Name: Caoimhe (“KEE-veh”)
Nickname(s): Kee (Caoi) is the most common, just a simple shorthand since most people have a difficult time pronouncing her name -- especially if they are trying to read it.
"Cow...imm...hee?" False. You are clearly not Celtic. /
Cub is used exclusively by Gristla. /
Stupid Gray Girl was the charming title that Addie gave her.
Age: Youth; approximately early 20s when translating the age over, though she tends to act much younger.
Myth base: Selkie folklore (Celtic)
Birthplace: Aranorn -- a jungle covered pre-industrial world of giant felines and canines.
Eyes: Big, brown, almond-shaped doe eyes with thick lashes. Her wide, innocent eyes tend to make Caoimhe look fairly naive and weak, neither of which are true.
Hair: Deep brown with algae-green highlights. The texture is very wavy with a lot of body. She usually wears half of it up in braids or tied off with bright ribbons, but wisps of bangs frame her face when they fall loose from the bindings.
Height: 4'11"
Body Type: Lean and very muscle toned for someone her size.
Distinguishing Features: On her forehead, Caoimhe has a collection of pearls embedded into her skin that thin down on to her nose; she also has one pearl on each cheekbone below the center of each eye as. Her skin tone is a grayish blue with a myriad of dark gray spots concentrated mostly on her limbs. Also, she has a large star-shaped scar above her navel and a matching one at the top of her spine. (SPOILER:
This is where the harpoon that killed her passed through Caoi in her past life.) Her fingers and toes are webbed.
Style: Caoimhe is always wearing an outfit that is highly mobile, but also, has a flow-y element to it. The colors are typically more natural: browns, greens, and certain shades of blue. Caoi prefers to wear material made from animal skin, but her time in Gaia has made her appreciate the magic of cotton. In terms of covering, Caoi believes that less is more, and whenever possible, she wanders around naked. It's more natural to be naked, duh. Her love of baubles and trinkets often leaves her looking like a fourth grader who got set loose in her mother's jewelry box. It's not high-end stuff, more like a myriad of sea shells and braided leather pieces. Her hair is unruly, but she tries to keep it contained, resulting in a series of interesting up-dos. It is rare to find her in shoes. She has the soles of a husky, and suffers from a chronic case of jiffy feet.
Jewelry: Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. She is a complete pack rat and likes to collect all sorts of nautical things to turn them into jewelry.
Weapon(s): Essentially raised by animals, Caoimhe is a very rough and tumble girl. She would throw a first sooner than grab a spear, but the weapon that she has shown the most prowess with is the whip. On Aranorn, she used it to hang from branches and elude danger, but she also found it to be a powerful way of keeping enemies out of range of her skin. Another ranged fighting style that Caoimhe swears by is the “throw and run” technique. Whatever she can grab, she will throw with extreme precision. It’s not exactly refined, but it is highly effective. She also has a weighted throwing strip that she tends to carry on her as a makeshift belt. Other than the whip and throwing strip, Caoimhe does not have any other "weapons" that she uses.
Personality: In Aranorn, Caoimhe was never given a chance to develop her true personality. Most of her life was spent learning to survive while skirting the rules enough not to bring the wrath of those who had the power down on her. The gentler aspects of femininity were more or less beaten out of her. Since she was never really given a chance to be a kid, Caoimhe finds herself more immature than others her age, and she still likes to play and wrestle like a child might. Given more freedom in her life, it is likely that she will finally let herself loosen up and not try to be so desperately tough all the time, but old habits die hard. Caoimhe will always be quick to fight and prove herself, but that doesn't mean she won't enjoy pillow fights and cuddling too, though she would never admit it.
Caoimhe is kind of a hippy in the sense that she is extremely anti-system and pro-environment, but she is by no means the “make love, not war” breed of freedom fighter. No, she is just a free spirit with a fierce temper and unexplainable hatred toward aggressive, masculine men and distaste for children. Following her time in the barbaric world of Aranorn, the Fa’e has the social graces of an oaf. She would sooner burp in your face than say "thank you" for a favor. She probably cuts off old ladies trying to cross the street and gets in screaming matches with 5-year-olds who look at her wrong. She knows little of what is appropriate in society, and those things that she
has learned aren't really that important to her. Selfish and impulsive, Caoimhe has a hard time putting others before herself, though she is always eager to get involved in the fights and battles of others. Because fighting is fun! Caoimhe will act first, and then probably never get around to asking any questions. She is hedonistic, self-centered, seemingly fearless, exceptionally prideful and stubborn, temperamental, and a bit dim in the logic department. Caoi trusts her gut, and she is really just starting to be more logical, a new trait that has been brought on with age.
In terms of relationships, Caoimhe likes people who are loyal and trustworthy. She is drawn to strong personalities, and prefers her friendships to be full of a lot of head-butting and argument. Exceptionally masculine or feminine individuals tend to make her a bit wary. She is very sensitive to people who seem condescending -- even if they are merely using vocabulary that she does not understand. And as for romantic partners? NO THANKS. Caoi cannot fathom it. She is too immature to process an adult, loving relationship. And god help you if you ever try to kiss her... or even hold her hand. She will react to your advances like a rape victim. (SPOILER:
Because that is what she is!) If someone really wanted to be with Caoimhe, they would need to be prepared for a long, long, long struggle full of many punches and tears. They would need to be incredibly dedicated and gentle -- and probably a tad masochistic. She is difficult! Very difficult. It would probably be good for her to find someone to make it possible for her to feel
love, but if they ever hurt her, the chances are pretty damn high that she would kill them in a blind rage. What could be more attractive than that?
