Rowin

[Rabbit]

Rowin Full Name • Rowan Race • Lepi Birthplace • Coachelle Prime Age • 20 Gender • Male Sexuality • Hetero Faction • Fringer Concept • Bounty hunter/vigilante/privateer Languages • Basic, Huttese, Lepese Assets • Twin blasters, a house on Alderaan (shared with two of his business associates), a full set of dura-steel battle armor (minus a helmet of any sort, however), a Corellian freighter (modified for smuggling, if necessary), the Daa'sun's Kryst'shun Appearance Height & Weight • 6'3", 180 pounds Overall Looks • Most sentients start laughing, when they see a Lepi coming - unfortunately for Rowin, this is true in his case, too. Like nearly all Lepi males, Rowin is tall, rangy, and a bit goofy-looking, with his long legs, odd gait, and floppy ears. Thanks to genetic luck, however, Rowin is a little less ridiculous-looking than most of his fellow Lepis. He missed out on the usual green-or-blue shaded fur; his is a dark charcoal gray, with a white pattern about his head and shoulders. He also keeps his prominent front teeth "trimmed" - after being ridiculed one too many times for having buck teeth, Rowin has made an attempt at making his appearance a little less laughable, by filing down his teeth to a more "respectable" length. Unfortunately, poor Rowin has been made fun of for most of his life, since his fur colors/patterns are much different than most Lepi and because he has a rare genetic mutation that gave him the dreaded "lop ears." Instead of standing straight up, like 90% of most Lepis, Rowin's ears flop down to about shoulder-length. This gives him a rather comical appearance to most. He also can't win for losing, since most sentients start to snicker whenever he opens his mouth - Lepese, the "mother tongue" of most Lepis, is a slow, drawling language and doesn't lend native speakers well to Basic. As a result, Rowin's Basic is layered in a thick, twangy, drawling accent that makes it hard for him to strike fear into the hearts of...well...much of anything. Except maybe a carrot. Rowin can usually be found wearing a plain gray flight-suite, with sturdy bantha-leather boots, and a double-blaster holster that he keeps slung low across his hips. Thanks to his unusual ears, Rowin can wear hats - he's rather attached to a dark brown and battered krayt-leather hat, with a wide brim that he likes to keep pulled down at a rakish angle. When he's "on business", though (which is usually whenever he's outside of his ship), he's dressed in a suit of dura-steel battle armor that isn't dreadfully dissimilar in style to Mandalorian beskar'gum (sans helmet). The Lepis aren't really a culture for tattoos or piercings, and Rowin doesn't really have any scars of particular note. His most distinctive marking is the blaze across his face and his right paw, which is looks like he has a permanent glove on. On his left shoulder, he has an old blaster wound, but it's hard to see, now that his fur has grown up around it again. But perhaps Rowin's most startling features, are his bright blue eyes and his ever-present, lop-sided grin. Personality Profile Despite the ever-present ridicule in his life (or, perhaps, in spite of it), Rowin is as gregarious as most any other of his kind. He'll shoot you dead with a big grin on his face and not think there's anything unusual about that at in the least. And, he'll talk your ear off a par sec a minute, if given half the chance. Live big, talk big, and think big - that's Rowin's motto and he exudes that in every fiber of his lanky being. It's hard to stand in close proximity around Rowin and not laugh - and most of the time, he'll laugh with you. As long as you're not laughing at him. When it comes to his appearance, Rowin is a mite bit touchy, but, there's three things that will push his buttons to a rapid limit - calling him a "rodent", insulting his family or his species, and/or making fun of his ears. Doing any of the above will send Rowin off into a towering - and violent - rage. While Rowin's temper is quick to flare, it's equally quick to ease. For the most part, he prefers a state of happy emotional equilibrium. He's curious - like all Lepi - and his curiosity has been known to get him into trouble a time or two (or three or twenty). He's very happy-go-lucky, very witty, and possess a strong sense of humor - most days, Rowin just looks out at the galaxy and laughs. It's hard to ruffle his fur (so to