[@McHaggis] [@Undine] HERE IS MY [S]STONER[/S] LAIDBACK SANDBENDER CHAR. Also I hope you dont mind me making up some culture for her sand tribe. 

And of note: Her name is Chinese and all of the name places are Berber names. I did this because the sandbenders in ATLA had chinese names, but they were based on the Tuareg people so I wanted to pay homage to that.

[hider=Peizhi][center][abbr=Credit due to Viria on deviantart and tumblr for the amazing character art; credit to Kishimoto for the background and sand art.][img]http://i.imgur.com/aXuwOzW.png[/img][/abbr]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/WOgdQuG.png[/img][/center]
[color=FF8247][b]Occupation[/b][/color]
[indent]By day, Peizhi works as a hired hand for the poor farmers who have staked their claim in the Agrarian Zone. By night, Peizhi is a failing fighter in the bending arena due to her lackluster traditional earthbending technique.[/indent]

[color=FF8247][b]Place of Origin[/b][/color]
[indent]Sura Tribe, Si Wong Desert.[/indent]

[color=FF8247][b]Residence[/b][/color]
[indent]Originally from the Si Wong Desert, of the Sura Tribe. Peizhi currently resides in the Agrarian Zone of Ba Sing Se in a small, cramped house with a family from the Menza Tribe.[/indent]

[color=FF8247][b]Appearance[/b][/color]
[indent]Peizhi grew from a chubby little baby into a thinly muscled Amazon-like woman. She’s thin with little curves and broad shoulders; Peizhi is tall as well and is measured as being five feet and eleven inches. Her dark brown hair is chopped short with bangs hanging in her face and her skin is just slightly lighter than her hair. Peizhi’s dark skin is stretched taut over her lean body and her forearms have large pale scars on them from accidental cuts while working in the fields. Her face is angular and sharp with thin lips, a pointed nose, and narrowed eyes.

It is not Peizhi’s appearance that is remarkable but the way she holds herself. When walking, she seems to almost slink lazily with her shoulders relaxed, almost like she just woke up. Despite the sluggishness in which she walks, she’s surprisingly agile and can jump rather high when she needs to. Her talking mimics how she walks and her low voice, which is raspy like she swallowed grit, tends to mumble and does not bother completely pronouncing words. 

Simple clothes are Peizhi’s preference. She wears brown pants, the ends tied to her calves with ribbon to prevent exposure up her pants – an old tradition of the people of her tribe. Dark brown undergarments wrap around her breasts and chest and a tattered shirt sewn from an old sack. Her hands and forearms are wrapped with the same bandages her undergarments use. Around her waist are two belts, one which holds her sand flask, and the other is to clip money bags on it. Around her waist is a waist-fitting leather belt that allows Peizhi movement and covers her skin.
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[color=FF8247][b]Personality[/b][/color]
[indent]Peizhi can be described as a lethargic person. Even though she is a hard worker who will slave day and night to provide for her tribe, Peizhi seems tired and indolent in manner of speaking and socializing. She is not the type to talk or initiate conversation unless it is with someone she knows and, when she does, it is usually filled with lazy remarks and a devilish but unenthusiastic smile. Conversations with her are typically slipshod and easy; if you want to have deep, meaningful talks, Peizhi is not the one you should go to. Though she is a good listener and will hear what you have to say, she will hardly participate in the conversation other than nods. Rather, she likes unawkward small talk and keeping the atmosphere lighthearted with flirtatious jokes.

Even though Peizhi is a rather quiet and amiable person, who does not have a larger-than-life personality or an exuberance that fills the room, there is a weird commanding presence about her. She’s very much a silent alpha; she may not talk much, but when she tells someone to do something or gives them advice, there is a powerful quality of it. Maybe it is because she talks so little that her little nuggets of half-baked wisdom seem valuable or her patient, unaffected way of shutting down those who try to walk over her. Peizhi isn’t affected very often – mostly she appears apathetic and hides her emotions behind lazy smiles with cheeky observations. Her arrogance can show every now and then when she makes these snarky comments – it’s not outward declarations of her superiority, but smug glances and self-satisfied smirks. Other than the occasional peek of that conceitedness, Peizhi prefers flying under everyone’s radar. Attention annoys her because she’s then expected to say or express something which she doesn’t feel comfortable with.

