Name: Mercutio "The Merciless" Hermes
Pronouns: He/Him
Age: 20
Profession: Outlaw, Former Co-founder/leader of the Burgundy Scarves, now Co-founder/Commander of the Emerald Scarves and tactical advisor to Dr. Minerva Talos
Sexuality: Closeted Bisexual with a particular attraction to standout personality and more embarrassingly, Huge Swollen Paws/Talons. (Which unfortunately include his own, but he"s never going to admit that, no matter how red his face gets.)
Powerset: Mercutio is gifted with a 1st generation strain of the mutation, granting him the ability to switch between his scrawny human self, and his larger beast form, his particular beast taking the form of a grey-furred rat. Interestingly, Mercutio has learned quite a lot about what his new body is capable of, and in reflection of his own desire for efficiency, his mutation has allowed pretty much every single part of his body to be capable of doing something useful. These traits of his functional form include:
His body sprouts a coat of soft grey fur that can protect him decently in cold weather.
His teeth sharpen into vicious buck teeth and fangs that allow him to bite clean through flesh and bone.
His body bulges and swells with thick, bloated muscle, granting him immense strength while still remaining somewhat lithe and agile as his flesh puffs out into a soft cuddly hide somehow more durable than the leather armour that rips across it.
His feet undergo an excessive amount of swelling, his thighboots quickly splitting across bare skin as his feet become enormous rat paws mutated into vicious talons, equipped with incredibly dextrous opposable toes, allowing him to not only grab objects and people alike, but more often he finds them very handy when using them to climb across surfaces, including ceilings. Funnily, though he excuses it as "Using his movement effectively", Mercutio thoroughly enjoys utilizing his feet for unorthodox fighting or movement styles, and very begrudgingly acknowledges that they are his favourite part of the transformation due to being incredibly attractive.
The skin on the flesh of these feet, and any other part of exposed skin, becomes highly sensitive to touch, making him capable of picking out distinct textures in the surfaces he walks upon or interacts with, and even makes walking barefoot in rat form shockingly comfortable, much to his flustering.
The rest of his senses also get a significant boost, his hearing and smell especially, allowing him to track potential targets or enemies with the efficiency of any bloodhound.
His toes and fingers also gain thick, razor sharp claws capable of cutting things just about as well as any of the blades hooked onto his numerous belts.
And, most interestingly, even his long rodent tail gains some use. Mercutio wouldn"t want such a thing just being there and getting in the way if it can pull its own weight like the rest of his body parts, so his mutation as boosted it with improved dexterity and strength, making it so prehensile that it can essentially serve as a third arm, which makes his fighting style in rat form all the more unique and unpredictable with the variety of his capabilities, ideal for a master of stealth and unorthodox combat like any good rogue.
Additionally, Mercutio possesses a large number of throwing daggers and possesses a rather fancy short sword, both of which he is well trained in wielding and throwing. His cloak is also equipped with an enchanted gemstone as the clasp, allowing him to cast a weak but very useful spell that makes him appear more charming and charismatic through a form of magical hypnosis, making it easier to either pitch his group to job-seeking outlaws and mercenaries, to convince tired guards that it"s okay for him and his pals to be in a restricted area, to better sell his lies to ignorant questioners, or even haggle a higher profit trade from desperate merchants. However, due to his excessive increase in mass when entering beast form, his smaller weapons become rather cumbersome to use due to his size, and almost always his cloak snaps off him because he just keeps getting too big for it. But Mercutio is a man of improvisation, and there"s nothing stopping him from grabbing a bigger weapon better suited to his bestial body, or just using the weapons already built into it. He"s even still able to use his shortsword like he would any knife, and few really expect a whole ass sword to be flung at them with the same pinpoint accuracy as a bloody throwing dagger after all.
Oh and his mutation is also contagious and lets him regenerate entire limbs but he"s basically just a wererat, you know the drill by now.
Magic Speciality: Mutation comes the closest, though he has dabbled in enchantments as well. Mercutio knows a tiny bit about how magic works, but is far from an expert in the arcane. Fortunately, his creative mind allows him to use his own mutation in ways that few others would initially think of, such as coating his throwing knives in his own blood to infect others at range, or how he was the first to discover that while most monsters are hostile towards pretty much anything that moves, including mutants. some are actually docile in the presence of the mutants under his and Minerva"s command, as long as they remain in beast form at least. His limits lie not within what he can and can"t do, but rather how skilful he can exploit his capabilities
Current Intentions: Reclaim the remnants of the Burgundy Scarves, become the greatest outlaw to harrow the nation of Engrievion...and come to terms with the fact that he"s a hopeless romantic who"s bisexual as hell.
Background: The Greywind Institution of Empathy was an intimidating building, a clergy-run orphanage housing some of the most down-trodden, unwanted, unremarkable children ever to stain the forest nation of Engrievion. Most of the children under the care of the nuns, priests, and security automatons found little meaning in their lives, drained of any childhood passion and going through the motions as they knew no family would ever bother to look their way, and thus they merely obeyed their caretakers and waited to either grow old enough to be allowed to leave the miserable building for a presumably more miserable life. Of course, that is the case for most of the orphans, for others may have already found their meaning and passion, or at least have gotten the closest thing to it. For some of these children found themselves loyal to a select few that never lost their spark, to ones not content to wallow in dull tedium, but instead to strike out and find their own glory in life, regardless of what common authority may try to persuade them to. Such is the mantra of the Outlaw, the Rogue, the scum of society that proudly accept their moral depravity and stive to take what they desire with little regard for what gets in their way. And to follow this way of life, you"d need something to inspire you to do so, something, or someone with enough confidence and skill to put your full faith in.
Enter Mercutio Hermes.
Discovered in the aftermath of a brutal Nightwalker ambush, Trapper"s Union Rangers tracking the beast found the baby Mercutio within a wrecked traveller"s wagon, locked away in a secret compartment by his mother"s last act of parental love before the monster took her life. With what was presumably the father also laying dead and mangled in the road, the rangers found that there was little else they could do for the child besides taking him to whatever orphanage was willing to accept him, of which there was no shortage (Engrievion has a lot of Orphanages, go figure), and as Greywind was the first one the rangers had any luck with, they were the ones to take the young boy into their care.
From there, Mercutio spent most of his developing years within that dismal building, but found himself to be a bit more optimistic than some of the other residents within it. To the institution"s surprise, Mercutio turned out to be an exceptionally gifted boy, excelling in any class he took with a admirable talent for planning and note taking, and the clergy were proud to have someone with such potential under their wing, believing that he could make an excellent priest or professor someday. But with brilliance, comes ambition, and Mercutio was finding the simple doting safety and rather specific expectations of Greywind to be tedious and horrifically lonely with how little he was permitted to talk with the other children, so the young Merctutio soon found himself with a desire for something...more. Something...fun.
Fortunately, he didn"t have to look far for him to find something interesting. Two older boys within Greywind"s walls were in a similar position to Mercutio in terms of unfulfillment, a gruff, vulgar but incredibly courageous boy named Tybalt Gretchen, and a quieter, smarter, far more mysterious lad named Romeo Weavers, the latter of whom was so smart and cunning, you could swear he could read minds. Both of these boys were rather disobedient, both serving their own interests by sneaking around during the night to plunder food, coins, and whatever fancy things they liked by going into areas they definitely weren"t allowed within. Their actions and bravery inspired a bored and lonely Mercutio, and right then he knew that these people would be the kind of people he"s destined to be with.
But, Mercutio was a smart kid too, and these boys were much older, and much more experienced then he was, so knew that to make himself fit in better with such a crowd, all he had to do was....act a bit more tough. So, Mercutio started looking into some tomes and books about acting and deception, slowly building up a more "Cunning cynical rogue"-like persona, and while nowadays it can often seem like he tries far too hard to seem cool, at the time it worked without a hitch. Mercutio sought out and met these two boys on various occasions, slowly getting to know them and earning their respect by helping with some of their "heists" and even giving them tips on how to improve their plans. Tybalt was amused by Mercutio"s blunt, no-nonsense demeanour, while Romeo could see Mercutio"s passion for a more daring lifestyle right through the mopey fake attitude, and so the trio became friends pretty quickly.
In fact, with each prank, heist, escape attempt, and etc the three boys conducted, more and more of the other children within the institution found themselves to also be inspired just like Mercutio was. And like Mercutio, after proving themselves these newbies were happily welcomed into the friend group, and soon enough Mercutio discovered that it had eventually become something close to a full gang of rebellious kids. Kids that took orders from him, that looked up to him the same way he looked up to Tybalt and Romeo. It was a good feeling, Mercutio was far from a miserable lonely boy now, he had a full cabal of comrades ready to give him their trust and faith, and had the boy not mastered his self control, the thought might"ve caused him to cry tears of joy.
