Al-Za'ir, Leila

[seba]

N A M E Seba
C O N T A C T S

• Forum PM or on the C-Box under the name Ammutseba
• AIM: devourer of stars

O T H E R . C H A R A C T E R S First one!
R A N D O M . F A C T I have an unhealthy obsession with toffee mochas from Starbucks. I also frequently worry over my feet for fear of ingrown toenails.

N A M E Leila (Layla) Al-Za'ir
N I C K N A M E S She's short on true nicknames, although temporary aliases are a dime-a-dozen for anyone who favors a mask.
A G E 28
B I R T H D A T E March 29
G E N D E R Female
S E X U A L I T Y Heterosexual
O C C U P A T I O N

Mercenary of sorts; duelist, alchemist, spy, assassin or otherwise. Though most astutely described as a free-roamer and slave to mystery, wanderlust, knowledge and power, Leila often finds herself on the performing end of such styles of work – whether it's in the name of lining her pockets or gathering contacts. She also favors referencing her brief time as a pirate captain, if for no other reason than most people thinking it a joke.

M A G I C ?

Leila was born with the innate ability of shapeshifting. Though her talents, while latent, are not quite so flexible or adaptable as others who share such a gift. She has great control over those forms she can shift into, but cannot shift into many. She is unaware on what limits her to certain forms rather than giving her the ability of taking on anything she pleases, but is privately quite grateful as each bestial shape she has possession over also floods her thoughts with their instincts and baser natures. This can immediately manifest as heightened instinct or deeply rooted emotional and instinctual conflict, although she has used her years wisely in learning how to stifle such foreign thoughts. Her present allowable forms include the caracal, the barn owl, and the puff adder.

Each shift is a grotesquely violent act, carnal in its imagery as if it were merely another biological function as opposed to magically aided at all. It is also painful, though on some level or another Leila has learned to come to terms with the feeling and only comments on it if asked.

H E I G H T 5'7"
W E I G H T 135
B U I L D

Athletically thin, with feminine curves detailing her slight frame just well enough so as not to be overpowering or take away from the sinewy, aggressive nature of her overall appearance.

E Y E S

Large and almond shaped, Leila's eyes are one of the most immediately curious – on account of their being visible, of course – things about her. Although both eyes hold the captivating, scrutinizing elements of a woman with deeper perceptions, they are heterochromatic and thus mismatched; one distinctively blue – glacial, even – and the other reminiscent of shades of toffee.

H A I R

Her hair is well kept in terms of general health, but to no accounting for style or taste. Though typically clean and free of the matting that so many of her transient lifestyle face, her dark hair is merely an extension of her body as opposed to a central hub for any vanity, and thus given little thought unless she is in a more disguising style of dress. Naturally straight, it is often messily half-up, tossed out of her eyes and adding to some lie of a deeper youth or the truth in her wilder selves.

I D E N T I F I E R S

Aside from her eye colors which are, for all intents, most often regarded as peculiar, Leila possesses several other denoting markings. She has a long scar that lines the front of her throat that acts as a remnant and reminder of a failed hanging, as well as a plethora of smaller, concealed tattoos from her earlier days in various troupes, bands, and even a short adventure as a member of a slave ring. The most prominent and easily seen of these is the large silhouette of a hawk on her back, near the base of her neck. Its wings are outstretched to either side in the likeness to some less flamboyant sense of heraldry, and its meaning and origin are kept private.

A P P E A R A N C E

In a crowd, Leila is distinctively average. Though possessing some flair for the dramatic and thus favoring darker or contrasting colors in her clothes when allowing herself such freedoms, she is well aware of the benefits of blending in; to be inconspicuous is to be wholly underestimated, after all.

Still, she is also tied to her cultural origins and a deep sense of practicality. Fine silks are tightly woven with only the briefest of accentuating, carefully dyed and thus concealed leathers as a light armor. Much of her tactical advantage lies in not being hit, of course, but one doesn't live through her ordeals without being even marginally prepared for unusual situations. These are often tied into her general outfit in some way or another, her style always being one of either an outlaw, a mercenary, or a vagrant of some other mischievous variety, but only to a carefully observant eye. The Carthonian preys upon the fact that most prying views are hardly so perceptive.

