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Claudius Aston

Claudius Aston is the son of Tayui Aston and Haku Soul, born in AniWaya on December 31, 2008. Although as a child, he spent most of his time in AniWaya as a reclusive bookworm and only met a few members of the tribe, since his family's departure, he has grown more independent and less introverted. With Saqui Utina, he has two children: Laurentin Aston and Danaë Aston.

During the 2011 AniWaya Conflict, he was captured by Silvano Sadira while scouting in Crimson Dreams and interrogated for information. Upon his return to AniWaya, he helped the other sides oppose Maska Ahote's temporary rule and become an occupying interim leader for a short time until he was succeeded by Ulilohi Ehn.

In May 2012, he was promoted to the position of Digalawigi with the distinction of being a master craftsman: Digalawigi Gadui Gatlvska. He held the rank of the leader of AniWaya until he stepped down in April 2016, at which point his son, Laurentin succeeded him.

Upon AniWaya's disbandment in October 2016, Claudius decided to journey with his son to see where he would found his new pack before continuing on to return to The Great Tribe to rejoin his mate, Saqui Utina.

1.  Personality

Claudius is quiet, shy, and soft-spoken; essentially, an introvert. As a child, Claudius was quick to be embarrassed, cried easily, and had low self-confidence. He has, however, somewhat grown out of this. Claudius is traditional, sometimes to the fault that he is uncompromising. This is often done with the best intentions, as he loves the tribe and the members. He can be very strong-willed and refuses to back down, even if it means he will be hurt in the process. He is very stubborn and has a strong sense of morality and often sees himself as more ethical than others. While he does not have a strong sense of entitlement, he protects that which he has earned fiercely.

He speaks with a stutter and also occasionally twitches or spasms, usually when he becomes conscious of his embarrassment. Although the tics are less noticeable now, because he has since learned how to manage speaking with a stutter, he will occasionally twitch when he becomes very nervous or feels threatened.

• Strengths: Reading, thinking, analyzing, examining.
• Weaknesses: Speaking, being direct, explaining himself.

1.1  Phobias

As a child, he suffered from a number of phobias. Although he has since grown and learned how to manage his fears, he may still occasionally feel very anxious or recall his phobias in times of high stress.

• Agoraphobia — fear of crowds
• Androphobia — fear of men
• Athazagoraphobia — fear of being forgotten or ignored
• Neophobia — fear of anything new
• Social phobia — fear of becoming humiliated in social situations
• Thanatophobia — fear of dying

1.2  Skills

Crafting

Craftsmanship and woodworking (Master) — Saqui taught him how to make a honeysuckle basket and Claudius also helped Nian build his hut. Weapons Crafting (Journeyman) — Chloe taught him how to make a spear and Claudius has made a few, both to practice making spears, and also so that he can practice using them. Dyeing (Master) — he can dye wood, cloth, and other objects with plant dyes Carving (Journeyman) — he has a very rudimentary knowledge of carving, thanks to Dawali

Basket weaving (Dabbler) — Saqui taught Claudius how to make a basket out of honeysuckle plants. Weaving (Dabbler) — Esther taught Claudius a few basics on weaving and also traded him a book. Claudius has not practiced very much, but hopes to do more in the future to improve. Bowl-making (Dabbler) — Hadley taught Claudius how to make bowls out of tree trunks. He has not practiced since Hadley taught him.

Fighting

Spear work (Dabbler) — Ulilohi gave Claudius a ceremonial staff as a gift when he first became a Councilman. In an effort to learn how to use it better, he began practicing with a wooden staff. Fenrir showed Claudius that fighting with a staff and a spear are vastly different experiences, so Claudius has made an effort to separate his practice between the two.

Staff work (Dabbler) — Claudius acquired a staff as a way to practice before moving onto using a spear. He was concerned about using a bladed weapon and found that the staff suited him very well. Currently, he uses his staff as his main weapon and often patrols the borders with a staff strapped to his back.

Other

Reading (Beginner) — he can read and write (a bit) of human English Horseback riding (Beginner) — he may not be the most graceful or particularly skilled at it, but he can do it. Since conquering his fear of horses, Claudius has taken to using them to patrol the borders.

