly. However this process is extremely painful and many cannot take the pain.
== Trivia ==
* Remington hates swimming, he doesn’t mind water in general, he’s just not a fan of being in it for long periods of time.
* His character was inspired by the songs Curses by The Crane Wives, and Bones in the Ocean by The Longest Johns.
* Remington has excellent dark-vision.
* He has Haphephobia, and can have a quite violent and loud reaction from prolonged contact with someone else.
* He has difficulty falling asleep, and experiences frequent nightmares when he does.
* Remington’s horns are lopsided now from repeated Harvesting.