[hider=NICODEM] [CENTER][img]https://i.imgur.com/Z9ntQZO.gif[/img] [h1][sup][sup][sup][sup][sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/U9Q8IkV.png[/img][/sup][/sup][/sup][/sup][/sup][/h1][/CENTER]𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘 [color=89352C]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent]Nicodem Kaminski, Nico to his friends.[/indent] 𝗔𝗚𝗘 [color=89352C]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [INDENT]Appears to be in his late forties, his actual age is lost to time though he guesses it's around one thousand years.[/INDENT] 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 [color=89352C]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [INDENT]Turned later in life, Nicodem gives off the impression of someone who has been tired for a long, long time. His face is lined and his eye sockets sunken, a few old wounds buried under the weight of wrinkles. His whole body hints at a past full of fights and criminality, in fact, faded tattoos and ancient scars jockeying for position all over his chest, back, arms and legs. Yet he simultaneously projects the air of a coiled spring, ready to unleash energy at a moment's notice. His gait says something similar, every step measured and assured, feet landing precisely where they're supposed and never moving faster than he wants to. Nicodem stands with his back ramrod straight and shoulders held high, like a man constantly on the parade ground. In the past, Nicodem would normally wear whatever was cleanest or whatever suited his current job. But today, even those with average jobs can afford to dress in well tailored clothes, beautiful ties and shiny shoes. So he chooses to dress in nice coats, fine suits, an array of formal ties and boots or shoes that he personally cares for like children. While behind the bar, he likes a vest and tie with his shirt sleeves rolled back. It keeps the shirt clean and has the added advantage of showing off some particularly intimidating ink from his stint in the Russian Mafia, always good to encourage a drunkard to back down. Nicodem's long hair starts the day oiled back across his head and, depending on how stressful things get, slowly frees itself to swing loose, much to his annoyance. His voice is deep and earthy but his dialect an enigma. If European accents were spices, Nicodem's accent is what happens when you knock the spice rack over into a ditch; there's traces of Russian, Spanish and English in there, along with seemingly random touches of rural slur and old fashioned syntax.[/INDENT] 𝗢𝗖𝗖𝗨𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 [color=89352C]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [INDENT]Nicodem owns and maintains The Slye Fox, an old fashioned English Pub in Edgetoun. He's been behind the bar, on and off, for the past century and considers himself a damn good bartender.[/INDENT] 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 [color=89352C]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [INDENT]Nicodem is officially affiliated with The Collective but not because he shares their ideals or wants to see them flourish. Rather, he joined them because it seemed they were the most obvious obstacles to the Methuselah's Court, at least in the UK. He has only into detail with one person on why he dislikes the Court so much but the truth is very simple; due to his own confusion over how old he is, they've snubbed him voting rights. Since then, several decades ago, he's been careful to make the lives of their agents as difficult as he can without attracting too much attention.[/INDENT] 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 [color=89352C]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [INDENT]Nicodem judges people with the standards that he places on himself and therefore sees them as falling into two categories; those who control themselves and are to be respected; and those who don't and aren't. For him, control is the one true measure of worth. If you can control yourself, you can do anything, be anything. And if you can't, you're not worth the time it takes to insult you. The philosophy arose from his own long history of drink and anger fuelled violence, which wrecked one stable lifestyle after another. Nicodem's self discipline manifests itself in a few ways. For one, his face and tone are neutral till he wants them otherwise. Another, he has certain schedules and rules that he follows religiously. Thirdly, he doesn't drink, not alcohol and not human blood. He is so committed to this last one that he ritually files down his fangs every few months. It's hellishly painful but ensure that he needs to use a syringe and a glass to get his sustenance, normally harvested from a family of rats he keeps in his home above the bar. Apart from that, he's generally kind to those who need kindness and indifferent to those who don't. He doesn't like seeing people suffer and will lend a helping hand to anyone who needs a step up, whether that means giving them a sofa to stay on or helping them to find a job through his contacts at work. If you ask him for help, you better be sure you need it though. If you tell him your problem and he decides it's all your own fault, he's more likely to shake his head and walk away than anything else.