The Kindred are Shapeshifters of a restricted variety. Their powers originate from a curse that dates back to the days of the Greek gods. Nobody is currently aware entirely of what that origin is, but stories and myths have been passed down from generation to generation.

The most widely believed telling is that one of the original ancestors of the Kindred was the story of the Brothers Two. They were two brothers who had deemed to lay eyes upon the visage of Artemis. Tales already told have warned of the danger of this decision. In this case, the god Apollo took his displeasure out by cursing the two brothers into an Other form.

Over the millennia this developed into the entire existence of the Kindred. They have formed their own civilization, their own structures and their own rules. They live by a strictly enforced moral code.

There are ten different kinds of Kindred.

• Jaguars - Panthera Onca

• Hawks/Falcons/Eagles - Falco

• Cheetahs - Ghepardo

• Lions - Leo

• Wolves - Lupos

• Panthers - Pardus

• Leopards - Leopardus

• Tigers - Tigris

• Bears - Ursa

• Dragons - Draco

Each sect forms their own community and has their own leadership. Each group is referred to as a Patria. It is common for like to run with like. Fraternization between the groups is not prohibited, but it is frowned upon. It has lead to numerous conflicts in the past, none of which have ended without bloodshed in some form or another.

Two Kindred will always give birth to a Kindred. One Kindred and one non-Kindred have a 75% chance of giving birth to a Kindred. If a Kindred mates with a non-Kindred, they are forced to leave the Patria and live in excommunication for the safety of their mate.

Mating between different Patria is not outright forbidden, but it has lead to ostracization from either Patria. Every now and then, there are extremely rare genetic flukes where a Kindred from one Patria gives birth to a Kindred from another. These are by no means the norm. If you are a Panther, mating with a Panther, you will give birth to a Panther. The same follows for everything. The genetics of the Dracos are less…..cemented than that of the other Patrias. They are the most elusive and most thinned of all the Kindred.

Kindred are by nature loners, with the exception of their Patrias. They tend to keep to establishments that cater to Kindred. There are several bars smattered about New Orleans for this express purpose.

The Kindred are not relegated simply to New Orleans, however. They are spread out across the world. Certain Patrias are more widespread than others, and certain ones tend to congregate towards certain locales. The heart of Kindred culture is currently in New Orleans, due to the vast amount of mystical energies that are amassing around the city.

Kindred Terminology

Council - The ruling council. One member from each of the different Packs. All decisions and laws are passed through them and must be voted with a majority. The Council is also responsible for setting up safe houses (neutral ground for the different Patria to congregate, and places where humans cannot traverse without permission).

The Council is overseen by one singular Kindred. Nobody knows who this Kindred is, or if it’s just a myth.

Regis - The Regis is the leader of each individual pack. There are separate packs within each Patria and a Grand Regis who rules among all the packs of the Patria. The Grand Regis is also the Council representative for that Patria.

Rogues - A Rogue is a member of the Kindred who has not sworn fealty to the Council, and who has denied their one chance to do so after their initial refusal, or one who has broken the laws and edicts set forth by the Council. This term also applies to those of the Kindred who have been shunned from their Patrias and who have committed crimes.

A Rogue has not always committed a crime. There are allowances for members of the Kindred to remove themselves from their Patria and exist solitarily. This option is only taken up during extenuating circumstances. There have been three Kindred to go peacefully Rogue.

Seekers - Seekers are the select Kindred who are designated with seeking out and hunting down Rogues and Slayers. A Kindred will have one chance to turn themselves over to their Patria before being labeled a Rogue. After that, they are moved onto the list. Of all the Rogues, there is a list of the top ten who are kill on sight by any Seeker. Aside from that, there are specific Seekers for each Patria.

Seekers are not viewed favorably by the rest of the Kindred, despite being a necessary evil. They are loathe to make personal connections, knowing that if any of those connections go Rogue, they’ll be forced to hunt them.

