Abigail 'Abi' Strand

[canisfemina]

Name: Abigail Strand
Nickname: Abi, Abs, Abner
Age: Twenties
Species: Shifter - Wolf.

Background: In Abigail's world, female shifters are rare. Those born of shifters mating are usually male, as the females rarely carry full term. Those who are turned can only do so by the bite of an Alpha and even the men rarely survive the change, let alone the females.

Because of this, the pack she was raised in had very few females, the women shared between the pack members, all for the purpose of breeding. When Abigail was born, her mother became one of the few exceptions, her birth solidifying the union between her parents where it was hoped they would produce another girl.

While this wasn't meant to be, Abigail grew up seeing what it was like for two people to be in love and choose the person they were with, but very early on in life, she realized that wasn't the case for most. The women of the pack may have been cared for and never truly wanted for anything but what they lacked was a choice when it came to who they would inevitably mate with.

Their whole reason for existing was to try and produce more females, to keep the pack strong and while most seemed to accept this as part of their life, Abigail refused. It wasn't the idea of mating that she ran from, nor was it the idea of having more than one mate. It was the fact that she would have no say in any of it.

Emotion played no part in their society. Pack came first, which meant Abi was little more than a broodmare and if she didn't enter it willingly, she'd be taken by force. Not that it would matter once she was of age. A female wolf in heat, in either form, wasn't likely to say no.

Faced with a choice of having no say at all and turning her back on her family, Abigail chose the latter, fleeing pack territory and making her way as fast and as far as she could, knowing full well they'd come looking for her and insist on dragging her back.

For several years Abi moved from town to town, trying to fly under the radar and never staying too long in one place, but eventually, she ended up in upstate New York, in a place that had about as many people as most High Schools have 8th graders. Paranoid that even now, her old pack might still be looking for her, Abi has a place a fair way out from town, only heading in to get supplies when she absolutely has to but otherwise keeping to herself.

Shifters are not meant to live without a pack, however, and it's not been an easy existence for Abi. She'd run from a life she didn't want to have, but she'd never wanted to leave her family as well. As much as she's found something of her own, she couldn't really call it a home. It does allow her the privacy to remain hidden from those who don't know of the existence of Shifters, Abi able to run free in the woods when the change is upon her, rather than have to hide away and suppress her instincts.

Facts and Things of Note

As a shifter Abi can turn into a wolf whenever she wants to, even outside of the full moon.

She's not forced to turn during the full moon but the pull to do so is very difficult to resist.

Even if she doesn't shift, she's more aggressive than normal, taking on aspects of her wolf's personality. This can present as physical violence, sexual dominance, or even a change in her eye color.

Just like a human female has a cycle, Abi goes into heat once a month. She becomes driven by her desire to breed and will seek out the closest thing to a suitable mate. She has learned to map out her cycle and usually spends those days drunk to try and avoid the awkward questions that would come from what would happen if she makes it into town. It has been known to happen though, which is another reason why Abi lives so far out.

She can take on physical aspects of her wolf, rather than fully change.

The change can be triggered by extreme situations, such as when she's in danger or emotionally volatile.

Shifter pregnancies are more in line with their animal cousins, a child going to the full term in only 3-4 months.

It's more common for shifters to have multiple fetuses. Not all will survive to full term, but twins and even triplets aren't uncommon.

Shifters who have been raised in packs are very at ease with the idea of multiple mates. Even Abi accepts this as normal, she just didn't like the fact that she was to have no say in who.