Unflappable | Opinionated | Gregarious | Affectionate | Responsible | Loyal | Impulsive | Flirty Intimidating is one word often applied to Max, but the effect is primarily accidental. He possesses a physicality that the casual observer might classify as a threat, which he knows when to downplay or exaggerate when needed. He's managed to shake the military hallmarks in how he carries himself, preferring to present a relaxed exterior, body language seeking to invite people in rather than discourage them. Often, Max can be a bit full of himself, confident and charming, with a good helping of vanity. But he's a social creature, eager to meet new people and befriend them, figure out what makes them tick. But he knows people, and when he can get away with something and when he can't, so he adapts to whoever he's dealing with, so long as they're not getting nasty. His passion, besides making friends and charming people, is literature and media. He's a part-time Master's student in English Language and Literature, handled side by side with his day job as a paramedic. Here, he has found an intellectual passion that adds more to a potentially unsteady life as a werewolf. He's got a special interest in the concept of fairy tales, legends, and gothic stories, with monster movies falling neatly into that. At the root of who he is, however, is a man who favours non-confrontational tactics. His years with the Green Berets have taught him the importance of de-escalating and seeking peace and compromise before violence. However, in the same vein, when threatened, he has the capacity for tremendous violence, and he won't hold back when the reasons are right.

Max is physically fit and athletic, maintaining his needs as a werewolf to keep himself healthy and sane. He's conscious of how he lives, maintaining a healthy food intake, regular physical activity, and proper grooming. He often hears that he's handsome from his family and the many people he's flirted with and carries himself with the confident gait of a man who knows he's attractive. His thick dark brown hair is usually neat and cut short, but it gets unruly and wild when he's preoccupied. Another favourable feature is his bright blue eyes, proudly inherited from his mother. In his clothing choices, Max prefers simple and practical clothing, henleys in darker colours, various hard-wearing jeans, and sturdy jackets. With the constant risk of ripping them, he leans into cheap and easy shirts and trousers but tends to buy higher quality shoes and jackets. His one suit is only occasionally trotted out, and Max prefers to leave it on the hanger altogether. On an average day, he'll be wearing a simple henley, jeans, and jacket, no-frills, beyond his ever-present dog tags. He has a habit of rolling up his sleeves when at work. He's been a werewolf for a few years now, so he's used to preparing for the eventuality. Spare clothes in the trunk of his car, snacks for when he gets hungry, first aid kit just in case. When the full moon is due, he heads out to the forests if he can for a camping trip to avoid others of a non-wolf persuasion. His shape and size change when he shifts to the hybrid form, transforming into a massive, intimidating creature, all hulking muscles and digitigrade feet.

► His Boston accent is very mild, almost nonexistent sometimes, but it's slowly coming back since moving back to Massachusetts. ► Speaks Romanian, Norwegian, Arabic, and German fairly fluently, if with an obvious accent. ► Knows enough Farsi and Kurdish to have an elementary conversation and enough Russian to interrogate someone at a border crossing.

Born in Boston to parents of mixed Eastern European descent, Max grew up in South Boston, going exclusively by the nickname Yasha, derived from his middle name, throughout his childhood. He was a bright young kid, smart enough to be able to skip a few grades and graduate from high school early. He was also the first in the family to start and finish a Bachelor's degree, which he completed at UMass Boston, a stone's throw from home (Go, Beacons!) Max thrived during uni, gaining a solid friend-cum-study group, and although he had trouble getting taken seriously, both being and looking young, he made the most of it. His uni years are where he met most of his friends and acquaintances, knowing people from all walks of life, both former lovers and friends. After graduation, Max enlisted in the US Army. It was a choice made when he didn't know where to go when his friends moved away, went into busy careers, or even got married. A recruiter caught him in a moment of uncertainty and offered him a clear solution that was presented as an opportunity to travel, learn, and become something more than just a guy from Boston. He applied himself with gusto to his new role, getting through boot camp and getting a real taste of what waited for him in the next decade of his life. Almost as soon as he reached the rank of Private First Class, qualifying him for the SFAS programme, he pushed to get into the Special Forces. The tough training pushed him to his limit, but he found out he loved it, getting moulded into what USSOCOM needed. Becoming a Medical Sergeant, Max found he had a knack for patching people up in the most chaotic of situations. The majority of his time in the Special Forces was spent connected to EUCOM and operations in North Africa, linking in with local military and joining special operations. After more than five years working under USSOCOM, Max was sent on a NATO training operation in Norway to undergo training in winter conditions. In the cold north, he was separated from his squad and attacked by a feral werewolf. This would change his entire life. The attack cost him his left arm, and he would've bled out if he hadn't been found. The assumption was that a bear had attacked him, while Max's delirious tales of a hulking wolf passed off as his mind playing tricks on him. However, a few short days after the attack, when he'd stabilised, he was visited by a group of Norwegian soldiers, who knew what had happened and knew what was going to happen to him. Max did not believe their explanation that he would likely turn into a werewolf on the next full moon, a mere week away. Still, they had significant enough pull that they managed to keep Max where he was and delay reports of his injuries to his superiors. A week later, Max found his body transformed and his mind gone wild, corraled by the group of soldiers–werewolves themselves–and shown that the world would never be the same again. Waking up the day after, his left arm rapidly healing and repairing missing bone and muscle–a painful process Max is not eager to repeat–he realised the truth of it. He couldn't deny that he was unstable and dangerous unless he learnt how to control himself. Thus, Max found himself temporarily reassigned with the Norwegian special forces in the far north, operating on Russia's border. He joined the soldiers who had first introduced him to the world of werewolves, learning the Norwegians' tips and tricks while also sharing what he knew as a Green Beret. Eventually, after intense training and learning how being a werewolf worked, Max left Norway to return to his unit in the 10th special forces group. A superior office in USSOCOM was in the know, taking Max under his wing and covering for the few outbursts Max experienced as they tried to gain equilibrium. As a result, Max was primarily assigned to operations that did not have heavy combat involvement, but it didn't always go according to plan. During one such operation, things went FUBAR, and Max lost control. He blacked out, with no memory of what happened and the operation file wrapped up in red tape and confidentiality. In the aftermath, Max was a mess. He had to go through extensive psych evaluation and assessment, unstable and prone to bouts of anger. The army therapist he worked with worked intensely on changing Max's thinking that the death of his entire squad was his fault. The therapist assuming correctly that his bouts of anger were connected to the violence but incorrectly assumed that his taking the blame was survivor's guilt rather than hard facts. The result was a confused and uncertain mind whenever the incident comes up, Max clinging to the idea that it wasn't him to keep a tight grip on his control. The incident was the death knell for his military career, even if he was given the time and resources to pull himself back from the brink. With a PTSD diagnosis attached to his name, Max was honourably discharged in 2021, sending him back home to Boston and on the path of a new start. Moving back to Boston required some adjustment, but Max stayed on track. Through the help of the G.I. Bill and applying for scholarships, he enrolled at UMass Easthaven and got a job as a paramedic.