speak) and he enjoys spreading his good cheer out to those around him. The only time gets intense (and yes, it does happen) is when he's on "the hunt" or when the situation absolutely calls for it. Overall, Rowin is a social creature, with a strongly developed sense of honor, courage, and imagination. He's not always the brightest tool in the box, but he has a good heart and a very definite sense of right-and-wrong. His personal honor - and the honor of his species - means a lot to him and he's been known to turn down higher bounties in favor of those that he feels are truly justified and not just for personal gain. Rowin is a "good guy" with a hidden, harder edge - but, mostly, he just wants to right the wrongs of the galaxy and have a good time while he's at it. Background Father • Oke, 55, farmer Mother • Wyllow, 53, farmer Siblings • Way too many to list... Other Important Connections • Ash (uncle, deceased); Lana and Cami Kingpren (long-time friends and business associates); Lofryyhn (Wookie assassin and adversary, deceased). Overall History • Bio: It's Hard To Be A Bunny [Birth - 7] Rowin's early life was frightfully uneventful - if one discounted the sheer amount of harassment that he suffered from his own kind. Usually, Lepi are a close-knit culture that looks after its kind - not that they didn't look after Rowin, too. But, he was born with a genetic oddity that caused his ears to "flop", instead of stand straight up in the "classic" Lepi manner. From the moment of his birth, his poor mother - Wyllow - lamented her son's fate as a "loner." With the dreaded "lop ears", poor Rowin was immediately destined for a life of ridicule and derision. And, worst of all, he would have no hope of a mate, since lop ears are "undesirable" and any well-bred Lepi female would think twice before allowing a defective gene to be passed down into her multiple offspring. In fact, Rowin's birth nearly split his parents apart, since his enraged father - Oke - insisted that Wyllow must have had an "indiscretion" for his first-born son to be born with a genetic mutation that "obviously isn't in the family tree!" At Wyllow's insistence, they both did a thorough family trace (a tall order, indeed, among the complicated, many-branching families of the Lepi) and to Oke's chagrin, they discovered a lop-eared great-great-great-great-uncle....on Oke's side of the family. Said great-great-great-great-uncle was a "piebald", as well - the same dappled gray-and-white coat pattern as their son. In honor of this dubious ancestor, Rowin was named after him. And heard mention - at least once - every day, of his great-great-great-great-Uncle Rowin, for the next ten years. It turned out that Great-Great-Great-Great-Uncle Rowin was a bit of a family sensation - some, like Oke, would even say "scoundrel." As a piebald lop (an enormously rare mutation among the other-wise straight-eared, green-or-blue Lepi), Rowin's ancestor was an outcast as well. But, he also held the honor of being the first "rabbit in space" and even though Great-Great-Great-Great-Uncle Rowin found an abrupt and inglorious death at the end of a bounty hunter's gun, young Rowin practically idolized him. So, instead of taking the stories of his ancestor to heart and harboring a deep and seething bitterness, Rowin found an odd inspiration. This set the precedent for the rest of his life - where others might despair and gloom, Rowin saw opportunity and a lining of silver credits. From his earliest days, Rowin dreamed of space, honor, and glory. When other bunnies made fun of him for his ears, or for his "funny fur", Rowin would just bury himself in a holobook and dream about the future. During his school-age years, Rowin's teachers were often aggrivated by his daydreaming and his doodlings of heroic figures in lieu of studious notes, was a frequent point of contention. By the age of 5, Rowin was used to daily beratings by his father and constant ridicule. He stuck out like a sore thumb, with his ears, his blue eyes, and his bi-colored fur. His father, Oke, was unusually dour for a Lepi and disappointed by the outcome of his first-born. Instead of playing with his 30 brothers and sisters, or applying himself to his studies, Rowin would wander about the warren by himself, shadowboxing in imaginary fights and talking to imaginary friends. The imaginary friend bit stopped when he was about 7. Lepi matured at a faster rate in