Hale Rowena. [WIP]

[Affectionate Zombie]

Hale's PC!

FULL NAME.

Hale Mason Rowena.

NICKNAMES.

He doesn't care much for nicknames, though he'll tolerate "Hal" from friends and family.

SEX.

Male.

AGE.

Twenty-two.

DATE OF BIRTH.

February 26th 1986.

PLACE OF BIRTH.

Though he was born in Kaharsiv, a relatively-large town in the Kian Isles, he only lived there until he was about four years old. He and his family then moved to Cape Elmhill in the Kairuu Region.

ETHNICITY.

About half Irish, one-fourth English, and one-fourth Welsh. He doesn’t have an accent, though, which makes it pretty tough to tell until you meet his parents, who both have thick accents.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

Pansexual. Race, gender, age... None of it is particularly important to Hal. Love is love, as far as he's concerned, and so what if it comes from someone unexpected?
He's probably too uptight to get into a successful relationship, anyway, so he can't really be picky...

FAMILY.

x Mother; Bree Rowena, age forty-eight.
x Father; Merle Rowena, age fifty.
x Brother; Tristan Rowena, age seventeen.
x Brother; Max Rowena, age thirteen.

AMBITION.

Trainer, but not because he actually wants to become accomplished at training Pokémon. He simply feels obligated to follow Tristan around and make sure the kid doesn't kill himself by doing something retarded, and traveling around on a Pokémon journey inevitably means that he'll have to train Pok?mon, or at least catch a couple of them. He's not serious about raising them or anything, though.

---

APPEARANCE.

In many ways, Hale is a stark contrast to his brother -- not only in personality, which we will certainly get into, but also in appearance. They are similar in ways, of course; they're brothers, so that's to be expected. Hal is a good few inches taller than Tristan, reaching roughly six-foot five-inches, and his hair is the same mousy-brown, his jaw square and his lips thin. This, it seems, is truly the extent of the semblance they share.

Where Tristan is muscled and toned by constant activity, Hale is lanky and bony, with knobbly joints the likes of which are often seen on boys just barely grown into themselves, though Hal never grew out of that awkwardness. Tristan's hair is kept long and shaggy, but Hale prefers to wear his hair short, well-groomed, and styled with a sort of "duck-tail" in the front, every strand kept in place by a bit of hair gel. (Not enough to make him feel greasy, though. He hates the feeling of being unclean.) His nose is beak-like, rather large and hooked, and his smiles tend to be fleeting and halfhearted, as well as not crooked like those that his brother so commonly wears with such ease. Hale's eyebrows are thinner and more neatly-trimmed (something for which he's been laughed at by both of his younger brothers), and his eyes, almost black-brown, are a bit beady and heavy-lidded. His features are more angular and less attractive than those of his brother's overall.

Poor Hal just seemed to get the short end of the stick as far as looks were concerned. Sure, he's got the brains, and he's not... like... unfortunate-looking or anything. He's just not particularly... good-looking, either. Perhaps the best way to sum up his appearance would be "geeky." He tends to look constantly awkward and stressed out by something-or-another, further backing such a description, and his clothing preferences don't help.

He's the sort of guy that feels under-dressed if he's ever stuck in anything short of a polo or button-down shirt and, if not slacks, a pair of nice, decent-looking jeans or khakis. You'll never see him wear flip-flops (ever), and though loafers or dressy shoes are a bit too much even for him on a regular basis, his sneakers -- and the rest of his outfits, for that matter -- are kept immaculately clean if Hale can possibly help it. He tucks in his shirts and wears his belts properly tightened so that his pants don't fall down, because he doesn't fancy flashing his underwear at anyone who happens to glance lower than his waist for whatever reason. (The implied "unlike a certain brother of mine" is very much present. Don't worry, you weren't imagining it.) He's just short the pocket-protector.

The way he carries himself is not exactly confident, but he's not shy, either, just a bit awkward. His long legs (and resulting long-legged strides) make his manner of walking almost comical, but he has a sort of fussy, hasty nature, and it shows in his walk. It looks a bit ridiculous, actually, and that's a good word to describe Hale as a whole. Ridiculously awkward, ridiculously worried about everything, ridiculously prudish... The list goes on.

