Post by Xiaobei Mei on Dec 20, 2015 20:47:07 GMT -5
The Xiaobei
~Love is a battlefield~
Name: Xiaobei Mei
Formerly: Liora Miriam Levi von Wolfenstein
Age: 11 (7 years as a human; 2 as a Quincy; 2 as a composite Hollow)
Gender: Female
Height and Weight: 5'3 210 lbs
Hair and Eye Color: Black and Green/Gold
Mask and Hollow Hole: Her face, forehead, and back skull are obscured by a thick white bone mask taking the shape of an animal skull worn over her features. Largely cat shaped the skull comes down over her eyes and opens in a wide joweled snarl with the sharp canine incisors framing her cheeks and the lower jaw following the line of Xiaobei's own jawline. Only her full crimson lips can be seen normally along with parts of her chin and cheeks, though the empty eye sockets of the skull leave room for Xiaobei's burning tawny eyes to stare through. Her hollow hole is prominently displayed, cutting a swath through her right breast at the approximate location of her heart.
Spiritual Description: Xiaobei's reiatsu is a thick wave of goldenrod cut through with black lightning, like the rays of the sun themselves her reiatsu is overpowering and cumbersome. It is not the cultured sensation or honed tool that most people claim, instead Xiaobei's reaitsu is simple and heavy. A bludgeoning weapon lacking all precision. When contact is made it seems to prickle, millions of tiny jabs that press in on the enemy's body like a cloying grasp.
Physical Description: Xiaobei’s body has been in a state of flux since her birth. The rapid intake of foreign souls and her recent high-caloric feeding from Obsession’s soul has resulted in many shifting and myriad shapes and sizes. After regenerating herself from drops of her Abba’s blood one last time Xiaobei has taken on a uniquely more human visage despite retaining her hollow nature. Standing at roughly the height of a short human her adolescence is fully apparent with her childishly slender body belying the great amount of muscle and weight behind her tiny form.
Long black quills cascade down her back, a slight curl to their length giving off the image of feathery locks of hair. On closer inspection though each strand is made of miniscule quills with barbed tines, each individual shaft capable of fully independent movement, such that her spines function as a barometer for Xiaobei’s moods as well as a protective covering across most of her body. Beneath her Hollow’s mask her eyes are a tawny emerald with slitted black pupils much like a cat’s. At times her eyes seem to glow, soaking up the light around her and shimmering back, especially when the air is rife with thick clouds of reiatsu.
A willowy build meant for speed hides the deceptive strength of Xiaobei’s body, a subterfuge which plays along with the rest of her offensive arsenal. Long silver claws lurk beneath the skin of her arms and feet, ready to slip free in a hidden moment to add a surprise element to an attack. Her fingernails are each tipped with delicate claws of their own, painted a bright shade of toxic green or whatever other color has caught the teen’s eye that week.
Upgrading from her old fashion statements Xiaobei has yet to fully set aside her love of long flowing clothes or ribbons. She wears tight black sleeves across her arms, the fabric cutting off to reveal a few inches of her upper arms and shoulders. A vaguely Chinese styled collar shirt starts at her shoulders and hugs down to her hips, patterned in a multitude of outrageous colors that often have no chance at matching the rest of her attire. She wears long empire sleeves from a modified silk happi she stole off of a recent foe, the color an off-white shade of ivory. Loose black shorts pool at her waist, the ends tied tight around her thighs with red ribbon. Going barefoot at times she has also apparently acquired a pair of tiny red silk shoes in the Chinese fashion, heavily embroidered with golden and green dragons.
Bearing: The first thing people notice about Xiaobei is her voice. Luxuriously soft and yet filled with tension she speaks with the crack of a velvet whip. An odd accent is apparent no matter what language she is speaking in, as Xiaobei elongates her vowels and lingers on several consonants such as r's and s's. This gives her speech a rolling sort of musical tone, almost as if she is purring out the words or crooning quietly. Her voice is just as prone to hisses or guttural vocalizations, but even at her worst there is an odd beauty to her speech. Almost hypnotizing in its smoothness.
She carries herself with lithe grace, despite her high weight she moves so fluidly and with such forceful gestures that many people look at her tiny body and think she is light. Movements are not made unnecessarily, as Xiaobei saves up her energy for quick bursts and brutally unleashes all at once to overpower a foe instead of wearing them down bit by bit. Like a snake she seems to hold herself still more often than not, bathing in the sun, or in her case, synthesizing the energy from around her for later.
Her stare is intense. Let no one say it is easy to break eye contact with Xiaobei for the Hollow is always looking at you as if you were prey, or at best, as if she was still deciding whether to eat you or save you for later. Constantly judging, her golden eyes seem to exclaim the baseness of her nature, a marker to all that she holds to her blood instead of the paltry compunctions of humanity she shed so recently.
