Leonard

History
Leonard never knew his mother as a child, he grew up with his father and his uncle in western Maryland. His father was Harold Marcus, kinfolk to the Children of Gaia, he spent a year in a romantic fling with another kin named Julianne Pomeroy. A few months into the relationship Julianne got with child, they spent the pregnancy together, but whenever Harold asked her to marry him she gentle dodged the issue. He was born in summer, with Luna's faced turned away. Julianne dies in child birth, leaving Harold a single father at a young age. With no other family to turn to he turned to her brother Gavin Marcus to help raise and support the child. Gavin Marcus was a garou, Wind-Singer a galliard of the Children of Gaia. Leonard was kin in the tribe's eyes. Through his whole childhood Gavin acted as a second father to the young boy, teaching him things especially the music, that as a galliard, he loved so much.

Leonard attended school when he was old enough, but his teachers always had trouble with him. From the very beginning he was an instigator and class clown. He would make a fool of himself just for the benefit of a few laughs. He would never listen fully to his teachers, and in fact the more they tried to keep him under control the worse he got. He was never nasty to his teachers, in fact if anyone ever suffered from his pranks it was himself. At the age of eight he finally got into trouble. In an effort to balance on a stack of chairs in some effort to amuse his classmates he ended up taking a tumble, smacking his head on the floor. He was rushed to the hospital with a concussion. He woke with the twin glares of his father and uncle on him, it was then they decided, the boy needed at least some discipline.

It was then that his uncle began teaching him of the heritage he had as a kin to the Garou. He was raised as one of a few lucky kin who were allowed to know the nature of their family. But in the way of the Children of Gaia, no one found this odd, it simply was. He was given the privilage of going to the sept with his uncle, meeting his extended family. His pranks at school slowed, instead they became directed at his new family, who took it all in stride. Instead of berating the young child for his antics the elder tried focusing him, helping him put his energy into more productive things. He was taught to use his mind and energy as a tool. They would give him tasks, and no matter how onerous or boring he always took it with a smile and turned it into a game. There were no few whispers that maybe he had bred true and his nature as a new moon might be showing through.

It wasn't long before the garou saw how right, and how very wrong they were. He developed friendships with other kinfolk in the tribe as well, but he had one good friend Kyle Harper. The two were close in age and ended up hanging out together, close as brothers. When they were both sixteen, walking back to Leonard's home from the movies. It was a small town they lived in, and relatively safe, but it still had it's scum. Before either boy could react two thugs burst from an alley. One pinned Leonard to the wall, the other held a knife pointed at Kyle. Demanding the boys' money, the threatened violence. Leonard was willing to comply, but something overtook his friend. He never knew weather it was self preservation or a desire to protect his friend but rage over took Kyle. In a matter of moments he slew the two criminals, and in his frenzy turned on Leonard. In his own show of self defense his own first change overtook him, he fought and barely defeated his friend, only his own clear mind and quicker reflexes allowing him to come out on top. He picked up his friend, barely concious and bleeding, tossing supporting him with his shoulder and walked the rest of the way back home.

Returning home he explained to his father and uncle what had happened in a weary voice, before his own exhaustion overtook him. He woke the next morning to the sound of voices in the house, going to the living room he was ushered into a seat next to Kyle. The sept's elder was there, along with Kyle's parents and of course his own family. Apperantly the excitement of not only one but two new cubs had started a bit of a revel in the sept. When they felt up to it the two boys were taken to the caern. Their training began in earnest, the two both being raised as kin allowed for certain lessons to be bypassed with only a bit of further expounding. They were taught mostly in combat and in umbral matters as the histories and lores had already been ground into them.

Leonard continued to show his tendancies as a generally likable guy. He was adept at diffusing situations merely by listening and offering smiles and words in just the right places. More than a few Garou seemed amazed he wasn't a Philodox, but his almost omnipresent good mood and his general goofiness kept the others from too much wondering. It was a full turning of a year before they were granted the privilage of a Rite of Passage. A nearby sept was sending a pair of their own cubs on a mission to slay a bane that had shaked up in an old warehouse in the city. The elder of the sept worked out a deal with the elder of the other to accept Leonard and Kyle along for the task. The only problem was, the other sept was a sept of Get known for a more warrior outlook. They were told the fight wasn't their rite of passage, the ability to work with a difficult group was.

The four cubs met on neutral ground, and almost instantly sparks flew. Kyle and a full moon by the name of Colin seemed to take an instant dislike to each other. The other cub was a theurge named Bridgit, who seemed of a calmer sort. Leonard simply sat back and laughed at the fight, Kyle was used to his friend, and knew what the laughter was all about. Colin just seemed to get more enraged by the display. After a while Kyle just tried to gather everyone together, getting them to focus on the task at hand. They came up with thier plan easily enough, only one bane, if a large one made tactics simple. Kyle and Colin were to approach from the front and Bridgit and Leonard were to sneak around and take the Wyrm creature from behind.

Once it began, everything worked smoothly, the other three just giving in to Colin's ego and letting him take charge. Their attack was sudden and swift, the group only taking a minor beating before the bane fell to their claws, but what they found afterward seemed to surprise them the most. A corpse of a lone Garou from the Get sept who had died trying to take on the bane was still there. Colin pulled a dagger off the corpse, a fetish dagger. They all agreed it should be returned along with the warrior's body.

Returning back to the sept of the Get, the four cubs told of their battle to both of the elders, and presented them the dagger. Upon returning to their own sept, they were granted cliath rank. Leonard was granted the name Laughs-at-Stars, as the elder explained for even in something as simple as stars, he'd find something to laugh at, and of course, he laughed. He spent a few more weeks with his sept, but finally went to the elder and told him of his intent to leave. He needed to strike out on his own for a bit, and find his place in the world. With his elder's blessings he set out, no destination in mind. But something pulled him south, and so south he went.