Name: Angie

Email: angie dot cousins at verizon dot net

AIM: Sappho13

RPG Experience: You're kidding me, right? Tee hee.

Civilian Information

Name: Aubrey Clarinda Barnes

Meaning: Aubrey - Rules with elf-wisdom; Clarinda - Bright, beautiful; Barnes - From Barnes, Durrey; pet form of patriarchal name Barnabas (son of prophecy or consolation) - Let me explain this insanity, please. I really do have good reasons. Aubrey because of the obvious association of learning with wisdom and she’s built tiny. Clarinda because I have a bad habit of puns and she’s mentally brilliant. Get that one? Barnes because of the meaning and, well, Barnes & Noble’s bookstore… I never claimed to be funny. ^^;

Age: 18 going on 45 but looking 16... At best.

Birthday: September 5th

Zodiac: Virgo (and, yes, you've never seen such a Classic Case Virgo

Height: Just barely clearing 5'1"

Likes:

- old books: She likes the smell and the feel of them; the dustier the better, it almost seems. Aubrey will trust a book before she trusts another human being and she can be found frequently in used book stores and the college library.

- solitude for her work: Aubrey never has and never will be a team player. She does her best thinking when she is alone and guards her privacy with surprising viciousness. Quiet soothes her and eases nerves that are genetically and dispositionally tight.

- prayer/meditation: These two are basically the same thing as far as Aubrey is concerned and both leave her rather more pleasant to deal with after the fact. Whereas some people have a drink, this girl gets down on her knees and... Oy, get your mind out of the gutter!

- school: Enough said. Aubrey is the classic bookworm and appears to be well on her way of being a perpetual student by her own choice.

Random Likes: classical music, hot Earl Grey with milk only, rainy days, one-on-one talks about intellectual things (especially literature and religion), Audrey Hepburn

Dislikes:

- loud, sudden noises: Aubrey's default setting is nervous and so she jumps and jumps high when startled. There was once talk of seeing if she had some sort of hearing disorder but the fact of the matter simply is that she loses herself readily in what she focuses on and any kind of abrupt interruption to that zen-like state leaves her jarred.

- parties of the larger variety: Never having quite developed social graces, Aubrey is a complete fish out of water at a party and this kicks up her nerves into a painfully alert state. She can handle small family gatherings and tiny groups where she knows everyone but, if you put her down at the Event of the Year, then you can expect to see her heels as she retreats to stand hidden in a corner. Ten points to you if you just guessed that she didn't go to her senior prom.

- having to repeat herself: For all that she tries to cultivate a sort of saintly patience in her (and usually manages), Aubrey has a limit to how much she can bear. She is more than willing to tutor or advise but, if you aren't going to pay attention, then there really is no point in her spending time over you.

Random Dislikes: heavy metal and punk music, snowstorms (she gets cold easily), social pressure, malls

Hobbies:

- studying: It's quite disgusting but Aubrey considers this to be her main hobby. She is never happier than when she is nose-in-a-book, hunting down an elusive fact. The fact that this obsession only enflames her poor social skills has yet to sink in on her.

- playing piano: After two years of lessons, Aubrey is nowhere near as clever at the instrument as she wishes she were. Yet, strangely, she still enjoys it and is determined to one day play her favorite pieces. In private, of course, because, even while she respects her teacher immensely, the poor woman cannot convince her wayward student to consider public recitals.

- watching old movies: A fan of the older, simpler times of cinema, Aubrey will watch anything done before 1950 with glee. She will even watch silent movies, pale lips moving slightly as she reads the title cards with creepy intensity. She’s not a real fan of most modern movies and will only admit, under pressure, to liking some. For example, in her opinion, Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet was fairly decent. However, give her the original Sabrina any day and you'll earn a shy smile.

- giving advice: Something within Aubrey wars between being a busy-body and a self-contained hermit and the result is a hesitant mix. If she sees someone in trouble, she will offer help in a quiet, undemanding way as if she were expecting to be told to go to hell. This is possibly the only reason a lot of her advice is well-received; it feels like kicking a puppy if you don't at least hear her out.

