Layna Crowe

Crowe, Layna

Gender: Female

Age: 15

Meister: None yet

Weapon Form: Layna's primary weapon form is a double-bladed sword. However, she has the ability to reduce her size into a double-bladed throwing dagger. She can also transform her hilt into chains linking the two blades together. Her blade is made of light steel with high durability, despite its fragile appearance. Her hilt is made of gold with intricate designs, at each of the base of the hilt connecting the hilt and the blades is a teal crystal that glows during resonance when her blade extends in length and width. The crystals help to channel her and her meister's wavelength, and the same shade of teal glow can be seen coating the blade in blue fire, or occasionally white, when she resonates.

 
Her dagger form


Love Interest: None at the moment

Appearance: Layna has curly and wavy straw-blonde hair, a trait she inherited from her British mother, which she often pulls up into a messy bun. Her odd copper eyes and her pale skin however, was inherited from her Japanese and Greek father, who also happened to be a double-bladed sword. As a child, her father would teach her the basics, how to dodge, how to move, how to use the angle of her blades. As much as she tried, her lithe figure couldn't provide her with muscles, it was a trait that proved to be more useful in terms of speed, endurance and agility. Standing about 5'4, she wouldn't stand a chance in a hand-to-hand combat with larger opponents without her blades. The small crow tattoo at her left collarbone shows her birthright as a child of the Crowe clan, a Greek-Japanese clan.

Her customary outfit consists of a red and black corset top with dark red ribbons and white sleeves and frills, a crimson ruffled skirt, black stockings and white boots. During class, she sticks to loose off-shoulder sweaters, low-cut v-necks and shorts, or the occasional pleated skirts and stockings.
If she knows she's going in combat, she'll ditch the stockings and opt for knee-high combat boots. If the weather is cold, she'll more likely wear a sweater dress,long-sleeved sweaters with pleated skirts, leggings and boots, or a tank top with a cardigan and jeans.  

She doesn't like wearing accessories because she thinks they obstruct her movements. The only accessories she'll ever wear are either a brown multi-strand studded leather bracelet or a bronze vintage necklace with a carved heart-shaped pendant.

Personality: Layna is a sly, witty and flirtatious person. With a outgoing personality, she enjoys the company of others, even strangers. However, with her eccentric and dry sense of humour, she's not going to win any popularity contests any time soon. A strong-willed and determined girl, she'll stand by her beliefs and finish what she started right till the very end, never one to back down from a fight. She is very passionate about the things she do, and sometimes let her emotions cloud her judgement. But don't get her wrong, she'll do whatever it takes for the ones she care about. A fiercely loyal girl, she'll do whatever it takes to protect her loved ones, even if it means fighting to her death. Her personal quote? " If you want to mess with me, I'm not afraid to get messy."

But behind her wilder side hides a sensitive and compassionate creature, she hates abuse of any kind. Mentally, verbally. Her past scars from a brief period of her life made her feel the pain of those whom suffer, and she can never stand to watch anyone getting bullied or tortured. She's not afraid to fight to protect, even if it means taking on bigger and stronger opponents.

History:
Layna was born into the Crowe clan, and her grandfather was the head of the clan. Her grandfather was disappointed that she was a girl, and pressured her mother, Kara to give birth to a son. However, the doctor said her body wouldn't be able to handle another child. Her father, Daisuke Crowe was the only son of the head of the clan, which meant that Layna didn't have any other cousins. She knew her grandfather disliked her for her gender, well, he wasn't very subtle about it either. Since most of his sentences started with " if I had a grandson instead of some useless girl-".  However, her parents never mistreated her. The loved her and treated her with gentle and kindness, helping her develop her skills over the years. She even learned a few tricks of her own, ones that included outsmarting other village children.

Sometimes, her grandfather would bring her out for training sessions. He was a strict, cruel and demanding teacher. He'd beat her, cane her and yell at her for things she didn't do. And it often ended with her crying silently in confusion over what she'd done wrong and him stomping off angry and frustrated. She never told her parents, never showed them the angry marks and scars. One day, she couldn't take it anymore and told her mother. Her mother was upset, but she wasn't surprised, she knew Layna's grandfather never wanted a girl, and was in fact punishing her for something she hadn't done. She asked for him to stop his training sessions, and that her and her husband would teach Layna themselves. And his reply? Well, she does believe his exact words were, " Good, that useless idiot was giving me high-blood pressure."

Over the years, Layna grew up strong, playful and healthy. And her mother would often tell her about her early years as a Meister, and the troubles and mishaps Daisuke, who was also her weapon, would get her into. Her father was a reckless and eager weapon, always seeking out fights and battles. Kara was his calmer counterpart, the one who reigns him in when things start to get out of hand. Layna always marvelled at the stories of their battles. The ones that they won, and ones that seemed like they were goners but managed to scratch through in time.

It was during one of the battles when that her mother was seriously hurt, it cost her her health. Her body was never as strong since.

She also particularly enjoyed hearing about her father's " party days".

A few seasons passed, one day they got news of an attack from a rivalling clan. Her parents took her up to a hidden shrine that overlooked the village. Despite her father's protest, her mother insisted on joining the battle to protect their clan and village. With a kiss on her cheeks, they departed, leaving her alone at the shrine. As members of the rivalling clan poured in, she watched in horror as houses were burned and people slayed. But what she saw didn't prepare her for what she was going to see. Her mother and father were engaged in battle and didn't realize the man sneaking up on them. Daisuke saw the blast just a second before it pierced his wife's heart. Her mother toppled to the ground, dead. With a cry of fury, Daisuke rushed towards the man and slashed his neck open. He then finished off the man's weapon.

After a day, the battle was won by the Crowe clan, but not without sacrifice. Many had died, including Layna's mother. She'd never forget what she saw, never forget her mother's death.

Years passed, Spring was approaching. It was time. Her father, crippled from battle, handed her a map. It was time to leave for DWMA, to embrace her destiny. He hugged her and kissed her forehead, like her mother always did, and said, " Make your mother proud." She nodded and giving him a smile, she replied, " Don't worry dad, I will!"

With that she headed off with a map and a luggage. She was going to be a student of the Academy. And she was going to do whatever it takes to become a great weapon.