River Hsu Jianhong

Previously River Chien-hung Lavigne now, variously River Hsu or Hsu Jianhong. Twice-abducted middle child trying to find his way in the world. He mostly introduces himself as 'Jianhong' these days, but still responds to River and will use it where it seems advantageous/appropriate

• 5'11'', reasonably fit, has a regular gym routine
• Black hair, not long quite enough to be floppy, often carelessly styled
• Dark brown eyes; expressive and often give away his feelings
• Casual dresser, usually in jeans, lots of t-shirts, sweaters, and sweatshirts
• Always wearing a pendant made of white-green jade, carved with an image of the vermillion bird, tied around his neck with a red string. Usually tucked under his shirt, it's a protective charm that repels fire
• His Zodiac mark is light brown, about 2 inches in size, and located across his ribs on the left side of his body. When in proximity to another Zodiac it feels like it is pulsing

• Earnest and empathetic
• Prone to anxiety but masks well
• Talkative and usually easygoing
• Sensitive and observant but will often act like he didn't pick up on something that he noticed to allow others to save face
• Very deliberately chooses to see the good in people and situations; does not want to allow betrayal to define his life
• Thus, an optimist, though a clear-eyed and practical one
• A natural mediator— always wants to help resolve conflict and clear the air, even when it's like stepping into a minefield
• Wants to forge his own identity, outside of the Lavignes, outside of the gods, on his own terms
• Despite this, very bad at prioritizing his own needs and wants; used to playing second (third, fourth…) fiddle and tiptoeing around other people's feelings. He's aware of this and kind of working on it, whenever something else isn't on fire, but it is not, shockingly, a priority
• Has a strong pack instinct and therefore very invested in the well-being of his family and fellow Zodiacs; protective
• Generally interested in people and likes to learn about them and make friends; willing to give most people a chance
• Will often give way to keep the peace but there are things he will not compromise on, and he's actually quite steely beneath all the good-natured, affable smiling
• Can be quite intense when focused
• Rarely raises his voice; difficult to get a rise out of, will continue to engage genially if someone tries to fight him :)
• On the grey ace spectrum but fairly laissez faire about sex
• Works in geoscience at the Observatory but very lazy about it; uses his magic for most of it, not career oriented
• Not actively disdainful of humans like some of his family; simply considers himself separate from them and doesn't pay them much attention unless he has to; does not believe they should be killed just for being human
• While he was brought up as a follower of the Vermilion Bird, he is no longer devout, nor practices any type of worship

• A dilang ( 地狼) or earth wolf
• Has a wolf form, larger than a regular wolf, thick reddish-brown fur, yellow eyes, with an earthshaking howl that reverberates, and unusually tough skin. Has all the senses and attributes of a large canine in terms of scent, hearing, jaw strength, etc, and retains some level of control over his earth powers. Can dig really fast!
• Earth powers— can manipulate rock, dirt, sediment, etc
• Geomagnetic sensitivity, always knows which way is north
• Bilingual

• Abducted from his birth family by Jared Lavigne as an infant
• Magically abducted from the Lavignes a second time as part of the Zodiac summoning around three years of age, but was retrieved fairly quickly; grew up with the narrative that he was heroically rescued from (incompetent) villains
• Other than the (second) kidnapping, his childhood was as unremarkable as it could be in the Lavigne family until the sudden of disappearance of his older brother, Lycus (now Lorne Key), when he was ten
• Everything was a little off-kilter after that, a huge shift in his childish worldview, and he became convinced that it was his responsibility to try to keep the family together, at least until Lycus came back
• Lycus never came back
• River poured his energy into being the family moodmaker, mediator, doing his best to appease everyone and keep them happy so they wouldn't leave too
• It didn't work for long; Ruby started drifting away, their mom was always busy, but at least he always had dad and Revi
• Then, the summer when he was sixteen, in Taipei with mom, he started digging around in an old family archive out of boredom and discovered the pieces of something that felt too heavy to hold when he started putting them together
• Lycus. Not adopted, stolen. Abducted. The way River had been when he was two. Except dad didn't rescue him — he was the one that did it
• Distressed and in tears, he went to Leah for reassurance that the conclusion he'd come to couldn't possibly be right. She confirmed that it was, and his world crumbled a second time
• Not only was it right, but mom knew — and if she knew, did she help? No, she said, she hadn't know until Lycus left. But then… What about River? The other adopted son?
• Leah didn't know; she suspected, but she didn't know. But they could find out. She promised to help him find out
• It took a year. Ruby left for college. River didn't know how to look at dad anymore, and Revi was so happy — she didn't need that burden
• The night River found out for sure, it was just him and dad at home. A terse phone call from mom in Taipei; she'd been able to find his birth family, but there wasn't much information: a news article about their missing infant and a double obituary from not too long ago, some kind of accident; River's head filled with static
• When he confronted Jared, he didn't even seem surprised, calm in the face of River's tears and shouting. They were irresponsible, he said of the parents River would never know, they would never have taken care of you properly and haven't I done that? Hasn't your life been easy?
• River never spoke to him willingly again
• He tried to keep up appearances for Revi, but he was adrift, no one to talk to about the crater of his life as he knew it; Leah was away in Taiwan and Ruby never picked up the phone for more than a minute or two if at all and he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to tell her anyway
• In the midst of standardized testing and college applications, a way forward slowly coalesced; in college he would no longer be a Lavigne; he would be a Hsu
• It was imperfect, he couldn't hold his mother entirely blameless, but at least she'd helped him. At least she told him the truth when she asked. At least he would no longer carry the name of the man who had ripped him away from the life he could have — should have — had
• Always a good student, he went to school in NYC, where he had cousin to spend time with. He dithered around a bit before settling into geoscience, a discipline that came to him naturally, magically, and let him settle his mind as he came to terms of what his life would be like now
• There he met his long-lost cousin, Aren Lavigne, also a Zodiac, which gave River, now going by his Chinese name Jianhong, a new avenue for his need for pack ties — a new family, not to replace the one that had been shattered, but perhaps to supplement it
• Moved to Boulder, CO for his MSc, which he mostly pursued for the job opportunities it opened up to him; there he had the time and space to really settle himself into his new reality, without the complication of family proximity
• Still went home for school breaks and holidays, but mainly for Revi
• Sometime during this period, Leah fell out of contact with her children
• Worked as an entry level field geologist throughout his masters and stuck with it afterward, until Revi told him she was in Avior, with not only Ruby but Lorne, formerly Lycus. Since cousins Aren and Remy were also there, and there were geoscience positions open at the Observatory, there was no reason for him not to pack up and join them

• Jared Lavigne: 'Adoptive' father, estranged; River has extremely complicated feelings about his father. He idolized him growing up and they were fairly close but the revelation that Jared abducted him from his birth family was a betrayal of a magnitude he's still working on recovering from
• Leah Hsu: Adoptive mother; gave her a good deal more grace than his father since she was unaware and helped him look for the truth about himself; he took her family name when he dropped “Lavigne” in college but has not heard from her lately
• Lorne Key: Eldest brother, got along well before Lorne left the family when River was ten; no contact from him since then until River came to Avior. Doesn't pester him in person but sends him weekly letters to try to reconnect
• Ruby Hsu: Elder sister; drifted apart after she left for college, gently but persistently trying to repair their bond
• Reverie Lavigne: Youngest sister; sibling he is closest too; very protective of her and has not told her about the circumstances of his entry into the Lavigne family
• Remy Lavigne: Cousin; on good terms, though River doesn't entirely approve of all his activities
• Aren Lavigne: Cousin and fellow Zodiac; on good terms though River is slowly trying to detach him from the Vannguards