Appearance:

Aubrey’s looks can be summed up in three words: young, frail, and unobtrusive. She seems to make it her mission in life to get through everything without being noticed. Given her build and muted coloring, this is an easy task. She’s quite short and built extraordinarily petite with small hands and feet to match. Her high metabolism and tendency to forget meals has resulted in an almost painfully thin body-type and, if she ever wore anything that exposed her midriff, chances are you’d notice a rib or two. The girl honestly weighs one hundred pounds, sopping wet, and this is not the sort of thiness sought after by models at all. Aubrey’s hair is that odd shade between blond and brown. It’s not dark blond and it’s not light brown. If anything, the color is what you would get if you repeatedly abused (aka left out in the elements) a burlap sack. It falls straight to her shoulder blades, refuses curl, and is a bit on the lank side; it’s not hideous, just very, very unassuming. She has heavy bangs with would cover her eyes if she didn’t usually keep the whole mess back with a headband. Her skin is fair to pale, depending on the season, but never tan in the least. Her eyes are her one beauty and easily dominate her face - a shifting kalidescope of greens and blues and ringed with lush, pale eyelashes. They’re large and innocent-looking with a hint of “I’m not quite believing what I’m seeing” mixed in and accentuated by one thin, pale eyebrow being placed slightly higher than the other. Unfortunately, Aubrey is incredibly near-sighted and must wear her little silver, wire-rimmed glasses all of the time, obscuring those gorgeous eyes. Her sister is trying to convince her that contacts are a good thing. Her chin and nose are sharp, her forehead is low, and her mouth is thin and usually the lips are pressed together tightly in thought. This is not a girl with dimples. Despite these somewhat lacking features, however, Aubrey is not really unattractive; if fact, she might even be considered cute in a little sister sort of way. She just doesn’t care enough to work with what she has in order to enhance her looks. She pulls her hair back with that ever-present headband, braiding it for special occasions. She wears no make-up except chap stick (which she seems to be slightly obsessed with for some reason). Her clothing consists mostly of khakis, modest skirts, and neat jeans with light sweaters, turtlenecks paired with vests, and the occasional polo shirt, everything in neutral colors and with little more to notice than they’re always neat. Yes, I know these are usually seen as cool weather items but Aubrey is one of those odd people that just doesn’t seem to notice the heat until it’s boiling. She apparently has one of the world’s most impressive internal temperature-regulation systems inside of her. Despite the weather, though, she will never, ever wear shorts or tank tops. The closest she’ll come is a knee-length skirt and a polo shirt. Aubrey also tends to walk with a slight slouch, developed from hunching over books all hours of the day, and picks her way along through life in the most unobtrusive manner possible.

Personality:

Aubrey’s most distinguishing characteristics are her intelligence and her silence. Brilliant is not the word for this girl; it doesn’t do her credit at all. She has a natural intelligence about her which is only enhanced by her dilligent studying and her photographic memory. She works hard in all of her classes but that’s only because she’s pulling an insane amount of credits. If she took a lighter course load, even if it was only dropping two classes, she wouldn’t need to work so much. Funny thing is, though, that she enjoys being overworked; whereas three term papers would make most people nervous, the challenge excites Aubrey to the point of near-giddiness. There is nothing that she loves more than burying herself in a research paper and it is striking to watch her thin, pale face light up with the joy of discovery. She likes the intensity of the work and the mystery and challenge of finding just the right fact to include in her paper. This is the only intensity she enjoys, however.

