Juniper Fang

Juniper Fang is a character created by Shyanne Firefox, member of The Sonic Factory.

She's an Apprentice in an army known as the NMTF (Ninja Military Task Force). Gifted with potenial and strength, Juniper wel choosen to become one of the "Guardians" of Seqouia Gardens. Juniper had been trained in the advanced style of Ninjutsu.

Appearance
Because she is a mix of a Cocker Spaniel and a German Shepherd, Juniper's facial attributes are very unique in both appearance and development. Her father's facial genes proved dominant in the developmental process, so her fur color and markings (not just in the face but the entire body) are that of a German Shepherd. About the only thing that stands out are her ears, for they are same as her mother's Cocker Spaniel genes. However, because they are the same color as her hair, her ears often blend in with it so it's not much noticeable by the naked eye. The markings on her face include: small black patches around both of her eyes; a small dot-like beauty mark on her left cheek; and her muzzle covered in black and brown gradient fur. The rest is a mix of tan and golden brown fur. Her eyes are a lilac shade, particularly shiny when hit by a direct light source. The shine creates a unique luminosity that is often mistaken for an aura-like glow. Her nose is of the same size of a German Shepherd and it too has a shiny, yet glistening, appearance due to its natural moisten state and is of the same color of the fur around her muzzle only instead of a gradient mixture of brown and black her nose is simply a solid black color. Her hair also has a shiny coat to it, often worn out rather than tied together or wrapped up. Her bangs, however, differ from the rest of her strands because every other few strands are colored in a bright red shade, a style that she adapted on her own.

As stated before, Juniper's fur colors are the same as a German Shepherd's with her entire back and sides coated solid black as well as the back of her neck. Her back side, or her rear, has a single wide black strip that travels all the way down to the end of her tail. Her underbelly is a lighter shade of brown as well as her inner thighs and arms. The back side of her tail is a darker golden brown, presumably the same shade of her face. Both the palms of her hands and the bottom of her feet are, again, solid black while her legs and front arms remain a neutral golden brown color. Juniper is considerably short for a breed of her stature, making, added with her weight, her body type appear pudgy. However her body is much fitter than it appears to be due to her years for training and exercise. Her legs are especially fit because they are thick, which makes her leg attacks stronger than her fists. Also her hips are visibly wide and somewhat think, but her waist is significantly curvy and a bit concave. Her bust completes her package, being that they are big and full from which she inherited from her mother.

Her everyday attire usually consists of a blue green, sleeveless, cotton threaded, turtle neck sweater and matching knee length, pleather boots. She doesn't wear any pants, shorts or skirts, but the sweater is long enough to cover her hips. The sweater itself fits tight around her body, nicely hugging her curves and bust.

For her battle attire Juniper wears an all black body suit and matching, short heel boots. She wears a silk red ribbon around her waist and a small tan sack resting on her hips. The sack holds specially made shuriken stars which she uses in certain battle situations. On her forearms are special protection bands made of hard steel. She also wears a face mask that mainly covers her muzzle and a black hair band that holds her hair in a neat ponytail.

Personality
Juniper has been training and studying almost all her childhood life until reaching 16 years of age. She's always been a very bright girl, excelling through each of her classes from kindergarten to high school until she was finally able to test herself out and graduate at only 14 years old. In order to do this, Juniper had to spend all her free time studying and afterward she was only allowed to continue her training. Because of this, Juniper isn't much of a fun-filled girl. Her mind always remains serious, never being able to experience the fun side of life. Because of this, Juniper can seem naive to others involved in activity that doesn't require thinking and training. Yet, unknown to others, she does desire to life a fun-filled life despite the mission she set before herself. However she's always been too timid to ask for help fearing that she might appear dumb to her peers.

Since graduating and leaving her home, Juniper has been able to have some time to emerge herself in different activities of interest. One of which is reading romance novels. Juniper first found the love for them when, as a young girl, her mother would read her one chapter every night as a bedtime story. Through this, Juniper began to develop a "hopeless romantic" personality that she always kept from her father and sisters fearing that they might disapprove of her new hobby. Now that she was able to read them on her own Juniper always carries around several different books to read whenever she gets a chance. However, she still keeps this side of her to herself.

