Goldilocks

This knife is too sharp! This knife is too dull! This knife is juuuuuust right.

I should not be allowed to describe my own body. Wouldn't it be easier for others to do so? They do, after all, enjoy stealing glances every now and then. One could argue that those looks are a product of the way I present myself, but I could argue back that those looks are the product of an unchivalrous upbringing. My body is not very glamorous, standing heads and shoulders shorter than most men of my age. Though I have been toned from my days of hunting, I am not a true slayer. I rely more on my deftness of hand than my athleticism. My figure is thin and flexible, but not to the point of emaciation. (though admittedly, more of my figure comes from my bone structure than natural flesh). I have been blessed with a small waist and wide hips but my chest is of average size according to my mates.

On the other hand, my face is above average, if I do say so myself (at least the bears seem to like them). Did you think that Goldilocks was my real name? Don't be daft. The moniker originates from what is now "hair gold as honey", though I suppose the roots may be a give away that my locks are not entirely natural. Somehow, the hair manages to grow brown yet become gold as it leaves the roots of my head, though you shouldn't give it too much thought. You might unearth something unsavory.

My eyes of course, are not as enchanting, they are a dull blue color that belies the fact that they're slowly fading to gray as I age. Such a shame for such a pretty girl would you not agree? Maybe not. Maybe "crazy" is a better way to describe me given the fact that I am referring to a "you" as I write this.

I go by many names. If you want a job to be done call me "Honeytrap". If you want a nonhuman job to be done call me "Beartrap". If you just want company, Goldilocks is entire fine. Though it would be more efficient to use one name, it makes it easier to separate my work and personal life. I know that many hunters live to hunt, but I hunt to live. Money doesn't come by easily for girls like me and I would rather not resort of using my "feminine wiles" to get money, even if one of my names is "Honeytrap". I've had enough of that for one lifetime. However, I am not one to discriminate others for what they do since I understand the desperation and tenacity bred a lifetime of fighting. I still embody those characteristics after all, I'd be a hypocrite to hate others for it.

Judgement is another beast. I consider myself a good judge of character, able to discern if a person is dangerous simply through intuition. Be it through first impressions or scant interactions I always receive a gut feeling if they are a danger to my presence or a good feeling if they prove to be useful. You might wonder, "why trust your intuition?" and to that I say that my intuition has had a high rate of success so I would certainly say that it is more trustworthy than a man or woman I've only just met. Admittedly, I can't explain myself well since my vocabulary is sparse, if not bereft of upper class vernacular. Since I grew up with little in way of reading and writing I have had to mask my lack of verbal erudition with physical experience in whatever field I'm trying to prove myself in. I am not always successful in this regard, but I have reached a point of competency where I no longer look and sound like a street rat.

You could say that this is something of a sticking point for me since I have all but discarded the old remnants of my identity, from the hair to the speech to even the clothing that I wear. I don't like dwelling on the past nor do I look to it for answers since the future tends to be much brighter (and have more people to make a living off of) in comparison. The future has new possibilities to explore, ones that even include friends if there are such things for me.

Yes, friends have been in short supply for me for too many years to count. As it is, everyone I've worked with is either a liar, cheater, or thief, so you should forgive me if I've been on edge whenever I'm around someone. On the other hand, I am quite partial to animals. I find myself getting along with them better than I do with humans, which can be a problem since I have a bias against magicked creatures. They make my skin crawl and I work extra hard to eradicate them. You might think that this is a contradiction, but I'd say not. Magic has ruined this land, caused both man and creature to be driven mad with power and I won't stand for that.

Equipment:
Bear traps and knives. I like to keep my weapon usage simple, efficient, and sustainable.  For that reason I haven't dipped my feet into other types of weapons such as guns, bows, or flails since they require far more work to fashion than use. And let's be honest, by the time you reload your gun my knife will be in your back. As the traps and knives might imply I work best in stealth, coordinating my traps with whatever area I'm working in and using my knives for the kill. If I need to work long range or use another method of trapping, I have a spool of rope that I can loop through my knife handles to trip my enemies or slash from far away.

Outside of my weaponry I carry around a few changes of clothing, cooking implements, money, and a flint for quick fires.

Abilities:

As mentioned before, I've lived on the streets for a good portion of my life and because of it I have learned to survive on very little food, water, and money. I know how to be frugal and how to make myself scarce if necessary. I'm naturally stealthy and often use it to my advantage when in a fight or attacking a mark. At the same time however, it means that I've grown accustomed to being alert whenever I'm alone. I keep my back to the wall and have a knife for every occasion. Outside of my knife skills I have a keen awareness for everything around me, to an almost unnatural extent. Those who have worked with me say that I have a wild nature about me, as though I am more of nature than civilization. I will tell you now that I can confirm or deny this, but I will say that I am as much of the land as the monsters we hunt. I can channel their spirits and gain power for a short time through one of my daggers, which has been infused with the energy of the earth. It cannot harm me, but channeling the spirits for too long could result me losing my earthly self.