The biggest flaw that can be found in Peizhi’s personality is her complacency. When it comes to the big picture, Peizhi does not think she can change anything, that she makes a difference in the big scheme of things. Because of that, Peizhi does not fight over political things or tries to make things for the better. Perhaps the worst part is that Peizhi lives to her life’s motto of not interfering with other’s business. She is not going to intervene or stand up for someone for the sake of goodness or morality. No, Peizhi will walk away.

Though she is scornful towards the big picture and pessimistic about change for the better, Peizhi is very focused on the small details of her life. She only cares about her and the survival of her tribe. In her life at Ba Sing Se, Peizhi works hard to ensure her tribe’s survival – her mind isn’t preoccupied with defeating the Fire Nation, but making enough food to put on the table. Even if Peizhi would rather not interfere with worldly politics, Peizhi would go to war if it meant protecting her tribe and family. She is extremely proud of her heritage and puts her people above everything else. Because of her nationalism, Peizhi is contemptuous towards the Dai Li, the citizens in Ba Sing Se that look down on sandbenders, and the Fire Nation.[/indent]

[color=FF8247][b]Likes and Dislikes[/b][/color]
[indent]• [color=95cb4f]Cactus juice. [sub]Maybe she was too young when she took her first sip, but Peizi will never forget the psychedelic hallucinations she saw.[/sub][/color]
• [color=95cb4f]Rabbaroos. [sub]Nothing is cuter than a big old floppy Rabbaroo to Peizhi and she loves looking at them while she's working in the Agrarian Zone.[/sub][/color]
• [color=95cb4f]Sand-sailers. [sub]Peizhi remembers her time on the sand-sailer with her dad fondly - she especially loved the part where the wind blew through her hair.[/sub][/color]

• [color=c84040]Being stuck inside. [sub]Peizhi loves the outdoors and baking in the sun, even if she has to work in the fields. It doesn't help that she's extremely claustrophobic.[/sub][/color]
• [color=c84040]Stormy days. [sub]Peizhi loves sunshine and rainy days just make her feel gloomy and disconnected from the desert.[/sub][/color]
• [color=c84040]Fish. [sub]She just really hates the taste of fish. Seafood is gross.[/sub][/color][/indent]
[color=FF8247][b]Skills[/b][/color]
[indent]• Sandbending – Peizhi is a proficient sandbender. By no means is she a master and she is definitely not a prodigy, but growing up in the desert sandbending is practically a survival skill. By using the principal of sandbending to help farming around the Agrarian Zone Peizhi has become a better sandbender. Because sand is hard to come by in Ba Sing Se, Peizhi takes to carrying around a small flask of sand in case of emergencies. The elders of the Menza tribe also make a point of teaching Peizhi and the youngers sandbending techniques when they have the time - like hell will they let their culture die.

• Earthbending – As a sandbender, Peizhi of course knows how to earthbend. Except she's a shitty earthbender. Growing up in her environment, Peizhi never had access to the same materials that other earthbenders had. Though, Peizhi is in the stage of learning the basics of earthbending, her skills are shoddy. When earthbending, she tends to pull up small chunks of earth rather than slabs of rock.

• Sand-sailing - Any self-respecting sandbender knows how to sand-sail. Even though it has been nine years since Peizhi was in the desert, she will never forget how to sand-sail. It is practically in her blood - especially since her father started teaching her from such a young age. 

• Farming knowledge – Being a hired hand, Peizhi spends a lot of time on farms doing manual work. Along the way,
 she picked up a few things here and there. She knows a bit about how to man the farms and farm animals.
 She understands the agricultural parts - though only the basics - and has become intuned with knowing when an animal is not acting normally. Peizhi knows how to care for sheep pigs and cow hippos, knows how to grow vegetables and work the water system.[/indent]

[color=FF8247][b]History[/b][/color]
[indent]Peizhi was born into the Sura Tribe in the Si Wong Desert. The Sura Tribe was a fairly large tribe that moved around between three waterholes that systematically dried up during the different seasons. They had permanent camps set at each in which they would stay in when they were at that waterhole; there was the Juba waterhole, the Taklit camp near the Misty Palms Oasis, and the Sura waterhole which the tribe was named after. Because the tribe was large with many people who needed water and food, they only travelled to the large waterholes so that everyone could have their needs met.

