Name: Mina Dawson
Nickname(s): None.
Age: 16
Birth Date: May 3
Gender: Female
Race: Human Enchantress
Occupation(s): When she's not at school, she often goes to work at the Local Bookstore, mainly because she can
get her homework done peacefully and get paid at the same time. Dustin occasionally accompanies her if she drags him out of boredom.
Sexuality: Straight
→ → → → APPEARANCE ← ← ← ←
Height: 5'4''
Weight: 118 lbs
Body build: Slim body with low build.
Eye Colour: Emerald Green
Hair: Orange with occasional waves down to her lower back
Clothing: Mina tends to wear anything loose-fitting and comfortable, something she can move around in easily. She loves bright colors and anything she deems as cute.
Other: Because of her love of gardens, she often picks a small bundle of flowers to put in her hair each morning. Her excuse is that "A garden brightens everyone's day, right? Then what if I just carry a garden around with me?" She had said this as if she had had the biggest revelation of her life.
→ → → → Personal ← ← ← ←
Personality: Mina is generally a very bubbly and energetic person, always seeing the glass as being half-full. She likes to do whatever she can to make others happy, though occasionally she can also be inconsiderate about how others feel about her decisions or what she says. Other than that, she is quite outgoing and loves to be involved in all kinds of things, dragging Dustin to them half of the time. If she feels that a friend is being threatened, she has no problem standing up for them. Many people find her annoying however, but she is usually too oblivious to notice. When someone snaps every so often and tells her how annoying she is, she often goes into a state of shock, not talking to basically anyone for a few days out of fear that she is annoying them. But with her friends' help, she can always get over it.
Likes:
♥ Wilderness
♥ Daytime
♥ Gardens (though anything Mina tries to grow dies)
♥ School Events
Dislikes:
✖ Sleeping (finds it a waste of time)
✖ Bugs
✖ Gloomy people
✖ Rainy days
Fears: Mina fears her friends will abandon her, saying she's annoying or bothering them. She fears this because she has lost all of her family, so she doesn't know if she could handle the loss of her friends. She also fears that she won't be able to protect them.
Motto(s): "The world can be amazing when you're slightly strange."
"If you think you're too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito!"
Personal Belongings: An umbrella that belonged to her parents, the one that she recovered after the earthquake. It is the last thing she has to keep a hold of her parents, and it is the umbrella she found Dustin with.
Bio: Mina had a normal childhood, living with her mother and father. Because of her unstable powers as a child, many people found her to be some sort of demon and ordered their children not to interact with her. Despite this, there were still a few people that had not cared about her powers, some even actually interested in it, and became friends with her anyway, which basically made her the happiest child on the planet, to have even a single friend. She was very close to her mother, and when she found out she was having a baby sister, Mina felt as if her life was perfect.
Apparently, fate thought so as well, for not even before her sister was born, when Mina was eight, a disastrous earthquake struck her city, and nearly the entire city was reduced to rubble. Her parents had shoved Mina into a steel shed in which they stored her father's medical supplies, but unfortunately, neither her mother nor father could fit inside with her, so they had to flee for safety somewhere else. The earthquake caused their house to collapse, and before she knew it, Mina was enveloped in darkness.
Feeling around the shed, the only thing she could feel was the cold, hard surface of the metal walls around her. Mina pushed against the door as hard as she could, but the debris of her fallen house had buried her far above her tiny arms could push past.
For two days she sat with her back against the wall, curled up in a ball, without food or water or even a voice inside her head to keep her company. All she had were her prayers, and two days later, they were answered. Kind of. She was rescued by some of the other survivors that were searching for Mina's parents, not really Mina herself. Upon seeing the light, Mina looked up at the now open door and, still curled in her ball of safety, murmured to who she considered her angels.
"W-Where are my parents?" The group of survivors looked at Mina, surprised to see her at first, then as if she herself had killed them and, with cold eyes, whispered to each other. Mina could already feel her eyes welling up with tears. Choking back her sobs, she stretched her hand out to them, pleading for help. However, the group merely turned around and began to head back to wherever they were seeking refuge.
"So you managed to only save yourself, huh?" was all they said as they left, leaving a cold and weak Mina behind to die. As she stumbled up from her position on the floor of the shed, she again reached out to her angels who were abandoning her.
"Please!" she cried out with tears streaming down her face and a dripping nose, begging for them to forgive her. She hadn't even realized what had been happening when her parents had shoved her into that shed. Despite the number of times she tried to convince herself she was not at fault, the accusations of the disaster's survivors kept resurfacing in her mind, and before she knew it, she was running. Running away from everything and everyone. With only one of her family’s umbrella to keep her company, she ran for what felt like hours, until her knees ached with each step and the throbbing of her calves made her legs numb.
However, she kept running until she collapsed on the cold Earth, deep into the night. Subconsciously, tears began to stream from her eyes again, but she found she could not sleep. Each time she closed her eyes, she was reminded of the dark shed whose walls seemed to always be closing in on her. For hours, she lied there clutching the umbrella, bent from the earthquake, to her chest until she fell asleep from pure exhaustion.
