Member
Name: Azura Smoke
Nickname: None, although she doesn't care if anyone gives her one.
Age: 17
Race: Human
Appearance: Standing at roughly 5'7" of lean muscle, Azura isn't the friendliest-looking person at the academy. Her expression tends to be fixed in a bit of a scowl, although she maintains that it's just the way her face happens to sit if anyone asks. Her clothes and weapon make it fairly obvious that she isn't exactly rich, being fairly shabby in general. The other sign of her difficult upbringing is a long, jagged scar that runs down her neck from the bottom of her right ear. Anyone who's oblivious enough to mention that one isn't likely to get in her good books, though.
Personality: Azura is the type of person that tries to take the burdens of the whole world on her shoulders instead of realying on anyone else. She has difficulty with showing any kind of weakness or vulnerability to others - as far as she's concerned, trusting someone only gives them more ways to betray you in the end. While this might come off as paranoid, the truth is that she's just scared people will leave her alone if she isn't good or strong enough - mostly coming from her past experiences.
She can come off as fairly cold on first impressions, and is a little detached, but underneath it all she has fire in her belly. In fact, the girl has a surprisingly short fuse, and there are a few things which are very likely to make her angry. People who seem to have had it easy, for example - depending on their attitude - will find it much easier to make her mad. She tries to keep a lid on her temper, but this just makes her anger more cold and menacing than yelling or lashing out probably would be. Not that she's averse to a little bit of a fight, should she reach that point.
In terms of her morals, she's quite flexible, more so than most. After all, she knows better than anyone that sometimes people break the law to survive. In battle, it certainly shines through, and she's not averse to using dirty tricks if it means she'll come out on top. In part because of her training, Azura has a ruthless streak a mile wide, and a little bit of a bloodthirsty one on top of that. She loves fighting, but has to try very hard not to get carried away, as she's very aware of what could happen if she did.
History: The oldest of four siblings, she grew up in one of the worse areas of Vale, and had to do it pretty fast. While she was an only child for a fair while, life quickly changed once her mother gave birth to triplets. The new siblings were welcomed in, but quickly started to cost more than the Smoke family could afford. It would be fair to say that she didn't have the most stable upbringing as a result, with her parents basically unprepared to care for the family they'd ended up with and barely earning enough to keep them fed, let alone any kind of luxury.
Her parents appeared to dote on the triplets like nothing else. It would be fair to say that Azura was pushed into the background of any event, any family meeting, any conversation. She became something of an afterthought, to tell the truth. Certainly the least favourite child, and the one who would take the blame whenever there were issues - whether they were anything to do with her or not. She quickly learned never to ask for help, for fear of yet another scolding or reminder that she was a burden.
In her frustration, she started to try and find work wherever she could, but was too young to get any legitimate jobs. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, a local gang leader found her wandering the streets looking for work. The man was named Sterling, and he told her he'd be happy to make sure she was provided for and helped on one condition. He would teach her how to fight, and she'd take part in his underground fighting ring for people to bet on.
Once she'd agreed to her employment, she never had a moment to rest, to relax. Every waking second was spent training, improving, fighting - and without the rules and regulations that might have been present in an official academy. Sneak attacks, dirty tricks and no-holds-barred matches resulting in injury or worse were common.
All of this certainly showed in her prowess once she finally entered the ring, quickly becoming a respected fighter at her young age. What she lacked in pure power, she made up for through her mindset. She'd been trained to go straight for the jugular, so to speak. The girl who'd started off shaky and afraid had become quick, deadly and utterly ruthless. Sterling couldn't have been more pleased with his pet project, but when one of the routine fights was busted by a few hunters, he was fast to abandon her.
Taken under arrest, Azura's skill and young age were noted, and a proposal was given to her. Either face the penalties for her illegal activities, or join the academy and put her skills to use and help other people for a change. It didn't take her long to make a decision.
Weapon: A Naginata with a white blade, which shifts into a rifle when necessary. When the weapon is in its melee form, shots can be fired from the bottom of the pole if she wants to use the recoil for movement of herself or her weapon. Technically, she can also shoot this way, but it's completely inaccurate and she's unlikely to hit anything except at point-blank range. The weapon is noticeably marked and scuffed in several places, and it's clear to see that it's not particularly new or polished, but as long as it works properly she couldn't care less.
Semblance: Aura Transfer - Her semblance allows her to transfer aura between herself and others. On the one hand, this allows her to heal others' aura by channelling her own into them, although it does drain her own by just as much as she heals theirs, making it inefficient to use inside battle without putting herself at risk. The other function is that it allows her to drain Aura from others, although at the moment she needs to be within a very short range of them to do so, i.e locked in close-combat. It's also much slower to drain someone else than it is to give them her aura.
While it might seem like a no-brainer for her to be using this semblance constantly to wear down her opponents and heal herself, it really isn't that simple. The problem she faces with draining aura is that it can cause her to 'overload' - essentially taking in more aura than her body can handle. While doing so gives her a boost in power, it causes her to essentially shut down any kind of restraint. With her ruthless tendencies, it's likely that she will go overboard if fighting someone in this state, and the prospect scares her. As such, it seems to have made her afraid to actually use her semblance in battle.
Dust: She doesn't use it, mostly because she could never get hold of the stuff.
Other: As a result of pretty much being neglected and then raised by criminals who didn't bother teaching her anything, Azura seriously struggles with reading and writing - although her nature leads her to try and hide the fact.
She's perfectly capable of fighting without a weapon if she has to.