Sentinels - A Sentinel is a protector of their patria. They are less aggressive than the Seekers and their foremost function is the protection of those under their banner. Their foremost duty tends to be the monitoring of underage Kindred, to ensure that the more animalistic nature doesn’t take over them and lead to incidents within the Mundane or other mystical populations.

In times of war, the Sentinels function as borderline generals and are considered some of the most deadly Kindred alive, competed with for that title only by the Seekers. Sentinels are viewed much more favorably than the Seekers due to their more altruistic functions.

Slayer - A Slayer is the most hated and perhaps most feared, of all the Kindred. A Slayer is a Kindred who has given him or herself over to the full force of their animal nature. They are the top priority of the Seekers

How The Powers Work

A Kindred is born Kindred from birth. Until the age of eighteen, they are unable to control their shifts. Every full moon a shift results from the age of birth until the day of their eighteenth birthday.

Upon that birthday, a Kindred has been considered to reach their adulthood and as such, are now responsible for all actions of their own and no longer fall under parental rule.

Due to their unique physiology and genetic makeup, the Kindred are especially long-lived. Eighty years is the equivalent to the human fifty, and the median age of death is between one hundred-fifty and two hundred years old.

The Kindred are able to shift at will, with no restrictions on time of day, or moon cycle. Gifted Kindred are able to shift particular parts of their bodies (eyes, claws, etc), for specific purposes. This is a rare gift, usually only held by the Seekers and Sentinels.

A shift can be forced upon the Kindred, and this is a concern for when they are out among mundanes, as they are vulnerable for the first minute or so after a shift.

Real Name: Zara Thibedeaux

Alias: Zara Thorne, Little Z, Little Thorne, Voleuse

Alignment: Thieves Guild

Height: 5'2"

Age: 20

Weight: 103 lbs

Hair Colour: Russet brown/black

Eye Colour: Gold

Affiliation: Thieves Guild

Species: Mutant

Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia

Identity: Private

Gender: Female

Family: Audrey Thorne (mother - deceased), Charles Thibedeaux (adopted father), Rhona Thibedeaux (adopted mother)

Occupation: Thief

Grainy Genesis

Audrey Thorne had been lauded as one of the foremost technological minds of her generation. She rose quickly through the ranks of the esteemed braintrust of tech savvy minds and had begun creating technology of her own. By the age of 23 she had several programs under her belt.

At age 24, it had all gone to hell. Shrouded in false scandal, all of her assets seized, she had nothing. Persona non grata not only in every circle that had once been home to her, but in every circle period, she soon found herself destitute and homeless. For a while, small scams sufficed, but sooner rather than later, an unknown hacking entity began tracking her. It was around this same time that she found out she was pregnant with her first, and only, child.

This left her with no other route than street scams. She was pulling anything and everything to stow away a nest egg for her soon to be born daughter.

Destitute Child

Zara Thorne was born into the world with no understanding of just how cruel a place it was. She learned quickly and she learned well. At the age of five, in the middle of the night, the two females were disturbed in their slumber. What was presumed to be a fellow squatter had made his way into the apartment that the two had taken up 'residence' in and stabbed Audrey to death before departing.

The young Zara spent two days with her mothers dead body before traversing outdoors.

Found quickly by a small group of adolescent ragtag thieves who took her on as something akin to a mascot, Zara quickly adapted their thieving ways.

At the age of seven, she made her first mistake. Zara, affectionately referred to as Little Z, attempted to pickpocket Charles Thibedeaux. Unknown to most, he was the head of the illustrious Thieves Guild, a mere whisper of legend amongst the group she ran with. Instead of cutting the child down, turning her over to the police or dropping her off at an orphanage, he did something not only unexpected, but unprecedented.

Using contacts at City Hall, Charles and his wife Rhona pushed forward adoption proceedings for the young girl that he saw not only skill, but need in. He was not a heartless man, nor was his wife, and the two had longed for a child for years, to no avail. Zara was their salvation, as they were hers.

