Tessa LaSciopero

"Humankind, of one mind, set adrift to ride the storm."

The Basic Information
Tessa LaSciopero is a 19 year old female human. Tessa was born to William Gregory LaSciopero and Lilliah Greenberg on the 12th day of August, in the town of Neitiznot, in the Fremennik Isles. Tessa currently lives in Ardougne. Some other familial relations include:

•	Dianne LaSciopero- Age 30 - Sister

•	Mia LaSciopero - Age 14 - Sister

•	Luthien LaSciopero- Age Unknown - Great Aunt

•	Jasper LaSciopero- Age 64 – Uncle

•	Charlotte LaSciopero - Deceased - Great Grandmother

Tessa's ambitions have changed quite a bit as of recent. While when she first came to Ardougne, she dreamt of captaining an airship of her very own.

Visual Information
Body Description: Standing at 5’5” and 138 lbs, Tessa isn't particularly tall, nor is she thin. Most of her fat rests in her hips and chest, though her limbs aren't pointy, but soft. Her stomach and throat are her main drawbacks with almost everything she does. From years of swallowing money, jewels, and other bits and pieces of stolen items, she has a coin stuck in her esophagus, giving her various respiratory problems and making her prone to fits of coughing. Furthermore, she's akin to vomiting and sickness from the various metally bits that have settled in her stomach. Thin, light hair lines Tessa's body, as does any woman's. Otherwise, no body hair is of note. She doesn't typically shave, due to lack of resources. That said, she doesn't typically show off places wherein she needs to shave, either. Tessa's skin tone is pinkish with a few faded blotches here and there from either peeled or scarred sunburns. Freckles bespeckle her face, going all about from her forehead, down her cheeks, chin, neck, and shoulders. Her fingernails are often chipped and hangnails aren't an uncommon sight. Sometimes a sore or two can be spotted around her lips -- predominantly when she's been vomiting more frequently. On her left shoulder blade is a tattoo of an airship, and two crude tattoos are on her wrists; a 'P' for Port is on her left, and an 'S' for Starboard is on the right.

Spoiler Once upon a time there was a famous sea captain. This captain was very successful at what he did; for years he guided merchant ships all over the world. Never did stormy seas or pirates get the best of him. He was admired by his crew and fellow captains. However, there was one thing different about this captain. Every morning he went through a strange ritual. He would lock himself in his quarters and open a small safe. In the safe was an envelope with a piece of paper inside. He would stare at the paper for a minute, and then lock it back up. Afterwards, he would go about his daily duties. For years this went on, and his crew became very curious. Was it a treasure map? Was it a letter from a long lost love? Everyone speculated about the contents of the strange envelope.

One day the captain died at sea. After laying the captain's body to rest, the first mate led the entire crew into the captain’s quarters. He opened the safe, got the envelope, and opened it. Four words were on the paper; two lines with two words each:

Port=Left

Starboard=Right

Head Description
Tessa has a round face with large, blue eyes and an upturned nose. Her mouth is hardly of note, though occasionally sores cover the freckles near her lips. Her eyes are large and inquisitive. Her eyes are a bright blue like sea foam. They're often very wide open, aware and even a little excited at times. She pays close attention to people in her surroundings, focusing predominantly on jewels, satchels, and the transfer of money. Her smile is often lopsided and sloppy looking. Tessa has messy, wavy, and sometimes curly strawberry blond hair that falls down a few inches past her shoulders. If she kept it well, it would probably fall in lovely ringlets. However, she doesn't take decent care of it, leaving it ratty and matted with dirt. Tessa's face is relatively devoid of any piercings, tattoos, or anything of the sort. She does not, however, have a full set of teeth. Her left upper canine, and three of her molars on the bottom row, are missing. A couple of her remaining teeth are also chipped.