When less inclined to hiding her teeth, Leila's two largely visible weapons – a well-balanced cutlass and a short-ranged and delicately self-modified rifle as a tribute to her Western travels – are sheathed and holstered respectively, and easily viewed.

L I K E S

• Leila deeply enjoys solitude, but understands this to be a counterbalance to her so infrequently having it. Although a loner in spirit and activity, she is not a hermit by any stretch of the imagination and merely likes having moments in time where she can recollect herself.
  
• She is naturally most active during the evening, and deeply prefers the later hours. Whether this is an effect of her collective bestial instincts or a subconscious tactical choice is something she hasn't truly given pause to think on – but its likely both.
  
• She enjoys the color red, and likes to collect naturally shed feathers.
  
• The deserts of her origins are sparsely decorated with vibrantly colored vegetation and flowers, and consequently Leila views them as a marvel and a gift. She enjoys them immensely and regards them as highly beautiful regardless of form, toxicity or the pickiness of modern florists. However, this is double-sided and while most do not know or understand her reasoning, to be given such flowers is taken as a deep insult.
  
• She enjoys the learning, translation, and speaking of foreign and long-dead languages alike. It was through this that she pursued the ability of reading, and this branched off into varying scholarly pursuits, including her talent of alchemical creation.
  
• She likes to drink, but her lifestyle has allowed her a tolerance that makes getting drunk an expensive and rare occasion.

D I S L I K E S

• As aforementioned, she strongly resents receiving flowers as a gift.
  
• Coming from a family of high tradition and feminine oppression, Leila has nothing but disdain for weaker women or those who, to her eyes, allow themselves to become victims. A deep rooted survival instinct and years of observing various sheep to their proverbial slaughters has left her considerably intolerant of the common woman – whether she is abused by a husband she refuses to abandon or worse.
  
• Although she possesses a penchant – and talent! – for violence, senseless brutality and bloodshed are beneath her and she favors neither.
  
• Leila has never seen snow, but she can only imagine that she's not a fan.
  
• Although she knows how to sail and has dipped her hands into the life of sea piracy more than once, Leila much prefers to keep her feet on solid ground.
  
• She isn't much a fan of listing the majority of her dislikes, if only because they are rarely acted upon even when aggravated – naturally, she dislikes showing she dislikes things.

F E A R S

• She has a phobia of frogs, particularly dead frogs, and will squirm to be near them in spite of being quite talented at hiding away her discomforts. If she can get away, she absolutely will, and has been known to make irrational reasonings to avoid situations where she might have to encounter such. Thankfully, the world does not seem cruel enough to make this happen to her often and it is a well kept secret.
  
• Leila has an aversion to varying matters of the heart. While she is far from a cold woman, she is incapable of even fathoming the idea of tying herself down to a family life, as so many in this world do. To find a love, to have children, to settle into a house – none of it suits her, and she often refers to this spitefully as "being tamed". Nearing her thirties in a time where many have their first children before the age of twenty, she has come to the contented conclusion that it is most likely she will never be married.
  
• Moreover, Leila has a fear of finding her lost brother. Should fate see it fitting for their paths to cross once more, she has often had nightmares of what he might think of her. For her self-confidence being as high as it is, she is crippled at the idea of being placed under the scrutiny of her elder brother – and particularly, though privately, stresses over what he might think of her for not having found him sooner in spite of her best efforts.
  
• As her years continue and she nears the age where many question the value of their deeds, Leila has begun to question the morality of her actions. Often, these are fleeting instances that she shoves aside with strong logic and the sensibility to know the common crises of age – but she fears that it might develop into something more. She fears that a day might come where she would regret.

