Astrid Shiba

Personality: Since her childhood, Astrid has always been softhearted, taking the time to comfort her siblings when Ayero was a little too gruff. She was always weak on discipline and strong on love when Ayero and Neem were around. Her heart always on her sleeve, her younger siblings looked to her for emotional guidance, the youngest sometimes mirroring her feelings without knowing why.

Bubbly and proactive, despite the deep scars left in her very tender heart, Astrid prefers to assume the best of others, requiring a reason to not trust someone, rather than a reason to trust them. Despite this, Astrid still draws a limit on how far she will trust someone right off the bat due to the remnants of the scars left by a man who once promised her his heart. When someone brings up the topic of love or finding "the one" she seems to get a longing look in her eyes, but quickly diverts any attention away from herself, saying that she feels happy for the young woman and that she prefers to be single. In her own life, she refuses to participate in a relationship, instead believing that a want for sex is a natural desire, and accommodating that. Astrid knows she possesses beauty, and isn’t afraid to use both her beauty and charm to get herself what she wants, even being very flirtatious on a regular basis. She will, however, quickly shut down attempts to start a relationship from fear of being hurt again by a broken promise. Somewhere inside is a young girl who wants love, but it would take the right kind of man to break through Astrid’s walls and find her.

Astrid is always friendly at the first encounter, knowing from her experience with her family that a gentle touch will get you much farther with someone than a firm grip, at least at first. Of course, once you lose her trust, gaining it back is nearly impossible, and would require an extreme amount of time, patience, and rebuilding. In a figurative sense, one would start back at square -10, as opposed to square one.

Astrid is rarely angered, but when she does, one could expect a quick trip to the hospital, and multiple bruises and broken bones.

Likes:

Dancing: Although blatantly obvious, Astrid loves to dance. Dancing for her has always been a way for her to express her emotional state without the inhibition of words or societal correctness. She believes deeply that dance and motion is a universal language, an equal with that of music.

Spicy food: Astrid loves spicy food, not only for it’s fantastic flavor, but because it kickstarts her metabolism. Gotta keep them curves looking curvy for your audience!

Dessert: Astrid adores desert, partly because she never allows herself to have it more than once a week. As such, every savory sweet treat she eats tastes that much more delicious to her than it would to another person.

Knives: Astrid has a secret love affair with knives, and will often stop by a knife shop just to drool over the beautiful curves and razor sharp edges.

Dislikes:

Being Asked Out: Ever since Ruhach broke his promise to her, Astrid has detested the idea of being in a relationship with anyone. Although this is something that could eventually change, she currently shuts down any and all attempts swiftly.

Show-off Dancing; Astrid deeply believes that dance is the way that people can freely express themselves without limits. She feels that dancing simply to show off is a disgrace and an insult to the art form.

Aspirations: Astrid feels that dance transcends all other forms of communication, the only other on par being music. As such, Astrid seeks to further her art by altering the traditional pub dances that simply flaunt a woman’s beauty, and instead pair an emotional movement with profound storytelling, each dance a tale in and of itself. She earnestly watches other talented dancers, learning what she can and taking her own skills, fusing the styles into a synthesis of emotion, each movement unique in it’s purpose and plot. One day, she hopes that the true purpose of dance will be shown to the world, but for now, she is content with spreading its true power slowly but surely.

Phobias/fears: The one thing Astrid fears is a loved one betraying her. This fear has affected her deeply, causing her to no longer partake in a romantic relationship, simply keeping everything limited to friends with benefits at the most. While she secretly longs for a romantic relationship, her insecurity over what Ruhach did to her keeps her from committing to anyone. For the time being, she instantly nips any and all potential relationships in the bud, stating that she’d rather be friends than lovers, or that she isn't quite ready for that.

Appearance:

Astrid is quite beautiful, her appearance full of soft and gentle curves that hide an amazingly toned physique and core. Her face shares the same characteristic heart shape of her sister. The similarities end there, however. Her face is a bit more slender, as is her nose. Her lips are soft and plump, and her lashes are thick enough to seem nearly unnatural. Her cheeks almost always have a soft, rosy glow, which may or may not be make up, no one but Astrid actually knows. her hair is kept in a loose ponytail, pulled behind her head and up slightly, making her seem a little taller and slimmer.

