The first seventeen years of Zoe's life were about what one would expect from a water monitor in captivity. She enjoyed a carefree lifestyle as the pet to a reasonably well-to-do family. The changing and tumultuous financial situation of the humans meant very little to her - they cared for her as well as they could, took her on adventures, ensured she was fed and content with life.

And then, on her eighteenth birthday, Zoe's mind was awakened to the collective memories of her ancestors, from the earliest squamates to even further before, of the ancient lizard kings and their vast empire, of that empire's collapse and the people's struggle to survive, to their war against the mammalian shifters, to their people's interbreeding both with the human and reptile populations of the Earth.
Over the course of a long dream, Zoe quickly began to understand things she had never understood before, to ask questions she had never thought to ask, and to recognize her place in a world she had never cared to understand. 

Suffice to say, her family needed some time to adjust to their beloved pet now being able to talk and transform into a human to walk among them. But the Cevallos clan did not pride themselves on being fair-weather friends and soon the newly awakened mokole had gone from "pet" to "sister" in the eyes of her former owners.

Being both sterile and out to a small group of humans didn't earn her much favor in the eyes of the other mokole who became aware of her presence, but it was soon determined that staying with her family would be best for everyone. And so she remains in her suburb, cherished and loved by the people who raised her, and loving and protecting them in turn.

Zoe's mannerisms are, in many ways, unchanged from her time as an animal. Her expression seldom changes, regardless of mood, and her voice is devoid of the slightest cadence or tone. An outsider might assume her to be detached and emotionless, which are just about the last words someone who knows her would use to describe her. Indeed, Zoe is a VERY emotional person, thrilled by hew newfound appreciation for a world she once took for granted, by the joys and feelings she can indulge, by the levels on which she can know love and affection. However, she expresses these things very differently from how most humans do. She communicates through actions, gestures and quiet sentiments. This makes getting to know her difficult, but rewarding for those who make the effort.

Strangely, despite her small size in her two most frequent forms, Zoe's true, archid form is utterly colossal, dwarfing not only other changing breeds, but even most real dinosaurs. She seldom brings this shape to bear, given its inconvenience and difficulty concealing from humans. None the less, when her loved ones are in danger, she is ready, willing and able to utterly crush whatever would threaten them, be it human, shifter, vampire, or worse.


***

Yeah, I got into World of Darkness recently, so I decided to revive an old character I played as back when I was little.