Juniper is always prepared for battle no matter what situation comes her way. Her years of training have given her a survival mentality which comes to her aid constantly through her journey across the planet. Being that she's a serious minded solider, Juniper never shows any signs of weakness or surrender during any battle. Once her mind is set on a mission she instantly becomes determined to complete it, even if it means sacrificing her own well being and safety. However, she never risks the safety of others. Should a situation arise that would mean the demise of the victim, Juniper would instantly find an alternate solution in keeping him/her alive and her opponent injured or temporarily immobilized. Her IQ plays a role in her battle tactics as well. Never will she rush into combat without analyzing any and all outcomes to all her strategies, after which she chooses the one that will better rectify the situation. Miscalculations can happen, but that doesn't deter her from righting the wrong.

Early Years
Juniper Fang was born on June 1 in a semi-small village known as Sequoia Gardens, which is located deep within the Forbidden Forest. She is the second oldest daughter to Heather and Jonquil, a descendant of a ninja tribe that existed long ago as guardians of Sequoia Gardens. Their oldest daughter, Jasmine, was only a year old when Juniper came along, but they created a strong bond from the very beginning. Two years later twins Angelica and Camellia were last born of the family pack. Again, from the start, Juniper and Jasmine bonded with their younger sisters.

By the time Juniper turned five, Jonquil began teaching her and Jasmine the art of Ninjutsu, a skill that all first and second children of the village were to be taught and trained by their parents in order to protect their home from invaders. Those that should remarkable strength, potential and progress where to be placed in a special training course that further heightens the skills of the student and prepare them for a much bigger role that he or she will take on in the future. Since Jonquil's father was a soldier in the NMTF, Juniper was easily accepted after eying her progress in their private daily trainings. From there it was nothing but praises for the family. Juniper began to show signs of brilliance in school and she was only in kindergarten. Heather and Jonquil knew that the gods have blessed them with a remarkable child. However, these revelations soon began to strain the bond between her and Jasmine and jealousy started to tear the sisters apart. Juniper never got a chance to spend time or play with her sisters or any of the kids because of the training, and mother and father spend most of their time on Juniper and less on Jasmine and the twins. ===Testing Out of School === In elementary school Juniper remained in the same grade as she peers in an attempt not to isolate her, but the work that her teachers gave her were often curriculum more advanced than work given to her peers. Because of this Juniper had to add studying to her already cramped schedule along side with the advance training she was receiving at the temple. Jasmine would always hear from her everyone around her how smart and talented Juniper was. This talked caused more and more jealousy to grow inside Jasmine's heart.

By the time Juniper graduated from elementary school and moved into junior high teachers began to encourage her to test out of high school and graduate years before everyone. Of course the elders at the temple passed this information along to the school teachers in order to have Juniper more intensely involved in her training. Juniper was reluctant at first, but her parents persuaded her to do so. Finally Juniper took the test and was able to graduate out of high school at the age of 13. Once that happened Juniper was then able to put all her focus on training at the temple.

Sisterly Bond Broken
In elementary school Juniper remained in the same grade as she peers in an attempt not to isolate her, but the work that her teachers gave her were often curriculum more advanced than work given to her peers. Because of this Juniper had to add studying to her already cramped schedule along side with the advance training she was receiving at the temple. Jasmine would always hear from her everyone around her how smart and talented Juniper was. This talked caused more and more jealousy to grow inside Jasmine's heart.

By the time Juniper graduated from elementary school and moved into junior high teachers began to encourage her to test out of high school and graduate years before everyone. Of course the elders at the temple passed this information along to the school teachers in order to have Juniper more intensely involved in her training. Juniper was reluctant at first, but her parents persuaded her to do so. Finally Juniper took the test and was able to graduate out of high school at the age of 13. Once that happened Juniper was then able to put all her focus on training at the temple.

