Well, diversity is good. And speaking of diversity, I thought it was time I add someone unusual to the mix.

Tigre, have a shark... alien... chick... thing. XD

[hider=Bernadette Teaser]

[b]Name:[/b] Bernadette

[indent]Her real name is not possible to say with a human tongue, and there are no characters in any language of Earth which can express it. When written in her planet’s native tongue, the name sort of looks like ‘Bernadette’ with a few of the letters written wonky. So that is what the staff and other patients call her: Bernadette or Bernie.[/indent]

[b]Age:[/b] 24 (1 Engalaste Year = approximately 11 Earth Years)

[b]Gender:[/b] Female

[b]Species:[/b] Angkrillian

[indent]Angkrillians are native to planet Engalaste. This world is largely covered by water, either in great seas or filling the few landmasses with jungle-like swamps and bogs. Bernadette is part of the seafaring sect of the Angkrillian race. Whereas the inland Angkrillians are colored more in greens, golds and browns, those who dwell in open waters have skin in shades of shimmering blue and green and silver. Unlike their dark-haired land cousins, sea Angkrillians have hair in shades of silver and white.

Angkrillians are all capable of shapeshifting into beings of pure water, and can breathe both above and below the surface. This talent is much more pronounced in Sea-Dwellers. Occasionally the water that composes them drifts too far apart and cannot join back together. It is considered a great honor to have a member of one’s family die in this manner.[/indent]

[b]Appearance:[/b] Bernadette is five foot eight inches tall, and though her body is humanoid in shape -very lean, lithe, and well-curved- she is most definitely not human at first glance. Her eyes are shaped much like a human’s, but their irises are silver with a rather overlarge pupil. Her lips are thin, and when she smiles they reveal two rows of razor sharp teeth that resemble those of an Earth shark, but on a smaller scale. Most noticeably, her skin is an iridescent hue of pale blue, mottled with white and streaked with silver. Its texture is smooth but almost pebbly; sort of like a dolphin or whale’s skin here on Earth, and it feels damp -sometimes clammy- to the touch. Her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes are pure white that also shimmers very like mother-of-pearl.

[b]History:[/b]

[center][i]“As your Mother is water, so too shall you be water.
You will rush ever onward: do not stagnate, do not be still.
Let all the rubble filter out, leave it behind on the bottom.
To stop flowing is to die.”[/i][/center]

[indent]Sea-Dwelling mothers do not give birth, and do not raise their young. Nearly a quarter of them never even get around to breeding in the first place. They lay soft-shelled eggs in small pools on secluded islands near the center of the Great Sea. When the eggs grow big enough, the parents break them open by hand into the ocean… and their job is done. Angkrillian infants spend their first years operating largely by instinct in the shallow waters surrounding these islands. Once they are large enough, they brave the open sea. Many Angkrillian juveniles die at this point.

But Bernadette was not like the others. She waited for her mother and father to leave the island. She followed them. Deep out into the open water, where it was not safe for little ones. In her first memories, Bernadette’s mother turned on her. She saw her father reach out, either to stop the woman or to grab the girl, but he succeeded in neither. The mother kicked her daughter viciously, sent her speeding at a steep angle down and out into the dark water. Of course, a huge mouth opened to claim the babe.[/indent]
[/hider]

How's that for strange? I'm having [b]so much fun[/b] making her that I'm going a lot more in-depth with her CS than is strictly necessary, but I need to in order for one vital aspect of Bernie to be explained. She's not actually crazy. On her own planet, she's the most insane version of themselves that anyone could imagine... but if you put her on Earth and totally disregarded the language barriers, physical appearance and culture shock, she wouldn't be diagnosed with any mental illness. It will all be explained in the full CS. Which I will finish at some later point in time when I shouldn't be going to sleep. ;) [b]Edit:[/b] I also feel like I should mention that in my head, Bernadette's speaking voice sounds like she's originally from India and the Caribbean... somehow... XD

Also, I dunno what's up with all these girls. I feel like I need the next few of the Thirteen to be boys.

In the meanwhile, please enjoy a brief post... that is short and only effects Dante. LoL! Pum, now I have to finish Bernadette next because -twitch- I hate Works In Progress. I don't know what I'm going to do with Cadie, Jax and Buck. They're all in the Cafeteria and I want to leave them free for the moment, in case I need them to tie off any loose ends. ;) I should have something up for you in a few days, once I know what I need to write.

I know I've been slacking off a little lately, but when I say I'm sticking with it this time, I mean it. I don't mind a slow and steady pace, but I'm bound and determined that it will be [i]steady![/i]