(no subject)
Player nickname: Angel
Player LJ: rides_thebeast
Way to contact you:
Email: Skyprincess92@gmail.com
AIM: MidnightLullabii
Other: --
Are you at least 15?: Yes’m
Current Characters: Bella Swan | Sam Puckett
Character: Teresa of the Faint Smile
Fandom: Claymore
Character Notes:
History:
In a world where demons torment the local populace no one can ever be considered safe. Even with the organization of silver-eyed witches out killing the demons there is still no sense of safety. The organization has a high fee, hard for any village to pay off, and the women have unnatural strength given to them from the fusion of their body with that of one of the demons. The people of this land refer to the women as Claymores for the large, double-edged swords they wield one-handed and with little trouble.
The Claymores are a fierce group of women with no mercy to any demons. But they barely feel anything and live at the edges of the normal world as humans do not trust or want the half-demons anywhere near them. And no one ever volunteers to become a Claymore either. The Organization either claims a child (a rarity but in some cases they will go to the extreme) or the children are given freely to the Organization. Whether its to pay off the city’s debt, to get rid of an unruly child, or just to get a little extra money to eat, the young girls are sold for all sorts of reasons and they never hear from their homes again.
Such is the case with a young Teresa. Her last name is forgotten, abandoned when the ones she had trusted and loved betrayed her and gave her up to the Organization. From that point Teresa had only two options. Die as a beggar or join the Organization. And who really wants to die?
Teresa had always been a beautiful child. But with the fusion of the Yoma to her body everything changed. Her once pitch black hair was drained of all color, and her opaque eyes became the famous ones of the silver-eyed witches. And, of course, with the fusion her body was maimed and distorted into something of nightmares should anyone ever see her unclothed.
Training began immediately for the young girl, but from day one she resisted the Organization. She was an unruly child and constantly ran away from her handlers. The Organization was a fairly isolated place, the there was a town that was moderately far from the place. And Teresa constantly ran away to the village at every chance. It amazed people that she always made it safely. That was the first sign of something strong within the ‘problem child’. That she could run through so much wilderness that was riddled with demons and wild animals and come out unscathed was nothing short of extraordinary for a child.
After that Teresa’s life became the Organization. She could never turn back and join the humans, and as she grew up she began to realize that she could only ever live to be a Claymore. From that point on she became the best Claymore that the Organization had had in such a very long time. She was quick to rise to the number one position amongst the 42 women. Her powers were considered unparalleled, and she never once lost a fight.
What set Teresa out from the others, though, was her ability to fight without ever using her Yoma powers. She could kill any Yoma and not have to use her powers, therefore her face never became distorted with the reality of the monster within. And that’s where the title of ‘Teresa of the Faint Smile’ came into play. Her face never distorted, and she even seemed to smile as she killed demons. For Claymores their eyes change at 10% use of power, at 30% their faces change, at 50% their bodies change, and at 80% they can’t turn back. Teresa eyes never change color in a fight.
Teresa began to live what could be called a very empty existence from that point on. She fought every Yoma she was called in for, she was cold and heartless and showed no mercy when villages said they were unable to pay fees, and she never lingered amongst the humans. In the villages people begrudged her presence, fearing her but thankful for the safety. And also hating her and her kind for their demon blood and merciless wages. Teresa never collected money, she had a handler that did that for her, but she would always say with a smile that if they didn’t pay the Claymores would never return to help their village and soon Yoma would overtake the town. Almost making it sound like they sent the demons themselves…
But Teresa’s real story begins with a mission like any other, but an ending she never saw coming.
A village had been accused of housing Yome, unknown to them, and the Yoma would feed on the villages surrounding. The other villages called in the favor, and offered to pay the fees, to rid the town of the Yoma. When Teresa arrived she immediately started killing what looked to be innocent people, but it was clear after the fourth victim that they weren’t innocent. They were the Yoma disguised as humans. And Teresa killed six of them, though she had felt the presence of a seventh. And it was that seventh that changed her life forever.