Her outfit at first glance seems to be a white, one-piece swim suit with gold accents and a gold necklace, a large chunk cut out of the front to make the outfit skimpier and increase her sex appeal. She wears stockings beneath her long, billowy leg covers and long gloves beneath the similar arm covers. Each of the thin, grey veils ends in a golden bracelet or anklet, the gloves extending over the top of her hand and hooking on to the middle finger. The golden belt she wears sports several gold medallions hanging from each side, and a soft strip of fabric that thinly covers her hips. The outfit is fully designed to be alluring, and allow her as much mobility and fluidity when dancing as possible.

History: Astrid Shiba was born the fourth eldest child to a fanalis mother and a human father, two years after her sister Ayero and three after her brother Neem. Their family lived in the remote mountain village, shepherded by her mother and her elder siblings. The remnants of her mother's slavery haunted the woman, and as such their family didn't leave the village much, causing Astrid to become exceedingly curious with the outside world. She followed her sister Ayero closely, often imitating her attitude, keeping her younger siblings in check while Ayero would keep Neem in check.

And then Neem disappeared, and shortly after Ayero did as well, leaving Astrid to keep her siblings in check. Her temper quickly grew shorter, and her body more exhausted as she struggled to keep up with the energy of her younger siblings. She found an escape dancing, one of the local villagers teaching her how to use a ringed scarves to add to her performance. Her dress changed, and her energy and confidence soared, her mother now grateful for her assistance around the house. Three years after the disappearance of her siblings, Astrid still longed to see beyond her own village. She spent many months saving what meager money she was earning from dancing at the local tavern. The discussion with her mother was lengthy, filled with repeated assurances that her pink hair and lavender eyes would cause her to be mistaken for a human, and repeated examples of this occurring previously with the occasional traveler that had come through town. After a full month of consideration and constant assurances, her mother relented.

Cautious and intent on making it to the next town Astrid payed a caravan of merchants for passage, offering her services as a dancer and a source of income in exchange for shelter and food. The caravan moved slowly across the plains, stopping at every village and town to sell their wares and holding evening celebrations, Astrid's dancing stealing the spotlight at nearly every town they went to. Her travels with the group lasted for many years, an ex-soldier attempting to teach her to defend herself. Her skill with a sword was abysmal, but her understanding of the chain blade was rather instinctual. She developed quickly,but repeatedly cut herself when her own reflexes tried to catch the end of the blade in her free hand. The solution was found by a Balbaddese traveler, the man suggesting that, instead of a chain sword, they weave knives into her scarf. The result was immediate, and her performances with the bladed scarfs electrifying.

But her recognition from the crowd was only something that was born of physical beauty and lustful intentions. She wanted something more intimate, something genuine. At the age of 19, she received what she was asking for. As the caravan pulled up to the empire of Reim, Astrid announced that this would be her last stop, many members of the caravan expressing a disappointment at her departure. Ruhach, a 20 year old Balbaddese calligrapher approached her in her own wagon later during their last night in the train, his face flushed. He confessed his feelings for her, asking her to stay with him in the caravan. She gave him a gentle kiss, telling him that her decision as already made. Ruhach promised to return within six months, assuring her that he would stay with her. She felt feelings for the boy as well, and even confessed in return. She told him to come back and find her someday, after he had finished his journey with the merchants. She had traveled for long enough, deciding that the city of Reim was where she would make her home. They spent the night together, committing themselves to each other completely. She bid the caravan a final farewell, trusting that Ruhach would return to her as soon as he had promised.