Prodigious Daughter

Zara Thibedeaux was the Princess of the Thieves Guild, the Daughter of New Orleans. She had everything she could ask for. Parents who adored her and a driven purpose in life. Zara excelled quickly in the skill set that she had dedicated herself to, particularly the acrobatic aspect of things.

She began sharpening her thief on small crimes, basing herself out of the tavern that her father owned. It was small scams at first and then she broadened her range. By the time that she hit eighteen, she had pulled over businessman, moguls and others of that ilk. But it still wasn't enough to quench insatiable thirsts. The thirst to prove herself and the thirst to never have to beg for a single damn penny. She would never be handed the life that her mother had.

Her parents stood by with pride and concern as they watched their young, elegant daughter sprout into the young woman who could arguably be called one of the best that the Guild had ever had.

Roaring Twenty

By the age of twenty, Zara Thibedeaux had cemented an international reputation as an uncatchable, untraceable thief. Known by many names, among them Voleuse and Umbra, she had become a myth in the international criminal community. Half believed she was a man, half believed she was a group of people all perpetuating crime under a single title, none could ever lay claim to having seen her. At least not knowingly.

BASIC INFORMATION

Name: Zara Thibedeaux

Alias: Gadai

Gender: Female

Age: 20

Date of birth: March 24th (Aries)

Place of birth: New Orleans

Nationality: American

Heritage: French, Irish, German

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 109 lbs

Eye color: Hazel (green w/ a gold star surrounding the pupil)

Hair color: Black with a blue sheen to it

Occupation: Thief

Family: N/A

Identity: Private

Sexuality: Straight-ish

Marital Status: Single

History

Born to Charles and Rhona Thibedeaux in New Orleans, Lousiana, Zara unknowingly grew up the princess of the Thieves Guild. Living in a beautiful manor with everything she could have wanted, she was always kept down to Earth. Through frequent charity work and the constant influx of less than upstanding citizens, her father quickly rose in hidden political power within New Orleans.

The Thieves Guild, although it clearly specialized in thieving was also concerned with other power-grabbing opportunities. This lead to, at one point, being involved with the mob before extricating itself. An institution that stretched back to colonial times, they had always existed in the city in one form or another. There was definitive line of succession, or at least there had not been until 1921 when Gerard Sinclair obtained leadership from his best friend, who had ventured off to greener pastures.

From that point forward, succession passed by blood. The eldest child - or, in the case they didn't want it, the next in line, would obtain the title of Guild Leader. From the age of 18, they would be trained in the methods of the Guild. Other than the agenda of obtaining and keeping power, they had an artifact collection vendetta and were continuously chasing hints regarding one specific fabled artifact - Excalibur.

At the age of sixteen, on the night of her Sweet Sixteen birthday party, Zara witnessed an interaction between her father and one of the thieves, something that made everything else in her life make sense. All the cloak and daggers, all the shady businessmen in her house, everything.

Without her parents realization, she began practicing the craft herself, sharpening both physical and mental skills in an attempt to impress while maintaining her normal activities.

Abilities

• Hand to Hand Combatant (Semi-Advanced) - Trained in expert combat techniques from assorted Arcadians behind her father’s back since the age of thirteen, Zara has become quite adept at a myriad of different styles. Mixing them together in an innovative blend coupled with her preternatural grace and speed, she is a force to be reckoned with aside from any of her other abilities or powers.
• Thief (Advanced) - Surrounded by thieves from birth and the heir to the Arcadian legacy, it isn’t a matter of if she can steal something, simply how long it would take her to do so. Zara Thibedeaux hasn’t met a lock, safe or object otherwise barring her from her goal that she has not been able to overcome. Utilizing her natural instincts and multitude of taught tactics, she is well on her way to being the world’s premiere thief.

