Appearance: At first glance, it is easy to miss Tory. She takes care to remain hidden and unobtrusive unless you know exactly where to look. Her brown eyes and long blonde hair don't often stand out in a room, despite the elegant, pretty features of her face. Often dressed in a simple pair of dark jeans, canvas shoes and a long blouse, it isn't very hard to skim past her at all. Though her hair was originally brown, she dyes and streaks it religiously, a desperate attempt to hide her identity without spending her non-existent stash of money. Out of her frugal lifestyle, her pride and joy is her long hair, and she takes care of it. Not one to draw attention to herself, Tory rarely dresses up and is even less likely to touch make-up. Clothes are more practical than fashion statements, and seemed to be designed to cover up as much as possible. Physically, Tory isn’t particularly tall or big, her couple of years living on the streets giving her a bit of a bony, too-thin appearance.
Personality: Tory is very much a kind and caring young woman. She finds it hard to hate others, attributing their misdeeds to external factors, and worries about people a lot more than necessary. Tory will do favours without expecting anything in return, having a “do unto others what you want others to do unto you” mentality. She has no idea of restraint, and will push herself to her absolute limit in order to help people. Dependable to the end, her soft-hearted ways have often left her in the deep end, once her so-called friends have made use of her.
Being intensely shy and emotional, Tory tends to shut herself away when she is hurt, preferring to run away from a problem than to face it. She is ridden with phobias, and finds it hard-pressed to leave the house at times, so burdened by her fears that she can't even set foot outside her home. Hiding in a darkened corner seems a lot more bearable than facing the world, and Tory has disappeared for days at a time to do just that. Still very much a young were, she often worries that she'll hurt someone due to her lack of control, and tries to avoid any anxiety-causing situations whenever possible.
When she isn't hiding from her own shadow, Tory is distinctly protective over those who are like her – meek, timid, or traumatised. She will fight through her own fears to aid a close friend, at least to give them a chance to run away, if nothing else. Deeply, and emotionally scarred, she feels little self-worth, more interested in allowing someone else the life she wish she had.
Loyal to a fault, Tory has problems distinguishing good friends from bad, tending to take people at face value. Not very good at expressing her emotions, she will listen if anyone needs an ear, and will support them through any issues that they may have. Touch is very much the main form of communication with Tory, and she understands and appreciates the power of actions more than that of words.
Special abilities/talents: Artistic talent - namely in pencil and pen art. She is also fairly decent with a paint brush.
Supernatural Affinity: Species/Group: Werejaguar (Black panther) Power(s): Tory is innately strong, especially in her jaw and shoulders. Strength in her legs allows her to leap quite high or far, but compared to other werecats, she isn't particularly fast or durable. Her powers reflect the stocky, tougher nature of a jaguar. Preferred Prey: She isn't very picky, though deer would be her typical choice.
History: Torrance was born to Jennifer Locke in a small farmyard in the isolated English countryside. Werejaguar mothers raised their children alone, and Torrance was no different. Jennifer was ridiculously pleased, and proud to have finally borne a child after years of trying, even more so when she saw Tory's intense black coat of fur during her first change. Melanistic jaguars were such a rarity for their kind, and Tory was shaping up to be a fine example of one. Living by themselves, mother and daughter were happy, exploring the wild forests at night and spending their days curled up by the fireplace. Jennifer home-schooled her daughter, teaching her about the knowledge of the weres, as well as the knowledge of man. It was a warm, joyful time for Tory, and she savoured the comfort and contentment of her youth.
As with all happy stories, however, it came to an end on Tory's sixteenth birthday. The nearby village had been expanding over the years, and was growing to encroach the werejaguars' land. They were a religious, highly suspicious lot, and had caught sight of Tory's black furred coat slinking into the house at dawn after the full moon. The village leader had burst into the home, staring at the tail-end of her transformation. Horrified, disgusted and fearful, the man rushed back to the village square, only to return with an angry mob, hell-bent on destroying the demons that had disturbed and tainted their land.