She killed the seventh, which had hidden itself behind a young girl and pretended to be her brother. And Teresa had thought that would be the end of her duties and prepared to leave, but the child had clung to her unexpectedly. Teresa beat the child every time she grabbed her, but still the girl would not leave. The villagers spoke of how the Yoma had abused her and the child had shut down physically and emotionally and never spoke a word to anyone. And that she viewed Teresa as her savior. But Teresa wanted nothing to do with her and beat her as the village watched, a village that wanted nothing to do with the Yoma touched child.
Teresa had thought she had left the child behind when she began to travel, but as she rested she noticed the presence of the girl following her. But it wasn’t just her there. There were bandits surrounding them as well, and Teresa had unwittingly cut the hand off of one that had surprised her. Teresa threatened them, but they knew the Claymores first and cardinal rule was to never kill a human, by accident or otherwise, or they would be executed immediately, thus they didn’t fear the Claymore. But she had no money or anything of worth, and the men only wanted her for her body, which Teresa was more than willing to give them. But as she stripped down the bandits even vomited in horror at the sight of her body, and all left her as there was nothing to take from the monster. But still, the injured one would always bear a grudge against the witch.
Teresa told the girl to leave as well, that she had no life she could give to her, but the mute refused to give up. She followed Teresa endlessly, even as her body tired with hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. And when Teresa jumped off a cliff to take another path, the girl only followed after. And though she was injured, she still tried to stand and follow her. After that Teresa lightened up a little, thinking that if the girl died and Teresa had left she would be blamed and executed.
Once Teresa had thrown the girl into a spring she woke back up and eagerly drank the water. Teresa gave her food as well, and though the girl offered some to her the witch had no need to eat. One small meal could satisfy her for days. So the child eagerly ate it all up as Teresa told her she’d take her to the next village and find someone to care for her there.
The next morning the child woke to Teresa having gone missing but the woman appeared soon after with food. She told the child not to fear, that she had no reason to lie and she wouldn’t leave her now. The two continued to travel all day and the girl never stopped following. Teresa even sought to name her, choosing the name of a love goddess Clare that was twin to the goddess Teresa, and had even guessed right. So Teresa and Clare set out to continue their travels.
Upon the next night Teresa left a sleeping Clare to meet with the bandit she had injured who had stalked the women. He wanted to tear at her body and make her scream, and being unable to kill him and beyond feeling real pain anymore, she let the man do as he pleased. But Clare had woken and would not stand for it. She attacked the man, who in turn attacked the young girl. Teresa drew her sword on him and threatened to kill him, and as he reminded her of the rule she reminded him that it was entirely her choice to obey or not, and he left the women alone for the time being.
Clare flung her body at Teresa’s and cried in her arms. Teresa attempted to soothe her (though her words were more chastising than soothing) but Clare wasn’t upset over the pain. The girl began to cry as she had looked at Teresa’s damaged body and cried over how it must have hurt. Teresa could only stare in shock as the girl continued to speak of how Teresa always looked so sad and hurt and broken and how it all must have been unbearable. The small child had seen far beyond the smiling face of the woman and seen her true soul. The child who’d been abandonded, abused, and deserted, who was so much like Teresa, was comforting her. And Teresa cried for the first time since she’d been changed and held the girl in her arms.
When the pair reached the next town Teresa bought the girl new clothes and killed the Yoma she had been sent after. As she told the town to give the money to a stranger in black she also asked them to keep Clare. Clare broke down and stripped herself of the new clothes and said she didn’t want any of it without Teresa. But a kind woman in the crowd put a cloak on the girl and Teresa left her with the woman before leaving town.
As she began to leave town she saw the bandits from before riding back into the village. And then she realized why. They were waiting for the Yoma to be cleared. Then they would slaughter the town. Teresa hurried back, but already people had been murdered and kidnapped and Clare was nowhere to be found. Then the one handed bandit appeared with a bloody Clare, laughing about how she was so cute when she screamed for Teresa. Teresa cut his other hand off and took the girl in her arms and without any hesitation she slaughter the twenty-odd bandits, not letting a soul get away. And as Clare woke, she saw a smiling Teresa with the blood of her enemy on her face ready to care for the child.
