Callisto Avres

"BLOCK QUOTE"

Callisto Avres is the 'younger sister' of Kincaid Avres, a Parasynthetic Type-8 Avian--also called a Harpy. She is the main protagonist.

Appearance
Callisto is around 5'7" with naturally tan skin, which is described as warm, caramel brown skin with a few scars on her face, mostly on her hands, arms and back, where they are hidden by her mantle. Her eyes are unnatural, colored partially a pale lemon yellow on the outside of the iris and wine-red in an irregular stain on the inside, the color turning into a maroon shade around her gecko-looking pupils. Additionally, her pupils are lined with interrupted off-white and there are also small, irregular dots of the same off-white speckled over the red.

Her hair is long at first, always kept in a braid, before it was cut short to barely brush her shoulders. Though she wanted to, because of the feathers mixed with her hair she can't have an undercut, so she usually styles her short hair in a faux undercut through braiding.

Like all 'born' Avians, she has feathers covering part of her body which largely includes her back, nape, shoulders and part of the face; there are some feathers on her forearms as well. Unlike them, her body is also has protective scales (collarbones, underneath the feathers on her forearms, lower legs and feet) and has small, short feathers that cover basically her entire body.

Because of her wing shape, which is mostly high-speeds, she is tall and lean, but still strong despite not looking like it. If she tries hard enough, she can lift the same weight Kincaid can--who's shorter and more compact, built for brutal power.

Avian features
The first thing people notice in Callisto are the digitigrade feet that both her and her brother posses in place of the more normal, human like ones of most of the other Types, who only have elongated toes and walk more on the balls of their feet rather than fully plantigrade. Unlike Kincaid's feet, which are sturdier and visibly thicker, with shorter toes and talons, her feet are better at grabbing and carrying things with longer, thinner fingers that end in sharp, somewhat curved talons. Each foot has four fingers covered in scales with the fourth, inner finger being slightly shorter and able to turn to the side somewhat, like in owl or parrot feet, which aids in grappling onto things.

Acting as protection against blows is scaling that starts on her feet and ends below the knee. The rather thick plates covering her metatarsals and shins are mixed out smoothly by smaller and smaller scales that are replaced by short feathers. These short feathers also stretch up her calves and hips, reaching the sides of her abdomen, then up to cover the front of her shoulders as well as the sides of her chest.

Her eyes are colored pale lemon-yellow on the outside and wine-red on the inside of the irises, slit pupils lined off-white and irregularly shaped dots of the same off-white on the red. In addition to the strange coloring, her pupils are vaguely gecko-shaped, vertically narrow with visible pinholes that appear only in strong light, when the pupils thin out. Because of this, her gaze is often times off-putting, especially with how unmoving her stare is. Nictitating membranes protect her eyes whenever she's flying and having a tapetum lucidum aids her night vision while her specialized pupils help with keeping excess light from entering.

Elongated canines similar to the ones of a lynx alongside sharper teeth (specifically the incisors and premolars) and a pretty impressive bite force form a good weapon if she's restrained, as she can bite fingers off and rip large chunks of flesh as well; her bite can also lead to infection because of the same Reptilian genes that caused her pupil shape and aided her night vision.

Wings and coloring.
Callisto has rather large wings, reaching 7 meters ( 23 feet) at full spread. They are made both for flying at high speeds and for soaring, having been shaped after a Hen Harrier and a Prairie Falcon. Because her design was partly based on a falcon, her wings are somewhat tapered, though still wider than a true Falcon Aves' wings, as well as showing slightly slotted primaries. Thus, she retains the ability to soar perfectly, even on long distances, while still retaining the endurance, stamina and strength to sprint for a good amount of time. Because of these traits, she is usually referred to as a Harrier Aves, especially since she has the habit of flying low to the ground with her wings held in a V.

