"Fire is not destruction, it is freedom. And in freedom, many find destruction.."
APPEARANCE
"Why don't you draw yourself a picture- it'll last longer."
"Why don't you draw yourself a picture- it'll last longer."
Description:
Serafina is a nymph, a fire nymph to be exact, and as thus has two primary forms, though, for the most part, they are very similar to each other. In fact, the only real difference is that, in her purest form, she happens to be on fire. Or rather, she happens to be fire, taking the general shape of a human being. Obviously, the characteristics seem to run together a bit in this situation, though most people don't notice because they can't look at her for too long before their eyes begin to hurt from the light. Luckily, she can also take a more human-like form, which she fondly refers to as her 'cool down state', though it isn't quite as comfortable feeling as her natural form. If she is around other people, unless she is angry or trying to mess with someone, Serafina tends to remain in this more human-like state. This is more of a courtesy towards other people than anything else, to be absolutely and completely honest.
As far as her human form goes, she is considered to be rather beautiful- nothing too shocking, given the nature of her species. Nymphs have a reputation for beauty, as well as for using that beauty for less than moral things. Anyway, the young woman has darker skin, though it might perhaps be considered a lighter brown, and raven hair that tends to be rather wavy, bordering on bushy. Serafina often wears the hear back in a scarf, to prevent it from falling into her face. She possesses roundish almond eyes of a dark green color, which have a sort of depth before the constantly present twinkle of mischief. They are framed by thick lashes, though of medium length, that only succeed in making her eyes seem even more vivid. Above them sit slightly thick eyebrows, which have a dark color matching her hair, that easily display amusement or doubt. She occasionally refers to them as her caterpillars, and will usually proceed to wiggle them afterwards. In fact, Fina can do the wave with her eyebrows- she calls it her secret skill. Her lips are full, and seem perpetually about to turn into a smile or a smirk, depending on her mood at the time. They have a pinkish tone to them, but are a darker shade.
As far as bodies go, Fina's is somewhat voluptuous, with a medium-sized bust and hips, and a toned waist in between. Given that she spends more of her time running around, she has little fat, and has an athletic quality to her. Her feet are, more often than not, dirty and rough, because she seems to have a strong disliking for shoes. Likewise, her fingers are calloused from climbing and working, as well as from her playing of a small, handheld harp, which she carries on her person most of the time. Her arms are muscular from this same climbing and working, but also from her fondness for various gymnastics, such as cartwheels and such, which she either does for fun or to show off, depending on the situation. When Fina moves, it is with the sort of passionate grace that one finds in the dancing flickers of a fire- she dances quickly and with a sort of power. Her walk is confident as well, and her posture is impeccable.
Clothing Style:
Fina dislikes wearing layers of clothing, which may partially be because she tends to just, literally, burn through them. The young woman doesn't have magical clothing that doesn't turn to ash when the person wearing them lights up, though she has been considering approaching someone, maybe a which or warlock, about getting some. So, there is that: when in her purest state, the young woman is as exposed as an infant. Of course, when one is made of fire, people rarely notice that because everything, as previously mentioned, sort of runs together. But when she is wearing clothing, Fina prefers things that she can move in, whilst still meeting the qualifications for what she finds pleasing to the eye. Or, of course, what she finds easier to make. For example: Fina wears more skirts than pants, because skirts are simply easier to make. She prefers colorful skirts that flow, but is willing to wear darker ones if a hip scarf or two can be throne on top. As far as shoes go, she tends to go without. Shoes are definitely not something that she can make, and even if they don't burn off, they make her feet feel constricted and pinched- like she's being stopped from reaching full speed. As far as the upper half of her body goes, the young woman opts for peasant blouses and the occasional cloth corset. She also likes to hold her hair back with colorful scarves, or whatever she can find lying around, honestly.
Height and Weight:
5'11", and her weight tends to vary. In her natural state, it is very little, because she is made of fire. However, when she 'cools down', around 140Ib or so.
