Post by Puss in Boots on Jan 2, 2012 21:14:45 GMT -5
MAIN USERNAME: Evangeline
CHARACTER NAME: Laurent
RACE: Magical animal
CLASS: Meister
ADVANCED CLASS: N/A
AGE: He has lived for 50-some years, and is on his fifth of nine souls.
GENDER: Male
APPEARANCE:
Sensationalism, exaggeration, and intrigue are concepts Laurent is no stranger to. The striking spots and stripes on his lithe feline body serve as poor camouflage outside of his native but long-since forgotten African savanna homeland, but continue to lend him an exotic flair that was much a part in why he was taken from the savanna in the first place. Now, one sees little of his dun-yellow coat as he has chosen to clothe his long, lanky body in bespoke evening dress. (Throw enough money at a couturier and no client is too unreasonable- not even a walking, talking wild African serval cat-like creature.)
Among his specific requests was that his suits be fashioned in a dated, Victorian style for a by-gone genteel air. He insists on wearing crisp white shirts underneath an embroidered vest, lace ascot, and sharply cut red tailcoat. Close-fitting camel-colored trousers and his eponymous leather riding boots complete the outfit, though much to his chagrin the large, oval-shaped ears that dwarf his head in comparison do not allow him to accessorize with a top hat without compromising his keen sense of hearing. It is one of the few concessions he has reluctantly given in his attempt to obliterate his animal qualities as thoroughly as possible; a compromise, but in no way a defeat.
He pays scrupulous attention to his person, obsessed almost with appearing composed even during combat. Appearing in public without his clothes is tantamount to nudity- Laurent would be mortified to shame himself in such a way, and it takes forceful, sometimes violent, cajoling to convince him to do so to take advantage of his natural aptitude for silent stalking of prey. Going from two feet to four would wipe away in an instant the pains he has taken to counter the undeniable feral quality to his appearance, and he finds it demeaning to be asked to act as an ordinary animal. Laurent sees no irony in his wearing leather boots; animals without the same sentience as himself are ranked clearly in his mind as being far below him.
The consummate snob refuses any connection to the animal kingdom, despite being unable to disguise himself anyhow as anything other than an exotic imported plaything of the wealthy. To add insult to injury, he is a runt whose smaller than average stature was stunted even further by starvation and maltreatment; his limbs remain slightly longer than an average housecat’s, but he stands fully at only about 3 feet and 6 inches.
Much to his irritation, a relatively recent addition to his outfit is a black eyepatch across his left eye, which he lost in an unfortunate incident in his bounty hunting days. Make a big enough fuss of it and he'll be sorely tempted to give you one too for your troubles.
CURRENT PARTNER(S):
AVAILABLE
ABILITIES:
[MAIN ABILITY]
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: Speed boost
DESCRIPTION: "The Lightning Count" is a nickname he has gained from his time as a vigilante. With this ability, he can move at immense, non-human speeds for a short burst of time, allowing him to make compact 10 quick, relatively light slashes with his blade in a matter of 2 seconds.The effect lasts for the duration of one post, and has a cooldown of five (of this character's) posts.[/ul]
[SUPPORT SLOTS]
O1.
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: sense souls, wavelength
DESCRIPTION:
Mastering the basics of Soul Perception unlocks its full capabilities. In addition to being able to sense souls in a greater radius the character can now identify the characteristics of a soul, telling normal humans apart from those afflicted with madness as well as identifying Kishin Eggs, witches, and other irregular souls. The level of discernment isn't perfect, however; for example, telling the difference between a witch and a cat with unusually strong magical powers may be nigh-on impossible unless you know what to look for. Soul perception can now be used "on the go" and, with concentrated effort, it becomes possible to read certain surface-level aspects of a character's personality via their soul's wavelength.[/ul]
O2.
