Since his mutilation, Hiravias has spent most of his time in Staelgar form, especially during his long exile and before he meets with the Watcher’s group. After that, it is something he does when he has some time to himself, to relax and find his bearing.
As someone who lead a nomadic life, the walls of Caed Nua are often suffocating for Hiravias. When their group returns for some much needed respite, he will often spend his time roaming the forested area around the Keep, both enjoying and guarding it.
He has a secret lair and has marked a territory for himself around it, with enough freshwater and ample game. It is hidden at the edge of the forest, far enough for anyone to reach on foot in less than a day, but close enough for him to bound to or from and within view of Caed Nua.
Although he dislikes water, he nevertheless bathes himself thoroughly when in Staelgar form. This results, in part, to the unique musk he smells of and often gets complained about.
He is an artist at heart - in full appreciation of nature, both its beauty and danger.
Apart from drawing and sketching, he is knowledgeable in several crafts. One of them is woodworking. He will be found, idly carving small figurines, trinkets, beads and knife handles, to pass the time.
That he is a skilled leatherworker, is hinted partly in canon, by the fact he crafted and embroidered his own eyepatch. He will often make needful articles from leather - such as pouches, belts and fasteners. He does the whole process himself, by selecting the animal with the right hide, skinning, curing, cutting, shaping and stitching. The final touch is decorating the item - which he does by sewing, carving or burning intricate tribal patterns on the surface.
As a result, he will often help his companions with cleaning, oiling and maintaining their leather armour, as well as staves, spears, knives, hatchets, bows and with fletching.
Another past-time of his is weaving straps of leather, cloth or straw into bracelets of elaborate knotwork, which he may then decorate with painted beads of his own make, carved from wood or bone. He wears several of them on his wrists.
He likes braiding hair as well, but will be too embarassed to admit or practice that.
His kiss is warm and deep and he will usually caress or hold onto his partner’s jaw and neck or thread his nails through their hair while kissing them.
During acts of intimacy, he will pepper his kisses with soft bites, which might get harder as passion peaks and his partner is up for it.
Henna is a natural pigment that fades over time. At certain regular intervals, Hiravias will maintain his tattoos, by boiling a small amount of henna in a special solvent and renew the markings using a long bone needle. It is an arduous process that he prefers doing in solitude. Although as time passes, he grows more comfortable in practicing this amidst the group.
He has a carefully maintained knife collection, with each knife having its own shape and use - for different types of skin, wood, bone or flesh. To practice his crafts, he also carries a small selection of wood and leatherworking tools, pigments and solutions. He makes his own pigments using natural materials.
Hiravias prefers loose, comfortable clothes with lots of pockets. He wears several, thin leather belts, decked with pouches, where he stores all his different tools and ingredients. Every item of clothing he wears is made by himself.
As a druid and healer, he will keep a sickle handy for when he needs to harvest herbs and other materials necessary for his potions, poultices and mixtures.
He tends to wounds using his hands and nails rather any form of implement - which is not to everyone’s liking. His bedside manner, however, is impeccable.
As a hunter, he is both gentle and respectful when he kills, especially weaker prey. His kill, he will often bring back to the camp or the keep, to skin, ration and share with the others.
He will refuse to eat or prepare any type of cooked meat - boiled, roasted or fried. And insist that everyone tries it raw at least once. However, he will happily help and offer advice with the seasoning, marinating and preparing of the meat.
Intoxication is considered a degrading state amongst Glanfathans - Hiravias will rarely drink and even then, always in moderation. Although he might be seen tripping, he never gets drunk.
Often, he will smoke whiteleaf in his own mixture of herbs. His pipe is stocky and handcarved from Thein bog wood. Yet, he will never smoke or trip on the eve of an important battle or during danger. Smoking and inhaling dried mushrooms is a social activity and he will sometimes prepare a pipe for his companions to share with him.
