Ash Westwind

This OC belongs to JayHart.

Of a fam'ly turned to ash
Will scatter it like the wind

## Basic Info

* Name: Ash Westwind
* CNR: Ash is grey. Westwind means wind, but from the West. .\_.
* Species: Human
* Age: 20
* Gender: Male
* Symbol: Stylized silver zephyr on a red nimbus background, set on a navy blue patch. Can be found on the stock/grip of his rifle/staff, and also on the left shoulder of both of his jackets.
* Handedness: Right
* Physical Traits:
* Misc. Traits: Variety of small scars on his hands and wrists.
* Occupation: Huntsman-in-training.

## Appearance

* Aura/Effects: Silver. Wind gust effects when emotions are high. Glyphs appear upon activation of his semblance.
* Height: 6'3"
* Weight: 200 lb.
* Eyes: Storm Grey
* Skin Colour: Pale
* Face: Slightly gaunt and rough, square jaw. Prone to 5-o'clock shadow by 2 PM.
* Hair: Plain Brown, short length; gets messy when it starts to grow out.
* Physique: Tall and lanky; wiry muscles. Much better at cardio than heavy lifting.

### Outfits

#### Casual

Jeans or gym shorts with a tee-shirt, often bearing the logo of a band or other music group. Alternately, a long-sleeved tee shirt with his own symbol on the chest. Often accompanied by a leather flight jacket and sunglasses. Accompanied either by his boots or by blue and grey "Converse" style shoes.

#### Combat

Spec-ops style fatigue pants with knee-pads and boots, black tee-shirt and a dark-grey combat jacket with padded elbows, his personal emblem on the left shoulder. Depending on the weather, sometimes accompanied by a hat befitting of the environment and climate.

## Characteristics

### Background

Ash was born in Atlas as Ash Eastborn, son of Mavros and his wife Lefko (names derived from rough Greek for black and white). The Eastborn family is somewhat infamous for having been involved in criminal activities for a very long time, and it is an ill-kept secret that they are still involved with Atlas crime syndicates. They put Ash into combat school at a young age to uphold the family tradition, expecting him to
take a job in the family business afterward. Ash spent his childhood with his fellow students at the combat school in Atlas avoiding him, while he in turn shunned the few others in the school whose families followed his own family’s less than law-abiding model.

It was around the age of 13 that his semblance manifested. As he grew up and learned more about the world, Ash realized more and more just how wrong his parents and their family were. Fed up with it all, Jay moved out at the age of 16 when he graduated his junior combat school. He followed up by filing the legal procedures required to be emancipated from his parent’s family, having his name changed to “Westwind,” to further distance himself from his family. That being done, Ash decided he would become a Hunter, to help offset the wrong done by his family's "business".

For the years prior to his splitting from his family, Ash had been very close to a girl named Aurora. They grew especially close during his time at their junior combat school, and dated for several years, during which his parents purchased the supplies and training for him to create Leonidus’ Cross from its base rifle form. They stayed close over the years until Ash started rebelling and arguing with his family about their ideals, actions which Aurora did not support despite how many other things the couple agreed on. When he announced his plan to move out to her and asked her to go with him, she reacted with anger, being set against leaving her family. Despite Ash’s attempts to establish a long-distance relationship with the young woman, she refused. Being an emotionally volatile girl to begin with, she attacked him in a fit of rage.  He moved to Vale immediately after, taking several months to recover emotionally and physically, and then the rest of a year working odd mercenary jobs to get re-established in Vale before applying to Beacon under his new name. Most of his jobs involved performing as overwatch for security details, sometimes even assisting Vale police forces on stake-outs - though some of his jobs were less savory, acting as simple hired muscle.

Ash is now in his second year at Beacon Academy. He still maintains an apartment in town for him and his team to use on the weekends, if they wish.

Eventually, he wants to return home and set his family straight - by whatever means necessary.

### Personality

Ash is very polite and often a bit distant, frequently spacing out. He prefers to open up in one-on-one encounters or small groups only, gathering a small group of friends around him rather than a large bunch, and grows uncomfortable quickly in large crowds or groups of people. Preferring not to be tied down, Ash has a rather mercenary outlook on things, being very willing to offer allegiance to a group or person only for as long as their purpose aligns - be it ideals, or for money (with the exception of his team). He excels at planning and strategizing beforehand, but becomes easily flustered if his plans go wrong. Luckily for him, they rarely do. He is a weapons fanatic, and is always trying to improve his weapon, though he stays fairly low-key about it until he gets involved in a conversation about it.

While mildly prejudiced against the Faunus, Ash tries his best to overcome such negative bias. He is a bit history and archaeology buff, being especially interested in antique weaponry and fighting styles. Ash enjoys reading, using his semblance to get up to places he shouldn’t be able to, eating oranges, and any combination therein. He also enjoys gardening, but plants with thorns were common on the grounds of his family’s estate, so his hands and arms accumulated a collection of small scars. He has developed a flare for the dramatic, though it may not be intentional. He has shown great insight, enough to match even Aurum, but only rarely.

* Likes: Solitude, complex weapon designs, math, planning, and free-running.
* Dislikes: Large crowds, loud areas, tight quarters, and poor planning.

## Weapons

* Name: Leonidus' Cross
* Wielder: Ash Westwind
* Type: Semi-Automatic Marksman Staff (SAMS)
* Short Description: A staff that turns into a marksman (sniper) rifle or Special Purpose Carbine (like a SPR, but shorter).
* Holstered/Sheathed Appearance: Normally slung across his back in SPC form or a special travel form.

## Semblance

* Name: Elemental Burst
* User: Ash Westwind
* Short Description: Creates a localized upward microburst strong enough to launch a grown man of average weight (~190 lb). Can be modified by Dust.
* Visual Effect: A silver glyph with swirling designs appears upon activation. The glyph color may change based on Dust use.

## Combat Info

* Class/Position: Sniper/Watchman
* Landing Strategy: Uses his semblance to create a cushion.
* Fighting Style: Ash much prefers to use his semblance to access higher ground, and lay down rifle fire for his team from there. He is not incapable of melee combat, but rather than focusing on hitting hard, his close-range attacks are mainly for controlling and disrupting crowds of enemies by using Dust-augmented bursts of his semblance. Tends to focus too much on his target while scoped-in, though he is not completely oblivious to his surroundings while sniping.

While set up for sniping, Ash is especially vulnerable to fast-moving melee attackers if they get in range, and excels at taking down strong, slow-moving targets and enemy support units.

## Statistics

Note that statistics will be quantified using a scale of E- to A+,
with S being used for maximum skill possible (variants S-, S+, and S++), and F being used for no related knowledge.

* Strength: C+
* Agility: A+
* Aura Reserve: A
* Aura Manipulation: D
* Dust Manipulation: B+
* Dust Use: A+ (Excellent use in combination with his semblance; able to use raw dust)
* Weapon Skill (Rifles): S
* Weapon Skill (Staff): A+/D; Very good defensive skills, minimal lethality without gunfire.

## Relationships

* Team: Member of Team ACCA. Partnered with Aurum Segen. Good friends with Cerise Sangestre. Currently single.
* Friends: Good friends with Cerise's sister, Mauve Brennie, through their mutual interest in gardening.