Predatory is an apt if not abrupt description of Nadine’s psyche. There is little she does that isn’t backed by purpose or reason, and the woman has a patient, appraising gaze that she can’t seem to turn off. She isn’t shy at all about holding direct eye contact and standing her ground, or even invading the personal space of others if she feels it’ll intimidate them into compliance. Nadine also has a very territorial stance in favor of her own investments, people included. As a hunter she knows that not all prey respond the same way, though. When a gentler touch is required she can begrudgingly adapt if she thinks the interaction is worth her time. Manipulation isn’t an inherently evil thing to her in any case, and neither is leveraging advantages.
On that topic morality is a grey area to Nadine. She’s of the opinion that for the most part there aren’t good or bad people in the world; there are just people, and everyone has the capacity to slide to either end of the spectrum with the right motivations. Motivations that the world itself is more than capable of providing without anyone’s consent. To Nadine it’s more important to be genuine with your emotions than to play a balancing game between good and evil, since actions that matter often can’t be undone. That’s what she’s interpreted from nature, and it’s a philosophy that has served her well enough so far.
Her body has an unusually fast metabolism that makes her hungrier than most people, almost ravenously so. This near constant agitation drives a lot of her mannerisms to be what they are, and the worse her cravings grow the more rough around the edges she becomes. Because of this she typically stays away from large communities, and tries not to stray far from areas she can hunt animals in. Satisfying her hunger played no small part in her becoming a monster hunter. That being said she considers hunting other people for food to be taboo, but if already engaged in combat she’s not above biting a chunk out to injure or even kill.
Meaningful companionship is hard to come by for this demi-human, and she’s under no illusion why that is. It’s not a dynamic she hates specifically. A carnivore doesn’t get to be upset with something so elementary like that. All she can do is keep being honest with herself and take things in stride. She does grow plants to be used as incense or consumed, and a couple of these she uses to distract her internal restlessness temporarily. Considering her normal disdain for salads it’s best not to stop her if she’s willingly chewing on leaves.
Likes:- Swimming: By far her favorite form of exercise and relaxation. If passing by a deep enough body of water she will inevitably gravitate towards it, and often tries to camp near rivers or lakes when traveling. Using her tail she can silently swim forward while keeping only her head above water like a true crocodilian, and she can even sleep floating like this too. Alternatively she can also swim rather quickly with the help of her tail even while fully submerged.
- Home Cooking: There’s few things as offensive to Nadine as high society dining. To give up so much of her hard earned money for such tiny portions is a slap to her face when she could hunt something and fill herself up for free. She’s well versed with cooking over an open fire, and she often grows her own herbs for flavor with magic. So long as there’s something to hunt she and any companions with her will never go hungry.
- Sun Bathing: The perfect compliment to digesting a good meal. Lounging in the open sun is simply refreshing for her. Once she’s found a spot to bask in she’s more than happy to nap there until she’s needed for something, waking only to turn herself over before dozing off again.
Dislikes:- Hunger Pains: This isn’t to say Nadine has some traumatic experience with going hungry and thus refuses to ever feel that way again. It is what it is: she gets hangry and aggressive when her fast metabolism is left running on fumes. It certainly isn’t dignified to assault someone over food and she understands that, but hunger is certainly the biggest of her inner demons.
- “Civilized” Society: As someone with an affinity for nature she finds it strange that some people think that civilization makes them better than animals. To her it’s no different than arbitrary rules any pack of feral animals can make for themselves. There is wisdom and the spark of self awareness in higher cognitive functions, but Nadine is not arrogant enough to believe she is elevated above wild beasts because of it. Strip away all the pretentious laws and easy living, and she’s sure civilized society would surely eat itself alive.
- Undeath: There’s two fundamental reasons for her hostility towards the undead. First, it’s unnatural, and as a nature based mage this is one of the few things that can rival her hate of high society dining. Second, the undead taste like, well, death. As someone who often bites at opponents it’s a repulsive act to do on decaying flesh. The dead should be left to rest, regardless of who they were in life.
Motivations:- Trophy Hunting: Money is just a means to an end for her, which is more often than not lodging and food. The real rewards from missions in her eyes are pieces that tell stories. The broken saber of a dreaded pirate captain. Serrated fangs the size of your fingers from a big game hunt. A bottle of ashes from the incinerated remains of an ascended daemon. The better the story the more she’ll want it, especially if it’s something she has to fight for to obtain.
- Exotic Connoisseur: Part of the fun in monster hunting is being able to eat your prey afterwards. At least that’s her way of seeing things. Others may disagree, but if variety is the spice of life Nadine is going to keep her pantry stocked. Eat at your own risk if mystery meat is on the menu during one of her barbeques.
Fears:- Unending Hunger: Just as she accepts that people are no better than animals, she’s silently afraid of her own ravenous hunger consuming her identity. She goes out of her way to avoid people when she’s ‘starving,’ but opponents are always fair game for a quick bite during a fight. Nadine won’t deny she’s eaten people in that sense, but she refuses to hunt others specifically to consume them. As she grows stronger as a mage however, her hunger seems to be following suit much to her frustration.
- Extreme Heights: As someone who feels at home in watery depths Nadine doesn’t do as well when taken out of her element. Not feeling solid ground beneath her feet is fine underwater, but she has little to no control over flying falling through the air. While not particularly paralyzed by the fear of splattering herself from a great height her demeanor takes on a noticeable cautious shift when such dangers are pending.