Profile of Persephone

This lady is very dainty, delicate as a wilting flower, and graceful to the point that she can tread almost unheard. At once careful and carefree in her movements, she has a way of drawing the eye. Her long, oddly marked coat only adds to this. The thick, silken hairs are a rich ebony for the most part, practically void of brown or blonde. It creates a perfect backdrop for the white that coats her from her toes to her stomach, riding up to her chin and cupping her cheeks.
Her wide eyes of yellow, pale yet rich as the sky at dawn, are likewise outlined in white, with a tuft of hair accompanying the very base of her nose. Many of the scars hidden beneath her black pelt are forewarned in pale hairs too, indicating the tracks of damage made throughout her life. The most prominent, save for a smattering on her spine and hips, are those on her tail and the top of her head.
Two lines create markers for the places her tail has priorly been broken, beneath the tip and an inch further up. The breaks have left a detectable bend at the end of the appendage. Across her head lies a streak, starting just below her right ear, following the curve to the top of her skull. Finer drops litter it's shape the whole length. (What will be the remaining evidence of the head injury that has caused her amnesia)

Like the cherry blossoms that signal spring, or the little sparrow that sings at dawn's approach, Persephone personifies a return of life. To hope. To love. Like a beacon in the darkness, she will take anyone by the hand and guide them towards the light. To say she is an empathetic soul is an understatement, for her kindness and compassion have no bounds. A miracle for someone so lost within the ruins of herself.
A blow to the head has left Effy with little information about herself, just her name and some pictures in her head that dance like fireflies, too quick to catch. The head injury and resulting amnesia have caused her to lose most of herself and the life she'd had before arriving in this new place. It has also left her with the frailties of dizzy spells, fatigue and fainting episodes when particularly scared or stressed. She is instinct over experience and her innocence radiates like an aura. It is in her very bones to tread gently, to be kind and considerate. To treat everyone with love.
Questions frequently abound in her mind, about herself, the world, but most importantly, about others. Effy holds a depth of empathy within her that she cannot help but connect with everyone and everything around her. She strives desperately to understand, to see others points of view, especially whilst hers is so blurry and confusing. So many things trouble her and cause her to pause, desperately trying to puzzle out what the rest of the world's seems to grasp so easily.
She is not a deceptive creature by nature, an open book one might say, if you can get her to speak. Unfortunately, Effy suffers from selective mutism. She doesn't know what has caused it and so has no way of resolving it. Because of this, she often becomes trapped within herself, frozen in place by a fear she cannot comprehend. It is as if her throat closes up and all the words she ever knew simply refuse to find a path put of her mouth. Even her body can become statuesque when uncertainty finds its home inside.
Once pulled from her shell however, Persephone has a surprising playfulness to her. She finds joy in the little things and takes every opportunity to do so, encouraging others to do the same. Like her voice, her smile and laugh have to be sought out with a little effort, but once present they bring such energy and brightness out in the otherwise demour female. Like a flower finally blooming in the sun's loving light.
Not as weak as she first appears, even to herself, Effy does possess a backbone. It's merely well padded and difficult to call into service. Whether it's because she's been backed into a corner, or strong feelings have been stirred within her, Effy finds her voice ready to carry her thoughts with confidence and her body prepared to back them up if necassary.
Otherwise, she does her best to avoid confrontation, willing to submit if it keeps her safe or offers peace. A people pleaser, Persephone has little issue with putting the interests of others before herself, within reason. But she should not be mistaken for a pushover. Her bravery comes not from the absence of fear, but from acknowledging it's existance and standing her ground regardless. And her fear is a companion she can never seem to completely abandon.
Having so few in her arsenal, Persephone understands the power of words, and, every now and again, pearls of wisdom spill from her lips, their origins unknown. Despite her quiet, almost simple, demeanour, her inner voice is rarely silent. All the thoughts that fail to be expelled crowd her mind, one flowing into another and another, until eventually one slips out. Then there are the curious times they spill like a waterfall, small opportunities to get a window into the inner world of this strange, pure creature.

