#apprentice vella

Vella's magic is controlled with hand signs and movements

It seems really benign on the surface; lighting a pathway, bending light to shield herself from sight or from harm, shooting fireworks, projecting stars

However, she can also focus light a la the magnifying glass on ants, and burn the shit out of someone

🍩 DONUT - favourite sweet treat?

Vella is crazy about any dessert that features spices. While Spiced Rice Pudding is her favorite dessert, she's also quite partial to a good cinnamon bun. She likes to unravel them and slorp them down.

📖 OPEN BOOK - do they like reading? what's their favourite genre?

You'll never find Vella without a book on her. Her favorite genre is romance (from demure to filthy fuck-nasty). If you ever catch her suppressing a laugh, you know she's reading the 50 Shades type of shit.

✏️ PENCIL - is there a particular quote / lyric that you associate with them?

I was gonna go deep for this but honestly? This image sums her up so perfectly

HOOO you KNOW I'm a slut for elements!

Vella: Fire. She's a triple fire sign bitch (yikes), and I associate her with heat and light.

Rhea: Air. They're highly social and free-spirited, but they also are difficult to keep still. One might say she's....a breath of fresh air.

Serana: Earth. She's loyal to the point of obsession, disciplined and ambitious.

Emery: Water. Given the nature of her magic, she is highly in tune with her emotions and those of others. She trained long and hard to balance her feelings and responses.

Anh-Linh: Fire. He's impulsive and full of energy, and lives to make others laugh. This man acts straight from the heart without a second thought.

Vella's Familiar, Astrid

Astrid is a buff-colored long-haired tabby! Vella found her as a noisy little baby, yelling in an alley by the shop. Her aunts let Vella keep her, which was a relief. She cleaned and fed the scruffy, scrappy kitten and, before long, they became closely bonded. Astrid gave young Vella quite a shock when, mid-love blink, she said, "I'm so glad I found you."

Astrid has a mild temperament, seemingly a lazy house cat. However, she is always on high alert for danger, and won't hesitate to draw blood for Vella.

She loves curling up in blankets, or in Vella's lap during a reading. To the customers, Astrid is the face of the magic shop as much as Vella is. She's a chatty girl, though only Vella and Asra can understand what she's saying. (She has a tendency to be a petty bitch when she senses bad vibes lmao)

Other relationships

Vella is close with Selasi. She LOVES him, and he's always glad to see her. He's one of the first people she goes to while she's working through her feelings about her resurrection. He gives really good advice, and the warm bread certainly doesn't hurt the healing process.

Relationship with the courtiers

Relationship to the other LIs

Nadia: Vella is kind of starstruck by Nadia. She thinks she's wonderful, and admires her deeply. Asra has to encourage Vella to drop her awe and really connect with Nadia, but once she does, the two become close friends. In an Upright ending, Nadia comes by the shop for tea, snacks, and a reading every week. I could definitely see a Vellasradia ship, easily.

Julian: here's the thing. Vella finds Julian deeply irritating. This motherfucker broke into her home, disregarded her actually tarot reading in favor for the dramatic, AND talked shit on her best friend the first time she met him. It's hard for him to recover from that. In time, she warms to him, but never stops picking at him and calling him on his bullshit. I imagine Vellasrian being the Bully Julian (lovingly) club.

Muriel: Their relationship depends heavily on the Upright or reversed ending, clearly. In the reversed ending, Muriel resents Vella, and she is haunted by him. In an Upright ending, I can see Vella and Muriel getting along swimmingly. She probably visits him and brings him gifts from the shop. He whittles while she reads by the fire. She tells him about her stories, and he secretly loves it because of her enthusiasm. (He loves to listen to the people he loves infodump, to hear the smile in their voices). I hadn't thought about Vella with Muriel, but honestly? They'd probably work well together, and Asra would be their #1 cheerleader.

Portia: Vella bonds with Portia almost instantaneously. Cat girls, unite! Plus, Portia's warmth eases Vella's shyness well. Portia teaches Vella a bit about gardening, and Vella teaches Portia the basics of palmistry.