their early years, as compared to many other sentients, so by 7, Rowin was already undergoing the first growing pains of puberty. He settled down a bit at school and started to make better grades. But, his holobooks were ever present and he still stared up at the stars by himself, at night, and dreamed big dreams. More than anything, Rowin wanted to be a "freedom fighter." His favorite heroes were galactic do-gooders - brave sentients who "stole from the rich to feed the poor", or shot down wanted criminals in dusty streets. His favorite holomovies were about the lawless Outer Rim, where vigilantes roamed the desert streets and doled out justice at the end of their smoking blasters. Rowin imagined himself doing the same - "the fastest draw in the Outer Rim", he'd imagine. "A Rabbit of Justice and Order." These were his dreams and no amount of skeptic realism could dash his hopes of "taking down the bad guys." For a while, when he was younger, Rowin dreamed of being a Jedi. But, he didn't have a squeak of Force Sensitivity about him, for one thing, and for another, the Jedi didn't usually come across as being "larger than life." Rowin was fairly certain the Jedi didn't swagger, with their lightsabers slung low across their hips...and Rowin wanted to swagger, with "death in his eyes and justice in his step." Reality did little to assuage Rowin's dreams of grandeur - the more he was made fun of (especially by Lepi females), the more he dreamed of going out into the greater galaxy beyond and making a name for himself. Toward the end of his seventh year, a stranger came to visit home - his mother's 15th older brother, "Uncle Ash." As it turned out, Uncle Ash gave Rowin's dream that touch of reality he was waiting for... Fast-Drawing Nephew Of A Huntin' Bun [7 - 10] For the next three years, the reality of Uncle Ash replaced the dreams of Great-Great-Great-Great-Uncle Rowin. Uncle Ash was everything a male Lepi should be, with straight ears, dark-blue fur, and smiling brown eyes. He was notorious ladies' bun, too, with a quick wit, slow drawl, and wandering paws. He had no wife or children, though, and so when he came back to visit Coachelle Prime, he stayed with his favorite sister and her family. Uncle Ash and Rowin met, when Rowin was sitting outside of the family warren and staring up at the stars. The older, space-traveling Lepi, recognized Rowin's silent fascination for what it was - a longing to travel and live out big dreams. He sat down next to Rowin and started a conversation - by the end of that night, Rowin had found a friend and mentor for life. Where other adults chided Rowin for his "foolish fancies", Uncle Ash listened and shared tall tales of his own. Tales about hunting down criminals and bringing them to the law; tales like the ones that Rowin would read and reread every night. One night, Uncle Ash asked Rowin if he'd like to be a bounty hunter and Rowin learned that getting paid for serving justice wasn't necessarily a bad thing. This was the first step of grounding his dreams in a concrete reality. Uncle Ash didn't stay on Coachelle Prime for long, but when he left, he left Rowin with his first blaster - an ARCR-11 "Nose-Popper". Rowin promptly named it "Ol' Bess." His uncle made him promise not to "mess around" with Ol' Bess until he got back from collecting a bounty and Rowin learned his first lesson in staying true to his word. He also learned his first lesson in self-control, and even though he took Ol' Bess out from under his bed every day and cleaned her religiously, Rowin obeyed his uncle's command in a supreme demonstration of loyalty, trust, and devotion. Looking back later, as an adult, Rowin realized that Uncle Ash was "testing" him, in a way. Not that Uncle Ash would know for certain if Rowin disabused his word, but it was "the principle of the matter." Rowin learned what he was made of, in those three months that his Uncle was away and it was a lesson he would carry with him for the rest of his life. When Uncle Ash came home, he took Rowin under his wing again and began to teach the eager young Lepi how to shoot Ol' Bess. They started with the basics, though - with hand-to-hand combat. Rowin, eager to "take Ol' Bess fer a spin" was impatient at first, but once again, his uncle's wisdom prevailed. The older bounty hunter taught Rowin how to tap into the naturally given speed and agility for which Lepis were known - and how