Invastion and Abduction
Three years have passed and Juniper has since completed her training and has achieved the title of "Apprentice", a rank that is equivalent to a Private in the military. She was soon beginning her long journey down the path of becoming a full "Guardian", which is a rank equivalent to a General in the military. Juniper's responsibility as an "Apprentice" is to guard the main entrance and protect the city from any all potential threats. There haven't been any outbreaks of wars since her grandfather was alive and that was fifty years ago. However, that changed when a familiar face stepped into the city one day. The bulky Golden tabby Tiger challenged Juniper and during a fierce battle, released a ravage pack of rogue wolves to pillage the town. Everyone fought long and hard and were able repel some of the oncoming attacks, but not all. The results of the battle left a large number of casualties and destroyed homes and buildings. However, the greatest loss was the kidnapping of Jasmine. During all the confusion of the battle, one of the wolves managed to invade the Fang's home and take Jasmine as she tried to protect her younger sisters. The kidnapper never touched the twins and was only after Jasmine. The fight between Juniper and the invading Tiger ended in a tie and he quickly took off once he learned that the intended target was taken.

Upon hearing that Jasmine was taken Juniper immediately took off to find her, but her Commander stopped her. The Commander, a tall and robust Jack Rabbit named Iris, urged her not to go off on her own. "It's dangerous out there…you don't know what they have planned", she warned her. But Juniper, longing to fix the broken relationship between her and Jasmine, was determined take action no matter what the cost. "Forgive me, Commander, but I cannot sit back wait knowing that my sister is out there with those…I mean…who knows what they might do to her!" she cried back. Iris took Juniper to her home and comforted her.

Iris understood the position Juniper was willing to take for her family, and so she felt that before this solider goes off on her mission, as the Commander, she must arm her with information critical to obtain success.

"You are new to this unit, so you must know the history behind our enemy. This is not the first time we've encountered them. In fact…they once invaded our home fifty years ago…when your grandfather, General Sage Fang, was alive. He served as a valuable solider for many years and has tackled many foes along the way…but he never thought that he'd be up against a close comrade…"

Iris told Juniper the story of the city's first "Great War" and all about the foe that she was about to take on. She learned a lot about his history, as well as the history of her grandfather…more than her father was willing to tell her. Once she gathered this information, Juniper took a few days to prepare for the long journey ahead. Iris gave her a map of where the burly Tiger hides out. It was in a mountain way on the other side of world, but that didn't stop Juniper's desire to save her sister. She gathered her things and set off to rescue Jasmine and bring her back home.

Kunai
One of the main weapons the Juniper uses. While the main purpose for them is to throw at her enemies, Juniper often likes to use is as a dagger.

Shuriken Stars
Throwing ninja stars the Juniper uses when an close combat strategy fails. They are sliver and made of pure steel with five sharp points on each end.

Advanced Fighting Style - Ninjustu
Trained from the tender age of five, Juniper's main source of attack and defense is the advanced style of Ninjutsu. Because she was ordained by the military's Commanding General, Juniper's knowledge in the art serves a greater purpose for her town and its citizens. Unlike civilians, Juniper works under the hierarchy of the NMTF - an army of ninjas that vow to serve and protect their land from any and all predators - as the rank of Private. Her main duty is guarding the main entrance to Sequoia Gardens. Similar to boot camp, Juniper still continues to train under her battalion's company commander, Sergeant Iris Nubs. This higher level of training will one day prepare her for the true test of honor - becoming 'Guardian' of the Sacred Gardens.

Juniper is highly skilled in the basic skills and abilities as well as above average in the more advanced techniques. However, Juniper has yet to discover her true strengths and abilities, and because she has left her home to go on a personal mission to save her sister, Jasmine, having no one with her to train and help heighten her skills serves as a disadvantage to her. Yet, this strong willed solider will continue to train hard everyday, and maybe she'll discover her skills on her own.