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: wavelength, melee
DESCRIPTION:
The standard Soul Purge, as taught to Meisters by Shibusen, relies on a Meister's ability to "weaponize" their own soul wavelength as a momentary surge of energy. At this level Soul Purge becomes a capable attack in-and-of itself, able to drive home the pain verses foes with hardened physical defenses. Soul Purge requires physical contact in order to do damage.[/ul]
EQUIPMENT:
EQUIPMENT NAME: Saber
TYPE: Weapon
STRENGTH: Weak
DESCRIPTION: A saber modified to be shorter and made of lighter material for him that he wear around a belt at all times. The design is streamlined, with a no-nonsense hilt completely lacking in unnecessary ornamentation to reduce the weapon's weight as much as possible. It has no magical properties.
LOYALTY:
-First and foremost, himself.
-He doesn’t turn his back on those who treat him with respect; he’s not eager to leave Shibusen any time soon.
KEY ATTRIBUTES:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
PERSONALITY:
Laurent has dedicated much effort to denying, no- eradicating any connection to the animal world. His mannerisms have an aura of carefully crafted self-containment, though he would be mortally offended if this was ever interpreted as merely a gilded cage for a wild beast held barely in check. His fastidious and reserved nature is instead reflective of his perception of himself as distinctly separate from animals; he is “human” in his ability to reason and feel as humans do.
He himself has no doubts of that difference, but it is others that he must convince. He only appears to be a wild animal, and even that has been partly negated by his insistence on thoroughly adopting human clothing. Animals act on instinct and they may learn or be trained to perform certain behaviors, but they cannot deliberate on the consequences of their actions. Laurent is motivated not by want of food, shelter, or heaven forbid the desire to pass on his genes, but by desire for knowledge and adventure, an insatiable curiosity and wish to try new things.
Self-control and civility are qualities that he holds in very high regards and enforces strictly in himself, not to mention expects of humans he interacts with. He can often be insufferably uptight and judgmental, and favors sarcasm at times when it is best to be pliant and sincere. His dreadful stubbornness can also put him at odds with others, though it's an essential trait that he's rather proud of.
Gentlemanly though Laurent may be, he is one to understand the occasional necessity of subverting the truth and acting purely in his own interest. He is silver-tongued but not a compulsive liar, keenly aware of what benefits him the most but not a two-faced traitor. More familiar than he would like to be with desperate, humiliating measures taken to ensure survival, he is at peace with utilizing his skills at stalking and ambush if he must. Excessively polite conduct does not necessarily extend to the battlefield; he is interested in conserving his remaining five souls for as long as possible.
Character Songs:
HISTORY:
The more scandalous of the many guesses on his origin hold him as the offspring from the quite unfortunate and entirely unintended encounter between an ordinary tomcat and a transformed witch. Others are convinced that he is a human so ashamed of being cursed to take the form of a cat that he has completely renounced all memories of his former life.
In truth, the individual responsible for Laurent is a two-bit, third-rate witch more well known for resorting to living in her hyena form to avoid well-deserved retribution than any real magical accomplishments. Her encounter with the serval kitten occurred sometime after her descent into being a laughingstock. (Her incompetence with conducting magical experiments has always remained the same.) The idea to try her hand once more at experimenting had come only after considering whether to eat the starving, abandoned runt that had crawled to her haphazardly constructed abode or to use his skin-and-bones carcass as a peace offering to the local hyena population.
To her credit the serval kitten had been successfully imbued with a human-level of intelligence and enchanted to be able to perform physical feats a serval would otherwise be unable to do. At the same time, the bumbling hyena witch never did have much common sense; she’d forgotten that both still were at a human infant’s level, and figured herself a complete failure when the kitten didn’t immediately jump onto its hind legs and declaim Shakespearean sonnets. Disgusted, she tossed out the now well-fed kitten back to fend for itself. Had he also received the ability to perform magic in addition to having a feline’s nine souls, his life may have taken a very different turn. As it were, he was defenseless against the French trappers who shipped him from French West Africa as one of the spoils of empire.
At that point, dates and years weren’t even concepts he understood, though he has later estimated his arrival in France to be sometime in the early 1960’s. A blue blood with money to spend had heard of the relative ease of taming servals, and sought to outdo the rest of the ladies who lunch. Lipsticked mouths were sent aflutter when the groggy serval kitten was presented to a haughty young debutante, gift completed with a large satin bow tied around his neck.
