| Introduction
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xxxxxDon't let her demonic appearance fool you, Mallory Winthrop is a rather affable individual, happy to prove that she is more than the sum of her mutations. Having recently accepted the position of librarian at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, as well as teaching a few classes, Mallory is anxious to get started in her first semester.
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| History
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xxxxxThe younger of a pair of twins born to a well off family in Oxfordshire, England, Mallory has always been the family's dirty little secret. While her normal looking brother was burdened with responsibility and expectations of propriety at family events, Mallory was hidden away and kept secret; rumors of frail health and frequent illness acting as a cover to keep the deformed child from the prying eye of the public. She didn't mind though, keeping to reading anything and everything she could get her hands on, and having her twin around was plenty of company for the young mutant.
Puberty was not kind to her, bringing searing headaches and a change in her skin tone, ultimately settling on a deep red-gray, like ash covered embers. It was shortly after her 13th birthday that a fire ravaged the family orchards, caused by the twins' initial transformations to fire and smoke, which brought about a change in her life physically and socially. Using the fire as a cover, her parents started bringing Mallory around, parading her as a poor burn victim who had tried to help her brother in the fire that left both of them changed. For nearly a decade and a half, Mallory hid beneath covering garments, keeping her long tail in check with a brace her parents forced her to wear, which hobbled her leg and made walking without a cane impossible. To say that the young girl despised the painful brace was an under statement
When Thomas, who had a much easier time hiding his physical mutations, enrolled in University at 18, still able to pass for the perfect, whole son he had always been expected to be, Mallory found herself entirely alone for the first time in her life. She begged to go to college, to be allowed out, to leave, even promising to wear the agonizing attire and keep a low profile, as long as she was able to go. Her parents denied her - at which point she lost control and transformed for the second time, destroying her and Thomas's childhood rooms in the process. Horrified, the family set her up at a small college the next town over, to appease her and get her out of the house - she was given doctor's notes to explain her covering, and a small apartment near the campus. For the next decade, Mallory rarely saw her brother, though the two remained in contact via phone and e-mail, it was not the same as it had been when they were children.
Due to physical limitations, Mallory took longer than expected to attain her degrees, but after six years she had acquired a dual degree in Library Sciences and English Literature; another four years saw her achieve her Masters degree in Classical Literature through a similarly protracted process. It was during her time as a graduate student that Mallory became close with a small, closeted group of mutants at the same school, all hiding what they were or could do, same as she was. Through this group, she began to be anonymously vocal about mutants rights, and the prejudice that existed in the academic and public world. The group, having all just completed their graduate degrees, in the process of shopping their applications around for doctorate programs, decided one night after a rather drunken celebration, that they would march in a rally the next week, because hiding was for wimps. That night, Mallory burned her conservative clothing and the god forsaken brace, never looking back.
She was arrested at that march, where she revealed herself publicly to be a mutant. Although no charges were pressed, and she was released the next morning, the damage had been done. Any school or job prospects dried up, and her family publicly disowned her, forbidding her to make contact with them again. Refusing to be hobbled and hidden any longer, Mallory was running out of options, although she continued to proudly march for mutant rights and equality - finding a job was a bit difficult, in that situation. However, potentially thanks to her brother's timely application to a teaching job state-side, Mallory was contacted for a position at an exclusive boarding school in upstate New York. Needless to say, she jumped at the out of the blue offer, unaware that her twin would be heading to just the same place.
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| Powers
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xxxxxAltered Physiology:
Mallory doesn't look human anymore. Well, truth be told, she never looked human, even from birth. After the fire that destroyed her family's gardens, her body settled into a decidedly demonic looking form, with curling black ram horns sprouting from her hairline near the temple, pointed ears, and a dusky red skin tone. Her eyes are jet black, with no visibly discernible white, iris, or pupil. She has digitigrade legs, not dissimilar from those of a goat or sheep, albeit hairless, ending in black cloven hooves, and a long tail that acts almost solely as a counter balance for her unusual gait. Due to some minor balance issues and her cloven hooves, Mallory despises freshly waxed or polished floors - and they don't like her much either. She also runs rather hot - on a good day, she is overly warm to the touch, on a bad day, she is painful to be in contact with for long.