Eventually, the boys grew old enough to believe that Greywind would no longer be a place suited for them, so on the night of Mercutio"s 16th birthday, the new gang attempted a full escape of the orphanage, climbing out from the top floor windows in the dead of night by using a tied together slew of burgundy coloured scarves normally used as winter clothing for the children. And the escape was a success, the clergy never realized that the fledgling gangsters were gone until it was too late. Whooping and shouting with glee at their success, Tybalt pitched the idea of forming a legitimate criminal gang, since they were pretty much full time outlaws now. Thinking back to the method of escape, Mercutio suggested basing the name off that, and pretty much most of the gang agreed.
And so, on that night, the Burgundy Scarves were born.
For the next few years, the new gang made their name known. Pretty much any job, any heist, any kind of bounty was on their radar, and the gang made their rounds thoroughly through the streets of various towns as they travelled across the land. Much like their origins, their antics started to attract new members into the fold. The majority of their ranks were orphaned, rebellious youngsters looking to just do illegal stuff, much like their founders, though some more experienced, older outlaws with nowhere else to go found themselves a good home with them as well, only boosting their ego. The scarves were not as famous or successful as other more well known gangs, but they sure as hell wanted to be. Their ambitions were grand, for Mercutio, Tybalt, and Romeo each shared the desire to be the greatest, most feared outlaw ever to stain the nation, able to rival the legacy of the Stalkerwings, able to strike fear into the Empire itself, able to maybe even rule the whole damn world.
However, I never clarified that the scarves were uh....competent. Sure under the guidance of the commanding trio, they had plenty of success, but more often than not their antics resulted in terrible failure from forces far more experienced, like rival outlaw gangs or local authorities with a better attention span than a housefly. The Burgundy Scarves were essentially little more that a gaggle of young punks that just liked to steal things, barely worthy of the title of "street thugs", and while Mercutio and Tybalt didn"t really mind all that much, the growing humiliation got to Romeo, the original founder of this whole group, who wanted to be a legitimate criminal mastermind, not some petty crook. Many of the older members of the group agreed, and over the course of the passing time Romeo and his followers slowly formed a large splinter cell right in the heart of the group, until the disagreements reached breaking point right in the middle of a heist gone wrong. Many of the gang were trapped in a burning building, 18 year old Mercutio and Tybalt included, and though Romeo could"ve easily helped them escape, he instead he started monologing about how they were no longer of use to him, and how with his leadership alone the Scarves can become something even greater than just some nobody kids.
With that, Romeo left his former allies behind as he and his newly founded "Scarlet Scarves" walked away from the building they intentionally set alight, leaving the remaining two founders to find a way out all on their own.
Mercutio....didn"t really take this well. To his group he acted annoyed that so many of their own would show such disloyalty, but to himself? Mercutio was heartbroken. He looked up to Romeo, he admired Romeo, he....he loved Romeo. But Romeo just ditched him and so many others just because they weren"t good enough, because Mercutio wasn"t good enough. So he was convinced that he had to overcompensate from now on, that this was somehow his fault and that he had to do better by his team to make sure they don"t end up hating his guts too.
But what the young lad didn"t realize, in spite of all his caution, was that Tybalt was growing rather sick of taking orders from someone who was nearly a decade younger then him. Tybalt was one of the few people Mercutio still trusted after all, and because of that he would never expect Gretchen to have any desire to overthrow him. But Tybalt did, ever since Romeo"s betrayal Tybalt kept asking himself why he hadn"t done the same, why did Mercutio, a scrawny foolish kid, get to be the one in charge? Tybalt had concluded that Mercutio had long outlived his usefulness, but too many of the scarves still liked the guy, too few liked Tybalt, so the straight up murder plan Romeo used wasn"t going to work. He"d have to get...creative. So just like with Romeo gaining followers and planning his betrayal, Tybalt essentially became the devil in Mercutio"s ear, convincing him to accept progressively more dangerous jobs and heists with each passing day. And, too desperate to keep some semblance of friendship, Mercutio foolishly listened, his overconfidence growing as he got more and more reckless in his strategies, with Tybalt simply sitting back and waiting for the inevitable slip up.
That opportunity came on one particular night.
While scoping around to find a place to camp during the aftermath of a brief rainstorm, the scarves found themselves lost and wandering a bit too deep into monster territory, until some of the scouts reported seeing some huge, black feathered monsters skulking around the place. Tybalt, knowing damn well that monsters this deep into the forests could rip Mercutio apart, gleefully pushed for the scarves to track it, claiming that it could be something valuable since they were a bit tight on money. Mercutio was hesitant, but his curiosity won him over, so he told the gang they"ll at least look at it to see if it was worth the trouble. Once they found the beast munching on a dead sheep, many of the scarves argued that it was clearly not worth the trouble at all, since the bugger was huge, the biggest monster some of the scarves had ever seen. But Mercutio, he found himself legitimately agreeing with Tybalt. The lad knew little about the hunting and harvesting of monsters, but knew one this big with such a perfect coat of feathers would be priceless to the right buyer, so in spite of his men"s protests, Mercutio ordered them to attempt capture.
It uh....didn"t go well.
Whatever this thing was, it was fast for its size, and even though the gang outnumbered it vastly, it still wiped the floor with them. From what Mercutio could gather, it appeared to be some huge raven monster that sort of had vaguely human-like arms. Arms it used to slash a huge, nasty cut right into his side as he recklessly approached it, injuring him badly with its massive hand claws. The group was scattered in terror by the bird beast"s retaliation, though fortunately it had no interest in pursuing them and instead fled back into the sky on gargantuan wings....but not before briefly staring the injured Mercutio down with a look of both curiosity and mild confusion.
Not sure what to think of that, Mercutio simply tried to scramble back up a slippery forest hill in a vain attempt to regroup with his buddies, only to come face to face with a smirking, oddly pleased Tybalt waiting for him at the top.
A few weeks before this night had occurred, Tybalt had broke into a local library and looted several books on recorded monsters specifically to find out which ones would be good to lure Mercutio towards. Judging from Mercutio"s strangely pulsing wound, the lad"s whimpering and shaking, and the fact that Tybalt saw what might"ve been the remains of a fancy leather coat clinging to that bird monster"s oddly human-shaped body, Tybalt correctly guessed that they had just encountered a Mutant. Given that the boys were raised in an over-protective orphanage and mainly conducted business in or around urban areas, only Tybalt was the one who knew how they worked, Mercutio had no idea what a mutant was, so he was completely unprepared for what was about to happen.
It was a tad disappointing, Tybalt was hoping for something poisonous and lethal, but it seemed like Mercutio was already starting to mutate, so he settled for just letting the lad wander around as a monster for the rest of his days, good enough as any murder disguised as an accident he supposed. With that, and a swift boot to sternum, a confused, scared, in pain Mercutio was caught right off guard, and right off balance, as he tumbled back down the muddy hill, with Tybalt"s final words to him being a boast about how he"ll take good care of the Scarves.
As he landed in a dirty heap and struggled back to a standing position, Mercutio was in shock. To think that this shit would happen to him twice. It was unbelievable, unacceptable, completely unfair. He trusted Tybalt, thought he was the only true friend he ever had, but that fucker just dropped him like any other mook they used to rob. Mercutio just didn"t know what to think, so as he rose to his feet he just started walking as his rage and frustration was building. He was livid, consumed with a desire to just hurt something. He was sick of this shit, sick of being treated like he was pawn in everyone"s game, he was his own person and he wanted just some way to get people to actually respect him, to genuinely not want to think about how to backstab him, to find a way to tear Tybalt"s head right off his fucking neck. Gods above, there had to be something that could make this situation better, anything, he"d take anything, he just wanted to not be seen as some dumb gullible kid anymore. As he tried to bury himself in these thoughts however, it was proving difficult, as his wound was aching worse and worse with each step, getting so bad that it felt like he was starting to hallucinate things happing to his body, which was now suddenly aching all over just like the injury as his clothes seemed to be getting...tighter.
But he kept walking, and walking, in a direction he paid no attention to as he just needed something to distract his brain from all the betrayed anger and alien agony. No matter how much he tried to push the strange new feelings down however, pretty much nothing could distract someone from seeing and feeling their raised foot suddenly bulge and grow into some monstrous talon that swelled so big his boot ripped, split and burst apart against it before stomping soft bare flesh into wet squishy mud as massive claws on massive toes gouged into the soil and grass.
