Minty Calamari

Minty is a mermaid turned two-legged pirate and fortune telling scammer. After getting arrested for unknowingly try to rob a marine for his dagger, she was sent to prison. But unbeknownst to her, that was where her story would begin...

## Background

Before her time on land, Minty Calamari was just another mermaid living in the crystal waters of a river running through some unknown valley.  The deep trenches in which she lived was occupied by other mermaids that specialized in the arts pertaining to divination and aquatic arcana. Growing up, Minty learned such things are fortune telling,  siren serenades, palm and star readings. Because of this, she has spent much of her time with the elder witches, learning the way of the finer arts, and unknowingly, her flair for reading cards and stones as well as omens would soon come in handy.

A curious creature by nature though, one of the few times she would venture to the water's surface, she would find herself ensnared by some ambitious fishermen with other motives than just fishing. Instead of being caught and sold to the highest bidder, she was taken hostage in a giant fishbowl and essentially kept as a pet aboard their ship. During the brief time in such unusual captivity, she learned the language of humans and through gaining an unexpected friendship with one of the fisherman's children, she would find her escape to freedom. Unfortunately, between then and now, the fishermen had sailed from the rivers of Minty's home, right into the deep seas of the unknown. And so, upon her escaping a life of being fed crumbs and being stared at through a tank, the freshwater mermaid was dumped into an ocean full of salt. Practically suffocating from an almost fast acting dehydration, Minty barely escaped with her life swimming her way to shore. While her human half had mostly weathered the storm, her tail did not. But fortunately for her, she washed up to an area where she would eventually be discovered by a much kinder, and helpful pair of scientists. And though they were not able to reverse the effects of all the salt retention, they could, however, give Minty something [ or two] in place of her one limb...

This was made possible by a currently hot trend in bone splicing. Ultimately for Minty, this meant saying goodbye to her tail and ever returning to life as a mermaid. The two fledgling men of science found that the length of her spinal vertebrae did not stop at the pelvis but rather it extended nearly the whole way through the tail.  Meaning, to completely sever the bone network would result in permanent paralysis. So instead, they tested out the concept of bone splicing by splitting the last ligament located at the joint connecting the fin. When they had found that Minty still retained feeling and the ability to move, they slowly worked their way up her tail, assuring that circulation and movement were still responsive. Once doing so, it resulted in an operation that entailed cutting away the fin, removing most of the muscle and cartilage comprising her tail, and grafting on a pair of leg transplants. The ending result took a little more than a year, with an entire summer dedicated to Minty undergoing physical therapy in learning how to walk. It wasn't long before the erstwhile mermaid was running around the labs and wreaking havoc like any two-legged woman in her twenties could. However, what proved to be even harder than learning to move with two tails was surviving in the world of man. Which then came in her talent for telling fortunes, hypnotizing people with her voice as she told said fortunes and robbed them for whatever they had. And while it wasn't the most squeaky clean of occupations or getting around, it worked for her, and Minty benefitted in more ways than one with her little scam.

However, what proved to be even harder than learning to read palms and tarot cards was surviving in the world of man. Which then came in her talent for telling fortunes, hypnotizing people with her sultry voice and pretty face as she told said fortunes and robbed them of whatever they had. And while it wasn't the most squeaky clean of occupations or getting around, it worked for her, and Minty benefitted in more ways than one with her little scam. That was until she tried doing it to a marine with a slight hearing problem but was good at faking it...

## **Personality**

Minty is extremely whimsical. Growing up under the tutelage of unspoken languages and learning how to essentially read the signs, it's not exactly ideal for one to cultivate much of a personality.

At times, she can come across as sweet and innocent, which to an extent she is. But then, when it comes to getting around and trying to survive, her dark and crafty mind will rear its head. Other times, Minty will capitalize on her feminine charm to prey on men and undermine women to get out of a more sticky situation. It all just mostly depends on what's happening. The only trait that remains constant is her trying to emulate humans, and often times will mimic how they move and speak to be more convincing to other people. She's also known to steal people's hats.

## Abilities & Powers

A little all over the place, there's nothing that Minty really specializes in apart from her fortune telling. After being cut loose from her year-long stint at the lab, Minty wound up living on the streets, and in turn learned everything she knows by doing so. From pickpocketing to a small bit of fighting to swordplay with a broom, Minty is more valued for being versatile and dabbling.

One thing for sure though is her gift of gab and swimming. Like many mermaids, she can serenade with a hypnotic effect to whoever is within her vicinity. Minty could sing a man under the table if she isn't able to stop him in his tracks. However, with living in tougher, rougher conditions, singing or silence doesn't always cut it. And so over the months, she has been able to refine her siren's voice to still come through with just speaking. In an ideal situation, she can talk her way out of anything with her listener molding to whatever whim she demands of them. However, this doesn't work with everyone, and it isn't always consistently effective with the people it does work on. Normally, the duration of her first bout of speaking is enough to draw in her listener, but sometimes her talking longer or more melodically will do the trick. Ultimately, it comes down to the person. People who are not actively listening or know how to tune out what they hear are often impervious to her voice.

But regardless of all that, Minty is most useful in the water. Despite losing her tail, the tiny gills all over her body are still present and she can breathe underwater. And of course, she is an excellent swimmer that can travel at top speeds and under some impressive pressures for prolonged amounts of time.

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## Equipment

* Weighted jeweled bag
* Whalebone dagger
* Ornate folding fan
* Round wooden tarot cards