'''Name:''' Esta "Blossom" Grey
'''Age: 18
'''Race:''' human
'''Place of Origin:''' Old Rose Harbour
'''Occupation:''' Prostitute

!!!Backstory

Esta's parenting was never up to scratch. Her mother, Sally Grey, was a prostitute who gave birth to Esta in the back of a dishevelled hovel while unconscious, surrounded by empty bottles. As an alcoholic of dubious mental health (probably suffering from the Pathos) and not earning enough to support a child, Sally was not much of a mother and left Esta mainly to her own devices. She had no father, him basically being any one of Sally’s customers. Very few of them were halfway decent anyway.

Esta would probably have died in infancy if the kind woman who let her mother rent for so little pay had not taken an interest and kept her alive. She may have been fed and clothed by her mother's landlady, for which she was grateful, but the woman had children of her own and a life that was too busy to give this other child love too.

Even when almost completely disregarded by one parent and unknown to the other, Esta's childhood was not unhappy. It was hard, but never lonely – she had many friends, and they would roam the streets in gangs and packs, sometimes picking pockets, mostly just playing endless pranks on each other and trying to scab off people. They were always hungry but they still all seemed to grow out of their clothes almost as soon as they managed to get bigger ones. When she was about eight or nine she met Russet Pillia, a witch tsat who became her closest friend.

Russet wasn’t neglected by her mother as Esta was, and sometimes instead of returning home she would spend the night with the two witches. She loved their home, a run-down old apartment which was nevertheless filled with outlandish trinkets. These seemed to Esta to be the most beautiful, exotic things she'd ever seen. She also loved Russet's pet whice named Pip, who never ever repeated any of the swear words Russet so desperately tried to teach him. Sometimes, Esta felt that she had a family with Russet and Trixie. She never learned why they had left their tribe, or what tribe they were from, but she didn't mind, because she didn't know anything about her own family, and she didn't care.

Russet and Trixie taught Esta some Tek and she became moderately fluent, though not enough to keep up with some particularly fast-paced dialogue. She knew how to catch the gist, anyway, and surprised many wicks with her knowledge during her time.

The two girls grew up together. Esta lost contact with her mother and supposed she might have died. She didn't mind much. They were never close and Sally was too tragic and probably would rather have been dead, when she was sensate enough to think of it. Esta was much more upset when Trixie died of Vendler Rot, though was perfectly capable of continuing life, buoyed by the friendship of Russet.

A year after Trixie’s death, when she was fourteen, Esta got her first and only taste of love. She developed a naive romance with a thief named Fik. This was the sweetest time of either of their short lives until he was arrested, sent to prison and lost to her forever. She was left dreaming of love of that kind ever since, fueled by romantic exchanges glimpsed in the Drought and the Widow's Walk.

She and Russet became prostitutes when they were fifteen or sixteen, because neither could catch another job. Esta had initially held naive hopes that a life of sex would be some compensation for the love she didn't have, however she was soon disenchanted. They became known as Blossom and Moon respectively in the taverns they haunted, keeping themselves and each other alive.

Until Russet met her death one night, aged just seventeen, in the lusty embrace of a murderer.

Esta was devastated. She didn't know what to do, and did nothing, because she had no options. They'd both known that being murdered was a distinct possibility, and not only in their line of work, despite the peace kept by the Bad Brothers. They had both learned to defend themselves and could be mean fighters, but there was always going to be someone with a swifter blade. She didn't try to leave Old Rose Harbour, or stop being a prostitute, because she couldn't see anywhere to go. Instead she kept Russet's bird Pip and continued working, until she too had her near-death experience just a few months later.

She'd supposed that a semi-conscious drunk couldn't pose too much of a threat. She was partly right, and partly mistaken. She didn't even know where the knife had come from when suddenly he was trying to stab her in the heart. However, he passed out mid stab. The knife slithered over her chest, leaving a long cut, though not particularly deep or dangerous.

These two ordeals, in quick succession, triggered a sort of epiphany. Esta decided to pick up her life (while she still had it) and do something with it. She stopped prostitution and ventured out into other areas of the port town. She looked for education, employment, and love. She found none. After spending months starving, lonely and unsuccessful, even being forced into the Angler’s Alley, she was driven back to selling the one ware she possessed – her body. Jaded, she is still selling herself in the taverns of Old Rose Harbour, her dreams of romance a faded distraction from a life almost as sordid as her poor mother's.

!!!Personality

The word which probably sums Esta up most accurately and succinctly is ''tired''. She is hardened by the life she has led, and will endure. She is disenchanted and exhausted but still has the capacity to dream, even if she has given up those dreams largely for lost. She is dissatisfied but resigned, kind but bitter. She is not immoral but she doesn't do anything about injustice, considering it too widespread for her to be able to affect it. Everything she does is done wearily.

Still, however, Esta longs for love and companionship. She wants a real man, a decent man, not the sort that pays for her company. However she knows that any real man would be put off by her occupation. It's almost one of her requirements.

Though she believes these hopes will never be fulfilled, Esta is very good at using them to put her mind off her reality. This is helped by her ability to mask her emotions expertly. She can completely zone out and still appear to be functioning, except for a certain small, vague smile which sometimes creeps into her lips. This is a skill which can help her with other things, such as bluffing in card games (which she is adept at).

!!!Physical Description

Esta is not pretty, or ugly, just fairly average. She might have been tall if she wasn't malnourished as a child, and even now is lanky and big boned, but scrawny. Most of her customers don't really care about appearance anyway, just that she's female and willing. And asks a good price.

She has hair like straw, dark freckles on not-so-dark skin, and deep, tired brown eyes which are always shadowed. A long, crooked white scar meanders across her chest from where her heart is, across her breast and collar bone to her shoulder blade, testimony to the drunk who tried to kill her. A small stylized black sun is tattooed on the back of her neck, a souvenir of her long life with Russet.

Esta is not a particularly scanty dresser. Her necklines do tend to plunge fairly low, but not quite as far as those of others in her trade, and she never bares her midriff or wears open-shouldered dresses. She would rather hide her scar, but as this would make her look extremely modest and prudish for a prostitute, this is impossible. Most of her seducing is achieved with artful manipulation of gauzy shawls and softly spoken words.

!!!Inventory

*Whice named Pip who cannot swear, inherited from friend. Pip's feathers are full of deep shades of scarlet and crimson, with a couple of iridescent turquoise and emerald feathers on his wings.
*Small pouches which can conceal things, daggers, money etc. in various places
*Five small daggers

!!!Skills

*Knowledge of vulnerable spots and how to incapacitate someone when unarmed
*Speaks Tek moderately fluently
*Good poker face, skilled at cards

!!!Goals

Esta has resigned herself the fact that it is difficult for her to get out of prostitution, having no friends or skills useful for another occupation, but she still would like to get away to anywhere – absolutely ''anywhere'' – else. Above all she is terribly lonely and longs for true love, to have a partner to share her life and her heart with.

Hey there! Welcome to Thorns, and thanks for submitting your sheet! We'll look it over and get back to you ASAP!

Yay! This is my second character...

My mistake then. :p All other things apply.

Only one little edit and you can be considered approved! We'd love it if you'd make it a little clearer as to how Esta survived as an infant if her mother spent most of her time being unconscious or otherwise occupied.

That is a very good point, and I have made the necessary changes. Hopfully that's alright now?

You're approved. :3 Have fun.