What followed was something Mercutio could barely explain. His body basically exploded, erupting with flesh and size as it bulged and changed. His armour creaked loudly before tearing open with cracking rips. His cloak choked him tight before snapping off his neck and tumbling to the ground. A straight-up tail wrenched itself out of the seat of his trousers. And his remaining boot strained, split, and burst open, his bare feet stomping and churning up wet dirt as he cried out to the sky in confused agony. Great, just great. As if his two closest friends betraying and leaving him for dead wasn"t bad enough, now fate"s turning him into some horrid abomination, a beast that crumpled to the ground as the realization that what was happening was indeed reality came crashing down on him.
With Mercutio now completely alone, there was likely no-one to notice him caving entirely as he began weeping into the grass his face was buried in. First Romeo, now Tybalt. Anyone still loyal to Mercutio would think he"s dead, and so they"d never come looking for him. He was alone, again, and this time if he tried seeking people out they would think he"s some horrifying beast, and start pointing guns. He had been isolated before, sure, but not to this level, and certainly not because he was a freak of nature back then.
Sorrow turned to anger, as the outlaw side of Mercutio"s brain realized that Tybalt had been waiting for an opportunity like this ever since they first met. The traitorous bastard never really liked him in the first place did he? No, he just went along with Mercutio and Romeo because he was too cocky and stupid to choose for himself, well until now apparently. And with Mercutio some huge swollen monster, no-one would argue against his decision.
Then, anger turned to confusion. What....what even was Mercutio now? Clearly he"s turned into some kind of big rat thing judging from the sensations and what he could see of his body but....how? Why? What the hell even was a "Mutant", or whatever Tybalt was sneering about? There as a small pond nearby the landing spot, so sniffling up his tears the rat man crawled over to see if he can make out his reflection. Gazing into the pond, Mercutio did indeed see a reflection, but not of his human visage. Instead, his assumptions were correct, his body had twisted and morphed into the spitting image of a large humanoid rat beast, his lovely black hair and deep brown eyes replaced by fluffy grey fur, whiskers on a snout, and an eerie yellow glow coming from his newly changed irises. Oddly, Mercutio almost found himself to be rather....beautiful looking. His body was bulging with muscles and his face was adorable as it was vicious looking. He looked...amazing. He felt amazing. This body was amazing. His outfit....well it was ruined actually. Mercutio was grateful that Tybalt did that research on enchantments of repair after robbing a tailor that one time, because his painstakingly crafted leather armour, boots, and even his cloak, all were in shredded tatters clinging to his swollen body tight enough to pinch. He was pretty much half naked, and completely barefoot, but honestly he didn"t really mind. In fact, he kinda liked it.
What the hell was happening to him?!
Mercutio didn"t know, he didn"t know what he was turning into, nor why it made him feel so good. But....but maybe a doctor would. There were plenty of plague doctors around this place, there"s gotta be someone who knew what the hell to make of this right? But of course, Mercutio couldn"t just show up to the clinic looking like some significantly overgrown vermin, that would get him shot easily. And then suddenly, as he briefly wished to no longer be this giant rat thing, Mercutio found his body aching again. But this time he wasn"t growing, he was shrinking, his fur sinking back into his skin, his feet delating into his original shoe size, his tail slithering back into his spine, all of his rat features melted away as just as suddenly as he lost it, Mercutio"s humanity returned.
Now that was weird. You"d think there"d be some catch to being curse to turn into a bloated animal monster, but no, Mercutio was himself again, his ripped and ragged clothes no longer strangling him, though for some reason he was feeling a little more miserable than he was just a few seconds ago, when he was...y"know a rat. Could...could he control this? There"s no way something like this would just last a few minutes and then never leave his body again, this...inner beast of his had to still be in there.
But Mercutio"s rational side managed to get his headspace back together. Maybe he could control it, maybe it was temporary, there was no way of knowing until he got an expert to look at it. So if by some chance he could control it, then he decided to remain in human form for as long as possible until someone can diagnose whatever the hell was happening to him.
So, after resting for the night and waiting for his clothes to fix themselves back up, Mercutio donned his cloak and set off towards the nearest clinic he could find.
His trek was a tad long, and with each passing hour his intrusive thoughts trying to urge to transform again were getting harder and harder to resist, but he eventually found what he sought. A privately owned tower situated just barely out of range of Mixholme, kinda looked like a renovated watchtower from the old territory wars.
"Dr. Minerva Talos" was the name embroidered on the door, presumably the name of the owner of this clinic. It was better than nothing, and Mercutio was desperate, so he banged on the door has hard as he could, trying to ignore the fact that his arm suddenly rippled on the last knock, his body aching for another chance to change into that...beast form.
Frustratingly the person inside took a while to hurry to the door, despite the fact it was midday, and Mercutio was not very pleased to find out that this Minerva Talos doctor was...well a scrawny, ridiculously shy-looking geek completely covered in her uniform. But Mercutio had tried getting a fake PHD before, and knew it basically impossible to do so, so if this chick had gotten hers legit she least knew a few things about medicine right? Screw it, Mercutio was too stressed to care, he needed answers, so he let himself in.
Strangely, Minerva was acting far more worried then what she usually should be, in spite of Mercutio aggressively trying to explain what he was doing here. The poor girl was trying her best, and admittedly Mercutio wasn"t feeling himself, but he was stressed out of his mind, convinced that half of the stuff he underwent had been some crazed delusion, and with each word he spluttered his brain grew more and more scrambled.
The Doctor meanwhile was trying desperately to calm him down, but at some point she had suddenly switched to trying to calm herself down instead, hyperventilating with panic as she almost struggled to stand. Damn, this girl might not be best for a medical profession if emergencies freak her out this much.
Though Mercutio didn"t care, he wasn"t thinking straight by now, the memories of the previous night left him with so much heartache that his anger couldn"t be controlled. Even as his armour started to get snug, as his cloak snapped off his shoulders, as his feet ripped his boots open and touched cold tiled floor, as he watched himself tower over the shaking doctor, he just couldn"t stop changing, so instead he yelled even louder. His cool guy persona was breaking down at this point, and to stop himself from damaging anything in his rage, Mercutio just started stomping around the place, cursing and growling as he spluttered and whimpered out everything that was going wrong with him, everything he didn"t understand about this new body, and how everything in his life had been going downhill despite his best efforts.
And then, as he was venting about that stupid bird monster that gave him this stupid scratch, the poor plague doctor he was stressing out thoroughly suddenly blurted the words "I-I-I DIDN"T MEAN TO". And the nanosecond those words left her mouth, Dr. Talos immediately slammed her hands over her mask"s beak, as if the act would prevent Mercutio from hearing.
But Mercutio heard, he heard loud and clear thanks to his stupid rat ears. And before he was mainly angry at Tybalt, but now...now he had some questions he was very, very keen on getting answered. What the fuck did she "not mean to do"? Clearly from her body language the doctor was feeling guilty and had definitely said something she shouldn"t have, but what on earth was she talking about? Did she have something to do with...this? Did she do this to him?! Was Tybalt working for her? Or was that bird beast thing her goddamn pet?!
Mercutio was seeing red, his thick rat feet were stomping closer as his rodent mouth was practically foaming with demands for an explanation, but to his shock...the thief soon got his answer.
Because the little doctor"s whimpers switched into low, agitated and defensive growls, rather familiar ones at that, and soon she started to get...a lot less little. Before the Rat man"s eyes, Minerva"s body rippled and swelled just like his did, and her clothes started to snap and tear as she outgrew them. Tufts of feathers burst through her sleeves and trousers. Clawed hands ripped her gloves open. The straps of her boots rapidly snapped one by one until huge, swollen talons burst out with loud rips. Wings erupted from her back, tail feathers sprouted out of her lower back, and her Plague Doctor mask split open before the face of a monstrous Raven creature erupted from the snapping leather....the exact same face that stared him down last night. Minerva Talos didn"t own that raven monster, she was the raven monster, the very monster responsible for Mercutio"s own curse.
This fucker. This BITCH! She DID do this to him! She turned him into this-this, freak, this monster, all because he....tried to.....catch her to sell off heeer....paaartsssss....
Ah, right, he kinda did deserve this didn"t he?
Apparently, Minerva was thinking along similar lines, because as the pair"s growls faltered into awkward coughing and clearing of throats, the raven lady reaffirmed that the wound she inflicted was indeed a complete accident, and she was just minding her business before Mercutio and his goons jumped her, to which the ratman openly admitted to and did feel bad now that he had the full context. So, the two just called it even and decided to drop the hostility, since the thief was kinda in need of the doctor"s help and acting aggressive towards her wasn"t the best of ideas.
