Rafe
Keel-Billed Toucan x Black Jaguar Chimera | Male

Backstory

Far into the rainforests of Meso-America, into those quasi-Amazonian depths which few men have faced and returned from, those crude, raw ruins where Nature tugs at and plays with reality - here, at the border between worlds, there are things beyond the reckoning of mortal minds. The obscured paradise of the New World is home to beasts, born beyond biological limits, not bound by the laws of chance defined by anthropologists, philosophers, and biologists alike. This is the cradle for natural chimerae, and for gryphonic forms - for the first and last of the dragons, and for the dusk and dawn of time itself.

Of the multitude of those who hunt and are hunted in the rainforest, Rafe is of meek face and delinquent manner - his constituent parts of ramphastid and felid attest to that. Feral, and initially isolated from civilisation as he his, "uncouthe," "bestial," and "wild" are not wholly appropriate: Rafe is a playful creature with a trickster's mind, although food is usually the main motivation, as opposed to spite. Without wings, his semi-avian form seems to most animals to be a mere cosmetic change - brute claw strength and running speed would appear to be the main sources of advantage, but a clever mind and agile bill make quick work of select vegetation around his habitat. Why chase off competing predators when he is capable of consuming sweet-smelling and lavishly-coloured fruits with greater ease? Why risk damage to himself when the trees stand still, their boughs reaching down as if to hand their gifts to the chimera? Rafe learned mild manners through this lifestyle, but his territorial nature still ought to raise hairs on intruders - after all, if at first you spot his bright bill, would you expect the powerful claws behind the brush?

Appearance

Eyes: Pinpoint pupils with cerulean irises and deep, pthalo blue scleras sit in bulbous sockets covered by green feathers which fade paler away from the eye.

Belly fur feathers: Rich black fur-like downy feathers cover Rafe's entire underside.

Main body fur feathers: Save for the front legs (from the elbow down) and a symmetrical mesoamerican/sumerian grey fur pattern, the entire body is coloured as the belly is. Rafe's toes are all white with a sulfur-coloured border against the black feathers, and the plumes from his chest up his neck are this sulfur, fading into white as they reach his throat and eyes. His front legs, from the elbow down, are coloured the same cerulean as his irises and the lower tip of his beak.

Tail: As long as his body, Rafe's tail sports the same rich black plumes, with white uppertail coverts and crimson undertail coverts.

Head: Rafe, aside from his colourful bill which was inherited from the related Keel-Bill Toucan, features a handful of feathers atop his head which are reminiscent of an ornate hawk-eagle's crest, or just of firm, long hair. On each side of his neck there are small angular spirals of grey feathers, of the same style as on his back, shoulders and rump.

Size & Weight: Rafe is quite the large beast, taller than most and . Roughly half a metric tonne (500kg/1000lbs); 147cm (4' 10") tall at the shoulder, 329cm (10' 10") long from the crown to the base of the tail. The tail itself is the same length, at 329cm (10' 10") long.

Personality in a Nutshell

To an acquaintance:
- Distant (physical and emotionally)
- Pressing, as though interrogative
- Highly envious

To a colleague:
- Fraternising and talkative
- Attentive but clingy
- Impressive (as in, attempts impress himself onto others)

To a friend:
- Curious, inquisitive, sometimes intrusive
- Playful, lighthearted, and forgiving
- Treats them like members of a flock

Hobbies & Likes

- Seeing new and interesting people - those who stand on their hind legs are especially rare, so they're an ideal for him.
- Roughhousing and teasing visitors to whom he is well-met.
- Lazing under the sun.
- Preening - while he lacks the wings to preen, his whole body is covered in easily-matted plumage which requires delicate care.
- Leaving large, soft fruits wrapped in leaves at his nesting place to ferment for later.
- The toucan in him adores company, even though friends are hard to come by.

Dislikes

- Sore losers and party-poopers who don't get a joke.
- Scaring visitors off too soon.
- Gryphons who poke and make fun of him being wingless.
- Mirrors. Somewhat of an eisoptophobe, he prefers to avoid seeing his own reflection, particularly in mirrors - whether this is because it reminds him of his mismatched form, or because of some curse from the civilisation which birthed him, it isn't clear.
- Being so alone. Chimerae are hard to come by, especially in the vast rainforest.