Avalon Santoya
Information
Icon Credit	reapervows
Name	Avalon "Ava" Santoya
Gender	Cis Female
Pronouns	She/Her
Birthday	Metise 3 (Capricorn)
Age	25yo
Height	5'7"/170cm
Heritage	Human
Title	Mourning Dove
Homestead	Walnut 14

Personality

[+] Hardworking, Thoughtful, Measured, Grounded | [=] Blunt, Curious, Resourceful | [-] Melancholic, Critical, Workaholic, Distant

At face value, Ava's demeanor makes for a cold personage, although in reality she is much warmer than initial impressions let on. The eldest of two with only her grandfather to guide her, she quickly learned the burden of responsibility in the endeavor to keep her family afloat. A tireless work ethic was born from this dedication, both admirable and worrying to a degree, a trait she displays even at the age of twenty-four. This care for her family has easily translated to a care for others, growing into a pragmatic but considerate woman.

Beyond this maturity is a boundless curiosity for all things. Growing up with an inventive grandfather led to a passion for creation, a young mind eager to fathom the reason why devices tick. She often spent her younger years learning from him, spending hours in his clock workshop long after it had closed. It was a hobby that she was passionate about, one that she was eager to pursue in her future.

However, tragic circumstances turn that passion into an unyielding desperation. Stuck in a memory of loss, Ava feels chained to a feeling of repentance. Although she wears the same kindness, there is a sense of detachment underlying in her words. With a push, she travels to Gale’s End to break free of what binds her, but clear sorrows linger upon rueful smiles.

History

Short Version

[CW: Death]

Ava and her brother, Aspen were raised by their grandpa Evander; a thunderstruck who operates a clock workshop in their city. She becomes interested in tinkering thanks to his influence, helping around the shop by carrying materials or doing simple repair work. She works hard to help him support the family, taking odd jobs here and there in addition to being his assistant.

Upon a chance meeting, she meets Sou and Quyen in her childhood. Despite forming an odd trio of a human, thunderstruck, and starborn respectively, they become close friends. Their company offered a pleasant distraction from her responsibilities, Ava coming to cherish the time they would spend together. Needless to say Quyen’s disappearance when she’s seventeen crushes her; her friend on an expedition as the Storm arrived to terrorize the area. Quyen is never seen again and Ava is left to comfort Sou as they both grieve. She would find her own form of release in taking up a job as a train engineer, the exertion of pounding hammer to metal giving a brief form of solace. It’s only with Aspen’s death by the Storm, arriving again a mere two years later, that she would buckle from her sorrows.

She began to take her new career seriously, working herself to exhaustion and leaving no room to mourn those she had lost; an unconscious form of penance. Years of this stagnation would lead to Evander pushing tickets into her hands. Train tickets to a place within Galinn’s Peak, Gale’s End. He would convince her to leave, to create a new life in the valley. To give her a chance to rediscover who she was beyond this mourning. And she would, but not without another.

If she were to leave town, she was set on bringing Sou with her. Her friend had been through enough pain and enough loss, she was not going to be the one to leave him alone. With a conversation briefer than she expected, he agrees much to her happiness. And so they pack their bags and leave for their new beginning.

Trivia

my GOD she's a sad lil meow meow i didnt mean for this to happen

She has resting bitch face disease, but she’s honestly more expressable than she lets on. Ava is quick to give a smile or a chuckle, although if they’re genuine is another question.

Has matching friendship bracelets with Sou and Quyen. She has the sun charm, Sou has the moon charm, and Quyen has star charm.

 - Even though their star has faded, she still wears her bracelet in memory of their bond.

Ava's fluent in English and French. She can understand Spanish due to her grandfather's influence, but she cannot speak it. Would technically be considered French Canadian irl

Grew up in a city called Lac Miroire, an area that snows all year round. As a result she isn't accustomed to heat or anything beyond frozen trees and a boundless sea of white. Living in Gale's End will prove to be a challenge, if she doesn't dissolve into a puddle of sweat first.

 - She has a decent amount of skill in both ice skating and skiing, having taught Aspen how to ice skate before he got interested in hockey. Sou's interest in winter sports further honed her skills as she would often participate in casual games with him, Aspen, and Quyen in her free time. Ava is not knowledgeable of the technical skills in these sports, however, usually brute forcing her way through.

 - For example she is a speed demon on the ice, but will wipe out easily if she makes a wrong turn.

Prefers not to use labels, but the closest she would use is bisexual. She's not the type to be interested in romantic or sexual partners easily though, preferring to know the person well before considering those sorts of relationships.

She did dance as an extracurricular activity in school. The grief that has overtaken in the past five years has made her forget about her passion, although muscle memory may still remember some movements from the past.

The triangle tattoos underneath her left eye is a result of Quyen daring her to get them. She doesn't regret them, but it was a damn painful area to get tattooed

History

Extended Version

[CW: Death]

Even in an everlasting winter, Lac Miroire would know the beauty of the sun. Heralding to its brilliance, the clouds would part, slanting rays creating mosaics upon rock and snow. And with the tender kiss of sunlight, life in the city begins anew, its warm embrace melting even the most frigid of people. Avalon would be born on one such day, the 3rd of Metise, her squeal of laughter bringing a joyful light across the room.