But killing the bandits had sealed Teresa’s fate. Claymores were sent to kill her, and at first Teresa had thought to submit. But when she asked what would happen to Clare and was not given an answer, she injured the Claymores and ran with Clare, saying that she finally had a reason to live. The Organization called in the next top Claymores to kill the number 1 girl, numbers two through five were dispatched to kill her.
Teresa and Clare had housed themselves in a town in the mountains, and Teresa had even killed a Yoma for no reward as she was no longer a Claymore. The town was grateful and gave them room and board, but they couldn’t hide her when the Claymores found her. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 were easy to deal with. But the new number 2 was different. She didn’t fight like the others, and posed a real threat to Teresa. But being so young and so new she was no match for her yet. Teresa had thought to kill the girl before she was a real threat to her, but she had gone soft and couldn’t do it and instead left with Clare, leaving all four of the women injured.
But the young woman was brash and emotional, and the fear she felt when facing Teresa had caused her to lose control. She released 70% of her power and chased after Teresa. Teresa tried to get her to go back, but it was too late. The girl was irrational. Teresa only released 10% of her power and still the 70% number 2 was no match for her, and pushed herself further to be a match. Then she realized she was at 80% and couldn’t go back. She cried and begged Teresa to kill her while she still had a shred of humanity, and Teresa only obliged. It was the merciful thing to do at this point.
Yet the girl wasn’t done. The unguarded Teresa was a perfect target and the monster cut off her head arms and head without warning. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 attempted to stop the monster who fully awakened in that moment and was beyond words, but they were no match for the number 2 at her full powers. She killed them instantly, then wanted for guts and entrails to eat. She turned and Clare shook in fear. But the monster walked right past her without even a glance.
No one knows why Priscilla didn’t even look at Clare, but Clare didn’t care. Her only reason to live had been killed right in front of her. And Clare wanted revenge. She took Teresa’s head to the Organization and told them to fuse her flesh and blood with her. Clare became the first one to volunteer with the Organization, and the only one to fuse with another Claymore, keeping Teresa living on forever.
Personality:
Once upon a time the woman might have been sweet, adventurous, courageous, and fun. But that part of her died with her childhood and was replaced with the coldness of a true monster.
Teresa was never a cruel a person. She had no reason to be. She was number one, and no one rivaled her powers. Her enemies were flies to her and the humans were nothings. It could be said that Teresa had a real superiority problem. And even Teresa would have believed it. But one person knew otherwise and could crack the mystery that was Teresa.
Truth be told, Teresa was resentful of the humans who’d abandoned her. She was sad for the life she lost. She was broken from being made a monster against her will. And she was so very lonely. No one welcomed her anywhere, even people who needed her help didn’t want her in their towns for long. She existed at the edges of humanity and had no friends even within the Organization.
This had made the woman cold and turned off. She smiled, but her smile was all a lie. She was never happy, but her smile made it seem like this life suited her. She even smiled at the Organization as they gave her new missions. She was eager to work and even maybe loved her job. At least it gave her purpose.
In the presence of others Teresa could be light-hearted and teasing. It was all pretend, but it was easy enough. With the Organization and the other Claymores she was nothing but kind. With humans she was superior and cocky. And with the members of the Organization that were against her, she was the same as she was with humans. Cocky and above them.
But in a real battle, one where Teresa had to try, she could be serious. She could be cruel. And she could be merciless. She had destroyed an Awakened Being all by herself and never boasted about it. The game with the Organization was to never let them see you break a sweat.
After Clare, though, parts of her changed. She had let Priscilla live, where the old Teresa would have killed her without a second thought. She was light-hearted, but underneath that was a seriousness that came with having someone to live for. She had been cocky like always at first, but as things got more serious so did she. And when Priscilla started to lose it Teresa had been nothing but serious as she tried to talk her down.
There was always a time and place for Teresa’s behaviors, and she could easily recognize them. And she never did a thing that she didn’t mean and would later regret.
Other:
Teresa’s powers-
Teresa has no great strength. She doesn’t have brute force or agility or accuracy, at least, her abilities aren’t stronger than anyone else’s. It’s her Yoma reading powers that give her her edge. When fighting demons, and Claymores, it is easy to read where their focused power is and attack fittingly.
