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"But these weren't the kind of monsters that had tentacles and rotting skin, the kind a seven-year-old might be able to wrap his mind around--they were monsters with human faces, in crisp uniforms, marching in lockstep, so banal you don't recognize them for what they are until it's too late.”
― Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Deme comes from the surface of Myrhl, more specifically from Dynar, a now-demolished Rajan city in Nyra. She doesn't talk much about her time there before joining the Soldier PROGRAM, however has been known to brag about her ability to keep herself afloat on the streets with the help of her old surface soldier troop, something most people find odd since being a surface soldier is not seen as something prideful among the ranks of the PROGRAM.
Despite her shy shell, she's often anxious of her surroundings and always seems on edge, never able to quite relax about being a Soldier and being surrounded by them despite being on their side. She may be kind and understanding, but Deme is not afraid to use her emotions as a tool to keep people away anymore and distances herself from the majority to avoid any sort of upset and betrayal. Deme does not trust easy and will not open up to anyone she does not respect (she excels at letting people think they know her, though), although she is not afraid to cry publicly and let her emotions flow when she does feel safe. She becomes physically mute when authority like the Generals and the Leader are present, and she and Captain Yim'ram have a rocky relationship at best due to their constantly clashing personalities.
Deme is a cunning survivor and highly adept at keeping herself, and her squad members, alive. Her current rank holds true to this, as her position within the Monster Taming squad only comes to those who can handle their weight and more in monsters and behavior of both people and beasts around them. She's been known to handle a few wild Kallias as well, being extremely fluent in a variety of animal and monster behaviors, human psychology, and knowing when to do, say, and think when needed. Most people do not realize she is the Captain, however, due to her desire to stay out of the "lime light" so to speak as well as handle her mental health privately, so her Lieutenant, Agrippa, often visibly runs the squad for her. The entire Monster Taming division pitches in and allows Deme her reclusiveness, letting her relax and keep to her work in the privacy of her surface-based home in Artia's outskirts. When necessary, she will come forward publicly as Captain, but most people assume she's a High officer at best, which is fine by her. Deme works best under secrecy and underestimation, anyways.
She used to be a Surface Soldier officer under a man she still calls "Commander", however eventually found her true passion and calling in anthropology; specifically linguistiscs and history. She worked in the Research and Archaeology squad for several hundred years, but found working so close to the Generals too uncomfortable and looked into squad transfers after a particularly bad paranoid breakdown due to a run-in with a certain Archivist. Before she could request one, however, her captain, General Sarosh, reassigned her to the Monster Taming squad over in the Monster Specialists division due to them needing more highly-skilled individuals who'd been on the surface for a certain amount of Seasons. This allowed her a great distance from the Generals as well as a new-found purpose for venting her frustrations. She now works side by side with some of the most dangerous animals and monsters to exist and, although she wishes she could be back in the archives, loves her new job. She is the best at it and has, through hard work and dedication, been elected by the best of the best to become the new leader.
Deme suffers from severe social anxiety and occasionally requires days to weeks at a time of seclusion to recover. Her medical records permit her the ability to come-and-go as she needs, however she often has to force herself to work through it to keep her job. She also suffers from severe paranoia and intense psychosis, including delusions varying from thinking everyone around her is watching her and waiting for her to screw up to thinking that there are eyes inside her skin. It is unknown at this time what she deals with exactly due to her preference to keep herself and her personal life extremely private, but those who know her best know how to help her deal with the things she goes through which is all that matters to her, anyways.
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There are two massive Kallias' that follow her around: Dormir and Despertar, a fu lion pair complete with a ball and a small "cub" toy they carry around that Deme gave them to help them relax. They are her best friends and right/left hands, and are capable of several things as weapons.
Dormir, the masculine fu lion, idles as small gem-like whistle that, when blown, causes everyone who hears it to forget she exists completely (its perminance is unknown, however it does cause certain individuals to forget her enough for her to have to reintroduce herself to them just once to recall their memories). Its active form takes shape as a limited suit of armor that allows her to cause temporary cases of paralysis in whomever pierces it and minor temporary cases of perception removal in whomever hits its main target points (chest, lower back, neck, head, and shins) - which, unrelatedly, is where her first name came from. Symptoms always include memory loss, but may also include motor control loss as well as temporary limb paralysis. These effects are a result of both her own manipulation of the Kallias' material and his augments, all of which were hand-picked to accent the Kallias' nature - a tough, firm guardian who will do anything to protect Deme from everything around her. This is a manifestation of how Deme perceives her self and how she feels she needs to be "isolated" from others, which is why Dormir is incredibly influenced by her anxiety and paranoia and is "wilder," aka more prone to lashing out in immediate response to unwanted stimulus.
Despertar, the feminine fu lion, takes idle form in the shape of a circlet that rests on Deme's forehead that gives her clarity and sharpness of mind (insight into people's intentions as well as sight into "the Limbo"). It's weapon form is a length of white "silk" rope that she uses to disarm monsters and humans alike that will melt should its grip become too close to injurous/fatal. It's not unlike the rope that Monster Tamers are assigned to use against monsters regularly, however it is unbreakable, its length is never ending, and it can sedate anything it touches with the right command via a scent personally relaxing to the caught individual. It only has two augments: one that allows for amplified strength in its sedation, and one that turns it into a net instead of a rope. Despertar is, personality wise, a gentle and nutruting soul who - though as fiercely protective, guarded, and loyal as her counterpart - is warm and friendly to most people she meets. This is a true manifestation of Deme as she is, rather than how she sees herself and what she needs.
Together, these two allow Deme a full and total control over how people perceive, remember, and interact with her. Due to this, Deme has and will develop Vague memory control, which includes perception manipulation (specifically awareness distortion, knowledge manipulation, and omni-perception), and perception removal (namely: removing people's abilities to recognize and perceive who she is, which has the consequence of causing dementia-like symptoms or full-blown dementia. It's where she got her name).
Both her kallias act as service animals, although Deme does have an actual service animal should she need to go somewhere her weapons must be concealed.
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