to use them to his advantage in a fight. A Lepi's greatest defense was his "flight instinct", but since one didn't usually make a name as a galaxy vigilante by running away from a fight, Uncle Ash taught Rowin how to harness his nervous energy. Speed was a Lepi's greatest defense and offense - Uncle Ash showed Rowin how to use his speed in an attack, to "get in and get out" as quickly as possible and to leave his enemies reeling (or just flat-out dead). He also taught Rowin how to kick - a Lepi's second best natural defense, because of their thick hind-quarters and sturdy thighs. Only after Rowin could hold his own in a fist-fight, did Uncle Ash progress to knives, but there, they ran into a bit of a problem. Rowin seemed practically incapable of handling a knife without dropping it...cutting himself...cutting someone else...or, in general, drawing blood and pain. Usually, self-inflicted. For some unfathomable reason, the younger Lepi was nervous about knives and reluctant to even touch them. Chagrined, Uncle Ash let it slide after watching his nephew nearly kill himself a few times too many, and settled on merely teaching Rowin how to get away from a knife-fight. As a result of his early experiences with knives, Rowin would go on to have a healthy "respect" for blades and would usually avoid them at all costs. It even went so far as avoiding cutlery and Rowin never could really explain his aversion to knives. Once, and only once, he confessed to having nightmares about knives and a strange, black "stew pot in the sky." The matter was quickly dropped and never brought up again, though one could infer that Rowin has a deep and mortal fear of death... But, maybe, that's getting into a Lepi's head a little too deep.... After the fiasco with the knives, Uncle Ash moved Rowin along to what he wanted most - blasters, rifles, guns, oh my. But, even then, there was a process to be obeyed - first, Rowin learned to clean every weapon in his uncle's impressive arsenal. Then, he learned to draw a blaster quickly, taking what he had been taught about his natural Lepi speed and applying it to the art of a "fast paw." He started first with one, then learned to draw two...and Rowin knew, he had found his own, very special skill. By the age of ten, Rowin had settled down into a comfortable rhythm. He had continued on with his formal schooling and his grades had improved at his Uncle's insistence. He no longer spent so much time reading holobooks and day-dreaming - instead, he used that energy to practice his draw, his aim, and his new-found skills. Uncle Ash would leave for a few months - sometimes one, sometimes three, sometimes even six - and would leave behind tasks for Rowin to complete, pending his return. And, when Uncle Ash was home on Coachelle Prime, Rowin was the happiest. He had found his mission in life and he was determined to "be just like Uncle Ash!" At ten, Rowin reached his sexual maturity and was considered an adult by the standards of the Lepi culture. He was tall and gangly, and had developed a sense of pride in himself. He knew, though, that there wasn't anything to keep him tied to Coachelle Prime, so when his Uncle asked him to join him combing the galaxy for villianous scum, Rowin gladly accepted and put his homeworld - and the ridicule of his people - far behind. The Bounty Hunter's Apprentice [11 - 15] Rowin was twelve when his enduring hatred of Mandalorians first took root. For the first two years of his apprenticeship with his uncle, Rowin had only been allowed to stay with his Uncle's ship (the Daa'sun's Kryst'shun) during bounty "pick-ups". His duties had been regulated to helping around the old ship, learning the necessary mechanical, computer, and life skills to be an effective bounty hunter on his own. He had also been allowed to observe his uncle's business deals, when he would pick which bounties to accept and had even been allowed to offer his own young insights and opinions on possible contracts. But, he wasn't allowed "out on the hunt" until he was 12. Unfortunately for Rowin, his first hunt made an exceedingly poor impression that would remain with him for ever. And, it involved a Wookie. A Wookie assassin, to be precise, by the name of Lofryyhn. Things started poorly from the very start. Lofryyn - who was a slippery con-man of the best sort - was well aware of the bounties the law had laid on top of his head. So, when he wasn't