It’s why Priscilla had been a challenge at first. She had been like Teresa and fought with her power fully suppressed so Teresa couldn’t read her. But still, Teresa was a natural fighter and naturally stronger than Priscilla. She didn’t even need to release any Yoma power to fight the unawakened Priscilla. It wasn’t until she was at 70% power that Teresa even had to consider using her powers.
Teresa can read a Yoma’s strength and speed from miles away and her Yoma reading abilities are unparalleled. There is no one in the Organization that can read people like she can, and that is what makes her the strongest of all the Claymores.
Note- I’m taking Teresa post-death. She’s friendlier and sociable after Clare but her death comes only days after meeting Clare so there’s no time. Teresa’s after-life is a beautiful forest with springs of water and for convenience’s sake the springs allow her to interact with DDD.
Additional Links:
Teresa Wiki
First Person (entry type):
[Voice]
[As the spring shows her DDD there’s some amused laughter from the woman.] My heaven has networking capabilities? Perhaps I’m being rewarded for being so good in my life. No, that can’t be it. I was an ill-behaved little monster.
As the Organization used say, though. ‘When in Rabona…’
Little ducklings I shall call you until I can learn your names. Care to share some stories with me? I’m rather bored here Imagine such a thing, being bored in death, this must be Hell and wouldn’t mind some interaction. Perhaps you have a tale of grandeur you would like to share? I’m more than willing to listen.
Better yet, you could just explain to me who you all are. For convenience’s sake, please. I can’t call you all duckling forever now, can I? Though maybe you wouldn’t mind.
And before I forget my manners I haven’t had to introduce myself in so long…, my name is Teresa and it is a pleasure to meet you all.
Third Person: Prompt - Family
[[ I’m doing the third person sample pre-death to give her a little more to do ]]
What a hateful thing the sun could be for a Claymore. Night was dark and it hid the secrets of the silver-eyed witches so well. But the dawn brought forth a truth that made Teresa shudder with the realization of it.
That previous night Clare had broken down all walls Teresa had been building for what could have been centuries (the woman no longer counted time as she didn’t age anymore and her life would never be as long as a human’s). Clare’s spoken truth had haunted Teresa’s dreams and the woman hadn’t slept since she first woke deep into the night. Sleep wasn’t entirely necessary, her body required so little of anything, but Teresa couldn’t decide which was worse today, no sleep or too much sleep.
Sleep had brought forth a tumult of dreams. Flashes of memories haunted her as she dreamed of the life she had left behind and the life she could have had. And her wakeful hours alone had done nothing to quiet the thoughts either. Damn the child for making her think of things long ago buried.
Teresa immediately chided herself for thinking such a thing of Clare. That was the first sign that she had gone soft. Teresa laughed slightly to herself. How silly she was. Chiding herself for thinking cruel things about a human. Since when had she cared about such things?
But how could she not care about the sleeping brunette that lay only an arms width away from the witch. How easily she sleeps next to a monster, Teresa thought. What did the little one dream of? Were they good dreams, or had the Yoma forever scarred the girl in a way that she couldn’t even hide in the unconscious realm? Teresa burned with the urge to ask the girl when she woke up, but if the latter was true there was no need to reopen the wounds.
Yet, when Clare stirred into wakefulness she didn’t scream or look around in fear. She smiled. As her round eyes spotted Teresa the girl smiled. It broke Teresa’s heart to think that she was all the girl had left in the world. How truly unlucky the child was to be left with a Claymore. But no matter. The village was close, and then Clare’s real life could begin.
“Come, sleeping beauty. We still have a ways to go, and I won’t be slowing down for you,” Teresa said. But that was a lie. She’d always slow down for Clare. She smiled at the child now and Clare broke into a grin and jumped up.
“Let’s go!”
How excited the child was. It almost broke Teresa’s heart to leave her in the next village. But it was all she could really do for Clare. Clare would never have a life with the roaming witch. She needed humans, now more then ever.
“Then let us be on our way.”
To live as a human and to die as one, that is the greatest gift I shall ever give you, Clare. She would understand one day.
