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[h2][color=E7A653]Nora Darby[/color][/h2]
[img]http://i60.tinypic.com/1zd4x1g.jpg[/img]
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[b][color=E7A653]Name:[/color][/b]
Eleanor “Nora” Darby

[b][color=E7A653]Age:[/color][/b]
23

[b][color=E7A653]Gender:[/color][/b]
Female

[b][color=E7A653]Race:[/color][/b]
Human

[b][color=E7A653]Appearance:[/color][/b]
She has a few white spots on the sides of her thighs.

[b][color=E7A653]Magic:[/color][/b]
Nora has gained the ability to transform into a deer. This makes her, both in her deer-form as well as in her human-form, fast, nimble, and agile. This way she can move a lot easier, not only moving quicker, but she can also reach places she hadn’t been able to reach before. Nora found out that in her deer-form she seems to have a soothing effect on both humans and animals, but mostly animals. She can also call out to other deer for help, and later she will be able to call out to other animals as well. This way she can cause a stampede of animals and trample that which is threatening her.

[b][color=E7A653]Equipment:[/color][/b]
A Swiss army knife, for practical use mostly. She also often carries her camera with her.

[b][color=E7A653]Personality:[/color][/b]
Nora is somewhat serious and slightly reserved, but often loosens up after a few drinks at the bar. She is friendly to most and likes helping people out. Nora loves being outdoors, mostly hiking and taking pictures of the scenery. After a long day of work, be it her job as a general practitioner or be it hiking, she likes to sit down and relax, either at the bar, or at home, reading a book or sometimes writing something herself. She is also a bit of a dreamer.

[b][color=E7A653]History:[/color][/b]
Nora grew up rather happily on the countryside together with her father and older sister. Her mother had died a few days after giving birth to Nora, so sadly they never got to know each other, and thus she doesn’t remember a single thing of her. Nora only has an old photo of her, standing next to her father. Years later she would find a box with dozens of photos her mother had taken, which inspired her to start taking photographs as well.

Growing up on the countryside, Nora’s father learned her from a young age how to take good care of herself. She would often help out her father doing his daily tasks, but even more often she would be playing outside with her older sister. As she got older she got less playful and more serious. When she graduated from high school she decided she wanted to go study medicine, for which she needed to move to the city. She moved into a small flat and focused on her study, rather than socializing a whole lot. Over time she started to miss the countryside though, so when she was done with her study and had earned a bit of money working as a general practitioner, she moved back, buying a not too spacious, but still big enough place for herself on the edge of both rural and urban region. It was close to nature, yet also not too far from her job.

One day when she was about to head home, one of Nora’s colleagues asked her to visit a patient who had called and who lived in the direction of her home, just a bit further. Nora accepted the request and got into her car.
After a few hours of driving she found herself completely lost. Although the residence of the patient wasn’t supposed to be much further than her own home, she appeared to be in an isolated area. She stepped up a hill and peered into the distance. Not a single sole could be seen for miles.
Suddenly, she heard a soft rustling which originated from the bushes. Cautiously, she reached for her Swiss army knife. A tawny figure jumped from out of the green shelter. Nora flicked her knife open, defensively reaching it out in front of her, only to face the dark eyes of a deer. Surprised it didn’t run off, she stared into its calm eyes, as if enchanted. Not wanting to scare it, she slowly retreated her knife. The doe stood still for another moment, before gently stepping aside, but keeping eye contact. The animal made another few steps, then paused and looked ahead, as if it were to run off any moment. But once again, it looked at Nora, as if it didn’t want to leave her. Or maybe... as if it wanted Nora follow her? Now Nora didn’t believe in fairy tales and all that, but having no other options, she couldn’t think of a reason how following a deer could do any harm. She would switch on the headlights of her car so that, were she to get lost, she could find her way back. As she approached the animal, it leaped forward, nimbly touching the ground beneath its feet, and came to a stop a few meters ahead. Nora started to run after it, almost stumbling over the rocks and twigs, scattered over the mossy soil. The deer continued its way, stopping every now and then, as if to make sure Nora was still following. And she did. She followed the deer, its every step, its every movement, almost entranced. Then abruptly, she lost sight of the doe. Bewildered and panting she looked around, trying to get a glimpse of where the animal had gone, when a large cabin caught her eye. She paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath, before walking up to the door. She rang the bell. She could hear footsteps from inside drawing near. An elderly man opened up. “Are you the doctor?” he asked her in a soft voice. It took Nora a moment before the words of the man got to her. She was perplexed. “Yes, yes, I am,” she answered and got inside the man’s house.

Half an hour later she had done her job and was back inside her car again, on her way home. By now, the sun had started to set, and the patches of clouds that partly covered the sky had become of a warm shade of pink. Staring at the road in front of her, Nora thought over the strange event. As she pondered about it, she lost track of what was going on in front of her, when suddenly her headlights caught the flash of an animal crossing the road. She slammed her brakes on but it was too late; the last thing she saw right before she shut her eyes tightly was the vision of a deer. Then came the loud thud.
As she slowly opened her eyes, a bright light was the first thing that welcomed her. From out of the brightness, a dark figure stepped forwards, approaching her. She squinted her eyes, trying to focus her sight, but it didn’t work. She wanted to stand up, but she felt too weak. Her body hurt. The figure leaned in. A young woman with ginger hair and mist green eyes. Her eyes widened and she could now fully perceive the person in front of her; herself. She looked down at her body and saw hoofs. Her vision became blurry again, before everything turned black.

