Dinah

Dinah grew up poor, in a tiny apartment in the inner city. She was an only child to two hardworking parents, who did their absolute bests to raise her. She didn't always have food, or shoes, or school supplies, or Christmas gifts, but she always had her parents unflinching love. She did her best to help in all the ways she could - cleaning the house, budgeting with her mom, cooking meals for when her parents worked late. She missed out on playing with the other kids her age, and it was hard work, but she knew her parents were working harder.

Dinah's low means and humble appearance made her a ripe target for bullying - but it never quite stuck. Her fellow classmates instead found themselves drawn in by her charm, and none of the usual power dynamics applied when she was around. Squabbles would quiet down and smiles would appear when she entered the room, checking on the kids around her. Anyone who laid a hand on her was painted with a target - the enemy of the entire classroom. Dinah was never really all that close with anyone - but she appreciated her classmates, and always did her best to make sure everyone was as well taken care of as the rest of them took care of her.

Dinah's natural charm and work ethic may had helped her out her entire life, but as she got older, it left her with an exploitable vulnerability. She was too trusting - not used to being mistreated or manipulated. In short - the perfect target. At only sixteen, she was bewitched by an older man with a stable income and charming smile. The allure of her dream - the white picket fence, the loving husband - it all felt within her reach, looking into his eyes. Ignoring everyone's warnings, she followed her heart, as she had always done.

It didn't end well for her.

Faced with a child she couldn't possibly hope to afford, a series of dead phonelines, and her final year of her GED in front of her - she had no choice. The usually chipper Dinah was uncharacteristically sullen for her final year of highschool. The other kids kept their distance - they felt bad for her, of course, but - they did warn her.

Face stained with tears, she promised herself - the next one she would keep.

Fresh out of highschool, Dinah began working a modest job as a waittress. She was good at getting tips - but it wasn't a job she was well-suited for physically - her feet aching, her back radiating pain. There wasn't much else she could do, though - the rich get educated, the poor work their way up. Granted, she was less interested in a career than she was meeting Mr. Right and starting a family together.

Her new family would come - but not in the way she would've expected. Walking through the market one hot afternoon, a commotion caught her ears. Drawing in to see what was the cause of all the fuss, something orange caught in her periphery. Following it, she found a dirty, ratty little Milqilin, smugly devouring an orange from a bag that Dinah had guessed was stolen. Dinah knelt down and asked the girl if she had anywhere to stay. The girl replied no, but she didn't need one, see? She was doing just fine on her own! Dinah smiled and agreed with her - but perhaps she would like a bath and a warm bed? Only for a while, of course. The young Milqilin looked at her for a few moments before hesitantly agreeing, taking Dinah's hand. Dinah's parents took it well - since Dinah had some income to support the child, the memory of her pregancy lingering on their minds. Whatever their precious baby wanted - plus, it's never too early for grandchildren, right?

At 19 years old, Dinah had finally become a mother.

It took a while to earn the child's trust, but with each passing morning, Dinah fell more and more in love with her. Her name was Daichi, and she had magic, though she never used it on Dinah, the darling. In her previous home she had been mistreated - it broke Dinah's heart that anyone would be so cruel to such a darling child! Dinah promised that nothing horrible like that would ever happen again. It took some doing - but she eventually got Daichi into school, making friends on the playground, packing her a lunch and walking her to school every day before work. It wasn't quite the family she had pictured, but - she could scarcely complain, every morning before she woke up the young girl, watching her peacefully sleep...

It turned out her highschool suitor wasn't much of a one-off - she had terrible taste in men. Something about jaded and bitter men pulled on her heartstrings the same way a crouched Daichi had - she just felt that she could... fix them! They were clearly lacking something - and she sorely wanted to fill that gap for them. Every man she found she would pursue with a kind heart full of love - only to be left walking home in the rain, alone and heartbroken, having been betrayed in one way or another. Still, she tried not to let it get her down too hard, she just needed to keep her spirits up! Besides, coming home to Daichi was the only relief her poor heart needed.

At 21, history had repeated itself. But things were different now - it might be a stretch money-wise, but she had promised herself. Her parents also promised to help support her, Daichi excitedly waiting for the opportunity to be an official Older Sister(tm). Her second child was born - a beautiful blonde baby with strange glass parts full of a liquid that turned black every time she put them down. She named them An.

An old classmate reached out a few months after their birth - they had an opportunity for her. With little An in a stroller in the corner, Dinah was offered a real job - teaching assistant. She eagerly accepted - excited to be working with children. The pay raise and consistent hours, as well as government subsidies, meant she could finally move out of her parent's house at 22, into a little apartment with her two children and the cat Daichi had adopted.

It was a lot of hard work - but her dream was slowly coming together. The only thing missing now in her family was a father...