Callyah Reilin Dennison

Callyah, in what she typically wears. She is often mistaken for one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting rather than a bodyguard

### Aliases

Captain Dennison, "Captain" (her name sign)

### Relatives

Matissa Dennison (mother)Erik Dennison (father)Cole Dennison (younger brother)

## Physical description

### Eye color

Brown

> *“How the heck did you get in here without Callyah killing you?”* - Anika to Klay, Thread 1
>
>

Callyah Reilin Dennison is the 21-year-old Captain of the Queen's guard and commands the bodyguard task force assigned to protecting the queen. She is also Cole Dennison's older sister.

## Personality

Callyah is very shrewd and observant. She is excellent at feigning innocence and helplessness, but she most definitely is not. It often seems as if there are two Callyahs: one who is delicate and sweet, and the other, who is a fierce warrior and snarky bundle of sass.

Callyah is not a very patient person and is not one to go back on her snap judgments of people. If someone presents themselves as a threat, then they are a threat, regardless of what comes next. She doesn't really believe that people change. Though normally she has excellent control over her emotions, it's best to watch out if they get the better of her.

## Appearance

Callyah has long brown hair, brown eyes, a pale, oval face, and thin fingers. She is a delicate sort of pretty, but don't let that fool you. Even in the simple dress she typically wears, she's fierce. She is very defiant in her choice of hood, wearing a gauzy white cowl, which short enough to not get in the way when she fights and fairly see-through.

## Skills and Weaknesses

Callyah is excellent with improvised weapons -- even something as innocuous as a hair ribbon could kill someone in her hands. She's also very quick-thinking and calculating, and capable of taking on foes who are much bigger than her in hand-to-hand combat. And never -- *never* -- try to fight her if she's wearing heels. Seriously, just don't, unless you'd like to know just how hard someone has to kick you to puncture your skin with a dull object. She is also fluent in ASL and an expert at reading someone's body language, both of which she learned as a result of living with a deaf brother.

Protecting the queen is Callyah's priority, even above her own life or the lives of the people under her. She will not hesitate to sacrifice herself or one of them for the queen -- that is their job, after all. Additionally, she does not fully trust *anyone*, including the queen's own lady-in-waiting. She trusts people in shades, not unconditionally.

## Prized Possesion

Callyah's prized possession is a pair of butterfly knives. Their handles are carved with roses and resemble a pair of metal chopsticks or hairpins, but much like Callyah herself, the beautiful exterior hides a dangerous and deadly interior. Callyah is incredibly skilled with these knives, able to flick them open and attack in the same motion and confidently wielding them against her foes.

## Relationships

### Cole

Callyah and Cole's relationship is positive, albeit slightly strained. Callyah left home three years ago to get a job at the palace, presumably as a maid, but now that Cole is at the palace, he's learned that she is a member of the Queen's staff. He now knows that she's the captain of the Queen's guard, and that she's protecting the queen. Cole is very close to his sister, despite their five-year age difference, and they are happy to see each other at the palace.

Callyah trusts her brother implicitly, which is probably the most she trust anyone. She knows that he's very observant and smart, especially when it comes to people, and she knows he can't be swayed by charmspeak. She also knows that he knows her better than anyone else in the group, and that he's unfortunately usually right.

### Queen Anika

As the captain of the Queen's guard and the only female in the guard, Callyah is always with the queen. She often acts as Queen Anika's lady-in-waiting in situations where she as a bodyguard needs to be more covert, as well. She has been the queen's personal guard for three years now (she was promoted to captain when the previous captain disappeared two years ago) and as a result is closer to the queen than anyone else in the castle. The queen often messes with Callyah, much like a sibling would, and Callyah is allowed to be much more direct and honest (and even disrespectful at times) to the queen than the other members of the court and the staff are.

When Anika was kidnapped by the rebels, Callyah was mad -- mad enough to kill the leader of the rebels. She genuinely cares about the queen and doesn't want to fail; not just because it's her job, but because Anika is her friend.

Recently, since Anika has returned from being held hostage by the rebels, the two of them have become *much* closer. Callyah is usually the only one who sees Anika act anything other than poised and perfect, and she's started to serve as a mother/sisterly figure for the queen.

### Holden

Holden was one of the bodyguards under Callyah's command before she fired him. She is often impatient with him, since he is often either late, flirting, joking, or otherwise not paying attention (often in multiple ways at once.) However, she can't deny that he is a fierce fighter and serious when he needs to be.

### Everett

Everett is the other bodyguard under Callyah's command. He's younger, so she looks out for him more than she does Holden, and is generally more patient with him. She doesn't patronize him, though -- he's a member of the Queen's guard, trained and tested. In a few small ways, he reminds her of Cole, but she doesn't let that affect her judgement.

### Klay

Callyah hates Klay. There's really no other way to put it. She didn't mind him so much at first -- he was nice enough, and he made the queen happy. And then after the queen had exhausted and drained herself charmspeaking a mob of angry citizens, he got mad at her for telling people about "them" (even though she hadn't done anything like that) and only helped her to her room out of a sense of duty. Needless to say, Callyah now despises him. She kicked him into a pile of horse manure, and that's just the beginning of the ways she plans to make his life miserable. There is literally nothing he could do to redeem himself in her eyes. Nothing.

### Valerie

Callyah respects Valerie, which is saying something, considering that Callyah is, well, Callyah. Valerie has proven herself in Callyah's eyes as both a fighter and a person. Out of all the people on their team aside from Cole, she trusts Valerie the most, especially when it comes to things like other, less dependable members.

### Taylor

Cole seems to like Taylor a lot, so Callyah likes them too. Although they are very snarky at times, she trusts them -- again, because Cole does, and she trusts her brother's judgement. When they let Kyra out of her binds, she decided to trust them, warning that she would hold them responsible if their trust in Kyra turned out to be misplaced. More recently, she and Taylor have made an arrangement of sorts: instead of punching trees or walls when they are frustrated, Taylor will come to Callyah, who can block their punches without them hurting their hands anymore. They remind her of Cole in little ways -- the constant insistence that they're fine, the way they force themselves to stay awake, the way their powers exhaust them -- and she's as a result more protective of them than most of the other members of the team.

### Kyra

Oddly enough, Callyah trusts Kyra more than most of the other members of the team. Why? Because Kyra has a fairly obvious tell, and in Callyah's opinion, knowing when someone's lying is almost as good as assuming that they will always tell you the truth, since you will automatically know when they aren't. She likes Kyra well enough, although if Kyra hurts Taylor (again), Anika, or Cole, she will end her without hesitation

## The Order of Trustworthiness, According to Callyah

1. With the queen's life: Callyah
2. Implicitly: Cole
3. With her own or anyone else's life: Valerie, Everett
4. Their judgement: Taylor
5. Because she knows when they lie: Kyra
6. Well, at least I know they can fight and are on my side: Holden
7. They can't fight, but I like them well enough: Seth, Quinn
8. Not a fan, but whatever: Audrey, Paisley
9. Pfft, I'll kill them if they make a wrong move, but they're okay personality-wise: Advika
10. Not trustworthy at all, and I don't like them: Aurora, Ella
11. Make one slightly wrong move and you die: Klay