And so Elia disembarked at the train's final destination with her newly met companion, or should she say, clingy stalker? Not that she particularly minded either way, but Lilianne had been following her around like a stray puppy for the past few weeks after discovering she was headed to Gale's End. She didn't know what to make of the other girl, nevertheless, it'd be cruel to leave behind this lost child of a woman who was barely holding it together. So Elly let her tag along.
When faced with a problem, Elia usually seeks the most efficient solution, even if sometimes it falls in the morally gray zone. To her, the most important things are those that are tangible and present in the moment - there's no use in theorising or speculating when there are enough existing problems to deal with already. When a problem arises, she simply goes with the flow and deals with it the best she could without complaining or making a big fuss.
As a restorer, she's very efficient with hands-on tasks and feels duty-bound to finish a job with satisfactory quality. She can be quite stubborn to see a job through to the end even if it means going to great lengths to acquire certain metrials or parts for it. Though to some people, that could come off as somewhat workaholic and obsessive, she in fact enjoys the puzzle-solving aspects that come with her work as a restorer. She's not one to dilly-dally around if there are tasks unfinished. On the downside, she has the same expectations of other people, so it irritates her when someone's a slob and can't deliver what was promised or if they keep giving obvious excuses, making her bit of a perfectionist.
She dislikes being wasteful and will try to use all the resources at her disposal to their maximum potential.
Often she focuses too much on being practical that she overlooks the joy of doing something for the sake of enjoying it and not strictly out of neccesity.
Socially Awkward
Elia is not the brightest at catching social cues - sometimes jokes and sarcasm fly over her head leaving her confused. Most of the time, if she's in a socially awkward situation, she would be oblivious to it and carry on business as usual. Subconsciously, she probably realises something isn't quite right but people are the one puzzle that she can't quite work out. She doesn't think too hard about it or she'd get a headache.
Often being the quiet one in the group, she prefers action over words as they are easier to understand. When she does speak, she's very honest and upfront about her opinions and doesn't try to flatter anyone but says it like it is. Not especially introverted or extroverted and is generally amicable towards others (albeit being slower to fully trust someone).
She is not very in-tune with her own needs and emotions, and as a result she can come off as emotionally-muted and nonchalant. Prone to keeping things to herself in a somewhat unhealthy way and takes a very long time to process events emotionally.
Loyal & Dependable
Friendship is a simple and straightforward thing to Elia. Once she considers someone a trustworthy person, she would be a loyal companion to them. This is expressed in subtle ways such as small acts of kindness in their day to day life.
She makes a good listener who doesn't interrupt and will remember details about a person well. Even though she sometimes struggles to find the right words, if a friend is in distress, she would still try to be there for them in any way possible. But sometimes this is misunderstood as "Why won't you say anything? Don't you care at all?". When someone close to her has misunderstandings like these, it frustrates her greatly that she's unable to explain and communicate things clearly but she would still not turn her back on someone she considers a friend.
Private
Having run away from everything that she was familiar with and being on the road alone taught her to be cautious when it comes to trusting strangers (an especially hard lesson to learn after being scammed one too many times). Even in her cautiousness, however, she still holds an amicable/respectful attitude towards others but would be much more private when it comes to sharing about herself.
Travelling alone meant that even if she managed to make some few friends along the way, she would have to leave them behind sooner or later. Worn out by these repeated goodbyes, she became more closed off and guarded/detached subconsciously in order to protect herself.
It takes a long time for her to truly open up to someone about personal matters (that even herself doesn't quite understand). She feels as if she'd get lost in the sea of thoughts if she were to open that can of worms, so she doesn't.
Ah a healthy Human baby, skin pristine and without any angry markings of a Thunderstruck. That was all Elia’s parents had hoped for and it seemed that the Gods have heard their prayers when they had Elia.
Elia had a pretty normal childhood - or so she thought. Her parents were part of a travelling group cough cult cough and they never stayed at a place for long. They were a self-sufficient group that travelled with their own tents, essential supplies and trading with the local folks for other neccesities when needed. This meant that from a young age, Elia was taught how to do chores and help out around the camp. She had a good relationship with her parents. While her dad was often stoic and strict, he taught her various mechanical skills as he was the engineer of the group. In her early teen years she accompanied him as his assistant to fix an assortment of things around the camp from broken horse carts to sewing up holes in sweaters. Her mom cared for her a great deal, sometimes too much and can be over-protective. The other adults treated her well and she enjoyed being part of a close knit-group that felt like one big family.
