Leilani Palila

Leilani Kristen is a former member of Team GEWL, and the partner of Eden Mayfield.

Appearance
Leilani is a tall woman of notable stature. Her skin is a fairly pale shade from her time spent in her garage/workplace, and there are usually oil or residue marks found on it. Her hair is long and black, styled with bangs that come to a point in the middle of her forehead; her hair is blunt-cut, or flatly cut at the ends for a crisp, clean appearance. In addition to her hair, she has a thick pair of eyebrows, usually overlooked when others take note of her overall appearance, her bright blue eyes, or her choice of weapon. Though it is not usually seen, she has the tail of a snow leopard, hidden and coiled up underneath her clothes.

Leilani's standard attire consists of a fullbody, sleeveless black jumpsuit, fitted close to her torso from the waist up. It clasps at the back along the spine with three one-click belt buckles, and covers the neck in a turtleneck wrap. The bottom of this, or the pants, are usually baggy, and tuck into a pair of coal black work boots that come up to her calves. On her hands, for standard working purposes and extra protection, she wears a thick pair of gray gloves, stained with grease, oil, and other lubricants from her years in the garage. All along her torso, there are several sections of obsidian armor, such as a brace around and underneath the chest, and a metal coat all the way down her right arm to the bulky, gear-like gauntlet on her wrist.

Personality
Prideful to say the least, Leilani Kristen is wise, patient, sneaky, adept, a little arrogant, and simultaneously iron-fisted. Literally. She possesses a natural charisma and ability to lead others, despite the fact that she is not Team GEWL's actual leader; she's more so the second-in-command, able to take charge whenever Guadalupe falls short of his expectations. In-spite of her pride, she is shown to be a very pragmatic and determined woman, willing to cast her beliefs and appearance aside to put herself in dangerous situations for the sake of victory and her friends. When her closest companions are the ones put in danger, she tends to get a bit overzealous in her "protective" maneuvers, and can get a little out of hand with slaying Grimm or beating down other human beings, even Faunus on occasion. It takes strong willpower to remind herself that she is more practical than that, but in doing so, her temper can be cooled, and she can be brought back to her senses, sometimes effortlessly, even.

Most of the time, Leilani has a cold exterior and a strong personality, though she is not heartless. While harsh and intolerant of failure, she comes to care a great deal for her teammates and is protective of them, much like an older sister would her siblings. When she met Guadalupe Wolfgang for the first time, she found him very unrelatable, and practically butted heads with him. Of course, that was when they were children. Once she found them both to be Faunus, considering Guadalupe's wolf-like ears were hidden within his messy white hair, she warmed up and found it possible to open up to others, welcoming him into her life like a little brother of sorts. She treats Eden similarly, but not with such close feelings, as she finds them strongest as colleagues/friends rather than family—since emotions tend to get in the way. Leilani is the kind of person who will do what she can to look out as best as possible for her friends and family.

Background
Leilani's history could be written into a four hundred page novel if she took the time to do so. She was born on the island of Menagerie, alongside Guadalupe Wolfgang and Eden Mayfield, in a village environment. She was raised by two loving parents, who were a farmer and the mechanic in the village. They hardly ever had time to spend with Leilani, but when they both got home from work, they were more than willling to play with and comfort her in her times of stress and/or need. It went on like this for six years, and then, she met someone. There was a boy who lived nearby, a Faunus by the name Guadalupe, and immediately, the two butted heads. They competed with each other other everything they could think of, and caused a minor form of havoc throughout their resident village. Least to say, they became good friends after much roughhousing, and after another boy named Eden managed to stop them from fighting one time. They made a friendly trio, and played with one another practically all the time. Leilani couldn't be happier, and the fact that they were all Faunus made it much more comfortable.

Then, at nine years old or so, Guadalupe brought a new girl into the village, and unlike everyone in the vicinity...she was a human. Her name was Whinter Kavanaugh. She had washed up on the shore of Menagerie, and in her trauma, started babbling on about the horrors that another human being put her through, making her watch her parents die before her eyes. She even had to kill him to successfully escape. Leilani soon felt sorry for the girl, telling her that Faunus would never do something so cruel to human kind (save for the White Fang and their associates). Whinter was welcomed with open arms, valuing the comfort that the villagers gave her after her suffering, especially Leilani. She, Eden, and Guadalupe had a new friend to add to their circle, and were happy to have her, a kind girl who had much to learn about the Faunus and their way of life. Leilani helped her adapt, and taught her how to do some basic things, like play with Dust, hold a knife, or shoot a gun in their games of pretend. Leilani felt as though she had a new little sister, and was happy to have her in her life.

Weapon
Name: Fujun'na Shinrei (不純な心霊 Translation: Impure Slasher)

Primary Type: Melee

Modeled After: A Swiss Army Knife

Capabilties: Fujun'na Shinrei is, much to many people's disbelief, nothing more than a shell that holds multiple swords, a scythe, and a shoulder-mounted machine gun.

Guadalupe Wolfgang
The most stubborn person she ever met. Leilani greatly values Guadalupe as a friend and a younger brother, doing whatever she can to help him should he need it.

Eden Mayfield
An interesting boy, really. Leilani always found Eden to be a bit shy, if not just tepid. She managed to urge him as a kid to warm up to others around him, and to pursue great things, despite what others might think of him.

Whinter Kavanaugh
The sweetest girl she ever meet. Leilani think of Whinter like a little sister, and does whatever she finds possible to make life fun and worry-free for her. Though this job is taxing, it makes her feel good to know she's doing something nice for a friend.

Trivia

 * Leilani's primary inspiration is Satsuki Kiryuin from Kill la Kill.
 * She is also inspired by Lightning Farron's SOLDIER/Cloud Strife skin from Final Fantasy XIII-3, a.k.a. Lightning Returns.
 * Her theme song is Free  by Crush 40.