out killing sentients on contracts of his own, he was usually hiding somewhere along the farthest edges of the Outer Rim, close to the Unknown Regions. The only upside that Rowin would remember of this whole ordeal, was making the acquaintance (and lasting friendship) of two Alderaanian mercenaries - Lana and Cami Kingpren. Because the Lepi were rare and easily spotted, Ash reached out to his two long-time friends-and-sometimes-business-partners, Lana and Cami, who both agreed to help Ash out. Lana went alone into the areas of the Outer Rim where Lofryyhn was known to frequent, in an attempt to "flush" the Wookie out. The idea was to lure Lofryyhn to a more populated planet on the Outer Rim -one with strong hyperlanes to and from it. The group chose Tatooine, for its well-known reputation for general villainy. It was a reasonable place to find an assassin and it was a place Ash frequented often - for tips, bounties, news, and the odd contract meeting. The first half of the "trap" went well - Lana contacted them to relay a successful "contract" and that Lofryyhn had "taken the bait." The Alderaanian then began her second contribution to the plan - she dropped "off the comlink" to follow Lofryyhn toward Tatooine. Ash, Rowin, and Cami went on ahead toward the designated rendezvous spot in Anchorhead. Things deteriorated like bantha poodoo in Anchorhead. Lana successfully tracked Lofryyhn to Tatooine, but her stealth wasn't as effective as she had hoped. Lofryyhn was able to piece together that there was a trap waiting for him - he hadn't gotten as far as he had in "the business" by being stupid, after all. There was a show-down between Lana and Lofryyhn in the Anchorhead docking area - Vau dealt Lana a near-fatal spinal injury and the Wookie escaped off-world without either Ash or Rowin spotting him once. The spinal injury put Lana into a repulsorlift chair, retired her permanently from any sort of dangerous lifestyle, and put her back on Alderaan for good. The injury to a close associate, and Lofryyhn's subsequent escape/disappearance, gave Ash a rare taste for vengeance. And so began a three-year obsession. Lofryyhn - a master of evasion - practically vanished off the radar until Rowin turned 15. By then, the young Lepi had been his uncle's apprentice for five years and had learned to take on his own, unassisted bounties. As his uncle become more and more obsessed with tracking down Lofryyhn, Rowin began to take on more and more of their "regular" contracts. Lana could no longer leave Alderaan, but she and Cami did what they could by long distance comlink-communication to help track down Lofryyhn and to find contracts in the interim. Rowin was one one of his own personal contracts, hunting down a mixed-sentient group of mercenaries who had participated in the rape, pillage, and plunder of a Ryloth village, when he got the horrible news from a sobbing Cami - Lofryyhn and Ash had finally caught up with each other on Ord Mantell. And Uncle Ash was dead. Suddenly, the secondary saga of Lofryyhn became piercingly personal. Rowin rushed across the galaxy, from Ryloth to Ord Mantell, but it was far too late. His uncle was dead, his body long-gone. The Wookie had disappeared again. And the only thing left was the Daa'sun's Kryst'shun, which he rescued from an impound dealer. And Rowin's destiny was set - to track down Lofryyhn and serve justice to the scum that had killed his uncle. Vengeance [15 - 20] Rowin spent five, very dedicated years, tracking down Lofryyhn. When he was 16, Cami decided to join him, and the two made quite a pair traveling the length and breadth of the galaxy - mostly from the Mid to Outer Rims. Of course, the entire five years after his uncle's death weren't spent solely on hunting Lofryyhn down. Leads were rarely available, so in-between tips and cold trails, Cami and Rowin occupied their time making a living. Rowin made quite a name for himself, as the fastest "paw in the Outer Rim" - true to his dream as a small bunny. Of course...he was only the fastest "paw". Doubtless, there were faster "hands", but Rowin wasn't too worried about running across anyone who might out-shoot him. One lesson from his Uncle always stuck with him, despite his success as a vigilante - one day, some sentient would inevitably come along who was younger, faster, and smarter. It was just a matter of time. Until then, though, Rowin enjoyed his reputation