Onyx

Names:
     He usually just goes by Onyx, but also uses the shortened form, “Nik”, among friends. The Eqqari call him “Neeks”.

Appearance:
     Onyx is a Vul. Like Ivy, he wasn’t ALWAYS his current shape, but I’m not planning on changing it, so... yes. Anyway. I won’t bother defining the basic Vul shape, just his colouration.
     As you may have guessed from his name, Onyx’ fur is black - well, from a distance it looks black, although technically it should be a very dark grey. Like most Vuls he is roughly countershaded - in other words, has a marginally paler grey on his chest and “underside” - and like his original species he has barring on his back (the only actually black fur on him), although it’s barely visible; unless you were looking for it you would be unlikely to notice it. The bars themselves are best defined on his back and shoulders; on his lower back they are blurred and patchy, and stop just short of his tail. His eyes are a brighter orange-yellow to the standard burnt-gold of the average Vul’s eyes - another hangover from his previous species, although the colour is less noticeable, and he looks “less like a walking warning sign”.

Persona:
     Onyx is another of those I find hard to pin down - he’s just him. Oh well, if you read the fiction you’ll get to know him, I suppose...

Brief history:
     Onyx has always had a background related to engineering, although it was only after joining Dauntless that he was able to indulge his passion full-time.
     Of all Dauntless’ original crew, Onyx was the only “purebred” aboard; although his genes had been slightly “tweaked” for a heightened intellect, greater stamina and greater resilience, secondarily resulting in unnaturally dark skin, he was otherwise a fairly average Skelna male. And like a great many of his ‘brothers’, for a very long time he was treated more as a commodity than a person; he was originally picked straight out of Prime GeneLabs “Bargain Bucket” to be a live crash-test dummy for experimental aircraft. His unexpected ability to survive, and more importantly to control and pilot most things thrown at him, earned him a better post, better pay, and most importantly some degree of respect from his superiors, and he was eventually assigned to work with Ivy. She and Onyx shared a very fleeting romance, but remained extremely close friends even after the passion had gone from their relationship.
     Discovering that the experimental Dauntless’ development program had taken a furtive, sinister turn, eventually the pair destroyed the research, stole the vessel, and made a run for it. They fetched up in Khufa, a pleasant little town sandwiched between a forest and a lake, but it wasn’t long before circumstances pushed them on again. Picking up a couple of “stragglers” to make up the crew, they said their goodbyes, and headed off. Onyx always reasoned that he’d never be missed, but was later to find out that strange things happen to those that least expect it.

Notes:
     Neev’s physical changes left him initially unable to walk, although he’s learning to do so again in early fics. He’s the self-styled “chief engineer” (aka “engineering dogsbody”) on board.

First met in: Technically, he was met before this, but for most useful purposes, #1 “Ride the Avocet”

Art:
     There are unfortunately only some older images available – he’s never really been too inspiring to draw – and I've since moved them to the archive to keep the pages fractionally less cluttered. (Click to visit.) I'll probably draw him again sometime, just... not yet.