Bugsy

Rhysand (Adoptive Father, NPC)

## Application Sheet

Bugsy was a tiny dark brown she-wolf with lighter accents, heavy scarring, and blue eyes. She entered the Domain as a loner in the aftermath of the Hive Wars, where her story is just beginning. Bugsy was created and RP'd by sunkissin.

## Personality

* ***Survivalist.*** Born into a world ravaged by the Hive, Bugsy has been shaped into an adaptable, intuitive and experienced survivor. From an extremely young age, she's learned how to live alongside danger and fend for herself due to all she’s been taught and everything she’s been through. She has a good head on her shoulders and can sense a threat from a mile away, and works hard to expertly hone her skills to ensure the continuation of her safety and survival.
* ***Detached.*** After being a loner throughout her entire life and learning to depend on her instincts alone, Bugsy has completely separated herself from the affairs of other wolves who don’t interest her whatsoever. She has a very cold and aloof attitude, and isn’t easy to approach. Indifference and solitude are what have kept her alive the longest, and what she has decided will continue to do so.
* ***Mature.*** A life of hardship has forced the young she-wolf to grow up incredibly quickly. Without ever experiencing a proper childhood, Bugsy values her sensibility and smarts more than anything else. She has never had a sense of innocence, or lived a life without care or worry. The hardships of her world have never allowed otherwise.
* ***Callous and Snarky.*** In order to keep others away, she will respond with blunt rudeness and threats before anything else. Bugsy’s never been taught proper manners or etiquette and as a result has absolutely no idea how to socialise, be respectful, or use a filter. Nor does she have any interest in doing so. Her experiences have darkened her, and have made her into a cynical, brash, snide and bloodthirsty creature. She uses deadpan sarcasm as a defence mechanism, and is always very careful about how much she’s willing to share.
* ***Fierce.*** Underestimating her would be very foolish. Despite her young age and small size, Bugsy is deadly- unexpectedly so. She’s an excellent fighter, and is very good at using her enemies’ size and strength against them since they expect her to be frail and weak. They tend to drop their guard around her- which is exactly what she wants. She isn’t above fighting dirty if she needs to. While she prefers to avoid it, she’ll do it if she has to, if only to secure her survival.
* ***Resourceful.*** More than just a very skilled fighter, Bugsy has also expertly honed many handy survival techniques and skills. She’s incredibly smart and uses all she’s been taught to her advantage. As well as being a ferocious fighter, the loner has also become a decent tracker, hunter, forager and even healer when it comes to her own wounds and illnesses. She knows not to waste resources, how to read signs of danger, how to stalk without being seen, smelt or heard, and how to identify healing plants and herbs. She has perfectly adapted herself to life in the wilds without the need of others.
* ***Pragmatic.*** Bugsy has learned to close her heart to and accept the horrific realities of the grim world she has grown up in (not that she was given much of a choice otherwise). She’s realistic and practical, and has no time for meaningless attachments, hopes or dreams. Even with the dwindling numbers of white invaders, Bugsy knows that even if they’ve been wiped out, another enemy will take their place. Danger will never rest, so neither will she. Everything's shit, so why try and change it?
* ***Distrustful.*** Thanks to her hardened heart and strong sense of self-preservation, Bugsy won’t let anyone near her unless they keep their distance and have something of value to offer. Cautiousness is the only thing that’s proven to keep her safe thus far, and she’s vowed to never let another get close to her in order to prevent any more loss or betrayal ruining her life. The walls she’s built are taller than all the trees in the forest, and even harder to cut down. She’s always watching her back, and after seeing so much evil and losing so much to it, she is not an easy wolf to get close to.
* ***Altruistic and Just.*** In spite of her harsh and seemingly unforgiving nature, Bugsy isn’t selfish or cruel and does have a sense of morality deep down within the depths of her coldness. If she sees someone in danger, she will try and help. If someone offers her genuine respect, she will reciprocate— after enough trust has been built up of course, which is extremely rare. Even after having her soul hardened, Bugsy is an incredibly compassionate and empathetic wolf who won’t stand idly by and let suffering happen when she knows she can do something about it. She is not heartless, and will never hurt another wolf unless she has no other choice.
* ***Protective.*** Repeatedly losing everyone around her has turned Bugsy into a hardened survivor who, despite being riddled with guilt and being forced into a life of ruthless solitude, is more than capable of fighting to the bitter end to defend others- something she will do without question or hesitation if someone becomes truly important to her. She has a good heart- the heart of a guardian deep, deep down, and has the capacity to care incredibly intensly for others no matter how much she tries not to.