Serafina is a nymph, a fire nymph to be exact, and as thus has two primary forms, though, for the most part, they are very similar to each other. In fact, the only real difference is that, in her purest form, she happens to be on fire. Or rather, she happens to be fire, taking the general shape of a human being. Obviously, the characteristics seem to run together a bit in this situation, though most people don't notice because they can't look at her for too long before their eyes begin to hurt from the light. Luckily, she can also take a more human-like form, which she fondly refers to as her 'cool down state', though it isn't quite as comfortable feeling as her natural form. If she is around other people, unless she is angry or trying to mess with someone, Serafina tends to remain in this more human-like state. This is more of a courtesy towards other people than anything else, to be absolutely and completely honest.
As far as her human form goes, she is considered to be rather beautiful- nothing too shocking, given the nature of her species. Nymphs have a reputation for beauty, as well as for using that beauty for less than moral things. Anyway, the young woman has darker skin, though it might perhaps be considered a lighter brown, and raven hair that tends to be rather wavy, bordering on bushy. Serafina often wears the hear back in a scarf, to prevent it from falling into her face. She possesses roundish almond eyes of a dark green color, which have a sort of depth before the constantly present twinkle of mischief. They are framed by thick lashes, though of medium length, that only succeed in making her eyes seem even more vivid. Above them sit slightly thick eyebrows, which have a dark color matching her hair, that easily display amusement or doubt. She occasionally refers to them as her caterpillars, and will usually proceed to wiggle them afterwards. In fact, Fina can do the wave with her eyebrows- she calls it her secret skill. Her lips are full, and seem perpetually about to turn into a smile or a smirk, depending on her mood at the time. They have a pinkish tone to them, but are a darker shade.
As far as bodies go, Fina's is somewhat voluptuous, with a medium-sized bust and hips, and a toned waist in between. Given that she spends more of her time running around, she has little fat, and has an athletic quality to her. Her feet are, more often than not, dirty and rough, because she seems to have a strong disliking for shoes. Likewise, her fingers are calloused from climbing and working, as well as from her playing of a small, handheld harp, which she carries on her person most of the time. Her arms are muscular from this same climbing and working, but also from her fondness for various gymnastics, such as cartwheels and such, which she either does for fun or to show off, depending on the situation. When Fina moves, it is with the sort of passionate grace that one finds in the dancing flickers of a fire- she dances quickly and with a sort of power. Her walk is confident as well, and her posture is impeccable.
Clothing Style:
Fina dislikes wearing layers of clothing, which may partially be because she tends to just, literally, burn through them. The young woman doesn't have magical clothing that doesn't turn to ash when the person wearing them lights up, though she has been considering approaching someone, maybe a which or warlock, about getting some. So, there is that: when in her purest state, the young woman is as exposed as an infant. Of course, when one is made of fire, people rarely notice that because everything, as previously mentioned, sort of runs together. But when she is wearing clothing, Fina prefers things that she can move in, whilst still meeting the qualifications for what she finds pleasing to the eye. Or, of course, what she finds easier to make. For example: Fina wears more skirts than pants, because skirts are simply easier to make. She prefers colorful skirts that flow, but is willing to wear darker ones if a hip scarf or two can be throne on top. As far as shoes go, she tends to go without. Shoes are definitely not something that she can make, and even if they don't burn off, they make her feet feel constricted and pinched- like she's being stopped from reaching full speed. As far as the upper half of her body goes, the young woman opts for peasant blouses and the occasional cloth corset. She also likes to hold her hair back with colorful scarves, or whatever she can find lying around, honestly.
Height and Weight:
5'11", and her weight tends to vary. In her natural state, it is very little, because she is made of fire. However, when she 'cools down', around 140Ib or so.
BASICS
"You aren't even going to treat me to a drink first?"
"You aren't even going to treat me to a drink first?"
Name:
Serafina Calidus
Nicknames:
Fina - A nickname given to Serafina by her guardian, because when she was a child, Serafina was long and she simply called herself s'fina, which eventually shortened down to Fina. The young nymph is rather content with the nickname, though it has no real emotional meaning other than a touch of sentimentality. Some people have called her Sera, as well, but it is hardly an inspired nickname for the young woman.
Gender:
Female
Age:
21
Race:
Nymph
Sexuality:
Pansexual - She doesn't honestly care, so long as the person is cute and can keep up with her.
Love Interest:
"No one catches the eye at the moment, unfortunately."
