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"I keep seeing death in my dreams,

it's like he wants me to get used to the sight of him..."

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NAME

Arianwen Bloodbane

AGE

25

FC

Isabella Peschardt

with metallic silver hair

SEXUALITY

Pansexual

FACTION

Werewolf

CLOTHING STYLE

Self-described as 'rugged' and 'badass', Arian dresses on the cutting edge of bad taste. Her favourite colours to wear are black, deep green, and silver, and metallic studs are often a part of her outfit. She either pairs busy statement pieces together or throws on whatever she found on the ground that morning, there's nothing in between. Arian just keeps adding accessories that she likes, even if they don't match each other in any way and end up cluttering the whole outfit. Arian loves jewelry and she loves to style her hair, and anything she loves goes on her body irrespective of whether it's 'fashionable'. She also likes to wear tank sleeves that show off her lovely muscular shoulders. Sometimes she'll wear heels just when she's fed up with being the shortest in any crowd of werewolves, but often stays barefoot for comfort. In the winter she's a big fan of furs, especially those made of her own kills.

PERSONALITY

Wild, even by the standards of her kind. She didn't merely run around barefoot as a child, but without a single article of clothing, laughing and dirty from spending the night in the branches of some tree. Arian does things her own way- yes, she does listen almost reverently to her alpha and the elders in her pack, but 'gathering kindling for the fire' can take her any time between 5 and 30 minutes depending on if she decides to scour the treetops for abandoned birds nests because 'they've already gathered the best bits for us.' She used to be a creative problem solver, often making things way more complicated than they need to be just to try something out or explore, but now makes efforts to tamp down on that instinct after her mother's disapproval of such independence.

In any activity, Arian is throwing herself in 110%. She can turn something as boring as cleaning her room into an exciting game of trash-ball with her sister, and she laughs easily. Arianwen is almost determined to make any odd or mundane activity as enjoyable as possible, a glass-half-full kind of person who choses to be willfully ignorant of the darker and more depressing things in her life. She has the easy confidence of someone much older, who is quite comfortable in her own skin. Arian isn't afraid of committing to a bit or making a fool of herself to make someone laugh- especially children, who she loves to spend time with. She likes to lighten the mood with ridiculousness or ill-timed jokes, and she'll avoid serious or sad topics if she can.

She loves grand shows of her skill, and there's a blatant arrogance in her quite unlike the rest of her kind when it comes to what she's good at. To Arianwen, it feels like she's constantly proving herself and her strength, and she can recklessly endanger herself in overcompensation- in fact, sometimes she sees danger as an even greater challenge, and is somewhat addicted to it. Arianwen is quite proud in her physical capabilities, for good reason- she was top of her class at training, even overtaking her sister in physicality. She's tough and unafraid of a good-natured spar with claws out. It was always the mental training that she struggled more with, leading her to the perception that she isn't very smart and that those above her must know far better than her.

Her instincts are quite good, and Arian will almost always listen to them. Though she's talkative, Arianwen is a surprisingly good secret keeper and liar, knowing what to say and what to leave out when it comes to risky subjects. There's an ease in the way she talks, a calm that contradicts her somewhat erratic actions, and when she wants to, a lie will flow like an uninterrupted stream that is nearly imperceptible. She will only feel guilty about obstructing the truth from those that trust her.

A lot of the time she feels aimless, like she's living on borrowed time. Arian has a strong sense of self but a weak sense of direction, and tries to throw herself into the missions her mother gives her in an effort to find some meaning for her life. There's an intense loneliness at the core of her, a part of her pack but always somehow apart from them, an outsider even among family.

Arian keeps all her fears and stress under tight lock and key, and their only chance of escape is into her dreams. She has chronic nightmares, vicious and brutal and pretty much the only things that can make her cry, she'll often wake from them in wolf form, having clawed her bed to death. It helps to sleep out under the stars, but Arianwen is pretty much an insomniac if she doesn't have access to a particular witches' brew that gives her dreamless nights.

Loyal to a fault, Arian will see the flaws of those she is devoted to but will never so much as question why she needs to serve them. She doesn't see herself as a leader in any shape or form, and has the somewhat naïve faith that those above her have good reasons for their actions. Arianwen fundamentally sees herself beneath those in power- between her and her sister, she has always seen Andonia as superior to her. To those she cares for and owes her loyalty to, Arian is fiercely protective, willing to do whatever it takes to keep them safe and happy.

But on the other hand, she does not trust strangers easily. Everyone has their angle, especially non-werewolves who are so different from her she can't even begin to understand them. That doesn't stop her from becoming friends with outsiders, however. Typically friendly and fun, she earnestly charms others easily and loves to have a good time regardless of the underlying impossibilities of inter-creature friendships. She thinks in the now as opposed to the incoming future- because she often doesn't believe she'll make it that far.

FAMILY

Mother- Alpha Alea Bloodbane

Sister- Andonia "Ona" Bloodbane

Aunt- Juniper Wrentooth

Cousin- Kazi Wrentooth

Uncle- Tarrin Redclaw

(with many other unnamed cousins, aunts, and uncles)

BRIEF BACKGROUND

There's a runt in every litter, and in Arianwen's, it was her. She was the runt between her and her older twin sister, so weak that it was believed that she wouldn't live past childhood, with a head of silver curls believed to be the mark of a witch's dark curse that was placed on Alea while she was pregnant. As the Alpha had understood it, the witch, whose son had been murdered by one of Alea's pack when he stole onto their territory during a full moon, cursed her back in kind to lose the child in her own womb. She was glad to see there had been two children after all, figuring that Arianwen had absorbed the curse and would leave Andonia unharmed and free to grow up into her heir.