Xiaobei is a deceptively simple creature. She lives for only a few important things: Family, love, food, and happiness, each less important than the former. Having grown up a bit since her first few years as a Hollow-breed, Xiaobei is in the middle stages of her adolescence and is experiencing all of the mental growing-pains that come with it. Eager to please her Abba, she is fierce in the defense of his ideals and proud carrying his name on her shoulders. But she also is on the hunt for her own claim to fame, trying to prove to her Father that she is worthy of being his daughter and of receiving his love and respect. Escaping his shadow will likely be the biggest challenge of her new life.
A fluid emotional state ensures that Xiaobei is always enjoying herself. Even her anger is fleeting, all emotions a swirl as she takes in and lets go of the world around her with a heady delight. Xiaobei wants to experience life most of all, and she relishes each new chance to feel something new or do something ever more outrageous. Because of her weak association to the rest of the Hollow race she feels no true enmity towards Shinigami or humans unless they have personally wronged her Abba.
She is however quite prone to jealousy and fits of extreme possessiveness. There are few objects she holds in such high regards but people and their relationships to her are something that Xiaobei is exceedingly stingy with. To put it simply, she hates to share. But within those precious relationships she is rather open, freely giving her love and at times her irritation or “advice” as only an all-knowing pre-teen can. In line with such thinking Xiaobei is judgmental, certain at all times that there is a hierarchy in the world for every trait or state of being and that for the most part her pack is at the top of all of these groups. She can be dismissive of people she views as unimportant, forgetting them almost immediately if they do not register as something to pay attention to.
As part of her childish charm she hasn’t quite realized the point behind lies, even the white kind, and thus will cheerfully insult you to your face if she thinks it’s the truth. Xiaobei appreciates hard work and imagines that everything in life it straightforward if you apply enough pressure to it. Because of that her ideas for the future are short and to the point, which keeps her anxiety at bay as her optimism bubbles through.
Blood type A Diet:
- Don't skip meals
- Eat more protein at the start of the day, less at the end
- Don't eat when you are anxious
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals.
TMI: Xiaobei is an animal at heart and she has no regrets about this. Lacking the mind of a human she acts on instinct alone without the complicated interwoven thoughts that humanity has plagued themselves with. Hunger, safety, family, these are the things that Xiaobei focuses on as she leads her simple life. Too far down the food chain to have developed much empathy all that she cares about is her pack and the goals of her leader, her Father, Erasmus. To say that she is devoid of complicated emotions is not true, Xiaobei just doesn’t bother herself with restrictive thinking in general. She still feels love for her pack, she still mourns for the loss of a friend, she still feels pleasure when everyone is together. She just doesn't dwell on the other things, on pressure or anxiety, on measuring up against others or on the battle between bad and good. Those aspects of life don't make sense to Xiaobei, while she can feel such an emotional range at times, she tends to ignore those feelings completely in favor of her simple way of life.
Her trouble comes with controlling herself. Instinct demands that one be intelligent about their own strength compared to others, but when anger or love gets into the mix Xiaobei often forgets her self-control. As uncomplicated as she views her emotions in reality she has flawed perception of herself, in that logic does not dictate her actions as strongly as Xiaobei believes it does. More often than not her mistakes can all be traced back to not thinking, or to feeling something so strongly that it doesn't matter what she thought in the moment. The power of Xiaobei's emotions is higher than average and the intensity is hard to resist. She can feel wrathful one minute and slide into blissful happiness the next but that says nothing about the depth of both emotions which is far deeper than one would imagine. It has always been hard for her because she loves too vigorously and most people or things cannot stand up to that amount of obsessive fervor and faith.
Alignment: True Neutral | Xiaobei is a true neutral character, best described as someone concerned with their own well-being and that of the group which aids them. In this case her primary concern is her pack and herself. She behaves in a well-natured manner to those that are family and allies because there is no reason not to. However if someone tries to injure her or her pack in any way they automatically become enemies and she will act against them given any opportunity to do so. For people whom she has no relationship with Xiaobei simply doesn't care one way or another about them. She leans towards neutrality, neither going out of her way to help, nor hinder someone who she has no relationship with. Xiaobei doesn't think of them as important, and unlike humans she doesn't find victims worthy of pity or help if they're not related to her. Children are the one exception to this, and she will assist any child in a bad situation if she sees one. She does not wish ill on those she doesn't know, but she also doesn't care when she hears of evil befalling them. It is better for others to suffer the evil then for her or her pack to. If family is in need Xiaobei will aid them out of genuine love. If a neutral party is in need she will weight the options of the potential rewards and dangers associated with helping them. If an enemy is in need Xiaobei will ignore them or take advantage of their misfortune to attack.