Serafina Calidus
Nicknames:
Fina - A nickname given to Serafina by her guardian, because when she was a child, Serafina was long and she simply called herself s'fina, which eventually shortened down to Fina. The young nymph is rather content with the nickname, though it has no real emotional meaning other than a touch of sentimentality. Some people have called her Sera, as well, but it is hardly an inspired nickname for the young woman.
Gender:
Female
Age:
21
Race:
Nymph
Sexuality:
Pansexual - She doesn't honestly care, so long as the person is cute and can keep up with her.
Love Interest:
"No one catches the eye at the moment, unfortunately."
PERSONAL INFOMATION
"Not a fantastically grand story yet, but I'm working on it."
"Not a fantastically grand story yet, but I'm working on it."
Personality:
Serafina has never been anything less than a person of her own will, an independent type who dislikes the idea of relying on others or even going so far as to accept help from another person. Sure, she's perfectly fine with company, in fact an incredibly social person, but she rather prefers to be responsible for what happens to her, rather than allowing other people to have a controlling aspect in her life. As far as she is concerned, in a philosophy somewhat more pessimistic than one would expect from her, a person cannot control being hurt, but they can control who hurts them. She thinks of it in more of a flipped manner- she can't control hurting people, but can control who she hurts. And, in all honesty, Fina would prefer to minimize the damage. So she is a social type of girl, as many nymphs are, but she also tries to limit the amount of people who she very much affects, because fire does have the tendency to burn, after all, as much as she denies this fact in average conversation. She is more careful around others than she gives off, certainly, and must constantly be on guard in order to prevent herself from, well, losing control.
And she has grown quite good at that--at keeping control, that is. As a child, Fina had a bit of a temper, the sort that springs up like a mousetrap at a misstep, and because of this she did cause some amount of destruction. This motivated her to focus on learning how to discipline herself to the point where she could act as freely and impulsively as she wished, and yet never lose control again. And she has accomplished this. Fina may make impulsive choices or seem to say whatever she wants without any regard for what other people think, but all of this is a layer in front of a person who knows exactly what they are doing, or at least likes to let on that they do, and can control themselves with precision. She, for the most part, has a perfect handle on her own emotions, at least those that may set her afire, and is very proud of this fact, to the point of arrogance. To the point of arrogance at which she may end up loosening the grip slightly because she overestimates her own control over it. She is very disciplined with her emotions, but perhaps not quite as disciplined as she would like to believe. This is likely why she is able to come across as so impulsive and careless all the time: she kind of is, without fully realizing it. There is always that chance that she might loosen her grip just a tad bit too much.
Her impulsive arrogance, independence, and discipline have also had a bit of an effect on how Serafina speaks, combining to create a young woman fond of teasing, witty banter, and flirtation. Having grown up around taverns and traveling with what higher classes consider to be scum, the young woman can sing a good amount of songs, whether they be innocent or dirty, and can tell a joke that'll make even the crudest of men blush a bright scarlet color. In fact, she finds doing so to be great fun, the sort of person who likes to get a reaction out of people. She's very good at it, as well, and can probably make even the shyest of people shout out loud, or the grimmest of souls crack a little smile. She deals best with reactions and people, an observer and a doer rolled into one dancing figure. Fina will flirt with anything with a pulse, especially if they either freak out about it or are able to keep their own and engage her in a verbal spar. What she lacks in academic learning, such as reading or math, the young woman makes up for with her intuition and resourcefulness. Perhaps she doesn't know how to calculate trajectories, but she can throw a rock with precision all the same, and the illiteracy doesn't stop her from knowing long, complex stories by heart. She has a bit of a competitive streak, as well, and makes a point of one upping people if she can, even if it is only for the fun of it. You skip a rock two times across the water? She'll do it three. It's usually just for a laugh, but she can become serious about a competition if she finds it intriguing enough.
Arrogant || Controlled || Impulsive || Witty || Resourceful || Flirtatious || Independent to a fault || Guarded || Free-spirited || Competitive
Likes:
Dancing
It simply comes naturally to Serafina. After all, one rarely describes a flame as standing still, because fire has the tendency to dance and shudder, constantly moving. The same applies to the fire nymph, who moves like a flame: quickly and with a sort of power to it, challenging people to keep up with her. She seems to have no regard for social standards or what is considered decent when she dances, but such is common of many species, and is not exclusively a nymph mindset. Anyway, Fina has a passion for dance and a talent to match. Even when not dancing, she appears to have a bit of music in her step.
