Info
player name: Mi
player livejournal: nanami_hibino
playing here: Elena, Beyond Birthday, Lenalee
In Character Information
character name: Helen
Fandom: Claymore (manga)
Timeline: After the 7 year time skip (Chapter 66)
character's age: Exact age unknown. Appears to be in her early twenties.
canon powers, skills, pets and equipment:
Claymore - The skills of Claymore warriors far exceed normal humans so that they can fight and kill yoma. They are hybrids that are created to be faster, stronger, and far more durable. The bare necessities (food, water, sleep) are barely necessary for Claymores. She can sense youki and has learned how to conceal her own. They can also regenerate from even the most severe wounds, reattach severed limbs or even grow new ones. However, as an offensive-type, Helen isn't quite as skilled in this area. She could reattach a limb, but not regrow one.
As a Claymore, she will be bringing her claymore sword with her.
Extending Limbs - Helen can stretch her arms to great lengths, enabling her to strike or bind targets from a distance. In the beginning, she wore special armor on both her arms and legs to allow for this, suggesting that she could do the same with them. This ability was something that she gained and became easy for her after the partial Awakening.
Drill Sword - Helen has the ability to twist her arm multiple times amd strike a target like a drill, releasing all the stored up energy at once. This was Jean's skill before her and something that Helen mastered during the seven years she was believed to be dead. The ability of her limbs likely made it easier for her to learn.
non-canon powers: None needed!
canon history:
Helen first appears as part of a hit squad, a group of four assigned to hunt down an awakened being. She wasted no time in showing that her tongue was just as sharp as her blade when she mocked Clare, the last to arrive, for showing up with a young boy and hinting that he was her "plaything". Though it was also Helen's first time hunting a Voracious Eater, she showed no fear. Her smirk even turned to laughter when she learned of Clare's Claymore number - 47. Dead last.
Helen passed the time during their journey into the mountains by mocking Clare and questioning the Organization for sending the lowest ranked with them. She also displayed a genuine appetite for food, which was a rare thing for a Claymore. But things turned serious when they found their target, a male Voracious Eater. Voracious Eaters were just another name for Awakened Beings. Awakened Beings were former Claymores who'd exceeded their limits and lost their humanity, finally turning into monsters. And Claymores were always female. At least that had been the belief.
Helen's shock turned to anger when the thing injured Deneve and she went in for an attack that didn't go quite as planned. It was "47" who came to her defense, angering Helen even more. She accessed her youki, her eyes, facial appearance, and voice changing as she stretched her arms in an attempt to dismember the monster and finish him off.
As the battle progressed, Miria, the highest ranked among them and team leader, began telling the small group of some of the secrets that she'd learned about the Organization. Namely that there had actually been male Claymores in the past, but the feeling of Awakening is a pleasurable one, and they'd been unable to resist it.
Helen almost gave in to dispair when the battle looked hopeless. But then she watched as Clare stood and fought on, ultimately bringing the monster down. It was then that she found respect and even comradarie with Clare, regardless of her ranking. Afterwards, Miria dropped the next bombshell on Helen and the other two. All of them had come close to Awakening but had somehow pulled back after they should've been too far gone. And since that time, they had been changed. They were now in a half-awakened state. It was the reason that Helen could expand her limbs so easily. Such a thing should've been at the outer limits of a Claymore's yoma power. But whether they had avoided awakening completely or were slowly inching towards it was unknown. Because of this, and the fact that they were each something of a troublemaker in the Organization's eyes, they had likely been sent on that mission to die. But they hadn't died. And Helen now had a bond with the other three Claymores that would last until they met again.
And they did during the Northern Campaign, where 24 Claymores had been sent to battle Awakened Beings. Helen's extendable limbs played a vital part in some battles but were less effective against Rigaldo. When Clare partially awakened to bring him down, she asked Helen to be the one to kill her, since she could take her head from a distance. This time it was Helen who didn't want Clare to give up and she told her that she'd never forgive Clare for making her do such a thing. But Jean, another Claymore who'd once found herself in that same state, stopped her. She brought Clare back under control and was able to return a favor before dying.
By all appearances, Helen was ultimately defeated and died along with the other 23 Claymores. The Organization didn't exactly mourn for them. But knowing their situation beforehand, the Claymores had formed a risky plan. Each of them took half a yoma energy surpressent. By taking only half, they were still able to fight normally, but should they be knocked unconscious, the pill's effects would kick in and stop the flow of their yoma energy. With that they might be able to play dead and survive. It wasn't much, but it was the only chance any of them had. Helen was one of the lucky seven that it actually worked for.
Seven years passed. And when Helen showed her face again, she was stronger. She had learned Jean's Drill Sword Technique. Like the others, she now wore black, she carried the spirits of those who didn't survive with her. And she was no longer a tool of the Organization.
personality:
Helen is different from most Claymores. Many of the warriors seem emotionless, detached from both their missions and each other. But Number 22 is anything but. Helen feels a great range of emotions, and even more unique is that they show in words and expressions. She is quick to anger and even quicker to speak her mind, which has caused her problems with fellow Claymores and even regular humans. Helen can be (and often is) aggressive, mocking, and competitive. But she's also easily read, thanks to the smirk on her lips and the defiant look in her eyes. You don't have to be able to read youki to think "troublemaker" with little more than a glance at Helen's face.
But there is another side to Helen, a side that maintains a lot of the good things about humanity as well as the bad. Helen may make fun of those weaker than herself, but she has no real desire to see them die either. Helen attempted to discourage Clare from tagging along on the hunt for the Awakened Being when they first met, thinking that the lowest ranked Claymore was simply marching to her death. Granted, she did it through a whole lot of insults and bullying. But as someone who once lectured Deneve about her suicidal methods and told her that it was alright to be afraid to die since they were only human, Helen obviously places a value on life, even as Claymores. That said, she can sometimes be reckless in battle when her emotions take over.
Helen is also lively and "human" in other ways, still having an appreciation for eating and drinking even when Claymores require very little food and can control the amount of alcohol that enters their bloodstream. She can be childish at times and can find excitement and joy in something as simple as beautiful scenery. Her loyalty is also unquestionable, especially when it applies to Deneve, her oldest friend and opposite in many ways.
Helen is as loyal as she is rebellious, as flexible with her emotions as she is with her limbs, and as much human as she is monster.