Original Character: Hauli

Hatched: 1952 A. D. Kenya (Africa)
Joined Manhattan Clan: February 2007

Traits: Contemplative and quiet, very strong, often indulges in gentle teasing. Slow to anger.

Description: Milk chocolate in color, about the same general build and size as Goliath. (Broad through the chest, well muscled, slightly smaller than Goliath.) Along each side of his head, two short blunt triangular horns provide a bracket for shoulder length, dark yellow hair. His brows have a single small ridge. His face is broad, with wide lips and flat cheekbones. His wings are the 'classic' shape, with a single wingclaw and three wingspars giving it the classic bat-wing shape, the outer folds black, the inner folds a darker brown than his skin.

Habits: Forgets to talk in English sometimes, sometimes finishes open ended statements of others with his own irreverent remarks.

Genesis of his name: HAH-oo-lee is an African name meaning Strength (or so says the internet). He earned that name by being the largest and strongest hatchling in the rookery the year he was born. He is actually, the largest gargoyle of the African clan.

Significant Attachments: Future mate of Toto. Before he meets Toto, he is the lover of Ijaba (and father of Ijaba's first child). His clan leader Ehioze and clan brother Chimalsi also have deep ties to Hauli. He has something of a bitter rivalry existing with the clan second, Pili.

He has not had any significant reactions with the Manhattan Clan other than Toto to form either positive or negative associations.

He is grateful to Brooklyn, knowing that Brooklyn is the one that saved Toto from the destruction of her home and brought her forward in time.

He accords Goliath the same respect he would offer to Ehioze.

He treats Ariana and Graeme with the older brother roughhousing and wry affection that he would use on young gargoyles in his own clan. (At the time he joined the clan, Ariana and Graeme would be, if I did the math right (and who knows), gargoyle teenagers.)

He calls Fox 'Mbweha' (it's Swahili for Fox, so says the internet), and treats her with great respect as she saved his life in one story.

Significant Flaws: He broods too much, especially early in his relationship with Toto. He is slow to anger. He also feels that the tempermental Toto can do no wrong (although he does stop her from lashing out at others with her anger) and finds her erratic personality 'endearing'. He is overly protective of his mate.

African Clan Information:
For the plot of my story between Toto and Hauli to work, I needed a clan that was not on the World Tour. So I made up one in Africa. Where would a large clan of gargoyles be in Africa? Kenya specifically? Marsabet National Park of course!

They speak Swahili and are regarded by those few locals that know they exist as Jungle Spirits (kichaka pepo: Which roughly translates from Swahili to 'Jungle Spirit'). They consider the park their protectorate, and work to protect the animals within from poachers.

Most of the clan, including females, are tall and broad, larger than 'average' gargoyles (such as Angela, Brooklyn, Sata, Gabriel, Demona and Toto, more along the height and breadth (if not weight) of Hudson, Broadway, Coldstone/Othello). They tend towards dark skin colors, as opposed to the almost pastel colors of the Manhattan Clan and others, including all the colors of brown possible, dark red, dark blue, gray and near black.

Due to some fluke (possibly associated with inbreeding associated with being so isolated), the clan has significantly fewer females than males and all the gargoyles in the clan share some similar traits, namely the short triangular shaped horns (single or double) and the 'classic' shape of their wings. They have avoided some of the worst aspects of inbreeding due to the fact that the clan is relatively large and most of the females pick different partners for their first child than later ones with a chosen mate, leading to continued genetic diversity of the generations.

Bad Information Disclaimer: I am not a researcher. I have no idea if the National Park has both savanna and a wooded area where the clan is. I have no idea if human villagers would live in said Park. I have no idea if two days is how long it would take for a gargoyle to trek from the Park to Nairobi. I have no idea if my use of Swahili is correct and accurate. Then again, tell me how historically accurate a Viking assault on a Scottish Castle in 994 A.D. is? That's what I thought.