Riddles
Riddles are a thing with which one may sharpen their mind- especially one with a limited amount of literacy but a mind for games. When the young woman was a girl, she would make up riddles on the spot and share them with those around her, making up little prizes for whomever it was that solved it first. In turn, she would ask others to make up riddles for her to solve, thinking there to be no greater fun than to successfully crack a person's puzzle. She is quite gifted at coming up with little verbal puzzles, whether they be childish or thought provoking, and poses them in order to break tensions. In fact, when she is trying to concentrate she will ask the more difficult ones, but when she feels nervous will ask childish ones.
Teasing
Serafina has a fondness for getting reactions out of people, and is quite skilled at luring them out from even the most stoic of characters. She can tell jokes bawdier than what one hears at the lowest tavern, and is a self-proclaimed expert at getting people to crack a smile. A long-time enemy of tension, she resorts to teasing in order to break it, whether it be at her cost of her or others. The teasing might often be flirting, or simply banter. She does have a sharp wit, after all.
Fruit
Well, Fina doesn't really eat meat, though she'd probably be fairly handy for cooking it, or any sort of animal products. She's vegan, if you will. Thus, her diet is exclusively composed of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Of those three options, her preferred is fruits- especially apples and strawberries. In fact, there have been days where she eats nothing but apples, plucked from various trees. She can spend all day in a tree if she has apples and a riddle to think about.
Adventures
The young nymph loves adrenaline rushes and adventures, having always been the sort to leave the village for random periods of time in order to simply go 'adventuring'. She wants to be the sort of person that people tell stories about, or to at least collect as many of her own stories as possible. Fina is very much in favor of living with no regrets, and this is why she is willing to stick her neck out for the sake of a probability. Her mind is very focused on the present, because she doesn't see the point in living your life for the future. After all, you never reach the future.
Shoes
As has been previously stated, Fina constantly has dirty and calloused feet because she prefers to go without wearing shoes whenever possible. And, in her society, 'whenever' is pretty much always. Many of the other nymphs share this dislike for their own reasons as well, whether that be because they spend most of their time in water anyway, or because they can't feel the earth beneath their feet when wearing shoes. In her case, most of the shoes are either burnt anyway, or remain and restrict her feet, making her feel uncomfortable and restrained. So, she simply goes without them.
Her Illiteracy
Fina grew up learning to climb trees, pick the ripest fruits, dance like a flame, control her anger, and other such things. She can tell a dirty joke and make up silly riddles and elaborate stories, but she can never read any of these things. After all, the young woman has never been taught to read anything beyond the letters of her own name, and can't teach herself because she can't identify the alphabet, either. It makes it seem slightly ironic that she would be sent to try and help locate a book. As far as she is concerned, however, a person doesn't need to know how to read a book in order to find it. Still, she has known several who did have the luxury of being taught to read, and dislikes the fact that she never had such lessons.
Small Spaces
Just as shoes make her feel constricted, being trapped in small enclosures make Serafina feel uncomfortable. It actually reaches the point of genuine claustrophobia, because she has the tendency to have a rather uncharacteristic panic attack if left in a very small enclosure which she is unable to escape. There isn't really much else to be said on the topic, honestly. It is natural for flames to move and spread, but when isolated they have the tendency to eventually dwindle and fade away. She is afraid that this applies to her, as well.
Bread
Serafina doesn't like bread. There isn't any depth to this dislike- she can't claim that she was traumatically force fed it as a child, or that she was raised baking it and was forced to swim whenever she burnt a piece. She simply doesn't like the taste or the texture of bread. Fina will eat it, of course, if she has to, but otherwise prefers to stick to vegetables and fruit.
