Name: Maralefe Copper(Called "Leaf" by her friends)
Age: Eighteen
Gender: Female
Race: Half-Bread (Her father was a Human, while her mother was a Fae)
Position and Trade: Maralefe is what many would call a street-rat. Most of her wages are earned by pick pocketing and theft. From time to time, she is hired by someone to commit petty crimes. She gladly accepts if the job pays. As long as the job doesn't require her to become a prostitute, she has no problem with deceiving people.
Appearance: Maralefe's skin is a good balance between pale and tan, with a small amount of freckles on her nose. Her arms and cheeks are only slightly more tanned than the rest of her body, due to exposure to the sun. She inherited her Fae Mother's pointed ears, thought they are not quite as long as full-blooded Faes'. From her father, she received dark brown hair that hangs a few inches past her breast. Maralefe's thin frame stands at about five feet and three inches tall, making her a rather small girl. Her face is normally a little bit dirt, since she doesn't sleep in a proper house, if any kind of shelter. She has a short,thin scar that slashes through the middle of her eyebrow. (
Very, very close visual representation, if it helps. )
Personality/Vices/Boons:- Maralefe is a strong-willed girl. There are very few things that can stop her from reaching her goal. On the negative side, she can often be blinded from reason by her determination to accomplish something.
- She has a tendency to rationalize everything she does, and would tell you that stealing isn't wrong because its the only way she can survive. Because of this, she doesn't always take responsibility for her actions
- Maralefe is genuinely terrified of swimming. She, quite literally, couldn't swim to save her life and she is completely fine with that. She will run from virtually any body of water that reaches past her waist. The only exception she will ever make to this is when she travels through the sewers, though she still never gets in the deep parts.
- Due to growing up in the slums, she has a very negative outlook on any kind of authority. This stretches from Royals, to Nobilities, to Military, and to simple Watchmen. Scholarly Intelligence and authority tend to intimidate her, since she lacks the ability to read.
- Maralefe's childhood, or lack thereof, has caused her to be very judgmental. She is generally cynical of everyone around her, and she tends to victimize herself in most situations.
- Despite her cynicism, once she trusts a person, she is often loyal to a fault. Akin to her rationalization of her own actions, she rationalizes the actions of her close-companions.
- Maralefe is deceptively fast and she can move through crowded areas with fleet feet. Living in decayed, ruined buildings in their slums helped her learn to be an excellent climber.
- While she is very fast, she is not very strong. If you can catch her, she can be overpowered without too much problem.
- Due to her parents and her outlasting from the orphanage, she struggles with abandonment and loyalty; meaning that she is scared of being left by her companions and she takes loyalty to them very seriously.
History:Maralefe was born to a Human named Gavin and a Fae named Eria. Gavin was an disgruntled ex-soldier that was on a constant rant against the army. While he spent time in the military, Gavin was a grunt soldier that ran when the King's word came. However, his leg was injured by a misfiring cannon, destroying some of the nerves and leaving with a permanent limp. His higher-ups cast him back to the streets of his city, taking no responsibility for the faulty cannon, giving him no compensation, no aid, and no kind of remorse for his injury.
He would often try to spread his negativity to people at the local taverns and brothels, but most people blew him off. The anger of people's spite, plus the often excruciating pain of his injury led him to take a liking for all kinds of alcohol. This repeated habit led him to develop a horrible case of alcoholism. He slowly spiraled down until he became known as a drunk and a slacker by most anyone that knew his name. On the rare occasions that held a job, he was eventually fired for constantly showing up either heavily hungover or completely drunk.
Despite his flaws, Eria still loved him. She knew off his experience as a soldier and she knew that he simply wanted to help people and make sure they didn't leave as harmed as he had. Having spent most of her younger years as an brothel-worker, she understood self-conflict. Most people in their part of the city knew her as a whore and a slut, despite her leaving that profession when she met Gavin. Due to the explicit and sometimes violent nature of her past, she carried both emotional and physical scars.
During her years working as a "lady of the night" she had multiple encounters where a client was too physical or violent, therefore she carried several permanent scars and bruises across her body. Emotionally, she had a deep desire to keep her daughter away from any kind of exposure to that life. Understanding that their poverty-stricken life could easily lead to Maralefe falling into the same situation, she always made sure to teach the young girl that she was beautiful and she was precious.
