#damira

THE most important cosbackstory character. damira, his right hand, his second, his unsanctioned telekine, the last reminder either of them has of their old home. she's a few years younger than cosmas, but that stops being significant the older you get.

she was one of the kids cosmas took charge of on their dying ship. they were separated on cadarous, and damira and the other two were sent to an orphanage. as the second oldest (at about 10), she became something of a stand-in for cosmas during that time.

then her psykana manifested, and she pushed the only witness out the window. she's not stupid, no matter what other people say. she knows what happens to kids like her. maybe not exactly, she doesn't know where they go, but it's not something she wants to find out. and she killed someone. she needs to run away, somewhere where they'll never catch her. it takes her to the city's underhive.

she crosses paths with cosmas again entirely by chance. he takes her right back under his wing, feeds her over himself, teaches her how to turn off every instinct in her head telling her it's wrong and to just kill a fucker. never let go of your self control, never let anyone know, dismantle every obstacle in your way. listen to what he says, because you two need each other. she's still growing, but her spine's growing wrong, and everything hurts. he's there to make her a brace. he's there to get her bootleg psi-boosters. he's there to push her whenever she needs it.

damira doesn't talk, she's not expressive, she doesn't communicate her wants or her thoughts like others do. cosmas tells her a lot and doesn't let her in at all on other things. she doesn't tell him anything, but he still knows enough. they don't need to connect, they understand each other, their relationship functions exactly as they need it to. they don't call each other siblings, but it's the relationship other people assign to them. it works just fine, they're not going to waste time denying it.

over time, she goes from protected to protector. she is many things, but she is the looming figure at cosmas' back first and foremost. they need each other, cosmas may be the mastermind but it's damira who can do. she is his extending arm, she is the physicality he lacks. he is the face, she is hidden under the helmet. she derives just as much satisfaction from the hurt she causes as he does, is always so strict about her control just like he is. they work. when one of them is gone, the other retrieves them.

and then cosmas is gone for good. he's not coming back, not with the news of the maw. it sinks in for her, then everyone else. their empire can't remain without the both of them, she can't do it on her own. she leaves, finally letting the power vacuum take over as everyone cosmas was too paranoid to let close fights over all that's left behind.