Losing her temper
For the most part, Serafina only loses her 'cool down' form when she desires to, otherwise capable of keeping herself from being, well, fire. However, there are instances in which she has become pure flame without intending to, and all of them have a connection: she was angry. While the woman has gained some amount of control over her emotions over the years, as was necessary if she wished to ever enter the territory of the land nymphs without burning the forest down, she still is guilty of losing her temper and bursting into flames from time to time. In those situations, she often loses a perfectly good set of clothing, and may potentially harm people in the near vicinity. When she is in her pure state, after all, her size tends to fluctuate, just as a flame can grow.
Fears:
Claustrophobia
As was previously mentioned, Serafina has a great fear of small spaces. A person puts out a candle by capping it, right? Well, she seems to have this fear that the same thing can apply to her. At the very least, the fire nymph hates the fact that such small areas don't allow for much movement, especially as she is the sort who appears to be very rarely still. Something about being incapable of escaping a place terrifies her, and she will avoid it at almost all costs. Fire is the element of freedom, after all, and is not meant to be contained.
Losing Control
While the woman may give off an impression of being impulsive and carefree, she is in fact very much in control of herself, and is capable of keeping herself from doing things if need be. Perhaps she doesn't always exercise this ability, but she has a very disciplined grip over it. This is because here race of nymph is one which is known for both their passion and their ability to unintentionally destroy. If not controlled carefully, fire can spread and consume everything in its path. While she strongly believes that fire is not death and destruction, but passion and freedom, Serafina remains afraid that she will lose control and that those around her will be victims of this.
Swimming/Water
This is rather logical, isn't it? Swimming requires water, water extinguishes fire, and Fina's true form is fire. It doesn't take a genius to put the facts together and guess why she has a fear of fire: it can be very damaging for her. In her human form, being in water will weaken her greatly. However, were she to be doused with water or something of the like whilst in her pure state, she would be weakened so greatly that death isn't a possibility to be ruled out. Needless to say, she stays as far away from oceans and rivers and the like as much as she can, even if it means taking the longer route.
-Mother was a somewhat forgotten wife in a harem, and left to fight in the war after having Fina. She died, and thus Fina has very little memories of her, other than warmth and light.
-She was one of a good deal of children
-Often ran away to the forest nymph dwelling to climb trees
-Let temper get the best of her and burned down 1/4 of their territory
-To escape the blame, being young and frightened, she ran away.
-Fina traveled on her own for a few months before being taken in by a wandering motley group, composed of people from every species.
-She traveled with them for ten years, until she was eighteen. Over that time, gained an appreciation for each species, as well as various skills such as cooking, gathering, swindling, pickpocketing, entertaining, etc.
-She returned to her village after another year of solitary wandering, to find that people had believed her dead, tracing her trail to the ocean, which they believed she had fallen in. The village had also recently been ransacked by enemy soldiers, and was in very poor condition.
-Stayed in the village for a while to help with the reconstruction. Upon hearing that a young representative from each group was needed, she volunteered. Partially to end the war, partially for adventure, and partially to escape the town, because she has wanderlust and disliked staying in one place for too long.
Other
- Prior to the beginning of the journey, Serafina had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Nobility himself, Chiron the centaur -a highly uninspired name, as far as she is concerned. Anyway, she had been hungry, starving, even, and stole a bit of food from a few sleeping travelers. Okay, so maybe it was more than just a bit. But she had been getting a bad vibe off of them anyway, and it wasn't as though she was stealing gold or anything, right? She's never been particularly materialistic, anyway. Back to the point, they woke up and immediately began searching, because as it happens, they hadn't any gold and that was the last of their rations. The travelers were centaurs, and therefore allies of the nymphs, but did have a bit of prejudice against the species, and kind of stereotyped her by immediately believing -albeit accurately- that she had done it. They confronted her, pushing her against a tree and such, and started swearing at her to give them back the food. Well, Fina wasn't going to have that, and was about to retort, when some young lad with silver hair came running over, shouting some nonsense about the guys around her being villains who were hurting some poor woman. Obviously, Fina was having none of that- she dislikes being seen as helpless, and especially dislikes people thinking she needs saving. So when he came over to help her, she decided to teach the fool a lesson about judging situations and making assumptions about the strength of people. She slipped the food into his bag, and framed him for the thievery. Fina is a skilled talker and very persuasive, so she soon had the travelers eating out of her hands, regardless of prejudice, and believing that she was a victim[/i, and that the centaur had done it. When they let her go to blame him instead, she gave the lad a flirtatious wink, the sort of smirk that clearly says [i]"Poor woman, huh?" and was on her way.