S T R E N G T H S

• Leila is physically fit and well trained within the martial arts, whether it's the use of her body as a weapon or her actual weapons as weapons. She favors a cutlass for its multi-purpose implications, and became in possession of a Carthonian rifle during her earlier years that she has, through vigorous upkeep and subtle manipulation, altered into a shorter and more explosive range in likeness to a shotgun. Although she benefits greatly from getting in the jump – being an ambush predator, after all – she is a fighter through and through, and a considerable undertaking for anyone that might decide her one to trifle with.
• One of the most useful abilities within Leila's arsenal is her power of shapeshifting. Between her three presently allowable shapes, she finds the infiltration of various areas comparatively easier, and eavesdropping on worthwhile conversations is a frequently abused tool. Similarly, the properties of her puff adder shape's venom left her exorbitantly interested and involved within the art of alchemy.
• Leila bears the heart of a scholar, and is interested in learning through books, apprenticeships or otherwise. One of her most worthwhile strengths is her knowledge, whether this extends towards her multilingual capabilities, her alchemical talents, her mind for ancient culture and long forgotten relics of the past or otherwise. For as much as Leila frequently contacts others to achieve her goals, she is just as sought after by others for her usefulness to their own causes. Translations, the creation of poisons and poultices, the acquisition of maps she no longer requires.. If Leila were to live any other life, it might have been one of a librarian monk.

W E A K N E S S E S

• In spite of her physical prowess in other terms, Leila is still first and foremost a woman, and a relatively thin woman at that. Although she is quick and far from incapable, it is worth mentioning that any serious hits that she takes will likely be the only ones necessary to incapacitate her. Although she bears a strong constitution in the terms of pure endurance, she is anything but infallible and lacks in the ability to withstand excessive amounts of punishment.
• Leila's shapeshifting is much unlike the way of other shifter's she has heard or read of, and this is a conclusion drawn from the obvious basis of the peculiar limitations nature has set for her. Although she does not fully understand them – particularly not enough to truly exploit this bizarre system created for her – she has come to terms with it severely hindering the brighter sides of her ability. With all of her forms being plucked from the desert and often times distinguishable against the landscape should she be seen, she might actually be recognized in spite of her animal forms by those that have witnessed her before.
• Leila is deeply solitary when it comes to her work, if for no other reasons than not wanting to be slowed down and not wanting to bring another person to their untimely end by her arguably dangerous performances. Although she is greatly inclined towards working alone, she does understand that this poses as a considerable weakness – especially on missions of greater intricacy or magnitude. She is hard-pressed to work within a team environment, and more likely to push interested parties away much to the chagrin of anyone wiser.

Q U I R K S

Although she is unaware of it, her shapeshifting is based upon her life experiences as well as a variety of factors of the animal shapes themselves. All of her forms, for example, are nocturnal, predatory, adapted to dry climates and under the weight of her standard, human shape. With time, she may gain new forms – but they will always be animals as opposed to human faces, and they will never be free of these limitations.

She has been to every country aside from northern Niendra, although some visits were more fleeting than others. She has only seen a proper autumn a few brief times, and has yet to see snow in her lifetime.

G O A L S

Leila is quite literally a treasure hunter, but gold and gems attract only the part of her that understands that money makes the world turn. Instead of being after something so frivilous as monetary wealth, she strives endlessly for artifacts, texts and relics of power or knowledge. Her combat prowess, present knowledge and the people she meets are all stepping stones to attaining the current object of her attentions, whatever it may be.

One might say that she is even looking for one thing in particular, due to how deeply fixated she becomes on her searches compared to how long she actually physically keeps them.

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Traveling across the world has a certain way of making a person profoundly aware of the differences between cultures, people, and lifestyles, and Leila's response to this experience has been one of acceptance and a general opening of her mind. Though this has seen varying levels of success in her encounters, she is, for the most part, an exceedingly worldly individual with an opinion about nearly everything. She is of an average intelligence but with a quick mind being regularly exercised to her will of survival, and she has a hunger for knowledge that has left her quite educated in spite of her humble origins or often malevolent line of work.

Needless to say, she is only very rarely impetuous and it is in these moments of heated reaction as opposed to thought that her bestial sides typically take over. Fervid and impassioned by a lifetime of curious or painful moments, any sense of deep calm against the roaring claws and fangs of instinct is a forcibly created façade; a lie, if not an incredibly convincing one.

