AGE — Eighteen

NATION — Fire and Water Nation

BIRTHPLACE — A small Earth Kingdom village on the Northwest coast, above many villages used for trade with the Fire Nation.
 

FACE CLAIM (+BACKUP) — Paris Berelc (Malese Jow)
 

PERSONALITY — 

Yang, sun, fire, maculaine || Tikaani has a fire inside her. Not literally, of course, but that doesn't make it any less real. Anything that Tikaani does, she puts her entire soul into. Sometimes, she cares too much. Sometimes, she's too emotional. For some, Tikaani can be a bit intense. People don't understand how she can always put her heart and soul into everything and anything. Whether it be bending, or her people's cultures, she never goes in half-cocked or treats them half-heartedly. She lives by her passions. She lets them consume her and she follows their callings. People worry that one day her fire and passion will just dwindle and go out. But, that is a worry for another time.

Tikaani is unwavering in her dedication to whatever she's set her mind to. It may take awhile to achieve her goal, but she won't stop until she sees it through. She does not yield to any obstacle in her path and will always find a way. She has a powerful will that can't be destroyed. She stands by her friends and her beliefs. But, she knows she can't always face problems head on. Tikaani is quick on her feet and is a fast thinker. She knows how to make the best out of a bad situation. She's clever and finds new ways to make things work. Such has been her whole bending life. 

There's definitely a fire in Tikaani's soul - fire, lightning, and ash that swirl around inside her. This deadly cocktail sometimes - more often than she'd care to admit - makes itself known. Her passions can cause her to see red. It isn't entirely hard to set off Tikaani's temper, and once you have, you best take cover. She has no problem making someone feeld small and will cut you down with harsh words coated in venom. She doesn't take people's feelings into mind when she spews such words. Tikaani doesn't just ignore people's feelings, she doesn't care about them. She can be fairly rude and she doesn't give a shirsu's . She has a knack for poking people in an irritating manner. It's not that she tries, mind you, but it doesn't excuse the fact that she can be a . She's so steadfast in her ways and her beliefs, that she doesn't pay any mind to those with differing opinions, or she simply tells them they're wrong even if they're not. Trying to get Tikaani to apologize for this behavior is like pulling teeth. It's extremely rare to hear her say "I'm sorry" or "I apologize". It's very hard for her to admit that she was a or rude, so if you do recieve an apology, count yourself as lucky. Outside of training - and sometimes concerning training - Tikaani believes there's no time to waste. She's impatient and sometimes, she can't sit still. Tikaani's never been satisfied with sitting back and doing nothing. When she first started her pseudo-waterbending training and her mom started her out with breathing excercises, Tikaani nearly screamed. She even confronted her mom about what she thought was stupid breathing exercises; her mom responded with, 'You want to stop breathing?'

Yin, moon, water, feminine || Tikaani is very loyal to those who have earned her trust. Almost loyal to a fault. To her friends and people she deems as 'family' she will stand by their side through hell or high water. When everyone else is against them, even if she knows her friends or family are wrong, she'll have their back and protect them if need be. Tikaani would risk her life for those she is loyal to. She doesn't trust people easily, mind you. But, when she trusts someone, she trusts them completely. Tikaani is the type of person you would want in a bind. She is someone that can be counted on, especially in a tough situation. She's always where she needs to be and can be trusted to do what needs to be done. 

But, her loyalty isn't blind. If someone does something to lose her trust, it's probably the worse thing for that person. She'd no longer trust them in pretty much anything. And it's nearly impossible to regain her trust. Maybe not impossible, but very difficult. She doesn't instantly distrust or trust someone when she first meets them. She gives the person time in hopes so she could see their true character. She isn't quick to judge, because she is a prime example of a book not matching its cover. But, she does jude those who have personally wronged her. She is not one to forgive and forget. Like it was mentioned, Tikaani's trust is very hard to earn back. Tikaani is a highly critical person. She always thinks she can do better and anything shy of perfect, is considered . Every little detail is over-analyized and picked to its barest parts. Nothing is ever good enough for her, no matter what. She's a perfectionist and everyone and everything has to meet her standards, including herself. She doesn't let the fact that she wasn't trained by a master or even a waterbender become an excuse for her. She never gives herself a moment to appreciate all that she's accomplished. If Tikaani expects perfection, then it better be perfection. And even though she comes off like she doesn't care, she is overly-sensitive of what people think about her. The opinions of others, no matter how much she wishes this wasn't the case, matter greatly to her. You may tell her that her fighting form is and she will remember that for days, weeks, even months. Every word, she remembers and uses against herself when she doesn't get something right. She holds herself to incredibly high standards and will take every criticism to heart.

