Anca

Background
Anca Pescaru lived her whole childhood in a quiet town where people mostly minded their lives and settled for their routines. Despite the surname, her family had nothing to do with fishing. On the contrary, both of her parents worked in a post office. While they invested in her academic growth, there was always one person who brought colour, life and wonder to her world – her grandfather. He would always tell her stories of princes and misunderstood hags, of “balauri”, of mischievous fairies and silly wise gnomes. The young girl always tried to spend as much time as she could with him and the marvelous collection of foreign books he managed to gather throughout the years. It was him who taught her what signs the magical beings are said to leave behind when they pass through the mortal world and also him the one who unintentionally set her on this never-ending hunt for anything related to the unnatural.

This focus of hers very quickly evolved into something much stronger than a hobby and soon she found herself marginalized by other kids who did not share her passion. Even those who were initially lured in by it soon walked away, either because of social stigma or simply because they eventually grew bored of searching for things that did not seem to exist. It did not matter for Anca, however, because Grandfather was always there with a kind word for a gray day. When he died, she didn’t lose just a family member, but her only “true” friend as well. She stopped caring about what others would do or say – including her parents – and started putting more and more walls between her and the “boring” world everyone seemed to be so satisfied with.

One fateful rainy night, Anca had a dream which featured premonitory elements. It showed her a fair young man, an eye and a sickly looking elder. The following day, she stumbled upon a crying boy while searching for mushroom circles in the woods. Unnaturally delicate and elegant – not to mention sitting before a tree arch shaped like a hooded eye - he very easily captured her interest. Therefore, unwilling to miss her chance of experiencing the magical land, Anca struck a deal with him, made him give her his hedgespun tunic and ventured in Arcadia, where she found the White Temple.

Durance
Meant to replace the boy she made a contract with, even if for one day, Anca needed certain traits and skills befitting of who he was. When Ryalto offered to aid her in becoming something more, she didn’t hesitate and eagerly accepted to shed her earth-born skin. If asked, she would describe becoming a Changeling both as a very quick process, as well as the most intense pain she had ever felt in her short life. Still, the latent potential of a Darkling had to be yet awakened and one of the tasks she received was to sneak her way through a series of dark underground tunnels to find why the mole miners were not providing the Fae as many gems as they usually did.

Her journey through the lightless maze-like passages lasted for what she felt like days and by the time she found the moles’ camp, she was thirstier and hungrier than her parents had ever let her be. Unsure about how they would treat her, she made use of their blindness and pretended to be one of the miners before finding out about the great bejeweled Wurm, who demanded either the lives of those stumbling around its tunnels or an offering of precious stones. With this knowledge in her pocket, she grabbed a handful of gems that saved her from becoming Wurm's next meal and returned to her Gentry.

Arcadia
Her Arcadian origins lie both within Ryalto '' s White Temple and on her journey towards it. Perhaps seen as an odd thing by some, Anca seemed completely fine with where she was; even eager to see what her new life would bring to her. Last to be convinced of joining the group in order to escape Arcadia, she did so with remorse in her heart, as she knew she was leaving behind the most magical thing that ever happened to her. However, just by knowing about their plan made her an accomplice and her fears of being turned into a brick for eternity eventually made her tag along.

Oathbreakers
Not having an actual contract with their Gentry, Anca was not among those branded as Oathbreakers. However, neither did she wish to leave them. Despite her fight with Evangeline, she helped with the play that put an end to their shackles by offering support from afar, such as feedback from the crowd or making certain moments more memorable with dream-pulled emotions.

While hesitant to trust them at first, she slowly warmed up to her Motley to the point that she began feeling more comfortable about openly displaying who she was. Furthermore, grace to their open attitude towards everyone's own needs and given their shared predicament, she started to genuinely care about each and every one of them.

Mien
Nothing about Anca's body might be found as attractive or pleasing to the eye: her eyes too round, her face too pointy, her body too thin and her limbs too gangly. Made according to her Gentry's needs and as if her corporeal form itself has been claimed by smoke's own wishes, she seems almost weightless when she walks - unless wearing anything that weighs her down. Unnaturally spherical, her eyes always look coated by a thin layer of vapour, which leads to a rather blurred aspect. Only if one looks very closely they will properly find the outline of her irises. Weightless and wispy locks of hair wildly fall around her head and could get blown away by the slightest breeze. However, while retaining a certain ghost-like aspect, nothing in her body is truly gaseous in nature, yet merely more elusive to the touch.

Strong feelings lead to a change in her body's hue, turning it into a fluorescent-teal. It appears to grow in intensity with her emotions and might remind some of how ghosts are depicted in certain movies. To others, it might look more similar to the aspect of faerie fires or will'o'wisps, maybe even banshees.

Mask
Messy ashy brown hair, sickly pale skin and milky greyish-blue eyes are the most memorable details of Anca's mask. There is nothing in particular that stands out, as she would much rather blend in and be just another figure in the crowd. However, one thing she cannot hide is the everlasting scent of smoke which follows her.

Personality
Easily excitable, yet just as easy to upset, Anca's focus lies mainly on anything even remotely magical. She likes to act cool in front of the others, yet it is rather easy to see through her mask most of the times. Her guard is very easy to crumble before any good looking man; even more so if they are magical in nature. What young girl would not like her very own magical Prince Charming or knight in shiny armour, after all? While most of the times she does things only in exchange of something else, she would do a lot for her friends, but would not openly admit it. Trade seems to be in her blood and she would never miss a chance to barter for something if she can afford to do so. However, she is nowhere nearly as skilled as a fully trained negotiator.

Fate and its signs seem to govern her choices. While she believes that forcing fate to reveal itself is something which invites punishment upon itself, she likes to think that omens are fate's gifts to those who know where to look. Therefore, whenever in doubt or in need, she will quickly turn to these signs for guidance. It has been also seen that she defends her beliefs with everything she has and is prone to holding grudges against those who oppose them.

Despite the air she gives herself at times, Anca deeply cares about her Motley and a selected few other individuals. Would she have to choose between any of them and her grandfather, however, her departed relative would have priority for the moment.

Contracts

 * Smoke     ●●●●○


 * Shade and Spirit    ●●○○○


 * Dream    ●●●●○

Merits

 * Danger Sense   ●●
 * Omen Sensitivity   ●●●
 * Eye for the Strange   ●●
 * Harvest (Dreams)  ●●
 * Fae Mount   ●●


 * Hollow    ●●●
 * Archive  ●

Notable Relationships

 * Grandfather Petru: Her best friend and her main priority. There is one thing that happened in relation to him that she will always regret.
 * The Bull: While he's her familiar and mentor when it comes down to oneiromancy, they are closer to being frienemies than having a healthy relationship. After all, he's not the most cooperating individual, given its nightmarish nature.


 * Alice: The first of her Motley she befriended while inside the White Temple. Their knowledge about Arcadia has won Anca's admiration, as well as her respect and they are the first she would approach when she has a problem which is related to magical issues.
 * Caitlyn and Theodore: The twins both possess traits to which Anca is able to very easily relate and therefore she has begun to form a rather close bond with both of them. While Alice is seen as more of a mentor-friend, these two have become friends she knows she could always have fun with - despite of their quarrels.
 * Rubbo and Vark: Being seen as magical creatures, Anca was eager to befriend the two goblins and is even more eager to keep them as friends.
 * Anna (fetch): Anca cherishes her fetch and would very likely defend her against any blame. Given that they are one and the same, she wishes the two of them can become good friends.

Notable Possessions

 * Growing collection of oddities
 * Hedgespun tunic
 * Salt, sage and holy water (always there)
 * Multicolored button necklace

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