When she awoke from her restless sleep, she found her body bitten ruthlessly by various bugs, but she found it quite comforting in the fact that it seemed to take away some of the pain of losing everything. But only a little. Upon standing up, Mina realized that perhaps committing to her first instinct, running, was not such a good idea. She was hopelessly lost in the middle of this expanse of wilderness without any provisions of any sort. Gripping her umbrella in her fists, she continued walking silently. Before the earthquake, she would have enjoyed this walk, but right now, she wanted nothing more than to escape this increasingly foreboding forest of unknown secrets.
After walking for about two hours or so, Mina heard something that sounded like a struggling animal, and following that noise, she found herself standing over a young boy, who seemed to be not much older than Mina herself, clutching his leg. She blinked, as if she were having a hallucination, before speaking.
“What are you doing here..?” Her voice lingered in the air like wind chimes.
The boy flinched upon hearing another person’s voice and slowly turned his head up to look at the little girl with such a flustered look on his face that Mina couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing about?!” he asked forcefully, but it didn’t seem to alter the girl’s grin.
“Your face just then looked so funny!” Mina said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The boy growled silently at her, but Mina still stood over him, smiling. To her, running into him was like finding a pearl in a rotten oyster, and she wanted to cherish this pearl.
“Are you okay?” she asked him, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he looked down towards his leg, a swelling ankle catching her eyes. He had broken his ankle.
Mina suddenly crouched down with her back facing the boy, saying “Get on.” He looked at her with a bewildered expression before protesting her idea strongly. She turned her head and looked at him with a serious look on her face, which surprised him.
“I can’t just leave you here!” she said in a determined tone.
“You’re nuts… You won’t be able to carry me!”
“Get on already!”
Despite his protests, Mina decided to take things into her own hands. She grabbed his wrists and pulled her onto her back, a much more difficult task than she expected, especially with him squirming so much. Finally, she managed to hoist him on her back with her arms under legs in a piggy-back-style fashion. However, he was heavy, and as they walked to nowhere in particular, Mina found herself having to take frequent breaks to catch her breath.
As they journeyed, Mina learned his name was Dustin, who was eleven, and he had run away during the commotion of the nearby city's earthquake. He said he could never go back, and, knowing his pain, she didn't ask any further.
It had been hours since they had last seen a source of water, and Mina was having to rest more and more frequently. Dustin urged her to stop, but she insisted she keep going.
"I can't just give up! I will protect you!" she had said, her voice so serious and determined that Dustin was actually stunned to silence. Soon after that, Mina perked her head up, looking around. Dustin noticed this and asked irritably "What are you gawkin' at?"
Mina looked around a few moments more. "I thought I heard something.."
"Heard what?"
There was yet another long period of silence before Mina suddenly started running towards whatever she heard. Dustin luckily had a bit of a grip on her shoulders, otherwise he would have been thrown off.
She ran until the sun disappeared below the horizon, when her legs burned with each step she took. By that time, Dustin was on the verge of falling unconscious, but Mina's adrenaline was pumping through her body. However, she was quickly losing it, too, as her vision began to blur.
"Mina..." Dustin mumbled into her as he felt himself being drained of his energy with every passing minute.
"Don't die on me, Dustin! I know I heard it! A train!" she said with so much vitality that for a moment, Dustin looked up at her, before his head slumped back into the crook between her neck and shoulder. He grunted though, showing he greatly disapproved of whatever hallucination she was having, but he didn't have the energy to do anything about it.
"I heard it! I know it!" To this she received no response, and when she looked over her shoulder at him, he was clearly unconscious. His body was limp and seemed even heavier while unconscious. She looked away from the direction she was running in a moment too long, though, and she tripped over the roots of a tree. Mina did a nosedive into the dirt while Dustin was launched a few feet in front of her.
She lied there a few moments, both taking in the shock of what had happened and taking the chance to catch her breath. A cool, soft sensation started to engulf her, like a blanket of mist was snaking its way around her. Mina looked up and gasped, as if it would be the last breath she took. Before her stood the most intricate train she had never dreamed of and surrounding it was a cluster of clouds on the ground as if it was the most normal thing in the world. A figure stood in its open doorway, and as the mist around it cleared, Mina realized it was an elderly woman.
"Please..." Mina pleaded. "My friend, he needs help" Looking over at the limp body of Dustin, she felt the beginning of tears gather in the corners of her eyes.
The smiling woman stood there, motionless, for what seemed like an eternity before opening her mouth.
"Are you coming aboard?" she asked warmly, her smile never faltering.
"Y-yes, but I-"
"Then come aboard." Her voice was like milk and honey, so smooth and fluent, as if it could soothe even the most monstrous beasts. It seemed to affect Mina, too, because her head swayed as her vision blurred again, dark spots of black blotching her vision. Her head hit the cold earth, and everything went black.
