~~~Note: My apologies for Tenken for not getting this up sooner. *n.n~~~

Hugo Morgan

Physical Description:
Standing at a mere 2.5 inches, Hugo is among the smallest adult mice in the colony. Once upon a time, the guard fur on his back, flanks, limbs, and head was a uniform shade of mahogany brown, but age has given it silver streaks and highlights. His once coal-black headfur is now silver shot with black. Only the creamy tan fur of his belly and throat seem to have escaped the effects of the aging process. Intelligent gray-green eyes gaze out at you from behind a pair of square-lensed wireframe glasses reminiscent of those worn by Benjamin Franklin. Somewhat eccentric in his manner of dress, Hugo is usually seen in a long tunic cut in a medieval style which is gathered at the waist by a black leather belt. He may or may not be wearing a charcoal gray hooded robe over the tunic. Hugo only dons his robes of office for Council meetings.

Personality:
Hugo has three priorities in life: colony, family, and friends. To him, the safety and security of his family is predicated upon the security and survival of the colony. His devotion to duty and the colony means that he is something of a zealot, but neither he nor his family see this as a bad thing. (To be fair, it *has* caused its share of problems at home, but Hugo is the sort who does his best to do right by his family.) This zealous attitude has, on more than one occasion, resulted in Hugo doing things that he wouldn't even consider thinking about under normal situations. As a politician, he is respected as a principled mouse of his word, even if some might call his attitudes towards the sewer rats wishy-washy (and only if Hugo's critics wish to be kind). He loathes--and is in turn loathed by--Patricia Maple and does everything in his power to thwart her...unless, of course, a situation arises which requires their cooperation.

One of Hugo's biggest quirks (some would call it a flaw) is his absolute insistence on punctuality. More than once, he has refused to admit those who scheduled a meeting or appointment with him and showed up a few minutes late. Not even his family is exempt from this rule. To Hugo, time is the most precious commodity any of them have and it is absolutely *NOT* to be wasted. The mouse regularly correlates the clocks and watches in his possession with the official human time as broadcast by the Fairhaven region's NPR network. (Note: If you're ever late with anything involving Hugo, don't even waste your breath trying to tell him that his watch is off.)

Hugo's obsession with not wasting time has carried over into his speech habits, meaning that he's not one to mince words or leave his meaning in doubt. The adjectives that best describe him are: frank, blunt, and rude (or some combination thereof). Oddly enough, this can be one of his more endearing qualities, as everyone can appreciate a straight talker. Hugo has little patience for verbose or poetic individuals and is therefore as likely to tell them to shut up and get to the point as he is to simply walk away and pay them no further attention.

More rodents Hugo has little patience for are imbeciles and fools. His reaction to them is generally the same as to verbose or poetic individuals. However, this disdain only applies to adults. The rising generation is cut plenty of slack because they are young and foolishness is both expected and allowable in youngsters. (But only your average everyday foolishness. Outright stupidity, such as trying to find some rats to harass on a dare, or playing chicken with cars or heavy machinery in the junk yard is unforgivably dumb in Hugo's mind.)

While Hugo may appear a crotchety and cantankerous old coot on the outside, those who get to know him discover a rather likable fellow with a good sense of humor.

Hugo's opinions of humans and of NIMH are...confused. Even after all these years, he is still not sure what to think about his experiences there. It is therefore understandable that he doesn't talk about much relating to those years. The only exception to this general rule is the night of the Escape. He is more than willing to tell anyone who'll listen about the Escape, and makes a special effort to portray the Rats of NIMH as heroes for aiding the mice in the breakout. (In fact, his attitude towards those rats is one factor that has tempered his views towards the sewer rats. Foolish as it might sound, Hugo views the sewer rats as the descendants of the brothers and sisters of the Rats of NIMH.) Understandably, he was overjoyed to meet the Rats of Thorn Valley and hear that they, too, had prospered since the Escape. Hugo is all for opening lines of communication and trade between the colonies.

Hugo's chief recreational passions are reading and playing the piano. Hugo reads to expand his knowledge and understanding. As such, he knows quite a bit about subjects as varied as the evolution of the German language (and even some German, though he can't imagine where or why he'd get the chance to speak it), the human religion known as Mormonism, American history, and eastern philosophy (to name just a few categories). While certainly no piano virtuoso, he's a competent musician who plays any piece that doesn't seem out of his league and has a melody he enjoys.