Likes: Kittens, water, being naked, competition, FOOD, being awesome, wrestling, playing with her new sparkly magic powers, having a feeling of togetherness, recess, jewelry, shiny things, money, television, her balcony, her guardian and Mrs. Kates, running, swimming, eating, cold and wet weather.
Dislikes: Puppies, agressive men, confined spaces, shoes, rules, hot drinks, alcohol, cigarettes, child-safe caps, industrialization, clothing, crying children, crying in general, being hungry, not getting her way, chlorine, pollution, sharks!, fishing boats, feeling weak, physical contact with males, studying/learning.
Favorite Color(s): Blue, green, and pearl hues.
Favorite Food(s): Everything. No, seriously.
Profession: Um, total badass? Caoi runs a fairly successful jewelry line that is sold exclusively at the most expensive boutique in all of Gaia -- located on Gambino Isle. She stumbled upon this through virtue of dumb luck. She was constantly making jewelry and forcing Gristla to wear it to work at her security job (at said boutique), and one day, the owner noticed and demanded to know who made the pieces. A hop, skip, and a jump later -- Caoimhe had a reliable income, becoming a successful small-business owner overnight. How fortunate.
Sparkly Magic-ness:
Waterport: It's the fastest thing since the flying car! But seriously -- this is probably Caoimhe's coolest power. Essentially, she is able to transport in a flash through connected bodies of water. At this point, she requires the use of water that is at least three times greater than her own mass -- the more water she is jumping in to, the easier it is for her to do. (In time, she will likely grow more proficient with this and be able to transport through smaller quantities of water, but that's far off on the horizon.) Also -- the water must be CONNECTED to more water. So, she can't hop in the bathtub and then magically appear in the duck pond two streets over. In theory she
could go through pipe lines if she started off in an initial body of water large enough, but it is unlikely. Basically, she can use this to flash from place to place via the ocean -- or if you have a salt water pool connected to the ocean. If you live in a landlocked area, Caoi will still have to do some walking.
I'M A SEAL!: Caoimhe can transform into a seal. Pretty cool. Even cooler? For whatever reason (SPOILER:
Her selkie skin is layered just beneath her human form because, in rebirth, she became a fusion of seal and human. Ever wondered why she is so adorably short? Anyway, this will be more important later.), she is able to do so
without shedding a skin, which is the way that selkies typically go about this. Her awesome sealness also makes her awesome at other things like holding her breath and swimming really crazy well. Most important -- and probably the girl's best skill -- is her insane agility. Ever seen a seal evade a jumping great white shark? Yep, picture that, but with sparkly magic. It is very tough to land a punch on her, but once you do, she doesn't really handle the damage too well. Also fun -- her transformation is aiding by magical bubbles. So, you know she is transforming when she is suddenly surrounded by bubbles.
Magic Bubbles!: This is probably some kind of hybrid between water and illusion magic, but I have dubbed it
bubble magic. Caoimhe cannot control water, and she cannot influence weather or create nasty waves. However -- she can make BUBBLES. And she doesn't even need water! If she holds a finger up, she has the power to produce a bubble from it. IS SHE MADE OF SOAP? The world may never know. For the most part, these bubbles seem to be protective, but eventually, she'll be able to make them explode like little kamikaze bubbles of doom. Also kind of fun, she can encapsulate herself in a bubble and float -- like Glinda the Good Witch -- or run really fast -- like a hamster in a ball. If you need another colorful example, think of how Ang uses big swirly balls of air in
Avatar.
Heal me?: Though Caoimhe is very physically evasive, if she gets hit, she does not have amazing resistance. For this reason, it is quite common for her to be riddled with cuts and bruises. But GUESS WHAT? There is a trick to healing her quickly! If you smush algae/kelp/sea-detritus in the wound, it will heal significantly faster. (Not auto-heal, but just... quite quickly!) Kind of gross, but also kind of awesome.
Weakness:
Food/Curiosity/Desire (AKA The Hedonist): Caoimhe is very impulsive, and even if she spots a ham sandwich surrounded by armed guards and explosives, she will HAVE that ham sandwich. She really isn't too good at thinking things through, and if she were on a football team, she would be the guy who always has a false start. She is just not the smartest Fa'e in the world.
Kitten Complex: No matter how big her opponent is, Caoimhe always thinks that she can take them. And she can't. She will run blindly into a battle against six massive warriors by herself because she refuses to accept her own limitations.
Susceptibility to Oil: Like any seal, oil can really hurt Caoimhe. It is her Kryptonite, if you will. If someone were to pour oil or a similar pollutant on Caoimhe, she would find herself slow to move, and she would quickly become deathly ill. If someone does not help her, she will just die; she cannot get rid of it herself. You know, kind of like Captain Planet.
Call to the Sea: When transformed into a seal, Caoimhe feels the rush of the ocean even more fiercely than she does on the land. It makes getting out of the water and going back to the bipedal world harder and harder for her. Should she ever grow depressed, she would undoubtedly run to the sea and not return. The problem with this is that her guardian, Gristla, could not go with her. If she is gone too long, she will slowly fade into oblivion, unable to break free from the raw comfort of the ocean.