Her colors are a mix between an Euphaea Formosa damselfly and a Biak Paradise Kingfisher, though the base is very loose when it comes to the Kingfisher. Because the main base of her plumage is the damselfly, her primaries are mostly clear save for the black rachises and very thin, black veins that come off it. The secondaries mimic the patterning of the damselfly's hindwing, presenting maroon vanes with black, curved striping, and completely translucent tips as well as translucent bases that are relatively hidden by the coverts. In strong, direct light, the maroon becomes iridescent, glittering with fiery oranges and reds shades that makes her wings look as if they are made of molten metal, especially if the feathers move. On the other hand, her wings remain a drab maroon at night, a trait she cannot control as it's enforced by her survival instincts. Differing wildly from the stiffer flight feathers, her axillaries and tertials are shaded a blue dark enough to look black, as are her coverts.

Her coverts are the only part of her plumage that show signs of her kingfisher base because of the navy-blue feathers and the bright, icy blue flashes on the arches of her wings. Appearing only in strong light are three rows of spots of the same icy blue. Each row appears on each of the three covert layers with the top row (which is on the lesser secondary covert) nearly hidden by the blue on her wing arches. Her back--the mantle--is mainly the same dark blue of her coverts, only broken by an icy blue "flash" going down her spine in an irregular V that stops near the middle of her back. Her nape is covered in icy blue feathers, like her shoulders, arms and collarbones. The sides of her chest and abdomen and parts of her legs are covered in the navy-blue of her coverts. Her ear tufts as well as the feathers on her face--which cover most of her forehead, half of her cheeks and the entirety of her temples--are colored maroon, save for the dusty silver feathers underneath her eyes.

Callisto has a large, somewhat deeply forked tail that keeps to the color palette of the mantle and coverts, with the uppertail coverts a light, icy blue and the rest navy-blue. Pale blue spots tip each feather and white tiger stripes cut through the blue, starting on the edge of the outermost rectrices, fading out before they reach past the third pair (counting from the inside out). The last rectrices (sixth pair counted from inside out) are somewhat elongated, hanging at around half a meter (around a foot) past the fifth pair. In addition, their vanes thin out a bit before passing the fifth pair of rectrices before their tips flare out into an angled brush that covers the last third of the feathers. After these pseudo-streamers is the actual pair of streamers, which are nearly twice the length of the sixth rectrices and stick out at a slight angle, with a distance of almost half a hand between these streamers and the actual tail. Like the pseudo-streamers, the vanes thin out at around the second third of the length before flaring out in an angled brush tip on the last third. The only deviance from the rest of the tail's coloring is the lack of striping on the brush tips, which are instead black and slightly iridescent; although they don't shimmer like her secondaries, they appear as if they are covered in an oil spill of rust orange, amber and other autumnal colors. Surprisingly, the streamers are very flexible, and though she has little control over them, she is able to keep them clean and cared for, being very aware of the space they take and where they are.

All the lighter blue feathers are rimmed with iridescent silver, while the rest of the coverts' feathers look as if they have some ash on their edges. Scattered through her hair are small feathers that present with all the colors found on her and though they can be plucked, she usually lets them be.

Personality
Unlike her brother, who is loud and makes his presence known, she is mostly silent, conveying her emotions through body language and expressions. Rarely does she speak around other people besides her family, but when she does, it's mostly to word out threats or warnings. Despite her silence, she is very expressive in her joy and anger, and a single glare can silence anyone--mostly because she doesn't care about who a person is and she's rarely intimidated. On the other hand, everyone is intimidated by her as she always wears a scowl on her face by default.

Completely unlike what everyone thinks at first glance, she is childish around her family and people she feels comfortable with. On the other hand, around people she feels can become a threat or she simply doesn't like for a reason or another, she will consciously try to intimidate them, which only makes her stare even more unsettling. Because of past happenings that included Kincaid, she is even more distrustful of new people than she was before, coming off as rude, brash and cold when around everybody; she is also stubborn and rather staunch from time to time, especially when she believes that her decision or resolve is the right one.

Despite trusting her family completely, she still keeps things from all of them as the forced training separate from the one with Kincaid made her become reserved and aloof. She usually ignores her emotions, or buries them until she can't keep them in anymore and snaps--usually in anger caused by frustration. To keep anyone from worrying, she makes sure she's alone when she has the breakdowns and to further make sure the three won't worry, she answers their questions every time, just enough to get them off her track.

