Physical Description
Burke is a fairly large and bulky centaur in good health. He keeps his hair partially braided, with his bangs and pony tail kept loose. He has more equine ears, and his entire body is covered in mostly white fur, with patches and smudges of a highly contrasted black. While his fur is generally short, most of it on his torso, face, and arms being more akin to peach fuzz, on his legs it becomes a long feathering. During the
Festival of Death, like many centaurs, he will wear skeletal bodypaint. During battles, he wears red eye makeup, similar to many other warriors in the pack. His hairstyle is much more in line with styles worn by the pack than most other Centauri.
Burke's body is covered in a faded paint pattern, not just on his fur, but his skin as well. Much of his back, upper arms, and a large portion of his face is also covered in short white fur. Often, he wears red paint around his eyes, signifying
Ferventi, God of Wolves, as his patron god.
During Shia's festivals, he will wear
Centauri Death Paint, often in black and grey, though occasionally red or teal.
Generally, Burke wears an outfit befitting most off-duty warriors of the pack, decorated with dark furs, leather, and teal fabrics. He generally does not wear armor, instead layering fabric and hides to keep himself warm, as he typically does not engage in combat. Most of the time, except for during the worst winter storms, he forgoes leg coverings due to his legs having long dense fur. Burke's day to day attire can be considered scandalous by typical Centauri standards, as when he's off duty, he will often only wear one blanket, his leg brace, and a tank top.
Burke often wears a brace on his right upper foreleg, as a result of a hunting accident that required surgery.
Burke primarily hunts and fights with a bow or rifle, though in close combat will resort to using a bladed polearm.
Mental characteristics
Burke is a
Warrior and
hunter for the
Montanan Mountains Pack, a sect of the
Pack of Ferventi. Primarily, he serves as a hunter and cook for the majority of the year, only taking up the role of a warrior seasonally or temporarily, generally as a guard for other members of the pack while travelling or during conflict.
One of the first hunts Burke led ended in failure due to his past over eagerness and overconfidence in his own abilities. During the hunt, he pushed his hunting party too far chasing after bighorn sheep on a dangerous slope, and slipped, misfiring his gun and shattering his right knee. Although no one else was harmed, he had been dangerously close to accidentally shooting his hunting partners, Ryoten and a member of the pack who has since left the group, Macguire, and considers it one of his biggest mistakes. Since the incident, he has become a lot more cautious and trusting of others' judgements on a situation rather than relying on his gut instincts.
Personality Characteristics
Primarily functioning as a hunter for the Montana Pack, Burke is an excellent cook, making use of the herbs, meats, and vegetables that are gathered by fellow hunters and woodsmen to provide for the group. Most often, he specializes in smoked meats and stews, but does not neglect vegetable and grain based meals.
He is a great fan of archery, wrestling, and hunting, well known to roughhouse and challenge other members of the pack to competitions with him whenever he has time. When stopping in towns and bars, Burke will occasionally take part in card games such as poker, blackjack, or other gambling for extra cash, though other members of the pack claim he isn't very good at any of them.
Due to primarily having a white coat, Burke bathes far more frequently than most members of his pack do in order to maintain his appearance. Despite this, his leg fur is often stained a pale brown or tan despite constant maintenance. Burke also takes a great deal of time during times of war to keep his tail and hair tightly braided to prevent snagging or being grabbed by enemies.
Social
As a hunter, he works in close coordination with the Montana Pack's
Caretakers,
Jun and
Ryoten, to stay on top of supplies and meal prep.
He is dating a fellow hunter warrior from the sect, an omnia named Coriander.
Both Burke and his brother Walter are members of the same sect. His parents are divorced, and father remarried. He keeps in touch regularly with his mother, who lives further south, but infrequently contacts his father, and does not get along with his step-mother.
History
Burke and Ryoten are good friends, and frequently work together as their respective roles feed off of one another's performance. AS an aspiring hunter, Ryoten often looks to Burke for advice in completing his own trials, as Burke specialized as a hunter prior to him.
At first, the two butted heads frequently, with Burke viewing Ryoten as a cocky newcomer, and Ryoten in turn viewing Burke as an arrogant know it all. The boys would frequently get into spats and fueled their mutual dislike for each other through competitions, bets, and trying to one up each other. Over time, their rivalry quelled, and instead became a strong friendship as the two began to work together with much more intertwined responsibilities. Despite this, Ryoten is still a frequent target of pranks and friendly ribbing from Burke, that the other man fires back just as quickly in good fun.
All that said, Burke's mean streak does tend to come out once again whenever he oversleeps and has to be (quite loudly) woken up by Ryoten, and he has been known to toss him out of camp for it from time to time.
History
Both being hunters for their sect, Burke and Wolfthorn are frequently in contact with one another. Having joined the pack only recently, and being quite a bit younger than Burke, Wolfthorn often looks to him as a mentor, and Burke in turn assists in teaching the younger centaur their duties. When available to do so, they will often go hunting together as a pair.
Wolfthorn and Burke both often pull pranks and practical jokes on Ryoten at his expense.
History
As a hunter and the primary cook for their sect, Burke frequently works with the caretakers, and that includes the pack's head caretaker, Jun. The pair get along well and Jun taught him many recipes and dishes, as well as how to cook them properly in the wilderness with highly limited rations and cookware. Burke will almost always check in with Jun prior to leaving on a hunt or resupply mission, and often acts as her personal guard if she leaves the camp.
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