Appearance: Corinne is strangely pale for her dark heritage, her black hair being one of few visible traits she got from her father. Said hair is medium-length and straight, often tied back into a messy ponytail. Her eyes are light blue, usually either sparkling with mischief or staring into space contemplatively. She stands at 5â4â, a bit tall for an elf but not unusual for a human. Her build is slim and lightweight, but thereâs no hint of dainty weakness in her wiry limbs. She doesnât exactly put much effort into her outfit, especially considering that most of her clothes become singed or coated in ash several times before she discards them.
Personality: To make up for her fairly human appearance, Corinne has an unusual personality. She likes people to think her mysterious, mostly because she finds it amusing. She doesnât really understand social situations, but sheâs at least polite. Like the rest of her personality, her sense of humor doesnât always line up with the norm, but she always enjoys a laugh, and sheâs so stubborn sheâs almost spoiled. Thatâs not quite the right word, thoughâitâs more that when she wants something, she works toward it without stopping until itâs hers, not that she expects someone else to get it for her. Her tenacity means that she also has a bit of an anger problem. Though she doesnât get visibly irritated or strike out at people, she will smile to her enemyâs face and then destroy his house, if sheâs bothered enough. Sheâs also an excellent analytical mind, perhaps a cause or an effect of her lack of social skillsâwhen sheâs off in her own little world, sheâs almost always figuring how to improve the mechanisms of whatever machine she saw most recently. When she was nine, for example, she submitted for patent the blueprints to one of her creationsâshe actually managed to build a better mousetrap. Of course, her design was rejected because her potential buyers didnât see the point in buying all the beveled glass hand mirrors and small countriesâ worth of pure diamond, but itâs the principle of the matter thatâs important.
Background: She never knew her father, so Corinne ended up being raised by a human mother who feared that her daughter would be persecuted for her genetics, so much so as to keep her out of the public eye for far too long. Until she was eighteen, Corinne never left her house unsupervisedâas far as her mother knew. She wanted to see the outside for what it was, and what Corinne wanted, Corinne got. She snuck out of the house almost every night for a long time, learning on the streets the truths that her governesses didnât teach in her daily lessons. After a few years of this, her frazzled mother had had enough of punishing her for escaping the house, bringing in more measures to keep her inside, and finding her gone again the next night, so she kicked her out. With only the clothes on her back and enough food for three days, Corinne had to find another place to stay. Homeless, skinny teenage girls arenât exactly the perfect demographic for engineering jobs, but she managed to get herself a decent rĂ©sumĂ© before she found a respectable-looking ship leaving her hometown and applied for a position as soon as possible.
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Corinne strode through the bustling crowd, keeping her eye on the numbers posted in front of the buildings she passed. After using her heavy bag to shove past quite a few stylish ladies who gaped at her and muttered about her âoutlandishâ clothingâlooked in a mirror lately, darlings?âand narrowly avoiding being run over by a chaise-and-four, she finally made it to the address sheâd seen in the advertisement.
âMay I help you, sirâah, miss?â The man sitting at the desk hadnât been startled to hear a visitor entering the mechanicâs shop, but upon seeing who it was, he did look a little surprised, and, Corinne thought, patronizing.
âIâm here to inquire about the job.â He nodded, but she still saw a hint of disbelief in his eyes. It annoyed her to no end, and his next comment just made that worse.
âYou mean the one posted in our advertisement?â No, she meant the job they didnât tell anyone about. âThe⊠head mechanic position?â Corinne hated that ingratiating smile. âNo offense, miss, but wouldnât you rather find a job more appropriate for someone of your status?â He looked her up and down, clearly judging her. This, of course, meant war.
âYes, actually, sir, I did mean the⊠head mechanic position.â Corinneâs cold imitation of his voice caught the man off guard and before he could reply, she went on. âOf course, if you want to send an experienced engineer with the education of a college graduate away to find a job in embroidery or cuisine, without even glancing at my credentials, I wonât hold it against you. I suppose I should find a more deserving workplace.â She pivoted on the spot, flouncing out and leaving the employee speechless, but at the door she paused and turned. âOh, and you should probably rethink the arrangement of that bookshelf. Its structure is subpar and itâs only staying up because all its weight is supported by one load-bearing bookend, which means I can do this.â She reached out and pulled that bookend, a statue of an angel, off of the shelf, and sure enough, as soon as its wingtips lost contact with the plank above them, the books promptly fell out, bringing the shelf with them. âYou might want to fix that. Have a pleasant day.â Placing the angel statue delicately on the floor, Corinne stepped out the door. That was one more bridge burned. As she walked away from the place, she sighed. She lost more job opportunities that way.