Nilima Marjani

Female

17

90 lbs

5ʼ2”

Rust red/ pink-ish

Bob cut

Bright blue

Faunus with retractable claws and eyes that look oddly cat-like and shine in the dark at the right angle and in the right light.

Tan, that deepens in the summertime.

Athletic, if not more on the wiry side. Small chests, short, yet lanky.

She has a series of tattoos in black ink, covering her shoulders and trailing down her arms and up her neck. She also has similar tattoos that start at her waist, down her legs.

She has a particular tick that makes it near impossible for her to be still. Whether itʼs jumping from one foot to another, or flicking her fingers when more subtle movement is required, the only time Nilima seems to be entirely still is when sheʼs asleep...and even then, thatʼs not always a given. She only seems to be still around select company.

Family. Keeping her family safe and comfortable has always been her biggest motivation, and while there are smaller personal desires she has, sheʼd near always give them all up for her kin. Sometimes what she believes to be in their best interest is not what theyʼd have chosen for themselves however, but always she has them at the center of her decision making process, and doesnʼt really know what she would do if she were to choose something solely for herself.

Nilima can be extremely avoidant of situations that involve intense emotions, or truths sheʼs not ready to face. She will go well out of her way to get out of tense or uncomfortable interactions, preferring to joke or leave altogether. Similarly she can be quite rash when she feels sheʼs been wronged, and struggles to make meaningful friendships outside of her siblings due to the somewhat paranoid way her parents raised her. She can be quite secretive, even when itʼs not called for.

While not an obvious prejudice, or own she consciously holds, her family has always been particularly careful around humans, to the point where their Faunus-ness is never shown in their presence. Not to say she hasnʼt had human friends, but there is a wariness there that is hard to overcome. Similarly a wariness around any self declared members of the White Fang, again due to her own families particular reluctance to be open with those affiliated with the group.

Nili, in line with her lynx heritage, is incredibly agile, able to jump surprising distances and move silently whether she wishes to or not, making stalking people easy, but not scaring your neighbour in the dead of night a bit more difficult. Similarly her hearing and vision are quite good. All of her siblings, at her father's insistence and under his instruction, were taught a particular style of fighting that relies on short bursts of intense energy, playing to their strengths as Faunus while also relying on the fight ending quickly.

Running, training, trying different foods, shopping, painting

Curious. Nilima is many things, but above all sheʼs fascinated by what she doesnʼt yet know.

Nili is a little ball of energy, nearly always. Incredibly playful, she takes very little seriously unless the severity of the situation genuinely calls for it, and even then it can be a challenge to keep her from joking. Still, once focused she can be quite one track minded, which is both a flaw and a benefit, depending on the scenario. Despite her outwardly laissez faire attitude however, she can be a bit of a perfectionist and demands a high degree of accuracy from herself above all else. She enjoys puzzling things out and coming up with solutions, though once sheʼs decided, thereʼs no veering off course. A bit stubborn she can also be somewhat competitive, though typically not in any serious way, but more for her own personal growth than a desire to be better than others. She doesnʼt mind listening or taking advice or direction, but struggles to communicate her own thoughts to others before her mind is racing off to the next thing.

The Marjani family have their own customs, dialect, and particular connection to the desert they call home. Myths about lynx being “keepers of secrets” with supernatural eyesight capable of seeing through solid objects and symbolize the unraveling of hidden truths and psychic power of clairvoyance” so each “Halloween” their family has a designated Beacon of Truth that is dressed up. Not so much a set religion as a series of life practices that her family, and those more familiar with farther flung Vacuoan nomadʼs might recognize. Or not.

Like the rest of her kingdom she puts little to no stock in political machinations of any kind, instead relying on action to speak for a persons values. While she might agree that Vacuoʼs particular brand of lawlessness puts some in a precarious position, for all itʼs flaws, she finds it a more honest kind of political system than what little sheʼs seen of the other kingdomʼs governmental structures.

Huntress-in-training

Mole crab rangoon

A jade necklace consisting of a serious of round jade beads that always seem cool to the touch regardless of the weather, thatʼs been in her family for generations.

Taiji staff

Huntress-in-Training

February 13th

Vacuo

Nilima was largely homeschooled, as her tiny town didnʼt usually have enough children to warrant a full class situation, and when it did, it was largely informal and prone to disperse as soon as the children or teacherʼs attention wavered. Whatever the situation though, her education was largely centered on survival, be that what plants or animals were safe to eat, what Grimm to avoid entirely and their habits, enough math to run a store and keep stock inventoried, and how to pickpocket someone dumb or new enough to attempt to steal from them. Even then though, her parents ensured their children could read, write, and defend themselves and their family with the best of them, in their own way and time, and so the entrance exam into the academies was challenging but ultimately not impassable with her brothers successfully entering Shade Academy and Nilima now entering Beacon.

Nilima has only ever known Vacou and the small mining outpost that sheʼs always called home. The Marjani family originally hail from Menagerie, as so many Faunus seem to, though despite Nilimaʼs half hearted attempts to learn more, neither of her parents will talk about life before her birth and the twins were too young themselves to remember anything outside of the Vacouan desert that is home. If they have relatives back in Menagerie, she wouldnʼt know it, though sheʼs heard her mother speak of siblings every so often, when her mother and father discuss “business” while their children are supposed to be asleep.

