Name: Cecelia "Ce" Hartell
Age: 15
Nationality: American (a mix of South American, European, and Native American. Ce can't be bothered to remember exactly what. There was definitely some Peruvian at some point, though, and she's visited family in Italy, so there's probably some of that, too.)
Sexual Orientation: Ah, if only she knew, she'd tell you. Questioning.
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 120lb
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Grey
Fashion Style: Normally, you'll find her in a tank top, cargo pants, and a zip up hoodie or vest. But that's only half the days. The other half, well, it's hard to say. She might be a bit more punk, pulling out her ripped hoodie and black jeans. She might pull out a sweet summer dress or opt for a striped T and shorts.
Personality: You might expect that someone with plant mastery was more rooted, but that would not accurately describe Ce at all. She is all heart and instinct and insatiably curious. Her personal philosophy is that life's too short to remain stagnant. She is inquisitive and always wants to know why, and hates to be told what to do. People like her parents seem to see this as rebelliousness and wish that she would grow out of it already. She hopes it doesn't. What's the point of living if you don't think for yourself? Ce is quick to judge, but is equally quick to give people a second chance. After all, she believes in change. What she does dedicate herself to, she does wholeheartedly, but she can be a bit flighty and fickle in her desires. As such, she can come off kind of contradictory, but it isn't so much that as inconsistency.
Likes: experimenting, new experiences, random thought experiments, stories, being barefoot, hiking, swimming, diving, rock climbing, generally being active physically or mentally, talking
Dislikes: meditation, boredom, rules, organization, rituals, tradition, getting boxed in, eating plants, memorization, reading, being called Cecelia
Hobbies: anything outdoor related, photography, currently very fond of computers, but really, she'll try anything at least once
Talents: Questioning absolutely everything or just talking in general. Hypothesizing and experimenting, and just in general, coming up with crazy ideas that don't always work. Forgiving others and seeing the silver lining in everything. Being endlessly optimistic.
Magical Girl Appearance: Her dress is light and wispy, made of giant white petals with veins of various colors to detail it. Circling her shoulders are branches that follow the seasons -- blossoming in spring, leafy in summer, orange and red and yellow in autumn, and bare in winter -- forming off the shoulder sleeves that move fluidly when she does. Her favorite day is by far the first of spring, when she gets to find out just what color the blossoms will be this year. Somehow, her shoes disappear.
Magical Girl Alias: Sequoia
Heartstone: An amber piece in the shape of an acorn, capped with bronze. Turns into a necklace when she transforms.
Mastery: Plants
Utility Spells:
Growth: She can produce new plants, speed the growth of existing plants or cause them to become healthy again. Her favorite means of using this spell is to run around and have grass and flowers sprout where she steps. The other way she'll use this spell is in her own hair, so that it's laced with leaves and flowers.
Photosynthesis: She can absorb energy from the sun rather than eating. Don't mind her if she turns a little green while doing this. You'll probably never see her do this, though, because it requires her to sit in the sun for a while.
Plant Speech: She can listen to what the plants say. It's usually about how they want more water or sun, but it's often useful when trying to track down someone rude enough to step on them or pluck their neighbor.
Parachute Seed: Calls into existence a giant parachute seed, which allows her to fly through the air (or more technically glide at the whim of the wind).
Entangling Vines: Vines grow and can grab and bind. Can also be used to latch onto structures to swing across empty space and travel faster. Tends to be a little more reliable than Parachute Seed for traveling purposes (but Ce prefers the feeling of flying).
Minor Masteries:
Shoot: Summons a pistol-shaped branch which shoots out plant projectiles -- seeds (blunt), leaves (slashing), or cactus spines (piercing). Only one type of projectile is used at a time.
Petrified Wood: She can turn parts or all of herself into petrified wood. This protects herself and she can use it to strike harder and stronger, but she cannot move those body parts until she transforms them back. If she turns herself entirely into petrified wood, she does not need to breathe.
Heartwood: Her heartstone grows into a tree and then is rapidly carved down into whatever she desires. Most often used to create a staff or spear, though sometimes a bow or slingshot, and occasionally a flute or pipes. Can only have one at a time.
Medium Masteries:
Briar and Bramble: Creates a thicket of thorny plants. Can center this on a person (and will affect others around them) or target an area.
Snap Trap: Produces a human-sized carnivorous plant which attacks within an area.
Waltz of the Flowers: Summons a giant flower, whose petals peel away and attack a target.
Major Masteries:
Fatal Forest: Instantly grows a forest that either targets a person or an area. Trees in their sudden growth can pierce. Vines can entangle and trap. Leaves and flowers can obscure vision.
Character Bio:
Ce practically grew up in the wilderness. Her family owned a farm at the end of the road, bordered by ocean, a river, mountains woods, and the neighboring farm. Perhaps it wasn't terribly surprising, then, that she had always had an intuition for plants, what would be good to grow, where to grow certain crops, or if any plots weren't getting enough water. Her family called it her gift. But despite this, Ce was inclined to spend the day at the ocean or river or exploring the woods over tending the fields. That her parents kept forbidding her to go very likely contributed to her desire to do so.
Their farm also served as a bed and breakfast as well, appealing to those who were interested in getting away from the bustle of civilizations or had other reasons for being out there. And for Ce, this was a great source of entertainment. She'd offer to take them and skirt through the woods or paddle up the river or, and while not all of them accepted the offer, plenty of them did so. Then there were the guests who would go out on their own, and these were generally the ones who also had the best stories. Ce would pester them for their experiences (despite her mother telling her repeatedly not to nag the guests).
And after one visitor had imparted a story of a Youma battle to her very impressionable six-year-old mind, it became a particular favorite of hers to ask for such tales. They were so full of glory and adventure and not full of the life of boredom that her parents seemed to want to press upon her. So it perhaps shouldn't have been too surprising that she was one day bound to follow one of those who ventured out on their own without her as a local guide into the old oak grove at what she thought was a discrete distance. The girl Ce followed was perhaps no more than five years older than herself but had been one of those who told fantastic stories.
That day had darkened rather quicker than Ce had expected. Beyond that, she only remembered snippets -- deep purple eyes staring at her that spoke of nothing but feasting, picking up an acorn off the ground and sling-shotting it, the sensation only describable as the sky's stars rushing toward them -- tidbits that suggested she ought to have been frightened away from ever venturing into the forest again or at least of ever following another visitor, but in the way that she was, it only served to make her more curious. She had definitely passed out at some point, because the next thing she remembered, she was opening her eyes to her own ceiling with an amber acorn clutched in her hand.
The other girl offered to bring her back to the city, and of course Ce wanted to. It wasn't quite meant to be, then. Her parents opposed, and she was a bit weak for travel. But before the visitor left, she brought Ce to a nearby island, one pretty much uninhabited by people. That was where Ce underwent her first transformation and received a blank application to Elite Magical Girl Academy. She, of course, applied (and tried her best to return to the island a couple times though couldn't quite navigate there like the other girl had). The way Ce saw it, the academy was the door to a whole world she knew nothing about. How could she not apply?