A kitten’s playful nature was Laurent’s saving grace. He was treated as an ordinary housecat, and acted as one would, endearing himself to his owners and their servants. It was with these first set of owners that he was given his name, which he has kept. Unbeknownst to even Laurent himself, though his body matured more quickly than a human’s, his intellect developed at a pace quicker than a human’s but not parallel with his feline body’s rate of growth. As a human infant would, he hung on to the sounds of people speaking even if they made no sense.
Mimicking those he saw, he soon started toddling around on two feet. The sight of a kitty cat attempting to walk like a human was charming- hearing him begin to babble his first few words elicited a far less genial response. The family was divided on what to do- some wanted to be rid of him and any associations of witchcraft, while others encouraged his behavior to see just how far Laurent could go. He wasn’t the only pet present, but once he began to form a sense of “self,” he immediately knew them to be completely different from himself, a fact he finally confirmed after attempts to communicate “the human way” failed miserably. It was after then that he began to resent being associated with animals and entirely stopped walking on four feet, greatly disturbing the mistresses of the house.
Before he could begin making sense of the printed word, he was sold off to a traveling sideshow, his owners having decided that their exotic pet was maturing into a wholly unexpected creature they were unwilling to deal with. His practice of walking on two feet was expanded into an entire act capitalizing on the freakishness of a true to life Puss in Boots. He remained silent in the presence of humans, having seen the reactions of the family who raised him and known better than to test his new handlers. After all, he was sold to the sideshow and finally billed by them as a walking cat, not one that talked as well, though he was diligent in rehearsing phrases in private. He played human to the crowds, but for him it didn’t stop after they left. The children’s laughter he didn’t mind, but the sneers, the condescending laughter only steeled his resolve to prove, if only to himself, that he was no mere trained beast.
Even if the four-legged serval cat was the true act, Laurent knew he could do little else. He eventually passed of old age in the same cage he’d lived in for more than 15 years, though much to his own surprise as well as those who meant to dispose of his body, it had dissolved away before their very eyes and a sprightly Laurent in a much younger body appeared in its place. This was the discovery of his nine, well now eight souls.
Soul 2
Such a panic was raised over the devil’s cat that one of the humans present shot Laurent, only to have him appear once more, though much more irate than before. He was shut in his cage and moved to a secure location while the owners of the sideshow figured out exactly what to do with him. Fortunately for them, a visitor from overseas who had come to see the Puss in Boots had got wind of his new reviving act, and purchased Laurent.
Soul 3
Even more fortunate for the serval, the wealthy, aging dowager was the head of a family of meisters, no stranger to magical beings. She insisted on using English to speak with him, as her working knowledge of French was even less than his, though she continued to pronounce his name with a proper accent. He was free at last to act and speak as he pleased with an individual who understood and accepted him, though even this luxurious life paled in comparison to her stories of battling evil in Shibusen. Laurent had a voracious appetite for her old school stories, especially those involving non-human magical beings. It became apparent that his curiosity would one day land him in Death City itself, though for now he was content to spend his time with her, building up his store of knowledge.
Souls 4 and 5
He inherited her fortune upon her death (which he quickly followed), so that he would not be without resources. Her grandson, graduated from Shibusen for at least a decade, was hungering to relive his glory days and approached the serval not long after. Laurent had been deeply envious back when the grandson first started attending the school, and attempted to live vicariously through his stories as well. Now, however, was a chance to somewhat live out the dream. The serval became his eager apprentice, having nearly reached his own mid-soul crisis. Laurent had spent enough decades piddling around, now was time to take action and seize adventure!
Neither had Demon Weapons, though the alum still retained the combat knowledge he received from Shibusen. He taught Laurent Soul Perception and eventually Soul Purge, hoping that it would provide the two an advantage to make up for their lack of magical weapons. At first neither were quite sure if the feline would even be capable of it, but it seems that the hyena witch's enchantment of a human intelligence to pair with his nine souls had enabled him to manipulate his soul wavelength in the ways required to be able to perform the techniques. His teacher had been rather rusty himself and Laurent's execution rough at the edges, but it worked well enough for the both of them. The pair evolved from vigilante justice to a brief stint bounty hunting, and finally hunting down minor Kishin eggs that had not yet warranted Shibusen’s attention once Laurent became more adept at the skills he was taught.
