Name: Mara Harrington
Appearance:
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Occupation: Cafe waitress/assistant
Plant Essence: Lemon tree
Superpower: Mara's plant affinity, oddly enough, granted her electric powers. This is because lemons are high in electrolytes, and can be used as simple batteries. Since she's at a low level right now, she can only produce a weak charge, and she doesn't have great control; when she's particularly angry or afraid, she tends to spark accidentally. With practice, she'll be able to produce electricity at a higher voltage, and gain better control over it.
While shocks from external sources don't injure her, they do disrupt and weaken her power for a short time.
Personality: As you'd expect, Mara is more than a little sour. She's long since given up trying to please people, and doesn't suffer idiots well, responding with a glare and a snarky comment. She particularly dislikes people who brag about their abilities, and who act like they're better than others.
Grouchy as she is, that isn't to say she lacks energy. If something needs to be done, it's best to do it oneself. That and, instead of dwelling on problems, she prefers to either fix them or keep distracted. She advises others to do the same, albeit in a heavy handed way.
Although she claims to look out for herself first and foremost, on occasion her actions prove otherwise. If someone's being picked on, she won't just sit by. Anyone who can get past her cynical exterior will have a loyal friend, although her protectiveness can prove a good or bad thing depending who you ask.
Unknown to most, she has a soft spot for animals, and a passion for gardening. One of the few times she's completely relaxed is when she's tending to plants, especially fruit ones.
History: The youngest of three siblings, Mara was the only one who never developed an animal affinity. From a young age, her sister could breathe underwater like a fish, and her brother could grow bird wings at will. Mara did everything she could to connect with animals, from feeding birds to befriending stray cats, but years went by with no sign of her manifesting an ability.
Envying the praise her siblings received, she tried to earn the same appreciation, to no avail. She'd sell lemonade in the summer, homemade thanks to the family's fruit trees. She'd bake goods using homegrown produce. Yet, surrounded by talent as she was, it wasn't enough. It didn't help that her siblings bullied her relentlessly, and her parents didn't do a great deal about it. Eventually, she stopped trying to please others, since her efforts didn't work. Better to focus that effort on herself, and on living beings besides humans. Not just animals, but plants, since they couldn't judge at all. The fruit she harvested seemed like a thank you for caring for the trees and shrubs, which was more than what she got from anyone else.
She remained the only one seemngly not destined for greatness. Her brother went on to work in search and rescue, and her sister found a calling in marine conservation. Mara, meanwhile, struggled after moving out, and ended up with a low paying job in a cafe. At least it was a change from family life, but the inevitable reunions were stressful at the best of times.
It was during one such gathering that Mara's essence finally manifested. An argument broke out over dinner. Mara tried to rein in her anger to keep things from escalating, but they did, in an even worse way than she expected. Sparks flew around her, literally. The next thing she knew, a fire was spreading through the dining room. Luckily everyone got out in time, and the emergency services put out the fire before it could do extensive damage. Still, it wasn't exactly how Mara envisioned gaining a power, or what her family had hoped for.
Especially as it wasn't an animal essence. At first it seemed like an electric eel affinity, but there were hints that it wasn't. One was that her power wasn't necessarily touch-based. The other was, as well as the smell of ozone, using it left a distinctive zesty scent. It reminded her of a dream she'd had two weeks prior, that she'd brushed off as random wackiness - one where she'd watched lightning strike the ground, and a lemon tree spring up from the spot where it had hit. Considering her brother and sister had reported dreams hinting at their powers, was this just a coincidence?
The event Mara yearned for her entire life has left her in a difficult situation. Since plant essences were unheard of until now, she must turn to others like her for help. The problem being, any further control lapses won't mesh well with people who can summon vines, branches, and other flammable vegetation...
Miscellaneous: She's only known about her power for a month and a half.
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