Persephone was born far away, high on some distant mountain, but she did not make the journey alone. Her brother Perseus was her opposite in looks, but in temperament, they were a matched pair. As they were in all things. Each twin was the others shadow and keeper. Two halves of the same whole, they rarely spent a moment apart as they explored the peaceful world around them. Raised with great amounts of love, kindness and understanding, it was no surprise that both came to embody the highest of good qualities.
The twins spent the first year of their life in unmatched comfort and safety, amongst their parents and older brother and sister, with a vast variety of friends passing through. In Persephones young mind, she believed that all strangers were friends, for that's what it seemed. Everyone appeared to know everyone else and, for the most part, got on well. When tempers did rise, the conflicts were always resolved without violence and because of this, Persephone had no real understanding of what true violence was.
So she had no way to protect herself when faced with the worst kind of horrors.
Perhaps it was because their father and brother had taught Percy to hunt that he was able to remain intact when evil came creeping in the darkness. Or maybe it was merely the strength of his mind, giving him the will power not to crumble. Coming back from a hunt with his brother and father, the trio were set upon by a group of heathens. As the older two fought, Perseus was held down. His father fell first and as he did, screams in the direction of the den filled the crisp night air.
Stirred from his paralyzing fear, Percy fought to help his brother but they were no match for their opponents. As his brothers head dropped to the frosted ground, forcefully removed from the rest of his body, the screaming had stopped and the night was silent save for barks of laughter as they congratulated themselves on a job well done. He waited, but Death never came for the boy, though it was not mercy that had spared his life.
Nor was it any act of kindness that spared hers.
They had entered the den with such confidence and ease that neither girl had hesitated upon rising to greet them. It only took a few seconds, the length of time it took to rip out her sisters neck. Persephone had only turned her head from the closest guest to see where the water had come from. It was so warm...
The sight of her sister lying on the floor, her life flooding from the large hole in her neck, caused the girl to freeze in place. Her body became stone as she tried to process what she was looking at. Even over her mother's screaming, Effy could still hear the gurgling breaths her sister made as her body struggled feebly, like a banked fish.
Her own screams sounded as she was grabbed and pinned in a rough manner than she'd ever been handled in her life. The pain was shocking, inside and out. With every fresh scream, she was shaken but the pain was nothing compared with seeing what they did to her mother. They hadn't believed she was pregnant... so worked to prove it. They were wrong and as the evidence was strewn around her home, Effy couldn't close her eyes to the horror show all around.
For some reason, they kept going to the sunflowers she'd picked earlier that day to cheer her mother up. Her sister and she had had to walk so far to get them too. And now they lay in pools of blood, petals only half hiding the tiny body that lay with them.
Mother and daughter fell silent together and Persephone did not make a single sound for the next six months. Not one, no matter how many methods were tried. Like a ghost, she merely existed, easily lead and ordered around, blank as a fresh blanket of snow settled over a pine forest. A dream for the slave traders and those who came after. She survived because of Perseus. And he survived because she gave him something to fight for, to protect, and to cure of her perpetual winter.
As Winter arrived, Percy began to despair. It was as if Persephone had died too, back there where the sweetest dream had ended and this nightmare had begun. Still, he trod his bitter path with determination, his patience finally rewarded one day when he'd found her on a frozen lake, giggling in the weak sunlight as she glided across the treacherous surface with such ease that it took his breath away. Hope. He was looking at hope for the very first time in his life. Before, he had never needed it, and in what had come after, it could not be found.
Ever so slowly, for longer and longer periods of time, the sister Percy had held in his memories emerged, practical untainted save for her continued struggle to speak and complete terror of being left alone in the dark. Her kind heart remained and somehow she managed to give such to their various array of 'owners', regardless of how it was reciprocated.
Effy never seemed capable of hating anyone, but every now and again, when he wasn't quick enough or strong enough to protect her, an anger emerged from her, even if only to defend herself. And later him. This troubled Percy deeply and he worked even harder to keep attention away from her, something that became more difficult as she grew. As they both grew. He took every bit of darkness, of damage, that he could to preserve every tiny drop of innocence left to her, losing his own in the process.
His empathy remained, his compassion even able to extend to his tormentors, with her example. Effy was not blind to his efforts and though she often felt powerless to change his fate, it did not stop her from trying. She would not allow Perseus to lose himself in his vow to her, and that, in time, became her vow to him.
Their second winter was far harsher than the first, harsher than what existed in the memories of all the wolves present. They suffered through the deepest parts of winter, losing condition and vitality but it wasn't until Persephones first season that Perseus realised that his time was up and they needed to make a move. And the terrible conditions created the perfect opportunity.
For nearly four months, they managed to evade capture. Several times they had close calls, and each time they fled, after creating more reasons to be pursued. Chased down, they only had one route of escape. A narrow gully with high sides. They just needed to jump across. A few more strides. Almost there... Effy turned her head as she made for the ledge, an automatic response to hearing his cry of pain, and the world dropped out from underneath her. Her right forepaw hit open air, her body still half turned as it drifted into the abyss below.
The crumpled, bleeding form gave her would-be captors as much information as they needed. Certain she would die, if she wasn't already dead, they left without a backwards glance. Persephone Saratos, twin sister to Perseus Sarantos, did die in the moment her head hit the ground. Or at least, the memory of her did. What was left behind were the purest pieces, held together with the icy prison she'd made herself the last time her world had shattered.
She was born in darkness, pain and terror. Alone, a stranger to herself but with a voice in her head telling her to get up, to run, and not stop until she was safe. She didn't know who the voice belonged to, but she knew she loved and trusted its owner. So, as she was so good at doing, the broken girl struggled to her paws and did as she was told.