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APPEARANCE
Height: 5’3”

Scars/Tattoos/Piercings: She wears ear cuffs at all times, but she has no tattoos or significant scars.

In Val’s line of work, being short is an advantage. She’s trying to keep the peace between everyone, and shorter people are usually not as intimidating. Of course, there’s always the ones who question her abilities due to her lack of height, but Valeria can be good at... convincing others that she’s qualified.

Valeria has a child-like appearance. At a glance, it appears that her body is as straight as an arrow. No curves almost anywhere. This is helped in part by the loose and big clothing that she wears, but for the most part she just never really developed.

Her hair isn’t light brown and it isn’t dark brown, it’s just brown. It reaches almost to her elbows when down, which is almost all the time. Val prefers to leave it alone and let it take care of itself. Val’s eye color fluctuates depending on her mood, but the default color is an icy, almost blinding blue.

As mentioned earlier, Valeria’s clothing is used partly to keep up her act. One of the biggest aspects of her job is to blend into the background and stay out of the way until she’s needed. If dressing like a little girl is what she needs to do, then by golly that’s what she’ll do. Then again, if she needs to go somewhere where children aren’t allowed, Val has no qualms with strapping on heels and wearing more mature clothing.

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Valeria’s entire life revolves around neutrality. Being a Mediator means that a person cannot choose sides, and she respects that. So Val keeps to the background. She’s got a talent for learning people’s names and situations without them learning anything about her. This is mainly done by eavesdropping in plain sight. Valeria knows how to look occupied or distracted when in reality she’s drinking in every word somebody is saying. Some of the stuff she hears may even be incriminating, but Val refuses to break her code of middle ground. Unless what a person is doing might negatively affect both races, she’ll leave them alone.

In the past, Val has been accused of being a witch or having the ability to see the future, but that isn’t the case. It’s just that, unlike most of the people in Hiria, she isn’t blinded by prejudice and lies. Valeria can look at a situation from all angles because she believes that everyone is an equal. Nobody is perfect, not even Mediators, so one race cannot be blamed for everything. She rarely, if ever, jumps to conclusions and has friends on both sides of the wall. Yes, even Mediators are allowed to have those.

When around friends, people would be surprised at how social she is. Mediators keep to themselves so much that it gives others the belief that they don't enjoy company. For the most part, this is entirely untrue. A majority of Mediators grow up in tight-knit communities, surrounded by people. While that does cause some people to isolate themselves, Val was on the other end of the spectrum. She loves big crowds and social gatherings, but Val doesn't mind if she isn't the center of attention. Participation is what's key for her.

Valeria doesn’t panic in emergencies, something that has saved lives before. She can keep calm in almost any circumstance, and that usually helps calm everyone around her as well. And due to the fact that neither side of Hiria really has any claim to her, Valeria is free to make decisions that elected officials might be unable to make, especially the more unpopular ones. But if Val has learned one thing in life, it’s this: Compromise isn’t always the easiest or most popular choice, but it’s usually the best one.

Hobbies: Reading, talking with friends, eating

Career/Role: Mediator

Intimidation: This is Val’s most useful tool when dealing with stubborn or questioning people. It generally occurs when she’s angry or irritated, but she can do this whenever. Her eyes turn red, she grows by a foot, horns sprout, and her voice drops an octave. Technically, she can’t do anything in this form other than talk, but nobody really knows that.

Healing: If Valeria spots an injured Human, Werewolf, or Mediator, she is obligated to assist them in any way she can. Her powers don’t go beyond broken bones and she can’t replace lost blood, but Val will do her best to get the person to a hospital if they require further assistance.

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Valeria doesn’t know who her parents are. She was born in a small village where everyone was raised by everyone. All of the adults helped take care of the children equally, and favouritism wasn’t allowed. Of course, this seemed totally natural to Val, who didn’t know any different. At the halfway mark of every year, there was a special ceremony when all the children moved to their sister-village, Lipnet, on the other side of the wall. It wasn’t until Val officially became a Mediator that she realized this was completely unorthodox. That had simply been life back then.

Growing up in these two villages was different for several reasons. The biggest difference was probably what they learned about Humans and Werewolves. Instead of being taught that the former were close-minded and cruel and that the latter were animalistic and dangerous, they were told that both species were just misunderstood and that it was their job to figure out what they were really like. Without being caught.

That is the first step for every villager. Almost everyone in Lipnor was tolerant of others, but not everyone had the talents needed to become a full-fledged Mediator. Children trained for years in order to pass the test that the leaders had created. The test was new every year, but the basic contents were the same: Neutrality, Tolerance, Power Control, and Blending In were the elements needed to pass. Valeria was determined to become a Mediator and studied and practiced whenever she could. Blending and Tolerance came naturally, but it took a while for her to master her powers and Neutrality.

Val successfully completed the test when she was fourteen years old. She officially became a Mediator and was free to help the people of Hiria. This is her third year working on her own, and Valeria loves it. She still visits Lipnor and Lipnet when she has the chance, but Val refuses to tell officials where they are located. An officer one time attempted to follow her, but he only made it ten minutes before being caught and sent back to town with surprisingly moist pants.