Aspect of Death: Love | The desire to always be a family, to always protect and defend and adore those who are members of your pack. To see no weakness, no flaw, no mistake in a loved one. To follow them to your death. This trait resulted in the death of Liora but instead of shedding her stupidity, learning from the mistake of desiring too strongly for those bonds, the soul shifted and cauterized the wound. Transforming it into a deep scar on the heart, a burning desire to never be alone in life. To always have family beside oneself. To love so strongly that nothing could shake such convictions, even death. Love brings happiness, brings solace and contentment. Without love there is nothing, not even life. It is better to be fooled then to be without love. The tragic mistake of Liora was to think that reality was more important then love, that truth meant more to her. Xiaobei has lost that distinction and love has changed in her, starting as a desperate longing for companionship in Liora it has become a be all end all motivation for life in Xiaobei. A death due to love is the only one worth having and a life full of love is the only possibility for existence.
Hollow Power: Biànxíng:
Losing her physical form so many times throughout her life Xiaobei’s affinity for rapid regeneration has crafted a new ability in her most recent incarnation. Following more closely in her Abba’s footsteps and in recognition of her own animalistic nature this hollow power mimics many of her Father’s famous moves. Her sped up immune system creates new cells in the blink of an eye allowing Xiaobei to shift and morph her physical mass into new constructs or creations. At her current level this is limited to creating or shaping her current body in superficial ways, such as rapidly lengthening her claws, shooting her quills from her body, or molding the flesh of her hands to make it sharp as a blade. More full-body changes consume large amounts of energy and she must work with the material her body carries with it already, somewhat limiting the range of her shifting abilities.
Snapshots:
• Born Liora Miriam Levi
• Parents die and sister Tali is absorbed into her mind as her powers awaken
• Taken in for testing by the Israeli Government
• Escapes and finds out that Weylin is her real father
• Meets Erasmus the Knight
• Is eaten by Erasmus and becomes Xiaobei Mei
• Dies under ATova’s cero and regenerates her body while awakening her second power
• Is consumed by Erasmus, creating Obsession
• Fights her way out of Obsession’s stomach
History:
Life as a Human:
Pre-Story:
"Mommy, tell me about when you were a little girl!"
When her Grandfather came to live with Miriam and her family things seemed to become better. He argued with her Father until he stopped attending the Palestinian protests, and Miriam was glad because she knew deep down that her Father was helping to put her Palestinian friend's father's in jail. That wasn't all that changed, Miriam was given more free time and her Grandfather started teaching her about new subjects like Math and Science which weren't studied at her religious school. Her parents weren't pleased but they had to respect their elder and Miriam began to realize that they were not the only authority in the world.
She grew up, and soon her Grandfather started teaching her about more interesting subjects. Spirits and Hollowfication and Shinigami. These were the topics that Miriam loved to learn about, and when it became time he taught her even more - showing Miriam the Quincy Cross he coveted so dearly and teaching her about his family's ancient history and duty. This subject had to be kept a secret and the day that her parents found out Miriam learned why. They were enraged with her newfound skills and abilities. Her Father thundered and screamed until his voice went away, but it was her Mother who summed it up the best, "You cannot be a lady and be a Quincy at the same time. I pray that Adonai forgives you for this sin, but I cannot. Please leave."
Miriam was stunned and hurt, but her Grandfather accepted their words and took his niece away. They moved back to his old house and she slowly began to embrace the Quincy story now that she had been forcefully shucked of her religious narrative. Miriam became a strong Quincy and when her Grandfather eventually died he gifted her with his Quincy Cross and she took to traveling the world fighting off Hollows. Miriam always returned home though to the house she had inherited from her Grandfather, and soon she fell in love with one of her neighbors, Ehud, and they became engaged. Miriam was young though; too young to settle down. She discussed this with her fiancé and despite being pregnant they agreed to wait for marriage. Miriam gave birth to a young girl whom they named Talia and she continued to travel while raising her child, often leaving Talia with Ehud while she fought.
One of those trips took her to Germany, where she fell in love with a young Quincy named Weylin. He was the true love of her life, but Miriam couldn't abandon her family back in Israel and she knew that Weylin was much too young to commit to a relationship just as she had been before. After several months of dating and intimacy she decided that the only thing to do was break it off. Paralyzed by her love Miriam couldn't stand to say goodbye and break Weylin's heart. Instead she simply disappeared without a trace returning to her Israeli fiancé as if nothing had happened. Several months later it became apparent that she was pregnant again and Miriam decided to act as if the child's father was none other than Ehud, determined to forget everything about Weylin.
Childhood:
"Did I really do that when I was little?"
