Istas

**Istas** is a recurring character in the InCryptid series and featured in the Istas and Ryan short stories. She is friends with Verity Price.

## Personality

Istas loves cute, Gothic Lolita fashion. Her personality is mercurial, going from cheerful to cheerfully violent in an instant. She is remarkably sociable for a waheela, meaning she might willingly talk to as many as six people in a single day. The only person in her family remotely comparable is her aunt, who runs a bar in Canada and has done so for decades.

Istas lives in exile from her people because she is considered a "human lover," too soft and fond of people to be an effective hunter. She adores cookies and pizza.

## Appearance

"Picture a drop-dead gorgeous Inuit girl, about five-six, and roughly an American size sixteen. Now give her a wardrobe entirely based on the concept that one can never have too much lace, too many ribbons, or too many puffy skirts. She's possibly the only waheela in the world devoted to the Gothic Lolita school of fashion, which means she's almost certainly the only waheela in the world who wears her hair in spiral-curled pigtails."

## Abilities

Even in her comparably limited human form, Istas is incredibly strong for her size and build. Noticeably she has remarkably large teeth and can unhinge her jaw to make room for them.

She can do this before needing to shift, either partially or fully, into her animal form: which resembles a giant bear-creature. She cannot normally be tracked as waheela do not have a smell but her high grooming standards mean that baby powder and perfumes blunt this effect somewhat.

Her sense of smell is accurate enough to distinguish humans from various incryptid species, as well as detecting explosives and accelerants.

## Professional Life

Istas worked as a server at Dave's Fish and Strips and its rebranded burlesque successor, The Freakshow, where she became the stylist for the whole establishment.

## Biography

### Before the Series

Like many waheela she was wild when she was born and ate one of her littermates.

In adolescence she took to visiting her aunt in civilization and took to fashion. This eventually led to her taking a month long journey, hitchhiking, to New York.

### Discount Armageddon

She works as a waitress at the Dave's Fish and Strips, being one of the most efficient and best dressed ones there.
Istas and Verity are both kidnapped by the snake cult as "virgin" sacrifices. She fell in love with Ryan when he came to their assistance, Istas already having been free at this point and having wreaked no small amount of havoc, with their other allies.

### Midnight Blue-Light Special

Istas and Ryan take refuge in the dragons' warehouse when the Covenant comes to town. Istas helps Sarah rescue Verity from Covenant capture.

### Red as Snow

Istas and Ryan are kidnapped by her father and brothers, who want her to come back to the Arctic with them. She and Ryan fight back, overpowering them, and spare their lives on the condition they never return to New York.

### Black as Blood

Istas and Ryan travel by plane to Seattle to meet Ryan's family. She gets a less-than-warm reception, but is undeterred from staying with him.

### White as a Raven's Wing

Istas returns to Nunavut with Ryan to face her father for the final time. Afterwards she accepts his proposal of marriage.

### Magic for Nothing

When the Freakshow was targeted for a Covenant terrorist attack Istas's keen nose detected the oil and other accelerants, saving the lives of the staff and patrons. Later she used her skills as a stylist to complete Antimony Price's transformation into Timpani Brown.

## Relationships

### Ryan Yukimura

Istas and Ryan met while both were working at Dave's Fish and Strips, and started a relationship. They are currently engaged to be married.

### Miali

Miali is Istas's mother's sister, and is comfortable around humans. Istas used to hang out at her place, and got interested in human culture and fashion from magazines she ordered for Istas.

## Trivia

* Istas hates zombies.
* Istas's diet includes pizza, chicken wings, alley cats, small dogs, and urban rodents. Verity requests that she not eat the Aeslin mice; she and the mice find common ground in eating unwary rats.
* She does not like the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings movies.

## Quotes

* **Verity, regarding Istas:** "If it sounds sarcastic, it isn't; if it involves a threat of physical violence, it's sincere, but unless it comes with claws, it's probably friendly. Like having a pet wolverine with rabies."
* **Ryan:** "Sweetie, what have we talked about?"
**Istas, sighing:** "Humans are discomforted by excessive discussion of their squishy interiors."
**Ryan:** "Which means...?"
**Istas:** "No referencing carnage more than once in a single conversation."
* “The line between my nature and the life I have chosen is thin, and bordered in lace.”

## References

1. ↑ Red as Snow
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 White as a Raven's Wing
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Midnight Blue-Light Special Ch. 9
4. ↑ Midnight Blue-Light Special Ch. 15
5. ↑ Red as Snow
6. ↑ InCryptid Q&A, Part VII: Luck be a Lady
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Magic for Nothing, Ch.2
8. ↑ Magic for Nothing, Ch.4
9. ↑ Midnight Blue-Light Special Ch. 24
10. ↑ Midnight Blue-Light Special Ch. 11
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Black as Blood
12. ↑ Midnight Blue-Light Special Ch. 15
13. ↑ Midnight Blue-Light Special Ch. 18