Elena Healy/Sailor Eos - Sailor Myth: Italy

Civillian Form

Name: Elena Majella Healy
Meaning:
Elena - light of the sun (Italian)
Majella - name of an obscure Italian saint; also the name of a town in Italy. Rita gives her daughter this middle name in thanks to Saint Gerard of Majella, the Catholic patron saint of pregnant women
Healy - from éiladhach, meaning ingenious (Irish)
Age: 26
Birthdate: September 12
Astrological Sign: Virgo sun, Scorpio moon, Aquarius rising
Blood Type: O negative

Family

Rita Healy (mother, 49 yrs): Elena's loud and brilliant Italian-American mother, Rita teaches in the math department at the University of Kentucky (UK), usually taking on the not-always-desired task of introductory calculus for classes of three hundred students. With a razor-sharp wit and the patience to put up with even the most clueless of first year students, Rita has earned the remarkable designation as being one of those professors that the students actually want to have. She is a highly enthusiastic UK sports fan, using her faculty status to get tickets to most home football and basketball games. Rita has a great sense of humor, if not a bit naughty at times. She's managed to make both husband and daughter blush on more than one occasion, and Elena owes her love for intellectual double entendres to her own mother.
Rita puts great trust in her faith, instilling the same trust in her daughter. She prays daily and goes to church every Saturday night with her husband, but she isn't the type to assume a hypocritical sort of piety. Since Elena's gone to Rome, she has tried to compensate for the loneliness by volunteering at the Newman Center on campus, helping with the weekly spaghetti dinners after Sunday evening Mass. Rita's got a classic look of elegance to her, with dark glossy brown hair that has begun to grey at the temples and a buxom figure.

Jack Healy (father, 52 yrs): Jack heads the web and e-commerce division of a successful media consulting firm, MediaWorks. Detail oriented and wholly dedicated to making his business a success, he put in sixteen hours a day for nearly a year in order to keep his clients happy during a particularly stressful series of projects. Elena's work ethic is entirely her father's doing, and she models her own attention to detail and her dedication to her work after his example. Like his wife, Jack is a big UK sports fan, basketball his preferred sport.
Jack has bright red hair, freckles, and sky-blue eyes, all of which make him look ten to fifteen years younger than his actual age. Stocky, with a bit of a paunch, he plays golf to stay in shape as well as talk with clients in a less formal setting. He dotes upon Elena, having saved money since she first showed an interest in cars in order to buy her something cute and zippy for a graduation present. He was the kind of daddy who picked out frilly pink dresses for his baby girl and paraded her around at the office. Jack picked out the toddler cheerleader outfit, and it was Jack who was all weepy on Elena's first day of school.

Elena has a healthy relationship with her parents, thanks to a mutual respect for space and their healthy encouragement of her interest in all things mechanical. There were the usual years of teenage rebellion and the initial objection to her new job in Rome, but parents and child manage to get along fairly well.

Giordano Manlio (uncle, Rita's older brother, 56 yrs): Uncle Dano heads the maintanance division at a Dublin, OH, Maserati dealership. Dano made it a point to visit his little sister, brother in law, and his niece at least once a month, bringing back pictures of little Elena to her aunt and cousins. Tall and swarthy with a booming laugh, he introduced Elena to the Maserati line of cars and taught her about the grittier side of the dealership. He got her the receptionist job at the dealership and managed to keep a space open in the shop so that she could learn how to be a mechanic alongside her cousins.

It hadn't been Dano's intention to get Elena a job in Rome, but the opportunity arose and he gave his niece a glowing recommendation. Of course, it earned him a scathing reprimand from his little sister for taking her little girl so far away, but Dano managed to talk Rita down and show her that it would be a good thing for Elena to take this job.

