Prologue, Aurelia
(This is just backstory for my OC main character for those into such things, real story starts next chapter!)
Aurelia Marie Tukoni was born February 19, 1993 to Anduin Samuel Tukoni and Marilyn Rebekah Jones. Andy's family hailed from proud Alaska, and Marilyn's from Texas, though Marilyn herself had never before they met, lived anywhere but Austin. Her parents met at Andrew's graduation ceremony from the USMC MWTC sniper school, which he attended with Marilyn's older brother Jonathan. Sparks flew between the tall, tan, and handsome 23 year old with the toned figure and strange colored hair and the willowy, porcelain, Texan brunette. She had spirit, and he admired it. To Marilyn, he was mysterious and rugged, and not to mention the single most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on. They began dating shortly after meeting and remained together, never officially tying the knot despite Andy's frequent proposals.
They eventually moved in together and had Aurelia, who inherited her father's naturally sun kissed skin, icy mint green eyes, and platinum blonde-brown hair, only getting Marilyn's natural loosely curled tresses. Aurelia was flawless, save her father's hereditarily pointed ears, which Marilyn never quite fully understood. She was undeniably his, and the two were inseparable from the start, taking countless daddy-daughter hunting trips, camping expeditions, and even his participating in her dance classes when he was home. He would accept an extra tour overseas here and there while Aurelia was growing up to provide extra income for the family so he'd know his daughter was well taken care of, especially in her younger years. He always enjoyed his work, and it gave him new stories to tell when he'd finally come home.
Wanting to make sure his daughter could take care of herself, Andy taught her from the moment she was old enough to hold a weapon, to shoot firearms, bows and arrows, you name it. He had even taught her how to throw knives one summer when she was 11. She learned how to clean and cook wild game, just as he had to back when he lived in the Alaskan wilderness with his own mother and father in his youth, so at least he would know that his daughter, given the worst circumstances, could take care of herself someday, though hopefully would never have to. He signed her up for any and all self-defense class she would stand to, which was more than necessary, and even a ballet class here and there, so she'd remember how to be a girl despite all the physical training. Aurelia was always a busy kid, so busy in fact with all the classes she took, that she never really made many lasting friends. She would, however, be content with her solitude, preferring it even, to the company of others.
Moving from Austin to the middle of nowhere country town of Kirvin, Texas at 12 had its advantages. Seclusion, places to hunt and fish with her dad within proximity, and space to explore on her own to name a few, but also the ultimate disadvantage of the ignorant people that inhabited it. At first she was teased for her ears and reclusive behavior, but she learned quickly to block it out. Everything remained fine until January 29th, 2006. When she heard the phone ring she was ecstatic, thinking it was her father calling to tell her he would be coming home for her 15th birthday like he'd promised, but when her mother answered the phone and began sobbing uncontrollably, she knew something was very wrong.
While on convoy back to their base, her father and his comrades were killed by a buried IED trap set along the road. Daddy would be coming home for her birthday like he'd promised, but in a wooden box. Her mother took it the hardest, abusing her sleeping medication to get through the nights alone. Once she had even fallen asleep at the wheel, narrowly avoiding an oncoming 18 wheeler, driving through the roads outer railing and wrapping her car around a light pole. After the accident, Aurelia's paternal grandmother, Isabel, took her in, keeping her in Dallas with her throughout the remainder of high school. She would audition and enroll Aurelia into the dance cluster of renowned arts academy Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in the city's downtown district, knowing that if anything could keep her busy, they could.
Aurelia would keep her grades up, graduate Salutatorian of the class 2011, major in ballet, and even manage to get herself a boyfriend along the way; a handsome young art major by the name of Nicholas, who she would later run away with after he joined the Navy. Nick would eventually be transferred to California, then Japan, as a medical corpsman, and Aurelia would happily travel close behind, holding on for dear life to the dying relationship. After about a year of being together in Japan, Nicholas grew weary of Aurelia insistence upon "waiting until they were married", cheated on her, and then dumped her for the other woman.
Too ashamed to go home, Aurelia remained in Tokyo, working in a small costume shop downtown, using her limited costume design knowledge to make her living. So for a while, slowly but surely, she was healing.
When spring turned to summer, and 2012 seemed to be going smoothly at last, tragedy struck Aurelia's life again. Her ever supportive grandmother died of heart failure. Flying home for the funeral, she discovered that her mother had moved on from sleeping medication to heroin. Also to her disdain, her mother married, without her knowledge, to an equally strung out ex-cop by the name of Todd Scott. When they went in for the reading of her will, Todd was luckily left behind, because Isabel had left her hidden fortune of remaining lottery winnings and good investments to her only blood descendant, Aurelia, along with the simple request that she make a better life for herself with it, and the assurance that herself and Aurelia's ancestors would always be watching over her.
In her process of mourning and new found wealth, would spend a portion of the staggering 227 million dollars on various tattoos and piercings, laser hair removal, and a new vehicle. She would also give a considerable amount to her mother, with the stipulation that it be used to improve her life, and not be wasted on her drug habit. Marilyn, of course, would fake sobriety for a few weeks until Aurelia left, then use what she could to maintain hers and her husband's filthy habit further, hiding from her still overwhelming depression over the loss of her beloved Anduin. Aurelia, after returning to Japan, would update her wardrobe, and then save the remainder of her money for a rainy day, only using her work money to pay what bills she had.