[[ The last line is a paraphrase of something Teresa says in the manga and is only used now to emphasize the importance of the scene. ]]
Player LJ: rides_thebeast
Way to contact you:
Email: Skyprincess92@gmail.com
AIM: MidnightLullabii
Other: --
Are you at least 15?: Yes’m
Current Characters: Bella Swan | Sam Puckett
Character: Teresa of the Faint Smile
Fandom: Claymore
Character Notes:
History:
In a world where demons torment the local populace no one can ever be considered safe. Even with the organization of silver-eyed witches out killing the demons there is still no sense of safety. The organization has a high fee, hard for any village to pay off, and the women have unnatural strength given to them from the fusion of their body with that of one of the demons. The people of this land refer to the women as Claymores for the large, double-edged swords they wield one-handed and with little trouble.
The Claymores are a fierce group of women with no mercy to any demons. But they barely feel anything and live at the edges of the normal world as humans do not trust or want the half-demons anywhere near them. And no one ever volunteers to become a Claymore either. The Organization either claims a child (a rarity but in some cases they will go to the extreme) or the children are given freely to the Organization. Whether its to pay off the city’s debt, to get rid of an unruly child, or just to get a little extra money to eat, the young girls are sold for all sorts of reasons and they never hear from their homes again.
Such is the case with a young Teresa. Her last name is forgotten, abandoned when the ones she had trusted and loved betrayed her and gave her up to the Organization. From that point Teresa had only two options. Die as a beggar or join the Organization. And who really wants to die?
Teresa had always been a beautiful child. But with the fusion of the Yoma to her body everything changed. Her once pitch black hair was drained of all color, and her opaque eyes became the famous ones of the silver-eyed witches. And, of course, with the fusion her body was maimed and distorted into something of nightmares should anyone ever see her unclothed.
Training began immediately for the young girl, but from day one she resisted the Organization. She was an unruly child and constantly ran away from her handlers. The Organization was a fairly isolated place, the there was a town that was moderately far from the place. And Teresa constantly ran away to the village at every chance. It amazed people that she always made it safely. That was the first sign of something strong within the ‘problem child’. That she could run through so much wilderness that was riddled with demons and wild animals and come out unscathed was nothing short of extraordinary for a child.
After that Teresa’s life became the Organization. She could never turn back and join the humans, and as she grew up she began to realize that she could only ever live to be a Claymore. From that point on she became the best Claymore that the Organization had had in such a very long time. She was quick to rise to the number one position amongst the 42 women. Her powers were considered unparalleled, and she never once lost a fight.
What set Teresa out from the others, though, was her ability to fight without ever using her Yoma powers. She could kill any Yoma and not have to use her powers, therefore her face never became distorted with the reality of the monster within. And that’s where the title of ‘Teresa of the Faint Smile’ came into play. Her face never distorted, and she even seemed to smile as she killed demons. For Claymores their eyes change at 10% use of power, at 30% their faces change, at 50% their bodies change, and at 80% they can’t turn back. Teresa eyes never change color in a fight.
Teresa began to live what could be called a very empty existence from that point on. She fought every Yoma she was called in for, she was cold and heartless and showed no mercy when villages said they were unable to pay fees, and she never lingered amongst the humans. In the villages people begrudged her presence, fearing her but thankful for the safety. And also hating her and her kind for their demon blood and merciless wages. Teresa never collected money, she had a handler that did that for her, but she would always say with a smile that if they didn’t pay the Claymores would never return to help their village and soon Yoma would overtake the town. Almost making it sound like they sent the demons themselves…
But Teresa’s real story begins with a mission like any other, but an ending she never saw coming.
A village had been accused of housing Yome, unknown to them, and the Yoma would feed on the villages surrounding. The other villages called in the favor, and offered to pay the fees, to rid the town of the Yoma. When Teresa arrived she immediately started killing what looked to be innocent people, but it was clear after the fourth victim that they weren’t innocent. They were the Yoma disguised as humans. And Teresa killed six of them, though she had felt the presence of a seventh. And it was that seventh that changed her life forever.
