Ru'näko

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Melanistic Warrior and Huntress of the Tipani Clan

Appearance
Unlike most of her kind, Ru'näko suffers from a rare skin condition. There is an unusually high concentration of melanin in her skin, which makes her appear pitch black. Really, she is an extremely deep azure color, but her true coloration can rarely be seen by the naked eye. Ru'näko's markings are even darker shade than her skin tone and are difficult to make out. Only in direct sunlight can her jagged stripes be seen. Her bioluminescent spots sparkle all over her body in the usual way, like stars against a night sky, forming their own unique pattern. Her almond shaped eyes are the typical golden color of the Na'vi, though they stand out particularly strongly against her black skin. Ru'näko's black hair is cut short and shaggy, often falling across her eyes, with her long queue hanging down her back in the typical Na'vi fashion. A single red feather, given to her by Tsahik Sänume, is braided into her queue.

She is the average height and weight for a female Na'vi, tall and lithe and fit. She wears a dark loincloth only, and is usually not seen with any sort of jewelry or decorations on her figure. A bow lays across her shoulder, and a hunting knife is strapped her to upper left thigh. A small pouch for a few supplies is attached to her right side. Her tail is a little longer than average, tuffed more fully on the end than what is considered normal.

Personality
Bad luck has followed Ru'näko since birth. She seems to be a magnet for trouble. From the time she could walk, she was constantly finding ways to get hurt. Fortunately, this bad luck seems focused only on herself, not on the others around her. However, this did not stop her clan from secretly blaming her for things that went wrong.

Despite the whispers and rumors, Ru'näko has always kept her chin up. The support of her loving parents was all she ever needed. She usually keeps to herself, minding her own business and is quiet and reserved. However, this may simply be due to the fact that she has never had the opportunity to be otherwise. After her parents died, she became even more withdrawn: she would often stay mute for months at a time. Still, she is not openly rude, though it is often difficult to figure out what she is really thinking.

Ru'näko seems to have a natural talent with the pa'li and other animals, possibly due to her calm composure. Sometimes she seems rather..."slow," almost as though it takes her some time to consider and figure stuff out. This isn't exactly true, for she is rather intelligent, but she does take her time in making important decisions, carefully considering every option before moving forward. She doesn't tend to jump to conclusions. Her mind is much like a sponge: she absorbs new information quickly and can repeat it back with ease, which makes her a fast learner.

Early History
Ru'näko's mother was of the Tipani Clan, but she chose to mate with a male from another clan. She decided to move to her life mate's clan, which was a horse clan of the great plains. Ru'näko was born among this new clan roughly a year later.

Needless to say, Ru'näko's dark coloration was quite a shock. Most of the Na'vi had never witnessed such an oddity before, though after speaking with Eywa through one of the sacred trees they learned that it was not entirely unheard of. The ancestors had some knowledge of such strange mutations. Despite this, Ru'näko was never treated “normally” by her clan, though no one was openly hostile towards her. Mostly they avoided her. Her mother and father, however, loved her dearly, but there were many rumors that Ru'näko was a bad omen; that her parents were not meant to be life mates.

Despite her strange looks and seemingly bad luck, Ru'näko was a bright young Na'vi and she trained under her father to become a hunter and a warrior. When the time of great sorrow came and the Toruk Makto came to the Plains Clan to seek out their help, Ru'näko was already an adult of the clan and wanted to go fight alongside her mother and father. However, she was forbidden to go: her clan was afraid that she would bring her bad luck with her and that the battle would be lost. So she watched her parents ride off across the grasslands while she remained behind with the mothers and elders.

She never saw her parents again. They died in the final battle.

Struggling with the news of her parent's death, Ru'näko tried hard to fit in to the Plains Clan, to honor their memories. But after a year, her father's clan still never fully accepted her. Finally, Ru'näko decided that she would leave her father's clan and return to her mother's tribe, in hopes that they would finally accept her. Unfortunately, she had no idea where the Tipani Clan was, so she wandered hopelessly for an entire year. Eventually she did find the Tipani Clan and was allowed to join their ranks.

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