Ariel

Name: Ariel

Alias: Ariel (nicknamed "Kid" by Omar and "Ari-el" by Punz)

Age: 18

Family: Six sisters (Attina, Aquata, Arista, Adella, Alana, Andrina), mother (Athena, deceased), father (Triton), and cousin (Omar)

Knight of: Jesturma

Status: Single

History
Ariel's family was a rather disfunctional one. Her mother was labeled the Town Tart due to all of Ariel's sisters looking like the products of affairs. This label didn't take until after Athena's death, however, when Ariel was five. Due to this, Triton became almost obsessed with keeping as much of a good reputation for his family as possible. He sent his daughters to the best schools, got them a governess, and had them educated in music and other cultural things. Ariel wasn't interested in much of this stuff, however, and spent most of her time exploring sunken ships and going to the surface - which was strictly forbidden. She did gain an interest in languages and singing, though, and quickly mastered many tongues including Elvish and Latin, and becam quite the singer, along with learning to play the piano, harp, and guitar.

Ariel's escapades to the ships and surface greatly displeased her father, and the last straw was when she missed a music recital in favor of exploring a sunken ship she had just discovered. His pride greatly wounded, Triton threatened to send Ariel away to the mer equivalent of finishing school if she didn't get her act together. Not knowing of any other way to prove she could be responsible, Ariel applied to be either the bard or messenger for Jesturma at fourteen. Due to the corruption of the high priest, however, he gave the positions to two mergirls who undoubtedly offered him sexual favors (merpeople are like dolphins in that they mate instead of laying eggs) in return for getting some of the highest positions in society. However, Jesturma came down and promptly fired the high priest before appointing Ariel as both bard and messenger, giving her both jobs just to spite the high priest. And thus the responsible part of Ariel was born.

Serving Jesturma
Ariel served Jesturma faithfully for four years, her time with him making her more responsible and accountable. She was always punctual and arrived when he needed her, singing for him and delivering his messages to the rulers of other merkingdoms and towns. She never had to carry any messages to the other gods, as Puck took care of that.

A year or so after Ariel started working for him, Jesturma fell in love with Odette. During his courting of her, Ariel glimpsed Jesturma's softer side, and the realization that the gods too had real feelings (Ariel had been under the impression that the gods didn't feel much of anything, as before Jesturma had always been rather reserved) made her loyalty to him increase. But after Odette's rejection, Jesturma once again became cold and distant. For a few months, Ariel didn't see much of Jesturma, and so she resumed her exploration and investigation of the human world, much to her father's dismay.

When Jesturma finally started calling Ariel again for her duties as bard and messenger, he was once more the arrogant and cool god he had been before. But Ariel didn't lose hope that the gentler Jesturma she had glimpsed was still in there somewhere.

As the years passed, Jesturma slowy eased out of his cool demeaner, and Ariel finally grew into a young mermaid (she was a late bloomer). She continued to serve Jesturma faithfully, and she catered to his every whim when it came to music. She was glad to see him coming out of his shell, but she unfortunately missed some very important signs.

Jesturma was falling for her.

Ariel had very little experience when it came to romance - as none of the merboys seemed really interested in her when she was in her early-teens (late bloomer, remember?) and when she finally blossomed, they seemed too scared to even talk to her - so she wouldn't have been able to recognize the signs had they been shoved right in her face. And so she remained blissfully unaware of Jesturma's growing obsession with her.

Joining the Knights
It was around Ariel's eighteenth birthday when Jesturma bestowed his gift upon her. He told her that it was a reward for all her years of faithful service, and though Ariel protested that she needed no reward, Jesturma insisted upon it. And so Jesturma gave Ariel the ability to control the tides and water with her voice. By singing she could create waves of enormous sizes and whirlpools and currents. Delighted, Ariel quickly swam home and demonstrated her powers to her sisters and father. However, they weren't as pleased or excited as she'd hoped they'd be.

Remember how Triton was obsessed with the family rep? Well, he thought that if word got out that Ariel had been given an extraordinary power by Jesturma, rumors would circulate about what Ariel did to exactly deserve that gift as Jesturma wasn't exactly known for his generosity. Triton didn't want his family's reputation to be tainted even more, so he (and her sisters) pressured Ariel to ask Jesturma to take it back. Now, the thing about gods is that you don't question their gifts. If you look a gift-horse in the mouth it bites your head off. If you ask the gods to take back one of their gifts, you look ungreatful. And the gods aren't forgiving to those who are ungreatful. Ariel knew this, and tried to explain it to her sisters and father, but they refused to listen. They started ostracising Ariel, and this pained her greatly. Omar was the only one who didn't shun Ariel, but he lived in a neighboring mertown, so Ariel only saw him rarely.