Powers

• Density Control - Zara has the ability to control her body’s density and either increase or decrease its mass. At the moment, she has only figured out how to decrease, allowing her to become completely intangible. While intangible, she is able to pass through inorganic objects without disruption to either herself or said object. This ability has not been tested on anything organic. An additional benefit is that while she is in an intangible state, electronics and surveillance equipment are unable to pick up on her signature.

• Panther Form - Due to unknown (to her) circumstances, Zara has the ability to shift her form into a panther. Her panther form is smaller than those you would see out in the wild and she can force change her size. Unlike in were-related myths, Zara is bound by no outside circumstances. She can shift at her own will. This ability set in the night of her 18th birthday

• Enhanced Speed - Due to her panther abilities, Zara has an enhanced level of speed. She tops out (to her knowledge) at about 45 MPH. Her reaction time is also vastly above that of a baseline human.

• Enhanced Durability - Zara's enhanced durability allows her a small measure of added protection against injury. This is most effective against blunt force trauma. It allows her to jump (or fall) from high areas (two stories up is the max tested) with no injury and sustain wounds that would cause internal damage to those without the added durability. It is not as effective against slicing attacks and presumably against bullets.
• Enhanced Smell - Zara’s olfactory senses are heightened enough that she can track personal scents. As with all of her other abilities tied to her panther form (all enhanced senses) this is greatly heightened when in her panther form.
• Enhanced Hearing - When focused enough, Zara is able to hear a pin drop across a crowded room. Most often, she utilizes this ability to eavesdrop and gather pertinent information when casing a job.

Alcohol flowed bountifully as jazz music wafted through the air. Zara Thibedeaux and her two best friends had managed to procure more than their fair share of libations as well as the boat that belonged to her best friend's father. It was a mild night out on the bayou behind Jackson Bouchard's house and the gang of three had decided to celebrate Zara's birthday in abandon.

Thick as thieves throughout high school; Zara, Jackson and Halle had always had each other’s backs through thick and thin. Three months away from their graduation, they had been thoroughly infected by Senioritis and the warm spring air of a late March evening.

The deck of the boat was strewn with the group of slightly intoxicated teenagers, tipsiest among them the birthday girl herself. Wrapping her fingers around the longneck bottle of beer, Zara tipped her head back and took a long languid sip. “Slow down there, champ, you don’t wanna get completely smashed this early in the night. Your official birthday isn’t for another three hours.”

Zara arched an eyebrow as she bemusedly looked over at Jackson. “Always looking out for me, aren’tcha?” The Rolling Stones’ ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ blared from the sound system aboard the boat as Halle leaned against Jackson’s shoulder, a bottle of Loopy in hand as they passed it back and forth.

‘If you didn’t have somebody to look out for you, you would’ve gotten your ass beat by now, chere.” Half true, half not. Zara had a tendency to not back down from trouble. So when pretentious girls decided to cause issues with her best friend and things of theirs went missing, eyes turned to the sometimes quiet, sometimes boisterous mysterious Thibedeaux girl. Over the years she’d built up a reputation as somebody not to screw with, but that just brought people out of the woodwork in an attempt to do just that.

“I would...I’d disagree with that.” The beer hung loosely from her fingertips as the words were slurred slightly, the night of drinking beginning to take effect.

“Oh, would you?” Wrapping an arm around Halle, he pulled her in against his shoulder while Zara stood and padded her way across the deck. Wearing high-waisted jean shorts and a tank top that hit her just above the pierced belly button she looked like your normal teenage girl, getting ready to celebrate her impending eighteenth birthday. But there was something other about her, something off, something not of this world that flowed through her veins. It showed every now and then with the pure gold eyes or a little wry look unbeknownst to her, unbeknownst to anybody.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I would.” Zara grinned at them over her shoulder as she leaned on the flat wood rail of the boat. There was a rumbling pain in her stomach as she spoke, one which she ignored and chalked up to too much alcohol. “I would’ve kicked all their asses.”