Business is what the Marjani family are known for after all. Well, at least in Tel Kweja. As owners of a small general goods store, the Marjani children were lovingly brought up as unpaid shop help near as soon as they could hold a broom. Not a bad childhood, really, playing amongst the perpetually sandy shelves, an ear always listening for their fatherʼs tone of voice to change when a customer walked in, an immediate signal that whoever had just came in was up to no good. Because Nkemdilim always seemed to know when someone was up to something. Made sneaking out impossible for the twins, but Nkemdilim kept his children too busy sneaking around for the store instead. Besides, at the time, there wasnʼt much to sneak off to, the next tiny outpost being miles and miles away, with no more in way of entertainment than what their own outpost possessed. No, the Marjani patriarch instilled in his children a sense of preservation, and a need to keep what was theirs protected.

So Nili grew up, a bit wild perhaps, watching her brothers pick-pocket the random thief who thought they could steal from them first, or watching her father deal more diplomatically with the tribes that would demand anything from free goods to protection payments. Anything Nkemdilim or the twins could not handle, their mother Nia dealt with, when she wasnʼt off on trips gathering goods to sell. And then the sands changed.

Goings on in the other kingdomʼs did not usually matter much that far north, if it the managed to cross into Vacuo at all, apart from the consistent exploitation of Dust deposits found scattered across the country, nearly exclusively by Atlas. So in a way, it really shouldnʼt have surprised anyone that Tel Kweja wouldnʼt stay an isolated "paradise" forever. It had been a holy site at one point, for the more religious nomadic groups, and continued to be for the few in the know, and so when Atlas military showed up with a signed agreement from the Vacuoan "government" to explore the area for dust deposits, and utilize the small seaport as their shipping base...well... Vacuoanʼs didnʼt appreciate being told what to do on a good day, and it was never a good day when Atlas was involved.

Who started the fight in the tiny tavern was widely speculated, but it was clear that after three lay dead (1 Kwejan elder whoʼd attempted to qwell the violence, and two Atlas military personal) who ended it. Where the strange Faunus came from, Nilima couldnʼt say, but there they appeared, beating back Atlas military and miners alike, until their ships took off back to who knew where, and raw dust found itself sinking in their crates to the bottom of the harbor. Everyone knew that it was a shallow victory. Atlas never left for long, but it was a rare chance to believe just for a moment, that maybe theyʼd bought themselves enough time to enjoy the peace, before the next round of "explorations" happened. Why she felt so certain she recognized a woman in the center of the fray, she wouldnʼt say.

Moti & Mosi finished "school", and with tested easily into Shade Academy. It had been a bit of an open secret that the Marjaniʼs were Faunus, with their traits largely hide-able (tails, claws, teeth in Itriʼs case) though the more people started pouring into Vacou, the more insistent their parents became that they keep who and what they were to themselves, at all costs.

It was Niliʼs last year of "school" that it all went south. Her father and brothers were on a business trip, and it was just her, her mother and little Itri for a change. What happens next, she refuses to share, even with her father. But that night everything was fine, and then that night, her mother was gone, their store trashed, Itri crying in the crawl space beneath the counter, and Nili looking lost, slumped down in the middle of the mess, her mothers staff at her side.

No amount of persuading from her father, nor brothers, would get her to talk about what happened. Nia was just gone, and Itri saw nothing. Or so the little girl insisted.

Devastated and trying to hide it, Nkemdilim protested furiously at Nilimaʼs insistence that she apply to Beacon, forbidding her from leaving.

The night Nilima left, Moti and Mosi covering for her as she slipped out, was the first time sheʼd ever disobeyed her father, but as she clutched her acceptance letter like it would save her, she doubted it would be the last.

Nia Marjani (missing)

Nkemdilim Marjani

Twin Elder Brothers: Moti & Mosi Marjani
Little Sister: Itri Marjani

Uncle: Kabelo Amadi

Marjani familyʼs old as dirt, largely managing to keep to themselves, and oddly avoided or left alone by most. Nilima extended family both in the wilds of Vacuo and Menagerie. Fatherʼs family originally hails from the northern Vacuoan desert and are nomadic, before Menagerie was even established. Niaʼs (the Amadiʼs) family origins unknown, but was already established within Menagerie when her fatherʼs great-great grandparents migrated to the island. Both parents were part of the white fang during itʼs inception. Keeps all of their wealth in gold, and dresses their children in it, as their children are their most prized treasures (and in Nilima case to get her to stop scaring people by moving silently as a child. Now she just knows how to move without jingling if she chooses).

Moabi

Discornia

Discornia allows the user to slow down time for themselves. To Nilima everything moves and feels much slower. To others Nili looks as if she is moving noticeably faster. Discornia allows Nilima to potentially slow down time for herself so much that she appears almost blur like to everyone around her, but only for a short time and at an incredible energetic cost.

agility, self-benefiting