Oh, woe is me, the poor victim. That'll teach him to go around assuming things about people, and sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, she thought, biting into the bit of food that she had kept from the bag.
Serafina has never been anything less than a person of her own will, an independent type who dislikes the idea of relying on others or even going so far as to accept help from another person. Sure, she's perfectly fine with company, in fact an incredibly social person, but she rather prefers to be responsible for what happens to her, rather than allowing other people to have a controlling aspect in her life. As far as she is concerned, in a philosophy somewhat more pessimistic than one would expect from her, a person cannot control being hurt, but they can control who hurts them. She thinks of it in more of a flipped manner- she can't control hurting people, but can control who she hurts. And, in all honesty, Fina would prefer to minimize the damage. So she is a social type of girl, as many nymphs are, but she also tries to limit the amount of people who she very much affects, because fire does have the tendency to burn, after all, as much as she denies this fact in average conversation. She is more careful around others than she gives off, certainly, and must constantly be on guard in order to prevent herself from, well, losing control.
And she has grown quite good at that--at keeping control, that is. As a child, Fina had a bit of a temper, the sort that springs up like a mousetrap at a misstep, and because of this she did cause some amount of destruction. This motivated her to focus on learning how to discipline herself to the point where she could act as freely and impulsively as she wished, and yet never lose control again. And she has accomplished this. Fina may make impulsive choices or seem to say whatever she wants without any regard for what other people think, but all of this is a layer in front of a person who knows exactly what they are doing, or at least likes to let on that they do, and can control themselves with precision. She, for the most part, has a perfect handle on her own emotions, at least those that may set her afire, and is very proud of this fact, to the point of arrogance. To the point of arrogance at which she may end up loosening the grip slightly because she overestimates her own control over it. She is very disciplined with her emotions, but perhaps not quite as disciplined as she would like to believe. This is likely why she is able to come across as so impulsive and careless all the time: she kind of is, without fully realizing it. There is always that chance that she might loosen her grip just a tad bit too much.
Her impulsive arrogance, independence, and discipline have also had a bit of an effect on how Serafina speaks, combining to create a young woman fond of teasing, witty banter, and flirtation. Having grown up around taverns and traveling with what higher classes consider to be scum, the young woman can sing a good amount of songs, whether they be innocent or dirty, and can tell a joke that'll make even the crudest of men blush a bright scarlet color. In fact, she finds doing so to be great fun, the sort of person who likes to get a reaction out of people. She's very good at it, as well, and can probably make even the shyest of people shout out loud, or the grimmest of souls crack a little smile. She deals best with reactions and people, an observer and a doer rolled into one dancing figure. Fina will flirt with anything with a pulse, especially if they either freak out about it or are able to keep their own and engage her in a verbal spar. What she lacks in academic learning, such as reading or math, the young woman makes up for with her intuition and resourcefulness. Perhaps she doesn't know how to calculate trajectories, but she can throw a rock with precision all the same, and the illiteracy doesn't stop her from knowing long, complex stories by heart. She has a bit of a competitive streak, as well, and makes a point of one upping people if she can, even if it is only for the fun of it. You skip a rock two times across the water? She'll do it three. It's usually just for a laugh, but she can become serious about a competition if she finds it intriguing enough.
Arrogant || Controlled || Impulsive || Witty || Resourceful || Flirtatious || Independent to a fault || Guarded || Free-spirited || Competitive
Likes:
Dancing
It simply comes naturally to Serafina. After all, one rarely describes a flame as standing still, because fire has the tendency to dance and shudder, constantly moving. The same applies to the fire nymph, who moves like a flame: quickly and with a sort of power to it, challenging people to keep up with her. She seems to have no regard for social standards or what is considered decent when she dances, but such is common of many species, and is not exclusively a nymph mindset. Anyway, Fina has a passion for dance and a talent to match. Even when not dancing, she appears to have a bit of music in her step.