But of course nothing is ever as perfect as it seemed. As Elia grew a little older (around the age of 8-10), she longed for the company of other kids her age. The closest person to her age in the group was 6 years older than her so she never really had peers her age and was eager to make a friend. She ventured out into the town where they were staying at at the time, and managed to become friends with a local girl named Naomi. The two met up almost every afternoon after their school/chores to talk about anything from what foods they liked to stories from their lives. For a week or so this went on and Elia was so happy to finally have her very own friend, until one afternoon Naomi brought up the Storm that ravaged their town some years ago. Storm? But the adults always said it wasn’t real. It doesn’t exist. Misfortunes happen because of the Thunderstruck. It was common knowledge, right? After that, Naomi stopped showing up and she started noticing how the townspeople looked at Elia and her group with a cold disgust that only was held back by polite tolerance. Only much later did she find out that Naomi was a Thunderstruck. For the first time she realised something wasn’t quite right.
--- Adolescence ---
Slowly she came to the the realisaion that their group was seen as an outcast at best and a public enemy at worst. It was shocking to her that the outsiders believed in the Storm - she had never seen it herself as they travelled throughout Utlus. Surely, they'd seen some aftermath of destruction, but the elders said it was caused by the evil magic of the Thunderstruck. Wherever they went, they preached this to the people, trying to spread awareness and to warn them. Why were they met with so much hostility when all they wanted to do was help them realise the danger? She didn't understand.
Before she could contemplate the meaning of this too much, her 16th birthday came and she found faint twisted markings that resembed thunder on the back of her arm. Her stomach sank. At first she was in denial, it must've been a scratch. She ignored it for a while but the markings didn't go away. Instead, they gradually deepened into an angry dark crimson across her back and arm like tree roots. There was nothing she could do but keep this heavy secret to herself. She didn't want to bring misfortune to the people she grew up with, but she also knew that if anyone found out, both her and her family would have to bear the consequences - her parents would lose their home and community. As nice as these people were, she knew how devoted they were to their teachings. Growing increasingly isolated from this, her parents didn't think much of it other than the normal teenage angst. The only thing that kept her sane from the heavy burden and guilt was the memory was Naomi - their brief friendship had brought her so much joy, could someone like that truly be the cause of all misfortunes?
But there was a bigger problem on the horizon - all the members of the group were given a tattoo at the age of 18 as a rite of passage, meaning that there would be no way to hide her markings from them anymore. It was then that she decided to leave for the better - the most practical solution that ensured the safety of her parents. Ever since, she had been planning and secretly hoarding supplies for her anticipated escape, all the while hoping that nothing bad would happen in her presence. Three days before her 18th birthday, she bid her parents goodnight as usual and went to bed, only to quietly place a letter among her mother's belongings. It was an apology, a wish for their wellbeing and a thank you for raising her up. She simply said that it was her time to find her own place in the world. Elia didn't want them to worry, or perhaps, in down she was afraid to ruin the image of their perfect daughter in her parents' mind. With that, she quietly left their camp with her trusty duffle bag.
--- Adulthood & Pre-Gale's End ---
Since then, Elia had been travelling across Utlus, ever so cautious of stopping at one place for too long, perhaps out of old habit, perhaps not wanting to bring forth misfortune, mostly out of fear of running into her old group. Luckily, she could get on by repairing items for people. It wasn't a luxurious job, but it kept her fed.
She still didn't know what to make of the Storm. How could she believe in something she had not seen with her own eyes? Maybe she could find an answer from where it all began - Gale's End.
‼️ SPOILERS AHEAD; READ AT YOUR OWN RISK ‼️
TW: Death
During Elia's teenage years, especially after the Thunderstruck mark started to develop - she would have reccurring nightmares of what seemed to be a panicked scene in the middle of a storm. Vividly, she would see someone protecting her and yelling at her to go. Upon waking up, she thought it was the effect of the curse and tried not to think too much about it.
This was actually a traumatic memory of Elia's very early childhood (2-3 years old). She had an elder sister and her family lived in a normal town. But it was unfortunately destroyed by the Storm with very few survivors. Her sister was amongst the casualties. Stricken by grief, her parents turned to blaming the Thunderstruck for their daughter's death, and joined the travelling cult as a way to cope after losing everything they called home. Elia was too young ro realise what happened and her brain blocked out this traumatic event. However, the anxiety of realising her heritage made these memories resurface. Unable to face the truth, she kept looking elsewhere for answers even though she cannot shake the feeling of immense guilt and self-blame. Even now, she has a lot to unravel and work out to face the truth of what happened and what her identity means as a Thunderstruck.
Doesn't really mind what she wears as long as it's comfortable and doesn't get in her way (but doesn't know how to dress up properly as she never had the chance to)
Gets hangry if she's hungry
Doesn't know how to handle children but has a soft spot for them
Despite travelling a lot, she’s still terrible with directions
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