Name: Karivnie Sa'vogel
Sex: Female
Species: K’mari
Age: Compensating for differences in aging speed, she's about 21 in human years.
Place of Birth: Sa'vogel Aerie, Mal'ya Forest Enclave, on the planet Kuuzora.
Hair color: Variable. Karivnie's species does not grow true hair, and the feathers are colorless and hollow, enabling them to be filled with subcutaneously stored pigments at the K’mari's will. These usually serve a camouflage or courting function, although involuntary color change accompanies shifts in mood. Karivnie's hair is usually pink, which signifies wariness in K'mari.
Pink= wary
Red= Aggression (the fight response), usually coupled with a raised crest
White= relaxed, happy
Black= angry
Green= playful, mischievous (also the color of arousal, which tells you all a bit about the K'mari approach to sex. This doesn't apply to Karivnie at the moment, though, as she's rather naive on the topic.)
Blue= surprised, curious
When afraid, K’mari feathers take on the color of their surroundings, much like a chameleon’s scales. This happens involuntarily, although the response can be suppressed, just as humans can learn to slow their own heart rates.
Eye color: Violet
Height: 4' 10"
Weight: 55 lbs
Bust: 34B
Waist: 20
Hips: 25
Wingspan: 8'
Skin color: Her skin is covered in downy feathers, but beneath them it is solid black due to the pigmentation glands beneath it.
Pubic Hair: No, just the down that covers the rest of her.
Virgin: Yes. Growing up on her family’s ship and traveling frequently, she has no sexual experience even with her own species. However, she is of the age where she would ordinarily have already begun seeking her first mate (K’mari form large, polyamorous family groups, all adults helping to protect and nurture hatchlings), so the biological clock is ticking, shall we say. K’mari also commonly mate in the air, so being physically restrained in any way, but especially having wings restrained, would be extremely unnerving. As an avian race, K’mari tend to be touchy about small spaces or restraints in any case.
Sexuality: She finds either sex attractive, provided they are of her species, or at least feathered. In her eyes, featherless creatures look bizarre, and she commonly refers to creatures with nothing but skin or scales as "plucked". Over time, exposure to other species helps her overcome this initial impression, but the texture of bare skin still unnerves her.

Distinguishing features: K’mari are a small, delicately-built species. Along with the feathers covering their bodies (thinnest over the face and neck, downy over the breasts, stomach, vulva and ass, true feathers along back and limbs), they have crests (which usually lay flat and are therefore frequently mistaken as hair), and wings which emerge from their shoulder blades. They have external ears, but they are hidden in thick feathers to protect them from the cold at higher altitudes. Their feathers also grow thicker at the ankles and wrists for the same purpose, heating the blood going into the extremities without obstructing the use of fingers or toes. This feathering pattern is not as thick in females, since, as the larger sex (as well as less aerodynamic, since their hips interrupt their otherwise streamlined bodies), they do not commonly reach such high altitudes as the lighter, more aerodynamic males. K’mari have no tails, instead using their legs to help steer in flight. The feathers all down their backs are like the glossy flight feathers along their wings, which shrink back into fluffy down as they descend the curves of their hips and towards more intimate areas.
Tattoos/piercings: Neither, although she does tend to wear a bangle around each ankle with bright stones set in them or of some shiny metal (she tries to avoid wearing a lot of jewelry for fear it would jingle at an inconvenient moment, but she, like all K’mari, treasures bright objects), and occasionally some kind of necklace.

Background: Karivnie is from the Sa'vogel Aerie, a clan of well-established merchants. From the age of three (10 in human years- K’mari mature more rapidly than humans), she traveled with her family on their cargo ship, acquiring knowledge of their trade and gaining experience for the day when she would captain her own ship for the family enterprise. K'mari traders are primarily interested in brightly colored cloth, metals, and gemstones, since they only clothe themselves for the purpose of decoration, their feathers being sufficient protection from all but the extremes of temperature. This passion for color and shiny objects makes most K'mari rather distractable when such objects are available- the merchants are unique in that they learn to resist this impulse. A discriminating eye for wares and business partners and the essentials of captaincy filled Karivnie's earliest lessons, leaving her a competent pilot and an expert businesswoman in a handful of years. Due to the K'mari's intuitive sensitivity to sound, they acquire spoken languages with alarming speed, rendering language lessons redundant. If exposed to a language for a prolonged time over several weeks, Kari will have an almost complete understanding of it, and be able to speak with near fluency if the sounds of the language can be produced by a K'mari. Because K'mari are not very physically imposing, this knack for languages is one of their greatest strengths, enabling them to catch wind of plots discussed right before them, their competitors unaware that they had gained competency in their language weeks past. Aware that their non-threatening appearances often mark them as easy targets, K'mari tend to be wary outside of their home system, and their merchant ships are well-armed.

