Personality

Astraea is a kind person, albeit very, very stubborn. They used to be very withdrawn and rarely spoke a word, but the care from certain people in Rhodes Island have turned them into a more sociable person - although, their habit of talking back or making faces is something they most likely picked up from the Doctor. They insist on not being treated like a baby, but their actions betray their words.

Their maturity has been influenced by a few people - their observant gaze and quickthinking from Logos, their patience with children from Hellagur, and their ability to lead and their desire to follow their heart comes from Hellebore. .. Now that's being nice, but their attitude and tendency to act childish also comes from Hellebore. Regardless, Astraea always wants to do what they feel is right, and never backs down from a challenge, even if they might get hurt. They're still sensitive however, and hate when they feel as if they're being babied or looked down upon.

Trivia

• A running gag is that Astraea was once banned from using knives, even to peel apples. Someone else - usually Hellagur - would have to do it for them.
• Many of the toys and puzzles they have are made by Logos and Mechanist. Originally, it was to help stop Astraea from picking at their skin or pulling out strands of hair. Nowadays, it's to keep them occupied when they're unable to sit still.
• Their name has both Latin and Greek origins, meaning "star maiden" or "starry night". Astraea is also a Latinized version of the Greek name Astraia, derived from the Greek word aster, meaning "star".

History

01

Astraea once lived in a small town located in Columbia, with their uncle Orion. There's little information as to the whereabouts of Astraea's parents, but it's often assumed they passed away when Astraea was fairly young. As a child, they were very curious and asked many questions, much to the annoyance of the elderly townspeople who had no interest in entertaining a young child. Their uncle and those closer to his age were more willing to answer those burning questions - though they always forbade Astraea from leaving the town or wandering too far on their own.

Having been born female, Astraea was often told they could not do certain things - could not talk loudly, could not play roughly like boys do. Orion tried to talk to the elderly women who imposed these ideals onto Astraea, but it fell on deaf ears. Regardless, they lived a decent life with their uncle.

02

Astraea's life took a turn for the worse when her uncle came into contact with originum during work, and subsequently became infected with oripathy. Immediately the townspeople turned their backs on him, despite living in Columbia where Infected are claimed to be treated as equals, there will always be hatred no matter where one lives. Orion did not want to cause any problems, so he left on his own accord, leaving everything to Astraea in hopes they'd be able to survive by themself. However, that was not the case.

The townspeople forced Astraea out a month after Orion's departure, believing them to also have contracted oripathy due to close proximity with their uncle. Although not everyone agreed with the sudden denouncement of a teenager, there was little they could do about the much louder crowd. In the end, Astraea left the town.

Wandering through Terra is a death sentence on its own, but even more so if you're an inexperienced teenager with little to defend yourself. Astraea can't recount what they saw or how they survived for so long - perhaps a mental block - but they learned to keep quiet, and to only run as a last resort. Astraea wondered often if they'd die like this, alone.

03

After a few years, Astraea was found by Rhodes Island operators, who almost mistook Astraea for a corpse until they noticed movement. At the urge of the Doctor, they were brought back to the company and immediately taken to the medic bay to check for signs of oripathy or any other potential illnesses. The oripathy inspection came back negative, but Astraea was malnourished, weak, and showed signs of deteriorating mental health. They were given a room in the medic bay and round the care clock until color slowly came back to their face - however, their anxiety only spiked each time an operator or even the Doctor tried to visit. The head medic put a stop to all visitation attempts when Astraea began to pick at their skin or pull out strands of hair as a stress response.

Thankfully, the Doctor's caring nature and certain operators were able to help Astraea heal proper, and they slowly grew up with a stronger sense of identity. They were working as an administrative assistant for a while then, but they saw how hard the operators worked, and insisted on becoming one too - even if it meant having to call the Doctor out for their hypocrisy.

Only few people know of Astraea having Sarkaz blood, due to the fact they don't display any typical defining traits for one. However, most Sarkaz operators can pick up on it due to Astraea's mannerisms, and what traits they do have. Medical staff in Rhodes Island are also aware of it, but have not released this information to anyone besides Doctor Hellebore and Doctor Kal'tsit.

It is generally believed that Astraea experienced mistreatment due to their Sarkaz blood, and has grown accustomed to hiding their identity as one despite Rhodes Island being welcoming to all races.

Relationships

Hellebore

The Doctor of Rhodes Island, who took Astraea in with no hesitation upon learning they were wandering through Terra all on their own. As Astraea was much younger back then, the Doctor refused to train them or put them on field, and thus Astraea worked as an assistant until they made better progress in healing mentally and emotionally. Astraea looks up to the Doctor a lot, considering them a parental figure.

Logos

Astraea was introduced to Logos sometime after their first year in Rhodes, and like with all people at the time, Astraea was terrified of him. It was a small joke that Logos' stare was the cause of their fear. Someone recommended him to gift Astraea something to hopefully ease their anxiety, so he made a rotating galaxy projecter for Astraea to use on nights where seeing the stars were impossible.

Ebenholz

Astraea met Ebenholz a few years after the other joined Rhodes Island. Wanting Astraea to socialize with other operators, Hellebore often assigned the two as assistants for the day so they would communicate - what they didn't anticipate was Ebenholz developing a crush on the skittish Astraea. Of course, this only resulted in the two working together as often as Hellebore could make it, much to the two's chagrin.