Lior was an exuberant little baby. She rarely cried or screamed and instead liked to giggle and crawl around exploring. She grew up into a happy and content little girl. Lior and Tali were always talking and Talia was serious about teaching Liora about the world before she had to handle it herself. Ehud worked often but he was a very doting parent. He wasn't even discouraged that he had only sired daughters, instead finding his love of them from somewhere deep in his heart. Ehud would often remark that now that he had had girls he never wanted a son. He liked to read the newspaper to them and would make funny faces to illustrate the stories, often sending Lior and Tali into fits of side-bursting laughter. Despite her secrets Miriam was a great mother, she pampered her children and taught them how to be self-sufficient. They often went to pick olives in the grove with other Palestinian children and despite the mocking of their Israeli friends Miriam taught the two girls how important it was to see everyone as human and equal.
The Secret:
"There's a ghost! Where? Where?"
Lior was sad because she wanted to be a Quincy too but she had never been able to see ghosts so she decided that she probably was just normal like their Dad. That was okay with her because she saw how hard Tali had to work now that she'd agreed to become a Quincy and secretly Lior was happy that she got to play instead. When it came time for her to start attending school Lior was even more excited. She already knew a lot because of her sister but in school she met new people and started to learn how to socialize.
With her world expanding Lior soon forgot all about her wish to become a Quincy. Her days were full of playing tag with the other kids and reading books with Tali or cooking with her Mommy and listening to her Daddy tell bedtime stories. It became more common however to see her sister and Mommy playing a secret game in the backyard. They would hold their hands up and glowing energy would grow into the shape of a weapon. Daddy couldn't tell what they were doing, although he knew about the Quincy stuff because he and her Mommy were always truthful to each other. Whenever Tali and her Mommy would go to play that game he would always stop Lior from watching and say that they had their own secret. They would sneak into the kitchen and eat all of the sour cherries that were hidden for special occasions while Daddy told her stories about all of his friends back in the IDF. This was a special time because he never liked to talk about the war but with Lior he told her all the happy stories. The time he'd stolen his friend's last pack of tuna fish and they'd chased each other all around camp until someone else had caught him and taken it from him instead. Or the time he and his buddies had helped a little baby find her parents when she got separated. It wasn't a very secret secret because Mommy would come in and spot them with cherry juice all over their faces and hands but then again neither was Tali's and Mommy's so Lior was happy and Mommy never even said a word about the missing cherries even when she caught them still eating the last ones.
One day Daddy took Lior aside and showed her his special gun. The one that his Daddy had given him and that had come down in the family for generations from the great-great-great grandpa that had been the first of the Levi to set foot on Israeli soil after the tragedy of the Holocaust when everyone else in their family had died. It was an old revolver but still in immaculate care. Daddy told Lior that shooting was an important skill. Before the Jews had been killed because they hadn't been able to own guns or protect themselves, but now they had the chance and they shouldn't waste it. That was why service in the IDF was mandatory when you were eighteen. Daddy began to show her how to shoot telling Lior that when the time came she would be the best soldier ever because her aim was so good. Because of this burgeoning skill that she seemed to have a knack for Lior never felt as if she was worth any less than her big sister. Tali was an awesome super-powered Quincy but Lior was going to be a good soldier and help protect little kids who needed to find their parents! This was enough for her contentment.
The Truth:
"What's going on? Mommy, don't leave me!"
When Mommy stood back up she went and whispered some more things to Daddy before smiling at them all and blowing a kiss. Lior jumped up to catch it in her hands and when she landed her Mommy was gone, out the door and into town. Tali raced off to grab her pendant from her bedroom as Lior went over to her Daddy to try and ask him what was going on. He looked down at her but seemed to be looking somewhere else instead, the same bad emotions swirling in his eyes as Mommy's. Lior didn't want to bother him so she hung back waiting for someone to tell her what was wrong.
They gathered in the living room which Daddy said was the most defensive point in the house. He had a big gun in his hands even though Lior knew he hadn't shot since his days as a draftee. Tali was doing that secret thing where she made all the blue energy glow in the room as it swam around her hands. Once the weapon had been formed she looked over towards Lior and seeing her scared face Talia smiled brightly. "Don't worry! I'm strong, I'll protect you!" Daddy shifted as if uncomfortable with those words but his eyes raced towards the entryway as the floor creaked. It was only the old house however and they waited in painstaking silence for a long time.
Long enough that Lior started getting antsy and she curled up on a couch cushion behind one of the large chairs, in a "safe position". Lior didn't care about safe positions she just wanted to go back to sleep. With her eyes drooping she didn't even hear the first sound that alerted Tali and her Daddy to the intruder. Hearing a sudden silence though, Lior peaked out from behind the chair to see what was going on. Daddy and Tali were standing there frozen in shock and at the door was Mommy! Lior couldn't understand why they weren't happy and she scrambled out of hiding to run towards her Mommy.
