Name: Six
Species: Norway rat, mismarked agouti berkshire variety
Age: 18 months
Weight: 766 grams
Birthplace: University of Iowa
Eye colour: blue
Markings: Brown with a grey stomach and white socks on each leg. His white markings always tend to look a bit grubby. His facial markings consist of: white triangles over his eyes, which are framed in black, and the same for his muzzle. He has dark patches around his eyes. His nose is black. He has two small tufts of fur on his head which resemble tiny horns. The scars on his face form an inverted pentagram, the two upper points of which join with these tufts of hair on his forehead. I appreciate that his markings are complex, particularly regarding where the scars cross on his face. He has the number 6 etched into his forehead as well as in a circle on his upper left arm. He is an older rat so his fur is thick and not in great condition. He isn't structurally all that big, but hes very hefty. Some of it is muscle, but he definately has a bit of middle-aged buck fat :P His paws are large for his size, and his fingers are short and fat. He has a ruff of coarser fur over his shoulders and around his neck.

Extras: He has three notches in his right ear, and four in his left. He has a metal plate covering the left hand side of his head, and this has a small hole in it.



General:
Six is an ex laboratory rat, his allocated number was, unsurprisingly, 6. No-one knows exactly what he was used for as he is very guarded about it and claims it is not relevent. However, the metal structure on his head is indicative that he was most likely involved in some kind of stereotaxic surgery. Really, though, his past is fairly mysterious and he does not discuss it.

Six is the alpha of all the other laboratory rats, even Faith. However, he disappeared soon after their escape from the lab, leaving Faith no choice but to take on the alpha role himself. He is very imposing and intimidating and although all his group adore him, they are scared of him to a degree. Six demands obediance and he isn't afraid to reprimand any rat who doesn't give it to him. He has a great deal of knowledge, but he is very cryptic in how he chooses to dispense it. It is sometimes hard to follow his train of thought and he'll often begin talking about things that seem to have no relevence to the subject. Few ever question him though, for they assume he knows full well what he's talking about, and it is their own mental failings preventing them from understanding him.
He's extremely intelligent, but not obviously so; he doesn't boast or show off. But rest assured, he is a genius.

Six is devoted to the idea of the group being a complete machine, and if any one member is missing, it will not function properly. He will not tolerate any behaviours which will be detrimental to the group, and even threatens some with being ousted completely if they mess up, but he would never really do this.
Because underneath the front of being a harsh, cold, strict leader, he adores his group and would gladly give his life for any one of them. He takes on almost a fatherly role and his priority is making sure his rats are safe, first and foremost. If he appears to be harsh, its only because he wants the best for his group, and his wisdom and experience means he can usually be trusted to make the right choices for them.
If nothing else, he makes them feel safe.
The other rats seem to understand that he acts the way he does through necessity, and that he is not just simply trying to be a pain in the arse. Sometimes they may complain about his rules and strictness, but they all know he only acts this way because he cares about them.

It was Six that inflicted the scars of their numbers on the upper arm of each rat. He did this upon leaving the lab so each rat would remember their place in life and their roots, and also, probably, to enforce some kind of dominance. He also insists on calling each rat by their lab number instead of their name, for he claims names are a human concept they would be better off not to adopt. The exception to this is Faith, whom he will occasionally call by name but didn't do so until he had 'earned the right to be called Faith' by showing he could lead the group himself.

It may not seem like it, but Six is very tuned in to the goings on of each individual in his group. He seems to almost have a psychic ability to tell if they're upset about something, and will take them aside to talk about it and make sure they're ok. He questions Jester fairly often about his nightmares and seems concerned about him in particular. However, he does not tolerate whining or attention seeking. If he deems someone to be over-dramatising, he quickly knocks that rubbish out of them. He also seems to know where each rat has been during the day, and what they've been up to. Its hard to keep anything a secret from him within the group, and god help you if you with-hold any important information. He sometimes has an unnerving habit of grinning in a psychotic clown way at you when he's angry, apparently just to freak you out more. It is always more worrying when Six smiles then when he frowns.

He is fearless, and there is nothing on earth that scares him. He will go head to head with any other rat, a dog, a human or anything else which threatens him or his group. Unlike Faith, there is no self doubt in him and he is truely as brave and confident as he appears. And he expects the same from his group. He has no aversion to blood, and infact seems to like it. He has been known to daub it on himself, though no one really knows why.
He seems immune to pain, and has evaded death several times before. He really should have been dead many times over by now.
One thing to be said for Six is that he only asks from his group that which is is willing to give himself. He works hard and is devoted, and simply asks that everyone else be the same. He also does not ask for more than an individual is capapble of. If he asks someone to do something, its because he believes they can. This, in turn, gives his group confidence in themselves.

He does have a fun side, though. He appreciates that all the rats in his group are youngsters, so he lets them chase him and wrestle with him. In fact, he encourages it; the rougher the better. He has a particular bond with Zero, the youngest in the group, and they regularly have mock fights.