Much like the dolls she creates, Leech is a
blank slate. She has little emotion to share outwardly, choosing to keep many of her feelings bottled up. They can dangerous when uncontrolled. In her short life, she has come to understand that people will use emotions against the feeler. Men will use a woman's love to their advantage, corrupting something as innocent as romance. Girls will fuel hatred against someone if it benefits them in a vengeful way. Leech wishes nothing to do with emotions and it often makes it difficult for people to deal with her. This may be one of the reasons why she surrounds herself with inanimate objects such as
dolls. They cannot hurt her and she has complete control over the conversations she has with them.
During her time after their father's dead, she became extremely scared of falling asleep. As one of Rey'na's experiments, Leech was exposed to several poisons that caused respiratory depression and long periods of sleep. During these periods, Leech was exposed to
graphic nightmares. She would wake agitated, scared, and unwilling to talk. She withdrew into herself, hating Rey'na a little more each day. The constant experimentation left Leech an insomniac with a severe
somniphobia (fear of sleeping). When she does sleep, her body will almost always put her down for several days to recover, leaving people concerned for her well being.
So few people have gotten close to her. What she will be like when she finally opens up is even unknown to her at this time.
Leech is a average woman, her body lithe from the strenuous training she underwent during her time with the mercenaries. She does not carry extra fat, sporting the
lean muscle of a survivor. Even though she has spent a great deal of time in the sun, her skin is
milk white. Much of her visible skin is unmarred. Beneath her clothes is a vastly different story. Her back sports several
raised scars where she suffered whippings. It is not uncommon for her to wear extra clothing on her back in the form of small capes and coats to protect a wandering hand from feeling her past. She wears her hair in a
ponytail, sleeked back with grease to keep stray hairs from flying in her face. Over time, Leech has learned to keep her hair under control and out of the paint she uses for her dolls. Her eyes are a pale blue green. In the right light, they can look almost
toxic green.
Leech wears
black the most, although she will accent the dark color with reds and greens. Her favorite style of clothing include skirts, blouses, and dresses. Pants are constricting to her body and mind. Her legs need to have free air between them. She does not adorn herself with jewelry, finding it a frivolous display of station. She will spend money on
make-up, driving an onlooker's gaze towards her eyes or lips. Although some would say that the ribbons she uses on her wrists are excessive, Leech is never without the
tight wraps around her wrist. Sometimes the black ribbon is tied in a bow or decorated with green or red ribbon in a lattice. Leech has sworn up and down that she will not allow the eyes of another to catch site of her sins beneath. The
timid scars suggest that her bottled up emotions have occasionally bested her. A simple sign of weakness she prefers to keep hidden.
Memories of her childhood are vague at best. What she remembers of her mother is built on stories from her father and a single picture. When she was barely two arcs old, her mother took her to her father. Gregory Fleet was a man that slept around. He produced many children along the way. Her mother had been very sick at the time. With little money to care for herself, she begged Gregory to take his daughter. Gregory obliged Ziva, taking Morana with him. He brought her home and introduced her to her half sister, Rey'na. He explained that although they had different mothers, they would forever be family. Afterall,
blood was thicker than water and worth more than gold.
Prior to his death, Rey'na and Morana got along well. Morana adored and idolized her sister. She wanted nothing more than to be just like her: strong, courageous, and beautiful. Her happy life was decimated when the Gregory's rage caused his death. In hopes to poison someone else, he mishandled the toxin. It seeped into his skin, taking his life quickly. While Rey'na cried over him, Morana stood in the corner. She was not brave enough to face death like Rey'na did. Instead, she buried her face into her doll. She cried and cried, hoping that when she lifted her head it would be a terrible nightmare. When she lifted her gaze, the nightmare only intensified. To this day, the
nightmare lives on.
Rey'na was being comforted by the Immortal, Lisirra. Her offer of power and knowledge drew the Rey'na she knew into the Plague Mother's arms. The last memory she had of a benevolent, kind, and loving sister was of her being bent over their father, crying. From that moment on, Morana followed her sister blindly. She demanded attention only to be pushed away. Rey'na would explain that she had "work to do" or had to "provide for them." 'Them' never meant Morana and Rey'na. It always meant Lisirra and Rey'na. At some point, Rey'na stopped calling her Morana and started calling her Leech. She explained that she was nothing but a leech, craving attention and
sucking the life from those she came in contact with. Spending many nights crying with her doll in her hands, Morana excepted her fate. From that moment on, she became Leech.
They moved to Rynmere after Rey'na became Lisirra's blessed servant. Leech did not understand exactly why she was brought along, but the comfort of having her sister close by was enough to keep her feet moving. They joined the mercenary group. While Rey'na occupied herself with street musicians and thug leaders, Leech remained in the
shadows. Few paid attention to her. While Rey'na worked with the mercenary group, Leech found jobs here and there. She would carry bags for older women, taking the few copper nel when it was offered to her. When Rey'na moved in with her boyfriend, Leech continued to lurk in the nearby streets. She never moved in, but she was always nearby.
Leech ended up making a home in the alley near a toy shop. Over time, the
toy maker was able to draw her out. She worked for him cleaning the shop when he was closing for the evening. Eventually, the toymaker became quite comfortable with having her around. He offered the apartment above the shop for her personal use as long as she continued to work for him in the evenings. Leech did not speak in agreement; she only nodded her head.
While she worked as a janitor for the toy shop, he shared with her some of his knowledge on tows. Balsa wood was great for wooden boats as it was light enough to float and dolls with pretty dresses and curls sold the best. Wagons that pulled on strings were great for little boys. They worked well for carrying their sister's dolls down the road. Wooden wolves and dragons were figurines for boys but they enjoyed toy swords and shield even better. Leech would spend her evenings in this imaginary wonderland. One day she would become a famous toy maker; no, a famous
doll maker.
Leech lost track of Rey'na when she left the city to live in the woods. Part of her misses her sister, but Lisirra had always favored her. Rey'na had family; Leech only had the idea of one. She continues to live above the toy shop where she works on her own dolls to sell and sweeps the entry way every morning and evening. Hard work would pay off.
Eventually.
![[Approved by Rumour]](.//images/icons/cs_ok.png "[Approved by Rumour]"){kind=icon}