## Pre-Group History

Briony was the only accidental child born to two careless loners on a particularly stormy Spring night. She doesn’t remember much about her parents at all, just that her father had a much lighter pelt than she did, and that her mother always smelt of rain even when it wasn’t raining.

Their time together was short-lived as unbeknownst to the innocent child, she had been born into a world under threat. Their tiny makeshift home was attacked by a pair of huge white wolves, whose savage behaviour was otherworldly and beyond terrifying. Briony’s mother grabbed her tiny daughter to carry her away from their vicious pursuers, but in a desperate act of self-preservation, threw her to the monster’s feet and fled. Horrified, her father turned back to save her, but ended up being pinned down by one of the attackers and *screaming* for his daughter to *run. Just go. Save yourself.*

She does as she’s told and flees the horrific scene, hiding under some nearby tree roots and managing to evade the pasty beasts who soon come searching for her, covered in blood and smelling like her parents.

Finding herself completely alone and feeling very vulnerable and frightened, Briony continues to hide in her shelter for a few more days, completely unable to move or sleep. Soon enough, a stranger passes through the area. Not a white wolf this time, but still the only wolf she has ever seen aside from her mother and father and the monsters who killed them. She remains hidden, and is surprised when his voice begins to carry through the mist, calling out for any “survivors” and claiming that he means no harm.

She is tempted to respond, but terror keeps her frozen in place. Instead, he finds her. With the scent of blood becoming less faint and with a head that wasn’t filled with crazed bloodlust, he manages a great deal easier than the monsters. He introduces himself as “Rhysand”, and is very gentle and patient in the way he speaks to the wide-eyed, whimpering and blood-encrusted pup. He tells her that he takes care of a small band of loners and that she’s welcome to come along where she’ll be safe and protected. Still feeling afraid but understanding that this might be her only chance of survival, Briony agrees and finally leaves her painful shelter to go with him.

He asks her for her name and she pulls a face. She reluctantly tells him, commenting on how she’s never liked it. Amused, Rhysand asks if he can come up with a new name for her, and she happily lets him. After seeing her chase and eat a beetle, he decides on “Bug”, which very quickly becomes “Bugsy”.

The small band are mostly welcoming to their newest addition, but one she-wolf named Farrah is not happy about the “extra mouth to feed” and isn’t quiet about letting her issues be known. Rhysand tells the newly named Bugsy to pay her no mind, and after a few days of rest and recovery begins teaching her how to survive- hunting, tracking, fighting, foraging, basic first-aid, and how to know the signs of what he calls the “White Plague”. She soon learns that the world wasn’t always this way, and that they hadn’t always been terrorised by these vicious white beasts.

She also learns what packs are, and asks why *they’re* not in a pack. Rhysand grows quiet, and another loner; his sister, Marta, explains that they all did in fact used to be in one. It was ruled by a corrupt and power-hungry leader named Vexos, to whom Rhysand was second in command. Vexos one day issued a culling to take down all the “weak” wolves in his pack: including pups, pregnant or nursing mothers, and the sick and elderly. He wanted to take over the neighbouring packs by force so he could recruit more warriors and build an empire based on strength and ferocity. Rhysand protested, and was attacked for it. He managed to escape and take a small group of wolves with him. Pack members fought back against the onslaught and did their best to protect themselves and their own, but Vexos’s forces were, of course, stronger. His greed was ultimately his undoing, and he was killed in the fray. Rhysand and his group were all that were left.

A few months had passed, and Bugsy was becoming very attached to Rhysand. He filled in the void left behind by her parents (before *and* after their deaths), which prompted her choice to always stay with him. Just as he’d hoped she would. She was a promising student, and almost felt like a daughter to him, even in the short amount of time they had spent together. The travelling band were like a family, and they had now happily accepted her as one of their own.

*Most of them.*

One night, Bugsy woke up to the chillingly familiar sounds of struggles and violence and found Farrah viciously attacking Rhysand and pinning him to the ground, saying that “Vexos was right” and that he “*had* been weak.” The commotion attracted nearby plague wolves who ambushed the scene and cut down the loners trying to protect Rhysand, including his sister. Despite the blood pooling from his mouth, he *screamed* at Bugsy to *run*, to *hide*, to *save herself*. Just like her father had.

Farrah’s death was the last thing she saw before she fled.