Though her movements might suggest something else, Tikaani can flow. She is quick to change her stradegy when she realizes something isn't working. She can adjust to changing conditions swifty and with ease. Water is the element of change, afterall, and Tikaani embodies that concept. It is not just fighting where Tikanni can adapt, but in any situation. She is not set in one way, knowing that stagnating leads to predictability. Though she lets no obstacle stand in her way, she doesn't just charge head in. At the first sign of resistance, Tikaani will change her ways until something works.

Harmony || There are many sides to every person and Tikaani is a prime example. Shaped by varying cultures, Tikaani embraces all aspects of her dual nationality. She is neither fire or water, solely, but a fusion of the two. It's easy to try and break her down into one or the other, but she is more than her parts. She is Tikaani, born of water and trained in fire. 
 

BACKGROUND — 

Tikaani's story does not begin with her birth, but rather, nearly three decades ago with a young woman named Siyeng and a young man named Tirran. Siyeng was a skilled firebender and was a Captain in the Fire Nation Army. She did her job well and didn't question her orders... At first. When she had originally enlisted in the military, Siyeng believed that everything the Fire Nation did was glorious and that they were somehow superior to the rest of the world. Having lived in the mainland, she had encountered a plethora of propoganda. Siyeng had entered the war thinking it was something glamorous. As her part in the war continued, the woman began to doubt her Fire Lord's mission, however. She began to believe what they were doing was wrong as she watched the carnage her garrison left in its wake. The war was not as magnificent as it had appeared from far away. Siyeng had been deceived. This was not what she wanted nor expected. She had thought she would be bringing culture and civilization to the other nations, but, instead, she was destroying theirs. Years began to tick by and Siyeng decided enough was enough. During a raid of an Earth Kingdom village with known resistence fighters, Siyeng managed to pull away from her men. She found a young Earth Kingdom woman of similar build who had suffered a fatal stab to her abdomen. Siyeng removed the young woman's clothes as well as her own and switched them. Siyeng, now adorning pale greens instead of harsh reds, lit the body of the young woman on fire. The flames at her skin and removed any distinguishing features that would cause people to think she was still alive. And with that, Siyeng was gone.

Siyeng had made her way north and found a small village hidden away by trees on nearly all sides. There was no way to see the village unless you were already before it. She took up residence in the village but kept to the outskirts, closer to the coast. The villagers could see past the clothes she wore and knew she was from the Fire Nation. The villagers would cast hateful glances and harsh words but did nothing more to the woman. There were no earthbenders amongst the villagers and no one was brave enough to confront the woman from the Fire Nation. They prayed and hoped that if they left the woman alone she wouldn't harm them. They noticed how she kept herself, arrived by herself, and hid herself in Earth Kingdom clothes. They hoped there was a reason for her secretiveness, and that if they just left her alone she would leave them alone. Siyeng did nothing to them. She simply wanted to live in peace. The "relationship" Siyeng had with the villagers rested on the edge of a knife. She constantly feared being discovered or simply having the villagers attack her one day; the villagers feared that one day she'd set their houses on fire. Everyone was constantly on edge. To an outside eye, it would appear that they were waiting on the other to make the first move. For the first couple of months that Siyeng lived in the village, she had trouble sleeping. She constantly worried about having a mob of villagers descend upon her house. They were weary of each other, but fell into a cautious routine. She made every attempt to perform actions that would come across as non-threatening. She would move slow and deliberately in hopes not to spook the villagers. The villagers, who feared her wrath should they not succeed in managing to kill her if they did attack, kept a close eye on her. Siyeng managed to cement her relationship with the villagers whn an expeditionary force came to their village by sea. They came in small wooden ships, not the giant, metal war ships. The men's task was to locate any villages left not under Fire Nation control so they can be promptly placed under Fire Nation control. Siyeng was not about to have her identity or her location discovered by those she had just fled from. She would be branded a deserter of the Fire Nation Army and would probably be imprisioned or executed. Before the men could send out a messenger hawk, Siyeng promptly set the ships on fire. The men had no idea what had happened and were trapped on the boat. The flames burned so hot that there was practically nothing left, just a few charred scraps of wood. From then on out, the villagers saw Siyeng as their protector, their savior. Many more expeditionary forces came to their villager, but Siyeng thwarted every one.