She killed the seventh, which had hidden itself behind a young girl and pretended to be her brother. And Teresa had thought that would be the end of her duties and prepared to leave, but the child had clung to her unexpectedly. Teresa beat the child every time she grabbed her, but still the girl would not leave. The villagers spoke of how the Yoma had abused her and the child had shut down physically and emotionally and never spoke a word to anyone. And that she viewed Teresa as her savior. But Teresa wanted nothing to do with her and beat her as the village watched, a village that wanted nothing to do with the Yoma touched child.
Teresa had thought she had left the child behind when she began to travel, but as she rested she noticed the presence of the girl following her. But it wasn’t just her there. There were bandits surrounding them as well, and Teresa had unwittingly cut the hand off of one that had surprised her. Teresa threatened them, but they knew the Claymores first and cardinal rule was to never kill a human, by accident or otherwise, or they would be executed immediately, thus they didn’t fear the Claymore. But she had no money or anything of worth, and the men only wanted her for her body, which Teresa was more than willing to give them. But as she stripped down the bandits even vomited in horror at the sight of her body, and all left her as there was nothing to take from the monster. But still, the injured one would always bear a grudge against the witch.
Teresa told the girl to leave as well, that she had no life she could give to her, but the mute refused to give up. She followed Teresa endlessly, even as her body tired with hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. And when Teresa jumped off a cliff to take another path, the girl only followed after. And though she was injured, she still tried to stand and follow her. After that Teresa lightened up a little, thinking that if the girl died and Teresa had left she would be blamed and executed.
Once Teresa had thrown the girl into a spring she woke back up and eagerly drank the water. Teresa gave her food as well, and though the girl offered some to her the witch had no need to eat. One small meal could satisfy her for days. So the child eagerly ate it all up as Teresa told her she’d take her to the next village and find someone to care for her there.
The next morning the child woke to Teresa having gone missing but the woman appeared soon after with food. She told the child not to fear, that she had no reason to lie and she wouldn’t leave her now. The two continued to travel all day and the girl never stopped following. Teresa even sought to name her, choosing the name of a love goddess Clare that was twin to the goddess Teresa, and had even guessed right. So Teresa and Clare set out to continue their travels.
Upon the next night Teresa left a sleeping Clare to meet with the bandit she had injured who had stalked the women. He wanted to tear at her body and make her scream, and being unable to kill him and beyond feeling real pain anymore, she let the man do as he pleased. But Clare had woken and would not stand for it. She attacked the man, who in turn attacked the young girl. Teresa drew her sword on him and threatened to kill him, and as he reminded her of the rule she reminded him that it was entirely her choice to obey or not, and he left the women alone for the time being.
Clare flung her body at Teresa’s and cried in her arms. Teresa attempted to soothe her (though her words were more chastising than soothing) but Clare wasn’t upset over the pain. The girl began to cry as she had looked at Teresa’s damaged body and cried over how it must have hurt. Teresa could only stare in shock as the girl continued to speak of how Teresa always looked so sad and hurt and broken and how it all must have been unbearable. The small child had seen far beyond the smiling face of the woman and seen her true soul. The child who’d been abandonded, abused, and deserted, who was so much like Teresa, was comforting her. And Teresa cried for the first time since she’d been changed and held the girl in her arms.
When the pair reached the next town Teresa bought the girl new clothes and killed the Yoma she had been sent after. As she told the town to give the money to a stranger in black she also asked them to keep Clare. Clare broke down and stripped herself of the new clothes and said she didn’t want any of it without Teresa. But a kind woman in the crowd put a cloak on the girl and Teresa left her with the woman before leaving town.
As she began to leave town she saw the bandits from before riding back into the village. And then she realized why. They were waiting for the Yoma to be cleared. Then they would slaughter the town. Teresa hurried back, but already people had been murdered and kidnapped and Clare was nowhere to be found. Then the one handed bandit appeared with a bloody Clare, laughing about how she was so cute when she screamed for Teresa. Teresa cut his other hand off and took the girl in her arms and without any hesitation she slaughter the twenty-odd bandits, not letting a soul get away. And as Clare woke, she saw a smiling Teresa with the blood of her enemy on her face ready to care for the child.