Aubrey is very non-confrontational and quiet, preferring to listen to everyone else and form her own opinions. Not that she would then share those opinions but they’d be there nonetheless. Unless she’s comfortable around you, you probably won't hear of these educated opinions. In fact, you won’t hear much at all from Aubrey. She’s not exactly one for small talk; in fact, this inability has had definite reinforcing results on her already retiring nature. If she does not know how to talk to you, she simply will not. It does not mean that she doesn't like you, though. It merely means that she has no concept of how to maintain an even balance of conversation. If you start the conversation and press her, she will gamely try to keep up but don't expect any kind of urbane chatterbox answers. In fact, the only time she could be construed as talkative would be if she were answering a question in class. Even then she speaks very softly with a such light alto voice and you have to strain to hear her. Three guesses why she’s so quiet and the first two don’t count… Yep, the girl’s got a self-esteem problem and she’s shy as all get-out. Let’s face it, if you had a gorgeous sister and a sports-star brother and people said that you were “the smart one” in that tone reserved for when you can’t think of anything else to say, you’d have a self-esteem problem, too. It isn't anything concious on her part; she certainly does not view herself as being less of a person. She is proud of her intelligence and would be very upset if anyone called her stupid. However, the concept of her being attractive or talented in other areas is a concept that she would go wide-eyed over and promptly demure vigorously. In her mind, she is Not Pretty and Not Fun. She is Smart. So far, no one has gotten close enough to her and cared enough about her general social well-being to worry over this self-image. Which explains why she is such a terribly awkward eighteen-year-old.

Besides her studies, though, Aubrey also believes in her religion. She’s Protestant and proud of it. Praying is her main form of relaxation and reflection. This lends a sense of calm to her at all times and, once people realize it, they often take advantage of this aspect by dropping their agony at her feet for her special kind of band-aid. Luckily, she never thinks hard about how this reduces her to counselor and tutor nor does she take any of the angst she handles personally, releasing it promptly once the advice is dispensed. Thusly, Aubrey is the world’s most stable personality. She doesn’t yell, doesn’t cry, and doesn’t scream. In fact, she rarely laughs as well. If she does laugh, you can bet it will be in response to some sort of dry, esoteric comment or joke. Why did the chicken cross the road does not do it for this girl. Any inner turmoil is reserved for when she’s alone. She wouldn't dream of upsetting anyone else with her silly problems! Instead, she will throw herself back into the nearest project so that she can forget whatever shook her. Surprisingly, this technique works very well indeed and gives her enough distance that, a week down the line, she can return and inspect the problem with less drama.

Overall, Aubrey is studious, loyal to the few friends she has, devoted to her family and religion, polite, and quiet. She is shy to the extreme and has trouble functioning in large groups. Yet she is blindingly brilliant and always willing to help those who approach her. In fact, she would be a great friend but you’d have to overcome her basic shyness and her tendency to ignore real, living people for fictional or dead ones. Her passion is reserved for her studies, religion, and family (though she does have a weakness for flavored chap-stick and piano). You would never notice her unless you were looking for her. She usually just goes with the flow and avoids making ripples at all costs.

History - Present:

If you're looking for an exciting life, move along. Aubrey Clarinda Barnes has had, in general, the most normal, stable life ever. Born and bred in Grand Bend, she was the first child of a loving (and slightly mismatched) couple. William was a solidly blue-collar man on the low rungs of the construction industry when he met Emily, a college student in her final push to become a paralegal. It was brawn meets brains and the chemistry was romantic-comedy-sweet. They married the summer after Emily graduated but held off on little Aubrey until the new Mrs. Barnes had found work at a local law firm (Davis, Schneider, and Weiss). This was sensible of them, a trend that would carry onwards through their lives together. Little Aubrey lulled the new parents into a false sense of security in those early years; she was quiet and well-behaved and followed the schedule that all of those fancy baby books laid out for her. The only exception was her fascination with books. She would pitch an absolute fit if she didn't get her bedtime story. By the time, Anais came along, two years later, Aubrey was holding the books herself and scribbling meaningless scrawl on old legal tablets; William joked that she was writing the Next Great American Novel. Aubrey regarded her new little sister with cautious curiosity but, as her fourth birthday rolled around and she could just about manage things like "Goodnight, Moon", she went to bed each night after curling up with Anais and reading her a bedtime story. Four years old also marked Aubrey's entry into the "scholarly" world and she embraced kindergarten with the kind of unholy glee that makes teachers swoon. She was quiet and obedient and picked up things without the need of multiple explanations. Not to mention, she never ate the paste.

