[hider=Cailean Aoki][CENTER][img]https://i.imgur.com/rx6J1nA.png[/img]

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[i]"I always knew monsters were real!"[/i]
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[sub][color=8bbbad]Cailean Hinata Breòthach Aoki[/color]

[color=8bbbad]Half Elf, Half Halfling[/color]  [b]|[/b]  [color=8bbbad]They/Them[/color]   [b]|[/b]   [color=8bbbad]34[/color]   [b]|[/b]   [color=8bbbad]Japanese-Scottish[/color]  [b]|[/b]   [color=8bbbad]4’5”[/color]  [b]|[/b]   [color=8bbbad]74lbs[/color]     
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[color=8bbbad]Self-discovery[/color]
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[color=8bbbad]Skills & Talents[/color][/sub]
[i]"You’re telling me yous don’t know how to catch a sea serpent? Sit down, this is gonna take a while."[/i]
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[sub][color=8bbbad][b]Elvish Upbringing  ⫻[/b][/color] From a young age, Cailean was reading whatever books they could get their hands on while being taught about science, maths, herbology and everything else their mum thought would be useful. From her they got their academic intelligence and thirst for knowledge. They’re smart and quick witted (though it doesn’t always show), with a specialisation in chemistry and physics which they did their degree in. 

[color=8bbbad][b]Halfling Upbringing  ⫻[/b][/color] From their dad, Cailean learned the more ‘mundane’ and simple way of living. Cooking, cleaning, and surviving in whatever conditions. Their dad was an amazing cook, and while Cailean isn’t as talented they did learn from him. He taught them how to be self-sufficient, helping them in their journeys, but also perhaps more important: how to tell a story. While they can’t integrate with other people like he tried to teach them, they’re a great story teller.

[color=8bbbad][b]Monster Hunter  ⫻[/b][/color] Cailean always knew monsters were real, and has been training since a young age to capture them. They’re physically fit from climbing up as many munros as they could back in Scotland, they’ve mastered hiding in bushes, and they’ve taken enough blurry pictures of rocks that totally look like monsters to know they’ll be able to snap the real deal. Plus, they’re confident in their seduction skills.

[color=8bbbad][b]Trilingual  ⫻[/b][/color] Cailean grew up in a multicultural household, and their parents ensured they learned both of their mother tongues. Cailean’s first language is English, but they speak Scottish Gaelic and Japanese fluently. They’ve picked up a smattering of other languages while travelling.
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[/cell][cell][sub][b] [color=8bbbad]Appearance[/color][/b][/sub]
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[i]"Y’know what they say about people with big feet."[/i]

[indent]Cailean stands out, at a height that’s too short for most races but too tall for gnomes and halflings. Their androgyny only adds to the confusion. They don’t quite fit into any box- courtesy of their lack of attachment to any gender, and their mixed parents. Cailean’s body is relatively flat, slim and hairless, the main area where they take after their mum. On the other hand, their wider face and proportionally large, annoyingly hairy feet are from their dad. They’re an expressive person, the variety of emotions they get shown clear as day on their face.

Subtly pointed ears are often hidden under thick, dark waves. They’ve let their hair grow incredibly long- because fuck human gender norms- with it falling down past their ass. How they style it depends on the day. Left loose, twin braids, simple updos or more fancier styles their mum taught them… But it’s well maintained. A point of pride instilled in them by their elvish mother. They have a flat button nose, with one nostril pierced, and thick lips often painted with some soft lipstick. Their round, hooded eyes vary from a glowing amber-brown in the sun to a darker, duller brown in the shade. Their skin is a cooler brown tone and well looked after. They have some nasty scars on their upper legs, and one on their upper back near their spine.

The way Cailean dresses varies depending on how they feel. Most typically they favour shirts in varying colours- from more subdued dress shirts to bright Hawaiian ones. These are often tucked into slacks. They like to keep the top few buttons undone, sometimes going further and undoing enough for there to be a risk of flashing that’s not viewed as acceptable for someone afab. But they don’t care- one thing both parents raised them with was confidence in their body. Sometimes they’ll wear dresses and appear more feminine, other times they’ll lean even more into masculinity. They often wear a variety of chains around their neck and wrists, and rings to match. They have various tattoos up their arms and onto their hands. They’re always found wearing platform boots- frequently four inches or above to try and make themselves a more ‘normal’ height. Thanks to their oversized feet, they don’t even have to wear kids shoes!
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[/cell][/row][/table][sub][b] [color=8bbbad]Psychology[/color][/b][/sub]
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[i]"See, I’m travelling to relax right now, so I ain’t looking to get into the deep shit."[/i]

[INDENT][color=8bbbad][b]MAIN GOAL  ⫻[/b] [/color] Cailean wants to discover themself. They feel like they don’t belong anywhere. They want to try and find a balance between their two cultures so that they can authentically be themself. Because right now they feel disconnected from both, when really they’re both at once. They want to accept and find themselves. Then, they’ll be able to figure out what they want from life. And one day, they’d like to find love just like their parents.

