Info

[barkingchaos]

History:

Rahti began life as a wild animal (or what we would consider a wild animal, albeit slightly more intelligent than our animals) in a place known as the 4th dimension. Her life was rather normal for one of her kind - growing larger until you become old enough to be set into either a predator or prey role, and then survive on from there. She quickly became a predator when her time came, and lived happily for some time - thoroughly unaware of much else beyond living to the fullest, no matter what.

That is, until she found herself suddenly dragged into a dimension that she had no clue even existed, let alone be able to comprehend.

A young man - someone who'd taken up with the occult arts - was attempting to summon a demon and bind it to his will in his room when he accidentally dragged her into his world - a world like our own, only with a little more magic than ours. Not enough to conjure up magical feats of fire, ice, and lightning - but enough to make life a little more comfortable through machines that could access the thin magical pulse that runs through the earth*, or actually succeed in summoning rituals to conjure up beings from beyond the mortal plane...well, rarely. Common sense among the people of this world stated that such things were beyond even the magic the earth held, but many cults claimed to have summoned demons and angels in secrecy before. Wanting power and fame, the would-be summoner made the decision to attempt to do the impossible.

Unfortunately, the young man had botched his summon in quite a few ways - writing down the wrong runes, using a machine that he'd jerry-rigged to output much more magic, sacrificing the wrong type of chicken, ect, ect - and instead of a being of hellfire, he got a confused and utterly frightened animal from a dimension beyond his own. The man still attempted to bind her to his will, but that failed due to yet another botch in the ritual - and caused her intense pain. In the end, Rahti escaped by crushing one of his arms and sliding out the window he'd opened to vent the smell of blood from the chicken he'd sacrificed.

Once out - and in a large city - Rahti slid around from shadow to shadow, terrified at the commotion around her. Everything was so wrong from what she was used to - it didn't look right at all, and after her encounter with the summoner she was afraid of all humans. After a few days, she managed to get to the outskirts of the city - where she ran into a stray dog. The dog was starving, and despite Rahti looking like something it had never seen before, it was more than willing to try and eat her. And after days of being on the run in utter fear, she was just as hungry. Faced with a situation she was much more familiar with, Rahti killed and absorbed the dog into herself.

And that changed her life forever.

Rahti had an ability - one that enabled her to hunt better back where she came from. This ability enabled her to gain the memories and appearance of the species she devoured, so that she could mimic them and get close enough to land a kill. But her ability was made for the creatures that inhabited the 4th dimension - and ingesting the dog caused a massive shock to her system, both physical and mental. Her body, once non-euclidean and nearly incomprehensible to a 3rd dimension perspective, changed to a form much more easily understood; one looking like a massive single celled amoeba - the ancestral first stage of life in mammalian species - in order to be able to mimic the beings inhabiting the world.

But the true change was to her mind. Before, where the world looked like a chaotic jumble of light and dark and wavelengths...it had become something far more orderly and concrete. The memories of the dog - ancient and primal memories written into it's very DNA - imprinted on her, forcing her to see the world through the eyes of a being who had always lived there. The concept of color blossomed into her mind, along with smell and tactile sensation - and thousands of years of existence and domestication slammed into her consciousness like a freight train.

Against something like this, the old Rahti - the animal from a higher dimension than our own - ceased to be, shattered into pieces. Instead, the memories of the dog and the fragments of what she used to be combined into a new personality, one that had forgotten what she was before. Her body changed to reflect this, turning into a wolfdog as a way of reconciling the domesticated and wild parts of her.

Upon waking, Rahti was confused - but no longer terrified as she once was. While her wariness of humanity was gone, she still didn't want to go back to the city - since the person who hurt her would probably still be in there, and she didn't want to face him just yet. But as a whole, she was far more surefooted and confident about the world around her - And why shouldn't she be? As far as she knew, she had always been in it - always a dog, with this sense of smell and sight and touch. And even though she couldn't remember past waking up, it didn't matter - she had things to do and a life to live.

A few months passed, with Rahti travelling in the bits of forests around, always sticking to heavily wooded areas out of a simple urge to explore as much as she could. While she might see people camping, she'd act friendly and perhaps stay with them for a while - but move on when she smelled something more interesting or a prey animal came by. Eventually, she ended up on the outskirts of a medium-sized town, hunting in the nearby forests while also scavenging at night in the town proper when all the humans were in bed, just to make sure that no one would chase her off like some campers had done before.

It was there that Rahti's life would change once more.