Clothing and Accessories
Tessa typically wears very androgynous attire. While she is prone to wearing a bodice from time to time, she will typically wear a frilly or plain shirt -- often ones with baggy sleeves or a V-cut neck. Her trousers often have massive pockets (big enough to store a set of brass knuckles). Her trousers are usually the sort a sailor or a horse rider would wear, if not a bit baggier to fit the pockets. Her boots are often worn and a faded brown. Her clothes are all worn, threadbare, and made out of cheap, shoddy material. Tessa never wears jewelry or various accessories. She knows what comes from that. She does wear a satchel bag at all times, though, and stores her valuables within that and her pockets.

Behavior Information
Personality Traits:

Social: Tessa is a social butterfly, always seeking out others to speak to and chatter with. She loves drinking, she loves parties, and she loves finding little reasons to celebrate.

Kleptomaniac: Tessa is a compulsive thief, with sticky fingers and an eye for anything interesting or exciting. While she justifies thievery based upon need, she has been known to return items if the person who lost them shows enough disappointment.

Masculine: She prefers to hold herself in a masculine way, insisting she isn't a lady, getting into fights, and doing things like joining the Brute Squad. While she doesn't mind being addressed as a woman, she fully understands that she doesn't always behave like one.

Open: Tessa wears herself on her sleeve when she isn't attempting anything illegal. She is a very open person, usually willing to shake hands, exchange names, and even share food or drinks with people she's just met.

Empathetic: When it comes to material objects, she's nearly blind to other people's emotions. However, seeing people in pain, seeing them distraught, or even seeing them remotely unhappy, will make her feel a similar way. She cares a lot about keeping those around her happy, often going to extremes to try to maintain that.

Lazy: Admittedly, Tessa is a mooch. Any chance to weasel her way out of obligations or into other homes is one she'll take. She's known for squatting with friends, drinking their things and eating their food, and working favors out of them.

Optimistic: Almost to a fault. Tessa adamantly denies any misery and depression, insisting that a better outcome is just around the corner. She hates when things get her down and will go above and beyond to prevent that from happening.

Unaccountable: Perhaps a bit lazy, it's very difficult to rely on Tessa for much. She has a tendency to either forget her duties, or completely disregard them. Obligation for Tessa extends predominantly to moral and monetary needs. This does not include duties.

Likes
Cheap Thrills: Stealing, trying to jump between two ridiculous places, balancing precariously where she shouldn't, or pulling stunts that would normally frighten others, excite her. Pickpocketing is a delight in which she used to indulge often.

Airships: Tessa loves airships. Flying, floating freely, and sailing the skies is something both uplifting to the young woman, and keeps her well-enraptured. The clouds are her rolling waves and the balloon is the ultimate sail.

Dislikes
Pessimism: Everything's going to get better. It's a simple thought. If you don't keep your head up, you'll always be staring into the sea. Why stare into the sea when you can stare into the sky? Why sail on water when you can sail on air?

Magic: It frightens her. She doesn't understand it. Magic isn't tangible. It can't be explained. It just... happens. She doesn't know its limits, its origins, or why it exists, and it unnerves her to no extent. Tessa’s Abilities and Disabilities

Strengths
Endurance: Or perhaps stubbornness, Tessa will insist upon things and hold herself strong, no matter what. She keeps her head high, her opinion taut, and her pockets secure. Furthermore, when bad situations arise, she deals with them, taking the burden or shrugging it off as necessary.

Quick-Talker: Tessa is often capable of talking her way out of a number of situations. It's difficult to determine whether this can be attributed to quick-wits under pressure, or the fact that she speaks so fast she garner's agreement solely out of frustration or misunderstanding.

Relatable: Those who can understand her often find it very easy to relate to her. She's incredibly amiable and sociable, has the benefit of being a woman and lower class, and doesn't often offer pessimism. This results in her gaining favor and pity very easily. Many people seem to see their fears in her.

Weaknesses
Her Inner Magpie: Anything shiny, jingly, sparkly, or even funny looking attracts her attention, and an insatiable want tends to arise. She's made kleptomania a habit and thievery an occupation, and often, Tessa finds herself stealing things before she realizes she's doing it.

Optimism: To the point of blindness, Tessa will refuse to accept the truth if it's too dismal, instead giving up airy excuses as to why everything will get better.

