The Exegete

**The Exegete** is a travelling Shapeshifter. They have had many names, but those who call them the Exegete sometimes call them **Egg**. His current name is **Allium,** owing to his large, onion-shaped head.

## History

The Exegete was born on their species' homeworld, a planet called **the Reef.** Their people, who have no name but are usually referred to colloquially as **Shapeshifters**, don't have a sense of self in the way humans do; they were encouraged to travel, explore and become different selves through shapeshifting. This process, however, is dangerous (physically, emotionally and psychologically - shapeshifters see no distinction between these three) to the Shapeshifter if done too frequently, so Shapeshifters frequently returned to the Reef to revert to their original form, a form they could not assume anywhere else.

The Reef was destroyed in the Scream, leaving Shapeshifters without a home - or a formal anchor to return to. In the chaos, many Shapeshifters broke down and died; those that are left have forgotten their original forms, and have trouble recognizing others of their kind. Egg has also forgotten their original form, though they are able to recognize one other Shapeshifter somewhat reliably.

## Physical Appearance and Forms

The Exegete has no permanent name, just as they have no permanent form or gender. They don't remember all the forms they've taken, but a few of them are listed here:

* **Velvet**, a female black cat owned by a young starship captain
* A fungal system with no gender and an unpronounceable name (Allium has tried to transliterate it as **ffflhhhslllghlllyhhihlllh**, but has found this version inaccurate), which infected a small planetary colony
* Half of the hull of the **STS Badger**, a small transport ship
* **Benedict Cumberbatch**, the male human actor, for an unspecified three years of his career (Egg won't say which ones, but insists that it should be obvious to anyone familiar with his filmography)

As Egg takes on new forms, the memories of their older forms become hazy, like memories of childhood or old dreams.

Their current form, **Allium**, is humanoid, about five foot six, with a bulbous, onion-shaped head and two pairs of tentacles; he sometimes fashions large, round eyes on his face to make humans more comfortable, but at rest he has none. His skin takes on the texture of other things he touches; he seems to enjoy plant and tree bark textures the most, though stones and crystals give him pleasure as well. He eats by absorbing food and nutrients through his tentacles; his triangular mouth serves no actual purpose. He fashioned this form himself rather than take on another form wholesale (which is the preferred method of most Shapeshifters); this has made him more comfortable physically, but the longer he stays in this form the more he runs the risk of breaking down. He can temporarily transform parts of his body, and can temporarily hold other forms while remembering this one, but temporary transformations don't operate properly on an anatomical level and can cause health issues if Egg remains in that form for more than an hour or so. A full, anatomically consistent transformation takes significant time and effort, and there is no guarantee Egg would be able to return to their previous form; additionally, they see it as too spiritually important an act to undertake so often.

Though they usually answer to Egg, they detest being referred to by the same name across forms; they won't correct acquaintances, but will insist that friends use their current name. Similarly, Egg uses they pronouns when referring to their personality across forms, but may use other pronouns for specific forms; they consider it akin to misgendering to use they pronouns for a specific form that wouldn't use that pronoun (though they take no offense if their preferred pronouns in a specific form are unpronounceable or incomprehensible to the species they're talking to). As Allium, he uses he pronouns.

## Personality

The Exegete's personality, like every aspect of them, changes across forms. What is consistent is an affable sense of humour; constant and sometimes obtrusive curiosity; and empathy for the pain of others. For his part, Allium is lighthearted and tends to have his head in the clouds, and moves with a light, prancing quality that matches his excitement for new and interesting objects and chemical compositions. He borrows some mannerisms from his time as Velvet the cat, one of his more recent previous forms: sometimes he licks his hand on instinct, and he enjoys curling up into a ball to fall asleep.

The Exegete is also consistently flighty, capricious and conflict-avoidant. They have difficulty with direct conversations and sometimes find it easier to change form and escape a situation than face it head on.

## Stats and Abilities

Skills:

* Notice (1)
* Pilot (0)
* Shoot (0)
* Survive (0)
* Biopsionics (1)
	+ Psychic Succor
	+ Metamorph