During this time, Tirran was in his native Northern Water Tribe. He was a warrior and skilled waterbender. He had been tasked with patrolling the gate. Of the men stationed atop the gate, Tirran was the most skilled and most experienced; he was their leader. One day, someone approached Tirran and told him his sister, Talisi, was violently ill and the healers didn't know if she would pull through. Tirran rushed to his sister's side and comforted her the best he could. He was a concerned and caring older brother. But, he forgot for a moment that he was a warrior and that his duty to his people came before his own family. A few Fire Nation war ships had come upon the Northern Water Tribe. It was nothing that couldn't be handled, but there were casualties. Some of his men had parrished due to their lack of experience and being unprepared without their leader. Tirran was brought before the Chief and was banished from the Northern Water Tribe for having abandoned his post and being partially responsible for the lost of Water Tribe lives. So, Tirran travelled south to the Earth Kingdom. He had no idea where he'd go; the Southern Water Tribe was out of the question, and most of the Earth Kingdom was ruled by the Fire Nation. But, he didn' have much of a choice.

Tirran sailed to the Northwestern coast of the Earth Kingdom. With nothing but a small canoe to his name and the clothes on his back, Tirran beached the canoe upon the sandy bay, hid it, and proceeded inland. He quickly came upon a small village that was hidden by trees on all sides. He made his way into the village center and main market. Tirran looked around and began to think this secluded little village could be his new home. As he looked around, he noticed someone who was most definitely not from the Earth Kingdom. 'Fire Nation scum,' he called out, facing the woman. Siyeng turned to the man and said nothing. It was an older couple who spoke up in defense of the woman. 'Young man, this is Siyeng. She keeps us safe from the army. She deserves respect.' 'She will find none from me,' Tirran spat back. He stalked off back towards the coast, preparing to leave the village. As he pulled out the canoe he had been hiding, a sword was at his throat. 'What do we have here?' Tirran turned to see what was an expeditionary Fire Nation force on the sandy shores of the bay. Before he could speak, a blast of fire flew past him and towards the boats. Everyone was startled by the fire as Siyeng emerged from the woods. She began to fight the other Fire Nation soldiers and soon Tirran joined in and they were able to destroy the expeditionary force.

Tirran still was not a fan of Siyeng but relented that she was, indeed, protecting the village. He stayed in the village and continued to assist the only other warrior in keeping the Fire Nation at bay. They became warriors in arms and soon their begrudging respect turned to more. They could rely on one another in battle and soon they turned to one another for assistance in day-to-day issues. Eventually, they were seen together often and praised as the protectors of the village. In time, they came to care for one another, but it eventually turned to passion and love. They moved in together and soon Siyeng had given birth to three children; the oldest was a boy named Sakkon; the middle child was another boy named Sinrok; the youngest child was a girl named Tikaani. All three later discovered they were waterbenders. When Tirran found out that his two sons possessed waterbending abilities, he set about teaching them. When he found out Tikaani possessed the same type of abilities, he refused to teach her. Tirran followed the old traditions of the North and believed women should not be trained as waterbenders and should spend their time learning to heal. Tikaani had to learn to heal on her own, considering there were no other female waterbenders around. She was able to learn by sheer trial and error, but she wanted to do more. She wanted to learn how to bend and be a fighter.

Siyeng took pity on her daughter, and when the young girl was around eight years old, she took her daughter aside and told her she would teach her. Unfortunately, Siyeng did not know how to train a waterbender, so she managed with what she did know. She trained Tikaani as she would any firebender. Siyeng taught her daughter breathing excercises and took her through all the basic firebending forms; it was definitely different than the flowing and 'push-and-pull' motions of traditional waterbenders. Tikaani struggled for awhile; this was not how waterbenders moved. But, she made it work. Her waterbending was fierce and powerful, but she could control it. She would watch her brothers perform a certain move and learn to recreate it in her own pseudo-waterbending style. Anything they could to do, Tikaani could do; it just looked weird. Water is the element of change, so in a way, Tikaani embodies the purest concept of waterbending by being adaptable.

Tikaani continued her firebending waterbending training for the next ten years, but she also spent time to hone in on her healing abilities. She trained and worked hard to make her parents proud. Her mother was exceedingly proud of the young woman she raised, but Tirran was still upset and against her learning to bend. As news of the Fire Nation's successful invasion of the Northern Water Tribe reached the family, Tikaani began to become outspoken about her family's position in this war. Tikaani was not ignorant to the suffering across the world that was inflicted by the Fire Nation; she knew about villages being burnt to the ground and other benders being enslaved or simply killed. Even though their little village had been untouched by the war, one didn't need to travel too far to see the remnants of the destruction. Tikaani believed that a family of skilled benders, including herself - though her father would never admit it - should be doing more than protecting one village. She thought that they should be conducting raids of their own and eradicating the Fire Nation's forces. Siyeng agreed with her daughter, but Tirran disagreed. He believed that if they were safe that was enough - even though protecting his family is what got him banished, he still believed family came first. Tikaani argued that they couldn't hide forever; someone, at some point, was bound to find them. Tikaani is biding her time, waiting until she can leave and take on the Fire Nation Army.