But killing the bandits had sealed Teresa’s fate. Claymores were sent to kill her, and at first Teresa had thought to submit. But when she asked what would happen to Clare and was not given an answer, she injured the Claymores and ran with Clare, saying that she finally had a reason to live. The Organization called in the next top Claymores to kill the number 1 girl, numbers two through five were dispatched to kill her.
Teresa and Clare had housed themselves in a town in the mountains, and Teresa had even killed a Yoma for no reward as she was no longer a Claymore. The town was grateful and gave them room and board, but they couldn’t hide her when the Claymores found her. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 were easy to deal with. But the new number 2 was different. She didn’t fight like the others, and posed a real threat to Teresa. But being so young and so new she was no match for her yet. Teresa had thought to kill the girl before she was a real threat to her, but she had gone soft and couldn’t do it and instead left with Clare, leaving all four of the women injured.
But the young woman was brash and emotional, and the fear she felt when facing Teresa had caused her to lose control. She released 70% of her power and chased after Teresa. Teresa tried to get her to go back, but it was too late. The girl was irrational. Teresa only released 10% of her power and still the 70% number 2 was no match for her, and pushed herself further to be a match. Then she realized she was at 80% and couldn’t go back. She cried and begged Teresa to kill her while she still had a shred of humanity, and Teresa only obliged. It was the merciful thing to do at this point.
Yet the girl wasn’t done. The unguarded Teresa was a perfect target and the monster cut off her head arms and head without warning. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 attempted to stop the monster who fully awakened in that moment and was beyond words, but they were no match for the number 2 at her full powers. She killed them instantly, then wanted for guts and entrails to eat. She turned and Clare shook in fear. But the monster walked right past her without even a glance.
No one knows why Priscilla didn’t even look at Clare, but Clare didn’t care. Her only reason to live had been killed right in front of her. And Clare wanted revenge. She took Teresa’s head to the Organization and told them to fuse her flesh and blood with her. Clare became the first one to volunteer with the Organization, and the only one to fuse with another Claymore, keeping Teresa living on forever.
Personality:
Once upon a time the woman might have been sweet, adventurous, courageous, and fun. But that part of her died with her childhood and was replaced with the coldness of a true monster.
Teresa was never a cruel a person. She had no reason to be. She was number one, and no one rivaled her powers. Her enemies were flies to her and the humans were nothings. It could be said that Teresa had a real superiority problem. And even Teresa would have believed it. But one person knew otherwise and could crack the mystery that was Teresa.
Truth be told, Teresa was resentful of the humans who’d abandoned her. She was sad for the life she lost. She was broken from being made a monster against her will. And she was so very lonely. No one welcomed her anywhere, even people who needed her help didn’t want her in their towns for long. She existed at the edges of humanity and had no friends even within the Organization.
This had made the woman cold and turned off. She smiled, but her smile was all a lie. She was never happy, but her smile made it seem like this life suited her. She even smiled at the Organization as they gave her new missions. She was eager to work and even maybe loved her job. At least it gave her purpose.
In the presence of others Teresa could be light-hearted and teasing. It was all pretend, but it was easy enough. With the Organization and the other Claymores she was nothing but kind. With humans she was superior and cocky. And with the members of the Organization that were against her, she was the same as she was with humans. Cocky and above them.
But in a real battle, one where Teresa had to try, she could be serious. She could be cruel. And she could be merciless. She had destroyed an Awakened Being all by herself and never boasted about it. The game with the Organization was to never let them see you break a sweat.
After Clare, though, parts of her changed. She had let Priscilla live, where the old Teresa would have killed her without a second thought. She was light-hearted, but underneath that was a seriousness that came with having someone to live for. She had been cocky like always at first, but as things got more serious so did she. And when Priscilla started to lose it Teresa had been nothing but serious as she tried to talk her down.
There was always a time and place for Teresa’s behaviors, and she could easily recognize them. And she never did a thing that she didn’t mean and would later regret.
Other:
Teresa’s powers-
Teresa has no great strength. She doesn’t have brute force or agility or accuracy, at least, her abilities aren’t stronger than anyone else’s. It’s her Yoma reading powers that give her her edge. When fighting demons, and Claymores, it is easy to read where their focused power is and attack fittingly.