Callisto enjoys silence and being alone as much as she enjoys being around her family, listening to their conversations and pop up from time to time. Her silent and intimidating nature hides the observant skills she had been forced to develop. Despite being forced to rear the skill, she doesn't shy away from using it to figure out if a person can be trusted or not; her secondary Trait also helps with this. It's a very useful ability that her entire family points out whenever they can, trying to make her admit that it's something she should be proud off--she still hasn't caved in.

Annoyance or irritation leads to her becoming sarcastic, sometimes even condescending. Questions she perceives as idiotic or unneeded are usually replied with a snappy, dry and half-hearted answer, mostly when she's tired and has no filter. Straightforward and brash, she rarely holds back her comments when it comes to Kincaid--mostly--and it doesn't matter if they're alone or not; secretly, she enjoys the annoyance his brother replies with, and will never stop commenting if it means that she'll get a laugh out of it--no matter how silent.

When tired or the situation calls for it, she becomes even colder than usual, collected and calculated. This change can be extremely sudden and startling, and the people who know her mannerism are always startled by it whenever it happens. Similarly, if she feels forced to do something she doesn't want to or feels she has been treated unfairly, she will become extremely angry and will snap out because of her slight inability to deal with emotions; when she's like this, she usually chooses to fly away from what upset her as to not injure herself or anyone around her.

Regardless of her silence and apparent coldness towards anyone's situation, injustice always infuriates her, usually no matter who it was directed towards. Strong-willed, Callisto will always attempt to right the situation, though not directly if she can, or--if that isn't possible--without talking much. When someone ends up injured despite her efforts, she will become even more distant and self-absorbed, trying to figure out where she went wrong so she wouldn't repeat the same mistake; Kincaid always has to force her out of her state before it leads to self-harm, though not visible or physical. It's a hard feat though, as, at the same time, she will become to shrug off any questions about her state.

When it comes to her and Kincaid's past, she will quickly divert the subject of the conversation, refusing to answer any questions about that; Kincaid doesn't differ much either when it comes to this, and neither Lacla or Jayce will answer any questions, saying it isn't their place to answer.

History
She was originally created in a rival organization to the one she works with currently, but managed to escape it alongside Kincaid after the scientists there tried forcing her to kill him. Their plan to test her Chameleon abilities, as they called it, had failed and turned horribly, leading to the facility in a blaze and partially blown up and multiple humans and Parasynths dead. In the complete havoc created by none other than the siblings, they escaped and were stumbled upon by a Lapis Lazuli team training some Canids.

Flight
Callisto is a very fast yet stable flier and she is also good at soaring, which is aided by a mechanism in her wings which locks them in place when she needs to fly long distances. Because of her Prairie Falcon base, her flight is very adaptable, which helped her survive and made it easier for her to develop a wide range of flying styles.

Her forked tail and razor-sharp reflexes allow Callisto to make sudden turns and twists, thus changing directions in an instant to avoid crashing is nothing difficult or new. Callisto is also able to easily fly dangerously close to the ground, much like her Hen Harrier base, and she is capable of surprising feats in the air. Although her flight is usually loud when moving quickly, when she's heard it's already too late for the victim. The trailing streamers don't slow her down much, quite the contrary as they help with turning by providing additional authority for high performance aerobatics.

Callisto takes full advantage of her abilities, using them especially when she's flying close to the ground or tree tops, where she can instantly duck between the branches and come out without a scratch no matter how fast she's flying. Though cities aren't her favorite because of the noise, she is as effective there as she is in other places. Besides the weaving in and out of trees and needle-point turns, she can also dive and straighten right before hitting the ground, and with the help of momentum and air currents, can manage to fly impressive distances at an almost sustained speed of around 150 km/h (around 93 mph) until the momentum passes.

Able to reach extremely high diving speeds, she can land a devastating blow on small planes or helicopters and dent or break a hole though larger planes and helicopters, even able to either completely or partially break off an airplane's wing, but this is only if she's flying with her brother since he can give her a strong push to give her more speed. Gathering momentum when she flies, she can also perform a powerful kick, but dive-bombing is preferred. If she doesn't have the time or space to get high enough for a dive bomb, she resorts to cutting past her target and using her claws as well as delivering an electric shock to worsen the damage and make sure the target falls out of the sky--if they're flying.