She was alone for a short time after, managing to push forward despite the shock and sadness that clung to her like a poison. Her life suddenly became extremely difficult without the safety of other wolves, so she had to learn to adapt to her situation and become more aware and more careful than ever. Despite only being a juvenile, Rhysand’s teachings stuck with her, pushing her forward and keeping her alive. Her heart and mind were broken, but her sense of self-preservation and survival were at an all-time high.

Not too long after, the stench of blood and the sounds of violence assaulted Bugsy’s senses, leading her to the horrific scene of two loners getting attacked by a massive plague wolf. She could’ve left and minded her own business but instinct kicked in, leading her right into the fight. First she distracted the creature, then aided them in taking it down with brutal success. It was the first one she had ever killed, and definitely wasn’t the last.

The loners were grateful- especially the mother, Ellery, who’s son, Cray, had been injured by the beast. Luckily, thanks to Rhysand’s teachings, Bugsy knew what to do as it was a leg wound similar to one she had sustained before. She helped patch him up, and Ellery offered to let her stay with them after discovering the young she-wolf was completely on her own.

Cray was the first wolf she’d ever met who was the same age as her, which was a fact that intrigued and confused her. He acted in ways that were so different to all the older wolves she had grown up with, and was far more playful and relaxed around her than they had been. A stark contrast to her darker and more serious demeanour, yet the two began getting along and Bugsy found herself becoming attached to the little family who had so readily welcomed her in.

One day, Bugsy and Cray had ventured to a large waterfall near the den where he began being a little more daring than normal. Seemingly struck with the urge to show off, he began messing around a bit too close to the water’s edge for Bugsy’s comfort. She laughed and jeered him on at first, but soon started telling him to cut it out before he got hurt. Cray simply threw taunts and teasing retorts back as he clambered up wet rocks and logs right at the steep drop, really starting to frighten the young she-wolf. She began shouting at him, her temper rising as the stress grew stronger.

Suddenly, he panicked and began losing his balance. She rushed closer, desperate to save him in time. But she failed, and he fell, disappearing into the roaring mist.

She ran down the river, desperate to find him, screaming his name despite knowing that the water had been too fast and too powerful. There wasn’t a single sign, and after hours of searching, Bugsy accepted the fact that she’d be returning to Cray’s mother without him.

She could’ve moved on. Could’ve fled and left with only her shock, grief and guilt haunting her. While it was tempting, she decided to do the right thing and tell Ellery the truth. Even without Cray, she didn’t want to leave the she-wolf behind, forever wondering what had happened to them. Not only for her own selfishness, but also so she wouldn’t be left alone after losing her son. So, she did the right thing, and all it did was make everything worse.

Ellery was beyond distraught. Cray was all she’d had left. Bugsy tried to apologise, but the heartbroken mother blamed her for her son’s death, screaming at the young she-wolf and demanding her to leave. Hardening her heart, she did so, right as the blood-curdling sounds of plague wolves echoed behind her, followed by Ellery’s screams. Bugsy didn’t even flinch. Ellery’s fate was no longer of any concern to her.

No one’s fate was. Only her own.

It’s been a year since she was born and all her struggles began. As she grows and becomes more aware of the world, she comes to terms with just how cruel her mother’s actions had been. That it was nothing more than the selfish act of a parent sacrificing her child to allow herself an escape- one that had ultimately failed. Once confused by it, Bugsy allowed it as well as all the other painful events in her life to harden her heart and freeze her soul, building up fortified walls in order to keep everyone else out. She was better off alone, without any attachments or burdens in order to avoid betrayal and loss. That was the only way she could keep going.

## Trivia

* Bugsy has very little memory of her parents to the point she struggles to conjure their faces and remember much- if anything at all - about them before their deaths.
* Due to being a small lone wolf, her diet purely consists of hunting small prey and scavenging, so she more often than not goes hungry.
* Despite being a skilled and deadly killer, Bugsy avoids fights as much as she can and will only use violence as a last resort and strictly in defense. Being a lot smaller than most other wolves, she knows that she won’t often stand a chance which is partly why she avoids them so much in the first place.
* She hates rain because the smell reminds her of her mother.
* Winter is her least favorite season. Surviving alone is hard enough without bitter cold, so snowstorms and lack of prey making everything worse.
* The scars on her face and ears were from when she hid in the roots from the hivelings who killed her parents. The sharp branches luckily just missed her eyes.

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* sunkissin's deviantART Gallery