One day they happened upon an opportunity to exterminate a full blown Kishin egg threat. Bravado and arrogance convinced them to beat the Shibusen team to the kill, but it was a decision that would lead to both their deaths before the help could arrive. Although Laurent’s partner fell before he did, he could have done little to prevent it. He didn’t need the sound chastisement (from children, no less!) he received when all was said and done, but as soon as they had yelled and swore themselves hoarse he was quick to beg them to take him back to their school. The chance at having a proper education appealed to him just as much as refining his fighting skills, though most tantalizing of all was being able to function, really, without expressly relying on a human middle man. The liberal, wild air and spirit of adventuring youth suited him more than the bureaucracy of the Exorcists, and he played heavily the angle of “Look! I’m a swashbuckling cat, for goodness sake!” It tickled the right people’s senses of humor, and he soon found himself enrolled as a student.
MORE INFO: THERE’S YOUR INTERESTING AND RELEVANT HISTORY SECTION, ROC. HAPPY?
--------------
CHARACTER NAME: Laurent
RACE: Magical animal
CLASS: Meister
ADVANCED CLASS: N/A
AGE: He has lived for 50-some years, and is on his fifth of nine souls.
GENDER: Male
APPEARANCE:
Sensationalism, exaggeration, and intrigue are concepts Laurent is no stranger to. The striking spots and stripes on his lithe feline body serve as poor camouflage outside of his native but long-since forgotten African savanna homeland, but continue to lend him an exotic flair that was much a part in why he was taken from the savanna in the first place. Now, one sees little of his dun-yellow coat as he has chosen to clothe his long, lanky body in bespoke evening dress. (Throw enough money at a couturier and no client is too unreasonable- not even a walking, talking wild African serval cat-like creature.)
Among his specific requests was that his suits be fashioned in a dated, Victorian style for a by-gone genteel air. He insists on wearing crisp white shirts underneath an embroidered vest, lace ascot, and sharply cut red tailcoat. Close-fitting camel-colored trousers and his eponymous leather riding boots complete the outfit, though much to his chagrin the large, oval-shaped ears that dwarf his head in comparison do not allow him to accessorize with a top hat without compromising his keen sense of hearing. It is one of the few concessions he has reluctantly given in his attempt to obliterate his animal qualities as thoroughly as possible; a compromise, but in no way a defeat.
He pays scrupulous attention to his person, obsessed almost with appearing composed even during combat. Appearing in public without his clothes is tantamount to nudity- Laurent would be mortified to shame himself in such a way, and it takes forceful, sometimes violent, cajoling to convince him to do so to take advantage of his natural aptitude for silent stalking of prey. Going from two feet to four would wipe away in an instant the pains he has taken to counter the undeniable feral quality to his appearance, and he finds it demeaning to be asked to act as an ordinary animal. Laurent sees no irony in his wearing leather boots; animals without the same sentience as himself are ranked clearly in his mind as being far below him.
The consummate snob refuses any connection to the animal kingdom, despite being unable to disguise himself anyhow as anything other than an exotic imported plaything of the wealthy. To add insult to injury, he is a runt whose smaller than average stature was stunted even further by starvation and maltreatment; his limbs remain slightly longer than an average housecat’s, but he stands fully at only about 3 feet and 6 inches.
Much to his irritation, a relatively recent addition to his outfit is a black eyepatch across his left eye, which he lost in an unfortunate incident in his bounty hunting days. Make a big enough fuss of it and he'll be sorely tempted to give you one too for your troubles.