She also likes to perform a dangerous landing by diving and only slowing down a few meters above ground, which isn't enough to stop her, but strong bones and an almost perfect technique saves her from breaking any bones; she can land like this on walls or ceilings, although the latter doesn't bring the same risks since going up can slow her down drastically.

Sight
Her sight is near impeccable and is detailed and accurate enough that she can see when people are lying from minute facial expressions; as such, she mostly depends on facial expressions, body and eye movements to figure out what a person is thinking or feeling. Because she can see an object from around 5 km (3 miles) away, depending on the size, it is very easy for her to aim and shoot at a moving object from both stationary spots and mid-flight.

Having a tapetum lucidum, gecko-like pupils from some reptilian genes and a line of silver feathers under her eyes, her night vision is superior, and she can even handle herself in the uncertain shadows of dusk or dawn, when the sun isn't strong enough to light up everything clearly, being just strong enough to render things confusing to most other Avians. Her narrow pupils also help with keeping her from going blind during the day, when the silver feathers beneath her eyes reflect too much useless light, so it isn't unusual to see her with string-thin pupils in strong light. Once she joins her brother's group, she begins to wear heavily tinted sunglasses on a near constant basis. They aren't very useful, but she insists on wearing them under the pretense of not getting stared at so much although it is very obvious that she is trying to fit in relatively.

Hearing
Her hearing is a dangerous tool. Like an owl, her ear holes are placed asymmetrically on her head, their placement hidden by her pointed ear tufts--though, a slight difference in tuft height is visible if one looks closely. These tufts and the feathers on her face act similar to the facial disc of an owl, redirecting sound to her ears. That paired with her ability to turn her head nearly 360 degrees--something all "born" Avians can do--means she can almost perfectly locate where the sound of interest came from, pin-pointing the area of said sound as accurately as an owl.

With the added improvements to all her senses, she can hear faint sounds (think a person's heartbeat) from around 60 meters away (200 feet)--this is only if it's nearly completely silent around her. Much louder noises can be heard from around 1.6-2.4 kilometers (1-1.5 miles), but this also depends on her surroundings and the level of noise pollution.

Type-8 differences
Both Callisto and Kincaid are able to keep flying even when sleep-deprived or somewhat starved, their bodies cannibalizing unused muscles to keep them in the air. Because of her forked tail and relatively narrow wings, she can outmaneuver most Parasynths with ease, but this is also due to her higher stamina, fatigue resistant muscles and special training.

Callisto also presents with wing claws, three on each wing. The thumbs are the shortest, only having a single joint, but they're also the sturdiest, and have hooked claws; they're the fingers she uses to steady her grip on people, as they has the smallest range of movement between the three. The second fingers are situated a bit under the thumb and have around two joints, are the most mobile, but posses the smallest claws; feathers grown from it, like on a raptors' arm, though the feathers aren't as long as that. The last fingers also have two joints, but they're sturdier and thicker, with long, somewhat curved claws; while the first two fingers' claws face backwards, towards the tips of the wing, the last claws face more forwards, and she has to be careful with them when her wings are folded so they don't scrape her back. All three pairs of fingers aid in latching onto things, but the last pair is the main anchor since they have specialized tendons that pull the claw back and in, securing it in whatever hole or nook the claw is in; the other two pairs stabilize and tighten the hold, especially when used on people.

Muser
Despite the scientists' attempts, she never developed this Trait as strongly as her brother Kincaid did.

Callisto can only faintly hear people's thoughts, better at feeling and altering emotions. She is just barely able to alter a person's perception, but it is enough to make herself invisible for a short time. Training with Kincaid lengthened the time she can spend hidden as well as aiding her altering abilities, making it easier for her to hide herself in plain sight. If she focuses on a single person, she can render their senses useless as well as force them to relieve painful memories they'd rather forget--she only does that if her other Trait deems itself useless, or if she wants to torture somebody without risking their death. Her range is as wide as Kincaid's, reaching her brother's 26 meters (approximatively 80 feet).

This Trait not being as advanced was because of an underlying reason: there was another Trait that became the main--and thus strongest--one.

