Raz, Razzie, Iya, Aziya, Az,
Sparrow
The Hope
Chloe Kagamigawa
Eighteen
But, she can do more than just grant hope. When you're confident, when you're hopeful, you tend to be more powerful. In Raziya's case, when she grants a certain person hope, they will be both physically and mentally stronger. Their punches will do much more damage, they'll have faster reflexes, their speed will be increased, and so will their resistance to attacks. But in order to "buff" someone else up, Raziya will lose half of what she gives. Her reflexes will be a bit slower, she won't be as fast, and her kicks won't do as much, and she'll be more vulnerable, though her thought process will stay the same. This 'buff' will last as long as she wants it to, but it can only be given to one person at a time.
If someone were to be injured, she could also... "steal" the wound, by transferring it from the victim to herself. In other words, the originally injured would be completely healed, but instead Raziya would be wounded. She can either take it in one instant, or she can take it over time. If she takes the injury over time, she'll take the exact amount of damage the victim originally did, while keeping all of her energy. Only, it will be more painful in a sense, for it'll keep getting worse and worse until she fully absorbs the wound. But if she takes all the damage from the victim in an instant, she will take additional damage and a fair amount of energy will be drained. But, the person she took the injury from will be instantly and completely healed. And to absorb an injury, she must come in contact with the targeted person. It has to be direct contract--- skin to skin. It can't be clothing or it won't work, and if she's taking it over time, then they have to stay in contact. It cannot be done from afar. In other words, if Raziya cannot reach/come in contact with the victim, she can't take the wound.
And of course, she has more than just the power to heal. She also has some offensive moves. Her main arm is a bow, she can summon at any time. This bow of hers cannot be broken, but if she drops it and it's at least within fifty feet of her, she can't just re-summon it. But if it is, she can summon it whenever she wishes, and she can also de-summon her bow when she's done using it. It'll be nothing but dust until she decides to summon it again.
She also has a special move related to her bow. She can only muster up enough energy to use it once every few hours; the move takes a lot out of her, though some would agree it's worth it. She can launch an enchanted arrow that's nearly impossible to dodge. The light it glows with is blinding, and while she's charging the arrow, all of her allies are immune to any kind of damage. Not only that, but everyone gets a boost not only to their confidence, but their abilities as a whole. It's like the 'buff' she can give one person at a time, though instead it's only for a minute or two, and it affects the whole party (yet again, despite her). The enchanted arrow itself hurts like a ***** and whoever it hits, it takes away hope. It decreases their confidence, their strength, their speed, and how fast they process things. But when she uses this move, as mentioned before, it takes a hell lot of energy out of her.
And she has one more offensive trick up her sleeve. It doesn't have anything to do with magical powers, but surprisingly, she packs quite the punch. About two or three years ago she started to take grappling classes, and she's gotten quite good. In fact, she's one of the best in her class... and yet, over the years, she's still managed to remain clumsy. (People suspect half of the reason she's so good at it is because of her temper. It's a way for her to get her anger out on people...)
Raziya is an overall beautiful girl. With blonde hair that cascades down to her chest level, along with twinkling green eyes and a warm smile, she's always been a welcoming person. Her skin is lightly colored, but not to the point that it's pale, and it goes well with her soft, blonde hair-- which she usually keeps in pigtails, pushed to the front. The pigtails are always held together by large, colorful bows. The color of the bow really just depends on the outfit she's wearing. Speaking of outfits, Raziya enjoys wearing a number of outfits, whether it be a fancy dress or what someone would wear just on a casual trip to the supermarket.
Raziya is a combination of many things. At first glance, she may seem a little quiet, perhaps shy and even oblivious. But in reality, she is none of those things. Actually, Raziya has quite a temper; though very few people know. And she may have a attitude, but over the years, she's learned how to control it. Even though she may get mad often, she does her best to hide it, whether the solution be excusing herself and punching a wall or simply holding it in, she manages.
But despite what one may refer to as a bad temper, Raziya can be quite the nice person. In fact, one of her most apparent traits is how caring she is. She thinks in a broad way; she thinks about how everyone has a life, a family, and something they care about. And to help everyone with this life of theirs, as fruitful as it may be, she tries to influence as many people as she possibly can; whether it be through helping with some kind of emotional problem or just some homework. And not only does she try to care about other people, but she's quite good at it. It's something about her; whenever she talks she just sparks something in you, she sparks a sense of... hope.