History: Karivnie was set to complete her apprenticeship on her family vessel by her eighth birthday (approximately 17, in human development) when the merchant consortium of Terrisol, a planet of “plucked”, tentacle-limbed aliens, with whom they had just concluded negotiations turned on them, paying a crew of privateers to overtake their vessel and reclaim all of the cargo upon it. The "cargo" included all of the K'mari on board.
The only thing that saved Karivnie from death in the crossfire or being sold in some exotic market was the fact that she had been checking the engine room at the time that they engaged the pirates, and had sufficient warning to make it to the network of passages concealed in the ship's hull. As the only non-adult on board, only she was expected to hide- the rest of the crew fought and died or was captured under her hidden gaze. Her knowledge of the ship kept her from being discovered as the pirates returned with their spoils to their employers, and, as they were unaware of any other presence on board, they left only a guard outside the ship to secure it against external opportunists.
Karivnie took this chance to escape, knowing this was hardly the first time her family had encountered pirates and trusting them to outmaneuver their captors and rejoin her on Kuuzora. It was not until she was out of orbit, having lit up alarm towers planet-wide for her unauthorized exit, that she realized that the pirates had hacked their navigation files, their incompetence leaving the files corrupt and unreadable.
Since her escape, she has wandered through unfamiliar space, her experience as a trader sufficient for survival as she tries to cobble together data to replace the extensive navigational files now lost to her and find some familiar sector of space from which she can meet with her family's contacts and make her way home. The only place she’s aware that she’s wanted is on Terrisol, which itself is a somewhat secluded area of the universe, and she plans to keep it that way. Far from home and without any contacts on which she could rely to help her out of a tight spot, keeping a low profile is her best defense, and only her own curiosity is strong enough to get her to compromise that. Unfortunately for her, our little wanderer has plenty of that.

Personality/Psychological profile: Taught to be wary of non-K'mari from hatching, the loss of her family has made her cautious to the point of paranoia. In situations where she feels at a disadvantage, she frequently simply disappears, preferring to flee rather than risk being outmaneuvered while so far from any of her family's resources. However, she, like most K’mari, has an inquisitive nature and will take risks she normally would not if something catches her interest, be it an especially beautiful item or especially well-played music. The sight of other winged species is perhaps the most irresistible lure for her, since they remind her both of her home and her own loneliness, and she will likely follow simply to see if they are anything like her people. Initially shy, Karivnie forms attachments with great reluctance, but loneliness and curiosity will sometimes drive her out of hiding, if only so far as to get her to linger in a restaurant to people-watch after she’s finished eating, rather than returning to her ship. If cornered and flight is impossible she has a surprisingly fierce attitude, but as she is not physically equipped for combat, that attitude and opportunistic biting or other cheap shots would be the extent of her resistance. Though physically weak, she's strong-willed, and it would take great skill to overcome both that and her aversion to other species for her to willingly accept the advances of any monster. (Can't have any lazy, complacent monsters now, can we? )

Activities: While on ship, fighting to debug the mapping system, incorporating new bits into it, playing her kishir (resembles a lap harp), and keeping the ship running. Off-ship, she tries to compensate for being cooped up by spending whatever time she isn’t lurking around settlements or restocking flying and exploring the uninhabited areas. While on her ship, Kari tends to forgo clothing, as even the finest cloth tends to ruffle feathers. Aware that many alien races view nudity as unnatural in public, she will usually wear a brightly-colored silk wrap, specially tailored to fit her closely to minimize drag in flight and stay out of the way of her wings.

Diet: K'mari are omnivores, but especially love fruit. Few have had the opportunity to observe the K'mari in their natural habitat, but many have remarked upon their love of sweet foods.

Likes: Music, bright colors, sparkly objects, having her feathers stroked (it's comforting), flying, open spaces, other feathered or winged people.

Dislikes: Pirates, slavers, large snakes (large meaning large enough to prey on K'mari), anyone connected with the Terrisol Merchant Consortium that betrayed her family, large groups of people, small spaces, strangers who invade her personal space (:lol:), being restrained, non-feathered or wingless species (they’re just creepy…) in general, and tentacled aliens in particular, because she associates them with the Terrisol merchants.

Weaknesses: Close combat. She can deal some pretty considerable blows with her wings, but she prefers a ranged weapon if she has to fight. She's a decent shot, but prefers to camouflage herself and use her quickness and small size to escape confrontation. Karivnie’s keen auditory perception can also work against her, for while it makes her an excellent mimic, musician, and learner of languages, it also makes her especially susceptible to auditory-based hypnosis, and more mundane loud noises are especially painful for her, in some cases enough to temporarily stun.

Other traits: K’mari have a shared racial memory, and can choose to commit personal memories to this shared memory that they call the Sheriaan. This racial bond gives all K’mari a mild psychic enhancement to intuition. Essentially, they tend to have very reliable hunches and a slightly higher chance of breaking illusions. Also, because of their high internal temperature, most drugs and toxins are neutralized in their systems. Chemicals designed to not denature in high temperatures, however, will have normal effect. They also seldom get sick, because their high temperatures serve the added function of killing most germs that enter their systems. K'mari have large eyes and can see well in low light, due to their forested habitats. Their night vision, however, is still not as good as in the daytime or underneath a forest canopy.