CURRENT PARTNER(S):
AVAILABLE
ABILITIES:
[MAIN ABILITY]
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: Speed boost
DESCRIPTION: "The Lightning Count" is a nickname he has gained from his time as a vigilante. With this ability, he can move at immense, non-human speeds for a short burst of time, allowing him to make compact 10 quick, relatively light slashes with his blade in a matter of 2 seconds.The effect lasts for the duration of one post, and has a cooldown of five (of this character's) posts.[/ul]
[SUPPORT SLOTS]
O1.
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: sense souls, wavelength
DESCRIPTION:
Mastering the basics of Soul Perception unlocks its full capabilities. In addition to being able to sense souls in a greater radius the character can now identify the characteristics of a soul, telling normal humans apart from those afflicted with madness as well as identifying Kishin Eggs, witches, and other irregular souls. The level of discernment isn't perfect, however; for example, telling the difference between a witch and a cat with unusually strong magical powers may be nigh-on impossible unless you know what to look for. Soul perception can now be used "on the go" and, with concentrated effort, it becomes possible to read certain surface-level aspects of a character's personality via their soul's wavelength.[/ul]
O2.
TYPE: Active
STRENGTH: Average
KEYWORDS: wavelength, melee
DESCRIPTION:
The standard Soul Purge, as taught to Meisters by Shibusen, relies on a Meister's ability to "weaponize" their own soul wavelength as a momentary surge of energy. At this level Soul Purge becomes a capable attack in-and-of itself, able to drive home the pain verses foes with hardened physical defenses. Soul Purge requires physical contact in order to do damage.[/ul]
EQUIPMENT:
EQUIPMENT NAME: Saber
TYPE: Weapon
STRENGTH: Weak
DESCRIPTION: A saber modified to be shorter and made of lighter material for him that he wear around a belt at all times. The design is streamlined, with a no-nonsense hilt completely lacking in unnecessary ornamentation to reduce the weapon's weight as much as possible. It has no magical properties.
LOYALTY:
-First and foremost, himself.
-He doesn’t turn his back on those who treat him with respect; he’s not eager to leave Shibusen any time soon.
KEY ATTRIBUTES:
Strengths:
- Highly agile and flexible
- Very sensitive sense of smell and hearing
- Excellent night vision
- Small size makes him a difficult target to hit
- Natural nimbleness and appearance of a cat allows him to act in a reconnaissance role or ambush enemies.
Weaknesses:
- His sensitive hearing makes him particularly susceptible to loud noises, leading to discomfort and great pain.
- His body is lacking the same physical strength as a human's, forcing him to rely not on any one single powerful finishing blow but multiple quick ones.
- He's blind in one eye from an unfortunate encounter during his bounty hunting days, severely affecting his depth perception.
- Magical animal though he may be, his body is still far less durable than a human’s. He is small and quick, but he has to be because his skeleton is weaker and he suffers increased damage.
- He can be considered a dwarf considering his short stature; while a healthy adult male serval might stand to nearly 5 feet, he barely clears 3 ½ ft. He is far shorter than the vast majority of other combatants, putting him at a disadvantage because his reach is quite limited. Should his opponents get a hold of him it’s not that hard to land critical blows to multiple organs in such a small body.
- He is so determined to foreswear animal behavior that if he is ever disarmed, he refuses to fight back with his natural weapons: his claws and teeth. He’d rather resort to claw-less melee combat and risk death than act “as an animal.”
PERSONALITY:
Laurent has dedicated much effort to denying, no- eradicating any connection to the animal world. His mannerisms have an aura of carefully crafted self-containment, though he would be mortally offended if this was ever interpreted as merely a gilded cage for a wild beast held barely in check. His fastidious and reserved nature is instead reflective of his perception of himself as distinctly separate from animals; he is “human” in his ability to reason and feel as humans do.
He himself has no doubts of that difference, but it is others that he must convince. He only appears to be a wild animal, and even that has been partly negated by his insistence on thoroughly adopting human clothing. Animals act on instinct and they may learn or be trained to perform certain behaviors, but they cannot deliberate on the consequences of their actions. Laurent is motivated not by want of food, shelter, or heaven forbid the desire to pass on his genes, but by desire for knowledge and adventure, an insatiable curiosity and wish to try new things.
