Application

[mending_souls]

Character Information
Character Name: Anna
Character Dreamwidth:mending_souls
Age: Mid-30s
Mutation: Anna can heal almost any physical wound or illness. She can either pull from her own energy (see Price below) or pull from someone else.

Price: She physically ages depending on the severity of the wound. A very minor wound like a skinned knee wouldn't cause much aging beyond making her look a little tired and giving her a headache. If she siphons energy from someone else, she does not age but the donor does to a lesser degree than if she did it herself. Case in point, she used Isaac's energy to heal Hero once, and left Isaac's hair permanently white.

If she heals a near-fatal wound on her own, she ages by several decades and is weak and frail for days afterward. She does recover with rest, usually with at least one or two good nights of deep sleep, but the process annoys her and makes her physically uncomfortable in her own body. Healing a chronic or debilitating illness is possible, but takes a major toll on her.

Personality: On the surface and in general, Anna is a kind and motherly person. However, she has developed a kind of distance between herself and other people due to the strain healing puts on her. She often picks and chooses which wounds to heal, which some people may not understand when she turns them away. She doesn't like to talk about her mutation or her price, though there are some people who know the full story, including Hero and Dr. Arkalian.

Anna struggles to find meaning in her existence, subconsciously turning to (what she doesn't know are) Buddhist ideals, though what she thinks she SHOULD be doing is sometimes at odds with her true beliefs. For instance, she wants to believe that attachments are not necessary for happiness, but she is a person who thrives on her attachments to others. This results in a weirdly helpful streak that causes her to push herself too far more often than is wise.

She cultivates peace and comfort in her surroundings. She grows what plants she can on her windowsill, makes most of her own clothing from castoff pieces, and opts for brightly-colored furnishings whenever possible. There are many pillows and blankets in her home. She also usually has some kind of tea brewing on the stove. Anna invites people to stay as long as they like, partly because she is afraid of being alone.

Despite her kindness, she can also be harsh and cutting when the situation warrants. Characters like Isaac who push her buttons are usually able to make her lose her temper. Anna reserves a special hatred of Alpha for his oppression and apparent lack of caring for the people of the City.

Anna has been involved in the shaping of the City for as long as she can remember. She took in Arkalian when he first arrived, helped him acclimate and even encouraged him to set up his own Clinic. Anna followed Hero during the rebellion, becoming one of his closest companions and supporters. Hero's seeming betrayal near the end of the coup was a major blow, one from which she has yet to completely recover. She does still care about Hero, and intellectually understands why he made the choices he made.

Her relationship with Arkalian and Hero is extremely complicated. She cares deeply for both men and harbors a not-so-secret attraction to them both, but she also knows the friction between them is likely to keep them from ever being friends. She cultivates her friendships with them because they are the two people who know her best in the world. She may argue politically with Hero, but she'll meet him for a drink anytime. Anna considers Arkalian to be her closest friend, and she's pretty positive she's his.

The other important relationship in her life is Alyss, whom Anna pretty much raised from infancy. Of all the people in the City, Alyss is the one Anna is kindest and warmest to 100% of the time. Anna is, therefore, extremely wary of Merrick after what happened with Alyss and Grif. She knows Merrick wouldn't harm Alyss, per se, but she keeps an eagle eye on him nonetheless.

Anna believes that her death will come at the overuse of her powers someday, and she faces this with a mixture of trepidation and comfort.

Non-Mutation Skills/Powers: Anna is the proverbial shoulder to cry on, and she has a way of soothing others' fears and sadness. She thinks everyone is "too thin" and will feed you until she is satisfied that you're no longer hungry. Even when there are food shortages, she finds a way.

Memory(ies) Lost: She knows she once had a partner of some kind but cannot recall anything about him. There is someone buried even deeper in her past, from before the City, that she knows she's never encountered in this existence, but his absence is like a dull ache that never goes away.


*****


Post Sample:

At the sound of her name over the din of the crowd, Anna perks up and looks around. Surely that wasn't...oh, but yes it was! Arkalian actually took her advice? That is delightfully unexpected. She smiles to herself. Such bravery in the face of stepping out of his comfort zone deserves a reward...

The arrival of Hero on the scene, however, makes her forget even that train of thought. Now this is interesting, she thinks, staying within the crowd but moving to a better vantage point. These two are like oil and water, or more appropriately, oil and fire. It's likely that before the evening is through, she'll be needed to soothe wounds or ruffled feathers, and she's not really picky about which. Or who.

Well, maybe the feathers would be preferable. The whiskey she drank earlier finally made her headache go away. It seems to have relaxed her a little, too, which is probably why she's less worried about the potential altercation brewing before her than she should be. All she knows is that it's pretty hot.

Anna finds a spot somewhere between them, out of their sight in the crowd, and gets comfortable.



*****


Log Sample:

What: Video
Date: Today
Status: Ongoing | Open

[Anna sits back and adjusts the camera to frame her in view. She is a buxom woman with intensely curly blonde hair.]

Hello, all. I'm feeling better and I have some extra food, blankets, and clothes if we have anyone new who needs them. I'd like to distribute them to those who have newly arrived, especially those who may be disconcerted or unsure of life in the City.

You can find me two blocks southeast of the Clinic. Knock on the purple door and I'll hear you.

[She seems to try to think of something else to say, then smiles sweetly and reaches over to end the message.]