[Application] Adia Roscelle <8th Division>

cestlunar

06-19-2008, 11:34 PM

Name: Adia Roscelle
Gender: Female

Age:
Age at Death: N/A
Age in Soul Society: 376 (looks 19)

Personality:
Adia is social, but a bit quiet and introverted. Yet she observes everything going on around her, always. This is a habit from her upbringing. She displays fierce loyalty to her friends and comrades in arms. Wishing to prove her worth to the individuals she respects and honors, Adia shows an exceptional work ethic as well. She fears disappointing her equals and superiors. Because of this she also is extremely modest, almost to a fault. One insecurity of hers is height; she perceives herself as short – a hated condition. She enjoys all games of chance and has exceptional luck, especially with card games; however, if someone calls her a cheater her anger flares.

Adia is neither an optimist, nor a pessimist. She considers herself neither an intellect, nor a dunce. She believes that she has been all of these things at some point, and will be again, so it is pointless to acknowledge any such labels. Adia tries to tread a path of neutrality as much as possible. While she acknowledges that certain universal laws exist and must be upheld, she wishes to act in a manner which maximizes positive outcome with the minimum negative effects for the smallest number of people.

Physical Appearance:
Adia stands approximately 5’ 5” tall; she is well-proportioned and fit. Her face is heart-shaped with a strong jaw line, round cheeks covered in small light freckles, and wide blue eyes framed by long brown lashes. She has straight red hair that falls to her shoulder blades, but usually she keeps it pinned back in a braided bun. A blue ink tattoo is visible on Adia’s right wrist: a tiger with teeth bare swatting at a butterfly fluttering just out of reach.

Adia wears a Shihakusho tailored to her own specifications: a form-fitting white undershirt, a black kimono ending just below her pelvis with three-quarters length sleeves, a black obi, and straight-legged black hakama. Her Zanpakuto rests at a slight diagonal across her back, the hilt only a few inches away from her right ear. To compensate for her stature, Adia wears black leather mid-calf boots with a heel. These add around two inches to her overall height. She also always wears a bracelet made of braided multicolored ribbons.

Division:
8th Division

Zanpakuto:
Adia’s Zanpakuto is a short sword measuring 28” overall; her blade is 21” with a 7” hilt. The silver colored guard is a rectangle with slightly concave edges and several precious and semi-precious stones (clockwise starting at the blade’s edge: opal, yellow alexandrite, sapphire, emerald, onyx, amethyst, ruby, and quartz) inset into it. The hilt is wrapped in midnight blue and sky blue silk-like material. The Zanpakuto’s sheath is wrapped in the midnight blue cloth as well. Etched into the pommel cap is a butterfly design with more stones set in the wings.

Adia specializes in a sword style where the blade is held in reverse (with the blade running away from her little finger). Her guard design complements this style, allowing her to rest the guard against her wrist to help support the sword.

cestlunar

06-19-2008, 11:34 PM

Biography:
Adia lived inside the Rukongai’s 63rd District growing up. The third born child in a family with seven children, a long-followed family tradition expected Adia – as the youngest daughter – to care for the family all her life. Such care included looking after the house and her aging parents once the other children moved out. This expectation doubled at the age of 183 when her mother died giving birth to her youngest brother.

One afternoon, Adia left the house to find food for her youngest brother and herself. She returned home only to discover her father and two youngest brothers murdered. Adia mourned their deaths; even so, since they were the only family members still living in the house, she found herself suddenly freed of her obligations as the youngest daughter. She decided to enter the Daikokubashira Academy.

The Daikokubashira Academy represented a key time in her life. It was the first time Adia interacted with other people her own age in a social capacity. She made her first friendships here. Adia also held all of her professors in high regard. In fact she applied to the Eighth Division at the recommendation of one of her Academy professors.

Sample Mission:
Adia Roscelle quickly and thoroughly scanned the clearing for a second time. How strange. The Green Team left their flag completely unguarded, she thought. Surely, if the whole Green Team already suffered elimination from the exercise someone else would have snatched up the flag by now. She gripped a hip-level branch with both hands, then squatted down and pushed off with her toes. Letting go of the branch holding her aloft, Adia dropped the last five feet to the ground. A clump of moss muffled the impact of her bare feet.

“AHA!”

Adia rolled left into the open dodging her classmates endeavor to detach the blue sash slung across her torso. Apparently her opponent laid in wait for her. Good thing this fifth year never realized discretion was more than a defensive weapon; otherwise, Adia’s participation in today’s activities would have ended.

“Today,” Adia’s instructor announced just an hour earlier, “we will be testing the skills I tried to instill in you all this year. I split you up into groups of four. The seventh year student commanding each team makes five. This is a test for them, too – a test in group leadership.” The massive gentlemen began to pace in front of his class, hands clasped behind his back. However intimidating and harsh he came across, the class knew well their professor’s confidence in them.