Self-control and civility are qualities that he holds in very high regards and enforces strictly in himself, not to mention expects of humans he interacts with. He can often be insufferably uptight and judgmental, and favors sarcasm at times when it is best to be pliant and sincere. His dreadful stubbornness can also put him at odds with others, though it's an essential trait that he's rather proud of.
Gentlemanly though Laurent may be, he is one to understand the occasional necessity of subverting the truth and acting purely in his own interest. He is silver-tongued but not a compulsive liar, keenly aware of what benefits him the most but not a two-faced traitor. More familiar than he would like to be with desperate, humiliating measures taken to ensure survival, he is at peace with utilizing his skills at stalking and ambush if he must. Excessively polite conduct does not necessarily extend to the battlefield; he is interested in conserving his remaining five souls for as long as possible.
Character Songs:
- Alive~ Big Bang
- Shadow ~ Darker than Black OST 1
- Sid ~ Darker than Black OST 1
- Kuro ~ Darker than Black OST 1
- Lighting Flash Poem ~ Darker than Black OST 2
- Date of Rebirth ~ Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society OST
HISTORY:
The more scandalous of the many guesses on his origin hold him as the offspring from the quite unfortunate and entirely unintended encounter between an ordinary tomcat and a transformed witch. Others are convinced that he is a human so ashamed of being cursed to take the form of a cat that he has completely renounced all memories of his former life.
In truth, the individual responsible for Laurent is a two-bit, third-rate witch more well known for resorting to living in her hyena form to avoid well-deserved retribution than any real magical accomplishments. Her encounter with the serval kitten occurred sometime after her descent into being a laughingstock. (Her incompetence with conducting magical experiments has always remained the same.) The idea to try her hand once more at experimenting had come only after considering whether to eat the starving, abandoned runt that had crawled to her haphazardly constructed abode or to use his skin-and-bones carcass as a peace offering to the local hyena population.
To her credit the serval kitten had been successfully imbued with a human-level of intelligence and enchanted to be able to perform physical feats a serval would otherwise be unable to do. At the same time, the bumbling hyena witch never did have much common sense; she’d forgotten that both still were at a human infant’s level, and figured herself a complete failure when the kitten didn’t immediately jump onto its hind legs and declaim Shakespearean sonnets. Disgusted, she tossed out the now well-fed kitten back to fend for itself. Had he also received the ability to perform magic in addition to having a feline’s nine souls, his life may have taken a very different turn. As it were, he was defenseless against the French trappers who shipped him from French West Africa as one of the spoils of empire.
At that point, dates and years weren’t even concepts he understood, though he has later estimated his arrival in France to be sometime in the early 1960’s. A blue blood with money to spend had heard of the relative ease of taming servals, and sought to outdo the rest of the ladies who lunch. Lipsticked mouths were sent aflutter when the groggy serval kitten was presented to a haughty young debutante, gift completed with a large satin bow tied around his neck.
A kitten’s playful nature was Laurent’s saving grace. He was treated as an ordinary housecat, and acted as one would, endearing himself to his owners and their servants. It was with these first set of owners that he was given his name, which he has kept. Unbeknownst to even Laurent himself, though his body matured more quickly than a human’s, his intellect developed at a pace quicker than a human’s but not parallel with his feline body’s rate of growth. As a human infant would, he hung on to the sounds of people speaking even if they made no sense.
Mimicking those he saw, he soon started toddling around on two feet. The sight of a kitty cat attempting to walk like a human was charming- hearing him begin to babble his first few words elicited a far less genial response. The family was divided on what to do- some wanted to be rid of him and any associations of witchcraft, while others encouraged his behavior to see just how far Laurent could go. He wasn’t the only pet present, but once he began to form a sense of “self,” he immediately knew them to be completely different from himself, a fact he finally confirmed after attempts to communicate “the human way” failed miserably. It was after then that he began to resent being associated with animals and entirely stopped walking on four feet, greatly disturbing the mistresses of the house.