Weakness:
I am not a strong woman so much as I am swift and it shows once I am forced to wrestle with someone stronger than me. Though I am slippery, I fear close confrontations that do not involve weaponry since I can be easily apprehended if caught. It's something I have to work on, just like my reading. I am simply terrible with written word and can't tell you how many times that I needed someone to draw up and explain a contract to me. It's really a shame.

Some say that it takes a village to raise a child, but how many people does it take to undo a forest's worth of upbringing?

I've never known my real parents. As far as my adopted "parents" knew, I was found alone in the woods at the age of six feasting on a rabbit and her young. It was a gruesome sight I admit, but I doubt anyone could blame me. I was raised by animals (bears to be specific), the natural ones, and everything I knew, I learned from them. I was a wild child entering a civilized world being raised by a parents unprepared for my behavior. To make a long story short, they were enamored with the idea of raising a child than actually having one. As much as they tried, I couldn't understand their ways nor I theirs. I loved them as best as I could, temper tantrums aside; however, there became a point when they finally became weary of my misbehavior and tossed me out to the streets. I know that several other couples tried to take me in, said that they loved me and wouldn't give up on me but they always did. They didn't want me, they just pitied me. I was an adolescent by then, too old to be changed, but not old enough to have any real experience. I was hungry, tired, and had nowhere to sleep.

Fortunately for me, my body was developing quite nicely.

I am not proud of what I did, soliciting the streets for a meal and a night of rest. As you might have guessed it wasn't solely panhandling that I did. A few sexual favors from time to time had to be done to keep me sustained and people of both genders enjoyed my exotic flavor I suppose. Sure, some people in my town were sex workers by choice, but the majority of us were forced into it and all were looked down upon for it. It was bad enough that I was the "feral child", tossed around from corner to corner. Suddenly I was "dirty" too. There was no more work for me, mainly because no one would take me for more than a night and a lay (sometimes not even a night). No matter how I tried to pretty myself and practice my speech (as I did whenever I found a reflection), no one would wanted me. The only thing left for me was the off chance that some farm hand would offer me a job.

Not until I met him.

Originally he asked me to perform a "special service", that is, hunt a family of bears that had taken over his home. At first I refused, but he offered me a huge sum of money and bestowed upon me a dagger forged of animal bone. It was nothing special, but he simply insisted that I use it. So I traveled to his cottage, unaware of the consequences. I picked the lock with ease, entering and finding three bowls of porridge cooling on the table. It was strange, three bears intelligent enough to cook and put food into dishes? It had been a long journey so I thought that it would be harmless if I had a taste of the porridge, a meal and three heads served on a platter. Once I stepped foot in the house however there was a snap and a cry, my cry. They knew someone was coming. My leg was caught in a trap, bleeding and broken from the serrated teeth and no matter how hard I tried to pull it apart, nothing would budge. There was nothing I could do, not until I heard the roar of a bear. The three of them had entered through the back, all of them on their hind legs and walking as though they were puppets. It wasn't natural, it was like the three of them were being held on strings. I held my knife in front of me as they attacked, slashing them wildly until somehow, they fell to the floor.

"Very good ████. You were the first to survive"

I turned around to find the man who had hired me. He was dressed in a suit, a cane in one hand and a sack of coins in the other. He shot me a condescending smile as he used his cane to overturn the mother bear's body.

"How do you know my real name?"

"Some were too wild, some were too domesticated, but you were just right," he smirked before waving his hand.

The trap around my leg opened and I was able to move, albeit with great difficulty.

"What is wrong with you?" I rasped, wrapping my fingers around my calf to stop the bleeding.

It was a test, one to find a being worthy of wielding the dagger and all before me had failed. From what he told me, I was able to channel the true power, the vengeful spirits of the animals that had been killed by this knife's blade. The dagger could only be wielded by a person with a connection to nature so I was the perfect candidate. Overcome with anger, my first instinct was to slit his throat, but he simply tipped me over with his cane.

"Now, now child. You shan't bite the hand that feeds."

I reluctantly followed him to the back of the cottage where he bandaged my wound and began to tell me a story of the land long before civilization had fell. He told me of animals that used to be free before being taken over by darkness and those who aligned with it. I didn't trust him, I still don't, but nonetheless he made me sympathize with his cause. I felt the anger and the pain of the spirits as I clasped the dagger and the possibility of continual compensation forced me to accept his offer. I couldn't go back to my old life, not if there was a way out.

With a nod, he pulled out a bottle and uncorked it, pouring the contents all over my knife.

"Water to tether you to the earthy realm and-"

Before I could move he plunged the knife into my heart, bathing it in blood.

"-blood to tether the knife to you."

As much as I wished, that didn't kill me.

The knife could not hurt l me, not unless the spirits occupied me for too long (and I didn't plan for that to happen). Instead, the man's stabbing formed the bond that would carry me through my first few years of hunting. It would be the only thing that would stay by me.

Theme song(s):
Rabbit Heart by Florence + The Machines
Blinding by Florence + The Machines

Trivia:
-I hate wearing shoes
-I speak with a slight accent, sometimes abbreviating my words but I try to hide it unless I know you well.

Posting Color: [b][color=#E9AB17][/color][/b]