Travis Nicholas Forest
Travis Nicholas Forest is a man who wears his years like a badge—lined face, steady eyes, and a presence that carries both warmth and gravity. He is known throughout Camp Hope as a patient teacher, a calm voice, and a stalwart advocate for the Others when so many view them with suspicion or contempt. His words are deliberate, measured, and always paired with steady eye contact; when Travis speaks, people feel seen. There is a grandfatherly comfort in his demeanor, but behind it rests a keen, ever-working intelligence that measures every move, always three steps ahead.
His distrust of centralized authority has deep roots. To Travis, power pooled in institutions almost always means cruelty for those who can’t defend themselves—especially non-humans. He has no patience for those who call sacrificing Others “practical” or for those who treat the Cog Scouts as little more than free labor. In his eyes, survival without ethics is not survival at all, but a hollow echo of what humanity is meant to be.
Travis has a soft spot for the young and resourceful. Children and Others alike find in him a mentor who respects their ideas and ingenuity. He has a rare gift for teaching, breaking down complex mechanics with simple analogies, turning gears, pistons, and circuits into stories that make sense even to the inexperienced. More than a mechanic, he’s also a mimic—able to model human behavior in ways that help Others learn how to navigate suspicion and prejudice.
Authority without empathy is just tyranny with better paperwork.
When he works, he hums old English folk tunes under his breath, often adjusting his glasses even when they sit perfectly fine. In his pocket, he keeps a worn compass token engraved with the emblem of the Cog Scouts. He rubs it absently whenever nerves or memory take hold—a small ritual that anchors him in the present while reminding him of the friend he once failed to protect. That failure has never left him, shaping the man he became.
Travis treats Others as equals, speaking to them with respect and patience, never condescension. With skeptical humans, his warmth hardens into steel; he will not compromise on his belief that compassion and inclusion are humanity’s true compass. To him, every Cog Scout is family, every child an inheritor of hope, every Other a being deserving of belonging. But his devotion has its cost. He takes too much onto his shoulders, refusing to share burdens, and his tendency toward secrecy—honed from years of smuggling Others to safety—sometimes cuts him off from the help he badly needs.
Travis Nicholas Forest is a quiet defender, a mentor, and a man who sees survival as meaningless without compassion. He carries the memory of failure, but also the determination to ensure no one else under his care will be abandoned again.
I’ve seen survival without compassion. It looks a lot like death with the lights left on.
Comments