A writer named Michael Schmitt was working late at home one night when he saw Rahti nosing around his garbage cans, looking for food. Entranced by how she looked, he went outside - and while she stayed nearby, wagging her tail at him and still being friendly, she had no inclination to actually come inside when he tried to lure her in. Eventually, she left - and Michael decided to try and bring her in the next time, leaving out actual food and water for her instead. Over the next few days, Rahti would come to eat - and then stay longer with Michael, letting him pet her and talk to her, but always leaving (even if it became reluctant) in the end.

One night after their nightly meeting, she didn't want to leave. Instead, she sat out on his porch - and when he opened the door to go back inside, she bounded in as if she belonged in there. Pleased that his plan had worked, he adopted her - and Rahti began a new chapter of her life.

Michael took care of her like any good pet owner - getting her shots (which she hated), feeding her, playing together, and taking her for walks. She warmed up to people other than her master - her natural friendliness breaking through her aloofness from her first terrible experience with the human race, until she would happily bound up to people so she could greet them and attempt to play. In honor of her achievement (and having figured out what he was going to call her), Michael finally gave her a name - Rahti, after one of the characters in his latest manuscript. For the first time, she had a name - something she couldn't remember getting in her entire life. And...her entire life was slowly coming back to her.

While she would never concretely remember her life back in her home dimension - her mind had been changed too far to ever remotely return to what it had been before - memories began to filter through. Memories of a place far different from the world around her, a place where there were no colors or smells - a place alien and familiar at the same time. Two months passed with her new master, memories and knowledge trickling into her mind each day. Eventually, Rahti remembered what she truly was - something from beyond this dimension, even though she had been changed so irreversibly - and wondered, in her animal way, what she should do about it.

One night - while still worried about what she should do - Rahti left the house through the doggie door Michael had installed for her to go for a run around town and clear her doubts. While stalking through the town and hunting down small rodents and rabbit, Rahti came to decision - she would stay with her beloved master for as long as she could, fully content to stay in the happiness she'd found.

However, she had no idea what fate had in store for her - or how cruel other humans could be.

When she'd slipped out of the house, a burglar broke into Michael's house - intent on stealing as much as he could while the writer's huge wolfdog was away. The would-be robber was rather incompetent, and made enough noise while thieving to wake Michael up. Believing that Rahti had returned, he went into the living room - and encountered the burglar. In a panic, the thief attempted to grab Michael to tie him up nd thus continue his theft without much trouble, but the writer resisted. However, Michael was an older man with some health issues - and in the resulting struggle he lost his balance and fell, bashing his head against his living room table, killing him instantly.

Shortly after this occurred, Rahti came home - happy that she'd figured out what to do from now on and planning to curl up with her master in bed to get a good night's rest. Instead, she came home to the smell of blood and an intruder in her house, panicking over the fact that the man he'd come to rob was now dead due to his actions. Comprehending what had just happened - and that someone she cared deeply about was now dead - she lost all control and dropped her camouflage, reverting to her true form. The Burglar barely had time to scream before Rahti rushed him, forcibly absorbing him while still alive and crushing him to death inside of herself. Spitting out the mangled corpse, Rahti went to the body of her master and mourned for him, feeling crushing loss for the first time in her life and understanding that she would be alone yet again.

That was when she made a choice that would once again change her life forever.

Wanting to keep some small part of him with her, she absorbed him and dissolved him inside of her - and her ability kicked in once more. This time, the tender beginnings of humanity flowed through her mind, and her mostly animal consciousness gained human perspective. So many things which had been a mystery to her before suddenly made sense - and she could now fully understand spoken language, instead of a set amount of words. Unlike the first time she absorbed a being from this dimension, her mind didn't break - instead, it just adapted. Humans and dogs had been together for thousands of years, evolving alongside one another - so it was an easier reconciliation.

And after that, she found herself crouching in the middle of the room - in human form, stark naked except for the dog collar around her neck. Understanding that she would be in trouble if people came to the house and found her there without her master, she went to his bedroom and put on his worn out 'around the house' clothing (she knew humans didn't like to be naked) before leaving the house that had been her home forever - and heading back into the woods she'd originally come from.

A week passed, and Rahti slowly acclimatized to her new life. While still going into dog form when necessary, she found that she actually preferred to stay as a human most of the time. Easier to pick up things, for one. Most of her days were spread between foraging in the woods surrounding the town and creeping into the town proper to steal things out of garbage cans - not due to being wary about people, but because she knew people didn't like other people rummaging through their garbage cans and not wanting to be chased off, and she needed time to think through what she was going to do and finish mourning before approaching anyone new to live with. People did notice her, however - and even though some were definitely not pleased with someone going in their garbage, most were concerned with the apparently homeless girl who lived in the forest of all things and were planning to try to get her help.