Low Light Vision:
Able to see the world relatively clearly in low light, albeit with amber and red flames to all the object's outlines, and no other colour. Still crap at sneaking in the dark.
Fire Form / Transformation:
Mallory can burst into flames, although the process is exceedingly painful, and she does not particularly relish transforming. There are times, she knows, that she cannot avoid transforming, and as a result she is working to better understand this aspect of herself. She can heal, somewhat while transformed, although it is essentially a cauterization of her open wounds, and reattachment of missing or damaged limbs. No lost blood or mass is recovered, existing materials are merely shifted about. Verbal communication is impossible in this form, and she has to rely on telepathy with her brother, or another telepath being nearby and not on fire. She can only hold this form for a solid or cumulative 30 minutes without rest and consuming food - it will exhaust her severely, and make her ravenously hungry. Large amounts of water, fire suppression systems, and being deprived of oxygen will knock her out of this form, and render her unable to assume it again until she dries off or recovers somehow.
Twin to Twin Mind Share:
Mallory and Thomas are two sides of the same coin - they rather uncontrollably share thoughts with each other when they are within twenty feet of each other. Useful sometimes, horribly awkward other times. Mallory is no good at blocking her brother out, although he can occasionally shut off contact if he concentrates.
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| Connections
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Friends
- Aloke - Charming, sweet, absolute gentleman. Proposed atop the Eiffel Tower. <3
- Isra - Fellow teacher and friend. We share similar academic woes, because academia is filled with bigoted prats.
- Hank - Helpful, a doctor I actually trust. Occasionally has poor timing in declaring his scientific discoveries, but a good man.
Co-workers
- Faelan - Excellent librarian's assistant. He gets to deal with shelving things on ladders. Happy to see him growing and progressing.
- Jackson - Don't know him too well, but he seems quite nice. Cares about Aloke a great deal.
- Lorna - Nice enough newer teacher. Nice to just chat with her. Shared an oddly specific dream, which is a touch unnerving.
- Mariot - Well spoken individual, recently returned to campus. Concerned for Faelan, which we have in common. Offered to help with power experiments, which I may indeed take her up on that assistance.
- Martin - Former military, Latin and Religious Studies teacher. Likes the library, so he is just fine in my books.
- Vanessa - New math teacher. Pleasant enough, don't know her well.
Students
- Rasa - Nice student, fascinating abilities. Cares for other students and friends, quite helpful. Note: Gender neutral pronouns preferred.
- Shane - Bit of a foul mouth on this one. Seems like a good kid, though. Been through a rough time of late. Jackson's son.
- Kai - Good kid, poor judgement. I somewhat feel bad for confiscating his webshooters, but they seem to have gotten into more difficulty than he was ready to handle.
- Kelly - Poor kid got started at this school at the wrong time. Hope things start looking up for him, and he feels more comfortable with this school.
- Ghost - Exceedingly enthusiastic student reporter.
And everything in between
- Thomas - Brother of mine. Older by almost an hour. Hadn't realized how much I missed him. Glad to be together again.
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| Gallery
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[[Image:|x150px]]
[[Image:|x150px]]
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| Mallory Elinore Winthrop
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| Codename
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Ardenti
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| Birthdate
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6-21-1985
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| Species
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Mutant
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| Affiliation
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Xavier's School
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| Alignment
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Chaotic Good
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| Powers
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Altered Physiology, Fiery Disposition
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| Occupation
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Librarian, Teacher
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| Registration Status
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Gamma (4)
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| RP Hooks
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| Obvious Mutant - Oh look, a mutant. Mallory does nothing to hide what she is anymore, and parades around, on and off campus, without masking her appearance.
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| Bibliophile - Books, especially classical literature, have always been her passion. Get her started talking about Shakespeare or any variety of books, and she will talk your ear off about it.
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| More Research - One more thing... Mallory is happy to help anyone who needs help with a research project. She will also proofread papers as needed. All in a day's work as your local Librarian.
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| Protective Streak - Especially protective of mutants with physical mutations, although she doesn't like seeing anyone picked on, human or mutant. This is at least part of the reason she protests openly for mutants' rights.
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