Alpine

Readers' discretion is advised.
Mentions of **consumption of people** (not quite cannibalism) and **death**

*“May the gods of the hunt will it, I suppose”*
— **Alpine** to **Todd Ratthew**
**Alpine** officially joined Astral SMP sometime around late December, 2022.

Alpine is a curious Driftu who strayed from his pack in order to live a more complete and fulfilling life traveling the world and making connections.

## Biography

### Apperance

A lean and thin upper humanoid build with grey skin and unruly white hair accompanied by lightly furred pointed ears and curled ram horns.

Driftu furry body is stocky and thick, heavy looking with a faint blue tint.

### Drawn Reference

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M9jVgrcoPKypwKEQHFV32w2Yz0KS7IBo/view?usp=sharing

## Personality

Pros:

* Trustworthy
* Curious
* Polite
* Friendly

Cons:

* Lacks social que understanding
* Curiosity killed the cat
* May appear rude by accident
* Impatient

### Background

Alpine was born into the snowy tundra mountains of Taslosia, a region located deep within these mountains. They worshipped the sun god and had a shrine on the tip that only the most faithful traveled to.

Alpine’s family preyed on these people. From birth, Alpine was never in tune with the families' desire to hunt these people when they had plentiful prey to use such as the deer and bison herds. His uncle Aval understood him better than anyone, resulting in the two of them being shunned. Alpine got off easy considering his father was their tribe leader.

After his uncle Aval was banished from their group, Alpine started getting more curious about the village at the foot of the mountain. In his sneaky adventures, he befriended some of the children and started seeing the older teens to play with. He kept it a secret from the tribe and played the role of the perfect son without shedding the blood of any faithful travellers climbing up the mountain. He used their fear of him to herd them to safer routes and misguided his hunting party.

Unfortunately, Alpine was spotted one night. Running away for his life, he made his way back to the tribe grounds, pursued by a hunting party. The children he befriended couldn’t stop them and people were killed by Alpine’s family, who had heard his calls for help. Alpine lost his father that night yet everyone told him it wasn’t his fault. Unable to forgive himself, Alpine runs away from home.

He’s forced to travel solo. Driftu are not friendly to outsiders and people who know what a Driftu is capable of run away before he can talk to them. He makes his way to the Dawn realm, unsuitable for his winter coat, which he has to constantly cut and shave to keep cool.

He met Todd Ratthew on his journey and now travels with him.

## Driftu

The Driftu species is an environment-dependent species that change based on its habitat.

Species types:

* **Sand Driftu:** These Driftu are the smallest breed coming in at 4 feet high. Their claws do not retract and their fur is incredibly thin. Their ears are their most notable feature and are incredibly sensitive, able to hear things underground. Typically reddish or sandy.

* **Woodland Driftu:** More natural colours, greys, browns, yellows, and greens. These are the most sociable Driftu and travel in larger packs than any others.

* **Snow Driftu:** The largest type of Driftu. They can reach 7ft in height not counting when standing on hind legs. They have thick fur and blubber under their dominantly blue, grey, and/or white coats.

A Driftu is a large centaur-like beast. With big paws similar to a tiger, strength of a bear and the skill of a wolf, this creature is a force of nature to come across. Driftu are incredibly anti-social to people, preferring their own territories but daring to enter a quiet village at night if desperate and hungry enough. Driftu are not docile creatures, they tear apart people on sight and kill for sport as hunting is a great exercise and play for these beasts. They are NOT friendly to any other creature other than their tribe-mates.

Driftu prey on unwary travellers, deer, bison, rodents, fish, and farm animals as well as harvesting berries, fruits, and vegetables. These glutenous monsters cannot resist a meal and will follow possible prey for miles before giving up.

Despite their power, Driftu are incredibly lazy and let their food come to them. They set up dens in caves or clearings where trees can shelter them from the weather, sleeping dominantly at night while playing in the day. When a Driftu does decide to engage a hunting party, they usually come back victorious.

Summary: An apex predator that only knows three things: Sleep, play and hunt.

### Appearance

Centaur-built beasts featuring humanoid upper bodies that can have fur reaching their arms and backs. Their lower body is cat-like with powerful legs that can leap up incredible heights to catch birds. They have stubbed tails or none at all depending on heritage. Their colours depend on the type of Driftu habitat.