After a particularly fruitful day, where she ended up getting two rabbits, three mice, and some stained blankets someone had thrown away, Rahti curled up in one of the town's alleyways - fully intending on waking up before dawn came so she could go to another town so she could start over in her new life, and leave this part of her past behind now that she felt she could let her master go and find a new one.

*(A minor note about the magic thing - while it's called magic, it's treated more like the major energy source in this world. Alternative sources of energy (wind, solar) also exist by the time Rahti arrives to earth, which is roughly Spring 2014 in the northeastern parts of the United States. Nothing else in history changes from our own timeline - just imagine that instead of harnessing electricity, we instead figured out how to use an energy from below the Earth's mantle.)

Personality:

At first glance, Rahti seems like a cheerful and sunny girl - someone with some eccentricity, but friendly and kind. And it's true, for the most part - she really is as bright and happy as she seems, ready for anything that comes her way with a smile. But first glances can be deceptive - and while she is pleasant if you're kind to her, Rahti can also go from harmless to deadly in a heartbeat.

If there was one word that summed up most of what Rahti is, it would be Optimism - even in the face of scary or hopeless situations, she has an unshakable faith that she will survive, and that things will only get better from here. In a way, it's her survival instinct translated into a personality trait - because if you don't have hope that you'll get food today or tomorrow or find shelter, how can you keep on living? This optimism not only extends to herself, but to the people she meets - surely this person can't be like the robber that killed her master, or the summoner that caused her so much pain. They're surely friendly and wouldn't mind talking with her or sharing food and shelter, and maybe even want to play with her. It's a naive point of view, but it's one that Rahti clings to fiercely.

Naturally friendly, Rahti gravitates towards people - making sure to smile and be unassuming, if excitable. Having canine instincts, she naturally sees people as mostly good, and worthy of protection from her if they're friendly towards her. This inclination only extends to humans, however - while she'd be friendly with anything non-human, she would mostly leave them to fend on their own. Not out of scorn, but out of the thought that they aren't as weak as humans are, so they should be able to defend themselves like she can. She could form bonds with other animals, but they wouldn't be as deep - nor would she value them as highly as human relationships. However, not all her human bonds are created equal - and she'll quickly value certain humans more highly than others, making the distinction between 'pack' and 'other humans' in her mind. And those humans will get the full effect of her undying loyalty and kindness, desiring nothing else but to keep them happy and alive and be happy and alive right along with them.

Another word that explains her very well is Curiosity, bordering on fearlessness. Sticking her nose into everything and anything, taking a deep, long sniff - and then turning to the nearest person and bombarding them with questions is one of the things she does often. Linked to her eternal optimism, she is endlessly searching for answers now that she can actually vocalize her questions and be easily understood. That doesn't mean she can always understand the answers, but that's alright - all she has to do is ask for clarification, and if she doesn't understand that then she can just ask again. Much like a small child, Rahti will happily ask questions until she understands or the person she's asking is fed up with her. Knowledge is vital to her - because it is through knowledge and experience that one is able to survive, and also keep others surviving along with her. However, her curiosity combined with her optimism means she doesn't hold much fear if something goes wrong when she shoves her nose into something, or that someone will get upset with her for continuing to ask so many questions when they've already explained to the best of their ability.

This doesn't mean that she doesn't feel fear or guilt - because she does. But Rahti lives wholly in the moment, not giving much mind to consequences. While having a mostly human perspective means that she can think ahead, she simply doesn't - preferring to take each day as it comes. This does mean that she'll often only feel regret or fear after she's done something, and is totally unable to reverse what she's just done. In the moment, she charges wholeheartedly ahead - and definitely only looks after she's leapt.

Despite her fearlessness and optimism, she's downright contrite when she does something someone she cares about doesn't approve of - and she'll practically roll over to show just how sorry she is for disappointing them. And it is for disappointing them or making them mad, not because she did something that would be considered wrong or inappropriate - because Rahti often doesn't care much for social norms and laws. If she stole food from someone because she was hungry, she wouldn't feel the slightest bit of guilt - until someone scolded her for it. Then and only then would she offer apologies, first at the person who scolded her and then at whoever she stole from...and if she thinks she can get away with it, do it again. Despite this, Rahti is totally honest even when caught, admitting meekly to what she's done in order to possibly reduce the severity of her punishment or even mitigate it if she looks guilty enough. In effect, the only 'laws' she pays attention to is the internal morals and code of conduct of whoever's in her 'pack' - otherwise, she will follow her own whims and instincts.