And caring about people takes some degree of selflessness as well, and selflessness is something Raziya will never lack. She wouldn't hesitate to put her life in danger for the sake of another--- especially when it comes to her friend's lives. It isn't exactly a negotiable subject, either. Not after what happened... But that's for later.
You might ask what makes a person so selfless, and that answer is loyalty. To her friends and anyone she views as close, she believes that to deserve such friends, one must stay loyal and selfless. Betrayal is never, or is it ever going to be an option. In her mind, she has no right to betray her friends, or they shouldn't be her friends at all. And yet, even if one of her friends betrayed her, she would easily forgive them. In fact, she strongly believes in second chances, though in her mind, she's already on her second chance. That's why it's so important for her to be so loyal and selfless. She doesn't want to mess up a second time; there are no third chances.
Speaking of loyalty, that also means keeping everyone upbeat. In fact, she's very charismatic when it comes to these types of things. At least, everyone thinks she is, when really all she says is a few words to perk someone up. Since she's so used to her pep talks working, she doesn't really put that much effort into it--- she's so used to it working all the time. And yet, when Raziya is in need of some form of hope, she can't get it that easily.
Believe it or not, Raziya is terrible when under pressure. She might as well be a crumbled up cookie. Of course, for everyone's sake, she tries to hide it, but there is no hiding panic. She'll be overwhelmed by pure stress, and at times she'll hate herself for being so panicked. But as long as the burden isn't completely on her, she won't absolutely melt-- but that doesn't mean she won't panic at all, because she will. But if the burden is on her, and it's a large burden (like, oh, you know-- being one of the six aspects) she's going to have a break down. She can probably hold in her feelings until she's alone, but she's gong to have to melt eventually.
And one of her other flaws happen to be how clumsy she is. In other words, never ask Raziya to hold something fragile for you. She has a long list of items she has broken, and you'd be doing that list a favor if you carried it yourself. She has what some people refer to as "butterfingers", where items frequently slip right out of her hands, even though she has no intent of dropping it in the first place.
But even though she's clumsy, and not the best under pressure, she has one thing that redeems her: and that's book smarts. She's a very clever person. In fact, she always was, ever since she was born. It's not exactly something she 'learned', but her mind simply processes things much more quickly than others, which also gives her a superb memory. Plus, not only that, but she's very keen. Even the littlest details, Raziya tends to notice. She's much more observant than most, which makes her a great investigator. Though, she may end up dropping whatever she happens to be looking at...
And she was a horrible kid. She threw the most violent tantrums, her rage hot and hurtful. In many cases, she would hit people, and even find bats and things alike to hit them with. In fact, three babysitters quit and she was expelled from two daycare centers. Raziya has strong punches, and she did back then too. She gave the other kids bruises, and sometimes caused long-lasting damage. She never bullied anyone, but she wasn't able to control her temper back then, so whenever she got mad, she took it out on other people. Most of the kids that knew her were afraid to fight back when she'd go into this rage modes, but there was one kid she came across one day, that was... different.
By this time, she was around six or seven. She was used to getting her way. But the moment she began lashing out, on this one particular student-- things didn't go as planned. This girl was a new kid. She seemed timid and someone who wouldn't really know the first thing about fighting, but it was the exact opposite. There were a few rumors going around about Raziya and her foul temper. This kid's Mom was anxious, since her child --Arabella-- was going to the same school as Raziya. So, she enrolled Arabella in a martial arts class.
At first Raziya took Arabella by surprise. She seemed to be winning what wasn't even supposed to be a fight, though things quickly deteriorated for Raziya. Arabella used the most advanced moves she could muster, and ended up beating Raziya to a pulp. After that day, she had a bitter rage toward Arabella, though she knew her place. Never again had she tried to lash out on anyone. She'd punch the table a few times, but never people. And this was all because of Arabella, who actually felt sorry for Raziya. She could only imagine how embarrassing it must have felt to be taken down in so few moves, and by a timid and seemingly weak girl. And it was bad enough that Raziya had to think about it everyday; it was impossible to avoid, they did walk side by side on their way home. They lived right next to each other.