Québecois French (Beginner) — he speaks a bit of quebecois, but it is mostly conversational and cannot express complex ideas or emotions Cherokee (Intermediate) — having grown up in AniWaya, Claudius has picked up quite a bit of Cherokee. He can use common phrases and express simple ideas, and is learning more about complex conjugations with conditional tenses. Plant properties (Dabbler) — through his work in dyeing and some of Dawali's training, he knows a bit about the properties and usefulness of various plants

2.  Relationships

2.1  Family

Grandparents Maternal: Adélaide Aston-L'leh and Torben Liebe Paternal: Colibri Soul and Lisichka Sadira Parents: Tayui Aston and Haku Soul Siblings: Noir Aston, Ocèane Aston and Attila Aston Half-siblings: (by Tayui): Andira Coeur, Carya Aston, Auguste Aston, Valérian Coeur (by Haku): Colibri Haki, Willow Soul, Ash Soul, Emwe Soul, Conor Soul, King Chance, Range Soul, Melee Soul, and Lilin Soulstorm Mate: Saqui Utina Children with Saqui Utina: Laurentin Aston and Danaë Aston

Extended Family Aunts and Uncles: Aurèle Aston, Barthélémy Aston, Honoré Bélanger, Allegro Aston, Melisande Sadira, Mew Sadira Cousins: Anatole Aston, Athanase-Sade Aston, Myrtle Hammerkop, Sébastien Bettong Quoll, Dexter Sadira, Keeleigh Sadira, Vesle Soul, and Mésange Laurier Nieces and nephews: Orléans Aston, Amorette Aston, and Olivia Tarasova For more information, see the Aston, Soul and Sadira family pages

2.2  Friends

• Dawali Amara, who served as a father figure for most of his life
• Sisters Noir and Ocèane, and maybe almost brother Attila because he might actually care about Claudius
• Addison, who he met as a puppy and who was the object of his puppy crush! B'aww!
• Nian, with whom he helped build a hut
• Luna?, a wonderful wolf with whom he become slowly acquainted over a piping hot cup of tea
• Hadley, a fellow craftsman. He met the man when he was visiting AniWaya and the two worked together to make and then repair a wooden bowl.
• Terra, who he met during a walk out of chance. The two became fast friends and Terra loves to embarrass Claudius to see him blush. Claudius, in turn, tries to surprise Terra when he can, but she's too sly, so it doesn't usually work!
• Ulilohi, who he first met following the conclusion of the AniWaya Conflict. Since he's interacted with her a lot, he is confident in her leadership abilities, but doesn't know too much about her personally. He wants to get to know her better, especially now that she's asked him for his aid in leading the tribe.
• Saqui, probably his best friend and current crush in the tribe. Saqui has taught Claudius about life in the Great Tribe and has helped him a lot in many of his crafting projects. Claudius really likes Saqui for her patience and friendliness.
• Io, his fellow councilwoman. At first, he wasn't too thrilled to meet her and found her attitude around Ulilohi to be too casual and disrespectful. Although he still finds her general mannerisms to be too friendly, he's warmed up to her a great deal and respects her, particularly because of the work she does with the animals.
• Chloe, a fellow craftswoman, who showed him how to make spears. He wishes to learn more from her and finds her company to be very pleasant.

2.3  Acquaintances

• Liliana, to whom he was initially somewhat cold. He has taken a liking to the gentle female
• Sakari, who defended his honour when Jefferson was being mean to Claudius
• Voron, who gave him the bad news about Dahlia de Mai and Conor's unfortunate demise
• Dixie-May, a kind loner who insisted on tending to him after she found him wandering around Grandfather's Tears
• Matteo and Gemma, both of whom he accepted into AniWaya when he was an interim leader. He's wary of Matteo since the fight with Anatole and is concerned for Gemma's safety.
• Alaki, Panda, and Venom, all of whom he met when they came to AniWaya looking for Matteo and Gemma. He finds Alaki and Panda to be somewhat abrasive, but otherwise has no faults with them.
• Savina and Vigilante, the two interim leaders of AniWaya, struck Claudius as fairly reasonable. Although he did not mind them personally, he felt it was very shameful to have them occupying AniWaya and was happy that they were able to leave with little fuss.
• Eclipse, a friend of Liliana's. He thought she was very polite and was happy to give her Liliana's horse.
• Vesper, who he found to be generally quite rude and abrasive, but understands why his mother might enjoy her company.
• Fire, Basil, Mitya, tribesmembers who he accepted into AniWaya.

