Seprala Septa

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Name:Seprala Williams
Species:Butterfree Morph
Age:Deceased
Sex:Female
Gym Membership:Beta Gym Member
Badges:Iris, Wave
Rating:Upon Request
Alignment:Neutral Good
Occupation:Druid
Voice Actor:Emily Bindiger
Theme Song:"The World", .hack//SIGN OST vol. 1

Attitude

Seprala, despite the beating she received as a child, still hasn't lost her eye for shinies and gold. If anything, her encounters with the Matriarch have empowered her in that respect, leaving her rather open to the thought of swiping anything that might catch her eye. While she still retains a bit of respect for anything that can harm her, it mostly manifests in running or flying away like she stole it (sometimes literally), and even in the face of that she maintains a rather cocky attitude. New things, surprisingly, aren't too much of a turn-off: after all, she did it once and got out scot free, right? Even if it took three years. If there is one thing that defines her, though, it's determination. If she wants something, she will find a way.

Background

For having such a traumatic childhood, Seprala seems to be fairly proud about it (and as such, feel free to assume that this is common IC knowledge).

Family

Clan Septa. Quite a backward sort according to some, preferring to remain in the forests of Contiki, keeping and tending them. Most are naturally grass types, though curiously there have been several varieties, most notably fire types, as it is rumored that the clan nearly died out over a millenia ago, the lone survivors a Venusaur and a Charizard, left to rebuild all that was lost. They keep no secrecy from New Ginseng, at times bringing their wounded or coming to participate in the local celebrations. Some have even stayed to bud off from the clan and integrate themselves fully into the city life. The clan consists of a few close-knit families, perhaps thirty to forty in number, with the eldest female serving as their matriarch. They have no permanent place of residence within the forests, though they may settle in a newly burned portion to help the regrowth from time to time. The heads of the families identify themselves with a simple leather collar in varying colors, and the matriarch wears a similar collar but with a small bell in the center. They say it was a simple habit of respect, which passed into tradition with time, started by the survivor of old, and continued on as the clan reachieved its former glory.

History

Her life had been quite uneventful up until the time she found quite a beautiful plant. Lost in the bright gold petals she saw, she moved, intending to pluck a few of them to add some pretty trim to her simple attire, thinking it would attract attention, something she found she enjoyed. She didn't expect the sleeping Meganium to rise up and attack once she had grabbed one of them and plucked it right off. All she could do was run, scared out of her wits. When asked where she got them, she replied with the innocence of youth (she was 12 at the time) and for it, she learned the results of her carelessness. Scavenging from those who had no use for their adornments was one thing, but this was theft, on a level and for a purpose that set the Matriarch right off. Seprala expected maybe a spanking, not to be beaten angrily within an inch of unconsciousness. By the time she couldn't feel it anymore, she just lay there, thinking herself alone and about to die, unable to even cry about it, able only to wait. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, hard, but not a strike like the Matriarch had delivered. "Seprala! Are you alright!? Answer me!" the worry of her father the last thing she remembered before she finally blacked out.

She'd lived in fear until she was almost 15, recovering from her injuries and learning to be herself again. Her wings grew back, and people had noticed a definite change in her. Quiet, timid almost to a fault, in some cases afraid to do some daily chore or even to help a sick 'mon. She never talked about why, for everyone knew. It was normal to fear the consequences of stepping out of line, but what if one couldn't see the line, let alone not step out of it? The few times she tearfully opened up, she was met with quiet support, a warm, loving embrace from her playmates or her family, which confused her. Most of them agreed with her, quietly, that the Matriarch gone too far had damaged the young girl's soul in her anger, but in the same breath, they talked of the passing of time, and how nothing could correct it now. But of course she still hurt inside, and she admitted, blindly, that when she thought of how she had been hurt, she thought of returning the favor. This wasn't something that met with any encouragement. She was far too weak to challenge the Matriarch openly, and her father had already gone to speak with the Matriarch, only to be sent away with a simple explanation of "she learned her lesson".