SKILLS — 
— Pseudo-Waterbending || Though her forms are very different, Tikaani is still an accomplished waterbender. She'll probably never be recognized as a master due to her firebending-esque fighting style, but she will be powerful. Whereas most waterbenders use their opponent's power against them, Tikaani takes a more head-on approach. Sure, she's agile and nimble and can dodge and dance out of the way of attacks, but she doesn't exchange that for power. She uses both her power and her agility. Many wonder how she's even capable of moving the water at all, and at first, Tikaani wondered the same thing. But, like water, she learned to adapt and she continues to adapt. Though she is unaware of it, Tikaani has inadvertantly created new moves and forms for waterbending. She believes she's simply tweaking exsisting techniques, but instead, they're completely new because no one before her used such a... unique style.

— Healing || Just like her waterbending, Tikaani never had a proper teacher to train her in the ways of healing, but she's made due. She had realized she had the ability to heal when she was practicing her pseudo-waterbending. She had made a wrong move and the stream of water she was working with went in the wrong direction and ending up hitting her leg so hard it broke the skin. She had dropped down into the water (she had been in the bay) and held her hand over the cut on her shin. It stung like a . Then, suddenly, the water around her hands began to glow and she when she moved them away, her shin was healed. She's become the residential healer in the village and has had a lot of practice because of it; however, she can only manage to heal cuts and very minor injuries. She doesn't know how to improve her healing; unlike her pseudo-waterbending, where she's made due with her mom training her, Tikaani realizes she needs an actual teacher to learn healing.

— Herbs/Medicine || While learning all she could about healing, Tikaani inevidently picked up on various plants and their abilities. She knows which plants will heal, poison, or are edible - at least within parts of the Earth Kingdom. She learned how to make salves and medicine out of plants.

— Tracking || Siyeng didn't jus teach her daughter waterbending, but everything she knows. During her time in the Fire Nation Army, she was an adept tracker. She was capable of tracking just about anyone and anything. Tikaani knows some of the basics and can manage in a tight spot, but it might take a long while. She can read some signs, but she does miss alot as well. 

— Father | Tirran | 63 | Unofficial protector of the village | Strict, traditional, hard-working
Tikaani's relationship with her father is strained, at best. Of course, she loves him, he's her father and he'll always have her back. But, he doesn't support her training to be a waterbender. He wants her to stop and follow traditions while Tikaani wants to fight. They are seen arguing more often than not because of this issue. When they're not arguing, they're not talking. Arguing seems to be their only form of interaction. Tirran's traditions infuriate Tikaani and any time her father opens his mouth and starts talking about traditions, Tikaani just wants to storm out of the house.

— Mother | Siyeng | 58 | Unofficial protector of the village | Passionate, resourceful, controlled
Tikaani is very close with her mother. Tikaani appreciates everything her mother has done for her. She respects her and listens to her... most of the time. Siyeng had always wanted a firebender for a child so she can teach them her ways, but having taught Tikaani allows her to feel like she has done just that. The two are often seen together, whether it be patrolling the bay or wandering through the village. Tikaani sees her mom as her best friend and her closest ally. Siyeng is her mentor and guide.

— Brothers | Sakkon & Sinrok | 24 & 21 | Unofficial protectors of the village | Annoying... Reliable, confident, humorous
Tikaani is jealous of her brothers. She wished she could have been properly trained by their father. The relationship between her and her brothers has become slightly more strained over the years. When they were just kids, they acted as any siblings would. Sure, they annoyed the ever-living out of one another, but they had fun and were always there for one another. Nowadays, that's not always the case. Sakkon and Sinrok will still protect and look out for their baby sister, but their views regarding her waterbending have been shaped by their father. They, too, believe she shouldn't be bending and that it should be left to the men. The three siblings can still have civil conversations with one another, but they don't really hang out anymore

Development

Tikaani struggles to come to grips with who she is. Is she Fire Nation? Water Tribe? Earth Kingdom? She doesn't know who she is or what her place in this world is. She eventually realizes that she is not one of these, but all. She is her own person who, at the same time, has ties to all nations and to none. She accepts that she may never truly fit in anywhere due to her differences and she learns that maybe she wasn't meant to fit in, instead she was meant to stand out.