Still, and though she is wary of her most immediate reactions, one should be disinclined to describing her as a pertinently cold woman. Contrarily, Leila is a trickster, a joker, and a frequent demagogue, inspiring others through amusement or the rousing of their passions and most often with the intentions of getting what she wants.

She enjoys the life of the party, but will very often be the first to leave to enjoy the silence of the woods, sands, or some other sensibly private bit of the natural world.

F A M I L Y

• A brother whom, if he lives, has most certainly changed his name. Leila has searched for him various times with no amount of luck to be had, and in the face of her broad travels, she cannot think of any other explanation other than a change of identity or his untimely death. If alive, he would be 31.
  
• Adilah Bint Rana -- Mother -- Deceased
  
• Nimr Ibn Ra'if -- Father -- Deceased

P L A C E . O F . B I R T H

Born to the dry clutches of southern Carthonia, Leila's family was actually one in a group of five or six that composed her small but prospering tribe and caravan. They wandered the deserts as traders and merchants, ferrying goods across the inhospitable landscape for those less inclined to brave the sands themselves. For a hefty price, of course.

H I S T O R Y

She was born in the dark.

The shrill cry of a child echoed through the smothering night, dunes of sand carrying the voices of worried nursemaids as much as they did the screaming youth they hurried out of the caravan tent. Passed between cold air into the icy grip of a man, one of the women drummed her bloodied fingers across the child's blanket, a nervous tick to a nervous quip;

"It is.. your wife, Nimr."

She hurried back inside.

For her childhood, Leila tasted the bitterness of being the babe who killed her mother. When she was old enough to truly understand, she realized her father had never forgiven her. Though her brother tried to act as the parent she would miss out on as a result, he was only a child himself and was hard-pressed to act as anything but. She lived dutifully and often to the guiding hands of the other women of the camp, becoming more interwoven with the varying families of the caravan than her own. Her transgressions against her bloodline had never been intentional, but she paid the price as brightly as she could – not necessarily to rewin their favor, but to distract herself.

At the age of twelve, her caravan was attacked and raided by desert bandits intent on making a quick bit of money off of the misery of others. The goods were ransacked, the women and children taken for a life of slavery and servitude, and the men were killed.

Except for her father.

In his personal strife, Nimr had taken to drinking to stifle his thoughts and his pains. On one such outing during their last city trade, he had drunkenly given the exact route to men he had taken immediately to – in a show of poor judgment – as his friends and acquaintances as opposed to potential threats. It was a fool's mistake; a child's mistake.

Everything in the desert is a potential threat.

In a show of amused honor, the raiders had allowed the man to live and brought him along for the journey. Perhaps they thought to teach him a lesson by forcing him to watch as his son and daughter were sold into the slave trade, or perhaps they hoped it would cripple him further and give away more routes of other similar trade groups. Regardless, their goals would be unmet as Nimr passed to a collective mixture of grief, malnutrition and sickness along the way, and his body was left unceremoniously to the grating sands and feverish animals of the southern Carthonian deserts.

After reaching Tuetem, Leila watched in horror as the people she loved were sold or killed for their perceived worthlessness. As rightless livestock, they were paraded through an auction of flesh and tossed away to the highest bidder, often for the price of just a few brokoun per individual.

After a shifting display that increased her price to nearly a hundred brokoun, Leila's unconscious body was sold to a wealthy noblewoman. As the girl woke, her new owner introduced herself as Lady Aerina Veiricou, a half-blooded Carthonian who had made her fortune in gathering and dealing information to interested parties. She also amusedly commented on Leila's puff adder shapeshift, and enlightened the girl to her biting at least one person with the deadly cytotoxin.

Although Leila was begrudging to her slaver at first, she eventually came to appreciate Lady Veiricou for being a self-made, educated woman. She was a classy purveyor of secrets as well as the arts, and had purchased Leila – doubtlessly saving her life – because of the girl's viciously used talent and obvious rebellion against those that would oppress her. Over time, Aerina apologized for having not known on Leila's brother, and their relationship became more akin to a dutiful daughter and pupil to Aerina's teaching, guiding hand.

