At 5'6", Sam is far from intimidating in height, but what he lacks in stature, he makes up for in athleticism. He has no other workout routine but for running whenever he feels like it, which comes to be a lot, lending him a lean and muscled frame. And his face doesn't take away from the appeal of his body, to say the least; his tanned skin, handsome jawline, dark eyes, and other attractive features set him apart as notably good-looking, which draws him plenty of attention at school as a "mysterious bad boy" type.

His hair is dark brown, to his shoulders, and left completely unkempt, untouched after rolling out of bed. It's probably only as long as it is due to his not caring enough to get it cut. He wears ragged jeans with frequent holes in the knees, whatever shirts, plaid or leather jackets, and sweaters he can scrounge at thrift stores, and worn, black sneakers. His only accessories are sunglasses and leather wristbands. He's almost always in long sleeves, no matter the weather, due to wanting to hide the scars up his forearms.




Sam's quiet is often mistaken for shyness, especially considering his expression looking quite innocent by default, but once someone actually manages to get a response out of him, that's quickly cleared up. The few words he speaks are most often harsh and icy, and sometimes in such a tone of complete apathy it's unnerving. Most of the time, Sam doesn't seem to have a care in the world - and not in a good way.

There are few things he appears to enjoy, but making things difficult for other people seems to be one of them. Whether it's a classmate, a teacher, the school counselor, or his father, Sam takes some sadistic enjoyment out of watching others get stressed, particularly when he's the cause. Similarly, he seems to find fun in the destruction of almost anything he can get his hands on.

On the occasions his apathy wanes away, he's not much better off. He has an intense hatred for himself he tries his best not to dwell on, because once his train of thought is derailed into self-loathing, his mind becomes a wreck. This can include episodes of self-harm, incoherent rambling, catatonic states, or acting violently against anything and anyone in his vicinity.

Despite all of his troublemaking and hatred for people, Sam may not be completely heartless. He was a very sweet and compassionate boy once - whether that compassion is still at all intact remains to be seen.



Running: Though not quite at a level that could be called parkour, Sam is an excellent runner, scaling both distances and obstacles at a swift and near unrelenting pace when he really gets going.

Fighting: Sam has enough experience in fistfights to know both how to throw a punch and how to avoid one.

Outwitting: He's smarter than his grades at school give him credit for - or perhaps "wise" and "clever" are more accurate words for his type of intelligence. Sam seems to carry a maturity beyond his years, and with it, he can usually think on a different level than others his age. He's also very resourceful and quick-thinking, particularly when it comes to makeshift weapons.


Mental instability: Most notably, Sam is more or less off his rocker. Less so on some days, more so on others, and the clarity of his thoughts can change at any moment. His mood can also be volatile in this way. His disorganized thinking makes a negative impact on his schoolwork, his mood, and his mental health.

Willpower: Namely, the lack thereof. Most of the time, Sam is both very lazy and very, very apathetic. He seldom feels inclined to lift a finger even if the well-being of others or himself is threatened.

Physical frailty: Though one would never guess from his athletic ability, Sam grew up rather sickly and this still hasn't completely left him. He falls ill easily and generally feels fatigued a lot, which used to prompt him to miss a lot of school, but nowadays he endures it more often than not.

Pyrophobic: Due to a traumatic incident when he was 14, Sam has a great fear of fire and can hardly stand being in the same room with so much as a lit lighter.


     

As a child, Sam was sweet and kind, if not a little nervous and shy. He always felt very thankful for the friends he had because of his particularly weak immune system causing him to miss school a lot. On the days he spent sick at home, he always at least had his Imaginary, Cadriel, who took after him in compassion and was modeled after his fondness for birds. His life at home was not a typical or easy one, though, his mother having died before he could even remember her, and his father blaming him for their poverty, since Sam's doctor visits and medicines were near constant drains on the household income. His time with his friends exploring the Otherworld let him escape from thinking about his unhappy home environment and poor health.

By junior high, however, the Otherworld wasn't enough anymore. He began to hang out with a different group than the one he went to the Otherworld with, and as such, he spent less and less time there, and gradually more time out making trouble. There was one night, however, that this trouble took a turn for the worst, when his group had broken into an abandoned factory building. As a cruel prank, the group ditched Sam while inside, leaving him lost deep inside the ruined structure. It being late at night, it was too dark for him to find his way out easily, and unbeknownst to all of them, a fire had started - soon, nearly the whole building was ablaze. None of Sam's new 'friends' went back for him or called for help. He narrowly made it out on his own, and not unscathed, marred with burns down his back.

He blamed everyone in his life for not helping that night - his old friends, the new ones who had left him, and his Imaginary. But on some level, Sam also felt the whole thing was his own fault, for leaving his old friends, for going out late to make trouble, for trusting the group that had betrayed him. Since then, his distrust and hatred for people, combined with his father's verbal abuse at home, has rotted his mind and heart. He's lost all interest in talking to people or making friends, and his father doesn't have the money to pay for any form of therapy - the most he has is the school counselor, who already sees Sam as a lost cause. As a senior in high school now, he sees his own future as a lost cause, too. The Otherworld is the last thing on his mind.

Or at least, it was, before it began haunting him in his few hours of sleep.