Ava grew up with the warm hearth of family, her grandfather Evander caring for her and her younger brother, Aspen. Small in number but devoted as any, she would peacefully grow under his watchful eye. It was only when she turned eight that she noticed the cold stares of others, bringing a chill upon her home. Their eyes would linger on the silvery marks crackling alongside the corners of Evander's mouth, their scrutiny clear even to a child. His scars were treated as a brand, an affliction, a concept she would not understand until he pulled her aside.

He was a Thunderstruck, an omen and a beacon for the Storm’s reckoning. At least, that’s what many believed.

‘A richer heart may lie far beyond what appearances may say’– or simply, ha, don’t judge by looks. Whether marks or pointed ears, we’re all just surviving at the end of the day.

And so life moves on, the hearth of home growing ever brighter despite those who would seek to ostracize them. Almost as an act of rebellion, Evander would hold a business in the creation and restoration of clocks. Ticking and chimes would fill Ava’s formative years, sounds that would become familiar and comforting to her, especially when she grew interested in his work. While Aspen eagerly ran out of the shop to play, Ava would curiously watch her grandfather’s tinkering. A young mind eager to understand every response to her questions. It wouldn’t take long before she began helping him, from delivering materials to making her own repairs, the spark of curiosity becoming a passion for innovation lit aflame.

This passion burned so bright that Evander feared the late nights would hinder her studies. Fortunately for him, her saving grace would come in the form of two people. The sky wasn’t only ruled by the sun, after all. For when dusk settles onto the Earth, it’s the moon and stars that loom with an ethereal glow.

Ava would seldom spot a peek of blue hair in her childhood, one that she had not seen before. It belonged to a child, timid and reserved, a familiar crackle of a scar framing the left side of their face– just like her grandfather. Although never speaking words to each other, Ava would wave before returning to her activities for the day. This would continue until surprisingly, the child would come up to her.

Sou was his name, apparently encouraged to make another friend by a ‘Quyen’. An unfortunate comment about his scar remarked and apologized for, Sou and Ava’s personalities meshed well enough that they bonded quite easily. He would introduce her to Quyen soon after and together they created an odd little trio; a human, a thunderstruck, and a starborn. They would grow alongside one another: attending sports events, spending time at the workshop, tagging along in Quyen’s misadventures. Marks of their friendship would be wrapped around their wrists, a bracelet adorning a sun, a moon, and a star charm respectively.

Their star’s brilliance would dim one day, the sky forever empty without their luster. The Storm would find its destination in Lac Miroire and Quyen, ever the thrill seeker, would follow at its heels. They would disappear, presumed dead after the rescue forces exhausted their efforts, leaving Sou and Ava to mourn their loss. Sou took it especially hard, his first friend ripped away and only reinforcing his belief that he would bring disaster. At the age of seventeen, it was all Ava could do to keep him grounded. She was there, she was alive, and despite it all they were together. She wouldn’t leave him, no matter what he believed.

Life moves on, emptier, but they would have each other. Ava would graduate at eighteen and become a train engineer with the encouragement of Aspen. She would find a measure of solace each time her hammer pounded against sheet metal, the sorrow of Quyen’s death ebbing with every strike. The fire for innovation was still there, although left to a simmer as she focused on supporting her family and making time for Sou. In time she will reignite it, she convinces herself, her dedication to her loved ones taking precedence.

But, the Storm would strike again when she was nineteen. After a tumultuous punishment, the darkened clouds recede and leave behind its wake of destruction, Ava left with a shaky piece of news from Evander. Aspen was dead. Her brother had been aboard a train when the Storm hit; the foundations were far too weak to survive its fervor. So the untippable tipped, all of the passengers swept away by heavenly fury. The hearth of home became much colder, the white hot flame of Aspen’s burning out almost as quickly as Quyen’s. Two was enough. She couldn’t bear to lose another, gripping Sou’s sleeve as his own grief prompted an attempt to leave. She needed him to stay. And although reluctant, he did.

Time seemed to be at a standstill. Ava began to focus her energies on her career, the self same work ethic becoming an obsession, an unconscious penance for those she lost. Her passion for creation lies in ashes, instead replaced with an unending routine of hammer upon metal. Despite Evander’s worries she would continue on, stagnant and frozen in a memory of loss.

At twenty-four, her grandfather places two tickets in her hand. Train tickets to a small town in Galinn’s Peak, Gale’s End. Her silent question is met by an exasperated sigh, “You’re too young to keep wallowing, Ava,” piercing green eyes meet her own, worry creasing wrinkles on his face. “Live your life.” She opens her mouth to retort, to defend herself, but any words are interrupted by the resounding gong that fills the workshop. A new hour. Familiar ticks and chimes echo through the building, an old comfort now a gentle reminder, time would not wait for her. She needed to move on.

And she would try, but not without Sou.

Come with me.

Her smile when he agrees is blinding, a cloud of melancholy parting to reveal the dawn of new beginnings. They would be independent of each other for a time, but it would be for the best. For the moon and sun share the same sky, forever creating mosaics of light and shadow upon trees and grass. Separate though they may be, they will inevitably find each other one day, the radiance of their shared eclipse in awe of those to see. The jingle of their shared charms remind her of that, and Ava knows they will be alright.

And so they board the train together.

Life moves on.