Piko

Piko is a character created by Xaquecchery for the Intransigence Campaign. She is currently a Drakewarden Ranger.

## Character Details

Piko was a human female that had her body modified by the Simic upon entering the Guardian Project. She then further modified her own body with experiments, resulting in her legs being transformed into a snake tail. She stands at 5'1" when in a relaxed position, though the tail itself is around 15' long. Her skin is a blueish green color, with her hair being around the same color but a little more blue. Her eyes are purple. She possesses fish gills that allow her to breathe water in addition to the air her lungs allow her to breathe. She has a very thin, athletic build. She keeps her hair cut relatively short, falling just past the bottom of her ears.

Piko is an anxious girl. She does not do well around people she doesn't know, and generally gets the feeling she is wanted or needed anywhere unless explicitly told the opposite. It takes her a long time to warm up to people. Once she does though, she exhibits a much broader range of emotions. She can be very excitable and bubbly, to an almost childish extent, around those that have stated to be her friend. She can also be rather blunt in the way she doles out information. She can be very naïve for someone as smart as she is. She also doesn't perform well under pressure, a trait that caused her to fail out of college.

## History

### Early Life

Piko Millaro was born into a cozy, middleclass life. Her father had a great job, working insurance for the guilds and overseeing many of the Simic accounts. This allowed her mother to stay at home full time to raise Piko. With no siblings, Piko was given the full attention of her parents, and showered with love. At an early age she started showing interest in learning about biology, preferring to play with toys like an anatomy doll. Once she was able to read, she spent a lot of time learning more about genetic experimentation and other forms of biomancy. Her parents were thrilled, frequently referring to her as their little Simic genius. Piko wasn't a genius though. Though she liked to learn, she wasn't some prodigy. When she entered school, it became apparent she lacked social skills. That coupled with her less than conventional interests as a child made her an easy target for bullying. Every new year at school lead her to grow more and more anxious.

By the time Piko made it to high school, she was firmly cemented as a social outcast. She wasn't smart enough to hang out with the other nerds that had dreams of joining the Simic, so she truly was alone. Her anxiety made test taking extremely difficult. She also suffered from a learning disability that made focusing on topics she had no interest in, or didn't grasp right away, very difficult. Her grades suffered, and it took her a lot of effort to maintain B's. Her parents weren't sure what the problem was as they knew their child was intelligent, so it must have simply been a lack of effort on her part. Their insistence that she can do better, while coming from a place of love, only made her anxiety worse. Piko never got the proper help she needed to overcome her challenges.

By some miracle, Piko made it through high school and was accepted into Prism University's biomancy program. She was determined to make the most out of this fresh start. While she wasn't outright bullied at the start, she was still unable to make friends. Most people found her to be, for lack of better terms, uninteresting. The study groups she joined would quickly forget about her, those that would attempt to befriend the shy quiet girl would find that there just wasn't much there. She still couldn't hold conversation well, and the constant bullying she endured had even left her a little jaded. The school side of school was equally disappointing. Piko quickly fell behind, and even with many late nights pouring over texts in the library she found all she could do with her maximum effort was keep herself afloat. It wasn't sustainable. No professor saw any talent in her work, so they didn't bother wasting their time with her. She fell to the wayside. After her first year, all she had to show for all the effort she put in, was failure. She promptly received her letter of expulsion as soon as final grades were posted. Defeated, her dreams of being a Simic biomancer looking impossible now, she returned home and moved into the basement.

Piko's parents weren't about to let their daughter spend the rest of her life sulking in their basement though. They truly believed their daughter was something special, even though the rest of the world didn't. Her parents pulled out the money they had put aside for the other three years of college, and bought the highest quality lab equipment they could. Piko's basement room was transformed into her basement lab with a bed, and Piko couldn't be happier. She picked herself back up and began working on a project she had been thinking of since high school. She was going to make herself a friend. Additionally, she reignited her dreams of joining the Simic. While she couldn't apply as a biomancer without a proper degree, they were always looking for volunteers for the Guardian Project. All she had to do was agree to have her body modified, and she would be a full member of her favorite guild. She began training, getting in shape to make sure they didn't turn her away. She picked archery back up, something her parents had made her do as a child. Two years latter, she felt ready to join the Simic. Her fears and anxiety of being rejected were completely unfounded, as the process of joining through the Guardian Project was as simple as signing a few waivers, filling out some forms, and then getting modified. Piko awoke in the surgical room alone, with blue skin and gills, and no direction as to what to do next. She was however, officially a member of the Simic.

### War of the Spark

Piko spent the entirety of the war hiding with her parents. As a member of the Guardian Project, she should have been out in the fight defending her guild. However, no one seemed to notice she was missing, or care for that matter.

## Relationships

### Blair

Velka and Blair were never the closest of friends, but Velka does consider him to be a friend at this point. There was a brief point of time where she wanted to beat Blair into the ground when she found out he had tried to kill Wolstoc, but they worked that out. Currently they are on good terms and both wish to take Haku down. Velka always found Blair's passion and use of foul language endearing. She likes that she doesn't feel the need to reign in her wild side around Blair.

## Trivia

* Velka would occasionally suffer panic attacks when the weight of her guilt overwhelmed her. In these moments, she would feel as if her armor was suffocating her and would desperately strip it off. This was partly due to the fact that she viewed her armor in a very symbolic way. It represented the version of herself she wanted to be; shining, protective, and able to completely cover up her past as it hid all her tattoos. During her attacks, she would feel like an imposter and unworthy to be the kind of person who would wear that armor
* Velka had to make many adjustments when she began her life as a goblin, but the most terrifying adjustment was learning how to sleep
	+ As an elf, Velka would simply trance to rest
	+ Falling asleep would trigger her PTSD, as it felt way to similar to the sensation she felt when she died
* Growing up in the Wastes, there were some things about society she was unfamiliar with. For example, the first time Wolstoc presented her with a cup of tea she ate the tea bag
* Velka is bisexual
* Velka has always had an affinity with animals, which is why she was very excited to be an Equenaut and most likely why Summer's magic manifested in a way that allows her to turn into powerful beasts
* Velka owns a horse named Filippe

## Quotes

"Nah no need bringing you down. Past is the past, and this past happened long before you were even around I'd guess. Besides, you seem to have a decent bit of respect for me, I'd hate to ruin it."

"That's a good way to live. I hope one day you'll be able to look past the person I was."

"I swear to protect the light of this world, I give my sword to it's people, I give my body to it's land, I give my soul to it's dreams, May I guard this light, Until the day I die."

"No I really like you... like alot. I feel so good when I'm with you. I can't stop smiling once I see you. That and you're.... well... hot...."

"WHAT THE FUCK NALL! I'M TRYING TO FUCKING FUCK!"