Lyla Kurow

(This picture is nearly perfect. It's missing some burns across her arms and neck, I'm rethinking the waist scarf, and her coat should probably be longer...)

Species: Human

Subspecies: Unknown

Codename: The Captain

Nicknames: Lyes, Kitten, Kitty-Cat, Milady/My Lady (Eric only), Cap, Streetcat (pun on street rat), Firebug

Elements: Light, Fire, Animal (all mostly passive)

Hair: Blonde. When she was younger she tended to leave it down, but now almost always has it in a ponytail, often with a large bow (to resemble cat ears) in either green or white (sometimes both)

Skin: Somewhat tanned from her consistent exposure to sun and heat. Covered in burns across nearly every inch of her body, ending at her ankles, wrists, and neck (though it goes a little up the back and sides of her neck). She normally keeps her burns hidden, a fairly easy feat so long as she avoids shorts and sticks to long sleeves

Eyes: Bright green. Occasionally glow despite her lack of active magic, showing the passive power she has.

Captain Of The Destiny Freaks

Strongly pyrophobic, but took up fire dancing (and occasionally commiting arson against her enemies) as a direct way to overcome this. She figures that if she can willingly dance with what she fears most, she can do pretty much anything. She also likes ribbon dancing (though she sometimes uses a whip instead of a ribbon), but that's unrelated.

She's working towards a Healer's license. She has interests in potions, poisons, alchemy, martial arts, metal smithing, jewelry making, animals, flying machines, other cultures, and slight-of-hand.

(Her personal symbol, meant to resemble a question mark)

Beem Flashclaw

(This one is one of the best. Literally my only complaint is that she should have a green bow on the upper-back of her vest, that's it.)

Species: Unknown (goddess)

Subspecies: Unknown (Soul Walker)

Codename: Cheshire

Nicknames: Beemi, Kitty, Little Kitty

Elements: Light, Fire, Life

Fur: White, glows softly, though she can stop this glow temporarily if she concentrates (useful when interacting with those sensitive to Light, such as Eric or Mischief). Can turn into a type of magical fire (that strangely doesn't burn Lyla), but this tires her out

Eyes: Light blue, glowing. Become solid blue with a much brighter, fiery glow when her fur turns to fire

Lyla's amnesiac Soulbind, neither know how their connection came to be (Beem saved Lyla's life).

History

PART ONE: THE VILLAGE

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who died in a fire. Things just get more complicated from there.
Lyla was a human orphan who lived in a village where humans weren't well liked. The village was very anti-technology, with a general consensus that one's natural powers and strengths decided their social standing. Locked out from becoming sorcerers or sorceresses (a type of scientist as far as Koraz is concerned), magicless species like humans were pretty much bottom rung.

Science-based but powerful species, like Magi, were tolerated but treated as outcasts (as much as anyone would dare treat a Mage poorly). The only permanent Magish resident of the town technically lived just outside it; an old healer, named Karavel Kurow. Karavel took Lyla in, treating her mysterious burns and teaching her forbidden things like alchemy and reading. Lyla watched in awe as animals went from dying to playing under her 'grandmother's' watch, and took her lessons to heart in hopes of doing the same.

Bullied and physically harmed by kids and teachers alike (her village mandated schooling), Lyla only had her adoptive grandmother and a colony of cats that lived in the village to bring her comfort and companionship. Karavel was a kind woman who taught Lyla many things, but she did not know how to be a proper parent, and Lyla was mostly left to run wild with her feline friends.

The more the world told Lyla she was weak and stupid, the more she was determined to be anything but. She learned how to fight, how to heal, how to smith metal, how to do anything she could find a book on. 'Why' became the most common word in her vocabulary, always questioning anything and everything she could.

It was perhaps due to her desire to understand the world that Lyla developed an interest in poetry and riddles, painting them on her bedroom walls and randomly reciting her favorites as the mood struck her. She was an unusual and bright child, to say the least. She physically could not meet her peers in raw power, but she far surpassed them in skill and knowledge.

Unfortunately, when intelligence threatens the social hierarchy, the bright and unusual are easily turned upon. Though she could hardly remember getting her burns beyond a vague recurring nightmare, Lyla carried a deep phobia of fire, one which the village kids were more than willing to use against her — especially one in particular whose species naturally produced such.

He tormented Lyla more than any other, often sending her home with new burns and new tears. His family was powerful and Karavel was rather weak for a Mage in all fields but healing, and it seemed that nothing could be done. But those who have faced death and come back from it, even when they don't know they have, are very hard to threaten or cow.
Lyla would fight back many times throughout her life, and she would lose just as many. She would watch her cats and read her books and take the things she learned from them to try again — and fail again. Over and over and over.

It was a cycle she would forever be stuck in, trapped in that village that was her whole world — or so it seemed.

Lyla came of an age that was entirely too young, yet the village still demanded that she either marry or work, as all must. She chose work. Unfortunately, few jobs accepted humans and her status as her grandmother's assistant wasn't technically legal, so she was stuck as a stablehand.

It was while scooping out animal stalls and cursing the name of anything she could think of that Lyla made what was perhaps her most unusual friend; a camel, named Norman. He wasn't a person and therefore wasn't really a friend, but Lyla felt close to him nonetheless. She had always liked animals, and he was a particularly playful one, always greeting her cheerfully in his voiceless way.

It hurt her heart when she noticed the scars.

Norman's rider was not very nice.

It seems silly to her sometimes, that out of all the things she faced, this is what spurred her to break her cycle. But she was reborn from a selfless deed, even if she did not know it back then, and the urge to defend was a deep one in her.

Lyla would never find peace in that village, so she would have to leave, and she planned to take Norman with her. She packed her things and made her plans, hugging Karavel goodbye with promises to write, and to come back one day. She was almost ready to leave, with but one little thread to take care of.

It turns out that, sometimes, when one stops caring it is a good thing. Lyla didn't care about her bullies anymore, their words still sat within her soul but they no longer echoed in her mind, leaving her more room to think. With a sneak attack and a simple vial of poison, she disfigured the one who had (literally) burned her so many times, permanently damaging the part of him that could summon flame.

Then she stole Norman, and she left the oasis the village was nestled in, venturing out into the desert. It was a hard road to travel, a scary one, and sometimes she thought about turning back — but it was always worth it in the end, because finally she was free.