Basett Ailuros

## History

### Early Life & Fate's Cruelty

Basett was born the daughter of a Merchant father and Seamstress mother in the trade port of Takab in the southern most coast of The Rimalharu Desert. Named for the Osirian goddess Bastet by her parents, with hopes their newborn grey furred daughter would grow up to be as clever and beautiful as the goddess herself, life was uneventful for her until the 11th year of life, when a great tsunami hit the city and brought mass devastation in it's wake, countless died and many children where left orphaned, among them Basett.

Ashsuru was quick to rush aid to the water ravaged city, but only out of interest of their own coffers as Takab was a major importer of exotic goods and services from far off lands, and from it's docks flowed all of the heavily tax laden goods from which the ruling Beylerbey and dynasty by extension lined it's pockets.

Basett's father had suffered from these same tariffs for many years before his daughter was born, despite the burden they placed upon him still managed to eek out a respectable living for himself, his wife and daughter. Loosing both of them and the only life she had ever known, orphaned and homeless in one horrible night, worsened like a kick to the gut while already on the ground by the 'priorities' of the relief effort, restoration of and return to full function of the port itself, the sheltering and caring of the numerous sick, injured, displaced and orphaned a far secondary concern.

### Survival by Any Means...

So it came that many of the hastily founded and disaster surviving orphanages became overcrowded, and despite the best of efforts of many good people, clergy and other representatives of the faiths far and near among them, numerous children where left to fend for themselves on the ruined streets of the once prosperous city.

Most banded together for mutual survival, and Basett was no different. Few would help them, either barely afloat themselves following the disaster, or simply greedy and two faced merchant lords and Vizier too overly concerned with the import and exporting of their wares to care about the vagabond orphans of a reeling city. During this time Basett and her friends learned many skills to stay alive out of the watchful eye of the bribed city guard and hired goons. For herself Basett became a jack of all trades of this new thrive-or-die lifestyle, excelling in climbing, acrobatics and using words over violence, diverting the attention of the angry thugs during frantic escapes or sending them on wild goose chases for co-conspirators that didn't exist.

Fighting even if it was only if defensive of one's own self and friends became nessisity, even though she dislike it she learned to fight all the same, having grown fond of a whip she had stolen from a lash master of a Janissary, an implement that could cause such grievous pain could, with the right subtle touch disarm instead of main, and leave a group of angry guards in a pile confused and unarmed time enough to make an escape.

### A Time for Change & Coming of Age

This was Basett and many other's lives for the better part of five years, until a unnamed member of the royal family, finally had enough with the sorry state of the once prosperous and great city of Takab and the mistreatment and outright abandonment of people to live force squalor and steal just to eat. In one fell swoop the merchant lords, corrupt vizers and even the ruling Beylerbey of Takab where brought to heel, made to submit or face exile, or worse, the later most the fate of the Beylerbey, made to walk out into the burning desert in penance, and never seen or heard from again. Coin long since set aside to line their pockets was now put into reconstruction of, among other things, affordable housing and legitimate employee to get those so displaced and left adrift for so long on their feet and self sufficient once more, including the many fledgling adult orphans of the half a decade old disaster.

In the span of a few month this member of royalty had solved a problem the greedy lords of merchant houses would not and bought Vizier with gold lined pockets ignored, and it became a breath of fresh air as one of the edicts this powerful, anonymous royal had enacted was full clemency and pardon of all crimes those displaced by the great flood had done, so long as said criminal undertakings where deemed purely done for survival, though in practice is was a blanket waver to all crimes as it was far easier to punish the crimes of the now and not judge of righteousness or nessesity of deeds done in the past.

This was also the time Basett and many others of her generation crossed the threshold to mature into adults. She watched in awe as over many months the other girls began to gain the curves and sway of womanhood, but save for growing a few inches taller, she remained as tomboyish as she ever did, openly mocked for it no less by the many formal rival gang members turned cackling gossipers and bullies, taunting her lack of femininity at every turn.

Many a nights Basett would cry herself to sleep, having become semi-religious as many of the less violent orphans had during the crisis, she asked Bastet, the goddess of femininity and womanhood what she had done to never grow into a woman proper like all the undeserving naysayers who taunted her endlessly. During this time the only light in her life was a young male catfolk, whom Basett has never named, who despite her lack of curves of femininity still found beauty in her, the only one to ask her on impromptu "dates" and one whom with she had her first moment of intimacy, making her feel like the woman she wished to be.