Alea hadn't even named Arianwen, certain she would soon die, and poured all of her attention and motherly affection into Andonia. Alea had had her at a strategic time, certain that by the time her daughter came of age, so too would the princes of the realm. Arianwen was given to an aunt who had recently had her own child, and was promised a reward should the runt survive- a task Alea was certain she would fail, and so dangled the prize over her ill-favoured sister-in-law like a taunt. After Arian fought back from the brink of death to a healthy, if not small, four year old, Aunt Juniper had gotten her reward and considered her job done with.

But Alea didn't exactly want her back either, her smaller and cursed daughter who she was still certain would drop dead any minute. So Arianwen became a child of the pack, sleeping in the branches of trees, being fed like a stray dog in the winter as she walked from house to house, playing with the other children (especially her cousin Kazi), but with no true home or parents. She spent more time shifted than not, a rare curiosity that the pack took care of out of loyalty and a sense of community, but no more than that. None of them wanted to take her in at risk of angering their alpha.

She didn't learn anything like manners- or really anything academic at all- as there was no one who took the time to teach her. She was an annoyance to be barked at or ignored, and Arianwen made that everyone else's problem, becoming a trouble maker in her attempts to be acknowledged. She was quite good at it too, coming up with creative ways to get onto the adult's nerves and escape into the forest with peals of laughter. Some of the adults were kind to her, giving her candies and hugs, but anytime they'd tried to domesticate her or give her a bath, she'd simply snarl before running off again.

At seven she was wrangled up and sent off to school, which actually straightened her out a fair bit- or, at least, had her behaving like more of a child then a mongrel they found in the woods. Though she was less than a fan of the discipline, she enjoyed having somewhere to direct all her energy and having a routine, and threw herself into training. She gave herself a name that meant 'silver', proud as she was of her mane of silver curls, and that started with an 'A' just as her sister's and mother's names did- as though she were a part of the family she barely knew. Her twin sister was kept busy training to be the next alpha and perhaps even queen in accelerated classes at an entirely different school- the one Arianwen attended was the most intense and brutal in their territory, meant for those growing up to be the fiercest of protectors of their borders, with only the toughest and wiliest making it to graduation. Alea had chosen it for her estranged daughter as a test of sorts.

Once she reached eleven, Alea realized the runt may not die after all, and began to pay more attention to her. She was impressed with her skill in training, and began to shower Arianwen with the praises she'd always desired. Her mother earned her loyalty easily, and once Alea made time in Andonia's schedule for her to talk to her, so too did her older sister.

They were fast friends, even if they weren't as close as Arian and Kazi were, and Arianwen adored her older sister. She didn't question it when Alea told her that to protect Andonia, their future alpha, was to protect their land, and took her implied future as Ona's protector seriously. She graduated top of her class, eager to live up to the Bloodbane name, and though she could be carefree and reckless, always took that job seriously.

Three weeks before the Selected were meant to step foot into the palace, disaster struck near the outskirts of their territory, with Andonia at the center of it all. Her older sister, who had been born and raised as the perfect leader and seductress to ensnare a prince while Arian was goofing off in the woods, was now unable to do what she was born and raised for. To both protect her and her mother's ambitions, Arianwen had to take on her sister's identity and play it to perfection. Arian doesn't know if she's truly up to the task, but all she can do is try.

ENEMY FACTION

Witches- simply because they are her faction's enemy. She doesn't really hold a grudge against them for the one that tried to kill her before she was born, but being a thorn in her pack's side is where she draws the line.

Sirens- due to very recent events, she is now wary around them, and seeing one use their voice to control or manipulate others will be a surefire way to earn Arianwen's rage.

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE HYBRIDS

Kind of strange to her, like having a child with a rabbit, but to each their own. Arianwen's of the opinion that you should stay with your own kind (she can't even imagine the culture clashes of a mixed vampire-werewolf household), but she isn't disgusted by it or anything. Inter-creature relationships just make things way more complicated than they need to be.

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ROYALS

If the alpha knows best, the alpha of alpha's must know even better than that. They're far away creatures to her, like unicorns or gryphons that she both admires and could never begin to understand. They're in charge for a reason, so they must belong there- it is the order of the world. They have her loyalty even if they don't have her trust.

LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE IN HER SKILLS

That's a complicated question for a girl who once believed she could jump a gorge ten carriages wide because 'all you need is a good running start.' Her general confidence in herself is already quite high, and so long as she doesn't begin thinking about what exactly she's trying to accomplish and all the impossibilities of it all, she'll be golden. Sure, she's never actually had to think about seducing someone and that's the entire point of the competition she's about to enter. Sure, courtly mind games and intrigue are far too complicated for her to keep up with, much less manipulate. And sure, she's going to be trying to accomplish all this while also trying to keep a deadly secret that could cost her her head. She's aware that she's being thrown into a den of snakes that she is wholly unprepared to face, but that doesn't need to be top of mind stuff.

AESTHETIC

THEME SONG

Second Child, Restless Child - The Oh Hellos

See, I was born the second child
With a spirit running wild, running free
And they saw trouble in my eyes
They were quick to recognize the devil in me

You've got to go on, further than you've ever gone
You've got to run far from all you've ever known

Howl - Florence and the Machine

The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound
I hunt for you with bloody feet across the hallowed ground
And howl, howl

OTHER

- she's the queen of parkour

- sicknesses still hits her hard, and a simple cold can leave her bedridden for weeks

- she's an absolutely awful cook but is unaware of it- if she doesn't set anything on fire, she'll consider the meal a success

- her wolf form is the same colour as her hair- pure silver

- her spelling is kind of awful and she's a slow reader

- she's ambidextrous

- her pack is one of the largest, and they are very secretive and isolated since their territory is in the mountains