Pack Name
Freedom
Character Name
Cristobal Navarro
Age
25
Gender
Male
Sexuality
Unknown
It’s not exactly an easy topic for anyone, and anyone who claims to be heterosexual could easily be homosexual. If asked, Cristo will say he’s straight, but won’t most people?
Appearance
Cristo is Mexican-American. He has skin that’s obviously been in the sun for a while. It’s rough, unevenly shaded, and very, very, very tan. He has small blemishes and little half-healed scars, and nobody would envy the state of his skin at all. His nose has a wide bridge, getting wider at the nostrils, and is crooked and rather short. His eyes are large but very heavily lidded, giving him an almost sleepy look. What’s visible of his eyes are almost almond shaped, rich and bright chocolate brown. They’re surprisingly pretty considering that he’s not much of a looker. They’re by far the nicest part about him, and even then they’re not that great-looking. He has fairly high eyebrows, which are thick, smudge-looking, and black. He also has a five o’ clock shadow which is black and gives him a rugged look. His lips are fairly thin, and he has a small smile with a few cavities, nothing more than any typical cowboy, though. His face is oval-shaped, with a rounded chin and low cheekbones. His hair goes down to his shoulders, and is very wavy. It’s plain black, with grey-brown undertones in the sunlight. Hy typically leaves it down, but sometimes twists it into a bun and tucks it under his hat.
Cristo is about average height, slightly taller, at 5’7”. He’s well-built, and has good muscle build, strong shoulders, and sturdy arms and legs. Again, on his skin he has some rough patches, blemishes, and small scars, though nothing too major. He’s often shining with sweat, either from working hard or playing hard, and the palms of his hands are much worse for wear than the rest of his skin. He has short, dirty nails and short fingers as well. He has a fairly straight build, with shoulders slightly wider than his torso. His feet are average-sized but also a bit short, and his toenails, much less important than his fingernails, are longer and filthier. He’s in very good shape, so he doesn’t have much fat past what would be considered normal for a man of his height.
Cristo wears a broad-brimmed, low-crowned hat which looks like a mixture between a sombrero and a cowboy hat. It’s a black with a large shiny black band around the crown. A white shirt peeks out from under his worn brown bolero jacket, which sports faded black stitching on the jacket flaps. He typically wears it with at least one button done, but when totally unbuttoned it reveals a white button-up shirt underneath. He typically wears a plain faded red-orange bandana around his neck, tied loosely at the side. He also has a sash of a similar orange color under his jacket, on top of his white shirt, which is tied around his waist. His pants are leather chaparejos of nearly the same color as his jacket. Under these are a pair of plain black pants. He also has a wide, simple leather belt which is of a darker leather than the rest of his outfit. He wears his lasso clipped onto his belt. He has old reddish-brown buckskin boots with a design along the top typical of these kinds of boots and spurs on the heels.
Personality
It takes a certain kind of man to break wild mustangs - a certain kind of fierceness, yes, but also a certain kind of hardness. Cristo is a wild kind of man, but that’s not uncommon in the Wild West. He’s that same tough-as-nails, tobacco-chewing, saddle-making vaquero that can be seen roaming all around New Mexico and Texas. The elements are no match for him, nor is a wild mustang on the rampage. He breaks them, he sells them, and moral implications be damned. He makes due with what he has in life, and he lives on a day-to-day basis. Some people would envy what they think of as freedom, but Cristo envies them in return: to have a stable life with a steady income is something he’s tried to do, and failed at. He’s not proud of his abilities to live in the wilderness and tame the wild creatures of nature. It’s something his family had always done, and he’s known plenty of people who can do the same. There are plenty of things he’s not good at: when he cooks for himself, it tastes awful. He has no head for math and isn’t much of a reader. He’s a quick draw, but not quick enough that he wouldn’t get shot dead if he was in a standoff. The one thing he does have, though, is sheer willpower. This is what is required to rope and break a wild horse without getting yourself very badly injured. He’s in good shape, of course, very good shape, and he’s dextrous and strong, but without stubborn pride and daring he wouldn’t have gotten where he is today.
