Kasumi Fujikawa

Kasumi Fujikawa
Gender	Female
Race	Au Ra
Clan	Unknown
Citizenship	Ul'dah
Age	30
Nameday	10th Sun of the 5th Umbral Moon
Occupation	Artist for hire, currently in Gridania
Guardian	Menphina, the Lover
Alignment	Neutral Evil
Relationship Status	Complicated

About Kasumi

Checking in at a staggering 4 fulm 10 ilm and 100 ponze soaking wet, Kasumi went without notice in Ul'dah for several days despite having traits that some would prefer be left outside the gates. Namely, the features bestowed upon her at birth from the Dawn Father.

Over her first few days, she managed to set up shop in a barren corner of the Sapphire Avenue Exchange and began pitching her services as a street artist. Kasumi offers illustrations of all sorts in exchange for coin to stay at the Quicksand's inn, but often gifts her work to those who show her a moment of kindness or something "interesting."

Since then, she's made a few connections of her own and recently started building a community to support wanderers and those without a home like herself.

Personality, Quirks & Appearance

Personality - Kasumi holds propriety in high regard, keeping it in the forefront of her mind when dealing with others. If caught in a negative situation, she's more likely to withdraw inward and be silent than act out or run away.

Quirks - She has a habit of smoothing her hair into place often, especially when nervous. Kasumi also veers off her travels to stop and paint the landscape, regardless of per-existing schedules or appointments.

Appearance - Her hair is best described as “hacked layers that hit just past the nape of her neck and part around her horns.” It fades between a coral-color to a peach at the tips. Tucked away between the clumps of hair are double sets of beaded adornments in a deep red and purple.

She has lightly tanned freckled skin that sports a continuous pink bloom across the ridge of her nose from sun exposure during her recent travels. If one were to look closely enough at her hands, they would see staining across her fingertips in various colors from her mixing floral inks for her art.

Likes ● Sunsets ● Exploring ● Anything with Rolanberries ● Flowers ● Coming up with new color mixtures

Dislikes ● Pushy people ● Cold tea ● Greasy foods ● Thunderstorms

Misc. ● Vice(s): Doubtful towards others

Rumors Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC! ◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard) ╪ "I couldn't tell you how long she's been here. She just started walking around town one day.” ╪ “Saw her in the markets the other day. Her arms were brimming over with flowers, she couldn't see and kept bumping into things...” ╪ “Did you know she has a small stall in the Sapphire Exchange? It's actually just a couple of crates she sits on...” ◢ Uncommon Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear) ╪ "I've never actually seen anyone buy art from her. How can she afford to stay in town?” (Ul'dah only.) ╪ "She normally only carries one book for her work, right? Why were there two, then...” ╪ “Saw her head down an alleyway once. Turned the corner and she was gone.” ◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard) ╪ "The only time I've seen her show anything other than a smile was when a freak thunderstorm moved in. She made for her room like a hunted rabbit for its burrow.” ╪ "I swear on the Twelve I've seen 'er sittin' on a cliff before... she was jus' hummin' some sad tune.” ◢ PC Rumors ╪ "Her art is something to behold, I've seen other artists do well, but her art...it moves something in the soul, like she captures the essence of life itself" - Aiswynd Drakareus

Relations ♥ Romantic Interest    ♥ Friends    ● Acquaintances/Neutral      ● Would prefer to avoid ♥ Aiswynd Drakareus - Kasumi chanced upon the charismatic Xaela at the festival pie-eating contest shortly after her arrival in Ul'dah. He quickly became indispensable friend and they founded their free company Wandering Horizons together as an attempt to give others like themselves a supportive community. After a recent battle, Aiswynd's memories have become misplaced, leaving Kasumi to struggle with various feelings alone as she supports him on his way to recovery. ● Nicholas Holt - While the origin of their relationship cannot be traced, Kasumi finds herself routing for the enigmatic and ever-changing youth. ● Trembling Boulder - A Hellsguard Roegadyn healer that stumbled upon a gravely wounded Kasumi at the Carline Canopy. Despite their hesitation, Trembling patched Kasumi up enough for her to survive and recover. Since then, he's taken on the much appreciated role of their main free company cleric.

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Story Arcs

Arc 1 - Ul'dah

On the Road –

Show text

The winds blew across Black Brush Station, kicking up veils of sand and dead vegetation into the faces of its inhabitants. For most, this was a common affair and they took little notice in it; other than stopping to offer a consoling smile to passing adventurers not yet accustomed to the weather. One such adventurer stood to the side of a merchant's booth, swinging their arms wildly across their hood as another harsh wind injected sand into their face.