Tali called out to her quickly yelling at Lior not to get close. Confused Lior looked back up at her Mommy only to suddenly see the blood that coated her face and arms. There was a wide grin with pointy teeth that had enveloped her Mommy's face and Lior couldn't remember ever seeing her Mommy like this before. Tentatively she reached out as if to touch her Mommy's sleeve but Tali grabbed her and pulled her back. Not before Mommy's arm shot out to grab at her face though, leaving a streak of blood as Tali pulled her from reach just in time.
Blinking in confusion Lior hid behind Tali as Daddy started talking lowly to her Mommy. They were talking about Hollows and spirits and Lior didn't understand. But suddenly Daddy lifted up his arm and tried to shoot at Mommy with his gun. There was a rattaaraatta noise and a big boom as the bullets sprayed the wall but Mommy had jumped up into the air and twisted to land behind him. Her mouth seemed to grow even bigger as she laughed. But it wasn't Mommy's laugh and Lior watched in horror as Mommy took a bite out of Daddy's shoulder, tearing a piece of his flesh right off.
Tali screamed and started shooting at Mommy but her attack was too weak and Mommy just kept biting Daddy over and over and over again until there was nothing left of his body. Lior couldn't close her eyes, the screaming of Tali ringing in her head. Mommy stopped eventually, wiping the blood from her mouth with the remnants of manners before she turned to face Tali who was still shooting. Mommy batted away the projectiles though as it they were nothing but paper airplanes. Smiling again Mommy started to speak. It was all so confusing, but later Lior would learn that this wasn't Mommy at all. It was a Hollow who'd eaten Mommy. But the Hollow's special ability was to consume a person, body and soul, so that they could take on their shape and maintain their mind for the Hollow's own purposes as part of its larger body.
After its long monologue Mommy started walking closer, a trail of bloody footsteps like the dainty petals of a rose in her wake. Tali kept firing as tears ran down her face. She wasn't missing anymore but she wasn't doing any harm either, her back pressed into Lior's face. Mommy started to laugh again, that horrible laugh, and then she began to tell the two exactly how she was going to eat Tali. First the hands, then the feet, then up to the elbows and maybe a kidney since you only needed one, right? Lior couldn't shut it out, that voice and Tali's crying, and she fisted her hands over her eyes trying to block it all out. Stop it, stop it, stop it, STOP!
Her power activated in that moment, an inner ability carried over through one of her bloodlines and augmented by the presence of Tali's Quincy Cross. The floor began to glow in a circle around her as Lior's energy unleashed itself in an uncontrollable wave. The Hollow's powers went wild, amplified beyond compare by Lior's outburst. Instead of physically consuming something the Hollow's power began to affect the entire room. Picture frames merged with the wall, the fireplace fell into the floor and the ceiling dripped like liquid. Insensate to the ensuing chaos Lior was unaware of her powers augmenting this explosion from the Hollow, all she saw was Mommy melting into the floor as if someone had traced her outline in color and blood on the carpet. Lior was the only one who was invulnerable to the Hollow's power, her own ability negating it as soon as it reached her. However Tali had no such ability and when Lior awoke Tali was gone leaving behind only the small necklace that she had cherished as her Quincy Cross.
Life as a Quincy:
The Aftermath:
"What... What am I?"
It was top secret and Lior ceased to exist as an Israeli citizen. She has blocked out most of her memories of that place except the overwhelming despair when she began to realize what had happened to her family. The government was not harsh in their search for knowledge and they told Lior that they were serving her a "tzav rishon" or first notice of her draft into the Army. It was ahead of schedule, yes, but they really needed Lior's help to find out what all these spiritual things meant. In that sense Lior was proud. Her Daddy had always said that she would be a good soldier, and now she was getting to serve Israel even though she was just a little kid. She was scared though and it was only through their cajoling that Lior became convinced that she had to help them. Lost in the daze of disbelief she still couldn't believe what had happened and somehow the structure of their request gave Lior a reason to react. She spent a long time inert until they finally brought up the tzav rishon deal. If she couldn't help them on her own, she should be strong enough to do her duty and make her family proud, right? To her traumatized mind it was the only olive branch being offered, a way to do something to keep the memory of her family alive. But at the same time Lior didn't like the tests or the scientists and she didn't think they were very nice. They kept trying over and over again to release the so called powers she had used that tragic night but they wouldn't surface. In the end the scientists determined that the trauma had locked away her to access that power. They were far less impressed with what remained of her gift though they took endless samples of the energy she supposedly emitted, trying to find some way of quantifying it or harnessing its power.
During one of these sessions when Lior's power was being tested she grew so very tired that she began to disassociate with her body. Floating in the aether another voice came to her. Lior began to talk with the voice, telling it all about her suffering and how sad she was and when the voice responded she realized with a jolt that it was Tali's voice! Tali began to explain to Lior all the things that she hadn't understood about that night before finally ending with the fact that Tali was pretty sure her body and mind had been absorbed by Lior just like the Hollow did to Mommy. Tali wasn't sure what that really meant, except that she wasn't actually dead and that she was still there for Lior, even if only in spirit. And Tali pointed to her Quincy Cross that Lior had kept and somehow used and gleefully told Lior that all this meant that Lior was a Quincy too!