But in truth, it seemed Bastet had not forsaken her mortal namesake, for one night after the yearly festival honoring her in the city, Basett awoke the next morn to find curves she didn't possess the night before, and every night after only increased, till scarcely a few weeks later Basett was the picture of femininity and sensual grace, an hourglass figure and natural, untainted beauty that put all her detractors to shame, and made that one loving catboy the talk of the town for a long time afterwards.

### Nine Lives & Thrill Seeking

Her new found curves gave her the confidence boost she long needed in her life, once scared and timid Basett set out to live life to it's fullest, and, unlike her out-shown peers, never allowing herself to give in to petty vanity and self centered thoughts, instead going out of her way to find beauty in everyone and everything and helping others come out as she did, to be confident and proud, not ashamed and closeted, though she still made time for that special boy who saw the woman in her long before any else ever could.

She took up many jobs to explore what the world had to offer, she learned to belly dance, became an escort for a time, ran the streets as white coat thief for hire, putting the security of well meaning shop keepers to the test for a modest sum. All were fun, for a time, but nothing scratched that itch of wanderlust and adventure that had dug into her fur like a stubborn scarab, until she took a job to delve into an old ruin deep in the desert to retrieve a family heirloom before the old crypt finally caved in, which it nearly did, almost taking the plucky catgirl with it where it not for a daring escape that would be climax of adventure story,

The dangers she had faced within and the thrill of only narrowly making it out alive was the thrill that sent a shiver down her spine, a shock of excitement and joy she hadn't felt in over a decade. The thought of taking things from these old tombs just to sit in some miser's private collection or become the collective property of stuffy museums who had little care for it's importance to the dearly departed and their moral descendants rubbed her fur the wrong way, yet stealing the illegally pouched relics and braving the harrowing halls of the tombs they where plundered from to return them to there resting places, now that, was something she could devote her life too.

## Appearance

At 5'9" Basett is on the tall side for a member of her race, though appears slightly taller still due to her alert perky feline ears and tendency to walk on the balls of her feet. She has all the grace and charm one would expect from such a race of gregarious chatty cats and more, blessed in a second coming after becoming a woman to have an hourglass shape and the proportions of a goddess, a figure that woman had made dark pacts with outsiders to obtain. Dark grey fur contrasts her stunning emerald green eyes, the shade of grey lightening slightly on her face and belly, but only noticeable in brighter then average light. Her fur is complemented by long black hair, not often seen due to her love of ornate headdresses.

Unashamed of her stunning figure she rarely wears anything close to modest, and is born as much would be considered possible without running into problems with guards for indecency. This is not to say she dresses this way to make others jealous, moreover she does so as her people believe the mortal form is beautiful, and no one, regardless of how they look should be forced to cover it up. She adapts more modest attire only when the passing fancy to cover up strikes her, or if her wanderlust takes her somewhere dressing so sparingly would cause undue unrest.

## Personality

Inquisitive, cheery, gregarious and friendly are all things people think of when thinking of Catfolk, and in all regards Basett is an exemplar of her kind. Despite dressing like a diva, and strutting around like a noble's arm candy she is far from arrogant or selfish. She is generous and kind to fault, doing her best to remind everyone of their beauty even if it's the beauty on the inside, the kind she was taught to treasure most.

Also like her people, she has a strong case of wanderlust and is prone to exploring on a whim, and going to places for no other reason then for the journey itself. Though she is by her own admission not perfect, and can have a short temper when certain topics are brought up or people push the wrong buttons, and is noted as being somewhat vain, priding herself on her appearance, though forgiveness for such slights usually comes as easy as the slights themselves.

## Friends

She has made more friends then grains of sand in an hour glass, to many to count yet all fond memories and dear to her in their own ways.

## Foes

Lasting foes are a rarity in Basett's life, mortality is to short winded of an affair to waste it nursing a grude, but that doesn't mean slights do not go unanswered, though almost never with violence, a clever cat she often puts would be antgonists in no win situations of embaressment or frustration that leaves them poorer for the experience.

## Goals

Thrill, adventure and expericing the world, a grand desire has never once laid claim to her waking mind, and given her wandering nature one is not likely to ever truely take root, though only time will tell if there if folly in that statment.