Fortunately, Minerva was actually pretty understanding. Apparently, she too was new to this whole "Turning into an animal thing at will" business, but unlike Mercutio she had done quite a bit of homework on the matter, long before being infected even. She and the thief were known as "Mutants", humans infected with an aggressive strain of wild magic called "The Mutation" which, as you can guess, causes them to transform into a random animal form based on their personality and innermost desires, like one"s Inner Beast being made into reality. Usually though, most mutants have their minds scrambled into mush by the wild magic"s influence, yet Minerva and Mercutio were still themselves. When Mercutio asked why, Dr. Talos proudly proclaimed that the both of them didn"t subconsciously resist the mutation"s call, which somehow grants the infected complete control over their transformed bodies. The notes Minerva had left scattered all around the room gave further context into how this all worked, the comprehensive details and the knowledge that he wasn"t alone in this soothing Mercutio on the fact that he was basically no longer a human, well sort of anyway. But the thief"s keen eye could easily tell that there were numerous gaps in Talos" knowledge, which was fair as she had just gotten used to her new form, but Mercutio quipped that she was still a long ways off from completing all these notes.
And that"s when the Raven suddenly pitched something. What if, in exchange for a hefty wage, a place to stay, and full training on everything she knew about the mutation and his rat form, Mercutio could agree to...help her with her research? Minerva"s raven mutation made her powerful yes, but she was but one girl, a girl that could barely hold a conversation without her comfy feathers no less, so his knowledge on the riskier side of the nation was going to be a great help in exploration, security, and perhaps bit of miliary endeavours if he was willing.
Mercutio was of course sceptical and hesitant, he was just backstabbed by someone close to him so he wasn"t sure if starting up a new relationship, business or otherwise, would be something he could do. Then again, Mercutio didn"t really have anywhere else to go, he was low on options on what to do with his life, and this lady was pretty much the only person capable of helping him understand his new powers. Plus this Minerva girl was...nice. Once the tension faded he found her witty and highly intelligent way of speaking to be rather pleasant, and to be honest the poor girl probably needed his help more than he needed hers. And the offer she"s made to him sounded like a pretty good deal all things considered, so frankly, Mercutio was happy to accept.
But before he could full agree to help Minerva, he wanted her to help him first. Help Mercutio get his men back from that bastard Tybalt, and both he and them were hers to command...with proper pay wages of course. Surprisingly, the good doctor agreed, claiming that getting some extra protection in the form of some hired muscle like other outlaws and mercenaries would be exactly the kind of thing that would make her experiments easier, so she didn"t mind dipping her thick toes into the world of crime if it meant she could uh....test some things on the guys Mercutio"s not that attached to.
With an assurance that the people he did care for would be eased into this whole mutation thing like he was, the deal was struck and both newly made mutants began to make plans on how to take back the Burgundy Scarves-
No, wait....that name doesn"t sound good anymore. Still leaves him with a bad taste in his mouth, and if these guys were set to be a much bigger group of outlaws and mercs, they"d need something new to make them more distinct from the petty thieves they used to be.
What about....Emerald Scarves? Sort of like the yellowish colour of a mutant"s eyes?
"Mercutio Hermes, Commander of the Emerald Scarves"
Yeah....yeah that can work.
Personality: In a stark contrast to Minerva"s sheepish, overly excessive politeness, or Shiny"s lovably idiotic optimism, Mercutio is arguably the least friendly of the trio of mutant prodigies, serving as the rational pessimist that always brings up the downsides of a plan purely so everyone knows the risk. Due to his history, Mercutio is slow to trust new people, glaring daggers at strangers and warning new recruits to not try anything funny if they don"t want a knife in their throat. He"s a pretty grumpy guy with a noticeable attitude, always scoffing or standing in an overly cool pose just very slightly out of view, as if he"s trying his best to look cool and threatening but ending up as what many would call: "A massive Edgelord". Newbies would find him quite intolerable to be around because of this, but the people who got to know him understand that"s just how he is, and he"s actually a pretty chill dude to hang out with if you can manage to become his friend.
In terms of intellect, Mercutio"s actually a considerably skilled guy. Behind his "trying too hard to be mature" exterior, Mercutio"s mind houses an incredible fast-acting brilliance for combat strategies and studying the details of situations, which has allowed him to lead whoever serves him to a great many victories no matter the competence level of his mooks. He"s not quite as big of a genius as Minerva, but he understands most of what she"s talking about and can even dumb it down to translate it to someone of Shiny"s level of cluelessness. He"s like the bridge between the two, the middle ground of Minerva"s high intelligence and Shiny"s streetwise cunning, so while he"s far from a scientist or a brawn flexing knight, his quick wit and talent for sudden improvisation make him an excellent strategist and tactical advisor, making him an ideal person to talk to if Minerva needs any advice on more militaristic planning.
However, this persona of a gruff, edgy, no-nonsense master of thievery...well it"s completely fake. The whole "I don"t like talking to people because they annoy me easily" attitude, it"s a total charade, because Mercutio firmly believes that it"s the only way for people to respect him and take him seriously. Because the real Mercutio Hermes is a massive softie, a poor lonely boy who just wants people to like him, to treat him like a person and not some dumb kid in spite of his sensitive emotions. If his hair is insulted for instance, on the outside Mercutio would just chuckle, flick his head, and ask if they were jealous, but on the inside he"s choking back tears because he really likes his hairstyle and doesn"t want to change it, but is worried that he might have to if it"s getting him treatment like that.
Additionally, even though Mercutio would often be the first to ask his comrades to hesitate on a plan, always insisting that careful thought be given to anything they try, in reality he"s actually a massive glory seeker who loves the thrill of battle, outsmarting and outmanoeuvring enemies brings him immense joy when in the heat of a good fight. Mercutio hides his emotions well, but they claw at him regardless, and sometimes his mature fake personality might crumble if given enough pressure, which is where his beast form comes in.
In beast form this personality remains, albeit more aggressive, but due to his weakened inhibitions it can falter and fade if he spends too long in it, causing his giggling bubbly side to surface if he"s having too much fun. Because again, while he acts like it"s just a highly beneficial super power, in truth it"s a pleasure like no other. Mercutio adores his rat form, adores the power and alien sensations it gives him, and most embarrassingly, adores the very attractive appearance of its physique, huge bloated rat talons included. But unlike Shiny who proudly wears her unique tastes, or Minerva who eagerly explores the complexity of her kink with adorably flustered curiosity, Mercutio hasn"t quite come to terms with his sexuality just yet. He"s pretty much still in denial about how hot and bothered he gets when feeling his clothes and boots strain and burst across his expanding body, and though Minerva politely requests that her kinks be kept a secret until she gets used to them, Mercutio vehemently insists that there"s nothing more to his transformations, that he only just moans like that cause it hurts a lot, that there"s nothing to read into his behaviour and slight excitement when he needs to transform, and that the growing red blush on his cheeks is a figment of your imagination and he is NOT aroused just by talking about it, no sir!
But deep down Mercutio knows that this is what he"s truly attracted to, that this is who he really is, and though he"s still not ready to accept it, he does understand that confessing about the truth about his sexual interests is an inevitability. Good thing the other two don"t believe him for second when he tells them that he"s not turned on by transforming.
But even past that, Mercutio may act like few things matter to him, that the people he works with are just people he works with, the reality is quite the opposite. The Emerald scarves mean everything to him, because they are people who look up to him, who respect him, who like him, and as such every loss the Emerald scarves suffer, every mook that gets gunned down, each one is another stab into Mercutio"s poor heart. Every time they have to cleanse and bury a body is a struggle for him to not burst into tears, to remain strong for the people that trust him, and more importantly for the people he himself trusts. Because while he acts like everything irritates him, in truth, under Minerva"s command, at Shiny"s side, leading his loyalists to the victory they seek, Mercutio"s never been happier.
Respect and loyalty matter a lot to him, and the few who manage to earn his full trust are the people he"s the most protective of, even if he"d never admit it. And fortunately his two closest comrades, Minerva and Shiny, the people that gave him this wonderful second chance at a glorious life, they know that even if he pretends that they"re just co-workers. They know he cares about them just as much as they care about him, and deep down they know he knows as well, but they also know that he doesn"t know that they know that he knows that they know....y"know?
It"s like that golden rule of the criminal underworld: Outlaws stick together....or wait was it Honour Among thieves? I mean Mercutio"s the only "Thief" out of the trio, the rest are sort of thieves but also thugs and mercs and uh-y"know what doesn"t matter, the scarves are just great friends and it"s really cute.
....and yes, it is also a "Friends with benefits" situation, but Mercutio ain"t gonna admit that.
Yes, you are seeing this right, he is indeed "THE GIANT RAT THAT MAKES ALL OF DAH RULES"
RAT!
RAT!
HE IS A RAT!