It wasn't enough though and Lior was very alone. She didn't care if she was a Quincy now because everyone was gone! Tali tried to get her to be strong, tried to talk her through the situation. She told Lior that she needed to be a big girl now, that she needed to grow up quickly, because there wasn't any other option. Mommy and Daddy would have wanted Lior to be happy, and she wasn't happy right now, was she? Lior felt so confused though, she just wanted all the pain to go away and for her to wake up with her family back together. It took Tali a very long time to get through to Lior and in the end she still didn't feel strong even though Tali was keeping her company and slowly returning a sense of light to Lior's life. It was a very difficult period of time but with Tali's help Lior began to realize her situation. Her Mommy and Daddy were done now and she really missed them, but Tali was still there. Tali was her big sister and Lior was supposed to listen to her, so she had to be a good girl and try to follow what Tali wanted her to do. That was the only thing Lior could do now to be a good daughter.
The seeds of doubt had been planted though from a very young age. Lior's mommy was magical, right? And her Daddy was the strongest man alive? So how could they have really died? If Tali was still here, then that meant that her Mommy and Daddy who were even better had to still be out there. Were they locked away somewhere in an evil wizard's tower? Or in some dark dungeon? Maybe their spirits were stuck in a glass bottle and she had to find them to release them! That was why they couldn't talk to her like Tali could. They were too strong to have died. No one could hurt her Mommy and Daddy, they would never leave her! She knew this, knew it so strongly that it could not be denied. In Lior's mind there had to be something stopping her Mommy and Daddy from getting to her because there was no way any of this could be real.
Initially when Tali realized what kind of conclusions Lior had come to she tried to convince her otherwise, but Lior became so upset and distraught at the attempt that she mentally shut down - blocking out everyone and huddling in a ball in her room. Deep in her thoughts Lior repeated her facts over and over and over again. Mommy and Daddy were too strong to die. They wouldn't leave her. The only reason they weren't here was because someone bad had trapped them. Mommy and Daddy were too strong to die... This reinforcement was enough that when she slowly slipped back into consciousness Tali never brought the subject up again and Lior knew that her older sister had been convinced. It was the truth, so there was no reason to deny the facts. Lior trusted her parents and she knew that Tali did too, they would just have to wait for their Mommy and Daddy to come save them.
Liora and Tali talked all of the time and Tali convinced Lior that this was not a good place. Even if the scientists weren't being mean they also weren't be very kind either. Tali wasn't sure what to do though because she was convinced it would be too hard to escape. But Lior knew that everyone here was deep down a good person she just had to wait until she found the best out of all of them to help whisk her away to safety. Maybe it was the other way around with her parents, maybe she was supposed to be the hero and save them. If that was the case then just like in a fairy tale someone would have to help her escape this castle! Eventually Lior found one such a person, Ariel Barak was a soldier who hadn't signed up for this kind of service. He had little kids of his own at home and he didn't like thinking of Lior stuck here by herself. Lior managed to convince him that she still had family that would take care of her, and so he hatched a plan to help her escape. Ariel wasn't a traitor and he was loyal to Israel so he came up with a plan that fit his own morals. Smuggling Lior out during an internal check, he traveled with her back to her home town. He had left a note behind detailing his transgressions and informing his superiors that he would be reporting back for disciplinary actions later, but apparently they were not going to wait as they sent out an alert to the local police about a "kidnapping". When the police found them Ariel tried to explain the situation but they were under the impression that he was a violent terrorist, and when Lior got too close to him they felt as if her life was in danger and they shot him to death. By the time of his death however Lior had already slipped away, given the chance while Ariel made a distraction.
The grand knight had made his sacrifice for the princess. She ran away before the gunfire and Lior knew that while her knight had been wounded in the support of her he would heal up just fine at the hospital. Good people like him didn't just die. Not one of her knights! That was when Tali told Lior about another secret. Apparently Mommy had left Tali and Lior a secret letter that was hidden in the olive field at Grampa's house. Once Lior had dug up and read the letter she began to realize that her world was actually very different from what was supposed to be true. Lior's Daddy wasn't actually her Daddy. The letter told her that a man named Weylin von Wolfenstein was her real father and that she could go to him if there was a problem and Mommy had to go away. This was a huge shock to Lior but she quickly began to rationalize it in her own way. Her Daddy was special and the best and she knew other kids who were adopted who still called their "parents" Mommy and Daddy so it didn't matter if he wasn't blood related. But she still wanted to meet her real Daddy and see if he was as nice as the letter said. Maybe he could help her save her Mommy and Daddy from their horrible imprisonment? And then they could all live together happily ever after... She really wanted a Daddy right about then, even if he wasn't going to fill up the place that her Daddy took.