The stall's owner, a brunette Lalafell, turned and gave a small shrug as he handed off coin to a patron. “Be better standing with your back to it,” the Lalafell spoke, their mouth bending upwards into a teasing smirk. The hooded figure swatted at the winds again, letting out a heavy grunt of exasperation and turned to face the merchant.

“I'm trying to do just that...” A female's voice from under the hood retorts, earning a sidelong peek from the Lalafell. A hand raises once more to the hood, tugging it down over her face further. “Every time I do, the winds change again.”

“They do that here.” The merchant, still handling other customers, shrugs once more and goes back to their business; speaking idly to the side between transactions. “You could take the hood down. Let it flow past.”

The figure's motions cease entirely, hands still holding the hood down. A small flick from under the back of the robe pulled at the fabric, the hands finally dropping to press down on the area earning her another glance. “You buying something, lady?”

“O-of course,” The voice fades off as she turns to dig out coin from a large bag at her side. “A skin of water and directions, please.” Metal clinks across her palm as she weighs the amount and sets it forward for the merchant.

“Directions to, miss?” The Lalafell holds out a hand for the coin, looking it over before nodding and pulling the water to the top of the booth.

“Ehm,” A hand brisks across the hood again, holding it still against another burst of wind. “Ul'dah, please.”

“First time to the city, eh.” He props himself up on the booth and reaches across it towards a dusty, sunken in road. “Take that and head south. You leave soon, you'll be there by nightfall.”

Without a thought, the figure pivots to look at the road; earning them a swift burst of hot desert air to the face. The robe's hood flies back, revealing an intricately woven set of braids that wrap around two white horn-like protrusions. The merchant pauses, eyeing the woman with an ever-narrowing gaze.

“Another one, eh.” The tone is flat, unimpressed with the Au Ri as she scrambles to cover herself under hood again. “Don't bother, miss. You'll have to rid yourself of it to get into Ul'dah to begin with.” A hand waves from his side of the booth as he turns back, readily accepting another purchase from another adventurer who doesn't appear phased at all by her.

Blinking, the woman turns round, quickly discovering that aside from a few wary looks, no one seems to care she's there. A hand clutches across her sleeve, pulling at it with an unsteady exhale.

“As I said, miss. Don't bother. Take the road, head south.”

“Y-yes, sir. ...Thank you.” She steps back and offers a deep bow, the formality of it earning a few chuckles from the surrounding sell-swords. They mutter and nudge each other as she heads out to the road, sparing one glance back at the merchant for reassurance she's going in the right direction, but finding none as he's already busy with a swarm of patrons.

“Take the road. Head south.” She repeats, a hand smoothing out the long segments of hair on either side of her face as the wind brisks again. “To Ul'dah, then.”

– – –

After a while, the woman stops and lifts a hand to shield her eyes from the setting sun. The myriad of domes and steeples reach into the sky, showing an outline of the grand desert city just over the horizon. She inhales deeply and releases, lowering the hand back down to her side. “That must be it, then.”

She steps down from the rocks and heads towards the bank of the river just off the side of the road. A small encampment sits on the other side, already bustling with citizens and merchants returning to the city. Taking a seat near the bridge, just out of sight from the camp, a hand lifts towards her hair again as she looks into the water. Her lips thin into an uneasy frown as the coral colored braids are slowly undone and flood over her shoulders with crimped hair. Fingers brush through the strands, smoothing it into one bundle as her free hand brandishes a small dagger from her bag.

Weary eyes stare across her reflection, scanning across all of the details as the knife slips through her hair; slowly carving away at the image she knew for so long. After a few minutes, her hand raises again and tugs as a short length of hair, cleaving away some of the awkward lengths. The dagger sets down next on the shallow embankment, both hands clawing across the top of her head in an attempt to set the hair into a fashion that's presentable. The reflection scrutinizes the new hairstyle with a grimace, looking entirely unsure of the new look. “It'll have to do for now...”

The bag drops to her side with a hefty thump and she disrobes, leaving her clad in an outfit that looks suiting to the area. Standing up, she brushes out the tunic top and straightens it across the arms as the bag is reequipped. The long bundles of hair are gathered into the robe and tied into a parcel using the sleeves to secure it before setting it into the river. The current picks up and sweeps the robe downstream, eventually tossing it from a waterfall out of view. She scratches into the newly cropped hair, ruffling it for a moment as she examines the waterfall and then the remainder of the road into Ul'dah. The bag readjusts to her side with each step towards the bridge, heading atop it this time to cross onto the other side of the river and slowly into Ul'dah's shadow under the setting sun.