When Aubrey was six, Emily and William finally got a son out of the situation and their oldest daughter started the same bedtime story rituals with little Victor as she had with Anais. Three was enough, apparantly, and the Barnes family failed to grow any more. This was a good thing on many fronts - Aubrey was already becoming an overly shy, rather too-smart child and Anais was blossoming into Little Miss Princess Thing and, well, Victor wasn't doing much but Emily and William had suspicions. The children situation sorted, Emily and William set themselves to balancing work and family and did a disgustingly good job of it. The few bumps in the road were minor and neatly dealt with (mostly by Emily's firm and determined hand). Overall, things were lovely and open. There were family picnics and trips and the weekly trot over to their church. When William made foreman with Towers Limited, they obediently celebrated. When Emily decided that she wanted to be a lawyer, the children were kept updated as Mommy went back to part-time school. Aubrey even had a thorough discussion with her parents when her school offered to let her skip fifth grade; she ended up doing it but sometimes wonders if she would be more comfortable around people now if she hadn't.

Yes, the Barneses are kind of like the Cleavers but creepier in an even more wholesome way.

Sadly, there were no tragedies or Ugly Secrets for this family to make them interesting. The worse they suffered was Goldfish Death, Anais failing to make the wee cheerleaders' group, and Aubrey getting her first A-; the three events were treated with equal gravity in an attempt to lessen the near hysterics that Aubrey seemed to verge on with her grade. Aubrey was always high-strung and her family tried to ease her out of it, each in their own ways. William would insist she join them all on hikes, Emily encouraged her to join a club (for heaven's sake, any club), Anais offered to do her hair, and Victor promised to never hit her with a basketball if she would come outside and play a quick, miserable game of HORSE. None of it seemed to work particularly well but she knew they were trying and appreciated it. She simply never saw the point in their worries. Luckily for her nerves, though, Aubrey found peace in her family's religion and, by the time she was thirteen, she would attend Sunday services with or without her family. She felt safe with religion and, in feeling safe, she was happy and more relaxed. Emily and William counted themselves lucky that she had found such a benign outlet and let her alone. After all, she never showed any sign of going the whole hog and joining the church as part of the clergy.

At sixteen, Aubrey bowed to her mother's urges and began piano lessons. The music often resisted her because, frankly, she does not have much in the way of creation in her soul but she enjoyed both the challenge and the little triumps. She is better now and can manage a number of passable tunes. If she isn't at the library or in her room, chances are she can be found at the battered but much-loved piano in the living room, a little crease between her eyebrows as she picks out a song. Another event of her sixteenth year was the opportunity to take a few classes at the local community college while finishing her senior year at Grand Bend Park High School. Not quite knowing what she planned on doing in the future, Aubrey took a few general courses and found a taste for critical reading and history. Thusly bolstered, she promptly set out to double major in history and literature, entering the conveniently local Mason College promptly after her graduation at seventeen. She has found her niche and swims happily about in the college's library and classrooms, living at home, and plinking away at the piano.

She is not going to be at all happy with this "reincarnation of an alien princess" thing but it will be adorable to see the look on her face when she finds her card tucked within a dusty copy of Dante.

History – Past:

Still In Progress

Hierophant was always a little cracked in the head but she was fun and useful so no one minded. Much. Besides, who else could beat you in chess in eight moves while writing a paper on the Necessity of Social Limitations? Seriously, though, she was an okay girl, quiet but sweet-tempered and devoted to protecting her home and her princesses. The shit that the Knight of Pentacles pulled? Did -not- make her happy at all. No, indeed. Soft, little Hierophant tried desperately to talk Sense and Duty into the princesses right up until the end. She never was quite sure how she ended up on Fool's team but she theorized that it was because of her respect for (insert name here).

Soldier Information

Soldier/Knight/etc Name: Hierophant. Which is a mouthful and a half, really, so Aubrey will quietly define the term for her teammates and offer the alternative of "Scholar". Yes, she -is- a huge dork.