2.4  Do not like!

• Silvano, who imprisoned and interrogated Claudius during the AniWayan War
• Anu, who attacked Claudius when he tried to help her while she was imprisoned in AniWaya
• Maska and Wematin, who assumed control of AniWaya during the 2011 AniWaya Conflict. He absolutely detests the two.
• Haven, who struck him during the last fight between Crimson Dreams and Cour des Miracles when Claudius was trying to signal for help to lead them to Maska. He's a little bitter. :<!

3.  Appearance

• View Gallery

Claudius is predominantly an off-white colour, almost entirely silver. His back, cheeks and flanks are dappled in light tan spots that vary in size. His front paws and back right leg are a slightly lighter tan that also match the underside and tip of his tail. His left ear is brushed in a light tan, with spots the same colour as those on his back descending down.

His eyes are a light sky blue, the same colour as his mother's.

If Claudius were a human, he would look like Sam Huntington, b'aww! :)

3.1  Colouration

• Off White(#D3D3D3): pelt
• Dark Tan (#B8928A): spots on his back, cheek, and flanks
• Lighter Tan (#E9C2AE): front paws, right back leg, underside and tip of his tail, and left ear
• Medium Tan (#B19189): spots on his left ear
• Sky Blue (#1DD6EF): eyes

3.2  Scars and Modifications

• Scars
  • The top of Claudius' left ear is missing (from Haven)
  • Scar across his left shoulder: cannot be seen because it is covered by his fur (from Haven)
  • Fur does not grow back in a thin circle around his left wrist (from Silvano)
  • Missing his left pinky finger (from the hurricane)
• Dyes
  • On his right shoulder, there is a small, swirling design where he dyed a part of his fur a darker grey.
  • On the backs of his hands are the numbers of Emperor Claudius' reign: XLI (41) on his left hand and LV (55) on his right hand.

4.  NPC Companions

4.1  Spirit Guide

Iman the gerenuk is Claudius' spirit guide. She is basically a jerk with a heart of gold. Think: Wolverine from X-Men.

• Species: Gerenuk
• Name: Iman
• Sex: Female
• Personality: Gerenuk the gerenuk is a somewhat vicious, but nonetheless well-meaning herbivore. Ger likes to point things out with brutal honesty and especially loves to tell Claudius what it is he's doing wrong. While Ger does want what's best for Claudius, it can be a little difficult to tell given Iman's rough nature. It was not until Claudius became trapped in his den that Iman revealed her name and sex.^[1]
• Appearance: Long-necked and long-legged, Iman stands 100 centimetres tall. Iman sports comically oversized ears as well as a very short, black tail. Iman's coat is a dusty brown with a tan underbelly.

5.  History

5.1  Early Life

Claudius was born to Tayui on the last day of December. He grew up living in AniWaya and spent most of his time holed up in his mothers' den, too frightened to venture too far out into the world. After encountering a highlands cow, Claudius decided the world outside was far too scary and decided never to leave the den.^[2] He was eventually coaxed out of hiding, and met Addison.^[3] So maybe the outside world isn't that scary after all.

A few months later, he met Conor, and was intrigued by the other boy's courage.^[4] As a result, Claudius has started to look up to Conor as an example of what he could be. For most of his young life, he stayed close to home and kept his mother company. As his siblings slowly disappeared, he became more and more reclusive, fearing that one day he too would simply disappear. Although he knew it was irrational, he imagined their departures resultant of snatchings by an unknown entity. For months, he lived in fear that he too would be snatched from the safety of his home and left somewhere to die.