The next morning she woke up and found she was still in her car, on the same road. In front of her, no deer could be seen. Not a sign. Drowsily, she stretched a bit, before finally going home. When she arrived, the first thing she wanted to do was take a shower. She looked and felt like a mess. As she stripped down, she noticed odd markings on her thighs. She looked in the mirror. White spots. She looked down at her leg again, inspecting the markings. As she looked up again her heart skipped a beat. In the mirror was the reflection of a deer. She looked down at her legs and saw that indeed it was her.
As soon as she had turned back to her human state she called in sick. She needed to find out what this was all about, but more importantly, she needed to control it. It took her two weeks to manage to fully master it.

Not much later Nora stumbled across the abandoned bar by accident, and found relief in the people that came there. She now frequently comes to the bar after work for a sip and a chat.

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It had been a long and rather busy day at the doctor’s office. Nothing worth mentioning had happened; a boy with a dislocated shoulder, a woman with an ear infection, a man with gallstones, and so on. There were days however, although rare, that a patient came in with less ordinary complaints. Strange markings, ultra-realistic dreams, or not being able to sleep at all were examples of such complaints.

Before the accident, Nora Darby, one of the general practitioners working at the doctor’s office, would have taken these cases lightly: probably just flea- or tick-bites, a wild, drunk night, and stress or too much caffeine.
But now that she knew of such extraordinary cases such as herself, now that she really started to believe all of the rumours about magical creatures wandering the streets and alleys of London, she couldn’t help but wonder if those complaints did not have a supernatural cause.
Could the markings perhaps be due to a werewolf or vampire? (But then, do not most people usually not survive a werewolf attack, or become one of them, if they have been infected by the scratch or bite of one of these beings?) Maybe the ultra-realistic dream had been a vision from a spirit, trying to get in contact with them, or maybe it had not been a dream at all, but rather something real but which had seemed so unrealistic, so dream-like, that the person had taken it for a dream? And could the lack of sleep possibly be the cause of a demon, lurking in the shadows, pressing a weight on their mind, making them unable to sleep?

All these thoughts had crosses Nora’s mind innumerable times during the first few months after the accident, after the evening she encountered a deer which had led her to her destination, the same deer which she had later crashed into with her car on that same evening, only to find herself have gained the ability to transform into the same animal the morning she woke up.
She had wondered if she wasn’t starting to lose her sanity. Surely it was natural that the event had left a big impact on her, but was she not taking things a bit too far?

Almost a year later Nora had stumbled across a bar, unlike any of those she had entered before. The place confirmed the idea she had had over the past few months, that it was impossible for her to be the only person in all of London with such an unusual gift. It had given her mind some peace, now that she knew, and from then on she starte to frequently visit the bar, often on days when work was stressful, on days like today.

As Nora exited the small office, she let out a sigh of relief, glad that her shift was over. She stretched a bit, before saying her co-workers goodbye and heading to her car. She opened the doors, placing her coat and bag on the seat next to the driver’s seat, settled down in the beige, leather seat, and put the key in its place, ready to leave, when a thought struck her mind.
“I really could use a strong one...” she thought as she retreated her keys. The bar was only a few blocks away, so there was no need driving there. Besides, there often was not space near to park the car, and after sitting all day, Nora could use some exercise.

She got out again, taking her belongings with her, locked the car and started walking. The sound of her footsteps echoed over the fairly empty parking lot. A gentle breeze played with her ginger hairs, lifting them up like autumn leaves.
While she traversed the streets, she looked up at the old buildings. They formed quite the contrast to the doctor’s office which had recently been renovated. The bar looked like it had been around for a while as well, she thought, as she was now standing at the entrance.

A familiar scent greeted Nora when she went in. She looked around for a nice spot, meeting the faces of guests she had seen before, some more often than others, during the past two years she had come here.
After she ordered a drink, she took a seat at a table a slight distance away from most of the people, but still within audible reach.
She took a sip from the cold, small glass and closed her eyes, the sounds of the room slipping in her ears and filling her head.
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Nora listened to the turmoil around her. Although Clara was being rather loud, telling Shitsubo a piece of her mind, Nora’s attention got drawn to the conversation John and Kaden were having. Maybe it was just because they were sitting closer to her, or maybe it was because Nora was more interested in private matters than magic. After the past two years she had come here, having encountered several supernatural beings and cases, and having experienced this thing called magic herself, she still had trouble grasping it and knowing how to deal with it. It made her head dizzy, trying to understand how such a thing was physically, anatomically possible.

With one more gulp, Nora finished her drink. She stood up, craving another one, and walked over towards the bar, passing Clara and Zaccar who were having a small talk about ‘Shitubso’.
“It’s Shitsubo, not Shitubso...” she couldn’t help but whisper as she walked past the two, more to herself than to them.

While she ordered a new beverage, Nora jumped up as she heard a loud thud from besides her. From the corner of her eye she had seen some movement accompanying the sound, which originated from a black figure sitting at the bar. Turning her face towards the source of the sound, she now saw it was a person in a black, hooded cloak, their face pressed against the counter. At a small distance from the person she noticed a red object, an apple at closer inspection.
Slowly memories started to flow back to her. She remembered a pale boy, dressed in a black hood, who appeared to always carry an apple around, had visited the bar every now and then. He didn’t come often though, and so Nora had no clue as to his name and what he was like.

She wasn’t sure why she did it, but as if drawn to the apple, she got over to it and picked up the almost spherical object. Oddly it didn’t feel much like an apple, not like fruit even. It felt sort of artificial.
Nora stared at it for a moment before realzing it’d probably be best to return the apple to its owner, rather than keeping it in her hand any longer, preventing any possibly accusations such as trying to steal the thing.

She made a few steps before stopping next to the boy who still had his head down.
“You err...” Nora started. “This is yours, right?” she asked, holding up the apple in front of him.
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