Coral Riptide D4

Name: Coral Riptide
Age: Sixteen
Gender: Female
District/Area: District 4
Appearance:

Mint eyes peer from beneath a blanket of long, thick dark lashes, their coal coloured length accentuating the emerald platter simmering beneath their shelter. Coral was always known for her eyes, perhaps it was the way they reflected the ocean shallows or seemed to absorb the sun, keeping its light captive for their own selfish desires. No matter which they were indeed the fixation of all who glanced upon her face for they seemed to have their own blood curdling chill in sharp, brief moments and an inexplicable, alluring warmth in others. The rest of her features are perfectly ordinary, her lips are light with a constant hint of irritation twitching in the corners, causing them to stiffen and pout more often than not. Her nose sits comfortably upon her face, small and contained with the slightest roundness peaking at the bottom giving a cute but immature quirk. Upon her cheeks, lightly tanned from what seemed like a constant exposure to the sun, lay lines of faint but recognizable freckles contained simply upon the bridge of her nose and just beneath the lining of her piercing gaze. Asleep upon her forehead lay two brows that were thicker than the girl cared to admit or liked, their darkness however remained favourable where their shape proved disappointing. More often than not her hair finds itself gathered in a knot behind her head, the long uncut raven strands dancing down the length of her back while messy untamed strips twist about her cheeks and stroke the frame of her lightly rounded face.

Standing at 5’6 the girl is neither tall nor short but somewhere nonchalantly in-between and while being exceptionally agile in the water when it comes to being on land she’s considerably clumsy; more likely to trip over her own foot than over an actual object. Lightly tanned from spending hours upon hours on the shore, her skin emits a bronzed healthy glow though her ribs when visible are marred with a rather vicious looking scarring that matches a similar set spread across her upper-right thigh. Toned with faint but somewhat visible muscle definition, Coral’s figure is sculpted from years of being submerged in the water and running across sandy shores.

Personality:

Irritable. From being young Coral has always had a low tolerance for, well, everything. There was never a day where the dark haired girl didn’t find that aggressive heat flaring in her stomach and that inescapable anger burning beneath her skin and bitting at her flesh in bursts of agitated heat. Her mother always said it was by nature but in Coral’s mind her temper is never a fault of her own but caused by the stupidity and idiocy of others. Verbal and outspoken people have often called her fearless when in fact it is simply uncensored thoughts, Coral is not one to keep her opinions hidden from those around her and has no difficulty in sharing her inner-musings without divulging a thought to possible consequences. With these actions some would brand her heartless, for in most cases she doesn’t consider the emotions of others, numb to the reality that some people are sensitive and have feelings more prone to injury than herself.. but in fact she’s just learnt to use her heart less, unwilling to open herself up and face the possibility of being hurt.

Distrustful and standoffish, Coral isn’t one to be found in the centre of everyones business and conversing with all the other girls around her home. Instead of finding the presence of a lot of people comforting she finds it irritating, well aware that more often than not people would turn to stab each-other in the back with the slightest persuasion and for that reason the bright-eyed girl doesn’t invest her time with many and would rather find solace in solitude than listen to idle chatter and bitchy comments swim from the mouths of her peers. However when she does find the rare people she’ll allow to remain in her life for more than a fleeting moment she’s severely protective and fiercely jealous although outwardly she’d do anything to appear indifferent.

Competitiveness is continuously coursing through the girl’s veins, not in ordinary things but when it comes to showing off in the water or performing dangerous, flamboyant and extravagant dives she’d stop at nothing to prove she’s got more guts and skill than anyone around her. Even after her brother died due to their hazardous stunts Coral still remains intent on maintaining her pride and proving to herself she can still throw herself from the highest rock and embrace the sea where others wouldn’t dare venture.

History:

Crisp leaves slept upon an auburn floor in the autumn that accompanied Coral’s birth, with the air sweetly salted and a light coastal breeze soft and soothing free to roam the sandy stretch, all seemed calm. However the freckled babe broke the silence of a setting sun and roared above the echoing roll of crashing waves breaking onto the beach. It seemed as if nothing could pacify the crying child, toys did nothing to quell the tears and soft lullabies and gentle coos could not stupefy the wailing screams balling from the baby’s throat into empty space. Exhausted relatives and anxious parents could do nothing but adapt to the inconsolable infant, hoping that the girls irritable nature would fade with age and those accusing eyes would lose their accusing chill.