[/INDENT] 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 [color=89352C]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [INDENT]Nicodem has no idea when he was born or for how long he had walked the earth. He knows he's seen some pretty important events, the Crusades and the Black Death for example, but when he tries to recall his birth or his parents or even his sire, nothing comes to him. He doesn't chalk it up to anything mysterious though, he's spent years uncounted as a soldier and getting hit on the head is one of the risks of the job. He's relatively sure that his first memory is sitting in a muddy field in modern day Poland, surrounded by the dead. Nicodem had only two certainties then, that he was a soldier and that he was a vampire, and if he's honest, that hasn't changed much in roughly a millennia. Since then, he's had a lot of jobs. He ran a tavern in Sicily and market stall in Madrid. He collected debts in Istanbul and scars in St Petersburg. He fought for money in Poland and for revenge in the New world, now called America. In fact, there are few cities on the face of the earth to which Nicodem is truly a stranger. Equally, there are few jobs that he hasn't tried his hand at once or twice, from banker to bouncer to butcher. There was only ever really been one constant in his life; violence. When he was a mercenary, Nicodem wouldn't think twice about killing a man. That was the job. And after a few centuries, when the job changed, somehow the man didn't. He gave scaffolding a go, working on the construction of a great cathedral in Italy but left within a month after a barroom brawl turned bloody. He tried again with different jobs in different lands but the outcome was always the same. For a time, Nicodem simply accepted that it was his lot in life to be stained in blood, perhaps because of his Vampiric nature. God wants what god wants, he used to say, and the devil will get his due. But eventually he could no longer blame the blood on circumstance or or fate. It was unpleasantly clear to him that the only reason people died around him was his own lack of control. A spilled drink, an unkind word, a nasty look, anything was enough to set Nicodem off in those days, especially when he was drunk. And he was drunk more than he was sober. The truth came to him after a particularly bad night in Warsaw that left half a dozen men dead and Nicodem's fledgling career as a blacksmith, a profession he'd been rather enjoying, in ruins. It seemed that if he was ever to have more to show for his existence than scars and old tattoos, he would have to cultivate self control. Since this revelation, Nicodem hasn't touched a drop of alcohol (this was somewhere in the 1700s) and has dedicated almost every waking hour to learning indomitable discipline. It started with small things, ritual exercises and the like, before moving to tougher endeavours, like holding hot coals, before progressing to the big ones, filing down his fangs and weaning himself off of human blood. Today, Nicodem's will is an iron bastion and his daily routines are engraved in stone. He works on his body and form, running every morning and exercising every evening, as well as his mind with regular classes on everything from economics to learning Persian. There's so much to see and learn, even as an immortal, that you're only liable to get bored if you're a boring person. The Slye Fox started as a nostalgic purchase to relive the good old days but over the years turned into an extension of Nicodem's own philosophy of control. There are rules in the Fox that are broken on pain of having parts of yourself broken and few in recent years have dared test them. The first one is simple; no fights. If anyone so much as raises a hand against another in the Fox, they can expect to be ejected with extreme prejudice. The second is likewise; if the bartender says you've had enough, you walk. No arguments. The third is only for those that share the owner's bloodthirsty nature; no one drinks from a mortal on the premises. The forth and most recent was instated by Nicodem's most reliable employee, Eve; Dhampires drink free.[/INDENT] 𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗦 [color=89352C]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [INDENT][b]The Slye Fox[/b] - Nicodem's pub, run with brutal efficiency and frequented by almost as many Others as mortals. It's got a relaxed, calm atmosphere as troublemakers leave quickly and never return. The first two rules are written on the wall, the third and fourth are common knowledge to those that they concern. [b]Prospect Park[/b] - Every morning, almost since the park was opened, Nicodem has run circuits through it. If it weren't this park then it would probably be another but you can't know a place for that long without developing some sentimental attachment to it. [b]Richmond's[/b] - When he wants to be reminded just how good service can be, Nicodem visits this exclusive establishment. And for a vampire with legendary self control, Nico has something of a sweet tooth and wouldn't like to share how much money he's spent on cakes over the years.[/INDENT] 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦 & 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 [color=89352C]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [INDENT]His family are long gone and his friends are their own people, not his.[/INDENT] [/hider] [Hider=RELATIONSHIPS][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/andYr78.gif[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/b08xvW5.gif[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/PywizDP.gif[/img] [h1][sup][sup][sup][sup][sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/ph5dZny.png[/img][/sup][/sup][/sup][/sup][/sup][/h1][/CENTER] 𝗘𝗠𝗠𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗪 [color=623034]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Little wolf girl, in the Fox but rarely."[/i] Werewolves are easy to spot to a Vampire, or at least easy to smell. As far as Nicodem thinks about it, and it isn't very far, it's a shame to see one so young already forced to navigate the pack system and all its attendant politicking. Still, he can't take in another stray, the last one has only just moved off his sofa.[/indent] 𝗞𝗔𝗟𝗜 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗗 [color=CC823D]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"... No. Don't know her."