The hopelessness she saw in her father's eyes was enough. The day before her fifteenth birthday, she stood up, cornering the Matriarch and striking out at her. The fight was brief, yet not quite brutal, Seprala finding herself held down by the Venusaur's many vines and unable to do a thing, her wings on the verge of breaking. "I suppose I was wrong, I thought you had learned your lesson. To steal that Meganium's livelihood is terrible enough, but to strike out at your elders for the work they put into keeping you safe.... No, I have been harsh enough. I will show mercy this time and let you go with a sore bottom." With that, Seprala felt herself tossed aside and punished, running her way back into the forests, waiting until she had recovered to return to the family shelter.

She stumbled upon her father working on a collar of sorts, hiding her discomfort enough, curious as to what he was doing. That was when she learned of the Septa Band, the collar that every family kept, and the one that the Matriarch wore. She learned that the plain one in her father's hands would one day be around her neck, and with that, she belived she had found her way to get back at the one who had taken away her happiness. Quietly she snuck up toward the Matriarch's shelter, slipping in and grabbing up the collar, not noticing that the Matriarch was sleeping nearby, finding out when there was a call of "Who's there?" as the bell on the collar rang and gave her away. Not wanting to be found, she held it close to her chest, tearing her way out of the dwelling and running, the old fear of an angered Matriarch clouding her mind yet again as this time, she didn't stop running, not until she finally had to stop for breath, finding herself staring up at the massive edifice of New Ginseng. When she finally regained enough sanity to think, she found herself rather pleased with herself. The timeless band was in her hand still, and she smirked lightly and raised it to wrap around her neck, muttering, "Gotcha..." knowing that back home, the Matriarch would be beside herself in anger, the thought only deepening the smirk the young Butterfree wore. This new feeling, this glow of success, this thrill... she loved it, and never looked back.

Recent Events

Arrival

Seprala's first contact, fresh aglow from her survival, was with Mashu Williams. She had believed that the Septa Band was little more than a mark of seniority within the clan she had put behind her, and it was then that she learned of its link to the Survivor, and through her the Golduck she'd met with. Almost on the spot she was accepted, even taken in, and taught the ways of New Ginseng, one day at a time.

She made several friends, among them Apollo Silverheart, Rakor, and Zitix Blackfang, mostly through the Arena at the Bash and Brawl. It was here that she learned her penchant for mental warfare, and how much she loved watching a foe squirm and maybe even beg for mercy.

Zitix, one of her first opponents, faced her as a Beedrill and managed to narrowly defeat her after a long and drawn out matchup of powders, mental blasts, and a great deal of surprises at seeing into some rather strange dreams. That, and a great deal of interaction afterward, was when the two counted each other friend for the first time.

Rakor was one of her more fun opponents, only able to fend her off for a short time before succumbing to her powders, and giving the audience a nice view of just how scary Seprala could be in a fight.

Her match with Apollo was rather quick and brutal, her powders managing to stun him long enough to do some light harm before being completely shut down with a Thunderbolt to the face.

These set the stage for the rest to come.

Pursuit

Not long after she had arrived in town, George and Gracie Septa appeared, seeking her out. At first Seprala met them with wary recognition, believing that they had come to take the band - and her - back to the Matriarch who had beaten the life out of her three long years ago. It wasn't until a few critical matches of skill that the potentially volatile situation was resolved, the two instead offering their friendship - and a part of the mercenary group Ateps that they had been hoping to found - to the bewildered Butterfree.

Prayer

Her acceptance was only the beginning. Before long, the three could often be seen together, talking about 'Bitcharch' or the like and generally getting along well. Before very long, Seprala fully realized her independence, slipping out from under Mashu's wing and taking up quite the transient lifestyle.

Among her sparring partners she added Massimo, a Machoke who managed to garner quite the amusing reaction with a little application of raw beefcake and the power of Attract. If Seprala's Substitute hadn't been taken out, she would have had to fight with her and her Double Team for a spot to hang on the Machoke like the schoolgirl she could have been - until her inexperience cost her the match.

