application;

[unremittent]

sweetness
ain't gonna get you home
and you're bound to get a taste
of travelling alone

GENERAL

Name: Petra Warren-Yates
Nickname(s): Most people stick to Petra, but Venus calls her "Pop Rocks," and the nickname has mutated to the point where some people call her "Rocky."
Gender/Pronouns: Female; she/her
Birthdate/Age: April 20th; 15 years old
Grade: Sophomore
Sexuality: Presumedly heterosexual

Major Arcana: The Sun
Minor Arcana: Coins

Concept: Supposedly salt-of-the-earth southerner hides iron will in fanny pack pocket.

APPEARANCE

Height:	5' 0"	Hair Color:	Red
Build:	Soft	Eye Color:	Brown

Freckles, freckles, freckles, freckles. She's got a lot of freckles — on her face, on her arms, everywhere. If anyone wondered whether or not she was a natural ginger, they'd have their answer in her very milky complexion and utter inability to tan, despite the fact that she clearly has no aversion to the sun.

Out of uniform, she wears a lot of sundresses and overalls and high waisted jeans that are actually pretty fashionable right now, but would definitely be in her wardrobe even if they weren't. The spirit of the 90s is alive in her personal style, unfortunately. Also, she owns a fanny pack and? She loves it. Catch her in it every single day. You need some chapstick? Cell phone charger? Hair tie? She's got y'all covered.

PB: Shannon Purser

PERSONALITY

Likes: apple rings, baby pumpkins, squash blossoms, little frogs, hands-on activities, the feeling of mud and clay between her fingers, caramel corn, her fanny pack, double denim, crushed velvet, shooting, winning, getting exactly her way, being around people, reading ahead, feeding her friends

Dislikes: running, raw fish, diet soda, minimalist design, the smell of hand sanitiser, the open ocean, winter, cheap colored pencils, being infantilised, being alone, compromise, people who start whispering whenever they talk about things that scare them, people who are jumpy about death in general, when people realise she's more pretentious than she lets on---
When asked to describe Petra, one of the first words most people think of is "grounded." And they're not wrong. Patient and practical, with unexpectedly impressive calluses, she tends to project a real salt-of-the-earth vibe. Those who interact with her briefly —in some class or in passing during a club meeting— likely remember a sturdy girl with dirt under her fingernails and a warm, "aw shucks" manner that pairs nicely with her Georgia peach accent. They may remember her as friendly (true), easygoing (highly debatable), and most of all — just plain simple.

That last part couldn't be more wrong. You see, okay, it's not that Petra is lying to y'all — it'd even be a stretch to say she's misrepresenting herself — but her "just a simple country lawyer" bit? Well, it might be... exaggerated. A charmingly folksy mannerisms she picked up from watching her dad in court, something that seemed to win jurors over to his side even when the facts didn't. This is Petra's first time interacting with her peers on a daily basis, and she wants to do it right, wants to be liked and trusted and invited to parties.

And here's what she's learned from her brief observation of humanity via waiting rooms and court rooms and grocery stores and shooting competitions: people don't like complicated girls and the don't love smart girls either. They like their mamas and they like their dogs, which leads Petra to conclude that the best way to get ahead is to be unflaggingly loyal and know how to bake pie. What you see is her best attempt.

It's not perfect. Those who really know Petra quickly sense that she's a bit sharper than she lets on. Clever, observant, and well on her way to being highly educated — something that only slips out in her obsession with landing the bullseye. Yes, she's wearing overalls and yes, she knows her way around a spade, but Petra's not some farm girl. She lives in Buckhead. Her parents have graduate degrees. She probably will too, someday.

And as for the assumption that she's easygoing, agreeable? Oh, lordy, lordy. Petra isn't confrontational, sure, but she has never, ever, in her life, known the meaning of the word compromise. Maybe you can blame her parents for not teaching her how to hear "no," or maybe it's just her naturally iron-willed personality, but either way, once her mind is made up, there is absolutely no swaying her. She'll listen to your POV and may very well follow your lead, but she doesn't take orders she disagrees with under any circumstances; she trusts herself to make the correct call. And while she's fair-minded and happy to moderate, once she's decided who's right and who's wrong, she can take a black-and-white stance on interpersonal disputes.