[color=8bbbad][b]PHILOSOPHY  ⫻[/b] [/color] Cailean believes in freedom, and that people shouldn’t be forced to conform just because of societal expectations. They grew up with parents who embodied it- who loved each other even if it wasn’t accepted. Not everyone fits in a box, and that’s ok. While they struggle to always follow this for themselves, they do truly believe it.

[color=8bbbad][b]SECRETS AND FEARS ⫻[/b][/color] Cailean hides that the confidence in themselves that they project is false. They struggle with being outside of the norm even when they say to fuck that. But they refuse to tell anyone, especially their parents, just how much they feel like they don’t fit in anywhere- and all the negative feelings they view themselves with.

Cailean fears never finding a place they belong, or a community. They fear always being in this state of drifting. They fear being trapped, and have claustrophobia. Past experiences have led to a fear of violence from those bigger than them (which is everyone), though this isn’t always obvious by the way they push at people and act confident. 

[color=8bbbad][b]SEXUALITY  ⫻[/b][/color] Queer. Cailean doesn’t really bother defining their sexuality, just like they struggle to define themself. They’re attracted to all sorts of people (and more beyond that) and no label feels like it fits. They’re a flirt, absolutely down for a bit of fun, but unable to hold down a long term relationship. After all, the one time they did it went bad… 

[color=8bbbad][b]WHAT WAS THE FIRST DAY WITH MAGIC LIKE?  ⫻ [/b][/color] 

[color=8bbbad][b]FLAWS  ⫻[/b][/color] Cailean covers up their insecurities with an overconfidence that can come across as arrogance, and lead to them making impulsive, poorly thought through decisions to prove a point. They’re quick to react to perceived slights, expecting to be discriminated against or questioned because of their parentage. Instead of letting things go, they’ll push back or snap. At the same time they can be quite flighty, running away from [i]their[/i] problems rather than facing them head on. They struggle to form proper attachments because everytime they have it’s ended up bring them pain. Cailean is someone who expects to be hurt, and pushes people away as a result. They can also be a [i]lot[/i]. Cailean is energetic bordering on erratic, loud and often brash. While they’re bright and friendly with a lot of love to give, they don’t really have the best people skills. They’re a master at accidentally saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
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[sub][color=8bbbad][b] Backstory[/b][/color][/sub]
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[i]"Nowhere’s ever felt like home like my parent’s place. Maybe cause things are low enough for me to reach ‘em."[/i]

[indent]Cailean was born to an unusual union, to parents who defied all expectations with their love.

Her mum, Sìne Breòthach, was from a small settlement of elves that had lived in the Western Isles of Scotland for as long as memory went back. They were a relatively insular community with little interaction with outsiders beyond what was necessary. They kept touch with their roots and the world around them, protecting secrets that could change the world as they knew it. But that didn’t mean people didn’t leave the community. Knowledge was just as important, and what they knew would stagnate without external influence. Sìne was one of the elves that left- obtained a degree, then masters, then PHD before she returned home.

Her dad, Reo Aoki, was from a community of halflings that left their European homelands and ended up in Japan thousands of years ago. They were a tight knit community, intertwined with the human population in a small town. Like all halflings, he left his home for a story finding pilgrimage when he turned of age. Eventually, he found himself in Scotland.

It was here that he met Sìne. Their connection was instant. Reo extended his stay as the two started dating, and very quickly fell in love. After only a few months he proposed to her. But the union of a halfling and elf wasn’t easily accepted- especially not by the elves in Sìne’s community. She was given an ultimatum: leave him, or leave the commune and never return.

She chose Reo. The two moved to Glasgow together, where she got a job as a lecturer at the university while he worked part time in a bakery while looking after the home. His family were much more supportive. They just demanded stories and a visit or two.

Almost five years later, after a long period spent trying, they welcomed their only child: Cailean. Luckily for them, their parents were set on a specific gender neutral name before they even knew the gender of their child. This meant even though they were born a girl, it was easy for them to make their preferences known from early teenhood.

Cailean grew up in a happy, if unconventional, home. It was always full of warmth: with their parents’ love saturating everything. Everything was filled with love, from the way their dad raised them to his home cooking to the after work lessons with their mum. 

It was more difficult in school. They were less mature than their human peers, and didn’t fit in with elves or halflings. They felt like an outsider. And as they got older, the bullying started, only isolating them further.