Skin tones can be natural or different variations of grey.

Driftu will begin to grow horns once they reach adolescence. The shape and size of the horns depend on genes. Some can be pointed, curled or built like antlers.

### **Abilities**

Driftu are capable of telepathic communication in a language only they understand. So, to outsiders, Driftu are simply making eye contact and moving their ears. In truth, Driftu are having a conversation. This skill is what makes them incredible group hunters, sharing information on where the prey is and where it may be going. This is only achieved with other Driftu and eye contact is required.

Driftu communicate like anyone else, copying the languages of travelers. Their own language is a series of different growls, chuffs/purrs, roars, barks, and scratches usually accompanied by body language.

Their animalistic bodies are perfectly built for throwing themselves onto prey to crush it under their massive paws. All Driftu besides the Sand types can retract their claws. The hind legs are packed with muscle that helps them leap and bound.

Teeth are serrated to tear through meat easily.

### Languages

All Driftu understand the Driftu language of chuffs, growls, roars, bellows and purrs but they can learn other languages. Depending on where they're from, they may have an accent, like Alpine does Bonding methods:

* Grooming, which isn't very nice if you don't have fur. Usually involves picking debris off pelts
* Play fighting, between Driftu it's safe but 900 pound beasts playing with a person is not
* Hunting together
* Bringing food to each other. Like how cats bring back dead animals for their owners as gifts or to feed them -THEY HEADBUTT EACHOTHER A LOT

#### Aggression:

* Bristling
* Growling
* Pre-emptive swiping, usually a warning to back up before the claws meet your face
* Stomping feet, trying to show who's taller, usually the taller Driftu are the heaviest and therefore the hardest to bring down

#### Apologies:

* Bringing flowers
* Literally just saying sorry
* If they were engaged in a fight, they can bow out of it similar to how dogs do, which is rolling over or staying low to the ground

#### Etiquette:

* The god of the hunt allowed you to make the kill, always thank them *(Note: Not all Driftu need to believe in this god)*
* If you made the kill, you get the first bite
* Never engage in play fights from behind, it's rude
* Keep your claws sheathed around tribe members, it's rude if you don't *(Does not apply to Desert Driftu who cannot sheathe their claws)*
* Don't horde skulls, it's a bad omen
* To allow someone to ride on a Driftu is the biggest disgrace
* Never show your teeth unless you are looking for a fight, it's seen as a threat
* If someone shows you their belly, it's a sign of vulnerability and trust *(Similar to cats and dogs)*

#### Sleeping:

* Usually, sleep in big bundles but if it's hot out, they will have their own little dens to go into. Dens can be decorated to the Driftu's liking.
* If you look at how cats sleep, it's similar
* Can sleep sitting up

### Trivia

A lot of Driftu are clever, but not clever enough if you throw a ball at them. They will want to play! Additionally, a laser pointer will also do the trick.

Driftu paw pads can be pressed. They have large toe beans!

Driftu are natural enemies of bears. They will fight on sight.

Naming a Driftu is usually dedicated to their environment. They don’t understand the concept of identity behind a name. Along with that, they also don’t understand gender and simply use whatever pronouns they like best.

They wear clothes on their upper body out of decency. They will decorate their animal body with whatever they desire!

## Relationships

 Todd | positive
 Aval | positive

## Trivia

* Alpine has a Taslosian accent. This means certain words are replaced in his language. Here are some of the changes:
	+ Mitt - My
	+ Vit - It
	+ Rikr - Very
	+ Ankit - A name for younger people
	+ Blød - Blood
	+ Nei - No
	+ Sama - Same
	+ Fyrir - For
	+ Mig - Me
* Similar to cats, Driftu will chase laser
* Will fight a bear on sight
* While he means well when he eats, his table manners simply don’t exist
* One of the behaviours of a Driftu is their rituals of friendship. Alpine will bring dead carcasses to his friends which is a sign of nurturing; He is trying to feed you
* Another behaviour is grooming. Don’t let him lick you for your own safety
* Alpine loves sleeping. He will fall asleep anywhere
* Uses purrs, chuffs, growls and roars to communicate, even if others don’t quite understand
* Tends to get stuck up trees despite his massive size
* Teeth are incredibly sharp!