Before he could begin making sense of the printed word, he was sold off to a traveling sideshow, his owners having decided that their exotic pet was maturing into a wholly unexpected creature they were unwilling to deal with. His practice of walking on two feet was expanded into an entire act capitalizing on the freakishness of a true to life Puss in Boots. He remained silent in the presence of humans, having seen the reactions of the family who raised him and known better than to test his new handlers. After all, he was sold to the sideshow and finally billed by them as a walking cat, not one that talked as well, though he was diligent in rehearsing phrases in private. He played human to the crowds, but for him it didn’t stop after they left. The children’s laughter he didn’t mind, but the sneers, the condescending laughter only steeled his resolve to prove, if only to himself, that he was no mere trained beast.
Even if the four-legged serval cat was the true act, Laurent knew he could do little else. He eventually passed of old age in the same cage he’d lived in for more than 15 years, though much to his own surprise as well as those who meant to dispose of his body, it had dissolved away before their very eyes and a sprightly Laurent in a much younger body appeared in its place. This was the discovery of his nine, well now eight souls.
Soul 2
Such a panic was raised over the devil’s cat that one of the humans present shot Laurent, only to have him appear once more, though much more irate than before. He was shut in his cage and moved to a secure location while the owners of the sideshow figured out exactly what to do with him. Fortunately for them, a visitor from overseas who had come to see the Puss in Boots had got wind of his new reviving act, and purchased Laurent.
Soul 3
Even more fortunate for the serval, the wealthy, aging dowager was the head of a family of meisters, no stranger to magical beings. She insisted on using English to speak with him, as her working knowledge of French was even less than his, though she continued to pronounce his name with a proper accent. He was free at last to act and speak as he pleased with an individual who understood and accepted him, though even this luxurious life paled in comparison to her stories of battling evil in Shibusen. Laurent had a voracious appetite for her old school stories, especially those involving non-human magical beings. It became apparent that his curiosity would one day land him in Death City itself, though for now he was content to spend his time with her, building up his store of knowledge.
Souls 4 and 5
He inherited her fortune upon her death (which he quickly followed), so that he would not be without resources. Her grandson, graduated from Shibusen for at least a decade, was hungering to relive his glory days and approached the serval not long after. Laurent had been deeply envious back when the grandson first started attending the school, and attempted to live vicariously through his stories as well. Now, however, was a chance to somewhat live out the dream. The serval became his eager apprentice, having nearly reached his own mid-soul crisis. Laurent had spent enough decades piddling around, now was time to take action and seize adventure!
Neither had Demon Weapons, though the alum still retained the combat knowledge he received from Shibusen. He taught Laurent Soul Perception and eventually Soul Purge, hoping that it would provide the two an advantage to make up for their lack of magical weapons. At first neither were quite sure if the feline would even be capable of it, but it seems that the hyena witch's enchantment of a human intelligence to pair with his nine souls had enabled him to manipulate his soul wavelength in the ways required to be able to perform the techniques. His teacher had been rather rusty himself and Laurent's execution rough at the edges, but it worked well enough for the both of them. The pair evolved from vigilante justice to a brief stint bounty hunting, and finally hunting down minor Kishin eggs that had not yet warranted Shibusen’s attention once Laurent became more adept at the skills he was taught.
One day they happened upon an opportunity to exterminate a full blown Kishin egg threat. Bravado and arrogance convinced them to beat the Shibusen team to the kill, but it was a decision that would lead to both their deaths before the help could arrive. Although Laurent’s partner fell before he did, he could have done little to prevent it. He didn’t need the sound chastisement (from children, no less!) he received when all was said and done, but as soon as they had yelled and swore themselves hoarse he was quick to beg them to take him back to their school. The chance at having a proper education appealed to him just as much as refining his fighting skills, though most tantalizing of all was being able to function, really, without expressly relying on a human middle man. The liberal, wild air and spirit of adventuring youth suited him more than the bureaucracy of the Exorcists, and he played heavily the angle of “Look! I’m a swashbuckling cat, for goodness sake!” It tickled the right people’s senses of humor, and he soon found himself enrolled as a student.
MORE INFO: THERE’S YOUR INTERESTING AND RELEVANT HISTORY SECTION, ROC. HAPPY?