It was difficult to not resent their parents. After all, it was their fault Cailean was this way. It resulted in them acting out as they went into their teen years, pushing the two people who’d always loved them away. For a few years they were miserable.

But it got better. Their parents, after so much time worrying, managed to get through to them. They made a few friends in the last years of senior school. Then, they took a gap year afterwards. Time just spent enjoying themselves and pursuing hobbies, encouraged by their parents. Time where they could mature… not that they did much, when one of their hobbies was ‘monster hunting’ (unfortunately, they couldn’t find Nessie). 

Finally, at twenty Cailean did what was expected of them. They went to university. Even with their identity struggles, their grades never dropped. Not with their mum’s constant, gentle tutoring. They got a masters in chemical physics, then got a boring but well paying job.

In their late twenties, they met a man they thought was the love of their life. He breathed joy back into their life where there’d been mundanity. Ruairidh, an elf a good forty years older than them. But that didn’t matter. Social conventions hadn’t stopped their parents, had it? For the first year things were good. Then, when they moved in together, the abuse started. Emotional, first, then physical. They became a shell of themself as they were torn down again and again. It took almost two years for them to get out.

And there they were, in the thirties and moving back in with their parents. All those feelings of their childhood came back. That they didn’t belong anywhere. They were just following a path they felt they should: going to university, getting a job, trying to settle down. They felt detached, and started to slip back into how they’d been as a teenager. Withdrawing. They didn’t know who they were anymore… but had they ever really known? They’d always struggled to accept themself, even if the years they felt loved, but it only got worse.

They felt like they were between two worlds they didn’t fit into. Their mum encouraged them to go back into academics, maybe get a PhD. Their dad thought they should take a break, connect with their community and help him at home. They felt even more stifled in their life and by all the expectations.

They still found solace at home and with the parents that loved them, but what about their own life? What did they do with it? It was their dad that noticed it… and realised they needed a change and to experience new things. A way to figure out what they wanted. After all, they had time. So he encouraged them to do what he did- the Halfling pilgrimage. Explore the world, and find interesting things. Maybe even themself. 

So they did. For the last two years they’ve travelled the world using money saved up from the years of work. They visited their dad’s side of the family in Japan and went all around Asia. Then, Africa, and finally they ended up in America. In this time they’ve started to go back to the them before their relationship. Still uncertain, still not belonging, but someone who loved the world and [i]wanted[/i] to be a part of it.

That was how they came to Twin Pines three weeks ago. They were following stories of a massive serpent that spewed fire that inhabited the lake. So far, they haven’t found it. Instead they’ve gotten a strange letter - and some magic of their own.
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[sub][color=8bbbad][b] Magic[/b][/color][/sub]
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[i]"This sure is one way to stay grounded."[/i]

[indent][color=8bbbad][b]MAGIC ⫻[/b][/color] Terramancy. Manipulation of rock, earth and the metals within them. 

[color=8bbbad][b]MAGIC DESCRIPTION  ⫻[/b][/color]
[indent]Cailean’s terramancy comes from their connection with the earth and world around them, something both parents instilled in them. They can manipulate the earth around them, or rocks in the area. They’re still figuring out their budding powers, and only have two named spells.

[color=8bbbad][b]Rock Throw  ⫻[/b][/color] Cailean launches a nearby rock, or something else made of earth, towards a specific target. They can control and throw something up to about 30kg, but only in a straight line and up to 30 feet away. The larger it is the slower it’ll be.

[color=8bbbad][b]Mud Wall  ⫻[/b][/color] Using more energy, Cailean pulls up a wall made out of the ground in front of them. This is wide enough to cover two of them, but it’s only directly in front of them. It doesn’t cover the sides or the back and takes concentration to keep up.

There are many things Cailean doesn’t know about their magic yet. One is that they, with enough practice, will have access to metal manipulation too- and the ability to create it from earth. But they haven’t even considered this aspect, as they’re still working with the earth manipulation aspect… honestly they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing with any of it.
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[color=8bbbad][b]LIMITS  ⫻[/b][/color]
[indent] Cailean needs to be connected with the ground to use the majority of their magic. While they can still control rocks they had on them if they were on a higher floor in a building, they wouldn’t have access to many other spells. And their magic is weaker the higher up they are. 

They can’t create earth from nothing. It has to exist, and thus they can manipulate it. [/indent]

[color=8bbbad][b]WEAKNESSES  ⫻[/b][/color] 
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[sub][color=8bbbad][b] Other[/b][/color][/sub]
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[i]"There isn’t a monster in the lake? Aye right, I’ve heard that before… I ain’t letting you fool me."[/i]

[indent]Even though they’re in their thirties, Cailean really has the maturity of someone in their late twenties because of funky elf / halfling aging.
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