---

PERSONALITY.

It seems that Hal is doomed to forever be the designated driver, the responsible one, the reasonable one who has to play mom and make sure those around him can have fun and not do anything they'll regret later, at the price of not having much fun himself. He's a worrywart and a mother hen, as Tristan is always quick to point out with a laugh, and one might think that Hale isn't even capable of having fun. As sad as it is, that isn't far from the truth.

The poor guy has simply gotten it in his head that he's obligated to watch over others, specifically his irresponsible little brother but not restricted to only him. As a result, Hale tends to opt out of participating in fun events, choosing instead to sit on the sidelines and supervise and be prepared for any kind of trouble. He brings it upon himself, really, but it comes from years of having to watch after Tristan and keep him from doing stupid things, and also partially from his very nature; he just tends to feel responsible for and oftentimes motherly (though it's a bit embarrassing for him to acknowledge it in so many words) towards those he cares about. Be they friends, family, or simply acquaintances that he happened to take a liking to, he does his best to watch over them and try to protect them, even from themselves. A bit clingy, but he knows when to back off with most people. Only the ones that actually do need a chaperone will have him nagging at them constantly.

His stiff, serious, fussy, and overly-responsible nature makes it tough for him to loosen up and have a good time even when that's what a situation calls for, however. It's not that he doesn't like having fun. Who doesn't like fun? That would be ridiculous. He's just not good at forgetting about obligations and responsibilities long enough to enjoy himself. He also isn't very good at thinking up amusing things to do; his idea of a fun night is to sit back with a book and listen to music. Wild and crazy. More dangerous, exciting things get him nervous (perhaps rightfully so, but everyone has to take a risk and do something zany sometimes), and even when asked to participate in more tame recreational activities, he always finds himself trying to escape, making excuses. He doesn't understand it, himself. It's become pretty bad.

In truth, even if it's hard to tell sometimes, Hale wishes he was able to be as carefree and energetic and fun-loving as his brother, at least occasionally. He envies Tristan, for all that he also thinks the teen is a dumbass. Maybe he can't trust himself to let loose and do something stupid once in a while, partially because he associates such a "lack of restraint" with his brother's antics, but he wants to give it a try. Eventually. ... Possibly. Until then, he'll just be safe and prudish, whether he likes it or not.

HISTORY.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Hale's story is not a terribly interesting one, for he is a rather uninteresting fellow, himself. He was born in the Kian Isles, where constant and heavy rain made the grass grow tall and green and other local flora become colorful and strange in appearance. It seemed that the isles were ruled not by people and their settlements, but by wildlife and plant life, by rolling hills and wide lakes and winding rivers. Even the biggest cities on the islands were nothing compared to those on the mainlands, and though there were some decent-sized clusters of homes and shops scattered about, the islands were primarily unexplored and the human population was low.

Kaharsiv (one of the larger towns on the Kian Isles, though not quite as large as Dunib or Donlo City) was where Bree and Merle Rowena, lovers who had finally decided to have their first child, had lived most of their lives; it was also, in turn, where Hale Rowena came into the world. It was a good place to live, where cars were few and far in between and the buildings never got built too high or far apart. At night, the stars shone bright, and during the day, it was typically rainy with, though neither of the Rowenas much minded it.

She was a grocer, and he was a butcher. On such a small island, with grocery stores and meat shops being less common than in a mainland big city, they both did quite well for themselves. They were not terribly wealthy, per-se, but they had enough money to live comfortably and without worry. Even when Hale came along they still had little issue supporting themselves. He was a good, well-behaved infant, quiet and docile and affectionate, and as he grew older, he remained as such.

When he was around four years of age, Bree became pregnant with her second child. She and Merle had been discussing it, and decided at this time that they should like to move away from their home on the Kian Isles and go somewhere with more people, more technology, and better education systems. They didn't want their children to grow up without experiencing the world beyond Kaharsiv. So, they purchased a house in the Kairuu Region, near the water at Cape Elmhill. It was here that Tristan was born.