Half of their prayers were answered. Those defining eyes lost the cryptic edge to their stare in exchange for ambition and passion once the toddler years began to fade and the freedom which accompanied childhood began to expose itself. Coral was naturally adventurous and before her ability to walk even showed a hint of prospering she was swept away from the comfort of a stable, safe home and sat upon a fishing boat, riding the waves and embracing the cold, refreshing spray from the sea’s playful caress. Accompanied always by her brother Reef, senior to herself by one year, the two grew up together on the deck of a ship, threading rope and tying knots and when they weren’t vagabonds upon the waves they were thrown into the shallows to spear-fish, something favoured by them both, for the sport and competition always drew a more profitable outcome.

Once age was no longer a restriction and the dynamic duo were permitted their freedom without spectators watching their every move, the twosome found themselves primarily on the beach. Coral wasn’t one for knitting herself into the friendship groups around her home and instead spent all her free time in the company of her brother, bounding into the waves and racing from rock formation to formation, battling the current in a show of endurance and expertise. However like all children the repetitive games and relays grew tedious, the known areas worn and the safe-zones quite frankly boring. So as all adrenaline loving humans do, the siblings eagerly ventured further into the ocean, sinking into its silky depth to escape the burning affection of the sun and slip into the rock-pools and caverns carved into the land’s edge.

Upon their travels something exciting occurred to the daring dark-haired teen. Sighting a collection of short, smooth edged rocks and deep water a challenge came about that involved flipping from the highest point and plunging into the wispy waves below. Naturally all challenges were accepted and the game became an obsession. From that day forth the two were constantly searching for higher rocks, shallower water, rougher waves and greater stakes and like all curious, determined minds they always found what they were looking for. The danger of the act had never really settled in Coral’s mind for in her eyes they’d always been invincible, the sea had never threatened them and in its grasp there’d been nothing more than euphoria. However on their fourteenth birthday, the last birthday Coral ever celebrated, an accident severed the capacity of her heart and devoured all tenderness and emotion that it had ever been capable of containing.

The day had started as any other, the morning was devoted to work, fishing in midst of the crystal blue and indulging in the sea’s mysteries when seeking the rarer catch in the more challenging nooks and crannies. Midday was passed in the shadows, sat within the shade threading knots with tattered rope and finishing the nets to be used on the coming days expedition. Then of course came the evening hours and with the setting sun the siblings ventured into the bays in search for the rocks they’d come to favour. As always the treacherous current seemed to prove no threat and its unpredictable nature was overlooked by the pair. Hours passed with unhindered entertainment, backflips and front-flips were executed with flawless precision, twists and twirls broke into the waves as they danced in and out of the water’s embrace with ease and grace, their silhouettes alive against the crimson backdrop burning into the sky. Absorbed in their games and excitement a sudden change in the water’s nature went unnoticed, the temperament snapped and in what felt like an instant the passive, soothing sea turned malicious.. As the two flipped into the mouths of the beast they found themselves thrown against their jagged companion, their bodies pushed into the rocks and their screams lost to the howl of the sea.

Coral can’t remember much from that moment, just the feeling of panic, the harsh rough sensation of your throat being assaulted by the bombardment of salt, the swift numbed feeling of something ripping into her side and the rough collision of being thrown atop a flat, rugged surface and losing all notion of time to a black consuming mist. After that there was nothing, just a high constant ringing in both ears and a chill that sank in the marrow of her bones and burrowed into the core of her teeth and the tips of fingers. Then came voices and more darkness.. Two weeks passed before she awoke in a bed surrounded by faces stained pink with tears that no longer fell, eyes swollen and drained of all liquids, faces of sorrow and dismay. She was told by some unearthly stroke of luck she’d been thrown onto a peak and managed to stay above the thrash of thundering waves but Reef hadn’t had such luck and his body was never recovered, his corpse taken by the ocean to rest forever in its midst. From that day onwards she was never the same, the girl had never been the friendliest child or the most tolerable and had indifferently lacked in kindness.. but what little tenderness she did have had been taken by the sea, lost with her brother who’d stolen her heart and taken it to the ocean-floor with his broken body.

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