Edit 10/17: Added Diet, information on vision, and dislike of large snakes.
Edit 11/9: Added detail on the meanings of feather coloration.

And once again the image hosts prove just how much they suck. Sorry but the image you posted is dead. In any event welcome to Shokushu.

Welcome from one polyamorous species to another. It seems that Karivnie and Quagga share several traits. Though Quagga's being plucked will probably stand in the way of a close friendship.

A wonderfully detailed character!

@Ryujin: I could get the image. But I really had to work at it. Here's the first one. The second one is to big to post this way. (It is very good though.)

Ack! Stupid image hosts. >.< Quagga, thanks for rescuing it. ^.^ And I think Karivnie will get over the whole "plucked" thing in the future, but that is character development yet to come. She just has to meet some featherless creatures that aren't trying to screw her over in some sense of the word, so her experience thus far tells her that yes, they are as scary as she'd been told. As friendly as Quagga is, I could see her being the least likely to scare Kari. I can just see the two- a close talker and a claustrophobic bird-girl having a conversation sounds like a great scene.

And actually, I saw the detail that you put into your profile and tried to make Karivnie's similarly informative without me having to actually look up/invent genus names and the like, although I was quite impressed that you did.

Anyway, Ryujin and Quagga both, thanks for the welcome!

You're welcome. Glad I could help. And I realized after posting what the trouble with the deviant art pic is. They list it as "Mature content" so one needs to be logged on in order to see it.

Thanks for noticing the detail in my profile. Even without a genus reference, yours is really good. I know that it's a lot of work.

I look forward to the the initial, very close meeting between the two. If it makes her feel any better, Kari could perch on Quagga's hindquarter as she grazes.

And while I'm not a bird expert, 55 pounds is probably about right.

Stupid people, being so picky about nudity... *sigh*

I had a lot of fun working out the details of Karivnie and the K'mari. I decided against throwing a post out on their biology unless it seemed like people needed/were interested in further information, but I spent time trying to work out things like their weight, wing span, why an essentially avian race would have breasts (I decided they're egg-laying mammals, rather like platypi) and basically trying to make the physiology work. Karivnie's a demanding little muse, lol.

Using Quagga as a perch would be quite bold for Kari, but I could see her doing just that once they achieved some kind of comfort level, lol. She'd be inordinately fascinated with her mane, too, once she learned that it wasn't the Cabbyl version of an aggressively raised crest.
Kari: *buries fingers in mane* Strange... *pokepoke* ! Couldbeseen *flees*

Wow! A great character you have there Karivnie! Maybe one of these days my SFA and yours will bump into each other and spend the afternoon flying around.

Though probably not seeing how Veil is a bit of a loner and Karivnie being shy, that probably wouldn't happen so much.

All the same hope you have a great time.

@Lexi: Heh, that would be most interesting. Karivnie, for all her suspicion, comes off as extremely innocent in social interactions- all she's known thus far is life on ship, her home planet, or haggling with suppliers. I have a feeling that that could set off Veil's stated fear of harming those around her, since Kari seems such an easy target. If they actually interacted with each other, rather than simply sharing the same airspace by accident, I'm sure that their conversation would be intriguing...

Side note: I read the profile for your Lexicon- the idea is really creative, and the image of Lexi grinning to herself in a corner of the library while her summon does its work is hilarious. Mixing menacing and kawaii, hooray! ^.^

Ooooh I absolutely love her! Very nicely developed character, and damn it she's just so cute!
Man, I've had a pair of feline SFAs on the back burner for quite a while now and between Karivnie and Quagga I think I'm going to have to finally get around to writing them up over my next break X3

I'm assuming you're still having trouble with your image host since I can't see any pictures aside from you're little sig. Have you tried privatephotoalbums.com? I've used them for all my Shokushu stuff for close to two years now and never had any problem.

Aw, thank you. ^.^ I'm glad that we're inspiring more SFA's to join us, and when you do get your ladies posted, I'm sure Karivnie could be enticed into checking them out... for her own security, of course.

I have not tried that site; I'll check it out and see what I find there. Thanks, I've been having a lot of trouble hunting down pictures of bird-girls that look Karivnie-ish.

I have both pics up now. It took me a while but I was able to compress the second one. And somewhere I seemed to have deleted the first one. They're both in my post below yours now.

*tacklehug* Quagga, you are made of amazing. ^.^ <3

I find myself drawn to her... this is like, my 3rd time visiting this thread.

I don't know...maybe its the naga in me? Laughs...

Anyway welcome to shokushu ^_^

Well, if either Bella or Nathaniel desire a meeting, I'm sure we can arrange something. I wonder what a naga and a K'mari would think of each other, hm... ^.~

Karivinie: 0.0 Snaaaaaaaaaaake! *hide*

In any case, thanks for the welcome! ^.^

Acandae: *eyes narrow* fo--- i mean client *bows*
At your service

XD