Instinctual is also a good word for her, since it is what she mostly runs on. Due to her mind adapting to human intelligence instead of forcibly shattering and reforming, she simply hasn't had the time to gain more human habits. While she is happy to learn what it really is to be human, some of what people do confuse her - because why would you do things you don't like? Why not eat what you want or roll around on that really nice scent? Why would you say something that isn't true? Why wouldn't you eat another member of your species if you were starving, or spare someone's life if they were a threat to you or your pack? It just doesn't make sense. Instinct is what also causes her to be somewhat wary about dropping her camouflage (because then you reveal you're a predator and Something Other, and that never ends well), although her curiosity and optimism often cancel her wariness out.

Of course, being instinctual doesn't mean she doesn't have her own morals. Although she will kill anyone in order to defend herself or someone she cares about, she will not kill without due cause. If there are any concrete laws she obeys, it would be the instance on not killing unless it was to defend or get food - killing for any other reason doesn't make sense to her, even if it is the right thing to do in the end. And she tends to give people chances - warning them before baring her fangs and heading for the kill, although any warning goes right out the window if they've attacked first. And Rahti will not stop until they are no longer a threat, no matter if that's through an intense maiming or outright killing them.

Or...at least, that's how she is most of the time. There are exceptions, like with the burglar - because the thing Rahti cares most about is the people she grows close to, even to the point of violating her own instinctual rules, like preserving her own life.

And despite her cheerful outlook, Rahti says some downright morbid things at times - easily talking about death and killing (or murder) without even flinching or dropping her smile. To her, people dying in ways you can't stop is just The Way Things Are, and while she did love her master....she basically got over his death in the span of a week. Sure, she got over it healthily - but she grieves in the moment and all at once, and then continues living - because her lost ones would want her to keep living and move on, right? And you can't stop death, no matter how much you wish you could. So why grieve too long - or worry about your own? Likewise, blood doesn't bother her (if anything, it makes her hungry) and she doesn't shy away from letting people know that she is a predator and thus deadly if pushed too far. But in the next breath, she'll happily say that it's okay because they're a nice person, right? Rahti doesn't quite understand how that could be manipulative or even threatening, because to her...well, she's just stating facts. If you're nice, she won't hurt you and you can be friends. If you're not, she'll tell you to leave her alone. If you don't, then she'll make you leave her alone.

In the end, Rahti is dangerous yet friendly, realistic yet unendingly optimistic - seemingly doing what she wants but also adhering to her own code of conduct, as short as it may be. Like nature itself, she can be both nurturing and deadly at any given moment. And while eventually her new human perspective will temper that and give her insights into things she couldn't understand before, she will always be a 'wild child' forever in touch with her instincts - and not ashamed of it one bit.

Abilities:


Physical

Shapeshifting: Rahti can turn her outward appearance into anything mammalian she has eaten - more specifically, anything that she's collected enough DNA from. It is a perfect outward mimic - everything is created and functions like the genuine article, and she will take on the warmth and firmness of whatever she's mimicking. However, she cannot mimic their appearance - she's only able to mimic what they are. For example, if she gathered DNA from a brown cat, she could shapeshift into a cat...but it would be an albino with a slightly different body/bone structure. Also, DNA collection only works if the meat she gets it from is fresh - canned, preserved, or even meat that's been cooked is impossible for her to harvest DNA from.

The Forms she's able to turn into:

Human
Dog (Looking similar to a Wolfdog than anything else)

All of her forms are marked by albinism, although she is able to change features (such as her hair in human form) on a whim.

Singular Core: Rahti has a single 'core' that functions as her brain and heart, although it's actually much more complicated than that. But it regulates the rest of her body (which is an amorphous, shapeless mass by 3rd dimension perceptions) and is the only thing absolutely needed to keep her alive. It stays around where her stomach is in each of her forms - so one could shoot or cut her through the 'head', and she'd still remain alive. Pissed off and in pain, but alive.