M O U S E M A N
Artwork by Catmonkshiro
Pronouns: He/Him
Age: 20
Profession: Outlaw, Former Co-founder/leader of the Burgundy Scarves, now Co-founder/Commander of the Emerald Scarves and tactical advisor to Dr. Minerva Talos
Sexuality: Closeted Bisexual with a particular attraction to standout personality and more embarrassingly, Huge Swollen Paws/Talons. (Which unfortunately include his own, but he"s never going to admit that, no matter how red his face gets.)
Powerset: Mercutio is gifted with a 1st generation strain of the mutation, granting him the ability to switch between his scrawny human self, and his larger beast form, his particular beast taking the form of a grey-furred rat. Interestingly, Mercutio has learned quite a lot about what his new body is capable of, and in reflection of his own desire for efficiency, his mutation has allowed pretty much every single part of his body to be capable of doing something useful. These traits of his functional form include:
His body sprouts a coat of soft grey fur that can protect him decently in cold weather.
His teeth sharpen into vicious buck teeth and fangs that allow him to bite clean through flesh and bone.
His body bulges and swells with thick, bloated muscle, granting him immense strength while still remaining somewhat lithe and agile as his flesh puffs out into a soft cuddly hide somehow more durable than the leather armour that rips across it.
His feet undergo an excessive amount of swelling, his thighboots quickly splitting across bare skin as his feet become enormous rat paws mutated into vicious talons, equipped with incredibly dextrous opposable toes, allowing him to not only grab objects and people alike, but more often he finds them very handy when using them to climb across surfaces, including ceilings. Funnily, though he excuses it as "Using his movement effectively", Mercutio thoroughly enjoys utilizing his feet for unorthodox fighting or movement styles, and very begrudgingly acknowledges that they are his favourite part of the transformation due to being incredibly attractive.
The skin on the flesh of these feet, and any other part of exposed skin, becomes highly sensitive to touch, making him capable of picking out distinct textures in the surfaces he walks upon or interacts with, and even makes walking barefoot in rat form shockingly comfortable, much to his flustering.
The rest of his senses also get a significant boost, his hearing and smell especially, allowing him to track potential targets or enemies with the efficiency of any bloodhound.
His toes and fingers also gain thick, razor sharp claws capable of cutting things just about as well as any of the blades hooked onto his numerous belts.
And, most interestingly, even his long rodent tail gains some use. Mercutio wouldn"t want such a thing just being there and getting in the way if it can pull its own weight like the rest of his body parts, so his mutation as boosted it with improved dexterity and strength, making it so prehensile that it can essentially serve as a third arm, which makes his fighting style in rat form all the more unique and unpredictable with the variety of his capabilities, ideal for a master of stealth and unorthodox combat like any good rogue.
Additionally, Mercutio possesses a large number of throwing daggers and possesses a rather fancy short sword, both of which he is well trained in wielding and throwing. His cloak is also equipped with an enchanted gemstone as the clasp, allowing him to cast a weak but very useful spell that makes him appear more charming and charismatic through a form of magical hypnosis, making it easier to either pitch his group to job-seeking outlaws and mercenaries, to convince tired guards that it"s okay for him and his pals to be in a restricted area, to better sell his lies to ignorant questioners, or even haggle a higher profit trade from desperate merchants. However, due to his excessive increase in mass when entering beast form, his smaller weapons become rather cumbersome to use due to his size, and almost always his cloak snaps off him because he just keeps getting too big for it. But Mercutio is a man of improvisation, and there"s nothing stopping him from grabbing a bigger weapon better suited to his bestial body, or just using the weapons already built into it. He"s even still able to use his shortsword like he would any knife, and few really expect a whole ass sword to be flung at them with the same pinpoint accuracy as a bloody throwing dagger after all.
Oh and his mutation is also contagious and lets him regenerate entire limbs but he"s basically just a wererat, you know the drill by now.
Magic Speciality: Mutation comes the closest, though he has dabbled in enchantments as well. Mercutio knows a tiny bit about how magic works, but is far from an expert in the arcane. Fortunately, his creative mind allows him to use his own mutation in ways that few others would initially think of, such as coating his throwing knives in his own blood to infect others at range, or how he was the first to discover that while most monsters are hostile towards pretty much anything that moves, including mutants. some are actually docile in the presence of the mutants under his and Minerva"s command, as long as they remain in beast form at least. His limits lie not within what he can and can"t do, but rather how skilful he can exploit his capabilities
Current Intentions: Reclaim the remnants of the Burgundy Scarves, become the greatest outlaw to harrow the nation of Engrievion...and come to terms with the fact that he"s a hopeless romantic who"s bisexual as hell.
Background: The Greywind Institution of Empathy was an intimidating building, a clergy-run orphanage housing some of the most down-trodden, unwanted, unremarkable children ever to stain the forest nation of Engrievion. Most of the children under the care of the nuns, priests, and security automatons found little meaning in their lives, drained of any childhood passion and going through the motions as they knew no family would ever bother to look their way, and thus they merely obeyed their caretakers and waited to either grow old enough to be allowed to leave the miserable building for a presumably more miserable life. Of course, that is the case for most of the orphans, for others may have already found their meaning and passion, or at least have gotten the closest thing to it. For some of these children found themselves loyal to a select few that never lost their spark, to ones not content to wallow in dull tedium, but instead to strike out and find their own glory in life, regardless of what common authority may try to persuade them to. Such is the mantra of the Outlaw, the Rogue, the scum of society that proudly accept their moral depravity and stive to take what they desire with little regard for what gets in their way. And to follow this way of life, you"d need something to inspire you to do so, something, or someone with enough confidence and skill to put your full faith in.
Enter Mercutio Hermes.
Discovered in the aftermath of a brutal Nightwalker ambush, Trapper"s Union Rangers tracking the beast found the baby Mercutio within a wrecked traveller"s wagon, locked away in a secret compartment by his mother"s last act of parental love before the monster took her life. With what was presumably the father also laying dead and mangled in the road, the rangers found that there was little else they could do for the child besides taking him to whatever orphanage was willing to accept him, of which there was no shortage (Engrievion has a lot of Orphanages, go figure), and as Greywind was the first one the rangers had any luck with, they were the ones to take the young boy into their care.
From there, Mercutio spent most of his developing years within that dismal building, but found himself to be a bit more optimistic than some of the other residents within it. To the institution"s surprise, Mercutio turned out to be an exceptionally gifted boy, excelling in any class he took with a admirable talent for planning and note taking, and the clergy were proud to have someone with such potential under their wing, believing that he could make an excellent priest or professor someday. But with brilliance, comes ambition, and Mercutio was finding the simple doting safety and rather specific expectations of Greywind to be tedious and horrifically lonely with how little he was permitted to talk with the other children, so the young Merctutio soon found himself with a desire for something...more. Something...fun.
Fortunately, he didn"t have to look far for him to find something interesting. Two older boys within Greywind"s walls were in a similar position to Mercutio in terms of unfulfillment, a gruff, vulgar but incredibly courageous boy named Tybalt Gretchen, and a quieter, smarter, far more mysterious lad named Romeo Weavers, the latter of whom was so smart and cunning, you could swear he could read minds. Both of these boys were rather disobedient, both serving their own interests by sneaking around during the night to plunder food, coins, and whatever fancy things they liked by going into areas they definitely weren"t allowed within. Their actions and bravery inspired a bored and lonely Mercutio, and right then he knew that these people would be the kind of people he"s destined to be with.
But, Mercutio was a smart kid too, and these boys were much older, and much more experienced then he was, so knew that to make himself fit in better with such a crowd, all he had to do was....act a bit more tough. So, Mercutio started looking into some tomes and books about acting and deception, slowly building up a more "Cunning cynical rogue"-like persona, and while nowadays it can often seem like he tries far too hard to seem cool, at the time it worked without a hitch. Mercutio sought out and met these two boys on various occasions, slowly getting to know them and earning their respect by helping with some of their "heists" and even giving them tips on how to improve their plans. Tybalt was amused by Mercutio"s blunt, no-nonsense demeanour, while Romeo could see Mercutio"s passion for a more daring lifestyle right through the mopey fake attitude, and so the trio became friends pretty quickly.
In fact, with each prank, heist, escape attempt, and etc the three boys conducted, more and more of the other children within the institution found themselves to also be inspired just like Mercutio was. And like Mercutio, after proving themselves these newbies were happily welcomed into the friend group, and soon enough Mercutio discovered that it had eventually become something close to a full gang of rebellious kids. Kids that took orders from him, that looked up to him the same way he looked up to Tybalt and Romeo. It was a good feeling, Mercutio was far from a miserable lonely boy now, he had a full cabal of comrades ready to give him their trust and faith, and had the boy not mastered his self control, the thought might"ve caused him to cry tears of joy.