Halle shot Jackson a knowing glance. Zara may be hard on the outside, but her two best friends knew that inside she was as soft as any, as much as she didn’t want to be. “Right, Zara, right,” Halle placated her as eyes began to droop and Jackson got up to grab the next six pack.

Three Hours Later

11:27 PM rolled around and the three teenagers were all passed out drunk, splayed aboard the deck where they’d set up blankets and pillows for this eventual circumstance. A sudden shooting pain in her hands woke Zara up from her drunken sleep. Her fingers curled into her palms against her will, spasming uncontrollably.

The pain was like nothing that she had ever felt before. It felt like fire flowing through her veins, a needle puncturing every inch of her skin, over and over again. If she could rip her own skin off and crawl out of her body, she would have done just that at this point in time.

The wailing noise of pain sounded inhuman on the warm night air and it immediately roused Halle and Jackson from their sleeps. Despite being still intoxicated from the ample amounts of liquor consumed earlier in the night, they both stumbled up from their sleeping positions and rushed over to the side of the deck where Zara was splayed out on her back, body tense with pain.

“Make it stop, make it stop. Pleaseeeee,” she begged, as if that would make any difference. Jackson was immediately down on his knees next to her, feeling her forehead, running his hands over her to check for injuries. All of those AP anatomy and biology courses he’d taken in pre-med anticipation suddenly kicking in. It was of no use, there were no discernible injuries to her, physically speaking, at least. Internally was another matter. Her organs felt like they had all been smashed with a battering ram.

“Zara, Zara, what did you drink?” Jackson shook her lightly as her head just rolled back and forth. Black hair with tones of gold strewn about, falling riotously across her face and the wood planking of the deck.

“Beer...some vodka.” Waiting several seconds for the pain to pass, Zara bit her lip, leaving tooth mark impressions in her lower lip. “Not....that.”

“Halle, get behind her, help support her.” Jackson directed his girlfriend as she sat behind Zara, grasping her hands. It sent Zara into a frantic spasm that displayed in an almost seizure-like state.

“Jackson, what the hell’s wrong with her?” Halle was frantic, kneeling off to the side of her best friend and able to do nothing to ease the pain, let alone explain it.

The second hands of the unseen clock ticked by. It was now 11:34; three minutes shy of the 18^th birthday of Zara Thibedeaux. “I don’t know…I don’t freaking know. Get your cell, call my house, and tell them to call an ambulance.” Cell service out in the bayou was spotty at best and entirely nonexistent at its worst. He prayed that it worked this time. “Then get behind the wheel and bring us in while I stay with Z.” Halle was in action, her ash blonde messy bun bouncing up and down as she trotted off.

Wails and small keening noises of pain that had been continuous stopped with no prior warning. Zara went entirely still and her eyes shot open. Naturally hazel, tending to appear various shades of green, they were now pure gold.

Zara had no idea what was happening to her, what this prowling feeling inside her gut was, why she was in so much pain, But it was happening nonetheless and all she could do at the moment was ride out the pain and pray to a God that she had stopped worshipping that it would come to an end soon.

Her fingers spasmed as they involuntarily clenched and unclenched. The light of the nearly full moon beamed down on her, casting an eerie glow on the young woman in the throes of her pain. The flats of her feet slammed against the mahogany wood of the boat’s deck as her back arched up in the air.

All of a sudden, long sleek claws sprouted from her fingernails as her hands transformed into what could only be described as paws. Zara blindly reached out and the claws dragged through the wood of the deck as Jackson stared at her, speechless. As quickly as they had appeared, they were gone, although the gold still lingered in her eyes toned down from the initial shock of color.

Everything went silent as Zara rolled over onto her side, reverted back to her normal self. The pain was subsiding and her clarity of mind was returning, but everything was still all scattered. She braced one palm against the deck as she came up onto her knees, leaning on all fours as she tried to catch her breath.