Aerina was quick to provide Leila with a tutor for her magical gifts – assisting in her initial controls in ways that her kin had never been able to before – and with the eager mind of her adopted, purchased child, it was not long before Aerina brought the girl into her more official employ – gathering information. Although Leila was well aware that her purchase had always been intended to lead to this point, she cared little for being used and loved Aerina as she did any of her family once upon a time. She accepted her role and performed admirably, garnering her mistress the attention of higher lords and bosses of the underworld and public eye alike. Together they prospered, and the Lady doted upon her slave in private.

Regrettably, that attention did little good for them in the long run, and at the age of seventeen Leila came to be on her own, her face bloodied as she clutched the body of her would-be mother in horror to the discovery.

It was the way of the world; the way of crime.

Leila managed vengeance for Aerina in time, and from there she was at a loss for the direction of her life. She had read and her interest and wonder had already been sparked by this age, and so perhaps not so surprisingly, she took her newfound and bizarre sense of freedom to travel and to see what she had only once imagined. The lessons she had taken from Lady Veiricou and the various tutors the woman had provided stayed with her always, and the interest in items of artistic value soon convoluted itself into an interest of items of power. Though this has led her down many roads, some interesting and some deadly, she had yet to find herself in a coffin – or at least, in a coffin permanently – and continues on for some inexplicably drawing find; seeking something that claims her future.

C O D E . W O R D Wyeshing.
S A M P L E . P O S T

The sweeping scent of liquor and roar of joviality rounding every corner was enough to etch Tai Ran into anyone's memory. The poorly kept cobblestone roads and failing workmanship of buildings too often abused by the common pirate stood out against a world of factory cities and Edenic landscapes, and men of laws here were men of personal laws only; codes of honor, rites of kin, but little more. To have anything else imposed upon them was met with the fire of gunshots or the slicing sound of cold metal in between folds of presumptuous flesh, and it was as Tai Ran had always been, and so it would always be. Not, of course, for the idealogy of tradition – for pirates had always been the most embracing of the world's changes! – but because these were men of gumption and positive arrogance. To be told what to do was quite often a death sentence for someone involved.

It was also a place where those without perspicacity and acumen would be sorely disappointed or, at the least, unwillingly signed onto a ship as hired help, and where those shrewd enough would prosper to their freedoms. It was where knowledge in itself was more powerful than any physical artifact, and where wisdom was worth all of the coins in the illegal city. Racism had little to do with anything in Tai Ran, but the color of gold and the mark of brains became worth more than any predisposition of skin color or national allegiance.

Leila walked through the streets with her head high and the slinking posture of the despotic feline in a jungle she knew too well. Her stride was one laden with purpose, her figure clad in a long coat and her weapons, though holstered and sheathed, obvious against the darkness that strangled her feminine silhouette. She bore leverage against those that littered the streets and the whorehouses in that she was not here for a visit of pleasure, but one of business and business alone. She was slave to no captain, nor was she a captain herself and thus she was free of the subjecting rule of those who would demand and claim dues of Tai Ran's being a base of operations.

Dues. A pretty, altered ideal of tax, if only because the very word roused insurrection even when the base meaning and ultimate result was the same.

She followed the road into an alley, the Carthonian assaulted immediately thereafter by a stronger breeze of cold seawater that funneled in between the shanties. Her nostrils flared briefly to the distant yet familiar smell, and she continued into the perpetuated darkness while remaining ever, albeit privately, vigilant of the nearby world around her.

Tai Ran, for all of its perceived dullness of mind, was a brutish place, and not one to lose your sense of self or surroundings. One could be robbed blind and left bleeding in an alleyway before they were even aware of what happened here, if only so their clothes could be sold for more gambling money. That was the way it was, and the way it was to be expected unless one had a death wish.

But she had come to see a man, and that man owed her a favor.

"Shine your shoes?" a sudden voice hissed sarcastically from the blackness.

[FLYFLY]