Superstitions: Fear of magic makes Tessa a bit superstitious. Old jokes have merit to her. She will never jinx a project or do something too out of her usual pattern, as she worries it could change or challenge fate. Stomach/Respiratory Problems: Occasionally, something she swallows will get caught in a weird place. Tessa sometimes suffers from shortness of breath and coughing, as well as stomach and digestive problems.

Combat Styles
Tessa's Offensive Style: Fist Fighting - The only method of combat Tessa knows how to use is fist fighting. She is not a professional, and she is not trained in any way. She has been in enough scraps and quarrels to know her way around a set of fists. Furthermore, she gets a thrill from friendly scraps, and loves picking them, if not to see who comes out on top, to mess around and have fun. She tries to be an honest, fair fighter, but she doesn't fully know what fair fighting is at all times, meaning she is prone to dirty tactics without realizing they're awful.

Weapons of Choice
•	Fists: Fist one and fist two rarely let her down.

•	Brass Knuckles: Tessa has a set of brass knuckles that usually pass between her and Jerimiah Elliott’s hands, with "Lady Tessa" engraved in them.

History
Reflected in her blue eyes was the world around her. A world of prosperity and bounty, where none of the family went hungry and where words like 'Poverty' and 'Debt' were foreign and archaic. Her eyes twinkled like gemstones and gemstones may as well have twinkled back. Yet, an air of humbled modesty surrounded their family and home in Neitiznot -- an insistence that their prosperity was with a price, and that their money was not their trademark. Tessa never bothered asking where the money came from. She assumed it had to do with their airship business. From where else could it have come?

Yet, even with their contentedness for life and monetary satiation, Tessa's eyes were always set on brighter horizons. From her first airship flight as a young girl, the adrenaline and joy that welled up within her heart had been enough to leave Tessa with a restlessness that still haunts her to this day. Man was not built for flight, yet with Dwarven Technology, that law of nature had been ruthlessly defied. And Tessa craved this defiance. She wanted her wings, and she was ready to fly. Every airship flight was both a pleasure in which she partook, and a mockery of what she didn't have. Someday, she anticipated, a clever little title could be added to the beginning of her name: Captain Tessa LaSciopero.

It was for her fifteenth birthday did she award herself with an airship tattoo on her left shoulder blade. At sixteen, her 'P' and 'S' tattoos accompanied that, adorning her wrists like little gemstones.

Thirst and hunger for more didn't only come from looking up, however. Looking all around brought the same insatiability. It began with trinkets from markets. Hey, that looked pretty. That looked fun. No time to ask for it? Parents said no? ...No one would miss it.

Of course, this didn't stop with simple trinkets. Suddenly, people looked appealing -- more so, what they had on them. What fun was taking from a mere market stall when that woman had a lovely ring on her finger, or that man's bag was open and practically begging to be picked? And why stick with coins and little trinkets? Why not shoot for gemstones, jewelry, and much more high-class artifacts? Aim high and strike low, as they say.

She began forming new ways to get away with her crimes, from magic tricks, intricate scams, hidden pockets in her clothes, and finally, consuming what little things she couldn't conceal. Tessa was living high on life, enjoying her little crime sprees and relishing in the joy and personal glory that came from it. She seemed unstoppable, until a foreign admiral caught her fading into the crowd one frustratingly fateful afternoon.

She hadn't known he was a foreign nobleman. Had she known, she likely would have gone for his broach, anyway. But when he saw her escaping in the crowd, the grape vine spilled her name and to her door, he went. By that time, she was already home, and by then, her family was able to buy her enough time to get her out.

Tessa eventually found herself on a sea ship captained by Meredith Idris. Of course, they were quick to throw her off, but this didn't stop her from hopping on again. And, this didn't stop them from sending her away once more. But the next time she found herself on his ship, she had a plan, and her stubbornness mixed with her mechanical knowledge allowed her safety on their vessel.

For about two years, Tessa stayed on this ship, spending her days and nights on it, until an opposing force came -- a group who didn't particularly like the way Merry ran things. The ship gave way to cannons and fire almost immediately, and the two found themselves on a piece of driftwood.