as a capable bounty hunter and a force of justice in otherwise lawless territories. In his travels and huntings, Rowin also became politically aware. While he certainly didn't know the ins-and-outs of every political system he encountered, he definitely came to a decision about galaxy-wide politics: the Sith were bad. The Mandalorians were only marginally better. The Republic, while corrupt, still demanded loyalty. And as political tensions began to rise in the worlds that Rowin traversed, he kept his eye on galaxy events. Factions and side-line loyalties were becoming more and more apparent to Rowin, the longer things throughout the galaxy progressed. As a self-appointed "arm of the law", Rowin felt it was his duty to pick a side - neutral, this space rabbit is not. He was the Republic's rabbit, through-and-through, and as galactic events escalated, Rowin began to take on bounty hunts specific to Republic interests. He also kept a close ear on Republic interests and Imperial politics. And while Imperial communiques were notoriously hard to track or crack, Rowin had friends in interest places. Any information that came his way, he would turn over to the Republic, in exchange for credits, weapons, or the occasional upgrade on the Daa'sun's Kryst'shun. Thanks to Cami's and Lana's contracts, Rowin would also run occasional "bounty runs" in and out of Republic space in or out of....less neutral hyperlanes. As tensions in the galaxy rose, Rowin began to branch out of just strict bounty hunting and began to turn a profit on other means in support of the Republic. The more Rowin began to polarize his loyalties, the less obsessed he became over Lofryyhn. So, of course, in a random stroke of luck, the two finally crossed paths in a seedy cantina in Ord Mantell. Looking back, Rowin would admit that that chance meeting just "goes to show just how the galaxy really works. Ya' stop lookin' fer somethin', an' it lands right under yer nose." Rowin had come to Ord Mantell on a lead for a bounty run deal and didn't even realize, at first, that he'd finally crossed paths with the very Wookie he'd tracked across the galaxy for five years. It wasn't until Lofryyhn made the mistake of choosing Rowin as a object of ridicule, that events took an ironic turn for the worst. It started over Rowin's lanky form and gawky gait - the Wookie made a dig at the Lepi about his appearance. Then, he started making fun of the Lepi's ears - which, for Rowin, was a massive no-no. That started a true verbal altercation between the two, during which Rowin demanded the right to "an honorable duel", at which Lofryyhn sneered. After nearly getting into a physical altercation and getting thrown out of the cantina, Lofryyhn agreed to the duel, which Rowin dramatically set for "sundown." There were bets going as to whether or not Lofryyhn would show up at sundown, but the Wookie honored his agreement to duel Rowin. The show-down was quick and sweet - there was no long, drawn-out speech from Rowin; in fact, the Lepi didn't even tell Lofryyhn who he was or who he had been related to. There was just the two of them, facing each other down in the street outside of the cantina, five seconds of silence while they measured their paces, two simultaneous shots, and one dead Wookie. Looking back, Rowin will be the first to admit that the whole affair was distinctly anti-climatic. However, luck played in his favor all along and he ended up killing Lofryyhn with a clean shot through the head. Ya' Can't Keep A Good Bun Down [20 - Present] Lana and Cami, especially, worried that Rowin might lose interest in things, once he'd successfully served justice for his uncle's death. But, for being so driven by revenge, Rowin has proven surprisingly multi-faceted. Because Lofryyhn was so hard to track down - and because he only really found the Wookie by accident, and accepts that - Rowin has allowed other interests to fill his life. While revenge was definitely sweet - and Rowin will never deny it - he has has developed a thriving business arrangement with the Republic. Most of Rowin's work is a mixture of what he does as a bounty hunter/vigilante - hunting down assassins, mercenaries, and smugglers - and smuggling between/behind/around enemy lines on behalf of Republic interests. As time goes on, Rowin becomes more and more a well-paid privateer, who's allegiances are becoming a little too widely known...

[Neology]