Peizhi was born on the edge of the Juba waterhole, during a rainstorm in the day. The Sura Tribe saw her being born on a rainy day as a good luck sign and they affectionately called her ‘Little Luck” as she grew older. Peizhi was born to a shepherd mother in the Sura Tribe who was tasked with herding and protecting the Camel Goats. Her father was a sand-sailor who spent his time scavenging the desert for food and items to sell in trading centers. 

Growing up, Peizhi was happy and content with her life. She had many other children to play with, on most days she went to lessons with them to learn how to survive in the desert and sandbending and would play games with them afterwards. On days she did not have lessons, her mother would rope her into taking care of the camel goats (she hated the camel goats, they were always mean to her and nipped at her clothes when she wasn’t looking) or her father would take her sand-sailing. She loved sand-sailing with her father the best – she loved the feeling of sand blowing past them, riding on the dust like it was the sea, the arid air wiping her hair around, and even the burns she would get on any exposed skin from the sand scrubbing against it.

Unfortunately, when Peizhi was ten years old, the Sura Tribe was driven from the Juba waterhole and then the Sura waterhole by Fire Nation machines rampaging across the desert. Their only chance of survival was to make it to the Taklit camp in order to restock on food and water. On their way there, a sandstorm swept across them and Peizhi fell off her father’s sand-sailer and rolled down a sand dune. The sandstorm whipped across her cheeks and she desperately crawled for safety behind a rock, curling into a ball and hoping her father would come soon.

The sandstorm died down and by three hours afterwards, her tribe had still not come back for her. Peizhi was sure something had gone wrong – and, even though she knew she should stay in place until they found her – she instead went into the direction she remembered them going. Peizhi walked for a straight day, still unable to find the Sura Tribe, when she came across the Menza Tribe.

The Menza Tribe was small with only fifteen people – it was more of a band of people, really, who had separated from the main Menza Tribe in order to seek shelter in Ba Sing Se. With nowhere to go and no one to help her, the Menza Tribe took her under their wing and brought her to Ba Sing Se with them. They accepted her as if she was born with them and treated her just as they treated the other tribesmen. With the Menza Tribe, Peizhi settled against the inner wall in the Agrarian Zone. They settled in three rickety houses and everyone who was old enough to work, did. Even Peizhi made sure to lend a hand and helped the farmers out with their farm for a few copper pieces. As she grew older, the more she worked.

However, Peizhi knew that just working as a hired hand would not financially support the Menza Tribe since it had so many people – and no one will be left behind in the Menza Tribe. To earn more money, Peizhi began to fight in the bending arena. Her earthbending skills were shoddy and she often lost, but she worked hard to get better in order to make coin. Yazhu, her best friend and partner in crime, would often come to the rumbles and bet against her to make money for the tribe.

It wasn’t the best life – holier-than-thou earth kingdom citizens sneered at them sometimes, there were multiple leaks in the roofs, many of the tribesmen came home with sore backs and legs – but at least they were surviving and happy together. Peizhi just wishes she could reunite with her father and mother in the Sura Tribe.
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[color=FF8247][b]Ambitions[/b][/color]
[indent]Peizhi's short-term goal is to eventually make enough money for the Menza tribe so they no longer have to live in squalor. She wishes to give to them a life worth living in Ba Sing Se as payment for taking her in when they didn't have to. In the long-term, Peizhi wants to find her tribe once again and return to the desert. She has no idea how she is going to accomplish this; but she makes sure to keep her ears open for gossip that could relate to the Sura Tribe.[/indent]

[color=FF8247][b]Other[/b][/color]
[indent]Pet elephant rat named Juba.[/indent][/hider]