Eventually, the boys grew old enough to believe that Greywind would no longer be a place suited for them, so on the night of Mercutio"s 16th birthday, the new gang attempted a full escape of the orphanage, climbing out from the top floor windows in the dead of night by using a tied together slew of burgundy coloured scarves normally used as winter clothing for the children. And the escape was a success, the clergy never realized that the fledgling gangsters were gone until it was too late. Whooping and shouting with glee at their success, Tybalt pitched the idea of forming a legitimate criminal gang, since they were pretty much full time outlaws now. Thinking back to the method of escape, Mercutio suggested basing the name off that, and pretty much most of the gang agreed.
And so, on that night, the Burgundy Scarves were born.
For the next few years, the new gang made their name known. Pretty much any job, any heist, any kind of bounty was on their radar, and the gang made their rounds thoroughly through the streets of various towns as they travelled across the land. Much like their origins, their antics started to attract new members into the fold. The majority of their ranks were orphaned, rebellious youngsters looking to just do illegal stuff, much like their founders, though some more experienced, older outlaws with nowhere else to go found themselves a good home with them as well, only boosting their ego. The scarves were not as famous or successful as other more well known gangs, but they sure as hell wanted to be. Their ambitions were grand, for Mercutio, Tybalt, and Romeo each shared the desire to be the greatest, most feared outlaw ever to stain the nation, able to rival the legacy of the Stalkerwings, able to strike fear into the Empire itself, able to maybe even rule the whole damn world.
However, I never clarified that the scarves were uh....competent. Sure under the guidance of the commanding trio, they had plenty of success, but more often than not their antics resulted in terrible failure from forces far more experienced, like rival outlaw gangs or local authorities with a better attention span than a housefly. The Burgundy Scarves were essentially little more that a gaggle of young punks that just liked to steal things, barely worthy of the title of "street thugs", and while Mercutio and Tybalt didn"t really mind all that much, the growing humiliation got to Romeo, the original founder of this whole group, who wanted to be a legitimate criminal mastermind, not some petty crook. Many of the older members of the group agreed, and over the course of the passing time Romeo and his followers slowly formed a large splinter cell right in the heart of the group, until the disagreements reached breaking point right in the middle of a heist gone wrong. Many of the gang were trapped in a burning building, 18 year old Mercutio and Tybalt included, and though Romeo could"ve easily helped them escape, he instead he started monologing about how they were no longer of use to him, and how with his leadership alone the Scarves can become something even greater than just some nobody kids.
With that, Romeo left his former allies behind as he and his newly founded "Scarlet Scarves" walked away from the building they intentionally set alight, leaving the remaining two founders to find a way out all on their own.
Mercutio....didn"t really take this well. To his group he acted annoyed that so many of their own would show such disloyalty, but to himself? Mercutio was heartbroken. He looked up to Romeo, he admired Romeo, he....he loved Romeo. But Romeo just ditched him and so many others just because they weren"t good enough, because Mercutio wasn"t good enough. So he was convinced that he had to overcompensate from now on, that this was somehow his fault and that he had to do better by his team to make sure they don"t end up hating his guts too.
But what the young lad didn"t realize, in spite of all his caution, was that Tybalt was growing rather sick of taking orders from someone who was nearly a decade younger then him. Tybalt was one of the few people Mercutio still trusted after all, and because of that he would never expect Gretchen to have any desire to overthrow him. But Tybalt did, ever since Romeo"s betrayal Tybalt kept asking himself why he hadn"t done the same, why did Mercutio, a scrawny foolish kid, get to be the one in charge? Tybalt had concluded that Mercutio had long outlived his usefulness, but too many of the scarves still liked the guy, too few liked Tybalt, so the straight up murder plan Romeo used wasn"t going to work. He"d have to get...creative. So just like with Romeo gaining followers and planning his betrayal, Tybalt essentially became the devil in Mercutio"s ear, convincing him to accept progressively more dangerous jobs and heists with each passing day. And, too desperate to keep some semblance of friendship, Mercutio foolishly listened, his overconfidence growing as he got more and more reckless in his strategies, with Tybalt simply sitting back and waiting for the inevitable slip up.
That opportunity came on one particular night.
While scoping around to find a place to camp during the aftermath of a brief rainstorm, the scarves found themselves lost and wandering a bit too deep into monster territory, until some of the scouts reported seeing some huge, black feathered monsters skulking around the place. Tybalt, knowing damn well that monsters this deep into the forests could rip Mercutio apart, gleefully pushed for the scarves to track it, claiming that it could be something valuable since they were a bit tight on money. Mercutio was hesitant, but his curiosity won him over, so he told the gang they"ll at least look at it to see if it was worth the trouble. Once they found the beast munching on a dead sheep, many of the scarves argued that it was clearly not worth the trouble at all, since the bugger was huge, the biggest monster some of the scarves had ever seen. But Mercutio, he found himself legitimately agreeing with Tybalt. The lad knew little about the hunting and harvesting of monsters, but knew one this big with such a perfect coat of feathers would be priceless to the right buyer, so in spite of his men"s protests, Mercutio ordered them to attempt capture.
It uh....didn"t go well.
Whatever this thing was, it was fast for its size, and even though the gang outnumbered it vastly, it still wiped the floor with them. From what Mercutio could gather, it appeared to be some huge raven monster that sort of had vaguely human-like arms. Arms it used to slash a huge, nasty cut right into his side as he recklessly approached it, injuring him badly with its massive hand claws. The group was scattered in terror by the bird beast"s retaliation, though fortunately it had no interest in pursuing them and instead fled back into the sky on gargantuan wings....but not before briefly staring the injured Mercutio down with a look of both curiosity and mild confusion.
Not sure what to think of that, Mercutio simply tried to scramble back up a slippery forest hill in a vain attempt to regroup with his buddies, only to come face to face with a smirking, oddly pleased Tybalt waiting for him at the top.
A few weeks before this night had occurred, Tybalt had broke into a local library and looted several books on recorded monsters specifically to find out which ones would be good to lure Mercutio towards. Judging from Mercutio"s strangely pulsing wound, the lad"s whimpering and shaking, and the fact that Tybalt saw what might"ve been the remains of a fancy leather coat clinging to that bird monster"s oddly human-shaped body, Tybalt correctly guessed that they had just encountered a Mutant. Given that the boys were raised in an over-protective orphanage and mainly conducted business in or around urban areas, only Tybalt was the one who knew how they worked, Mercutio had no idea what a mutant was, so he was completely unprepared for what was about to happen.
It was a tad disappointing, Tybalt was hoping for something poisonous and lethal, but it seemed like Mercutio was already starting to mutate, so he settled for just letting the lad wander around as a monster for the rest of his days, good enough as any murder disguised as an accident he supposed. With that, and a swift boot to sternum, a confused, scared, in pain Mercutio was caught right off guard, and right off balance, as he tumbled back down the muddy hill, with Tybalt"s final words to him being a boast about how he"ll take good care of the Scarves.
As he landed in a dirty heap and struggled back to a standing position, Mercutio was in shock. To think that this shit would happen to him twice. It was unbelievable, unacceptable, completely unfair. He trusted Tybalt, thought he was the only true friend he ever had, but that fucker just dropped him like any other mook they used to rob. Mercutio just didn"t know what to think, so as he rose to his feet he just started walking as his rage and frustration was building. He was livid, consumed with a desire to just hurt something. He was sick of this shit, sick of being treated like he was pawn in everyone"s game, he was his own person and he wanted just some way to get people to actually respect him, to genuinely not want to think about how to backstab him, to find a way to tear Tybalt"s head right off his fucking neck. Gods above, there had to be something that could make this situation better, anything, he"d take anything, he just wanted to not be seen as some dumb gullible kid anymore. As he tried to bury himself in these thoughts however, it was proving difficult, as his wound was aching worse and worse with each step, getting so bad that it felt like he was starting to hallucinate things happing to his body, which was now suddenly aching all over just like the injury as his clothes seemed to be getting...tighter.
But he kept walking, and walking, in a direction he paid no attention to as he just needed something to distract his brain from all the betrayed anger and alien agony. No matter how much he tried to push the strange new feelings down however, pretty much nothing could distract someone from seeing and feeling their raised foot suddenly bulge and grow into some monstrous talon that swelled so big his boot ripped, split and burst apart against it before stomping soft bare flesh into wet squishy mud as massive claws on massive toes gouged into the soil and grass.
What followed was something Mercutio could barely explain. His body basically exploded, erupting with flesh and size as it bulged and changed. His armour creaked loudly before tearing open with cracking rips. His cloak choked him tight before snapping off his neck and tumbling to the ground. A straight-up tail wrenched itself out of the seat of his trousers. And his remaining boot strained, split, and burst open, his bare feet stomping and churning up wet dirt as he cried out to the sky in confused agony. Great, just great. As if his two closest friends betraying and leaving him for dead wasn"t bad enough, now fate"s turning him into some horrid abomination, a beast that crumpled to the ground as the realization that what was happening was indeed reality came crashing down on him.
