Anipaths
General
Anipaths are a type of telepath who can talk to animals & some plants but can’t telepathically talk to humans. They cannot read minds, plant ideas or launch mental attacks. They can, in some cases, with strong anipaths, learn to “see” through the eyes of other animals.
Anipaths powers are always on.
Language
Anipaths accept the name for their powers grudgingly, not seeing a better alternative. Some people have nicknamed them "Doolittles" (for "Dr. Doolittle") which is also unevenly embraced. Some find it cute, others find it insulting.
Powers
Weak anipaths often find they can only talk to one or two types of animals with any real ability. Average anipaths can usually talk to many different types of animals but are more “fluent” & more comfortable with certain species over others. Strong anipaths can talk to most all animals & even some plants.
Animals an anipath is used to talking to become easier to talk to over time, allowing them to use less energy & talk more.
Strange animals that an anipath doesn’t have practice talking to are harder for them & take more energy.
“Seeing” through an animal is very hard & energy intensive & is a power usually only strong anipaths have. For the few anipaths who can do it, “seeing” allows them to see what an animal sees. They can usually only link to an animal they’ve bonded with. They can’t hear & they can’t smell but they can see what the animal sees as well as talk to them. In some rare cases very strong anipaths can "see" through more than one animal at a time.
While "seeing" an anipath is in a meditative trance & completely unaware of their immediate surroundings.
Anipaths can tell right away whether an animal is a "natural" or an "artificial". Artificial animals, basically robots in animal form, are a dead giveaway to anipaths, even weak ones, almost instantly. Since they're not "natural" anipaths can't communicate with them.
Anipaths can also tell right away if an animal is magical, under the influence of magic, or a form taken by another para, pretty much right away.
Weaknesses & Limitations
Weak anipaths are often limited to one or two species they can talk to. The more familiar the animal, the easier they are to talk to, in general. Animals who wear certain types of collars can't be talked to. Anipaths are affected by silver, lead, aluminum & tin. Collars made of these materials will keep all but the strongest anipaths from communicating with an animal. Also, if an animal is in a cage, room or enclosure made of these materials, communication is mostly impossible.
An anipath can't make an animal do what they want an animal to do. They can ask. They can order. They can try & boss. But the animal is still a free agent in a philosophical sense & may choose not to do an anipath's bidding. Anipaths aren't magic users, therefore, they can't control animals with a spell.
Many para powers are limited by energy use & require rebound times. Anipaths are less affected in this regard than most. Talking to animals they are familiar with takes up little energy & rebound times are very fast, so that, it may seem to an outsider that an anipath has no rebound period at all. Talking to exotic animals or animals that are strange to them can be energy consuming & require a longer rebound time. Most anipaths run a surplus energy-wise using their powers & fully recharge when they sleep at night.
Anipaths can communicate with animals being communicated with by other magical beings (like vampyres or nosferatu) but their "voices" are often drowned out by others, unless they are very strong anipaths.
Anipaths can only talk to living animals, not dead ones.
Lifestyle
Anipaths are often vegetarians, if not out & out vegans. Only a very small number of anipaths actually eat meat. Anipaths are often very strong animal rights proponents, as well. They often get upset with people who wear fur & treat animals badly.
Many zoos, veterinarians, animal breeders & animal control services look to hire anipaths for their abilities.
For obvious reasons, many anipaths own a lot of animals.
Many anipaths are pantheists religously, seeing Nature & the Universe as God. Many others are Wiccan. Some don't declare a religion & simply label themselves as "spiritual". Others believe their gift is a sign they've been "touched by God".
Legal
Unlike some paras, anipaths don't have much in the way of legal issues surrounding them. It'd be illegal for an anipath to use their powers to encourage an animal attack on a person but proving that an anipath did this would be extremely hard. It could be done using paranormal means but the acceptability of paranormal evidence in a court of law is still very questionable.
As for talking to animals in general, there's no law that prevents it, so, anipaths are an example of a rare para with little in the way of legal issues.
Side Effects
Some anipaths become better friends with the animals they talk to than the humans in their lives, withdrawing from human contact & spending more time with animals.
Other Paras
Anipaths are able to communicate with werebeings & shapeshifters in animal form but it's always a tricky thing & not something weak anipaths appear able to do. The stronger the better seems to be the rule in these communications but even then there always seem to be complications. Distance can be an issue, as can be contact. Eye-to-eye contact or physical contact can help establish a stronger more sure connection but even then communications often fade in & out like a bad cellular phone connection.
Anipaths are protected from most mind reading & mind control powers due to their abilities. Telepaths, generally can't read them & vampyres generally can't hypnotize them, for instance.
Copyright 2012, M.R. McCaffery. All rights reserved.
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