no princess

Name: Penelope 'Pepper' Wright

Age: 15/16 (she doesn't actually know when her birthday is, so it's one or the other - she's not entirely sure)

Gender: female

Type: Wakings - Spires

Appearance:

Pepper is a determined tomboy, by design more than anything else, but it's not something she's giving up. It started young - life was always easier for boys than girls on the streets, for a variety of reasons, and Pepper always made sure that she was as hard as any of her peers, whatever sex they happened to be. In fact, she grew up with a point to prove in that respect and she has more than a couple of scars from old fights, which she wears with pride. A pretty princess, she is not, especially since she does everything she can with her appearance to ensure that nobody will mistake her for anything of the sort.

She dresses like a boy, refuses to wear skirts, and doesn't exactly have the highest standards of personal hygiene (though she does, quietly, make sure that whilst she may look dirty, she doesn't smell - she considers it a fine line to walk, and something she tries to accomplish when nobody is looking). Her latest fight against femininity was to shave off all her hair, which she did a couple of months back after someone made an offhand comment about how it was her best feature and that she would look 'lovely' if she grew it. She'd always kept it short, but she cut it all off that night and shaved it close to her skull. There's not much she can do about the fact she's got rather striking green eyes - though she's taken to carrying around a pair of google-like shades with her which she found on a dumpheap around the same time as she lost her hair, which she's not above starting to wear all the time if people pick up on that.

She's happiest when she's mistaken for a boy - which happens on occasion. She used to be mistaken all the time, but that's happening less and less now as she's growing up and developing curves. She doesn't want curves - she is of the opinion that being considered physically attractive is a bad bad thing - she does not want to be thought of as any kind of sex object, that's just dangerous.

Personality:

Pepper is a friendly type - sort of. She's friendly in that she'll talk to anyone. She comes across as outgoing and almost cocky (though possibly without the 'almost' there, but the smile that accompanies it generally takes the edge off). She presents herself as confident and knowledgeable, as someone who knows how to take care of herself. She has no problems with just walking up to a complete stranger, no matter who they are, and striking up a conversation as though they were old friends. Pepper knows full well that it's not what you know in life - it's who you know. So, she makes a point of knowing as many people as possible. You can never tell when knowing someone could be the key. She's survived on the streets over the years through a combination of fighting her corner, and knowing who to run to if you're outmatched. She's street-smart and always has someone to vouch for her.

That said, she's also very alone, for all she knows the majority of the city's homeless and street population. She knows that knowing people is the key - but she's also aware that a girl who comes to rely too heavily on the wrong person can end up just where she doesn't want to be. So, whilst Pepper is surface-friendly, she's very wary of putting her deeper trust in people, though she tries not to advertise this too much. She's often come across as trusting someone, but she's always holding something back. Pepper has no real family and she's very aware that when it comes down to it, she's all alone in the world. She'd never admit it, but she's terrified about her future - about where she even has one and, if so, what it holds. She's looking for something to come along and set her up for life and it hasn't happened yet - truth be told, she's getting a little desperate now and there's a danger she'll jump at something that seems too good to be true, just to avoid her worst nightmare - which is to end up either living in a hovel spewing out babies or, worse, being on her back for a living. It's one of the reasons she continually tries to deny her femininity. Pepper doesn't care whether what she ends up doing is legal or not - she just doesn't want it to revolve around sex.

City History:

Pepper has lived her life on the streets - she doesn't really have a clear memory of any time when she wasn't homeless, or getting on for homeless. She never knew her father and her mother died when she was young and since then, she's been pushed from pillar to post. She ended up with nowhere left to go and fending for herself when she was around seven years old and she'd tell you she's done okay for herself since then.

What that involved was survival. She's done whatever she needed to get by - within her own limits. She's managed to avoid the worst of the predators out there, and she's kept her head above water. That doesn't mean she's lily-white though, far from it. She's had her hand in enough pockets, doe her fair share of petty crimes, though nothing really heavy. The most serious job she's done was as a look out for a string of robberies a couple of years ago - she faded into the background when the gang of guys doing them got caught. Of course, not all of her various jobs have had a criminal bent - she'd picked up legit jobs where she could. She sold papers for a while, ran errands, whatever paid.

Over the years, Pepper has got to know a lot of people of various ages amongst the homeless and near-homeless of Eidolon City's population, and she keeps in light contact with as many people as possible. She might not see them all all the time, but she has always been the kind of person who can drop in - that was how she grew up, in rotation between a variety of people, cadging a bed for the night, or some food, or even just a warm spot by the latest oildrum fire.

World History:

Penny was always a talented girl, her parents decided that from the moment she could walk. She showed an inclination towards gymnastics from the word go, and that inclination turned out to be real talent. Her coach said that she could be as good as they got, and so from that moment on, Penny's life was geared towards one goal: the Olympics. Oh, Penny wanted it as much as anyone else, but she really did have days where she longed for some freedom from the constraints of a rigid regime of school and training that left her little time for anything else. She'd just qualified for her national team when the coma hit.

Special Skills and Abilities:

Pepper's quick on her feet and handy - she can pick a pocket with some skill and isn't bad at picking locks.

Weaknesses:

Pepper is basically a one man band. She has no family, and she doesn't trust anyone enough to have adopted one either. She's very cautious about relying on people, and so tends to spread herself around, making sure that she doesn't depend too much on any one person. It's worked well for her, but what it means is that she's got nobody who she can totally rely on, there's nobody that she's certain will help her in anything at all - and she doesn't want there to be anyone like that. She's terrified of making herself vulnerable. As far as Pepper is concerned, the only person she can truly rely on is herself, but that makes for a very lonely existence, if you get right down to the core of it.

She's badly educated - school was an optional extra that Pepper generally didn't choose to take. She's had some schooling, because they handed out free meals, but her literacy levels mostly still in grade school and she has no real knowledge of the world outside of Eidolon City. She can tell you anything you want about the social structure of the city's tunnels, but she's never even heard of the countries the war is being fought in, nevermind be able to find them on a map. Her world is severly limited.

Pepper has no idea where she's going in life, and that's beginning to scare her. Life was easier when she was a little kid - people felt sorry for a little kid, or she was small enough to be useful. Now she's growing up, and her world is changing. Plus, she's undeniably turning into a *gasp* girl. She feels very strongly that she has to figure life out, and her future, but she doesn't have a clue where to start. It doesn't help that she won't take anyone else's advice either - or ask for it.

Which is another thing of hers - she's determinedly self-sufficient. Bullishly so. She's grown up on her own wits, and she's learned. And one of the things she's learned is that you don't admit weakness. Problem is that Pepper has a tendency to take this too far, not quite cluing into the fact that sometimes you need to admit that you don't know, that if you do that, other people can help. But Pepper won't - not if she can help it, even if it's blindingly obvious she's not coping with something.

Strengths:

Pepper has, over the years, built up a decent network of low-level contacts. It's not like she can tell you about anything really big going down, but she keeps her ear to the ground, which means there's a good chance of her knowing what's going on, or knowing someone who'll know.

Pepper's fairly unassuming - she's a friendly, seeming harmless, girl and people seem to give her the benefit of the doubt more often than not.

Family or Connections:

Pepper has no family, but she has lots of connections in the underground and homeless community.

Residence:

Of no fixed abode, though she hangs around the six street bridge a lot, and if she's not there, leaving a message with whoever is there for her will generally work.

Career:

None

PB: Rhiana Griffiths

Other Information:

Pepper's handwriting font can be downloaded here!