Electricity (Eel)
"'I don't know for sure how it happened--not that the scientists knew that themselves--but me having some Reptilian genes as well led to this Trait developing as the main one instead of Musing,' she smiled, chuckling softly and nervously as she rubbed her nape, 'So, instead of being electrosensitive, I became bioelectric. But I still retain some of the electroreception and location that Musers have.'"Because of the Reptilian genes found in her DNA--which were put there as a test--she developed this surprising Trait, one nobody was expecting, and the first of its kind

Electroplaques are found around most of her body, beneath the skin, just like in electric eels or rays, and she can produce enough bioelectrical energy to kill a full-grown Parasynth. From testing, it was found that she has an amperage within the lethal limit, even a bit above it if she tries hard enough; usually, she doesn't pass her limit as it leads to extreme sickness and fainting--if she pushes herself too much, it can also damage her heart, so she's learned to control herself. Usually, she delivers around 600 volts, but she can go high enough to reach 2,200 volts without entering the danger zone. A trick she likes to do is making small lightnings; this means creating static electricity, which has become something easy to do after the time spent training. It's also used as a test to make sure she's fine after serious head injuries.

With this Trait also comes a passive ability: countering Musers and their abilities around her. This is because she unconsciously interferes with the electrical field they use to manipulate the brain. Additionally, she can shock them without needing to touch them, but this is aided by her own musing abilities, which allows her to mimic the feeling of an electrical shock and directly send it to the Muser trying to reach her mind. It is highly effective, even against strong Musers like her brother, who is the only one that can relatively protect himself against her electricity.

Relationships

 * Kincaid Avres

Callisto is very close to Kincaid, considering him her older brother even though they are not entirely related. Though she sometimes gets frustrated with how careless and reckless he can get, it's mostly amusing for her to hear him whine about how a prank failed and turned on him, earning him either a harsh, long scolding or a few minor wounds--or, most frequently, both. Both rely on each other to stay in line as they are the only two who can stop the other from murdering anyone; that is not always a given, though, as they have the same views of justice and revenge, both of which are nearly feral in the need for bloodshed that they consider the harm being repaid in kind. Because of this, having the siblings angry with one person is very dangerous. Since Kincaid is better at keeping a lid over his emotions, she does what he cannot and speak her mind freely in his place, saying what bothers him while knowing nobody can do anything about it given how dangerous and volatile she portrays herself to be.


 * Lacla Avres

After being rescued by him, Kincaid developed a close, tight-knit relationship with him, considering him her dad. Because of the young age she was rescued at--which is when Avians are most impressionable--and because he was the first adult face she saw after being saved, her brain connected him to safety and comfort, and that connection remained for most of her early years. As such, the two were very close and she tended to go to him when looking for advice or comfort. He was also her mentor as she listened to him more often than she did to Jayce.

The connection didn't last for long as Callisto began showing distrust and suspicion towards both him and his husband, Jayce. Slowly, their relationship fell apart, and after some marking events, Callisto became highly scornful and hateful of both Lacla and Jayce, renouncing their title of parents when it came to her.


 * Jayce Avres

Though he was the second person introduced to her after her rescue, she still trusted and respected him--though not as much as she did Lacla. As such, she would listen to his orders when sent on missions with him, or if Lacla wasn't around and he was left in charge. She would still challenge him, either directly or indirectly. When he got annoyed or angry with her, though, she would stop, apologize, and listen to whatever he said or ordered. Because he was the second adult she met, their relationship was tight despite their scattered fights and her hardheadedness. He also was her teacher for a short while, teaching her about various things when Lacla couldn't.

When the relationship between her and Lacla disintegrated, Callisto considered Jayce to be as bad as his husband and thus their relationship ended as well; all the respect and trust she held for them disappeared, leaving behind a cold disinterest that borders annoyance whenever Jayce tries to correct her or scold her. She always reminds him of the wrong he's committed against her and continues to twist the knife in his wings by calling him lucky that she hasn't killed either of them yet. She is fully aware of the pain her words cause him and revels in it, usually hiding the satisfaction behind the burning rage that still lingers, untouched by the passing of time.