Willow Novack

The second-born of the Novack family, it was never a question of if Willow would become a hunter. No, the Novack family having a quite long lineage of hunters make that decision a simple one. The question that was needed answering was how long it was going to take. And even then, nobody that knew the young girl thought that it would not take much time at all as she showed great talent in hunting even at such a young age. This being naturally good at most things that hunting involved caused her to realize that she doesn’t really need to try all that hard. This, in turn, made her develop a rather impatient personality.

Willow’s personality, as well as her ability to be naturally good at hunting, caused a decent amount of conflict between her and her older brother Warren throughout the years. When the two would spar, it was rare for the younger sibling to win, but considering how much more Warren trained than her, it was quite a feat to even come close to his level of skill at all. This, along with most of their interactions, created a sibling rivalry of sorts between the two. A long competitive streak existed between the two, whether either of them would mention it or not.

This sibling rivalry made them both strive even further than they normally would without the other. When Warren would reach a new level of something, Willow would aim to do the same with even more flair and bragging. Perhaps her brother’s enrollment into Syne Academy was what sparked her own desire to join the academy. With a goal, she used her family’s prestigious name to take the enrollment test early. Which she of course passed with flying colors. And thus started the young woman’s new beginning in her life. And she won’t admit it, but training with her older brother makes her feel a lot better, even if she loses while sparring.

”Come on, faster! Do you think you’ll be able to beat your brother with that type of speed?!” the woman asked over to her daughter, who was panting heavily. In addition, her clothes were torn in places, having been cut by her mother’s blade, “Do you think you’ll be able to get into Syne with that lackluster performance?” she taunted angrily.

Clair Novack was her name; Mrs Novack if you were being formal. But right at that moment, there was no need as the two women only saw each other as opponents. She was an attractive woman with a shapely figure, quite a bit different from her daughter’s. Her hair was long and black that flowed when she moved with grace and precision. Her fighting seemed just as much an art form as it was a way to eliminate an enemy. In her right hand was her weapon of choice: a jeweled rapier that shone with how carefully it was taken care of. From the tip of said weapon fell a single drop of blood; she had injured her daughter, but nothing more than a cut.

Willow shook her head hastily as she grit her teeth together. The grip on her spear tightened as her knuckles turned a pale white. When compared to her mother, the aspiring hunter obviously took after her father more than anything. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for people to find that Willow was Clair’s daughter to be surprising.

The tomboy lunged forward with a grunt of effort, thrusting her arms forward and aiming right for her mother’s chest. If things went as she had planned, the older woman wouldn’t be able to move out of the way in time and she would be forced to retreat. This would allow Willow plenty of time to make multiple steps followed by a thrust each time. Exactly where a spearman wanted to be in a fight. With this move, Willow had solidified in her mind that she had won.

There was a metallic clank as Clair brought her rapier forward, parrying the spear without needing to move a single step forward or back. She stayed perfectly composed, as if she weren’t in a fight, but a rehearsal for a play. If anything, that calm face and piercing green eyes shook Willow’s confidence more than anything.

She stumbled back, nearly tripping on her feet, but managed to shuffle herself far enough away to gather herself for another attempt onto her mother. She certainly was no longer feeling confident, that’s for sure.

Clair clicked her tongue, a habit that she would do fairly often when her children would do something to disappoint her, “Tch, come on! Haven’t I taught you better than that! Stop holding back!”

“Gah… dammit…” Willow muttered defiantly under her breath to ensure her mother didn’t catch her cursing. She wanted to defeat her mother without the need of her semblance, but there seemed to be no choice. Without it, she had no chance of defeating the much more experienced woman, “F-fine…” she said softly, taking in deep breaths to begin to steady her breathing to to help her focus.

A faint silvery glow appeared around Willow as her aura began to reveal itself. Her gaze was more intense than her mother had ever seen before; this caused the woman to give a smirk of pride. A single second later, silver, ghostly hands joined Willow’s own on the spear. She shifted her weight, twirling the spear in theatrical circles in the air with her four limbs before she steadied it, aiming right at her mother’s throat from across the arena that they had chosen to fight in.

Clair gave a slow shake of her head, still giving the slightest of smiles, “Still not using your fill power? I’ll need to teach you more manners, it seems.” she gave an amused taunt as she readied her weapon to parry her daughter’s spear once again.

Without a moment to spare, Willow sprinted forward, now more in control of the spear’s movements than before. Her thrusts and shifts would even be faster, hopefully fast enough that her mother couldn’t keep up with them. Hopefully. With a loud yell, her arms moved forward as the spear sped towards its mark. Another metallic sound followed, accompanied by the feeling of pain in her mother’s cheek.

A single scarlet drop of blood trailed down the already red spear. Clair’s smile grew wider.