Name: Jin
Gender & Age: Male, 27
Concept: Earth Kingdom, non-bending bounty hunter
Appearance: Standing at 5' 6" and weighing a mere 127 pounds, Jin is clearly a citizen of the Earth Kingdom. With a head of shaggy, dirt-colored hair, a pair of emerald eyes that gleam with cunning, and lightly tanned skin, only a fool would be unable to guess his nationality.
Much like his rough (And often unwashed) features, Jin's clothes are typically in various states of disrepair, though they at least preserve his modesty to an acceptable degree. It doesn't hurt that the vagabond typically wraps himself in a rather course cloak to stave off the elements.
Despite his chosen profession, Jin lacks the massive, muscular structure that so many of his homelands great fighters seem to possess. He does, however, make up for his lack of brawn with a lithe, flexible form capable of contorting itself into any shape Jin desires.
Personality: Jin's outlook on life is remarkably upbeat, considering his background and path in life. Sure, he makes it his business to deal with the scum of the earth as often as possible, but that doesn't mean he can't look on the bright side of things. Talkative and easy-going, Jin sees towns as more than places to simple rest, restock, and gather information; everyone he meets has a story worth hearing, and the hunter can almost always make time to hear them all.
Despite his friendliness, Jin does possess a few irritating traits. To him, everyone is equal, from the poorest peasant to the Avatar himself, and as such Jin makes a point to avoid using honorifics or titles. And although he treats everyone he meets with the same cheerful air, Jin does not respect anyone unless they have earned it; even the wisest and most celebrated sages would be treated with informality until they had done something impressive.
Equipment: For offense, Jin carries a modified kusarigama, having replaced the sickle with a double edged ninjato, roughly 26" in length. In order to better suit Jin's techniques, the blade's hilt has been wrapped in leather to form a better grip, and the thin, iron cord that runs from its pommel to the steel ball has been lengthened considerably, stretching a good seven yards when fully unraveled. It is typically coiled up and strapped to his back.
For defense, he wears a set of steel greaves and vambraces. Though the armor is certainly tough enough to take a few strong hits, Jin mainly uses them to deflect blows as opposed to absorbing them.
Animal Companion: A Fire Ferret by the name of Zulf. Jin found Zulf about five years ago, and, after taking a liking to the Ferret's nimble (Albeit unsuccessful) attempts to raid his food supply, captured and domesticated the rapscallion.
Though certainly not effective in combat, Zulf has his own set of abilities that make him more than just a pet. With his small size and dexterous paws, the Ferret has proven himself an adept climber, acrobat, and thief on more than one occasion. What's more, he has a particularly strong sense of smell, and has been invaluable in helping Jin to track down a few more elusive targets.
Fighting Style: Jin, thanks to his small size and unimpressive strength, quickly learned that he was unable to go toe to toe with the brutal might that most Earthbenders used in their attacks. As such, he created his own combat techniques, most of them focusing on agility and momentum, as well as using his unique weapon to its full potential.
When fighting, Jin is almost always moving, whether he's charging towards an opponent, rolling or leaping out of the way of an attack, darting back and forth to throw off an enemy's aim, scaling a building to gain the high ground, etc. Doing most of his thinking and strategizing on the fly, the wanderer rarely stands still on the battlefield.
Jin has two primary uses for his kusarigama during combat: First, he can use the ninjato as a short sword, either engaging targets in close quarters or slicing through incoming projectiles. Second, he spins either the bladed or weighted end around at a frightening speed, setting himself up for either a frighteningly accurate ranged blow or, if his target is nearby, a devastatingly powerful attack. However, that's far from the only thing the weapon is good for; Jin's improvised fighting style often requires him to use his kusarigama in a multitude of manners, such as a climbing tool, a rope to bind enemies, or even a lifeline to keep him from tumbling off a cliff or drowning in a torrent of water.
Bio: Born and raised in Makapu Village, Jin spent much of his youth the same way that all kids seem to: doing chores, tending the fields, and getting up to general acts of mischief. Like most of the village children, he was blessed with an endless supply of energy, and more often than not would come home with torn clothes, scrapped knees, black eyes, and toothless grins. Sadly, fate was not particularly kind to Jin; as time passed by and his friends grew larger and stronger, the lad found himself stuck with his same, scrawny frame. Needless to say, his playful scuffles began to shift from fun and spirited to quite painful.
Still, it would take more than a little thing like strength to get in Jin's way. It wasn't long before the boy found himself developing bizarre techniques, moves that relied more on his natural agility and speed than brute force. Soon he was back on the playground, going head to head with the best of them and even managing to come out on top more often than not.
When you invest a lot of time and effort into developing something, you find that it's hard to let it go. Jin never really lost his appetite for fights and brawls, and when the time came to follow in his family's footsteps, the young man decided instead to leave Makapu.
Wandering across the vast wilderness of the Earth Kingdom, Jin learned fast that he needed to do something to keep the coppers flowing, and it seemed that hunting down bounties allowed him to make full use of his particular set of skills as well as affording him an excuse to travel.
Stuff happened, blah blah blah.
Turning in his latest bounty has brought Jin, and his companion, Zulf, to the magnificent streets of Ba Sing Se, while they look for their next meal ticket.