Jennifer had protected her daughter, taking the brunt of their attacks as they stabbed and crushed what they could with their shovels and bayonets. Tory lay still beneath her half-transformed mother, quelling her fearful whimpers and pained cries against the shoulder of her mother's body. Waiting until they left, she had crawled out of her ravaged home, two of her limbs broken in the attack. It was pure misfortune than the village head had still been around, snooping for signs of witchcraft.
She was dragged into his basement, locked up in a dog's cage no bigger than herself, and chained down to the dirt. He gave her poisoned water to drink, and it burned and scored her throat as he forced it down. The beatings and rape came every night in an attempt to “exorcise the demon” out of her. For an entire month, Tory was kept in the forsaken darkness, filled with pain and hurt, ravaged by illness and disease. She was too weak, too traumatised to change, to try to escape. It was sometime during that month that she had lost her voice, whether through sickness or trauma, she didn't know. Speech was the last thing on her mind, when all she wanted, all she could try to do was survive.
When the full moon came, the jaguar reared its head, striking back at the man who had broken and mangled her into a shadow of her former self. Tory barely escaped, disappearing into the woods clothed in shadow, rippling muscles and a crushing jaw. She lived in those forests for months. She would huddle, wide-eyed and fearful during the new moon, when she was naked and vulnerable in her human skin, ferocious and powerful as the black panther of the shadows otherwise.
It wasn't long before hunters had heard stories of the werejaguar, and they came in force. Her black coat was a prized centrepiece, her head a rare trophy. Most of them were violent, brutal men who tore through the forest, razing and ravaging as they saw fit. Running from her home, she escaped to America on ships and trucks, unable to deal with the constant terror of living in that sort of environment. She scavenged from the streets, picking up bits of information as she went along. Tory sought out the most suspicious, most “spooky” town she could find, hoping to find a place to rebuild her shattered, broken life.
And that's when she found Mysterica.
Flaws: Tory has an immense PHOBIA of men and being trapped. She is unable to feel comfortable in the presence of the opposite gender unless she has someone she trusts near her. The touch of a male is enough to send cold shivers down her spine and cause her to lose control over her beast. Unless she has learned to trust the man, it is very likely that he'll end up with a face full of claw marks, or something similar. It takes a long time for her to trust a male, and only through gentle, consistent coaxing could she ever be able to face or be close to one. Being shut up in a closed space is also unbearable to her, to the point that she would try to escape, regardless to damage to herself. This intense fear has even turned her MUTE, and she has not uttered a single word since her 16th birthday. Tory isn't sure if there is a physical barrier to her speech, but she has yet to meet anyone who has cared enough about her to get her to try. She usually carries a tattered notebook with her, and communicates that way only when absolutely necessary. Being a naturally expressive person, it isn't hard to see what she's trying to say. She constantly feels HUNTED, and always has to look over her shoulder, ears and nose pricked for the presence of any attackers. The fear that one of the villagers may come seeking revenge, a hunter, or some other strange man wanting to persecute her for her bloodline consistently burns through her veins. At times, she is so choked with this sensation that she is unable to sleep, wavering in her half-transformed state, ready to bolt as human or cat at any time. However, due to these flaws that have wrecked her life, Tory is very SOFT-HEARTED with others who are afflicted with similar fears, or are meek and timid. She has been taken advantage of by numerous individuals in the past because of this, and comes out of it swearing that she'll never trust again. But she does, and time and time again, she has been used and mistreated.
Merits:Despite her traumatised past, or possibly, due to it, Tory can be a DEPENDABLE friend to those who are close to her. Never wanting anyone to go through the pain and hurt that she had underwent, Tory protects and defends those who are unable to do so. She will pull through for her loved ones, perhaps shaking and shivering in fear, but she will pull through. With the lack of her voice, Tory has learned to rely on other methods of communication. Namely hearing, smell and touch. These HEIGHTENED SENSES are the real basis of Tory's abilities, and help protect her from her environment. Whether it be to hide or escape from the presence of predatory males, or to sense hostility, they play a role in her avoidant self-protection. To take them away would be the greatest terror anyone could inflict on her.
Sexual Orientation: Has yet to discover her sexuality, but due to her intense fear of men...
Stats Character introduced: 24th May, 2009 Character Played By: Haley Bennett