Eria's unfortunately permanent reputation lead to much negativity towards the two when they birthed Maralefe. People often mocked them, accusing Maralefe of being another man's child. Gavin's anger and frenzy grew violent at some times, and he eventually lashed out at a bar, striking down and killing a man. He was arrested for murder and died in prison from an infection.
While Eria and Maralefe were left to fend for themselves, Eria tried to teach Maralefe to be kind and loving, despite people's hatred. The woman worked as a seamstress, while her daughter slowly picked up the skills of a thief. During a particularly freezing winter, Eria fell sick from disease and died. She tried to send the five-year-old Maralefe to an orphanage before she died, but when she finally passed, the mistress of the orphanage quite literally threw her out into the streets.
Maralefe sat on the side filthy streets most days and begged for money. By the time she was ten, she'd found that she had a knack for slight-of-hand. She and her new friend, an orphan-boy named Tander, began small cons to trick people out of their money. These schemes ranged from grab-the-purse-and-go's, to Tander distracting a target while Maralefe lightened their coin bags.
As their schemes grew more and more elaborate and dangerous, they found themselves to be closely acquainted with the city Watchmen. Because of this, they had to get better at escaping an area. Naturally, they both became very fast runners, and very good climbers, able to navigate effortlessly through alleyways and tunnel systems. They felt like - though they were homeless, poor, and often hungry - they were doing just fine.
In their early teen years, Maralefe and
Tander slept in an old crevice under a bridge that had just enough room to fit two cots they'd recovered from a junk pile. When they were both old enough to understand their increasing maturity, they were far to close to regard each other like lovers. They were closer than any siblings could ever be. They balanced each other and kept each other in line.
When Maralefe and Tander, they tried to rob a man that, unbeknownst to them, was a Noble dignitary, things went wrong. The nearby bodyguards almost caught them. In a frenzy to escape, Maralefe stabbed the dignitary and killed him. Now set on killing them, the bodyguards chased them across the city. In an effort to save Maralefe, Tander turned to fight the bodyguards. He was killed without much effort, but gave her a fighting chance. Despite the sacrifice of her best friend, Maralefe was caught by the Watchmen that night, and thrown in a dungeon.
While she was in prison, the dignitary's body guards came to the cell and beat her within an inch of her life. Suffering two broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and the dislocation of her ankle, Maralefe's first three weeks in the prison were filled with pain. While the law allowed her the most basic of treatment from a physician, she was still treated like dirt.
She was released a year later, and allowed freedom. Her time in prison didn't sway her from her lifestyle, only persuaded her to be much more careful. She was still destroyed by the loss of her best friend. While she knew she couldn't avenge his death, the tragedy fueled her hatred for the government and the Watchmen.
About five months after her release, she was approached by a man who spoke of "An Employer" who was looking for someone with her skills. The man didn't give his name, nor the Employer's name, only instructions to meet in the hamlet of Roses, and the promise of fortune beyond her imagination. Maralefe found herself greatly burdened by the terrible memories of her friend's death, so she decided to leave the city for Rose, unsure of what might lie ahead.
Weapons/Equipment/Supplies:- A rusty old flintlock pistol that looks intimidating, but is too old to fire.
- A simple dagger, nothing special about it
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A dirty old leather jacket and a blue tunic.- A satchel with a water-skin, a spare shirt, and other provisions for traveling.
- An old leather build, with a loop to hold her flintlock under her jacket.
The Contract:Maralefe Copper's boots sank in the mud as she trailed down the dirt street. The streets of that particular slum in Asterwatch were rather empty at the time. The Watchmen usually waltzed through around this hour of the day. She turned a corner and moved towards a tall brick building, on the bottom floor of which was a pathetic old tavern that many men drank at after a long day's work.
The young girl entered the poor-excuse for a tavern and marched directly to the counter, sliding her way between a passed-out drunk and a sulking miner. Either men gave her a dirty look and scooted away, but made no objection. This passiveness was for one reason: the barkeep, a man that stood six-and-a-half feet tall named Sloan, was good friends with Maralefe. There were few rules in the pathetic slum, but one of them was, "Don't mess with Sloan's friends."
Presently, Maralefe knocked on the counter, drawing the massive man's attention. He turned and saw her, his eyebrows rose to the top of his bald head in surprise as she reached into her jacket and removed a small coin purse and set it on the table. "That was fast, Leaf, I'll give you that." He said, smiling through his bushy beard.
