Nyssa Noirette

* Mistral
* Vale

**Nyssa Noirette** is a former student from Haven Academy and a main protagonist of Team RAIN. Her current weapons of choice are a pair of Dual-Bladed Twin Pistols known as Barghest Fang MKII, though she previously used Dual Sai Twin Pistols known as Barghest Fang. Her team consists of Robin Lincoln, Akane Amaranth and her partner Irving Hawthorne.

She first appeared in the "Umberquest" Arc following her team's loss during the doubles round of the Vytal Festival Tournament. The team then pursues a mission to locate and apprehend rogue huntsman Otso Umber, though it turns out the mission was fabricated by the mysterious Braith Family to deceive a team of huntsmen into fighting one of their experiments - an attempted Grimm-Human fusion. However, the two Braiths present at the events believe Nyssa to be an anomaly they cannot afford and trick her into running away by using her attraction to Irving against her. Following this Nyssa flees to Mistral, where she reunites with her mother, Maera, and withdraws from Haven Academy on a whim.

Nyssa is later picked up by Jin-Shi Pan of team NPIR. The freshman team slowly helps her rebuild her courage until eventually they are attacked by Sterling Braith. Nyssa elects to return to her team, and reunites with the rest of RAIN after they return from Knothole.

Robin blames Nyssa for leaving them in the lurch with Otso and later not being there for her at Knothole. Tension rises in the team, but Irving ultimately sides with Nyssa. The two later go on something of a date, and admit their feelings for one another but decide to take things slow.

In a final attempt to recruit help against the Braiths, Nyssa and Jin, along with NPIR members Isambard Nihtholt and Petra Redwood, venture to the underground group known as the Sisterhood. While there they find out that Knothole soldier, Sirius Pitch, is Nyssa's father. Nyssa reveals this to Irving, and the two agree to tackle it together.

Their distrust is ultimately proved correct when Sirius attempts to kidnap and later kill Nyssa. During their fight, Sirius reveals that he bit her when she was a baby so that he could 'find' her again, and constantly insults her and her mother. Nyssa eventually overcomes him at the cost of disabling him, and while she is remorseful, she tells Sirius he can no longer run from his crimes.

Sterling Braith later reveals that plans are moving forward to attack Irving's home of Avon in Vale. Nyssa departs to Avon with Irving and Jin while Robin and Akane remain in Mistral.

## Appearance

Nyssa is shorter than average, with pale white skin and shoulder length black hair. She also has two canine ears on top of her head, and red-pink eyes.

Her current outfit is comprised of a short-sleeved brown and red jumpsuit, with black built-in boots and a black and red jacket. She ties her hair back and wears a bandana and black gloves.

During Arc 3, Nyssa foregoes her bandana and instead wears her hair down.

### Original

Nyssa wears a dark red form-fitting body suit with light red detailing, over which she wears a grey-brown jacket.

## Personality

Nyssa is regarded as being quiet, closed off and nervous. She has put up emotional barriers over the course of her life and only fully lowered them to her team over the course of their first full school year.

Thanks to her faunus heritage, Nyssa has displayed notably canine personality traits, such as a strong sense of loyalty. She also has more amusing canine traits such as an interest in bones and territorial behaviour.

## Abilities and Powers

Based on her weapons, Nyssa's fighting style relies on both distance and the ability to fight at close range. Much like her teammate Robin, she moves extremely fast.

### Semblance

*Main article: Spirit*
Nyssa's semblance, "Spirit", allows her to move around as a spirit form of sorts which cannot be seen or interacted with. She cannot touch things, speak or interact, but she can see and hear. It is extremely useful for scouting. She only uses it in short bursts to prevent both attacks on her physical form and her aura running out.

Her semblance is also dust-compatible; by triggering dust when activating her semblance, Nyssa's astral projection becomes 'outlined' by the element of the dust - providing some degree of tangibility with which she can attack. This is seen when she uses cyan-coloured "Energy" dust to attack Sterling Braith, catching him off-guard and delivering a fairly damaging punch to the face that causes the man's aura to flare, followed by several additional lightning-fast strikes.

### Weaknesses

Much like Robin, Nyssa is weak against large, heavy-hitting opponents. She is also notably the least experienced on the team, but is skilled enough to have made it through the exams necessary to enter Haven Academy.

## Trivia

### Allusion

* Nyssa alludes to the Black Dog, a folkloric ghost in the British Isles.
	+ Nyssa is a canine faunus and has black hair.
	+ Her weapons are named Barghest Fang. In Northern English folklore, the Barghest or Barguest is a mythical monstrous black dog with large teeth and claws.
	+ Her semblance involves projecting her soul from her body, reminiscent of the fact the Black Dog is a ghost.
	+ "Black Dog" is also used as a term for depression, which connects with Nyssa's mental state during Arc 2.

### Colour Naming Rule

* Her forename references Nyssa sylvatica, the scientific name for the Black Tupelo tree.
* Her surname means "dark hair."

### Miscellaneous

* Nyssa's zodiac sign is Scorpio.
* Nyssa is an avid fan of anime, her favourite being *"Planetary Princess Academia".*
* The specific breed of dog Nyssa has faunus traits of is the Schipperke.

## References

1. ↑ http://neopoliitan.tumblr.com/post/178017391499/nyssa-whats-your-favorite-anime-moment
2. ↑ https://neopoliitan.tumblr.com/post/182924974909/when-i-first-started-reading-your-comic-i-thought