She quickly gained a reputation among the taverns as one of the most thrilling dancers, easily finding herself work. By the time she had aged another year, she had saved up enough to afford herself a permanent room at an inn. A year and a half had passed, and Astrid made it a point to observe every caravan that came into the city, and yet there was no sign of Ruhach. She gave up on the man, her mind eventually settling on the fact that his love was shallow, and driven by physical pleasure. She angrily vowed that she wouldn't invest her heart in love again. She devoted herself to her art, her skill and performance increasing drastically, becoming less focused on the technicality and more focused on the emotion.

At the age of 21, she decided that she wanted an extra source of income, and began taking some of the odd jobs posted in the tavern, making odd deliveries and teaching others how to dance from time to time. It was during one of these outings that she encountered a band of illegal slave traders, the men holding her near them in the back room of a tavern. Thankfully, the head of the slavers caravan forced his men to let her go, saying that a human would never fetch a good price as a slave. She grit her teeth, as she left, immediately turning the men in to the guards of Reim, who quickly hunted them down.

Her income increased enough for her to be able to save small amounts every month, and eventually she managed to procure herself a small home, resting easy in the fact that her housing was no longer dependent on the amount of travelers coming through. Astrid currently dances at the tavern at The Sun and Moon Inn, entertaining customers on Friday and at other times working as a barmaid for a steady source of income.

Code:

[b]Name:[/b] Tidal Dance I
[b]Tier:[/b] D
[b]Cost:[/b] 10
[b]Weapon Type:[/b] Razor Scarf
[b]Class:[/b] Defensive
[b]Range:[/b] 1 m
[b]Duration:[/b] 1 post
[b]Cool-Down:[/b] 2 posts
[b]Description:[/b] Astrid embraces the flowing nature of the ocean, her battle dance shifting into diagonal swipes and spins to deflect one C-Tier attack, or two D-Tier attacks. The dance moves at 15m/s, and Astrid may move about at her normal speed while dancing.

Code:

[b]Name:[/b] Cobra Dance I
[b]Tier:[/b] D
[b]Cost:[/b] 10
[b]Weapon Type:[/b] Razor Scarf
[b]Class:[/b] Supplementary
[b]Range:[/b] Close
[b]Duration:[/b] 1 post
[b]Cool-Down:[/b] 2 posts
[b]Description:[/b] Astrid applies poison to the knifes on her scarf at 15m/s, her next attack dishing out D-Tier poison, causing stinging pains throughout body for 2 posts, reducing ability speed by half and causing the time it takes to react to double.

Code:

[b]Name:[/b] Bladed Veil
[b]Tier:[/b] D
[b]Cost:[/b] 10
[b]Weapon Type:[/b] Razor Scarf
[b]Class:[/b] Offensive
[b]Range:[/b] 1.5m
[b]Duration:[/b] 1 post
[b]Cool-Down:[/b] 2 post
[b]Description:[/b] Astrid twirls her scarf around her body quickly, creating a spiraling veil of blades that rotates at 15m/s and deals 5 hits to everything within a 1.5m radius. The damage dealt is D-Tier.

Code:

[b]Name:[/b] Comfortably Numb
[b]Tier:[/b] D
[b]Cost:[/b] 10
[b]Weapon Type:[/b] Hands
[b]Class:[/b] Supplementary
[b]Range:[/b] Close
[b]Duration:[/b] 1 post
[b]Cool-Down:[/b] 2 post
[b]Description:[/b] Astrid's next attack targets the pressure points of her enemy up to 5 times at 15m/s, causing D tier paralysis which numbs a single limb for 2 posts and reduces move speed by 5m/s.

Code:

[b]Name:[/b] Tidal Dance II
[b]Tier:[/b] C
[b]Cost:[/b] 20
[b]Weapon Type:[/b] Scarf
[b]Class:[/b] Defensive
[b]Range:[/b] 1m
[b]Duration:[/b] 1 post
[b]Cool-Down:[/b] 3 posts
[b]Description:[/b] Astrid embraces the flowing nature of the ocean, her battle dance shifting into diagonal swipes and spins to deflect one B-Tier attack, or two C-Tier attacks, or four D-Tier attacks. The dance moves at 20m/s and Astrid may move about at her normal speed while dancing.