Age: 28

Former Occupation: Court Stenographer

Personality: Heather liked to think she was a normal, well-adjusted person before all this. She had no problems talking to people - introducing herself, consoling others, sticking up for people or speaking her mind, none of that phased her. Heather was very close with her younger sister, and when she disappeared it deeply affected Heather. She grew a little more withdrawn, a little more cold, a little more pessimistic. When she wasn't needed at her job her mind was filled with a singular purpose, sometimes leading to her spacing out in conversations.

Desire: To find her sister, nothing else.

Class: Totem

Effigy Emblem: Heather's emblem takes the form of a curled earring. It's permanently affixed to her ear, but losing the entire ear is a good way to separate her from it. The head of the earring sometimes transmits whispers from her sponsor. The emblem grants her the manifestation of her desire to seek out someone - her eyes can see through things. Physical things like doors, walls, and even people are no problem. With some effort, it also allows her to see through more complex things: lies, puzzles, even into dreams. For the immaterial things, the more something is hidden in the psyche the harder it is for Heather to "look" at it, and the more strain it puts on her eyes and brain.

Bio: Heather and his family grew up on the East Coast. Like all families they had their ups and downs, good times and hard times, but for the most part they were a typical family. Heather had always been studious and detail-oriented, good at absorbing and remembering information. Boring things like note taking didn't bother her, and eventually she took a job at the local court house as a stenographer. Things were going well.

Then, the community and Jepsen family were rocked by the disappearance of Laney, Heather's then 14 year old sister. Laney vanished without a trace. She wasn't the type to up and run away, but there were no clues whatsoever about her disappearance. Did she really run away, or was she kidnapped? Was she lost and still alive, or was she lying dead somewhere? Months passed and the answers to these questions never came.

The loss of Laney drove Heather and her parents into a depression that's lasted since then. Heather withdrew from her friends and family, spending all her extra money on hiring private investigators, bribing cops and criminals alike to help out, and offering rewards for any information about her sister. She was still searching when an otherworldly being approached her with a promise.

"Well, who really needs The Court, anyway," a dismissive gesture followed, Two doing her best to puff out her chest and exude confidence, "all they've ever provided is a detriment to real progress." So far as she was concerned, that was the truth. The Sponsors who had agreed to meet with her, suspended in the non-substance of Between, made their minute gestures of half-hearted agreeance. It wasn't good enough.

"Think it over," she continued, sweeping an arm toward the barely-visible Mortal Something, "if we use the resources given to us to our advantage..." Two let the words linger, smiling slightly in the second or two that silence strangled, "This entire game could be turned on its fuckin' ear. The Participants would help. Guarantee it."

One of the others shook his head, raising an alabaster hand to lower the brim of his well-kept hat. "Won't go down like that, Two. Never does," Lanternlight Jack turned to the side, "and I'm willing to bet that it never will. Unless," there it was, Two's heart skipped a beat, "we manage to wrest control of The Event from The Last Adherent and other Court fanatics." Jack seemed to be watching the others. "Even then, the rules stay in play. You get me? Isn't right for Sponsors to be killing one another. Isn't even right for the Participants, if you were to ask me. Still, a Desire is a Desire. I'm off. Careful, out there."

Two wasn't certain whether to take the statement as a threat, or some kind of pledge. Maybe both, given the strange angle Jack had taken. He was already walking away, toward the Mortal Something. The haze of Between seemed to trail behind him, until Jack simply vanished. Two crossed her arms, looking to the other forms. "Guess that's it for this meetin'. Let me know if any of you decide to change your minds, yeah?"

Some were already departing.

One in particular, a familiar presence, lingered close behind her. Two could feel his stare, if barely. The Man of Glaives, from her perspective, was upside down; staring at her with his feet pressed against nothing. "A bold move, Two of Hearts. A bold move, indeed," his tone betrayed no approval or disgust, "especially if some among the number gathered here are of a mind to inform The Court elders." Suddenly, he was before her; strange mask staring behind a thin veil of the Between, "Fortunate for you, Two, that I and a number of others happen to share this idea."

She bit down on her tongue, trying not to smile.

He spat onto damp concrete, leaving Between behind and embracing existence inside Something once more. Other Sponsors were hard at work. Plotting, scheming, choosing Participants. A ragged sigh escaped the Lanternlight, as he fished around his pockets for cigar and match. Soon, smoke was trailing behind him; much as the Between had done.

"Hard to tell how far away it is," came the words meant for nobody, "Damn. Maybe I'll track down the Adherent, or..." Jack trailed off, leaning against the corner of some crooked alley. No, he'd handle things his way. By the book. No point getting involved in the scuffles of Sponsors trying to entice some kind of grandiose blood-sport. They had plenty of that to look forward to.

"Damn, damn, damn," he sang into the sky, surprisingly happy with the situation, "Guess that means that we'll just have to see." Many who knew Lanternlight Jack well understood that he was something of a gambling man; even if he had an unerring respect for the rules. Perhaps not so much The Court, or even most of the other Sponsors. "But where to toss my lot?" An empty query, with only the damp breeze of Something coming in response.

"Right, right, damn shame and I'm to blame," Jack said, kicking off the corner, "time to find the misfortune-made Mortal to represent my corner."

In a moment, he was gone; a ghost that left behind only a half-smoked and smoldering cigar.