[/i] N/A[/indent] 𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗟𝗘𝗬 [color=a20105]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Half-life, looks lost and smells panicked. Don't think I know his father..."[/i] Dhampires are fine by Nicodem, he was never one of the Vampires who thought they were abominations to be exterminated. He's never made one of his own, granted, but that's not got anything to do with a distaste for their kind, it's for personal reasons. He feels pity for them, especially as one quite so advanced in years, but as there's not much he can do for them, he contents himself with serving them free beer. In Laurel's case specifically... It's a shame to see such a well mannered and obedient boy go off the rails after learning his nature, a real shame. If he were a more regular customer, Nicodem might give the boy a talking to, teach him the value of discipline and self respect. But if the boy's determined to be a loner, then a loner he can be. Most loners don't even last as long as Dhampires.[/indent] 𝗝𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗟𝗔𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗨𝗦 [color=6e9887]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Witch. Smells of soap and animals."[/i] Jack's no regular but Nicodem doesn't easily forget a name, face or scent.[/indent] 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗬 [color=9dc680]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Eve's friend, Witch and stripper. Winked at me once."[/i] Not one for strip clubs, Nicodem only knows Inigo from when she comes around to drag of his star employee for a night on the town, normally already excited and ready to go. He doesn't resent her for that, Eve seems to like her and having fun is what mortals like to do most, but it doesn't really build the foundation for a friendship either.[/indent] 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡 [color=gray]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Not one I know."[/i] N/A[/indent] 𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗡𝗬𝗫 [color=680110]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Faerie, smells like heather and rosemary. Always smirking."[/i] Even to Nicodem, who hasn't drunk the blood of anything sentient in several centuries, faeries smell like temptation and debauchery. It's their blood, it calls to Vampires in a sweet song that promises an experience you'll never forget... But Nicodem has no time for it. No humans, no faeries, nothing that can think. Once you start, you'll never stop. Evens so, perhaps it's for the best that the 'retired banker' doesn't come to the Fox often, especially given the number of elder Vampires that spend their time there.[/indent] 𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 [color=F7941D]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Little witch girl, plays with fire. Brought her girlfriend in here once."[/i] Nicodem doesn't have any prejudices against witches (though one did try to burn him alive once) or gays and both are welcome in the Fox. Fire, however, is banned.[/indent] 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗥 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗘𝗡 [color=253B7D]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"A good man, for a monster. Works hard to be independent... by attaching himself to everyone."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗪 [color=black]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗔𝗢𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗬 [color=c8a2c8]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗬𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗚 [color=b59130]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗞𝗘𝗜 [color=00FF7F]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗟𝗨𝗞𝗔 𝗣𝗔𝗩𝗟𝗢𝗩 [color=854442]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗘𝗞 [color=DC9C74]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗟𝗢𝗞𝗜 𝗩𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗚 [color=9a130a]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗔 𝗔𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗢 [color=49ad79]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗘𝗩𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗘 [color=2f556b]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗟 [color=AF9E96]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗢 [color=386467]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗚𝗨𝗬 𝗟𝗘𝗘 [color=7ac0fa]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗥 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛 [color=ff1a1a]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗖𝗔𝗘𝗟 [color=676FA5]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 [color=9cc8ff]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗣𝗦𝗢 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗬 [color=91a3b0]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗬 [color=c23b22]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗔 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗡 [color=lightgreen]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗜 𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗛𝗘 [color=3379b9]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗦 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞 [color=f3e981]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗔 [color=12ab5b]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗭𝗢𝗘𝗬 𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡 [color=9414b3]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] 𝗥𝗬𝗟𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗘 [color=40E0D0]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/color] [indent][i]"Optional - character's own words."[/i] Description of relationship here.[/indent] [/hider]