Sphere of Power: education, conformity

Uniform Colours: main color - fawn brown, the color of worn leather covers on old tomes; secondary color - silver

Uniform: Poor Hierophant was never meant to be much of a fighter and it shows in her uniform, a slightly silly costume that manages to look like the unholy mating of Final Fantasy wardrobes and a minister's garb. Her top consists of a long length of supple, fawn-brown leather wound tightly under her chest until it covers her breasts completely; it begins under her armpits and goes down to leave most of her midsection bare. To cover her arms, she wears a pair of modified sleeves, cut full and belling over the backs of her hands. Made of gauzy brown fabric, they tie tightly to the middle of her upper arms with silver ribbons, leaving her shoulders bare. There are more brown leather strips wrapped around her forearms beneath the sleeves in a token motion towards protection. Her wrap-around skirt is made from heavy brown cloth, edged in thick silver ribbon, and cut full enough to allow movement. The skirt reaches her ankles and is fastened at her right hip with two silk roses, one red and one white, both with their petals edged in silver. On her feet, she wears simple brown leather sandals, belted over toes and heel and ankle with silver buckles and more leather. She wears a thick brown leather choker around her neck; a square of silver divides it at her throat, looking rather like a minister's "dog collar". Over top of everything, Hierophant wears a fawn-brown hooded cloak. The ties at her neck are hidden beneath her collar and the hood is overly large and loose, making it easy to push out of the way. The cloak itself reaches a few inches short of her ankles.

Hierophant's hair is a complicated arrangement of braids and silver. Her bangs fall into her face, untamed and cloaking her eyes slightly. A small braid drops from the hair behind each ear to rest on her shoulders, ending in small silver beads. The rest of her hair is pulled back and six sections, three on either side of a center part, are pulled from the bulk of the hair and braided with silver threads running through them. The entire mess, braids and all, is then caught in a neat bun at the back of Hierophant's head, held in place with silver pins and a silver net. She wears a silver stud and a silver cuff on each ear and silver chains run between them. The most unnerving part of her uniform is how much of her body appears to be tattoo'd with silver archaic symbols. Curling out and down from the corner of each eye, she has spirals. Her lips are painted silver and there are silver smudges on her eyelids. Over her exposed stomach, her upper arms, and her upper chest (aka the bits people can readily view), silver markings swirl and change over her skin. They are almost impossible to make out in battle but, once upon a time, they were very clear. They are all pictographic representations of astronomy, religion, alchemy, and other esoteric areas of study.

Team/Alignment:Team 2, Fool's Team

Transformation: "Arcananum mutatio, Hierophant!" Taking out her card, Aubrey holds it to her heart and bows her head. She whispers "Arcananum mutatio" and then lifts her head, moving the card to press to her forehead. Closing her eyes, she calls out "Hierophant!" and a silver light envelops her, moving from the top of her head downwards. Soft organ music is heard and a sense of quiet peace and tranquility momentarily touches anyone watching. Then, suddenly, the music disappears and the light intensifies until you have to look away. When you can bear to look back at her, Aubrey is gone and Hierophant stands in her place, cloak held tightly wrapped around her and head bowed. Slowly, she raises her head and gives the watcher a look that makes you think she knows just what you have been doing that you shouldn't have been doing.

Powers:

Do As I Do! (defense/offense, conformity)

A potentially humiliating attack, Do As I Do is also very self-explanatory. Hierophant picks her target and dips a little curtsy at them. As she straightens, she says "Do as I do" in a sing-song voice. There are no pyrotechnics, no special effects; the target is simply caught in a game of mimicry. For the span of three minutes, the target must copy every move that Hierophant makes, no matter how silly. This could lead to distraction, removal from the battle field, or minor bumps and bruises. However, there is no way for Hierophant to injure her target badly; this is not a killing attack. So no just walking them over the edge of the roof or anything. She can use this attack up to three times in a battle but each time decreases by a minute so that the final time keeps the target under the spell for only sixty seconds.

Know Your Enemy (defense, education)

This is strictly a defensive measure. In fact, she can't even cast it in the midst of a heated fight. Before things get hot and heavy, Hierophant closes her eyes and presses her fingers to her temples. She mutters "know your enemy" and reopens her eyes. For the next five minutes, she is able to learn and duplicate any attack that is thrown at her. Only one time, though. For her to be able to throw the duplicate attack again, she must be hit with it once more. After five minutes, her learning curve evaporates and she is left feeling a bit light-headed. Needless to say, this is an awkward attack and it is just easier to duck sometimes.

Writing Test: Sighing heavily, Aubrey buried her face in her hands and bit her lip; disenchantment always struck the idealists the hardest.