Riddles
Riddles are a thing with which one may sharpen their mind- especially one with a limited amount of literacy but a mind for games. When the young woman was a girl, she would make up riddles on the spot and share them with those around her, making up little prizes for whomever it was that solved it first. In turn, she would ask others to make up riddles for her to solve, thinking there to be no greater fun than to successfully crack a person's puzzle. She is quite gifted at coming up with little verbal puzzles, whether they be childish or thought provoking, and poses them in order to break tensions. In fact, when she is trying to concentrate she will ask the more difficult ones, but when she feels nervous will ask childish ones.
Teasing
Serafina has a fondness for getting reactions out of people, and is quite skilled at luring them out from even the most stoic of characters. She can tell jokes bawdier than what one hears at the lowest tavern, and is a self-proclaimed expert at getting people to crack a smile. A long-time enemy of tension, she resorts to teasing in order to break it, whether it be at her cost of her or others. The teasing might often be flirting, or simply banter. She does have a sharp wit, after all.
Fruit
Well, Fina doesn't really eat meat, though she'd probably be fairly handy for cooking it, or any sort of animal products. She's vegan, if you will. Thus, her diet is exclusively composed of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Of those three options, her preferred is fruits- especially apples and strawberries. In fact, there have been days where she eats nothing but apples, plucked from various trees. She can spend all day in a tree if she has apples and a riddle to think about.
Adventures
The young nymph loves adrenaline rushes and adventures, having always been the sort to leave the village for random periods of time in order to simply go 'adventuring'. She wants to be the sort of person that people tell stories about, or to at least collect as many of her own stories as possible. Fina is very much in favor of living with no regrets, and this is why she is willing to stick her neck out for the sake of a probability. Her mind is very focused on the present, because she doesn't see the point in living your life for the future. After all, you never reach the future.
Shoes
As has been previously stated, Fina constantly has dirty and calloused feet because she prefers to go without wearing shoes whenever possible. And, in her society, 'whenever' is pretty much always. Many of the other nymphs share this dislike for their own reasons as well, whether that be because they spend most of their time in water anyway, or because they can't feel the earth beneath their feet when wearing shoes. In her case, most of the shoes are either burnt anyway, or remain and restrict her feet, making her feel uncomfortable and restrained. So, she simply goes without them.
Her Illiteracy
Fina grew up learning to climb trees, pick the ripest fruits, dance like a flame, control her anger, and other such things. She can tell a dirty joke and make up silly riddles and elaborate stories, but she can never read any of these things. After all, the young woman has never been taught to read anything beyond the letters of her own name, and can't teach herself because she can't identify the alphabet, either. It makes it seem slightly ironic that she would be sent to try and help locate a book. As far as she is concerned, however, a person doesn't need to know how to read a book in order to find it. Still, she has known several who did have the luxury of being taught to read, and dislikes the fact that she never had such lessons.
Small Spaces
Just as shoes make her feel constricted, being trapped in small enclosures make Serafina feel uncomfortable. It actually reaches the point of genuine claustrophobia, because she has the tendency to have a rather uncharacteristic panic attack if left in a very small enclosure which she is unable to escape. There isn't really much else to be said on the topic, honestly. It is natural for flames to move and spread, but when isolated they have the tendency to eventually dwindle and fade away. She is afraid that this applies to her, as well.
Bread
Serafina doesn't like bread. There isn't any depth to this dislike- she can't claim that she was traumatically force fed it as a child, or that she was raised baking it and was forced to swim whenever she burnt a piece. She simply doesn't like the taste or the texture of bread. Fina will eat it, of course, if she has to, but otherwise prefers to stick to vegetables and fruit.
Losing her temper
For the most part, Serafina only loses her 'cool down' form when she desires to, otherwise capable of keeping herself from being, well, fire. However, there are instances in which she has become pure flame without intending to, and all of them have a connection: she was angry. While the woman has gained some amount of control over her emotions over the years, as was necessary if she wished to ever enter the territory of the land nymphs without burning the forest down, she still is guilty of losing her temper and bursting into flames from time to time. In those situations, she often loses a perfectly good set of clothing, and may potentially harm people in the near vicinity. When she is in her pure state, after all, her size tends to fluctuate, just as a flame can grow.