5.2  His True Parentage

This phobia quickly grew until he developed many others. The only company he felt safe around were his family; however as they increasingly disappeared, his phobias grew. In June 2010, Haku found his mother;this ordeal left her very shaken.^[5] She finally revealed to Claudius his parentage and informed him Haku had murdered Noir.^[6] At this point, Claudius had a mental breakdown and refused to leave the den once more. He grew sicker until October when Ocèane returned. This was a high point in his life and he spent many days talking with her. However, her second disappearance hurt him even more and he quickly returned to the den.

5.3  Relapse and Recovery

Tayui's departure for Anathema in early December was the final straw. It pushed him over the edge and he stayed in his den for days crying. Unlike the previous times, there was no one to comfort him now. In his sickly haze, he realized that if he wanted to survive, he would have to leave his den and hunt for himself. So, he did and failed. He was too emanciated to catch anything, but eventually, he found himself a small rodent for food. It gave him just enough energy to get up the gusto to continue hunting. Dawali called a surprise meeting and Claudius attended to find food a-plenty.^[7] He ate as much as possible to tide him over until his next 'hunting' trip.

He grew stronger, both in health and mind, and was soon venturing out of the den mroe often to hunt. On one of these days, he encountered another tribesmember, Nian Redtree.^[8] He helped the other wolf construct a temporary shelter for the winter and truly enjoyed himself. This gave him the boost of confidence to continue venturing out of his den and he continued this practice for many days.

5.4  Ocèane's Return and Claudius' Rebirth

Two weeks later, he found that Ocèane had returned to AniWaya.^[9] He found her at the borders, where they were joined by Liliana Vess. He ignored Liliana in favour of reuniting with his sister, but felt guilty he had treated her so poorly. He and his sister talked for a long time and Claudius revealed Noir's death and Tayui's departure for Anathema. They agreed that they should hold some sort of ceremony to commemorate Noir's death. They decided to find Dawali and ask him about holding a ceremony for their sister.

The next day, he took his dyeing supplies to find Liliana and offer her his skills as an apology.^[10] Liliana was very gracious and forgiving, and this greatly embarrassed Cladius at first. He eventually realized that she was a very gentle wolf and he came to appreciate her.

Three days later, Dawali held a ceremony for Noir at Grandfather's Tears with Ocèane and Claudius.^[11] Oce and Claudius decide to build her a statue-type of plaque to honour their sister. They set about working on carving, dyeing, and decorating a leftover timber beam from the building of the Great Hall.

Later, the snowstorm hits and Claudius is carefully tucked away in his den. However, he is called to Adagio Creek with the rest of the tribe to honour another tribesmember, Theodoric Martin, who died during the storm.^[12] Claudius is overwhelmed with this after just having performed the same ceremony for his sister and is barely able to speak. He soon realizes how susceptible he is to the forces of nature and decides to hole up in the Town Hall with the rest of the tribe during the snowstorm. When they are snowed in, Cladius even helps dig them out.^[13]

In the spring, Jefferson Soul fills in as a temporary leader to help out in the tribe while Dawali is injured. Claudius, alongside Sakari Amara meet the interim leader.^[14] However, Claudius' stutter proves to be too much for Jefferson. When Jefferson criticizes Claudius for his speech impediment, Claudius informs Jefferson that if he has nothing nice to say, then perhaps he should not say anything at all. For the first time, Claudius shakily stands up for himself. Two days later, Dawali visits Claudius and Claudius is incredibly ashamed of his simplistic lifestyle and confesses his shame to the Chief.^[15] Dawali misinterprets it somewhat, but nonetheless tries to help Claudius feel better about himself. Claudius abruptly mentions his father, Haku, to test to see whether Dawali knew him.

The next day, Claudius decides it is time for his spirit journey, and so he departs AniWaya for two months. ^[16] He makes his way to the old lands, and while he stares across Bleeding Souls on the mountainside, he meets his spirit guide. Gerenuk the Gerenuk, a mean-spirited, but nonetheless well-intentioned giraffe-like grazer. It is safe to say that this herbivore is much more opinionated than Claudius -- and he is quite good at expressing these opinions, too.

