Patricia 'Patty' Rucroe
Species: Mage
Subspecies: Forest Mage
Codename: Phantom
Nicknames: [To Be Added Later]
Elements: Smoke, Emotion, Song, Animal, Air, Fire
Hair: Orange, worn in a ponytail in recent years.
Skin: Light with an orange-ish tint
Eyes: Green. Get brighter and greener when she uses more of her magic.
Wand Forms: Wand, Staff, Necklace
A psychologist-in-training with a specialty in phobias, specifically overcoming them.
ORIGIN OF PHANTOM
Patty & Polly have always been the same. It wasn't a choice nor something forced on them, merely a fact. What Patty did Polly did, what Polly liked Patty liked, what one wore the other wore, etc.
One day, when they were very little, they were playing in a forest. They chased each other between bushes, giggling and screaming, under the watchful eye of Booksmarts. But even ancient Spirits aren't infallible, and it took him far too long to realize that only one of the identical girls was still running around. This girl was Patty.
Polly had wandered off. The whole family looked for her, only finding her thanks to her Familiar (Phoebe) finding them first. Polly had tried to skip across some rocks in a lake, slipping and hitting her head. Being very young, she knew very few spells, and all were based on her main Element (Fire).
Patty watched, horrified, as her sister was rescued from nearly drowning. Watched as her sister recovered so very slowly. Watched as she flinched away from the kitchen sink, even that small amount of water bringing her to tears.
Patty watched as her sister changed, became different than her.
Patty and Polly had always been the same. When Patty started cringing at thunder and flinching from harsh winds, with no explanation, she was taken to a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist who told her family a horrible truth; to be more like Polly, Patty had given herself a phobia. Not on purpose, though, which just made it all the worse in Patty's mind.
Patty was horrified by her 'fake' fear, but nothing she did got rid of it. Until the day that Polly used a great deal of magic to try to burn away a storm, far too much magic. Polly had a 'real' fear, Polly needed to be protected, and instead she was risking herself to protect Patty when she didn't actually need it.
No more. Secretly, with Eric's help, Patty snuck out to chase storms. She would sit in the middle of them, cringing and crying, for as long as she could. She studied the mind, studied breathing techniques, studied everything she could that might help her overcome her fear. Now she laughs and dances in the rain — she's still scared, but she acknowledges the fear and does what she wishes anyways.
Patty sees fear as a good thing. A little creature, almost, whose job is to protect you. She believes in taking its warning and then acting calmly, because panicking just overworks that poor little creature who only wishes to help. She helps others work through and face their fears, hopes to help her sister overcome her aquaphobia someday.
Patty is also very good at using fear as a weapon. She can spot fear easily, and she is more than willing to use someone's worst phobias against them, creating illusions with her smoke to terrorize and disorient her enemies. She's... Not always entirely sure this is a good thing.
HOW A SPILLED POTION AND A PSYCHOLOGY TEXTBOOK LED TO PATTY WEARING A HOODIE
When they were younger, Patty and Polly (and their Familiars) were quite mischievous. They weren't bad or particularly ill-behaved, but they were known for getting into things they shouldn't.
One of these things was a temperature potion, which spilled on them and reacted... uniquely to their bodies. It bonded to Polly's strong Fire Element, enhancing it and making her forever run hotter, never really bothered by heat and never really feeling cold, unless they're extreme. Patty, on the other hand, just got very very cold. This potion wasn't supposed to be permanent, but youthful Magi can affect things weirdly before they have proper control over their powers.
This led to a problem. Polly didn't like how too many layers felt wrapped around her body. Patty didn't either, but shivered in anything too exposed. Many arguments were had over what they were wear, one or the other always being uncomfortable.
Since the drowning incident, they weren't allowed to wear the exact same thing, that way they wouldn't be mistaken for both being there ever again. Still, they matched as much as they could, only the colors being different.
One night, late, Patty shook Polly awake. Normally, Polly was the one that stayed up reading, but it had flipped since Patty had become interested in psychology. Polly grumbles, blinking as a textbook is shoved in her face, the title saying something about phobias (of course). Patty points to a specific passage, one talking about the fear of being different.
It's something small, honestly, but it's big for them. They read on, and recognize something in themselves. They have the same hobbies, wear the same outfits, eat the same foods — but do they actually want to?
They started small. Patty wore warmer clothes more often, Polly wore colder, until their wardrobe was separated by more than just color. Patty wanted her food crispy, smoky, while Polly liked it barely cooked. Patty liked making art, Polly liked seeing that art. They both liked dancing, and travel, and music, and sports, and reading.
They are still the same in many ways. Like the same foods cooked differently. Like most of the same books. Bounce sentences between each other and speak in unison. They move and fight and see the world in almost the same way.
They are the same in certain ways, and different in others. They are no longer scared of that fact. And when they do feel flickers of that old fear? Well, that is Patty's speciality.
Fiona FaPat
Patty's Smoke Crow Familiar (I'm thinking of changing that species name, though)
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