With Mercutio now completely alone, there was likely no-one to notice him caving entirely as he began weeping into the grass his face was buried in. First Romeo, now Tybalt. Anyone still loyal to Mercutio would think he"s dead, and so they"d never come looking for him. He was alone, again, and this time if he tried seeking people out they would think he"s some horrifying beast, and start pointing guns. He had been isolated before, sure, but not to this level, and certainly not because he was a freak of nature back then.
Sorrow turned to anger, as the outlaw side of Mercutio"s brain realized that Tybalt had been waiting for an opportunity like this ever since they first met. The traitorous bastard never really liked him in the first place did he? No, he just went along with Mercutio and Romeo because he was too cocky and stupid to choose for himself, well until now apparently. And with Mercutio some huge swollen monster, no-one would argue against his decision.
Then, anger turned to confusion. What....what even was Mercutio now? Clearly he"s turned into some kind of big rat thing judging from the sensations and what he could see of his body but....how? Why? What the hell even was a "Mutant", or whatever Tybalt was sneering about? There as a small pond nearby the landing spot, so sniffling up his tears the rat man crawled over to see if he can make out his reflection. Gazing into the pond, Mercutio did indeed see a reflection, but not of his human visage. Instead, his assumptions were correct, his body had twisted and morphed into the spitting image of a large humanoid rat beast, his lovely black hair and deep brown eyes replaced by fluffy grey fur, whiskers on a snout, and an eerie yellow glow coming from his newly changed irises. Oddly, Mercutio almost found himself to be rather....beautiful looking. His body was bulging with muscles and his face was adorable as it was vicious looking. He looked...amazing. He felt amazing. This body was amazing. His outfit....well it was ruined actually. Mercutio was grateful that Tybalt did that research on enchantments of repair after robbing a tailor that one time, because his painstakingly crafted leather armour, boots, and even his cloak, all were in shredded tatters clinging to his swollen body tight enough to pinch. He was pretty much half naked, and completely barefoot, but honestly he didn"t really mind. In fact, he kinda liked it.
What the hell was happening to him?!
Mercutio didn"t know, he didn"t know what he was turning into, nor why it made him feel so good. But....but maybe a doctor would. There were plenty of plague doctors around this place, there"s gotta be someone who knew what the hell to make of this right? But of course, Mercutio couldn"t just show up to the clinic looking like some significantly overgrown vermin, that would get him shot easily. And then suddenly, as he briefly wished to no longer be this giant rat thing, Mercutio found his body aching again. But this time he wasn"t growing, he was shrinking, his fur sinking back into his skin, his feet delating into his original shoe size, his tail slithering back into his spine, all of his rat features melted away as just as suddenly as he lost it, Mercutio"s humanity returned.
Now that was weird. You"d think there"d be some catch to being curse to turn into a bloated animal monster, but no, Mercutio was himself again, his ripped and ragged clothes no longer strangling him, though for some reason he was feeling a little more miserable than he was just a few seconds ago, when he was...y"know a rat. Could...could he control this? There"s no way something like this would just last a few minutes and then never leave his body again, this...inner beast of his had to still be in there.
But Mercutio"s rational side managed to get his headspace back together. Maybe he could control it, maybe it was temporary, there was no way of knowing until he got an expert to look at it. So if by some chance he could control it, then he decided to remain in human form for as long as possible until someone can diagnose whatever the hell was happening to him.
So, after resting for the night and waiting for his clothes to fix themselves back up, Mercutio donned his cloak and set off towards the nearest clinic he could find.
His trek was a tad long, and with each passing hour his intrusive thoughts trying to urge to transform again were getting harder and harder to resist, but he eventually found what he sought. A privately owned tower situated just barely out of range of Mixholme, kinda looked like a renovated watchtower from the old territory wars.
"Dr. Minerva Talos" was the name embroidered on the door, presumably the name of the owner of this clinic. It was better than nothing, and Mercutio was desperate, so he banged on the door has hard as he could, trying to ignore the fact that his arm suddenly rippled on the last knock, his body aching for another chance to change into that...beast form.
Frustratingly the person inside took a while to hurry to the door, despite the fact it was midday, and Mercutio was not very pleased to find out that this Minerva Talos doctor was...well a scrawny, ridiculously shy-looking geek completely covered in her uniform. But Mercutio had tried getting a fake PHD before, and knew it basically impossible to do so, so if this chick had gotten hers legit she least knew a few things about medicine right? Screw it, Mercutio was too stressed to care, he needed answers, so he let himself in.
Strangely, Minerva was acting far more worried then what she usually should be, in spite of Mercutio aggressively trying to explain what he was doing here. The poor girl was trying her best, and admittedly Mercutio wasn"t feeling himself, but he was stressed out of his mind, convinced that half of the stuff he underwent had been some crazed delusion, and with each word he spluttered his brain grew more and more scrambled.
The Doctor meanwhile was trying desperately to calm him down, but at some point she had suddenly switched to trying to calm herself down instead, hyperventilating with panic as she almost struggled to stand. Damn, this girl might not be best for a medical profession if emergencies freak her out this much.
Though Mercutio didn"t care, he wasn"t thinking straight by now, the memories of the previous night left him with so much heartache that his anger couldn"t be controlled. Even as his armour started to get snug, as his cloak snapped off his shoulders, as his feet ripped his boots open and touched cold tiled floor, as he watched himself tower over the shaking doctor, he just couldn"t stop changing, so instead he yelled even louder. His cool guy persona was breaking down at this point, and to stop himself from damaging anything in his rage, Mercutio just started stomping around the place, cursing and growling as he spluttered and whimpered out everything that was going wrong with him, everything he didn"t understand about this new body, and how everything in his life had been going downhill despite his best efforts.
And then, as he was venting about that stupid bird monster that gave him this stupid scratch, the poor plague doctor he was stressing out thoroughly suddenly blurted the words "I-I-I DIDN"T MEAN TO". And the nanosecond those words left her mouth, Dr. Talos immediately slammed her hands over her mask"s beak, as if the act would prevent Mercutio from hearing.
But Mercutio heard, he heard loud and clear thanks to his stupid rat ears. And before he was mainly angry at Tybalt, but now...now he had some questions he was very, very keen on getting answered. What the fuck did she "not mean to do"? Clearly from her body language the doctor was feeling guilty and had definitely said something she shouldn"t have, but what on earth was she talking about? Did she have something to do with...this? Did she do this to him?! Was Tybalt working for her? Or was that bird beast thing her goddamn pet?!
Mercutio was seeing red, his thick rat feet were stomping closer as his rodent mouth was practically foaming with demands for an explanation, but to his shock...the thief soon got his answer.
Because the little doctor"s whimpers switched into low, agitated and defensive growls, rather familiar ones at that, and soon she started to get...a lot less little. Before the Rat man"s eyes, Minerva"s body rippled and swelled just like his did, and her clothes started to snap and tear as she outgrew them. Tufts of feathers burst through her sleeves and trousers. Clawed hands ripped her gloves open. The straps of her boots rapidly snapped one by one until huge, swollen talons burst out with loud rips. Wings erupted from her back, tail feathers sprouted out of her lower back, and her Plague Doctor mask split open before the face of a monstrous Raven creature erupted from the snapping leather....the exact same face that stared him down last night. Minerva Talos didn"t own that raven monster, she was the raven monster, the very monster responsible for Mercutio"s own curse.
This fucker. This BITCH! She DID do this to him! She turned him into this-this, freak, this monster, all because he....tried to.....catch her to sell off heeer....paaartsssss....
Ah, right, he kinda did deserve this didn"t he?
Apparently, Minerva was thinking along similar lines, because as the pair"s growls faltered into awkward coughing and clearing of throats, the raven lady reaffirmed that the wound she inflicted was indeed a complete accident, and she was just minding her business before Mercutio and his goons jumped her, to which the ratman openly admitted to and did feel bad now that he had the full context. So, the two just called it even and decided to drop the hostility, since the thief was kinda in need of the doctor"s help and acting aggressive towards her wasn"t the best of ideas.