"I do my best." She responded. About half an hour earlier, Sloan had asked Maralefe to pick the purse of a man that had just left without paying for his multiple pints of ale. "I just cut the bastard's coat pocket and it fell right out." She muttered, matter-of-factly.
The man nodded with a slight smirk. He reached into the purse and flipped three gold coins onto the counter, which Maralefe took and deposited into the interior pocket of her leather jacket. "I appreciate it, Leaf." He said, turning and tending to his costumers.
The drunk that she'd thought was passed out lifted his head. "Aye, girl, you's got a slight hand, aye? Quick feet?" The drunk said, sounding completely sober now. To his inquiries, Maralefe nodded slightly, wary of the man's foul breath. "You need a job?" Another nod. "I got a... friend... who is lookin' for someone with your skill set." He said. "It'll pay you greatly. Maybe you've heard rumors drippin' round town, aye?"
To these the girl shook her head. The man picked up the tankard in front of him and took a sip, giving her an interested raise of his eyebrows. The miner beside them stood from his stool and Maralefe glanced him walking to another table occupied by several other men.
"Nice speaking to you." The once-drunk said, standing as well. "Those fellers is about to give you a hard time. You's fast, ain't you?" He said. Before he walked away, the stranger's hand dropped and he patted her on the rump. She flinched, her hand dropping to the knife hidden under the back off her jacket. When she looked back up, the man was gone. She felt a foreign object in her belt, beside her holstered knife. The stranger had slipped a piece of parchment into her belt.
Maralefe's eyes flicked to the miner and his friends, who were all looking directly at her. She swallowed, turning and casually walked through the tavern's door. As she walked out into the muddy street, she heard the door of the tavern open again. True to the stranger's words, the miner and his three friends came walking out of the building.
"Oi, copper!" He called. She slowed, turning to look at him. "You wanna tell us exactly what that bloke told you?" He continued walking forward, the fat man beside him matching his pace. She ignored them and continued walking. "Oi!" He shouted. "Copper!"
In a quick motion, she dug her boot into the mud and kicked it up into the miner's face. She turned and sprinted forward, sending the four men into a frenzy. "Get back here, ya whore!" He screamed.
Maralefe had already begun mapping out her escape route in her head. She ran down the nearest alleyway, the ominous sound of the Men's boots close behind her. She turned down another street and ducked into another alley. She glanced behind her and saw three of the four men, not including the fat man. She concluded that he must have fallen behind his less-obese companions.
At the end of the alley before her was a six-foot wooden fence, blocking the exit - that is, blocked it to most people. Maralefe but on a burst of speed, placed her foot on the brick wall beside her, pushed off, and jumped over the fence. She slid a few feet in the mud, coming up as fast she could. Her display of athleticism was completely thwarted however, as the fat man filled her vision, grabbing her by the coat. He wrapped one arm around her torso and pinned her arms down.
"Let go! Help-" Before she could finish her sentence, he shoved his large hand over her lips and clamped her mouth shut. She writhed violently against his iron grip, but he was much stronger than her. She brought her boot up behind her and made solid contact with the man's groin. He removed his hand from her lips and his hold around her loosened as he let out a pained cry.
Maralefe took this opportunity to slip from his arms and dash away, just in time as the other three man came running from the nearby street. She ducked into a passageway and quickly rerouted a route through the memorized layout of the area. She turned another corner into a wide alley, in the middle of which hung a long rope that was once a clothes line. She grabbed the rope, quickly walking herself up the wall and jumping into the window about fifteen feet off the ground.
The building she had escaped into had been abandoned for several months. Because of this, it gave her perfect cover from her pursuers. She pressed against the wall beside the window, peeking out just in time to see the miner and his friends dash by, the fat man still groaning in pain. She sighed, sliding to the floor.
Maralefe regained her breath, and then reached back to her belt. She pulled out the stranger's note and opened the folder paper. She felt a small smile pick at her lips as she saw that the paper wasn't a note, but rather a map. In the corner of a map was a tiny hamlet marked by an arrow, beside which was several words, the only one of which she could make out being "meet" She said, putting the paper away. She stood and made sure the coast was clear. She exited the building with haste in her steps. She now had a job to do.
