❝ ruby slippers ! ❞ | oc book |

- Avatar: The Last Airbender

roleplay: individual avatar: the last airbender, boomeraang-

"i was meant to be a warrior, please... make me your hercules" ("hercules" sara bareilles)

name
Neriya - or Neri for short

gender
Female

age
Fifteen (during the series)

sexuality
Bisexual

ethnicity
Fire Nation and Fire Nation Colonies

nationality
Fire Nation

bending type
Nonbender

weapons
Neri has been trained to use multiple kinds of weapons, and can use them skillfully, but she tends to favor using dual broadswords or her straight sword. She likes the range of motion that they offer. She is also pretty crafty so she has been known to be able to pick up an item and find some way to use it to her advantage.

occupation
Neri was a student at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. She left the academy at age twelve to travel with her family, gaining her education through personal tutoring and lessons as they traveled. Upon returning home, Neri became a guard in training for the Fire Nation. This didn't last long: Neri soon escaped to Ba Sing Se and worked miscellaneous odd jobs to earn money.

appearance
Neri is lithe and graceful and stands at about average height. Her build makes her more likely to be underestimated than the average Fire Nation warrior. Her eyes are a hazel color, the same as her mother's, and for most of her life she had long, black hair that went down to the middle of her back. When she left the Fire Nation, she cut it to collarbone length. She has a scar on her bicep from a fight and her hands are somewhat rough from training and building.

(I couldn't find a watermark or a link to the original artist, but I'm pretty sure it's by Viria? No matter what the art is not mine! All credit goes to the original creator!)

personality
Neri is incredibly intelligent. She has a mind that works faster than most people can follow, giving her the ability to connect dots most people can't even see and come up with solutions even when things seem impossible. When added to her determination, there's no challenge that she will give up on, even if people tell her to let it go. Despite her occasional bout of stubbornness - which is usually a result of someone underestimating her or telling her what to do - she's open minded and forgiving. She only holds grudges when the worst possible thing occurs and tries her hardest to see the best in people. This can occasionally get her into trouble when she gives someone too many chances, but she'd rather give someone an extra chance and get hurt than give up on them before they can learn. Neri does her best to look at all sides of a situation in order to form an opinion. She's learning not to jump to conclusions when it comes to her past and has to train herself to look at things more objectively. She tries to be logical, but her emotions often play a role when it comes to her judgement and decision making. Despite her history, Neri doesn't let her past define her future. Instead, she does her best to learn from everything around her, no matter how hard it may be. Neri's loyal nature and ability to think quickly on her feet make her an excellent ally. She's the type to bail someone out first and ask questions later. When someone is in trouble, she will stop at nothing to help them - which, granted, has gotten her into some sticky situations, but nothing she hasn't been able to figure a way out of. Neri has her faults - she often overthinks and is willing to trust people blindly, among other things - but she knows how to play to her strengths and help out those in need. Those are the things that matter most to her. No matter what changes, her loyalty and determination will always remain key components of who she is.

family
Delun – father, alive
Enza – mother, alive
Zian – older brother, alive
Kenji – younger brother, alive

love interest
Sokka, Suki, or Zuko

backstory
Neri comes from a powerful family. Her father, Delun, came from one of the most well known families in the Fire Nation and quickly gained the trust and respect of the Fire Lord himself. Because of his status, he was assigned the task of going to one of the Fire Nation colonies. It was there he met Enza. The daughter of a fire bender and powerful earth bender, Enza did not have the ability to bend any element. When Delun went back to the Fire Nation, Enza came with him. Not long after, they had their first child, Zian, who quickly proved himself to be a powerful fire bender. Four years later, they had Neriya. She never displayed any bending capabilities but over time proved herself to be a powerful warrior with a quick mind. When Neriya was three, her parents had their second son, Kenji. It seemed like earth bending skipped over Enza: Kenji was able to bend at age four, much to his parents shock and horror. They kept it a secret from everyone, knowing having an earth bender as a child would be a conflict of interest. As Delun and Enza rose through the ranks, they continued to keep their youngest son's bending a secret from the world and made their other children keep it a secret as well.

Neriya went on to attend the Royal Fire Academy for Girls while Zian trained to become a soldier and eventual guard for the Fire Lord and his family. When she was twelve years old, her father had to go back to the colonies and decided to take his family with him, including Neriya. Zian stayed behind to train. They returned to the same colony where Delun had met Enza and stayed with her family. In Enza's childhood home, Neri found her mother's old writings about her thoughts on the war and Fire Nation. Like Neri expected, she sided with the Fire Nation - with a powerful fire bender as her father, Neri wasn't surprised that Enza grew up learning the Fire Nation was right, just like Neri believed. When her grandmother discovered her, she gave Neri the scrolls she had written, filled with her honest opinions. Unlike her grandfather, Neri's grandmother didn't see why the war was needed and held a grudge against the Fire Nation for colonizing her village. Over the next couple of months, Neri became close with her grandmother and learned her perspective. She discovered that she hadn't learned the full truth in school, only what the Fire Nation wanted its citizens to believe. She told her grandmother about Kenji and as a result, her grandmother began training Kenji in the art of earth bending - in secret, of course. Neri sat in on their lessons because despite being a nonbender, she wanted to learn the style, believing it would help her when she was fighting.

Enza and Delun eventually found out, quickly left the colony, and returned to the Fire Nation. A few months after their return, Zuko was burned and banished. This, combined with what Neri had learned from her grandmother, was enough to cement her newfound belief that the Fire Nation was doing something wrong by fighting this war. Her parents forced her to train to become a guard, just like Zian, while also providing her with private tutoring sessions. She gained an interest in engineering and inventing, though she could never let her parents know. During the day, she was a dutiful warrior. By night, she was planning her escape. It wasn't long before Neri was ready to leave, determined to take Kenji with her. It took a while but she managed to convince him and in the middle of the night, they left. Neri managed to get them to Ba Sing Se where they entered as refugees in disguise. While Kenji learned earth bending, she found work and discovered that a friend of her grandmother's was there. She and Kenji went to stay with her. Not long after their arrival, Zuko and Iroh showed up.

Neri met the gaang after following Zuko to Lake Loagai. After the fight, she became friends with them while keeping her friendship with Zuko a secret. She tried to convince him to join the Avatar, but he ultimately refused. When they left Ba Sing Se, she went with them, leaving Kenji with their family friend and Zuko to face the Fire Nation.

other
Neri knew Zuko's family because of her father's connection to the Fire Lord. She was much closer to Zuko than to Azula, but never felt any hatred towards his sister. She is very interested in inventing and likes to tinker with various objects in her free time. If I think of anything else I will add it here!

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i wrote a lot for her backstory, so i'm sorry about how long it is! let me know if there's anything i should add, change, fix, or clarify!