Eventually, Ariel couldn't take the alienation any longer and ran away. But before she did she requested one thing from Jesturma: to join his knights. He was a little taken back at first, but he consented.

Ariel was the first to join Jesturma's knights, eventually followed by Dimitri, Alice, Kida, and Katara. Due to her being the first, and her history with Jesturma, Ariel became the unofficial Team Mom and leader. However, Ariel has only told the knights half of her story - she replaced the part about "preserving the family reputation" with a different story - her family shunned her because they were afraid of her powers, as Jesturma is the god of curses. They didn't understand, so they feared. She thought it sounded less harsh than the truth.

Relationship with Other Knights/Characters
Alice - Ariel views Alice as a good friend, little sister, even a daughter. Ariel is extremely protective of Alice, helping her with controlling her powers, teaching her spells and Elvish, and trying to find a cure to Alice's demon problem. Ariel and Alice also bond over their fascination with elves, going on trips to find them and Ariel telling Alice all of the stories and lore she's read about them. Ariel also cleans up any misconceptions about the elves (making toys for Santa, baking cookies in trees, etc.). Alice also was there to lend moral support when Ariel was still freaking out about the dream Jesturma sent her.

Kida - Kida's like a sister to Ariel, lending advice when Ariel didn't know what to do about Jesturma and Ariel lending moral support when Kida found out about her mom. Ariel is unaware that Kida agreed to tell Macalli who Jesturma was pining after in return for his help in bringing her mother back from limbo.

Katara - Like another sister to Ariel (they actually have dubbed each other sisters) Ariel and Katara are close friends. Ariel helped Katara retrieve the crystal trident that Katara needed to get Aang back, and comforted Kat after Macalli used the items to put Falia into a coma. Kat was also there to help Ariel when she was stressing about Jesturma's dream.

Omar - They're cousins, though they don't really look it, due to Omar being part dog. But they're related, nonetheless, and they have a sort of brother-sister dynamic. Omar genuinjely cares for Ariel, though he doesn't show it (showing feelings isn't badass) and Ariel genuinely cares for Omar. They tease each other, they bug each other, they get along better than most siblings (i.e. Katara and Sokka) but that's probably due to the fact that they haven't spent all of their lives around each other.

Rapunzel - Punz is perhaps Ariel's closest friend outside of her own group of Knights. The friendship started with Ariel hugging Punz whenever she saw her, and then Ariel dubbing Rapunzel "Punz." Their friendship grew as Ariel teased Rapunzel mercilessly about her crush on Jim, and eventually they became best pals. Punz and Ariel also go on trips to see the elves together, and Ariel is currently trying to help Punz with her own alternate personality problem.

Mowgli - Ariel met Mowgli when he followed Punz to the Cookie Room one day, and she immediately took a liking to him. And him to her. Whenever they had a party Ariel always made a point of dancing with Mowgli (provided he was there), and she always included him in discussions. Eventually, Mowgli developed a little schoolboy crush on Ariel, which she was unaware of until he got the guts to tell her. Unfortunately, Ariel was so in shock and trying so hard to not hurt Mowgli's feelings that she never straight up told him "not interested." Afterwords, she proceeded to unintentionally leading him on, which led him to drinking an agin potion in hopes of having a better chance with her. This forced Ariel to tell Mowgli that she didn't have any romantic feelings for him, which promptly crushed him. Thanks to some sparkly powder from Punz he changed back, but things were still tense between him and Ariel. He was heartbroken, and she felt like a big jerk. Whilst Mowgli was singing an angsty love song, Ariel muttured "If he were still a teen I'd kiss him just to make myself feel like less of a jerk." Apparantly Punz heard, and jokingly told Mowgli after Ariel had left, which led Mowgli to running off to find another aging potion. Long story short, Mowgli angered a demon, and Punz, Ariel, Omar, Rora, Peter, Jane, Ashi, and the ghost of Shang came to the rescue. Ariel went all badass, but got injured in the process. As did Mowgli (who was a teen due to drinking the potion again). After the demon had been defeated, Ariel kissed Mowgli, saying that although she'd never love him the way he wanted her to, he could be content with having her first kiss. He turned back into a kid thanks to Punz's sparkly dust, and their relationship has gone back to a cute brother-sister thing.