It didn't come until her meeting with Enzo Kaze that she realized in all what, in her mad dash for freedom, she had left behind - and why she had to go back. The only part of the clan she had wanted to flee was the oppression of their Matriarch, and their universal support for it - and in the process had left her prayers behind.

Previously she had feared leaving the city and being assaulted and dragged back by a servant of the Matriarch, but the sense of loss was overpowering, and before long she was leaving daily, only to come back with a much more content look on her face.

Despite her taking off the Septa Band, she still maintained good relations with her former Master, and found herself beginning to realize (with his help) just how much she meant to George... unaware that soon, she wouldn't ever need to run, away or toward the city or her former clan.

Rebuilding

The construction of the Conservatory was one of the best things to ever happen to Seprala. Among the meadows and forest paths, the Shrine was one of George's gifts to her, allowing her to pray and meditate to the Great Forest Spirit within the safety of the city's walls, but in a place where she often forgot there was a roof over her head.

It took almost no time at all for her to relearn who she had been before the accident, and though her companion George had proposed to her, and she had accepted, the two wouldn't be able to fully tie the knot until her sixteenth birthday. It was a time that Seprala accepted, and a time in which she grew stronger - much stronger - in the ways of the Great Forest Spirit.

Her powers had already included mental assaults, but came to include control over the Silver Wind powers common to so many Bug-types, as well as a more powerful and more debilitating variant, and some control over the burning rays of the sun (Solarbeam).

The most frightening of her powers came when she, like so many others, delved into the Hidden Power she held. What she found was a powerful call rising up, and the court of Lady Nindoqueen of the Conservatory rising up to defend her momentarily with the numbers to break almost any defense.

But what would, what should she do with these abilities? The question lingered, burned, festered. The need for a purpose grew, and so rose the search.

Growth

Seprala eventually took to the role of trainer, meeting Reed and Sciph, and raising them to help defend her - and she them - during her life taking care of things at the Conservatory. It was during gym battles - Reed's victory against Pandora of the Delta Gym and Sciph's loss against Alynna of the Foxfire Gym - that they completed their evolutionary lines.

And not a moment too soon, either - while waiting to rechallenge the Foxfire Gym, Seprala found herself beset in the city park by a trio of Tyrogue. Willingly taking their challenge and fending them off easily, she found herself blindsided by a Hariyama who had come to join in. All it took was one assault to shatter her will to continue, fleeing with a broken arm.

She came to in the Center, with her father and lover both standing over her bed. Her arm couldn't be dealt with as simply as most injuries - it would need to be re-set and knit before it could be healed.

The following two weeks were busy indeed - George leaving for business elsewhere, and her with only four hands - her right, both of Reed's, and Sciph's beak - to maintain the Conservatory.

Corruption

A casual stop for a little R&R at a dance club was the beginning of Seprala's downfall. At first she simply found herself captured by the nefarious Team Venom, her two mon left behind to wonder where she had gone. Infected with the Pharaoh Virus, she half unwillingly turned her back on the Great Forest Spirit she had so revered, and to the horror of those who noticed, had become everything that she was not.

She spent the time aboard the Neith training and being further indoctrinated to the ways of Team Venom, including some personal favor from their leader, Onuris. Eventually the time came to prove herself, and she came up short, overseeing the capture of Heatran only to be blindsided and recaptured by Mashu.

For nearly a month she endured his attempts to bring her back to the way he knew, but the Virus had taken too deep a hold, and she quite literally no longer needed it to follow the path she was on. Her escape finally came when the discouraged Golduck tossed her out.

That was when she found out that Venom had disowned her, and had placed a mark on her. They were hunting her. Fearing for her life, she fled into the Sage Forest, and lifted her voice to the skies.

She called for help.

The answer, strangely enough, came from her Hidden Power - rather than calling one of the Court to defend her in battle, she found the entire Court coming to personally guard her, which turned out to be her undoing as the assassin followed just as closely, even as several of her friends accompanied them just to watch the contract's completion. She was rushed to the Great Oak Pokemon Center through the help of Ciere Truesdale but was pronounced dead on arrival in the early morning hours of 10 Arcanine 15007.

A log of these last few events can be found here.