It’s why Priscilla had been a challenge at first. She had been like Teresa and fought with her power fully suppressed so Teresa couldn’t read her. But still, Teresa was a natural fighter and naturally stronger than Priscilla. She didn’t even need to release any Yoma power to fight the unawakened Priscilla. It wasn’t until she was at 70% power that Teresa even had to consider using her powers.
Teresa can read a Yoma’s strength and speed from miles away and her Yoma reading abilities are unparalleled. There is no one in the Organization that can read people like she can, and that is what makes her the strongest of all the Claymores.
Note- I’m taking Teresa post-death. She’s friendlier and sociable after Clare but her death comes only days after meeting Clare so there’s no time. Teresa’s after-life is a beautiful forest with springs of water and for convenience’s sake the springs allow her to interact with DDD.
Additional Links:
Teresa Wiki
First Person (entry type):
[Voice]
[As the spring shows her DDD there’s some amused laughter from the woman.] My heaven has networking capabilities? Perhaps I’m being rewarded for being so good in my life. No, that can’t be it. I was an ill-behaved little monster.
As the Organization used say, though. ‘When in Rabona…’
Little ducklings I shall call you until I can learn your names. Care to share some stories with me? I’m rather bored here Imagine such a thing, being bored in death, this must be Hell and wouldn’t mind some interaction. Perhaps you have a tale of grandeur you would like to share? I’m more than willing to listen.
Better yet, you could just explain to me who you all are. For convenience’s sake, please. I can’t call you all duckling forever now, can I? Though maybe you wouldn’t mind.
And before I forget my manners I haven’t had to introduce myself in so long…, my name is Teresa and it is a pleasure to meet you all.
Third Person: Prompt - Family
[[ I’m doing the third person sample pre-death to give her a little more to do ]]
What a hateful thing the sun could be for a Claymore. Night was dark and it hid the secrets of the silver-eyed witches so well. But the dawn brought forth a truth that made Teresa shudder with the realization of it.
That previous night Clare had broken down all walls Teresa had been building for what could have been centuries (the woman no longer counted time as she didn’t age anymore and her life would never be as long as a human’s). Clare’s spoken truth had haunted Teresa’s dreams and the woman hadn’t slept since she first woke deep into the night. Sleep wasn’t entirely necessary, her body required so little of anything, but Teresa couldn’t decide which was worse today, no sleep or too much sleep.
Sleep had brought forth a tumult of dreams. Flashes of memories haunted her as she dreamed of the life she had left behind and the life she could have had. And her wakeful hours alone had done nothing to quiet the thoughts either. Damn the child for making her think of things long ago buried.
Teresa immediately chided herself for thinking such a thing of Clare. That was the first sign that she had gone soft. Teresa laughed slightly to herself. How silly she was. Chiding herself for thinking cruel things about a human. Since when had she cared about such things?
But how could she not care about the sleeping brunette that lay only an arms width away from the witch. How easily she sleeps next to a monster, Teresa thought. What did the little one dream of? Were they good dreams, or had the Yoma forever scarred the girl in a way that she couldn’t even hide in the unconscious realm? Teresa burned with the urge to ask the girl when she woke up, but if the latter was true there was no need to reopen the wounds.
Yet, when Clare stirred into wakefulness she didn’t scream or look around in fear. She smiled. As her round eyes spotted Teresa the girl smiled. It broke Teresa’s heart to think that she was all the girl had left in the world. How truly unlucky the child was to be left with a Claymore. But no matter. The village was close, and then Clare’s real life could begin.
“Come, sleeping beauty. We still have a ways to go, and I won’t be slowing down for you,” Teresa said. But that was a lie. She’d always slow down for Clare. She smiled at the child now and Clare broke into a grin and jumped up.
“Let’s go!”
How excited the child was. It almost broke Teresa’s heart to leave her in the next village. But it was all she could really do for Clare. Clare would never have a life with the roaming witch. She needed humans, now more then ever.
“Then let us be on our way.”
To live as a human and to die as one, that is the greatest gift I shall ever give you, Clare. She would understand one day.
[[ The last line is a paraphrase of something Teresa says in the manga and is only used now to emphasize the importance of the scene. ]]