Cale - Ariel didn't know Cale that well at first, but when she found out that Omar was old friends with him, she slowly got to know him better. She's been teaching him how to swim, and he gave her a little moral support when she was feeling like a jerk for leading Mowgli on.

Milo - Ariel and Milo are nerd buddies. She invited him to come with her, Alice, Punz, Mowgli, Omar, and Rora on their little adventure to find the elves, and they geek out over spells. She's missed him since he's "gone out to Jane's village to help the sick people" and she can't wait to show him the entire dead newt that Rora killed.

Jane Porter - Another nerd buddie of Ariel's. They talk to each other in Elvish. All the time. Ariel's been giving Jane friendly support with Jane's little crush on Omar, and Jane's been giving Ariel help with her dreams. Though Jane did only add to Ariel's confusion a little: when Ariel commented on how she shouldn't be having these kinds of dreams about Jesturma, Jane reassured Ariel that it was alright, and that even she thought Jesturma was "a little sexy." Ariel was just concerned with this other side of his personality he was showing! She hadn't felt the physical attraction at all. . . until Jane said those words. XD

(In case you haven't noticed, Ariel is unaware that Jane and Milo are the same person.)

Aurora - Ariel is fond of Aurora, despite her affinity for blood and guts. Ariel actually finds it. . . almost humorous. Plus, Ariel can't bring herself to dislike Aurora after her violent tendancies led to Ariel aquiring an entire dead newt. Nerd moment!

Mulan - Ariel is extremely fond of Mulan, especially since Mulan tried to train Ariel to be a ninja. It didn't exactly work out, but they've been buds ever since.

Chel - Ariel likes the witch, and considers her to be a good friend. They worked together to help repress McGee when she first appeared, and they like exchanging knowledge about spells and such. When Chel was posessed by Mandy, she stole Ariel's voice, but Ariel was able to access her magic without it, and was able to put Chel back in control of her body. Ariel has been looking for a cure to the Mandy problem since.

Peter - Ariel thinks that Peter can be a bit of an idiot sometimes, but she's still quite fond of him.

Jane Darling - Ariel doesn't know why Jane is marrying Arthur, as she thinks Jane and Peter belong together.

Ashitaka (Ashi) - Ariel likes Ashi. She thinks he's sweet and even a little cute. He's also a great dancer. Along with Mowgli, Ariel also makes a point of dancing with Ashi at every party they have (provided Ashi's there) And Ashi may or may not have a little crush on Ariel, but she'd be the last to know due to her inexperience with this kind of stuff.

Sokka - Ariel pretty much agrees with everyone in that when he tries to be funny, he isn't, and when he isn't trying he is funny.

Aang - Not that well aquainted with him, but the fact that he's Katara's reason for fighting is enough to put him on Ariel's good side.

Odette - Ariel feels a bond of sorts with Odette, due to them both having been the object of obsession of Jesturma. She's offered Odette advice when it came to her dream about Dali, and Ariel sees Odette as a possibility of what her own future could look like. And that scares Ariel.

Meg and Melody - Ariel's talked with them a few times, and she likes them well enough. Is hoping to have some mermaid talk with Melody some time.

Miguel and Tulio - Ariel is very fond of Miguel, and as a result exploded on Tulio when he refused to tell Miguel his feelings. Ariel didn't like seeing Miguel hurt, but she also thought Tulio was acting like a big baby: "I've got a god obsessing over me, and you're worried about this?" She didn't actually say that, though.

Relationships with the Gods
Jesturma - Ariel is extremely loyal to Jesturma, as she has served him for years. However, she's starting to question her feelings for him, due to a sexy dream he sent her. Ariel's extremely unsure of what to do about Jesturma's feelings for her, so she's yet to give him a straight answer. However, he's recently been showing more of his softer, kinder side lately, and this has been making Ariel even more unsure of her feelings. She likes this new side she sees, and she fears that she's falling for him. Hard.

Falia - Ariel really likes Falia. The earth goddess is so kind and gentle to everyone. . . it's hard not to like her. Which is why Ariel's so intent on helping to gather all the stones to help revive Falia.

Dali - Ariel's a bit unsure about Dali - Zuko's her hellhound, and Ariel likes Zuko plenty, but Dali also instigated the destruction of Kida's people and the murder of Aang. Ariel's undecided about Dali.

Macalli - Ariel's terrified of him. He scares her out of her wits.