Halle had come back over, stopping the boat in its own wake in the center of one of the bayou outlets. Jackson and Halle just sat down, Halle’s hand rested against his knee as he placed his own in hers. None of them spoke a word as Zara sat down Indian-style, her back against the rail of the boat. “That was new.”

Two Years Ago

The strings and horns of a jazz quartet drifted through the open windows of the Thibedeaux manor as Rhona bustled around her only child. It quarter to midnight on the night of Zara's sixteenth birthday and the day had gone off without a hitch. Bracing her hands against one of the posters of the antique ornate four-poster bed, Zara grinned as her mother undid the tiny hooks on the back of her dress.

The heavy silk brocade fabric fell to the ground, revealing the black silk slip that she had worn beneath it. Turning around, she wrapped an arm around her mother, pulling her in for a huge. "It was perfect, Mére." The statuesque matriarch ran a hand over her daughter's thick hair, kissing the top of her head.

"Your father won't say as much, but he's very proud of you." Rhona sat her daughter down on the padded seat of her vanity and began brushing the hair that hung down to the small of her back, just as she had when she was a child. "You've grown into a beautiful young woman, a stór (my treasure)."

"He's always so busy." Zara slipped the heirloom bracelet off of her wrist prior to removing the subtle makeup she had worn for the evening's affairs.

"He is, yes. But he loves you so very much. He does what he does for the family."

Sighing as her mother finished brushing her hair, Zara let her mind wander for several moments to the nefarious figures she continuously caught sight of. She may be sixteen years old, but she wasn't dumb. There was something going on that nobody else was telling her about.

-----

The spring scents of flowers coming into bloom wafted through the open windows that lead to Zara's palatial bedroom. The white cotton sheets of the bed covered her and her curtains billowed in the breeze from her open windows. The murmuring of voices caught her attention as she read in bed.

Laying down the book, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. The flannel shirt that she had worn to bed hit her at mid-thigh, shifting around her legs as she walked over to the French doors that opened out onto her balcony, overlooking a quad between the combined balconies of the house.

Hushed tones rose up to her ears as she silently stepped onto the wrought iron balcony. Crouching down low, obscured by the cascading vines intertwined around the rails, she had the perfect vantage point to hear what was going on.

"We've been unable to rouse any clues as to the item's location." The voice conversing with her father was oddly familiar, but she was unable to place it.

"What about the Runners?"

"They've pulled up nothing other than this." There was the small rustling as a piece of old paper was unfolded and shown. Zara was unable to get a glimpse at it, but her father murmured something about the library and a tome they had there.

Sprinting to the library, Zara went directly towards the back corner where books pertinent to the family's history were kept behind a case with the utmost level of care and respect. Pulling the one that her father had named out, she quickly used the back passages to get back up to her bedroom, leaving the quiet room just as her father and his companion entered it.

Closing and locking all of the doors to her bedroom, Zara curled up in bed with the beaten leather-bound book. Approximately four inches thick, she had never been allowed to touch it and for the first time, had allowed her curiosity to win. Flipping through, page after page, there were numerous symbols she didn't recognize. About 1/3 of the way through, she finally found something discernible.

There was a passage of history, detailing something called the Thieves Guild and its bloodline, a bloodline and family lineage that ran through the Thibedeaux clan. With a thud, the book dropped open on her bed, the hand-drawn pictures of her descendants looking back at her.

Trembling fingers reached out, gently grabbing the book. Flipping it open to the last page was a family tree. There was an odd symbol above her mothers name, one that would require further exploration. But above her, was one simple word 'heir'.

Zara had gotten lost in her own little world, trying to work through the confusion, disbelief and excitement that was coursing through her veins. A soft knock on her bedroom door caused her to gasp aloud and quickly hide the book beneath her covers. "Yes?"

"Sweetie, it's Mom. It's late, time for bed."

Sliding her hand under the covers, she touched the book, gently stroking fingers across the soft cover. "Alright mom." There was so much to do tomorrow.