Raziya was always picked on after that. Even with all the threats Raziya threw out, with all the punches she managed, it was relentless. The teasing, the laughing-- she couldn't stand it. But most of all, they caused her to develop a bitter rage toward Arabella. In fact, Raziya was furious. In her eyes, she'd done nothing wrong. She was simply handling her anger; she never realized people were actually afraid of her. And as this bitter rage started to build up... as did the urge for revenge.
She was still in middle school, around sixth grade before she decided to confront Arabella. It was a cold approach, with absolutely no affection. But there wasn't any fighting, any threat in her voice--- just a hell lot of anger. But as they talked, Arabella started to explain how Raziya was hurting people, and she was simply acting in defense. In fact, her Mother actually warned her about Raziya. At first, Raziya wasn't sure what to think of this. She wanted to believe that Arabella was lying to her; to guilt trip her, to make her feel bad. But as days went on... she thought about the topic more and more, and Arabella's defense seemed more valid. But there was still a lot of that bitter rage left inside. But there was always one thing that stuck out to Raziya about that once conversation. While Arabella was talking about how many people Raziya had hurt, she said that even though Raziya had done some unforgivable things... she believes in second chances.
It was only until the end of seventh grade that Raziya truly saw the horrific results of her angry-induced decisions. Arabella and Raziya were walking home, still side by side, as their houses were still right next to each other. Arabella, as always, was oblivious to her surroundings. She had stuffed head buds into her ears, and the music was so loud, Raziya could hear when they were in Arabella's ears. And, as usual, Arabella was walking a bit faster than Raziya was, her eyes closed, and her attention focused on the song she happened to be humming.
And it was this moment that it happened. Time seemed to slow down when Raziya spotted a gigantic truck, speeding along the road, heading right toward Arabella. She never saw it, and Raziya knew this full well. At this moment, she had to make a decision.
Should I save her?
Raziya was thinking so fast, that she had enough time to comprehend what was happening, and that she could easily save a life. Arabella's life. And there was still that bitter rage, dwelling deep down inside of her. Panic and hatred got the best of her as time returned to its normal speed. Raziya ran as fast as she possibly could toward the sidewalk, her eyes streaked with memories of all the crude jokes, of all the snotty remarks ever thrown Raziya's way. Why should she save someone who caused her so much pain? She made it to the end of the crosswalk in no time, but Arabella remained oblivious to the truck speeding toward her.
Should I call out? Should I push her out of the way?
Rayzia's heart raced. She didn't know what to do. She hated this person. This person ruined her life. Was she really going to let that continue? But---
At that moment, it was too late. There was a blood curdling scream and a gust of wind. Guilt clutched Raziya's heart as she watched the truck smash into Arabella. In an instant, she was gone. Time was moving forward, There was no turning back from the horrible decision that Raziya had made. She killed Arabella. Not--- not physically, but she could've easily shouted Arabella's name. She could've pushed her out of the way, just in time. But she didn't.
Raziya went into a depression for weeks. She couldn't stand herself; in fact, at dark times, she even considered suicide... Though something inside kept her going. But after a while, for the most part, the depression wore off. After a good two and a half years, she began to reevaluate life. And the first thing she thought of is that one line Arabella had said to her one day in sixth grade. "I believe in second chances."
And Raziya started to evaluate her years in High School as... a second chance. She knew she had to control her temper, which she had in check. And never would she betray anyone... not like she betrayed Arabella, after she spoke her true feelings to Raziya, which Raziya actually thought of as a gift. And... never... never again would she be so selfish. No. If it ever came to another situation, where someone's life is in danger, and Raziya had to choose whether to save them or not-- even if it means sacrificing her own life, she would save that person. Regardless of who they are, or used to be.
And never, would she let someone get as depressed as she was. Never would she allow someone to think the things she did. At all costs, it was now her primary goal to spark hope in every lost soul. After that, Raziya was never the same.
- Spare set of car keys (The keys are to her Dad's car, though she has permission to use it whenever she pleases, as long as he knows she's leaving.)
- Arabella's ear buds (Raziya always has these in her pockets to remind her to be selfless and kind.)
- A watch, to tell the time