So. All right. She's still learning how to play nice with others. She'll get it in the end; call her an optimist, but she knows she will. Hell, she's already convinced half the school that she's sweeter than she really is. She's triumphed over so much in her life (death, for one, if you ask her oncologist) that she's hardly going to let something as trivial as a bad personality stop her now.

tl;dr

⊕: cheerful, confident, earthy, fair, intelligent, optimistic, patient, practical, resourceful, steady, talented, unflappable, warm
⊖: boisterous, calculating, dishonest, egocentric, gullible, indulgent, manipulative, messy, opinionated, ridiculous, stubborn, uncompromising, unpolished

SKILLS

Languages: English, and high-school level French. She's decent, not fluent, but maybe getting there, if she sticks with it through college. And honestly, just generally speaking, she's a pretty good talker — gets that from her pops.

Cooking: Petra isn't a master chef, and she's not the right person to ask if you're looking for avant-garde, haute cuisine, but if you're hungry and sad, she's your girl. Mac & cheese, banana pudding, shrimp and grits — anything she makes has about a pound of butter and approximately as much love, plus or minus a pinch.

Shooting sports: Her daddy first took her to the range when she was 6, and she's been an absolute crack at it ever since. Rifles are her weapon of choice, but there's basically nothing she can't shoot, from handguns, to shotguns, to paintball guns. Last year, she took 3rd place at the 14 & unders in the 50 metre rifle three positions. She's hoping to go to Junior Worlds this year.

Other precision sports: She's damn good at darts, too.

Pottery and sculpture: Petra loves getting her hands dirty for the sake of art, and while she's certainly not an expert at the pottery wheel, she does a pretty decent job of throwing pots and carving linoleum blocks. Drawing, not so much.

Gardening: She's really just okay at it and she doesn't know what the fuck she's doing, but much like with the pottery, she's happiest when she's elbow-deep in dirt. So, sure, hand her the wheelbarrow and she'll get going. Also, she has a weird affection for gourds.

HISTORY

Family:

Father: Jonathan "Tex" Yates, a very successful criminal defence lawyer, well-known for his theatrical presentation style and absolute dedication to his profession. Tex is, you guessed it, not a homebred Georgian, but he's been here for the better part of his adult life and is basically a local legend at this point. If you're picked up for murder and make well over six figures a year, he's the guy you'll call.

Mother: Celia Warren, stay-at-home mother who left her own flourishing law career when her only daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Celia has been micromanaging Petra's health for years as an outlet for her considerable intelligence and drive, and now that she's not even home, is liable to go absolutely bonkers from boredom.

Pets: Two golden retrievers (Flora and Fauna), a parakeet (Spatz), and a turtle (Gerald). Spatz is her favourite.

Hometown: Atlanta, GA.

When Petra was 3 1/2 years old, her mother noticed a funny lump in her daughter's belly while she was helping her in the bath. A few doctors visits later, they had answer — cancer (and neuroblastoma, to be exact). It was a traumatic time, probably. Petra certainly doesn't remember any of it. From her point-of-view, she may as well have been born with cancer, because her earliest memories involve hospitals, hospitals, hospitals.

Chemo, surgeries, follow-up appointments... Petra's illness became the family's whole life, and everything revolved around her. Boundaries? She's never heard of 'em. Desperate to please their sweet, sick child, her mom and dad said 'yes' to just about every request, and all attempts at rearing their daughter went out the window in favour of simply helping her survive.

And survive, she did. By the time she was 10, Petra was declared officially in remission — off all her medication and other than being a little short for her age, physically thriving. There wasn't a thing wrong with her, and absolutely no reason she couldn't rejoin normal society... except for one thing. She'd never really dipped her toes in those waters to begin with.

Petra was hospital-schooled with an individual tutor back when she was first diagnosed; when her mom quit work to stay home with her, she took over as teacher, and Petra has been home-schooled ever since. It was good, in some ways — she gets to study what she wants (which is most things) and work at her own pace (which is quickly) — but socially, she was falling behind. She had a naturally gregarious personality and a precocious charm that nurses loved, but there were no kids around, and other than the people she met at shooting competitions, she really had no friends to speak of. In fact, most of her social skills were learned in the courtroom, where she would often spend days on end, watching her daddy during trials.

