Hazel

"*C'mon Aoi... Aki's going to get mad at us. What do you mean she never get's angry at me? She yelled at the both of us last time we snuck away, remember? Well yeah... I know she loves me. She loves you too, but... mmmmh... Fine, I'll go with you. But just this once, ok?*"

— Hazel's relationship with the Maiko twins.

**Hazel** is a young girl from Hashigin, working as a kitchen aid at the Maiko Eatery. Despite being orphaned at a young age, she has formed a new family with the Maiko twins. Aki Maiko she views as a doting, if strict, mother, and sees Aoi Maiko as more of a mischievous older sister. She is a quick learner, taking up the skills Aki imparted to her in an impressively short time, and all around bright kid. Despite her humble beginnings she is an honest, hardworking child that works hard every day to repay the kindness her new family has shown her.

## Appearance

Hazel is a small girl, only nine years old. She stands a diminutive four feet and six inches tall, and possesses a slender build. She possesses somewhat pail skin, with dull brown eyes and silky chestnut colored hair. Like the Maiko sisters, she styles it into a pair of face framing bangs that hang to her shoulders, and a low ponytail that hangs to the midpoint of her back.

Being an orphan, Hazel is very unparticular about her clothes, and the Maiko sisters try their best to buy her something she likes. Her usual attire consists of a pair of dark gray trousers with mid shin length pant legs. These appear rough and well-worn, but Hazel insists they work just fine. She dons a dull, purplish brown shirt that is a size too big for her, with wrist length sleeves. She uses a pair of dark grey flats when working, but when going out she usually wears a pair of simple sandals that buckle around her ankles. Her signature item, as well as one of her personal favorites, is a light pink and red striper apron Aki bought for her when she started working at the eatery. Even when going out, she usually keeps the apron on. Like most of her other clothes, it is a size too big for her, able to envelop her torso when tied off at the back.

## Personality

Despite being only nine years old, Hazel is very mature. Arguable more so than Aoi, depending on who you ask. She is determined and hardworking, most notably around Aki when working around the kitchen. She is incredibly grateful to both Maiko sisters for taking her in, and works diligently to try and repay their kindness. Though she knows the two would never do it, she secretly fears being thrown out on the street again. An intrusive thought she keeps to herself, but none the less is part of her motivation to succeed at whatever task she takes on. Despite this, she is still only nine, and being abandoned at a young age has made her fearful of strangers.

She regards the two sisters as being her family. She looks up to Aki like a mother, heading her advice and fearing her reprimands. Aoi, meanwhile is more like a mischievous big sister. The two are often at the receiving ends of Aki's lecturing, often after Aoi convinces Hazel to join her in some. Even while the eatery is closed, Hazel enjoys practicing her recipes and honing her cooking skills. Outside of this, she usually hangs out with Aoi, listening to stories of far off lands or reading books together. Uniquely for a child her age, she does not enjoy playing outside. Despite encouragement from both Maiko sisters, she is perfectly happy to stay indoors. This is to say she isn't afraid of going outside on her own, just that she prefers the comfort of her home during her free time.

## Background

Hazel's initial place of birth is a complete mystery. She was too young to remember herself, only that her homestead was set alight one night, and she was spirited away. Her memory of these events are foggy. She doesn't know who it was that took her away, whether they where her parents, some other citizens of the homestead, or some other third party. what she does remember is she, and the small band of others she was with, traveled from town to town. She didn't know what for, but over time the group staidly began to grow smaller. Again, she didn't know why, but roughly a year after her home had burned to the ground, she was put aboard a ship and sent off on her own.

From there it was largely the same, except now she had nobody looking after her. The sailors only tolerated her presence, not actively look out for her. And the many merchants that frequented the vestal barely offered her a second glance. Hazel had to resort to stealing from the ship's galley to eat, something that did little to ingratiate herself to the ship's other passengers. She took to eating table scraps and working as a personal assistant for anyone that'd give her the time, and spend her nights sleeping in the cargo hold. Times when the ship made port offered no reprieve, as she was smart enough by then to know that leaving wasn't likely to improve her situation. at least on the ship she had at least some guarantee of food. anywhere, else, she had nothing.

Of course, at some point the choice to leave was made for her. After docking at the trading hub of Hashigin, she was told to go ashore and run an errand. She wasn't given much detail, but knew better than to disobey the one's with the food. Upon returning however, she found the ship had left. Asking around didn't help her, as she didn't know the name of the ship, and there where plenty of ships still at dock. left with no other option, Hazel began wondering around Hashigin looking for food. As far as she could tell, she spent about a week on the street, sleeping in alleys and crates to keep out of the rain. One knight she followed her nose to an eatery, having grown too hungry to beg and desperate enough to steal. It was here, huddling in the eatery's cellar with half a loaf of bread, where she was discovered by Aoi and Aki. They initially thought she was a thief, but where far more sympathetic to Hazel's plight when she begged them to let her keep eating.

Luckily for her, the twins sympathized with her. being orphans themselves, they took Hazel in, fed her, clothed her, and got her looked over by one of the city's physicians. While starving, she was largely in good health, and the sisters opted to take her in. While unable to discern where she had come from, the eventually figured out that she was at least seven years old, and had nowhere else to go. This was the first time in Hazel's life where she remembered being welcomed anywhere, rather than just tolerated. One day she asked how she can repay the sisters. Aoi insisted that it was fine, and they didn't mind having her around, but Aki had other ideas. She began teaching her too cook for their family eatery, giving her both something to do during the day, and some skills to carry into adulthood. From then on Hazel became an essential part of the Maiko eatery, and has embraced her new life with open arms.