Mina awoke to the sound of a constant chugging noise, a vibration of wheels turning under her. Her eyes fluttered open in a half-lidded fashion, her head still pounding, proof that her trek through the woods was still affecting her. She lightly groaned, holding her aching head in her hand as she pushed herself up from on her stomach to her knees. A window lining the walls of the vehicle allowed the mid-morning sunlight to pour through and drown the compartment in light. Her eyes adjusted to the brightness, and she gazed out the window. Gasping at the sight, she brought her hands to the glass, pressing her forehead against it.
She was inside the train! Not only that, they had to be over a thousand feet high in the air! There were no train tracks, but something had to be leading the train. It seemed to be set for a particular destination, but of course Mina had no idea where. It suddenly struck her that she had no idea where Dustin was. Her eyes darted around the compartment, but there wasn't a single other person to be seen. She stood up, despite the extremely sore feeling in her legs, and ran to the door leading to the next compartment in front of hers. Just as she was about to open the door, it opened, and there stood the elderly woman she had seen earlier when the train first appeared.
"Ah, so you're awake," she said. The woman's voice soothed Mina's nerves a bit, but the small girl quickly shook it off when she remembered her previous thoughts.
"Where's Dustin?" she said.
"The young boy that was with you? He's still sleeping in the cabin behind yours."
Mina quickly turned on her heels and dashed to the opposite door, quickly grabbing the handle. The air rushing past the train created a light suction force, however, making it even more difficult to open. She pulled, feeling the aching in her head increase as she pulled harder. Gradually, the door opened, and the air rushed into the cabin, whipping her hair around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, she froze. The only thing connecting the two cars was a thick metal latch at least three feet long. It certainly seemed to be strong enough to hold, but Mina would have to walk across it to reach the other door.
"Miss, can you-" she began to ask as she turned around, only to see that the woman had disappeared, leaving no trace of her ever having been there. She turned back to the opening, peering down at the seemingly endless drop below. Gulping, she clutched the doorway as she stooped down, extending her short leg to the metal latch. As they traveled through the air, it constantly shook, sending a chill through Mina's spine. She held her breath and darted across the beam, basically hugging the other side when she reached it. Releasing a breath of relief, she climbed back up to the door handle, pushing it with all of her might. It seemed easier this time. She slid past the opening and pushed the door closed as she leaned against it with relief. She flinched, having more slammed it than closed it.
Mina quickly spotted Dustin lying in one of the rows of seats. Thankfully, he had only stirred at the loud slam.
'Geez, he's such a heavy sleeper...' she thought with a sigh, walking over to his sleeping figure.
"It's a good thing he was with you back there. He's the one who carried you in here."
Mina jumped at the new voice, turning around to be met with the elderly woman again. She was starting to lose her fondness of this woman's sudden appearances.
"Really?" she asked, turning to Dustin again. She brushed away stray strands of his hair hanging in his eyes before looking back at the woman. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"That's a secret" She brought a finger to her lips as she spoke.
Mina felt uneasy about this, but at least it was better than being stuck in the middle of the forest.
Soon, Mina had fallen asleep alongside Dustin, and as the sun began to set, the train came to a halt, awakening the small girl. Looking out the window, she was astonished. There stood the most beautiful, fantastical castle she had ever seen! "It's a castle!" she exclaimed excitedly, feeling that they must be in a dream, basically squashing her entire face against the window.
"It's an academy," the woman said, appearing once again at her side. It didn't seem to surprise Mina this time, however.
The train came to a halt at a small station surrounded by clouds, and both Dustin and Mina were brought to the infirmary of the academy, though all Mina needed was a bit of food and water, then she was sent to her own room in the east wing.
When she had been given permission to leave her room (which took a lot of pleaded on her side), she ran all the way to the infirmary, but Dustin had already awoken by the time she got there.
"You have to see this place! It's amazing!"
Dustin had had the whole situation already explained to him, but Mina had not, so he did so. He told her that apparently the train only appears for those with a special quality within them. Hers was determination, but Dustin told her that they didn't know what his was.
It was a few days before Dustin could walk normally again, but Mina would always come to his room in the infirmary to tell him about all of the wonderful things she had seen that day, about all the wonderful people there were to meet and places to visit. Once or twice, she had gone on for so long that Dustin fell asleep. Apparently, he had a strange habit of falling asleep at the most random moments, but she didn't mind it.
Dustin's room was in the west wing of the academy, which Mina heavily complained about, but Dustin didn't seem to mind. They spent the next five years specializing in their magic. Mina occasionally tries to trick Dustin by shifting into one of his teachers and tell him he was doing a terrible job with his training, but Dustin always sees through it in the blink of an eye, which annoys Mina to all ends. One day, they were sitting in silence as they were doing homework, and Mina turned to him and said "I want to be student council president!" Dustin thought the idea was absurd, but she was actually serious. Before he knew it, she was dragging him into all kinds of things to help around the school. They helped with plays, organizing fund raisers, decorating the entire academy for the holidays, and other grueling tasks Dustin found them doing for whatever reason. Eventually, Mina was elected president with Dustin as her vice president.
Since then, she has been working almost day and night with Dustin to make the school more enjoyable for its students. She has absolutely no idea what she wants to when she graduates from the academy, however, and that's what scares her. That Dustin and her friends may leave without her, and she'll be left alone again.
