Name: Riptide Ruva
Age (we use years): 31
Gender: male
Species: sea otter
Appearance: Rip is your typical otter. He has dark brown, glossy fur, grinning brown eyes, and a long, muscular build. Being a sea otter he is a little taller and broader than a stream otter, and the older he gets the more prone he is to developing more whiskers on his muzzle.
Something that makes Rip stand out are his dyed markings. In the tradition of his holt Rip has two blue triangles dyed on his face over his cheeks and three red stripes over his muzzle. At first glance it looks like he has a nasty gash, which is apparently the desired affect, for if asked about his markings Rip simply explains that they are the marks of a warrior.
When it comes to clothes the otter keeps it simple. He’s comfortable in the fort’s uniform, but when he is off duty he usually wears his “native” garb. This entails little more than a kind of barkcloth kilt complete with a multitude of ties and belts that hold up an assortment of knives, shells, and colored stones. He is known for wandering around shirtless, which is an attribute that he receives countless rebuke for from Talyn, also earning him the nickname “The Shirtless Dog” with his commander.
Rip also wears a worn looking gray pearl around his neck. Each wrist also sports a band made of thin woven rope entwined with colored blue, green, and red stones. The only other notable feature about the otter is the scar that runs diagonally across his right eye. Instead of marring his good looks he claims it only enhances his roguish appearance. Talyn reminds him frequently that the matter of his good looks is still up to much debate.
Personality: Rip, like most otters, loves to have a good time, is known for being laid-back, and enjoys making himself helpful. Extremely social, he can’t stand to be alone and seems to constantly be in the presence of others. He is easy to talk to with his jovial and accepting manner.
One thing Rip is known for is his eternal optimism. He seems to always be thinking the best of others, though he is capable of being realistic when times call for it. Still, it’s hard to make him suspicious of those he calls his friend.
Another trait of his is his deep loyalty. He took joining the fort very seriously, and his commitment to the place runs far deeper than simply taking on the title of one of its guards. He knows and calls the place his home and would fight to the death to defend it. Though he originally comes from far to the South, he considers the Northlands his knew home and will tell others such. He does miss his birth land near Southsward however, and intends to visit it again at least once before he gets too old. Rip’s loyalty extends past his ties to the fort as well, reaching especially to those in command over him and his comrades in arms. He has a deep respect for the Tower Commanders, though he knows and admires Talyn the most. Duran is a more distant figure to him, despite how long he has been at the fort, and due to the certain mystery that surrounds the vole, Rip holds a more revering brand of loyalty to him.
A weakness of the otter’s is his fear of being alone. No one knows quite why he has this fear, but it is deeply engrained in the otter, so much so that he does not even sleep in a room by himself—something that he is entitled to as the second in command of the East Tower and leader of the Wide Patrol.
Rip also has a weakness of not allowing others to help him when he really needs it. While he may be humble in other areas of his life, he has a pride that keeps him from accepting needed assistance with things such as his fear of aloneness. He is very closed-mouthed about any areas of his life that others may try to help him with, and has become very good at changing the subject if anyone ventures to bring them up with him. This habit has also spawned another of his weaknesses: that of ignoring problems that he feels he does not know how to fix or feels somehow incapable of fixing them even if he knows of a solution.
History: Rip’s past is interesting enough. He doesn’t know much about his early years or his original family. It’s likely that his original holt was killed in a searat raid. He and a few other small ones survived by being hidden by their families before the attack. A river otter holt farther inland arrived too late to save their fellow otters, but were able to recover the young ones. Riptide was raised by them and lived a happy enough life. He learned to fish and fight, and grew up harboring no thoughts of specific revenge for the rats that murdered his holt. Instead he put his efforts into equipping and teaching others to defend themselves. For a number of seasons he traveled the coast and helped goodbeast communities there to strengthen and improve their defenses in order to save themselves from the vermin that preyed on them.
When he was about twenty years old he made his way to the castle of Southsward and visited there for a short time. It was here he met the badger lord and heard of the plans for a new fort in the North. Aside from the hares of Salamandastron who were stationed at the fort as building preparations began, he was the first to commit to the cause. He has seen the fort built from the ground up and knows every inch of it.
He met Talyn during the building and they struck up an odd sort of relationship that mostly hinged on their common appreciation and knowledge of Southsward and the squirrel family that ruled from its castle. After a while they developed a mutual respect and when the tower guards were formed fully Talyn chose Rip to be her second in command. He has proved himself an able colonel every day since his appointment to the post.
Skills and weaponry: Rip is skilled with various weapons, though he prefers his crossbow or a reliable otter lance more than anything else. He is the fort’s resident maker of all “certified” otter lances and often teaches members of the East Guard who are not otters how to properly use them. He is also capable of using bow, blade, and heavy blunt objects decently enough.
The otter has few other skills outside of fighting and weapons. He can’t sing a note and doesn’t have an artistic bone in his body, though he does appreciate the arts. Something he does take pride in, however, is his abilities as a fisher and apparent mastery of preparing whatever fish he catches, to the delight of the Wide Patrol.
