Phylus is relatively smart -- but not necessarily in an intellectual sense, though he's not stupid. Instead, he has survival knowledge: he is good at surviving the worst, whether that be by ganging up on the enemy or climbing a tree, digging a hole, and waiting it out. He is also extremely good at working in groups, due to the nature of his groups' lusii -- the Meerkats. He is able to work well with other trolls to take on a common enemy in an almost mob-like fashion. In addition, he can make accurate maps of long distances, including tunnels and deserts, and is extremely good at climbing trees and cliffs to get a better vantage point. He does not have have any other significant abilities, but he is relatively physically fit and able to run far and go fast when needed. He's very agile and can run quickly -- though to get TO something or to get AWAY from something is up to chance.

Phylus is, by nature, a jumpy person. He's quick to jump onto something -- he'll bandwagon with a group readily, or take up a cause held by others -- but is also quick to jump away. It's not that he is a flaky person; instead, he considers himself intensely rational, with a healthy sense of self-preservation. Phylus is a troll that knows his limits; he knows that he is not the smartest troll, the highest blood caste, or the strongest one around. Instead, he is content to stay relatively in the middle of the road, and his way of dealing with conflict reflects that. He attempts to avoid conflict when possible, not because he's scared, but because he believes that that is the best way to keep himself (and others!) safe. However, he is not ashamed of being a troll and, like many traditional trolls, can easily take someone in a fight. He's just hesitant to do so unless it's for a very good reason -- such as protecting a dear friend or saving himself from peril. He is certainly not one to jump into something without having a good reason.

Instead of putting his interests into things that would make him a better part of troll society, Phylus throws himself into things that are good for him and his family, or he and his friends. He likes making things that help the group of trolls that he lives with and so his interest in cartography was born; he enjoys having a written record, and enjoys being able to look at a paper and know that what he's looking at is certain. For him, stability is paramount. And when he can't find stability by using his traditional coping mechanisms -- by attaching himself to a protective group or by hiding from his problems -- he almost falls apart. Being able to survive is extremely important to him, and Phylus is bad at developing new ways to survive on his own. He's lived for so long with other people to depend on and trust that he is extremely co-dependent. It's a bad coping mechanism (and he KNOWS it's a bad coping mechanism), but he can't help but attach to others when situations get tough, or when he needs to fight something and he believes it is much too strong for him. However when something's in his way and he knows he is stronger…well, all bets are off. Just as Meerkats may kill a family member if it is advantageous to them, so too would Phylus gladly take a risk or push someone out of the way, particularly when it pertains to his own survival or the survival of one of his good friends. Overall, he is a very sensible person, but if the time arises when he has to pick between himself and his friends or a complete stranger…well, he's not the most altruistic of trolls. It's a shame, but what can you do? A guy's got to look out for his group and himself primarily.

As for his reactions to troll culture, the hemospectrum primarily, Phylus does not particularly care one way or another. Being a greenblood allows him some measure of autonomy -- not as much as a highblood, of course, but enough that he is free to look after his own interests as well as the interests of his hivemates without much trouble. His lackadaisical attitude mostly results from the isolation that living on the outskirts of the desert has brought to him, as well as his "take care of yourself and don't meddle in the affairs of everyone stronger" mindset. While he would not hesitate to kill a lowblood or a highblood if he needed to, he isn't a murderer; and if someone asked him to meet up with a highblood and have a chat? He'd probably call them insane. Overall he would rather stay away from highbloods than associate with them, at least in person. Over Trollian he is provided a sense of security, or somewhat -- with text, he can hide and not feel threatened personally, sure that no one can find him. Even his quadrants are a bit like this initially -- Phylus, as a jumpy, slightly cautious person, is hesitant to even engage in romantic endeavors. It takes a very special person to interest him in any flushed or black solicitations -- and heaven forbid if you're remotely threatening. He knows that this inability to handle conflict makes him kind of a deficient troll, quadrants-wise…but he's not particularly up to the challenge of fixing that yet. After all, he has a few years, right? ….right?

After Phylus was chosen by a Meerkat lusus -- a somewhat small breed that would not provide him with much protection from the Alternian Wilderness -- he sought out the edge of the Alternian desert in which to make his home. What he found upon arriving was an already established hive colony of other greenbloods with Meerkat lusii. While initially distrusting, they quickly became close friends, looking after one another and taking after their Meerkat lusii in terms of protection. They would all gang up on any desert fauna that attempted to attack them, working in groups to distract and then kill the monsters, cooking them up to celebrate. Unfortunately, this developed an unhealthy level of obsession and codependency for several young trolls, something that an almost teal-blooded troll living nearby did not fail to notice. Being a lover of personal projects, she attempted to get the Meerkat clan to separate from one another and live independently, to varying degrees of success. Phylus was a partial success story; he took up cartography with great enthusiasm, though his fear of being ambushed while he didn't have his Meerkat troll clan around was great enough that he didn't stray too far from the hive. Nevertheless, he became adept at scuttling around the edge of the desert, making detailed maps of the nearby regions and the nearby hives of other trolls when he could find them. This interest eventually led him to start mapping the tunnels that he and his friends would make around their underground hives, as well, so that they could better learn to navigate. But although he struck out on his own occasionally, he was still quick to come back to the hive and reassure himself that everyone else was safe and sound.