Maria était assise dans le petit coin sombre et sans fenêtre de la baie médicale avec seulement une petite lumière éclairant la surface de sa table. Elle était bien au courant de la bataille qui s'est déroulée juste à l'extérieur avec les ébranlements occasionnels de son environnement et le ratissage de l'équipement. Comme c'est devenu un événement courant récemment, elle a branché ses oreilles et a tenté de continuer à broyer diverses plantes et herbes en poudre. Avec son minimum d'expérience de combat, rester caché et hors du chemin était la meilleure méthode pour aider. Elle s'arrêta un moment et regarda son katar qui avait glissé de la table depuis le navire balayant. Tout en atteignant pour l'attraper, un autre canon a explosé dans l'Ocean Horizon.
L'impact a renversé la chaise de Maria, et elle s'est retournée sur l'estomac. Elle gémit de douleur exagérément en se tournant sur son dos. Un crash et une fissure ont été entendus comme son mortier d'argile et de pilon brisé en morceaux sur le sol. Sans hésiter, elle s'assit dans une panique et tenta immédiatement de rassembler les morceaux dispersés et les petits grains de poudre. En vain, ses gants ont réussi à recueillir des morceaux de poussière et d'argile brisée. La poudre qui en résultait s'était séparée et avait disparu, avec une probabilité nulle de récupération. Maria s'est serré les poings et a crié par frustration. Elle a sorti ses bouchons d'oreilles et a attrapé son katar, prêt à se précipiter de façon irresponsable dans la bataille.
Malheureusement, sa sonorité a déjà attiré un intrus dans la baie des malades. En regardant vers le haut, les yeux de Maria ont rencontré un fou assez bruissant qui a réussi à monter sur le navire. Elle se leva rapidement d'une manière instable et étranglée avant de trébucher sur ses propres pieds. Avec un coup fort, elle est tombée à plat sur son visage une fois de plus. L'ennemi pirate a étranglé à la rencontre de la fille avec humiliation directe avant de l'approcher avec son arme tiré. Maria garda son visage dans la honte et murmura à elle-même : « Puis-je mourir maintenant, s'il vous plaît? » Elle a repéré son katar à seulement quelques centimètres du pirate méprisable. Il a délibérément marché dessus et l'a frappé encore plus loin. Finalement, il plana juste au-dessus d'elle et retira son arme, prêt à pleuvoir la mort sur un témoin innocent.
Mais hélas, pour sauver la journée, un héros s'est introduit de la porte ouverte et s'est farouchement piqué à la tête du pirate. Tandis qu'il était distrait de flâner autour, Maria en profita pour se tourner vers son arme. Frantiquement mais soigneusement se poussant à ses pieds, elle a tiré son katar et l'a chargé directement dans l'abdomen de la brute. Incapable de l'enlever par la suite, elle a laissé aller et a reculé dans l'espoir de voir le pirate bruissant mourir. Heureusement, avec un coup de couteau à l'estomac et de multiples piqûres de sang, il s'est effondré au sol. Maria savait qu'il n'était pas encore mort mais pensait qu'avec une blessure comme ça il serait parti en un rien de temps. Elle a lutté pendant quelques minutes pour sortir son katar du corps inconscient et a fait son chemin à l'extérieur où se passait le vrai choc. Son oiseau familier s'est assis confortablement sur son épaule alors qu'elle se livrait au combat avec des invités non invités - ou, au moins, a tenté de le faire.
Name: Maria Siddiqui
Alias(s): Marie, Sid
Age: 26
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 135
Hair Color: Dark Mahogany
Eye Color: Greyish Hazel
Crew Position: Medical Officer - Apothecary
Physical Appearance:
She's often seen with her messy and tangled hair let down and rested on her shoulders, a generally blank facial expression, and a slouch.
Attire:
She usually sports a simple, full-sleeved blouse with a buttoned down vest, knee-length breeches with opaque tights underneath, and leather ankle boots. She occasionally wears gloves, a worn-out white coat, and mask while working; and sometimes ties a red ribbon around the collar to add some color.
Personality:
Passive: She is lethargic in her mannerisms and is always reluctant to partake in physical activities. Her sluggish behavior is her most visible attribute as it's easily noticeable in her voice and posture. However, it does not interfere with her work ethic. At most, it messes up her physical health and sleep schedule, but nothing important.
Oblivious: When she appears too calm in a threatening situation, it's most likely due to her inattentiveness. She has no sense of danger whatsoever and will probably get herself into trouble more than she realizes. Her naivete might end her up at the bottom of the ocean someday.
Capable: Despite being close to an absolutely useless person, she is able to prove her worth every once in a while. She's diligent and resourceful when it comes to her specialty in medicine. In rare occasions, she'll show hints of maturity and responsibility.
Honest: One of her not-so-many good traits is her truthfulness. She is a straightforward and genuine person. There's rarely ever beating around the bush. Maria will bluntly state what's on her mind and dislikes keeping secrets. Unfortunately, she's also too trusting. If there's anything she hates, though, it's sunlight and liars.
Weapons & Equipment:
A black steel katar with a wing engravement and a pig iron scimitar sheathed away in storage somewhere.
Shard Ability:
Avimancy: At the most basic level, she's able to beckon a couple of small birds for her command. It's not very impressive, but they're useful for pigeon post. Sometimes they can be used for combat with their terrorizing pecks, but usually they end up just making a mess on the ship's deck--which of course she takes no responsibility for. Her summoned familiar usually hangs around her for the most part.