“The objective’s simple: Capture other teams’ flags and keep yours secure. Flags are scattered throughout the forest in different clearings which serve as base camps. One map revealing the location of every flag will be handed out to each group. Relocating your own flag is illegal and punishable by automatic failure of the whole team. Immediately return captured flags to base camp. Only one flag may be captured at a time. Avoid theft en route. If a team does not reclaiming its flag within an hour, the members are disqualified from the exercise and will be escorted back here.

“Teams will reach base camp by Senkei Gate. Remember, people, this is an elimination exercise. You all are armed. Use that to your advantage. If another participant disarms you or takes away the colored sash you wear, you are ‘dead’ and will be escorted away.”

Now, Adia’s classmate spun to face her while drawing his sword. Adia refused to leave this exercise yet. Already on her feet, she quickly distanced herself from her opponent with a series of three back flips followed by a back handspring. She drew her Zanpakuto, which was sheathed across her back, with her left hand – her off-hand – resting the guard against her wrist. The Green Team member charged at her, both hands clutching his katana’s hilt near the right side of his head. His blade’s tip angled down. Adia, stepping into the attack, pushed against the thrusting Zanpakuto with all her might. As the two weapons clashed over her shoulder, she used her right hand to grab a fistful of cloth. Shoving her left arm up further and hooking her right foot around the enemy’s left ankle, the sixth year student pivoted. Her hand still held fast to the fabric, and the green sash was wrenched from her opposition.

The defeated classmate rose to his feet and dusted grass off his Shihakusho. An escort arrived by then. Adia paid neither of them any heed, though; instead, she streaked toward the flag. Once it was in hand, she wasted no time dawdling in the clearing.

Adia Roscelle quickened towards base camp carefully evading ongoing skirmishes. She wanted to meet no foe face-to-face at this delicate juncture. After a couple of close calls and one huge stumble over a protruding tree root (she hoped that none of those observing the exercise watched), Adia finally reached her base camp unscathed. Breeching the clearing, Adia halted and retreated noiselessly into the shadow of the nearest tree. In front of her, the Red Team leader faced off against her Blue Team commander close to the flag.

The tussle seemed to be pretty evenly matched, but the Red Team commander started losing ground. The battle edged closer to Adia. Then, as her commander kicked high, the invader ducked into a leg sweep. Down went the Blue Team commander. She landed on her back, the collision knocking the wind out of her. The Red Team commander closed in on his prone enemy; Adia ran swiftly forward unseen. Her right hand drew her Zanpakuto as she speed forward and held it out in front of her. Simultaneously, her group leader rolled away from the attacker’s prying fingers and slashing blade.

Turning to strike his uncooperative adversary, the Red Team commander noticed another student closing on him. By then it was over. He felt the colored sash slide off his right shoulder and fall over top of his left foot. A tenth year student descended a nearby tree, jumping from branch-to-branch flawlessly. The defeated leader complacently followed his escort, and soon they both dissolved into the dense forest.

Adia helped her fallen commander to her feet. “Thanks,” the upperclassman chirped in bright tones. “You are a lifesaver, in a manner of speaking.”

“Any time,” Adia replied. The team commander stood a good four inches taller than Adia. The pronounced height difference made her feel awkward – inadequate, even. She walked toward the blue flag to separate from her ally as much as to drop the captured green flag beside it. “I would rather not have to do it again, though.”

Her commander laughed. “No, I don’t think I’ll give you the opportunity. I want you to target the Red Team next. Their base is close to ours and we – I mean you – just took out the leader of the group. Do you need to take a look at the map?” As she asked she reached for the piece of paper tucked into her obi.

The other student shook her head. “No need. I’ve got it memorized.” With that, Adia left the grove from the side opposite of where she entered.

Red Team’s base camp was a battleground. Up in an ancient oak tree many yards from the action, Adia watched as three members of the Red Team fended off a group of six aggressors. The invading force, made up of members from three different teams, should have overwhelmed the defending Red Team. Conflicting interests of eliminating members of other teams and capturing the enemy flag, though, lead to infighting among the larger group. This resulted in a schizophrenic fray where an ally this moment became an opponent the next.

Adia would try her luck elsewhere. She used vines clinging to the branches above her like a rope. Half-way through her descent, Adia felt her stomach churn. She looked around frantically attempting to place the ominous and familiar presence with a physical being. There it was! Below her, a scorpion-like Hollow scuttled about.

Its objective seemed to be the skirmishing mass in the clearing ahead. With just a glance Adia couldn’t tell if any of her classmates sensed the threat approaching them. She assumed they did, but she couldn’t let a Hollow surprise the unsuspecting group. The creature’s path brought it right under Adia. Drawing her Zanpakuto with her right hand, the Academy student let go of the vines.

The Hollow let out a terrible screech. Something wounded its tail. It looked back to see a pest pulling her weapon out of its flesh. Flinging the appendage hard to the left, the Hollowed whacked the nuisance in the abdomen. She flew into the underbrush a few yards away. Her impertinence secured her place as the next victim.

To be continued…
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