By the time Triste was five years old, it became apparent that he was not the well-behaved child that Hale was, even if he wasn't necessarily a bad child, either. He was rambunctious and speedy even while crawling, and once he could walk and run, it became very hard to keep up with. The boy was always getting himself into trouble. Hale, now roughly nine years old, started offering to help his beloved parents with the energetic little kid.

From that point, he began to realize that if he or his parents weren't there to look after his baby brother, Tristan would get hurt or into trouble or at the very least get close to it. Hale worried for him, and become more doting. He had never been the adventurous, playful, energetic type, and so his adventurous, playful, and energetic brother required constant supervision, as far as he was concerned; he couldn't understand the ridiculous things the boy tended to do. In all honesty, he sort of enjoyed watching Triste's antics, and preventing him from doing anything too stupid. It was amusing, and they became quite close, even as Tristan became exasperated with his brother as they grew older, and Hale exasperated with Tristan.

But school and other such obstacles, of course, made it so that Hal could not prevent all incidents from occurring. Tristan grew older, as children tend to do, and he was greatly influenced by the mischief of his peers, drifting away from his older brother. Hale had classes to attend to and his own life to deal with, so though he nagged at Tristan and tried to keep him out of trouble when they happened to be together, it stopped becoming a priority. Surely Tristan could take care of himself, by now. He did, however, tend to play chaperone with his friends when they got into their own childish, mischievous moods, and naturally, once the majority of them had reached a legal drinking age, he found himself with lots to supervise. (Thank Arceus that Max, who was younger than Tristan, had turned out to be pretty well-behaved and responsible. Not like Hale, true, but he had grown up watching Tristan be an idiot, and he had it firmly in his head that he would not turn out like that.)

Hale was in college, with his own life and own worries and own interests, when Tristan announced that he would be going on a Pokémon journey. Naturally, his parents were unsure. He was bound to do all number of stupid, dangerous things if left unsupervised with a bunch of loyal, super-powered creatures at his command. They didn't want to let him go alone... but he didn't have to. Hale, staying at a dorm about an hour away from home, was contacted. He was so responsible, and so good at keeping Tristan in check. They would've greatly appreciated it if he could go along with his little brother, they said.

Indignation was the first thing he felt. He didn't want to drop everything for Tristan, just so that his irresponsible kid brother could run off on a stupid adventure. He didn't want to be involved. But then, he thought a little more... and realized how much he was needed here. Triste was a dumbass, plain and simple, and the kid would surely wind up getting himself killed if he left on his own. He cared about Tristan, of course, and didn't want that happening. So, reluctantly, he agreed.

"Oh, thank you," sighed his mother over the phone. Relief was heavy in her voice. "I'm sorry to pull you away from school, honey; I know you like it there." He did, and he smiled with a hint of bitterness at her almost offhanded apology. "Maybe this will be good for you, though. You've never really traveled or had any Pokémon. Taking a break should be nice." He wasn't so sure, but he said "yes, mum" like a good little boy and packed his bags.

On the drive home, his grip on the steering wheel was tight, and his teeth gnawed at his lower lip as he thought. This was stupid. This was irresponsible, and illogical, and probably dangerous. He didn't want to go, but... well, he had to just think of it as a job. His job was too watch over Tristan and keep him safe and out of trouble as much as possible. Maybe it would be sort of nice to spend time with his little brother; they hadn't hung out in what seemed like too long, and he sort of missed it, for all that whenever they spent time together, Triste pulled him along to do silly, childish, and often dangerous or illegal things if Hale wasn't careful to stop him before he could try. It'd be... interesting, at the very least.

Didn't make him any happier about the whole thing.

He got home and greeted his family. They insisted that their boys stay one night before running off, and though Tristan groaned and moaned (he had always been the sort to rush into things without hesitation, and he was horribly impatient), he eventually agreed. Hal, on the other hand, was glad for that one night of calm before what he anticipated to be a horrible storm of... stupid.

The next morning, they were off, taking a fairly short boat ride to the Angler's Warf. Hale could only hope that Tristan would lose interest soon... but it didn't seem likely.

SINCE THEN...

- Nothing yet; journey just started.

HOW'D YOU GET HERE?

>:T