Body Manipulation: While she prefers to stay in the limits of what's possible for the species she's mimicking, she can break those limits easily. She doesn't have bones, so she can stretch and bend limbs in impossible ways and can squeeze through holes and gaps so long as they are large enough to allow her core to go through. If needed, she can morph her limbs together to stretch around things or use it as an impromptu basket or suffocate someone with it. As a last ditch effort, she can drop her camouflage and absorb someone into her body, squeezing them to death inside of her and then dissolving them (and spitting out any clothing, of course).

Corrosive blood: While not technically 'blood' as we know it, Rahti bleeds a corrosive fluid (comparable to Sodium hydroxide, or Lye) that is white in color. ....you could technically use her blood as a cleaning agent, but who'd want to do that?

Mental

Memory recall: By accessing the ancestral memories written in the DNA, she can learn things about the species she's devoured collected DNA from. After gaining human form - and therefore gaining access to the human genome and intelligence - she's learned how to lock away this part of herself so she doesn't go through this every time she eats something new, and thus protect herself from intense mental shock.


Extras on her power and body limits

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Strengths

Physical

Body regeneration: Any part of her body that gets injured or destroyed can regenerate, so long at it's not her core. This means that if one of her 'limbs' in human form were chopped off, she could simply stick it back on, or regrow a new one entirely if the removed part were destroyed. This includes things like her 'head' in her forms, meaning she could live entirely headless - although she would end up growing a new face somewhere on her body while she regrew her missing head. Regrowing an entire 'body part' takes time - about the same time someone needs to grow new scar tissue - but the process can be sped up if she eats fresh meat.

Sensitive Nose: Even in human form, Rahti still has quite a few abilities of the first form she changed into. Like dogs, she can smell much better than humans, and relies on smell more than her actual sight.

Mental

Cheerful: It is very hard to get Rahti upset or depressed about anything - even bad things are often shrugged off with a simple 'that's just how it is' and a smile. She is an eternal optimist, and apparently was like that even before she made her way into another universe.

Friendly: She loves to make friends - because they're just people she hasn't met yet, and they're sure to be good! And if they're not, she'll just attack or eat them. No big deal.

Intelligent: Despite the fact that she knows very little about how the human world works, Rahti learns easily - and very quickly. She's a good student, and very motivated by praise (and food).

Loyal and trustworthy: While she's a bit too trusting for her own good, Rahti is loyal to the bone to people who treat her kindly. She would do anything in her power for them, even willing to put herself in harm's way if they are very important to her. If they asked her to deliver a package or go hunting, she would do it the best of her abilities and ask for nothing in return except a kind word...and maybe a little food.

Curious: Constantly searching out what makes things work, why people do what they do, which food is the most delicious, Rahti's curiosity ultimately kills any fear of the unknown she may have. Things changing or stuff she doesn't know about aren't scary - they're just new experiences, and there's so much in the world for her to find out.

Weaknesses


Physical

Sensitive nose: Her nose is both a strength and a weakness - if she smells something awful or painful, it can incapacitate her. She's also unable to handle spicy food (even things we would consider incredibly mild) due to it.

Incapable of Core Regeneration: If her core is completely broken, she will die. Unlike the rest of her body - which can regenerate - her core will not heal from cracks/damage. This will lead to Rahti acting violent and erratic.

Obligate Carnivore: Unlike both dogs and humans - which are both omnivores of varying degrees - Rahti cannot process plant matter, although she can happily eat it. Even when in forms that are herbivores, she can only live healthily on meat.

Mental

Naive and Gullible: Rahti is easily tricked and manipulated by people. Due to her willingness to please, she can easily be dragged into anything - and she is unable to comprehend lying. While she's eager to learn...there are just some things she Will Not Get.

Blue and Orange Morality: Originally being a wild animal from a dimension beyond our own, Rahti has very little human morality. First and foremost is her instinct to survive - if it meant she could live / eat, Rahti would kill people with little hesitation. She'd only feel slightly bad if she knew the person, but the strong must live and the weak must be eaten. She has no qualms over devouring the dead or injured either - although she would stop if enough people told her to with a slight whine. She also has no qualms with stealing, doing things she likes or makes her feel good (even if she shouldn't), and doesn't understand a lot of what humans do or why they see some things as abhorrent. Like cannibalism. This doesn't mean that she can't eventually learn, but she'd still consider it strange.

Curiosity: That insatiable curiosity for everything and anything has its downsides - just like with her gullibility, Rahti can easily end up sticking her nose in things she shouldn't. This invariably gets her into trouble, of course.

Side trivia: She cannot read or write, smells everyone while getting into their personal bubble (with occasional licking), incessantly asks questions, often begs for food, and is instinctual to a fault.