Canus Estuarian-Capitol

Appearance:

Canus is good looking, and he sure knows it - he spends many hours gazing at himself in photographs and mirrors. His current hair style is 'random short spikes' and he spends at least an hour every day having the Avox get it just right, so that each spike is appealingly quirky and 'random' to bring attention to his handsome face. At the moment his naturally black hair is bleached white, but he changes it frequently as the mood takes him.

The one feature Canus dislikes about himself is his stature; he is only five foot-three, and desperately hopes he'll have a late growth spurt. A few extra inches would mean he wouldn’t have to wear shoes with hidden heels to give him some extra height any more. If he doesn’t get his much wanted growth spurt he’s already researched the best surgeons to break his legs and put in the extensions.

To further compensate for his height, he spends a lot of time exercising and lifting weights. He also watches what he eats and makes many trips to the toilets at every party to purge, in order to keep his body fat percentage very low. He argues that having very little body fat is more effective in looking well built than the actual muscle mass. He’s fairly strong as a result, but that certainly isn’t the aim of the exercise.

Canus shares a fascination with many other Capitol citizens - fashion. He has always watched the Hunger Games in awestruck horror when he sees the grey, nasty rags that people in the Districts turn up in. ‘I mean seriously, can’t they wear their best outfits for the occasion instead of those washed out, hand me down things so many of them wear? I’d rather die than be seen looking like that.’

Despite his narcissism and obsession with appearances generally, Canus isn’t stupid. His bright green eyes sparkle with wit and a rebellious streak that concerns his parents from time to time.

Canus desperately wants attention, good or bad, and will make quite a bit of trouble to get it. He even met a girl from the poorer suburbs of the Capitol and took her out for a few dates, just to drive his parents crazy when they discovered he was slumming it. The girl was really interesting and opened his eyes to the world outside his privileged class to a limited extent. Canus didn’t know it, but his father used some of his connections and influence to have the girl’s family transferred to a new position, so they moved away. Canus was confused for a day or two when she didn’t contact him, but moved on pretty quickly.

Canus is very bad at noticing things unless they directly pertain to himself. He enjoys helping less fortunate Capitol residents by correcting their grammar and speech, and doesn’t seem to notice that this either offends or upsets some people. He’s just being helpful and educating them on their shortcomings.

Despite his arrogance and self-adoration, Canus is a brave and loyal friend. He will stand up for what he believes is right, especially if doing so gets him much wanted attention. He would never want to do anything truly criminal, he would just look so terrible in a prison jumpsuit! And the only truly ‘criminal’ act would be to lock him away from his soon to be adoring public.

Canus wants to be famous - a rock star, and luckily he has a fair bit of talent as a singer. His parents hate the idea with a passion, and that makes it all the more appealing right now. He dreams of singing songs that are played right before the screening of the annual Hunger Games. That would be something even his parents couldn’t ignore.

Canus’ family haven’t been among the elite of the Capitol for long. His maternal grandparents rose out of the middle classes and fought ruthlessly to make a pathway for their children into higher society. His mother married an up and coming man that solidified her gains. His parents have worked extremely hard to hold onto that stature; scratched a lot of backs and greased a lot more palms to keep their relatively high station. Canus’ parents both work as bureaucrats in government, but he isn’t totally sure what it is they do, it is all very boring to him.

Canus’ parents secretly didn’t want Canus. They already had two perfect children, a boy Artus, and a girl, Erinyes. Pregnancy really didn’t suit Mrs Estuarian, making her feel terribly fat. It also prevented her from working and forwarding her career as much as she would like to, because who would want to socialise with a big fat, pregnant woman? They’ve never told Canus that he was unwanted, but have never had any time or patience for him. Canus was raised by the servants and just as for his siblings, no expense was spared on the best schools, tutors, elocution lessons and holidays.

Of all the special extra-curricula activities, Canus really excelled at music. He liked that when he sang his parents paid attention to him, even if only briefly and for the attention it got them showing him off at parties. Of course, that wasn’t enough for Canus and he had to milk it for more attention, forming a band with a few less affluent young people from the Capitol. His parents dislike the atrocious noise that comes from Canus’ music room these days, but they hope he’ll outgrow it soon and take a stronger interest in making more influential friends.

Canus is in with the popular crowd at school, riding on the coattails of his parent’s influence. He has casually dated a few girls, and even a boy on one occasion, but nothing too serious. He isn’t interested in relationships that require him to focus on anyone other than himself. Besides, he’s young, there’s plenty of time to find someone acceptable to Mother and Father to take into society.