WAKER, stefan finley

STEFAN FINLEY

kitsune mutt

RANK. e
AGE. 21
DOB. 12 22
ETHNICITY. half japanese, quarter german, quarter english
OCCUPATION. handler for the agency
RESIDENCE. columbia university dorms

he was born to an american man and a kitsune with eyes that were the color of bluebonnets.

once, stefan had found fire to be inexplicably beautiful. as a young child, he would sit on his mother's lap for hours as he watched her conjure beautiful balls of blue flame.

he had never imagined that he would watch the same flames swallow his mother whole as she cursed his birth. at the age of seven, he wasn't old enough to understand why his father had left them, but the memory of his mother's death would remain.

at the age of ten, stefan grew his first tail. somehow, he managed to convince the children at the orphanage that it was a mere accessory. he developed his illusory powers soon after, which he used to hide his extra appendage. the ability had other uses as well. combined with the persuasiveness that only a precocious child could possess, stefan cajoled his way into a comfortable home. he knows that he isn't human - not entirely, anyway - so why play by their rules?

it was only later that he had learned about the sin of regret. he had heard of women dying of heartbreak, but things were that much more literal to a kitsune. stefan wasn't sure how much his half-human heritage would protect him, but he risks nothing.

alexander became his only permanent friend. the crow had every bit of wisdom that was normal for his species. as a teenager, stefan naturally sought his companionship when his integration with sleeper society got a little rough. he lived up to his resolve. the waker never caused any trouble or garnered unnecessary attention. he lived a semi-normal sleeper life. stefan always strayed a bit on the old fashioned side, and a few girls might have even said that was his enigmatic charm had he not been terribly standoffish with other people. he was constantly moved around by social services. misfortune seemed to follow the boy, despite his placid disposition. most of the time, anyway.

stefan's step-parents had been good to him. he was enrolled in a private school with a good reputation, and he excelled there due to his kitsune intelligence. he doesn't really talk about his high school years, but during his junior year, there was talk among waker circles. something about a werewolf who reeked of death. among the sleepers, the students only knew that anyone who tried to approach finley was asking for trouble.

it's no wonder that werebeasts were the first creatures that stefan had learned to kill. he doesn't regret it enough to die, and he did learn how to take life without remorse. those skills had come plenty handy when he had joined the agency to pay for the cost of a columbia education. his adoptive parents made plenty, but their contribution was hardly proportional. soon, he grew a reputation for achieving his aims rather bloodlessly for a newcomer.

hard work with a dash of cleverness would eventually make him one of the youngest handlers within the agency. in fact, he is such a workaholic that some agents joke that his position is due to his abilities as a paper-pusher. stefan only makes it too easy for newcomers to mistake this quip for fact.

stefan majors in psychology at columbia college. he is currently in his third year. since his work within the agency, those who can see past his facade can vouch for his manipulative bastardry. for everyone else, it's hard to figure out when stefan is smirking or smiling (hint: rarely does he do the latter).

at the age of twenty, stefan grew another tail. he's read plenty of books on japanese culture, and he can't help but wonder what would happen once he reached nine. he usually keeps them in his pants (har har) since he can't sustain his illusion magic for too long.

although he identifies as a waker, stefan is not actually a sorcerer or magi. as a kitsune half-breed, he is probably closer in race to a fae. however, the key difference is that he does not feed on dreams, nor is he able to independently travel to the dreaming. if killed in reality, then he stays killed in reality. for all intents and purposes, he is a human with rather unusual powers.

played by redox