Fortunately, Minerva was actually pretty understanding. Apparently, she too was new to this whole "Turning into an animal thing at will" business, but unlike Mercutio she had done quite a bit of homework on the matter, long before being infected even. She and the thief were known as "Mutants", humans infected with an aggressive strain of wild magic called "The Mutation" which, as you can guess, causes them to transform into a random animal form based on their personality and innermost desires, like one"s Inner Beast being made into reality. Usually though, most mutants have their minds scrambled into mush by the wild magic"s influence, yet Minerva and Mercutio were still themselves. When Mercutio asked why, Dr. Talos proudly proclaimed that the both of them didn"t subconsciously resist the mutation"s call, which somehow grants the infected complete control over their transformed bodies. The notes Minerva had left scattered all around the room gave further context into how this all worked, the comprehensive details and the knowledge that he wasn"t alone in this soothing Mercutio on the fact that he was basically no longer a human, well sort of anyway. But the thief"s keen eye could easily tell that there were numerous gaps in Talos" knowledge, which was fair as she had just gotten used to her new form, but Mercutio quipped that she was still a long ways off from completing all these notes.
And that"s when the Raven suddenly pitched something. What if, in exchange for a hefty wage, a place to stay, and full training on everything she knew about the mutation and his rat form, Mercutio could agree to...help her with her research? Minerva"s raven mutation made her powerful yes, but she was but one girl, a girl that could barely hold a conversation without her comfy feathers no less, so his knowledge on the riskier side of the nation was going to be a great help in exploration, security, and perhaps bit of miliary endeavours if he was willing.
Mercutio was of course sceptical and hesitant, he was just backstabbed by someone close to him so he wasn"t sure if starting up a new relationship, business or otherwise, would be something he could do. Then again, Mercutio didn"t really have anywhere else to go, he was low on options on what to do with his life, and this lady was pretty much the only person capable of helping him understand his new powers. Plus this Minerva girl was...nice. Once the tension faded he found her witty and highly intelligent way of speaking to be rather pleasant, and to be honest the poor girl probably needed his help more than he needed hers. And the offer she"s made to him sounded like a pretty good deal all things considered, so frankly, Mercutio was happy to accept.
But before he could full agree to help Minerva, he wanted her to help him first. Help Mercutio get his men back from that bastard Tybalt, and both he and them were hers to command...with proper pay wages of course. Surprisingly, the good doctor agreed, claiming that getting some extra protection in the form of some hired muscle like other outlaws and mercenaries would be exactly the kind of thing that would make her experiments easier, so she didn"t mind dipping her thick toes into the world of crime if it meant she could uh....test some things on the guys Mercutio"s not that attached to.
With an assurance that the people he did care for would be eased into this whole mutation thing like he was, the deal was struck and both newly made mutants began to make plans on how to take back the Burgundy Scarves-
No, wait....that name doesn"t sound good anymore. Still leaves him with a bad taste in his mouth, and if these guys were set to be a much bigger group of outlaws and mercs, they"d need something new to make them more distinct from the petty thieves they used to be.
What about....Emerald Scarves? Sort of like the yellowish colour of a mutant"s eyes?
"Mercutio Hermes, Commander of the Emerald Scarves"
Yeah....yeah that can work.
Personality: In a stark contrast to Minerva"s sheepish, overly excessive politeness, or Shiny"s lovably idiotic optimism, Mercutio is arguably the least friendly of the trio of mutant prodigies, serving as the rational pessimist that always brings up the downsides of a plan purely so everyone knows the risk. Due to his history, Mercutio is slow to trust new people, glaring daggers at strangers and warning new recruits to not try anything funny if they don"t want a knife in their throat. He"s a pretty grumpy guy with a noticeable attitude, always scoffing or standing in an overly cool pose just very slightly out of view, as if he"s trying his best to look cool and threatening but ending up as what many would call: "A massive Edgelord". Newbies would find him quite intolerable to be around because of this, but the people who got to know him understand that"s just how he is, and he"s actually a pretty chill dude to hang out with if you can manage to become his friend.
In terms of intellect, Mercutio"s actually a considerably skilled guy. Behind his "trying too hard to be mature" exterior, Mercutio"s mind houses an incredible fast-acting brilliance for combat strategies and studying the details of situations, which has allowed him to lead whoever serves him to a great many victories no matter the competence level of his mooks. He"s not quite as big of a genius as Minerva, but he understands most of what she"s talking about and can even dumb it down to translate it to someone of Shiny"s level of cluelessness. He"s like the bridge between the two, the middle ground of Minerva"s high intelligence and Shiny"s streetwise cunning, so while he"s far from a scientist or a brawn flexing knight, his quick wit and talent for sudden improvisation make him an excellent strategist and tactical advisor, making him an ideal person to talk to if Minerva needs any advice on more militaristic planning.
However, this persona of a gruff, edgy, no-nonsense master of thievery...well it"s completely fake. The whole "I don"t like talking to people because they annoy me easily" attitude, it"s a total charade, because Mercutio firmly believes that it"s the only way for people to respect him and take him seriously. Because the real Mercutio Hermes is a massive softie, a poor lonely boy who just wants people to like him, to treat him like a person and not some dumb kid in spite of his sensitive emotions. If his hair is insulted for instance, on the outside Mercutio would just chuckle, flick his head, and ask if they were jealous, but on the inside he"s choking back tears because he really likes his hairstyle and doesn"t want to change it, but is worried that he might have to if it"s getting him treatment like that.
Additionally, even though Mercutio would often be the first to ask his comrades to hesitate on a plan, always insisting that careful thought be given to anything they try, in reality he"s actually a massive glory seeker who loves the thrill of battle, outsmarting and outmanoeuvring enemies brings him immense joy when in the heat of a good fight. Mercutio hides his emotions well, but they claw at him regardless, and sometimes his mature fake personality might crumble if given enough pressure, which is where his beast form comes in.
In beast form this personality remains, albeit more aggressive, but due to his weakened inhibitions it can falter and fade if he spends too long in it, causing his giggling bubbly side to surface if he"s having too much fun. Because again, while he acts like it"s just a highly beneficial super power, in truth it"s a pleasure like no other. Mercutio adores his rat form, adores the power and alien sensations it gives him, and most embarrassingly, adores the very attractive appearance of its physique, huge bloated rat talons included. But unlike Shiny who proudly wears her unique tastes, or Minerva who eagerly explores the complexity of her kink with adorably flustered curiosity, Mercutio hasn"t quite come to terms with his sexuality just yet. He"s pretty much still in denial about how hot and bothered he gets when feeling his clothes and boots strain and burst across his expanding body, and though Minerva politely requests that her kinks be kept a secret until she gets used to them, Mercutio vehemently insists that there"s nothing more to his transformations, that he only just moans like that cause it hurts a lot, that there"s nothing to read into his behaviour and slight excitement when he needs to transform, and that the growing red blush on his cheeks is a figment of your imagination and he is NOT aroused just by talking about it, no sir!
But deep down Mercutio knows that this is what he"s truly attracted to, that this is who he really is, and though he"s still not ready to accept it, he does understand that confessing about the truth about his sexual interests is an inevitability. Good thing the other two don"t believe him for second when he tells them that he"s not turned on by transforming.
But even past that, Mercutio may act like few things matter to him, that the people he works with are just people he works with, the reality is quite the opposite. The Emerald scarves mean everything to him, because they are people who look up to him, who respect him, who like him, and as such every loss the Emerald scarves suffer, every mook that gets gunned down, each one is another stab into Mercutio"s poor heart. Every time they have to cleanse and bury a body is a struggle for him to not burst into tears, to remain strong for the people that trust him, and more importantly for the people he himself trusts. Because while he acts like everything irritates him, in truth, under Minerva"s command, at Shiny"s side, leading his loyalists to the victory they seek, Mercutio"s never been happier.
Respect and loyalty matter a lot to him, and the few who manage to earn his full trust are the people he"s the most protective of, even if he"d never admit it. And fortunately his two closest comrades, Minerva and Shiny, the people that gave him this wonderful second chance at a glorious life, they know that even if he pretends that they"re just co-workers. They know he cares about them just as much as they care about him, and deep down they know he knows as well, but they also know that he doesn"t know that they know that he knows that they know....y"know?
It"s like that golden rule of the criminal underworld: Outlaws stick together....or wait was it Honour Among thieves? I mean Mercutio"s the only "Thief" out of the trio, the rest are sort of thieves but also thugs and mercs and uh-y"know what doesn"t matter, the scarves are just great friends and it"s really cute.
....and yes, it is also a "Friends with benefits" situation, but Mercutio ain"t gonna admit that.
Yes, you are seeing this right, he is indeed "THE GIANT RAT THAT MAKES ALL OF DAH RULES"
RAT!
RAT!
HE IS A RAT!
M O U S E M A N
Artwork by Catmonkshiro
Category Artwork (Digital) / Transformation
Species Rat
Gender Male
Size 2391 x 1541px
File Size 574 kB
Oh, don't say that to his face, he'd get very flustered and very agitated because he's insistent that he's not cute.
It only took me half a year after getting his original tf pic
Wow, so much text, but so much background and all for such a lovely looking fella.
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