The Urchin Changeling Mystic.
Aleya is a mistrusting Einzelgänger, with a knack for pick-pocketing and not standing out.
She has multiple alternate identities that she will shape-shift into as the situations require it. Most shifts happen almost automatically, as a reflex reaction to her situation. She prefers not to shift by choice, as it’s always felt very disorienting.
When she's alone she finds a quiet place to be able to draw or paint. She finds much comfort in manifesting moments into physical memories, her drawings. She likes sketching busy areas, be they filled with people or animals, it's about the active life.
Aleya was born to a changeling mother - Ignis - and a human father - David - on a 15th of March, around 8 PM, making her a child of the night. She was given the name Aleya, in reference to "Will-o'-the-Wisp", which is also where her mother's name comes from ("Ignis Fatuus").
Ignis is from a long, royal line of changelings. The Fatuus line spans more than 1000 years now, and is one of the few changeling families who actively remember their changeling nature (changelings often live as their alters for such a long time, they forget they are changelings). They are also one of the few families with a dominant gene for mystic abilities. It is believed that the Fatuus family is the source for all mystics around the world, through cross-species marriage, though this can not be confirmed.
Recently, 30 years before Aleya was born, changeling societal structure was overthrown by a family of blood-purists, the Æsson. They believe that changelings are divine and shouldn't consort with lesser beings, especially humans. This resulted in multiple crusades to find and persecute the "blood-traitors". The Fatuus family, has always found comfort and love with human partners. Ignis had joined a resistance party, led by another royal family, Vanadóttir, who put her in hiding from the Æsson.
When Aleya was five, Ignis, was summoned by the resistance party, warning her of an Æsson crusade who had found her hiding place, and were going to find and execute her and her entire family. She fled her home, and the Vanadóttir had her home destroyed. Ignis never meant for the death of her husband and child, however. She believes both Aleya and David died in the fire.
Aleya, however, survived through mystic abilities, that the Vanadóttir didn't know she had. She ended up on the streets of an average- to large-sized town. Her parental home was destroyed in a fire, and as far as she knows, her parents perished in that same fire. She believes she has no other family, as none has ever showed up to pay respects for her dead parents, or even to help her out.
On her own, Aleya managed to survive by stealing food and swiping jewellery to sell/pawn. Aleya is a changeling, though she doesn’t know what this means, but during her childhood, she developed a couple of alternate identities that help her get by in different scenarios. These alternate identities grow older in parallel with her true age.
Aleya doesn't really show up as her true form a lot, and she only shows this to the people she trusts and loves most. Aleya's a 5'8 (147lbs) changeling girl. She has light-grey skin, with a slight hint of aqua, Half-long, white hair, with pink streaks, that almost seem to shift position every time you glance away. She has white eyes, without pupils, and raccoon-like, black rings around the eyes.
Aleya lives her day-to-day as Cel, a 5’6 (130lbs) human girl. Cel is a relatively tan Caucasian girl with waist-long, golden-blond hair, and green-blue eyes. She is your average aloof, townsy, sociable girl with some sense of fashion. Aleya likes being Cel, she draws some favourable attention from the people she meets on the markets.
Because Aleya gets by through pick-pocketing and stealing, she cannot afford getting recognized by the people she steals from. During chases and getaways, she developed Yun. Yun is an unassuming, 5'9 (170lbs), Asian, human boy. He is light-skinned and toned, has off-black hair and brown eyes. Yun all but disappears in larger crowds, because he is so average. The people around town know him as the quiet soft-boy.
Xin (pronounced 'sin') is Aleya's least favourite alter. She's a 3'4 halfling girl with shoulder-length side-shaven brown hair, and dark blue eyes. Xin is the alter Aleya uses to steals most of her sustenance. She doesn't like stealing- unfairly taking people's property/livelihoods, but she knows she has to, to survive and provide.
The first seven years of her life on the streets, Aleya was alone. Unsurprisingly, not many babies or five-year-olds manage to survive on their own, so she wasn't able to meet many friends. When she was twelve, she started noticing more young people being abandoned or turning orphan, and ending up on the streets. She started out feeling pretty indifferent to this injustice. One of these kids, however, sparked an instinctual maternal responsibility in her. She doesn't know why, but they remind her of something long lost.
The first child Aleya adopted into her family, although she didn't know this would become her family at the time, was August. August is seven years younger than Aleya. This is how Aleya rationalized caring for his wellbeing- Identifying with being abandoned/orphaned at the same age as her. August is a living oxymoron, he's timid and shy, though constantly expresses his wanting to provide, and be brave. He's scared of most things, but for Aleya, he will do almost anything. During the first three-and-a-half years, Aleya was mainly focused on teaching August what she knows about stealth, deception, and pick-pocketing, making sure he as fully equipped to survive the streets.
August remembers snatches of memories of his parents, and summarizes his parental relationship to be abusive and unsafe. He's happy to be with Aleya.
At fifteen, Aleya and August (8) came across two more orphaned children who they would adopt into their ever-growing family. Brother and sister Leopold (6) and Viola (4), although they're referred to by their nicknames Leo and Vi.
Leo is very protective of his sister, he cannot leave her, unless he is convinced that she's taken care of. The only people he fully trusts are his family with Aleya. He isn't very talkative and tends to warily shoot glances around, in attempt to guarantee safety.
Vi, since her brother has always provided safety, is more outgoing. She can always find topics to talk about for hours. She's passionate about drawing, a habit she picked up from Aleya. Although, she's more focused on landscapes and environments.
Leo and Vi's parents both died in a burglary gone horribly wrong.
Edmund was found only a month after Leo & Vi. Ed is stubborn. He learns fast, but quickly finds ways to avoid performing the (in his eyes) menial tasks Aleya teaches him. Like Aleya, he doesn't like to steal the food they eat- he has a strong sense of consequence. This makes him very careful, yet on the other hand, very devious. He often tests Aleya's limits.
As opposed to the rest of the family, Ed doesn't remember his parents, at all. It's as if his episodic memory was completely wiped from anything before the age of five.
Amanda is the youngest. She was found at the age of six, when Aleya had just turned 18. At this point, Aleya had taught August as much as she could and she mostly let August, Leo & Vi, raise Amanda. She did, however, still provide most of the meals, and the emotional comfort for the entire family, she'd become a beacon of love for these five children who were left to fend for themselves. Amanda is kind, and caring. She takes after this more grown-up Aleya, who is more stable, emotionally.
Amanda remembers her parents quite clearly, as controlling and abusive. She's the only one in the family to have gone orphan by choice.