5.5  The Imposter

The arrival of Maska Ahote to AniWaya causes many changes and Claudius must force himself to play along and somehow find a way to make things right.^[17] Shortly after, he participated in a disastrous scouting recruitment by Wematin Kuruk, Maska's right-hand man.^[18] He discovered that everyone except him could speak Cherokee and this was a huge blow to his pride. Following this, he seeks out Liliana for her advice, but ends up at the wrong hut and instead meets Luna Sabino?.^[19] He ends up explaining the current state of affairs in AniWaya over tea. After this, he decides to seek out Conor to try and make sense of it all and tell him everything. However, when he arrives at Dahlia de Mai, he discovers that the pack is no more. Instead, a former Dahlian, Voron Radav, finds him and explains that not only did Dahlia fall, but that Conor had, too.^[20] Disheartened, Claudius returns to AniWaya.

When the opportunity to do something about the situation and more importantly, against Maska, he jumps on it. He follows Ralla's call and meets with other members who dislike Maska's intrusion.^[21] Shortly after, Maska calls another meeting to explain that Liliana and Nayati had left, taking their puppies with them to Crimson Dreams.^[22] According to Maska, this was a crime which warranted war against the other pack. Claudius volunteers to scout ahead with the intent of warning the other pack, but is turned down. So he ends up participating in the raid against Crimson Dreams.^[23] He tries to warn them, as planned initially, but is captured by Silvano Sadira.^[24] Silvano takes him to a house and interrogates Claudius, who readily spills everything he can. Claudius is brought to Maska during a parley and traded back to AniWaya for their captives.^[25]

With no other home, Claudius decides to remain in AniWaya. A few days later, his brother Attila finds him and the two talk for a bit. Although at first the conversation in pleasant, Attila and Claudius quickly become resentful of one another and they begin to argue.^[26] However, argument gives way to understanding and the two brothers for once develop some understanding of one another. Even though Attila wanted Claudius to join him and Tayui near the Pictou River?, Attila later comes to accept Claudius' reasons for remaining in AniWaya.

In September, Claudius tries to bring food to the prisoner, Anu.^[27] She rejects his attempts at help and instead attacks him. Claudius, not wanting to hurt her further, does not defend himself and instead allows her to attack and injure him. When he leaves the prisoner's cabin, he vows to become better and leaves AniWaya to hunt.^[28] Dixie-May Jackson finds him and tends to the wounds sustained by Anu.

In October, a group from Crimson Dreams and Cour des Miracles attack AniWaya.^[29] Claudius tries to help them find Maska and free Dawali, but before he can do so, Haven Aatte attacks him. Once his intent is clear, he leads them to Maska to depose of the tyrant. Later that month, while moving about the neutral territories, he comes across Silvano once more.^[30] This time, he is accompanied by a female wolf, Giselle Fantasia. Claudius and Silvano trade barbs and it is revealed that Silvano had taken Claudius as hostage during the war.

At the end of October, Maska and his supporters are imprisoned as a result of the raid, and are kept in the prisoners' cabin. All prisoners formerly kept there were released. Leadership in CD and CdM are considering what to do with the situation, while members who had fled from or been exiled from AniWaya are encouraged to return. A tentative attempt of diplomacy is made, but Maska refuses it. Savina and Vigilante occupy AniWaya as occupying forces and Claudius is made the temporary 'leader' (but definitely not Kalona) to act as an intermediary between Cour des Miracles, Crimson Dreams, and AniWaya. In November, an emissary from the Great Tribe arrives: Ulilohi Ehn.^[31] She is surprised to be greeted by Claudius, who explains that Maska is being held for war crimes and is pending a decision. She requests to see Maska, but Claudius is uncomfortable bringing him to the prisoner. He is worried she will try to help him escape. Instead, he calls for Vigilante and updates the other occupier of the situation. They agree that Ulilohi should not be allowed to see Maska until they can determine her intentions. Ulilohi is made the leader of AniWaya^[32] and Maska and Dawali, with supporters, are sent back to the Great Tribe to partake in Maska's defense (or otherwise) on the accusations that he instigated war onto AniWaya without the right to do so.^[33]

