Valeria Alopex

Valeria Alopex is scribed by Natalie Bartley.

Know Your Guide

Height. 5’7”

Weight. 150 lbs

Hair Color. Light brown

Facial Hair. N/A

Eyes. Brown, but change with the condition of the Gulf of Mexico

Distinguishing Features. Scar along the inside of her left forearm

Family

Parents. Both dead

Siblings. Alaran, only surviving sibling. Oldest of the four from that litter, Val is the youngest.

Spouse. None

Children. None

Professions

Valeria is an environmentalist, and fights against large-platform deep-sea drilling. Her family were killed in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, so it is a very personal battle for her.

Residence

Aboard the Spring Tide, her single-mast yacht, which makes berth at Pontchartrain Landing.

Personal Information

General Overview. Valeria is a wereshark, Thresher to be exact. Her family lived in the open Gulf of Mexico. Most suffered in the BP oil spill, and since then Valeria and her surviving cousins have begun looking for others of their kind. New Orleans, the sentient city of magic has called Valeria to her, and she hopes to find others like her. Valeria, like most weres are bound to the phases and shifting of the moon, but for her family, the change comes on the solar eclipse. She can change from shark to human and vice-versa at will, but the shift is forced during the eclipse. In her human form, she is just like any other mortal.

Normally, Valeria’s human form is tanned with brown hair and eyes that change with the Gulf of Mexico. Valeria is also an environmentalist, and fights against large-platform deep-sea drilling. Valeria is a 15-ft long shark, with purple and blue colourations on the top of her body, down to her caudal fin, and a white underbelly. Her tail is 7-ft out of that 15.

She was mature by 7, lived in Miami from 7-11 attending college until the Deepwater Horizon Spill in 2010 when Valeria went back to the sea to help find her family. Her father, mother, 1 brother and 1 sister are dead. 1 brother is missing. That is what brings her to NOLA, to search for Alaran.

The years between Deepwater Horizon and now, saw Valeria living mostly on the Island. An uninhabited island in the Florida Keys chain, where the weresharks tended to congregate in their human forms. It was here that she perfected her dancing skills, after learning to dance in Miami. It was also on the Island where she met the most weresharks ever, and learned about the hierarchy and how she fit into the world of the weresharks.

The “Greats” reign supreme with Great Whites at the top, the kings and queens of the sea, they rule the local wereshark populations. Underneath them are the other “greats”: the Great Hammerhead sharks, Bull sharks, and Mako Sharks. Valeria’s family fell under the reign of the local Mako lord. Her father was, before his death, advisor to the lord as de facto leader of the Thresher-weres. This offered Valeria a unique insight on the Island.

Nicknames. Val, Pexie, Sharkbait

Likes. The open sea, beignets, her girlfriends from college, dancing

Dislikes. Deep sea drilling, shark culling, the hierarchy of were-sharks hounding her whenever she goes home demanding she “settle down”.

Flaws And Weaknesses

Forced Shift. Needs to shift back into shark form every so often or the shift occurs randomly on its own. Valeria can’t go a week without it, so as to not abandon the sea in favour of the land.

Veiled Innocence. While not naive or even innocent of the world, Valeria was raised to speak proper English, no contractions. This has partly led to people assuming she is prim and proper. She is not. Valeria is also the only of her companions, who is still a virgin, she just hasn’t wanted to follow that path. Valeria is not ignorant of these acts, even though sometimes it may seem like she is.

Pack Animal. Sharks are interesting creatures, while most species live alone, separate from one another, the overall were-shark community that oversees all sharks, are a pack. They are a family, they look out for one another, and when one is away from the pack, they are missed. Val has been away from the were-sharks for a while, and is starting to feel that loneliness set in.

Skills And Abilities

Immortality. Weresharks are technically immortal. Immune to the effects of aging, cannot die by any conventional means, and is immune to all known mortal diseases and infections. Though shifters do not live forever, and typically last for several hundred years, the oldest known shifter being around 900 years old.

Tracker. As a shark, Valeria has the ability to track prey for miles around. Her sense of smell remains strong and is able to track prey on land if necessary.

Beware the Tail. Thresher sharks have tails that almost double their length, this is used to stun their prey, and Valeria is no exception. When she was in college, she danced at a local club to help make some money. She got the nickname Pexie, a play on both her last name and “Pixie” because when she danced, she was as alluring as the fae, and could ‘stun’ men into tipping extra.

Eclipse Shift. During the solar eclipses, all were-sharks return to their watery forms and return to their pupping grounds for the week. This is a way for them to reconnect with their family and their ancestors.

Personal Attire

Normal Daily Wear. Sundresses, shorts and a t-shirt, just casual clothing.

Alternate Wear. N/A

Magical Artifacts/Weapons

Silver Whip. A gift from Valen as a way for Valeria to protect herself when he is not around. In its normal form, it rests around her waist in the form of a belly chain.

Introduction Written by Scribe

There is a myth, among the were-sharks, that we are descendants of the same person of some magician. I have never held true to this myth myself. We are too few, too different to be related. And yet, something in my blood rings with it, when I hear the name Ka’ahupahau, like a form of homecoming. The myth goes like this:

Ka’ahupahau was a magician who walked among the first inhabitants of Hawaii. She was born as they say, to a human form, but was able to transform at will into a shark. She devoted her remaining days to protecting people from shark attacks. One of Ka’ahupahau’s children, born a shark, fell in love with a mortal woman. Ka'ahupahau gave her son the ability to walk on land. The children were unique, a few were born with the ability to shift back and forth, from human to shark, on command. They were the first noted were-sharks.

This blessing passed down from generation to generation. Even from that first generation who did not possess the gene, further descendants did. From there, the population grew and spread out throughout the world. But it is no coincidence, that the were-shark population density seems to be greatest within the temperate/tropical waters.

So many generations have passed, my kind have spread globally, that this could only be a myth right? I have complete control over my transformations except when the solar eclipse occurs, and then I am forced into shark form. I have noticed that if I go too long without shifting back, normally around a week or so, that my body starts doing it on its own. It is very uncomfortable, to suddenly have a 6-ft tail sticking out of my ass, or to start forming gills without the proper respiratory system to go along with it.

I learned my lesson early, and through many close calls. Change on day 5, spend a few days travelling the seas, return to land. This way, I am not giving one up for the other. Perhaps that was the point of Ka'ahupahau’s blessing to her offspring and his descendants: do not abandon the sea for the land, for you need both to survive and thrive.