artwork by  Bastika

I really enjoyed the original version of Karina as a white tiger that  KittyDee drew for me, but I just felt that I rushed the character a bit. I have several feline characters in the story already and even though a long, lean white tigress was something different, it just didn't feel as unique as I originally desired. While browsing through FA, I got the idea of a giraffe character and thought it would fit much better for who I wanted Karina to be.

And with that here she is! The new and likely final version of Karina. I'm going to add the story I wrote for her here next. The white tiger version of Karina (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/31575465/) will be moved to my scraps.

Friday nights at the hotel bar usually brought decent money and Karina was in need of it. After electing to quit volleyball in high school, she was able to keep an academic scholarship to her choice university, but unfortunately, it didn't cover all of her living expenses. Getting a bartending gig at a nearby hotel on the weekends was able to boost her finances, but it also took her out of her comfort zone.

Karina had always been an introvert. Growing up, she was bullied for her long and lean frame that towered over virtually everyone in her class, including the adults who were teaching them. By the time she entered high school, she was already 6 feet 10 inches tall, and some classmates joked that she had stilts under her pants. Unable to hide in the crowd, she was spotted by the volleyball coach who offered her a shot on the team without a second thought. She earned kudos and friends by using her height to play the sport but never had the heart for it. She continued getting taller until finally stopping at about 7 feet 4 inches prior to her senior year. Upon starting college, she hoped to get away from sports and focus on her studies and research.

Bartending isn't usually the first choice for someone who is as shy and reserved as she is. The only reason she got the job was because her roommate, a natural talker, also worked there and helped vouch for her. Being a chemistry major helped too as she demonstrated a knack as a mixologist. Weekends, however, would often bring a crowd and Karina would have to try to keep multiple guests engaged and hydrated. The bar would fill with already drunk patrons looking to continue their buzzes from a night of frivolous spending. It never failed that on her way in to work, some passerby would gawk or even approach her to ask if she was on the basketball team. Luckily, she was able to avoid most stares and annoying comments about her height due to the area behind the bar being sunken in and making her appear shorter.

She secretly hoped for a slow Friday. She was already exhausted from working on her fall research project all week and really just wanted some time to chill out. Maybe curl up with a good book or watch a movie with her roomie. She stood behind the bar, cleaning out the glassware, when she heard someone sit at the counter.

"Here we go," she said to herself.

Expecting to see a group coming in, she turned and saw a lone patron sitting at the bar reading a menu. She looked at him sitting there quietly and thought, "Oh my...he's kinda cute."

Karina Raffidae © dub-c aka me