Name: Taru

Age: 20

Appearance: Taru is well built for a waterbender. He's not terribly ugly nor an overly handsome young man. He stands at 6'0" and weighs 165 pounds. His skin is a dark tan color and he has sharp and cold blue eyes. His dark brown hair has grown out in recent months and he normally keeps it tied with a dark blue ribbon. He is looking to get it trimmed. He sports a neatly trimmed gotee. When in the North (or South) Pole, Taru normally wears a navy anorak and parka trimmed in white fur with dark, almost grey mittens and light brown fur boots. Since he isn't exactly a welcomed guest in the North Pole, much of Taru's time is spent in the Earth Kingdom and there he wears a beige and green tunic with dark green pants and boots. He refuses to wear anything red or with the Fire Nation's symbol on it. He has a silver hoop in his upper left ear which he got during his time with a travel Earth Kingdom troupe. On his right wrist, he wears a silver bracelet that once belonged to his sister, Saami. And he always keeps a waterskin somewhere on his person for protection.

Bending: Taru is an intermediate waterbender. He learned a great deal from his time with the nomads. The rest of his skills come from an elder boy by the name of Koushiro. They traveled together in the troupe and Taru learned most of his skills from Koushiro.

Personality: Because of Taru's humble upbringing, it's very hard to believe that he has turned out the way he has. He's arrogant, brash, frank, and downright rude. He lies, cheats, and steals to achieve his ends. People are nothing more than pawns to him, since he generally doesn't attach value to relationships. He holds people that he deems "beneath him" with little value and prefers to keep to himself. Despite this, he can and often is sociable, generally if it is going to help him in some way. Or if it is to generally mock people.

He doesn't feel remorse very often. Making friends is rather difficult for him because Taru is so rude and arrogant. He prefers keeping his distance from other people, especially women and children (he deems them annoying and useless). His sister, Saami, is and always will be the most important person in the world to him. Taru has a strange fascination with fire and would prefer to be a firebender, but settles with waterbending (especially since he doesn't have a choice).

History: When Taru was born there had been a baby boom in the tiny group of nomads. He was the first born son of Nen and his wife Misu. Taru's life was simple. He played with the other children, enjoyed spending time with his mother and learned the basics of fighting from his father. When he was four years old his sister, Saami, was born. He was elated and adored that baby more than anything in the world. The first year of Saami's life, was spent at Taru's side. As the boy grew, however, his father decided it was time for him to join in with the other hunters.

Nen was a lower ranked council man in the nomadic group and dealt mostly with hunting and gathering food. So it was a great fortune that his son, Taru had discovered his waterbending ability at the age of ten. He was then added to the ranks of waterbending hunters and began his training. He was a fast learner and was soon bringing down larger game with the help of his father. When he began hunting, the opinion of him began to change among the other nomadic children. They became afraid of Taru, as it seemed like he enjoyed killing not for the food and clothing, but simply for the joy of killing.

At the age of twelve, Taru began going with the his father to the North Pole to trade goods for supplies and the latest information on the war. It was about this time that his fascination with fire began. When not hunting, he would often be found playing with the his mother's spark rocks and this would often earn him a firm scolding from his parents. Eventually, they began hiding the spark rocks from their son, especially after he made mention in such a casual manner that he wished he had been born a firebender instead.

This fascination was only heightened when at the age of sixteen, Taru came into contact with a small Fire Nation army. They were surveying the North Pole for an attack. It took some coaxing, but eventually an agreement was reached. Taru had earned himself one thousand gold pieces and a position in the Fire Nation army in exchange for a few nomadic laborers to work in a Fire Nation mine. He had turned his back on his family and everything he had ever known for a chance to see the destructive fire in action. Though there was but one condition, Taru's sister was to go unharmed. The man in charge of the troops made no promises and simply informed Taru that if he did not wish to see her hurt, to make sure she was not there.

A year passed, with no suspicions raised. And then the Fire Nation struck the nomads. Earlier that morning, Taru had sent his sister to a fishing hole to ensure her safety. When the others realized that they had been betrayed, they immediatly expelled Taru from their group. The entire camp had been cleared and the soldiers long since gone by the time Saami had returned. She was horrified when she realized what had happened and in an instant tried to attack her beloved older brother. Taru returned her water at her and froze her feet where she stood.

And with that he left. Saami's eyes haunted him for the longest time. He never truly found out what became of his people. And he chose not to take up his station as a Fire Nation soldier. Because of this, he has become a wanted AWOL soldier.

At the age of eighteen, he came across a traveling troupe composed of all types of people from all walks of life. They did not question Taru's past. They simply offered him a place to sleep and food to eat, along with a meager salary for his performance in their shows. It was here that he met Koushiro, former soldier who chose peace over war. He trained Taru further in his waterbending. Eventually, Taru grew tired of this life and took his leave of the troupe. He now spends his time wandering from place to place mostly to avoid his sister, since he knows she's looking for him and he doesn't want to face her.

base by: