Your Name ∙ Kayte
Time Zone ∙ Atlantic


Character’s Name ∙ Kasumi Takahashi
Age ∙ Twenty-seven.
Gender ∙ Female
Residing ∙ Highfields, for now.
Character Class ∙ Commoner
Occupation ∙ Shang Leopardess


Sexual Orientation ∙ Heterosexual
Overall Personality ∙ Even after years of training, and then later as a Shang warrior, Kasumi still lacks the self-discipline required to keep herself out of trouble. She tends to be rather quiet, though her dry sense of humour and has often led her into conflict.

Having always tended towards the judgmental side has meant that first impressions mean a great deal to the woman, and, stubborn as a mule, her opinions of one do not change easily. Coupled with her quick temper, this often results in tricky situations, and Kas is not always able to keep her attitude in check. Apart from this particular flaw, and despite the fact that she was brought up so far from her homeland, Kasumi Takahashi has mastered the Yamani tradition of keeping her emotions to herself, her countenance as stone. This often makes her seem cold, especially when a dry remark is thrown in, but in reality, she is quite the opposite.

Unless given cause to be otherwise (though she’s more prone to find cause than most), Kasumi is typically friendly and easy-going, prone to forming quick and strong attachments to those she deems ‘friends’, a title they’re likely to keep until they do something drastic. Though neither easily manipulated, nor stupid, she’ll take a fair amount from those she cares for, still deeming them friends, until she has no choice but to reverse her opinion, something she’s hesitant to do as the Yamani hates to be wrong.


Height ∙ Five feet, two inches.
Weight ∙ 117 lbs.
Overall Appearance ∙ Based solely on her small height, it’s unlikely that the woman could be classed as ‘intimidating’. Even though her build is a muscular one, her frame is small, more delicate than stocky, making her an easy enough target for a mugging or attempted rape. Then again, the fact that her reflexes are as fast, as not faster, than the cat after which her title was given means you are unlikely to get very far.

Kasumi’s almond-shaped eyes are a soft brown in color, topped with thin eyebrows. Her nose is proportionate to the rest of her – small, though not to the point of looking odd – and full lips part to reveal slightly crooked teeth. The Leopardess’ skin tone clearly identifies her as a Yamani (and any doubt left even then would be eliminated by her eye), though is a shade darker from time spent in the sun. Though impractical, her dark chestnut-colored hair falls to mid-back, with little wave or curl.

Kas’ hands are callused due to the nature of her profession, her left hand scarred from mistakenly grabbing – hard – the blade of a dagger in her early teen years. Appearances, however, have never been a priority for the warrior, and so she couldn’t care less about any imperfections her body might have. She typically dresses plainly, for comfort and convenience rather than style and beauty, with a small, jade-hilted dagger hidden somewhere on her person, as no matter how good one is with their hands and feet, they can never be too careful.


Family ∙ Eitaro Takahashi, Father – A Yamani farmer, Eitaro died when Kasumi was three, leaving her few memories of him.

Haruka Takahashi, Mother – Growing up, Haruka was a doormat of a girl, doing whatever was asked of her without question. Depending fully on her family for everything, she thought for herself rarely, until the time came when she was to marry. Born to a noble house, Haruka noh Ajikuro was betrothed to a cousin to the emperor, a great honor to her family. For the first time in her life, at the age of seventeen, Haruka went against her nature, leaving her home and instead marrying a farmer, with whom she’d been seeing behind her family’s back for the better part of a year. Leaving her family for a commoner would prove to be one of the most risky decisions she ever made, however to this day, the woman would not have elected to do otherwise.

Once wed, however, she reverted much to her old self, though her reliance was now on her husband, rather than her parents. The challenges facing her and her family after leaving the Islands, however, forced her to find an inner strength no one had imagined she would possess, and the strong, stubborn, down-to-earth woman who left the Copper Isles could hardly be recognized as the one who’d washed onto their shores.

Ayano Miller, Sister – Thirteen years Kasumi’s senior, Ayano is the oldest of the Takahashi children, and as such was often charged with their care once the family settled in Tortall. The nature of such a relationship, coupled with the age difference, made her more of an aunt to Kasumi than a sister, and while the two are fond of one another, they are not particularly close.

Ayano lives with her husband Dalton, as well as their three children Owen, Caroline, and Eitaro, in Blue Harbour.

Kaoru Takahashi, Brother – Nine years Kasumi’s senior, Kaoru found his calling with all things horse-related. Like his father, with whom he shares both looks and more than a few personality traits, Kaoru eventually grew to be a rancher, however his stock of choice is horses; Kaoru currently lives just outside of Queenscove, where he is a respected horse breeder.

Setsuna Fisher, Sister – Five years Kasumi’s elder, Setsuna has always been the beauty of the family. Her looks never left her, though were passed on to her two children, Hana and Alexander.

Mai Takahashi, Sister – Just one year Kas’ senior, Mai is the warrior’s other half, albeit the pacifistic, easily frightened half. Though both sisters went to Maren, it was Mai who the life of a Shang warrior did not suit, and so she instead worked as a maid for a wealthy family a day’s ride from the school. Mai was taken by the sweating sickness when Kasumi was fifteen.
Birthplace ∙ The Yamani Islands
Background ∙ To say that Kas’ earlier years were hectic would be an understatement. Being born in a time when stipends were given to families for having children should have placed Kasumi in a reasonably wealthy family, being the youngest of five, however the fact that she was female – further decimating the family’s male/female ratio, which at the time was so prized in the Yamani Islands – actually cost the farming family money, the fact that they raised cattle likely the only reason they were able to eat well. Unfortunately, the family’s cattle weren’t enough to keep them out of debt, nor were Eitaro’s promises enough to keep those to whom they owed money placated. The man was now in the unfortunate position of selling some of his children to pay off his debt, or fleeing the country. Though he was a proud man, in his mind family was a top priority, and so in order to keep his together, they packed up at a moment’s notice, and were on the next ship to Tortall.

The journey was not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination. Caught in a storm early into their voyage, the vessel capsized, hurling its passengers into the waves. When the ordeal was over, Eitaro was dead, leaving Haruka and her children to fend for themselves in the Copper Isles, where they and a dozen or so other passengers had washed ashore. This was not as daunting a prospect as they had expected; there was a small village nearby in which the survivors were able to find shelter and food, although only one of their company was able to speak the language (the rest speaking only Yamani, though some knew a hint of Common).

A year passed. While the Takahashi family was not doing particularly well, they were alive, and that was what mattered. Being the youngest children, Kasumi, Mai, and Setsuna were quick to pick up on Kypring, the language spoken chiefly in the village, though Haruka’s struggle, and those of the older children, Ayano and Kaoru, never really ended. Though her grasp of the native language was never enough for her to fully understand the details, there was one thing about which Haruka was painfully aware: her family was not safe where they were; the civil war running rampant through the Isles threatening the fragile life they’d built for themselves on a weekly basis.

The shipwreck had left them a few blessings. Three of the dozen or so trunks the family had brought with them from the Yamani Islands had washed up unscathed; one was the one in which the small amount of wealth the family still had had been kept, and as it’s contents had been useless in the remote village, Haruka was still able to use them to buy passage on a ship to Tortall. Once there, the Takahashi family settled in the small fief of Blue Harbour, where Haruka worked as a seamstress and Kaoru worked the fields at a nearby farm.

Three years later, the family was living a comfortable, if not wealthy, life. All were fed, clothed, and content, though Kasumi’s tendency to get into fights with a pair of boys across the road was more than a bit irritating to her mother, who often heard her youngest described as ‘scrappy’. Such habits earned the youngster more punishment than the rest of her siblings. It wasn’t until a couple of months later that such habits were put to use, and the family had to go through another loss – though this time, it wasn’t a death, simply a leaving.

The arrival of Shang recruiters in Blue Harbour was the most exciting thing to happen since the arrival of foreigners – the Takahashi family – three years before. Kasumi, now seven, was one of the most eager village children to return with the warriors to Maren, where they would train to become Shang themselves. Haruka was, understandably, reluctant to let her children – for if Kasumi went, Mai would also – leave her sight, let alone the country, however eventually relented, her hopes that her daughters would use this opportunity to make something of themselves outweighing her anxiety.

Kasumi spent another four years at the Shang training school in Maren with little incident. While the training was hard, making her resent her choice at times, it eventually became routine, so much so that she found herself enjoying it (though early morning runs in the rain were an exception to this). Mai, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Even after years had passed, Kas’ sister, and best friend, still hadn’t grown accustomed to the new lifestyle, didn’t see its purpose. By mutual agreement between both her and the training masters, Mai left to work as a maid at a nearby estate, however her closeness did not ease Kasumi’s feeling of abandonment as the person with whom she’d always been closest left her. Her resentment was such that she wouldn’t even talk to her sister for the next few months, however word of their eldest sister’s marriage brought them together once more, as they returned home for the celebration. Much to Kasumi’s surprise, Mai returned with her to Maren, returning once more to the family for which she worked as the youngest of the Takahashi family returned to her training.

As the years wore on, Kasumi’s life focused more and more on her training, affording her little, if any, time to see her sister. It was yet another challenge to endure, or so she saw it, and while neither girl was happy about it, it was necessary for each to further themselves; Kasumi was getting closer and closer to completing her training, and Mai had moved up in the ranks of the house staff.

Naturally, as is often the case, this was the point at which everything spiraled downward, the unthinkable happening. The sweating sickness was an epidemic that summer, and no community escaped unscathed. It had appeared for a fair amount of time that the area in which the school was situated would be left alone, however just as the illness was beginning to die out in the rest of the country, it struck them with a vengeance. The school lost three of eight instructors, and seventeen of thirty-two trainees. Mercifully, Kasumi was spared, though she did not escape the fever, nor did they expect her to live through it. After hearing what had become of her sister, however, the fifteen year old wished she hadn’t.

Mai had taken ill the same day as Kasumi, and as the younger’s illness left her, the elder’s took her life. Internally, the teen was devastated at the loss, and enraged at the cruelty of the gods, who took her sister – her best friend – from her while allowing her to live on. It took all of her will to continue her training, however she did so, her anger ebbing out of her with each kick, each punch.

It was then that the nightmares began. A nightmarish childhood, filled with loss and violence, would be enough to traumatize anyone, however for years it had seemed to Kasumi as some sort of dream, one only vaguely remembered, and so left no mark on her. Mai’s death, however, seemed to be the last straw where her poor mind was concerned, each sleep plagued with memories – horrors – long since forgotten. She never let on, not to anyone, what she had to endure each night, nor did it ever cease.

The pain of her loss never left her completely, though, as it is known to do, time was able to ease it. A decade later, she had been the Shang Leopardess for some time, and had made her way home (for all it was not the place of her birth, nor where she’d spent the bulk of her life) to Tortall, staying first in her mother’s home in Blue Harbour before relocating to the capital.

Her experience in Corus was nothing like that she had in Blue Harbour, where most residents remembered the little Yamani girl who had joined them so many years ago. Here, no one bothered to welcome her, to learn her name. She was a Yamani, and, to this city that did not know her, the enemy. Tortall’s war with the Islands had gone on for some time, however had never really registered in Kasumi’s mind. She wasn’t a Tortallan, but neither was she a Yamani – at least, not at heart. She was as most of her order were: a wanderer. However, it was her appearance that mattered to those around her, a fact she would not forget even after the war.