5.6  Being

While a temporary leader of AniWaya, Claudius accepts Matteo Trovato and Gemma Rhiannon-Sawtooth into the pack.^[34] They are refugees seeking asylum from their former pack, Anathema. Shortly thereafter, a convoy of Alaki, Panda Behr and Venom Trombetta arrive at AniWaya's borders asking about the new tribesmembers.^[35] Not wanting any strife between the two packs, Claudius lies about the arrival of the newcomers. However, he later finds Matteo attacking Anatole in a frenzy and begins to suspect Matteo's reasons for leaving Anathema.^[36] He and Anatole discuss the matter later and they are both unnerved by the events.^[37] The matter is put to rest for a short time. Claudius instead decides to focus his attention on his craftsmanship. He meets Neela Garcia at the Winter Festival.^[38] They trade some tips for carving. Upon his return to AniWaya, he comes across a visitor in the lands: Hadley.^[39] He helps Hadley carve a bowl and possibly makes a new friend!

In March, Claudius ventures out to the neutral territories east of AniWaya and meets Terra, an excitable coyote.^[40] He ends up accompanying her back to the mansion in Cour des Miracles and Terra delights in making Claudius uncomfortable. They end up parting on good terms after sharing a big slab of meat for a snack. Unfortunately, later this month, Matteo's disloyalty is realized and Ulilohi banishes him from the tribe for spying on AniWaya for Inferni and for attacking Anatole.^[41] This causes a mistrust of Inferni for Claudius and he suspects them as spies for a very long time.

In April, Tayui returned to AniWaya to see Claudius.^[42] Claudius was unimpressed with her sudden reappearance and was bitter that she had not tried to contact him sooner. He tells her about the war with Crimson Dreams and Cour des Miracles and Tayui promises to stay in better contact. Claudius also receives Terra as a visitor and they play in the hot springs together.^[43] He gives her some relationship advice and realizes that he is harbouring a crush on her. Things improve as the month progress when Ulilohi gives both Claudius and Io gifts.^[44] Although Claudius does not take to Io at first, his opinion of her slowly improves with time.

In May, Claudius is appointed as the councilman of the tribe.^[45] Although his previous time as the interim leader was unpleasant, he is happy to help and serve his tribe once more. His first task as the sub-leader is to greet traders from Casa di Cavalieri and Cercatori d'Arte.^[46] He trades with them to acquire tools for dyemaking and knives for carving. His second task as sub-leader involves working with his friend, Luna, to begin the agricultural project and plant crops in the tribe.^[47] For the project, he is responsible for collecting and organizing the necessary seeds and tools.^[48]

In June, he meets a new face: Eclipse Soulstorm.^[49] Hailing from Cercatori d'Arte, she wishes to speak with Liliana after finding her horse. Claudius tells Eclipse about the events leading up to Liliana's death and asks her to care for the horse instead of returning it to AniWaya.

In July, he meets with Luna to thank her for her important work in the agriculture project.^[50] They once again share a cup of tea. A few days later, Ulilohi informs Claudius that Liam Rhiannon raped Gemma, so they head to Anathema to find Liam.^[51] He once again meets Alaki and meets Naniko D'Angelo for the first time and finds them both to be distasteful. When he returns to AniWaya, he attempts to comfort the broken Gemma.^[52] Later that month, and the only good thing to occur, is the return of Saqui Utina, the daughter of Lilian and Nayati, to the tribe.^[53] Claudius accepts her into AniWaya with open arms.

In August, after months of peace, Claudius heads to Cour des Miracles to request to have their warriors back.^[54] Once he arrives, he finds that Silvano has now ascended to a leader position and is very displeased. He returns to AniWaya, victorious in his quest: they re-instate their warrior ranks. Once again, the only thing to brighten up this month is Saqui: she shows Claudius how to make a reed basket.^[55] His mother returns to AniWaya later that month, but with disappointing news: she is moving to Vinátta with her mate.^[56] Although Claudius misses her, he recognizes that his place is in AniWaya. Later, he receives another visitor: Vesper, hailing from Inferni.^[57] Claudius does not trust her after his episode with Matteo, and further, finds her to find rather brash and blunt. She makes matters worse for herself when she challenges him, but eventually cedes and allows Claudius to escort her to the borders of the tribe.

6.  Threads

6.1  2008-2012

6.2  2013

6.3  2014

6.4  2015

6.5  2016

6.6  Rank Threads

Equa Gatlvska