Lior called the phone number in the letter and soon was talking with a person in Germany. She listened to what Tali wanted her to say and tried to sound like an adult when telling the person on the line that she needed to speak with the Lady Irmgard. The foreign name sounded so strange and she stumbled over the pronunciation but eventually someone answered the phone with a Hebrew accent. Lior told them about the letter, and after a long silence when she was beginning to wonder if they were still on the line there was a flurry of questions. She told them that she was alone and didn't have a way to get to Germany but the person soothed her worries and made Lior wait as they called in a few contacts. Soon enough someone had arrived at her location and after an introduction Lior decided that the man was trustworthy because he had a beard like her Daddy and kind brown eyes. The man took her in his car and they traveled for a few days on a grand road to the foreign land of Germany. He told her funny stories but Lior couldn't hold back her impatience. He was nice but he wasn't family, and she needed family to help her save her Mommy and Daddy.
The man brought her to the doorstep of the von Wolfenstein estate. It was a huge building and she felt very scared until Tali started making jokes about all the old people inside. Barely holding in her giggles Lior was brought to see the two oldest people of all, the ones who were supposed to be her grandparents. After explaining her story, or more aptly babbling random bits and crying, they seemed rather more disbelieving than otherwise and Tali told Lior to hand over her "proof." So Lior pulled out the rest of the contents of the secret box and handed them to the couple. A picture of a white-haired baby Lior, a letter signed by Weylin, and some sort of shiny object that Lior didn't know what it was or what it meant. After a long silence, the couple leaned back in their chairs. This time around they were inclined to believe her, and Lior was accepted into the von Wolfenstein family.
They were kind to her, even helping her to learn German and giving Lior her own room and starting her education on Quincy matters. But Lior didn't want to be around these people, she wanted her new Daddy. And after one too many outbursts they decided that this was probably a good idea, if only so that she would stop breaking the fine china. A meeting was set up, with Lior's "grandparents" sending out a message to Weylin that they needed to speak with him. They thought it was probably best if they didn't tell him the situation over the phone, especially because Lior still hadn't articulated most of the story, and thus they requested he come home for a visit. Lior was present during the phone call and satisfied that her grandparents were actually going to bring her Daddy to her she settled down to wait for him to arrive. She liked her new Grandparents and Lior was happy to have them because her other ones had died before she had ever gotten to meet them, but it was hard to adjust to living with new people and she wasn't adapting very well. The hole that her parent's capture had caused in her heart was not filled by her doting Grandparents or her new Uncles and Aunts and there was something creepy about the ancient estate and the monsters that lurked outside her window. Lior just wanted to find her Daddy and make things right again. Tali kept telling her that things would be alright once she met Weylin and Lior knew that her big sister was always right so the excitement and anticipation grew.
A New Family:
“You... You're my Daddy?”
In his absence Liora grew inconsolably lonely, spending all of her time outside in the garden and running away from her lessons. It was there in that garden that she met Erasmus, an Arrancar who had accidentally created a Garganta into her yard. They played for a while and she grew to think of him as her Knight, even naming him Protector of the Small. Tali was worried about his race though, and they made a pinky promise that he would never hurt Liora. That he would protect her. From that day on Erasmus visited often. He seemed to realize how lonely Liora was and brought games and toys and fun stories to occupy her time. They were both alone in the world to different extents and Liora began to rely on him for companionship and emotional support. Latching on to what was available.
Soon after he arrived more and more Hollow-breeds began to visit her garden. Liora kept them hidden from her Quincy family and served tea and biscuits to anyone who would come talk to her. She was certain that they were all good Hollows like Erasmus was, and so Liora hatched a plan to teach her Quincy brethren about the nice Hollows in the bunch. She didn't want her two families to fight and kill each other anymore.
When winter came to Germany Liora was amazed. She had never seen snow before. And after being locked inside when a huge snow storm struck she managed to escape with the help of her trusty Ginto. Trumping through the woods Liora had a grand lark in the snow, but then she got lost and darkness fell. Alone in a blizzard she was forced to use Ginto to survive the cold. It was an amazing feat of prowess and when she was finally found three days later all of the Quincy were shocked that she had managed to perform such unorthodox spells.
Soon after that event Liora was summoned downstairs to a formal dinner. Several noble Quincy families were visiting the von Wolfenstein estate and they had sharp words for Weylin and his supposed heir Liora. After stomaching many ugly looks and piercing words Liora spent the night ruminating on her lot in life. That was when she realized that she wanted to grow up. That it was time to stop running away from things and focus on reality. She was a Princess, and she owed it to her people to be a good one.