It was all starting to drive her crazy. She decided she needed to go to a normal high school, and never one for half-measures, boarding school seemed like the perfect place to start. Her parents protested —she'd never been away from them that long— but if there's anything you should know about Petra, it's that once her mind is made up, she'll never budge an inch. Mom and dad knew it, so they helped her compile a list of suitably interesting and prestigious schools. Finchwood Academy was at the top.

Discovering Finchwood's true purpose was exciting for Petra, who made it her personal mission to laugh in the face of death. All that training isn't exactly her jam, but she loves the idea of being on a team... at least, hypothetically-speaking. In reality, her ability to take directions might just be a little questionable. But hey, that's never stopped her before. Nothing has.

COMBAT

Persona: Harahel
Element: Stone

ACADEMICS

Core Classes: English*, Mathematics*, Science*, Social Studies*, Training.

Elective Classes: Life skills, art.

Clubs: Gardening, student council.

General Performance: Petra is an excellent student: all honors classes, mostly As. A lifetime of permissive homeschooling has left her kind of restless in the traditional academic setting, though, and she's known to read ahead or skip around whenever she gets bored in class, and she sometimes treats deadlines like suggestions, more so than actual, firm end-dates. If she does poorly on an assignment, it's almost certainly because she turned it in late. She's dependable when it comes to group work, so it's clearly not that she is lazy, forgetful, or easily overwhelmed — she just sometimes decides other things are more important, and you know what? That's fine with her.

OOC

Player: cam
Email: captainkickflips at gmail
CDJ: gooddogs
Other Contact: dropbox
Time Zone: ???

Comments

[unremittent]

Character Name: Petra Warren-Yates

Squad: V
Squad Position Member (Low Level)
Primary Weapon: An underwater rifle. Petra's is nearly indistinguishable from a normal rifle, except, of course, in that it can fire underwater. As is common to amphibious firearms, it shoots tiny flechettes instead of bullets which make a distinctive buzzing sound when fired.
Combat Style: Strong, steady, and dependable — until the exact moment when she's not. Petra brings her sharpshooting skills to the battlefield, where she can be trusted to strike any reasonable target (and a few unreasonable ones, too) with precision and accuracy, and although she's not carrying a sniper, she likes the challenge of shooting from a great distance or odd angles.

Cheerful in the face of danger, while Petra has no intention of taking unnecessary risks, she also isn't one to flee from a fight. She'll hold her position even as the tides turn against her, making her a defensive valuable asset if others need to beat a hasty retreat. Unfortunately, that same trait can make her difficult to work with in chaotic situations — while she's happy to follow someone's instructions if they explain what to do and why, she never follows orders blindly, and will blatantly break rank if she disagrees with her leaders. Thankfully, that hasn't happened too often... yet.

Attribute: Balance

Persona Name: Harahel — angel of abundance, productivity, and practical intelligence
Persona Appearance: Harahel takes the form of, well, an angel. She's a cemetery statue, a beautiful woman with long feathered wings, made of a strange white rock that looks like marble, if marble had the rough, porous texture of old concrete. Her edges are chipped and her features are slowly wearing away — not just from the power of time alone (although she does appear surprisingly ancient), but also because she's being slowly subsumed by the earth.

Moss is growing over its right side, and creeping vines, moonflower and ivy, wrap its way around her base, her arms, her hands. Sometimes, the plants bloom — trumpet blossoms, usually. There are cracks in the stone where roots have taken hold, and inside those crumbling spaces you can see the warm, red-white-gold glow of citrine and quartz geodes.

Occasionally, when you look at her, it seems as though, perhaps, the vines are carved from crystal and rock, and the broken spaces are filled with flowers. Petra's not sure what that means, but it makes her feel very strange to look at it, and she's always relieved when it goes back to normal after a few good blinks.
Affinity: Stone
Weakness: Air
Ailment Susceptibility: Sleep