Brief History:
Maria was born as the daughter of two well-behaved Horus residents who never expected to conceive such a troublesome young girl. Her father was a respected apothecary who'd resided in the Eastern Tip for all of his life; her mother was an expert in the arts of horticulture. They made a swell pair and were well-known in their community. Once Maria was birthed, their days became tiresome. It was almost as if she was a magnet for trouble.
She'd get lost on the streets, trust and follow strangers way too often, and find herself in situations where a ransom was necessary for her release. As years passed by, it was as if every runaway thief in Horus wanted to hand whatever they stole to her and proceed to make their escape. Her pitiful parents had to explain dozens of misunderstandings to multiple different vendors and merchants. Their rep in the community and wealth began to decline. Eventually, they kept her under a strict house arrest. Of course, it's not like they wanted to suppress their only daughter from the outside world. They just wanted to make sure she stayed safe.
During those golden years, Maria learned medicine from both her mother and father. On the down side, her only friends were birds. As she entered her adult years, she began her own practice to help the sick and poor. Her parents started to regret keeping her locked up and decided she was finally old enough to care for herself. That was a big mistake on their part because an adult with no experience in the outside world most likely wouldn't have much wisdom. As expected, the idiot got herself into trouble once again--this time, with a group of pirates.
It was just a normal and strangely quiet day delivering medicine. Maria eventually bumped into a group of burly, scary-faced macho men. They began demanding for her to hand over the contents of her bag. She figured they were in urgent need of medicine and handed over some extras which were not delivery orders. The pirates were a little dumbfounded at her compliance but decided to snatch the whole bag anyways, and her as well.
To sum it up, she ended up being held (unknowingly) hostage for several months on a lesser-known ship where she provided basic medical care. Surprisingly, they treated her pretty nicely there despite the lies of eventually allowing her to return to Horus. Maria wasn't too concerned since she believed it was better being away from constantly causing problems for her parents.
Sooner or later, the amateur group of burly-men pirates decided to go against the Ocean Horizon. As expected, the burly-men pirates faced an embarrassing defeat. The captain of the Ocean Horizon allowed Maria to join his crew. After saying her heartfelt goodbyes to the others, she became an apothecary on the new ship.

Fletcher G. Payne: Maria respects Fletcher solely for his position as captain of the ship. She hasn't had much interaction with the captain upon joining the crew therefore only has an outsider's opinion of him. Despite that, she is still grateful to him for saving her from the prior group of pirates, although she didn't really realize she'd been kidnapped in the first place. She acts as a loyal crew member on the Ocean Horizon and follows his orders obediently when it doesn't come to harsh physical labor.
Petros Avakian: Maria often interacts with Petros as he commonly visits the medical bay. Of course, she doesn't realize he's not fond of her one bit. She usually attempts to strike up a conversation but is quickly shut down. She's not quick to notice when verbal communication is not needed and often bores the poor guy with topics like napping and daydreaming. Despite what should be obvious indications of frustration, Maria unintentionally holds Petros against his will with inane small-talk prior to giving him whatever information he came for initially. As a person, she sees him as a responsible and trustworthy crew-mate and friend.
Aloysius Poole: Initially wary of the cyborg-zombie Bosun, Maria is growing more curious of his physical state. She still doesn't actively approach him to converse but will unintentionally stare from afar like a creepo. She's well-aware that Poole has the captain's trust so she sees no reason to be cautious of him. Although she doesn't particularly trust him, she views him as a reliable crew-mate and admires his brutality in battle.
Carlos Cunningham: Maria sees Carlos as an interesting member of the Ocean Horizon. She's heard of his past from talk around the ship and respects his intelligence and passion for weaponry. She believes she relates in a way with medicine, and often converses about their positions on the ship. Although it seems as if he distrusts her for being a fairly new member aboard the ship, Maria sees him as a dependable crew-mate.
Fergus Gallagher: Maria thinks she and Fergus have a lot in common and get along well. But then again, she believes she gets along well with everyone on board the ship. His personality carries a sense of tranquility around him. Maria is always happy to encounter him around the ship and usually stops him for a conversation. His motivation is able to temporarily push her away from her lazy tendencies and work towards becoming a MANLY MAN. As a person, she sees him as a role model and strives to be someone with such wisdom and optimism.
Silver Kingsly: Maria would normally expect to see the Sylph Squadron leader in the medical bay often, but his wounds appear to take care of themselves. She feels it would be rude to pry into his personal business so usually keeps any conversation about her normal, boring topics. She believes he is a fairly laid-back and reliable crew-mate; and sees no danger in befriending him.
Yara Loras: Maria admires Yara as her closest friend aboard the Ocean Horizon. Yara was the first to show her the ropes upon joining the crew. They both commonly reside in the sick bay therefore they often interact with one another as well. Whether it's sharing medical knowledge or having a friendly conversation, Maria believes Yara is the one she can confide in the most on the ship.
Alcides Demophon: Maria has only subtly interacted with Al a few times so far. She can't help but think he's been avoiding her for some reason, which seems unusual to her considering the news around the ship is he's a total womanizer. She doesn't go out of the way to actively approach him but attempts to strike up a friendly conversation whenever encountered. As a person, Maria doesn't necessarily trust him but believes he is a loyal member of the crew.

Yaaarrgh! (kept it :P)