Fears:
Claustrophobia
As was previously mentioned, Serafina has a great fear of small spaces. A person puts out a candle by capping it, right? Well, she seems to have this fear that the same thing can apply to her. At the very least, the fire nymph hates the fact that such small areas don't allow for much movement, especially as she is the sort who appears to be very rarely still. Something about being incapable of escaping a place terrifies her, and she will avoid it at almost all costs. Fire is the element of freedom, after all, and is not meant to be contained.
Losing Control
While the woman may give off an impression of being impulsive and carefree, she is in fact very much in control of herself, and is capable of keeping herself from doing things if need be. Perhaps she doesn't always exercise this ability, but she has a very disciplined grip over it. This is because here race of nymph is one which is known for both their passion and their ability to unintentionally destroy. If not controlled carefully, fire can spread and consume everything in its path. While she strongly believes that fire is not death and destruction, but passion and freedom, Serafina remains afraid that she will lose control and that those around her will be victims of this.
Swimming/Water
This is rather logical, isn't it? Swimming requires water, water extinguishes fire, and Fina's true form is fire. It doesn't take a genius to put the facts together and guess why she has a fear of fire: it can be very damaging for her. In her human form, being in water will weaken her greatly. However, were she to be doused with water or something of the like whilst in her pure state, she would be weakened so greatly that death isn't a possibility to be ruled out. Needless to say, she stays as far away from oceans and rivers and the like as much as she can, even if it means taking the longer route.
-Mother was a somewhat forgotten wife in a harem, and left to fight in the war after having Fina. She died, and thus Fina has very little memories of her, other than warmth and light.
-She was one of a good deal of children
-Often ran away to the forest nymph dwelling to climb trees
-Let temper get the best of her and burned down 1/4 of their territory
-To escape the blame, being young and frightened, she ran away.
-Fina traveled on her own for a few months before being taken in by a wandering motley group, composed of people from every species.
-She traveled with them for ten years, until she was eighteen. Over that time, gained an appreciation for each species, as well as various skills such as cooking, gathering, swindling, pickpocketing, entertaining, etc.
-She returned to her village after another year of solitary wandering, to find that people had believed her dead, tracing her trail to the ocean, which they believed she had fallen in. The village had also recently been ransacked by enemy soldiers, and was in very poor condition.
-Stayed in the village for a while to help with the reconstruction. Upon hearing that a young representative from each group was needed, she volunteered. Partially to end the war, partially for adventure, and partially to escape the town, because she has wanderlust and disliked staying in one place for too long.
Other
- Prior to the beginning of the journey, Serafina had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Nobility himself, Chiron the centaur -a highly uninspired name, as far as she is concerned. Anyway, she had been hungry, starving, even, and stole a bit of food from a few sleeping travelers. Okay, so maybe it was more than just a bit. But she had been getting a bad vibe off of them anyway, and it wasn't as though she was stealing gold or anything, right? She's never been particularly materialistic, anyway. Back to the point, they woke up and immediately began searching, because as it happens, they hadn't any gold and that was the last of their rations. The travelers were centaurs, and therefore allies of the nymphs, but did have a bit of prejudice against the species, and kind of stereotyped her by immediately believing -albeit accurately- that she had done it. They confronted her, pushing her against a tree and such, and started swearing at her to give them back the food. Well, Fina wasn't going to have that, and was about to retort, when some young lad with silver hair came running over, shouting some nonsense about the guys around her being villains who were hurting some poor woman. Obviously, Fina was having none of that- she dislikes being seen as helpless, and especially dislikes people thinking she needs saving. So when he came over to help her, she decided to teach the fool a lesson about judging situations and making assumptions about the strength of people. She slipped the food into his bag, and framed him for the thievery. Fina is a skilled talker and very persuasive, so she soon had the travelers eating out of her hands, regardless of prejudice, and believing that she was a victim[/i, and that the centaur had done it. When they let her go to blame him instead, she gave the lad a flirtatious wink, the sort of smirk that clearly says [i]"Poor woman, huh?" and was on her way.
Oh, woe is me, the poor victim. That'll teach him to go around assuming things about people, and sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, she thought, biting into the bit of food that she had kept from the bag.