This is why it may surprise those who have known him out in the mountains and fields, roping horses, to see him in a different context. When he’s out there, he’s the man of iron will, stoic and focused. But he lacks that same ability when dealing with people. He’s not shy, not at all - in fact, it’s the opposite. But he’s incredibly indulgent and always agrees with everyone, in such an obvious way that it tends to piss them off rather than satiate them. If people are being stupid, he just agrees with them. If people insult him, he agrees with them. If they have terrible ideas, he agrees. Whatever people want him to do, he always presents a ready and willing face. That doesn’t mean he always does it, of course. If he can get out of things, he certainly will, sometimes simply bailing when he sees the opportunity. Sometimes, though, he gets in too deep and simply can’t back out, and that’s when he gets himself into trouble. It’s not like he has no conscience, but like he does with the horses, he easily justifies wrongdoings once it’s too late to change his mind. He’ll readily get out of something because he thinks it’s wrong, but once it’s done, he’ll always defend his reasoning, no matter how weak. In turn, he also accepts other people’s weak excuses and may make up excuses for them if needed. You can see this in a positive light as being non-judgemental, or in a more negative one as acting like nobody can be held accountable for their actions. This, of course, doesn’t go for people who have directly harmed him or someone he cares for. He doesn’t start fights - ever - but he’s all one for pulling tricks on people to get them back. He’s very passive-aggressive.
No matter the situation, Cristobal is a very outspoken and loud person. That doesn’t just mean he talks a lot - it means his voice carries like a foghorn and he is constantly making noise. He hums, whistles, laughs, snaps his fingers, coughs, clicks his tongue, sings, lets out “yeehaws!” and war cries as he goes galloping down the mountains. He also gestures constantly as he’s talking, quite animatedly and with large motions. His stealth is present only when he’s creeping up on an unsuspecting horse, because otherwise he’s one of the loudest people you’ll ever know. He also loves to talk, and readily engages in conversation about just about anything. He likes to tell stories, he likes to hear stories, he likes to know people’s opinions and thoughts. Often he likes to know their opinions and thoughts on him, which might be a bit of insecurity showing through. With people he considers friends, his “smile and nod” becomes more of an “eager to please,” a more friendly and enthusiastic agreeal to everything they say. He can overcomplicate his relationships in his mind, but typically if he likes someone he makes it clear immediately by simply telling them so, be that in a friendly or romantic way. He’s a generally cheerful and fun-loving kind of person.
Equipment
Handmade Saddle and Tack
Saddlebags
Food - Beans, hard biscuits, dried meat, dried fruit
Bedroll
Pouch of Tobacco
Bottle of Sarsaparilla
Lassos and Cords
Hunting Knife
Wool Coat, Gloves, and Scarf
Henry Rifle
Bullets
Canteen
Tin Plate and Cup
Small Pot
Tinder Box
Canvas Rain Slicker
Fishing Line and Hook
Likes
Tobacco
Security
Conversation
Social Interaction
Wild, Fun Times
Being Seen as Agreeable
Raisins
Wide-Open Expanses
Dislikes
Being Pressured into Things
Rain
The “Wild West” Lifestyle
Physical Fights
Silence
Disagreeing with Friends
Cooking
Horse
Tia Viva
Viva is a broken mustang mare, one of the horses Cristo and his companions were driving down to a ranch when they got themselves into legal trouble. He kept her when they went on the run, even though she’s far from the best horse. She’s a wild mare, which means that typically she wouldn’t be ridden for entire days in a row - instead, she’d be ridden for half a day with a few days between. As a result, she’s highly temperamental, constantly fighting and trying to buck him off. Fortunately, he’s trained enough to ride her out when she starts getting rough.
She’s a chestnut mustang with a single white sock on her front right leg, black hooves (except for the one next to the sock, which is pale cream-grey), and white star on her forehead. She has long black hair and a shorter black tail, and her eyes are black with a hint of brown when observed closely. She’s a rugged and wild-looking thing, much like Cristobal.
Relationships
Evangeline Byrd - Friends. Cristo gets along well with Evie, and loves talking to her. He's quick to agree with her, determined that she'll think of him as a friend.
Nellie Keighley - Friends. Cristo often follows Nellie into her wild, curiousity-driven adventures. Sometimes he'll smooth things over so she doesn't get in trouble. But he's quick to bail if things get too tense.
William Brandt - Neutral. Cristo does a lot of the talking, and Will does a lot of the listening. They don't dislike one another, but that's not to say there's any mutual trust there, either. Cristo isn't sure how he feels about Will yet.