The next morning she went to her Grandmother and wrote out a contract to practice the Quincy arts more regularly. Her Grandmother told her about the worst sin of a leader. To break a promise, and to lie. And when Liora signed her name at the end of that contract she knew that she was finally an adult instead of hiding and clinging to childhood. Her Grandmother began to instruct her on the tradition of Ginto and Liora passed the test of mastery by making her own Ginto tubes.
From that day on she focused more on her training instead of escaping to play pretend outside. Liora had learned that she had to make her own happiness in life, just like Erasmus did, and she began to balance her blooming relationship with him with her familial duties. One day he arrived and took her to his home in England. It was there that she learned the truth of his remembered past, and of Rose his younger sister. And it was there that they pledged to be a family together for ever and ever.
The End of a Legacy:
“I love you, Erasmus!”
Liora was horrified and shocked. Erasmus was her Knight. Her Father. He was a good person! And yet before her was the truth of his nature. What it meant to be an Arrancar. She couldn't stomach death or killing, and he had just taken a life in her own name. Repulsed she tried to escape him, but his continual professions of love for her made her question her feelings. She loved the idea of Erasmus, the goodness in him. And Liora began to feel as if this was all some dark nightmare. Throwing herself upon her Father's skills of fixing any problem she let him embrace her and when he placed a kiss upon her forehead she ended her own life in an attempt to reclaim her love for him.
Life as a Hollow:
The Birth
Xiaobei took form rapidly, her body growing under the desert sun as she hunted with Erasmus in Hueco Mundo. After learning human speech and taking on a respectable amount of power for a fresh Hollow-breed they moved into Las Noches where Erasmus took back up his duties as the Primera. Proud of her Abba and a bit cocky in her new form, Xiaobei’s wanderings got her into a lot of scrapes and troubles, however her Abba was always there to pluck her out of danger.
As time went on Xiaobei began to make friends with visitors and other Hollow-breed’s alike, forming her own close-knit pack with Abba at the head. Her strength continued to grow at a fearsome pace for a nascent Hollow, sheltered as she was by Erasmus’ clout. She lived a life of indolent ease, playing with her Abba and eating whenever she wished to. However one day this all changed as ATova was attacked and killed by Truth and Wishes. During the clash Xiaobei was one of many Hollows struck by the reiatsu being thrown around, one of ATova’s electric green cero’s striking her directly as she was evacuating with her Abba.
That night she was almost lost, as Xiaobei’s body disintegrated. It was only through her blood connection to Tenko and her natural affinity for regeneration that she was able to reform her body from bits of vaporized blood, in that moment sprouting from a Gillian to a small-bodied Adjuchas. Confronted with her death Xiaobei had fought an internal battle, struggling to overcome the other minds within her own and come out as the victor and mistress of her own composite soul. Taking on responsibility for her Abba, she finally realized how childish she had been this whole time, and how much pain that had caused Erasmus who had to constantly try to protect her from her own folly.
In her reformed state she promised to work harder to become strong and to live up to her Abba’s expectations, but it didn’t take long for the pain of her almost loss to break her Father. After Aya’s defeat he realized the true dangers of the world and came to Xiaobei with a promise on his lips. He would always protect her, but to do that he needed to lock her soul away with the other half inside his own body. Afraid, Xiaobei agreed so that her Abba wouldn’t have to worry so much, and she bent her neck to the slaughter as Erasmus’ consumed her and became Obsession.
Within his gullet she drifted as a base-hollow, no thought or consciousness to speak of. Eventually she reformed, creating a body for herself from bits of broken bone and flesh. Xiaobei lazed about within Obsession’s mind, content to just be with him and be at peace, but swiftly she realized that all was not alright beyond her Father’s mind. As the world splintered around him she tried to find her niche at his side, but Obsession was not the adoring Abba she had grown up with and he soon grew tired of her pestering and childish exploits.
Determined to prove herself to him, Xiaobei set off on a campaign to gain strength within his soul by eating other minds that lurked nearby. As she grew in power her Abba became more and more delusional, hurt by the outside world which refused to listen to him. Hearing his pain she promised to help him, even if he didn’t think she was old enough to do so. Finally seizing her moment, Xiaobei clawed her way out of Obsession’s stomach and regenerated a new body for herself on the outside, once more taking shape to help her Abba.
Grade?: Yes, please! I’m looking for 2000 I think… Anything higher would be a delight. (I don’t know how this new system works so we’ll see!)
How long have you been roleplaying?: Hmm, 13 years give or take.
How did you find out about us?: Garra
Were you referred here by anyone? If so, by whom?: See above.
Please tell us any other approved characters you have on BG: Enyo Hanabi, previously: Chinda Kiriko “Fulfillment”, Yamane Kohaku