Likes:

UK sports, Star Wars, Kevin Smith movies, late night conversations, watching the sunrise, Aerosmith, karaoke, coffee shops, baking, DDR, restoring cars, driving fast, loud rock music, seventies funk classics, pajamas, denim, the beach, roses, flirting shamelessly, deep theological conversation, Diet Coke, and proving that there's more to her than her cleavage

Dislikes:

being late, interruptions, her acne, doing laundry, sushi, bra-shopping, being underestimated, guys who can't take 'no' for an answer, being brushed off, Celine Dion, disorganization, people who are wholly into material possessions, Pepsi, and the constant stereotyping of Americans as fat, lazy, dumb, and uncultured

Hobbies:

Fast cars (both driving them and showing them off), shopping, watching UK basketball and football, hanging out at cafés to watch the sun come up while enjoying a good cup of coffee, and... work. The girl loves her job that much.

Skills:

She's an engineer! Elena is both mathematically and mechanicaly inclined. Multilingual, she speaks English, French, and Italian fluently. She is inventive and innovative, able to think outside of the box to solve a problem. A stickler for precision, she is detail-oriented and thorough. Thanks to her experience with cars, Elena can drive almost anything (with or without a key). Her cousins taught her how to hold her own in a fistfight. Finally, she's quite good when it comes to old-fashioned desserts, her apple cobbler and chocolate chip cookies rather remarkable.

Aspirations:

To work her way up at Maserati to become the head technical rep for one of the more prominent Maserati racing teams in Europe

Miscellaneous Details

School/Occupation: Elena graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, followed by an MS in Mechanical Engineering and minors in French and Italian. After spending several summers as a receptionist and as a mechanic at a Dublin, Ohio Maserati dealership, Elena is currently employed as a dealership/factory liason for Maserati in Rome.
Favorite Food: coffee, diet coke, homemade applesauce, grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, tiramisu, grilled salmon
Hated Food: peas, kidney beans, calamari
Favorite Subject: calculus, shakespearean studies, technical writing, meteorology, and languages
Hated Subject: economics
Color: Dark lavender (#cc66ff). Secondary color is pale rose (#ffccff).
Gemstone: Tanzanite. Yes, her birthstone is a sapphire, but tanzanite's purple. And for Elena, purple is cool.

Appearance

Elena stands at a voluptuous five feet, five and one half inches and 150lbs, her hourglass figure testament to both her Italian and Irish heritage. After years of insecurity, she’s managed to become comfortable with her figure and enjoys wearing clothes that show off her ample upper body. Her hair is a rich glossy black-brown streaked with natural dark auburn highlights, and she wears it in long layers about her face, the rest falling halfway down her back in a thick curtain. When working, it's usually swept up into an elegant and refined bun, or pulled back in a sleek dark ponytail with no part visible. If Elena's not playing the role of the engineering professional, her hair hangs free without any ornamentation, save for a colorful bandana to keep it out of the way. Chocolate brown eyes sparkle, framed by thick lashes and eyebrows that she constantly worries over. High cheekbones and a decided chin provide soft angles to an otherwise round face. While she inherited her mother's eyes and hair, Elena is cursed with her father's pale Irish complexion. Needless to say, she’s a firm believer in sunscreen. She has mild acne that, over the years, has become merely an indication of her stress level or menstrual cycle. A few faint scars grace her jawline, but are kept hidden under makeup. Lips are full and always covered by at least a sheen of chapstick, if not deep burgundy matte lipstick. Her nails are kept trimmed fairly short, and usually covered with a clear coat of polish. She is rather fanatical about shaving and waxing, courtesy of her dark hair/pale skin combination.

By US clothing standards, she’s usually sporting jeans in a size 12 or 14, able to bare a tummy that's slightly soft but not technically flabby. Bras are usually a 36DD, and such a sizable chest balances out her curvy hips. She's got a few two-piece bathing suits that look rather nice. Elena has a wardrobe that fits almost every aspect of her personality. When it comes to keeping up with fashion trends, she keeps current with her embarassingly small yet versatile collection of 'work clothes.' As the charming automotive professional, she wears tailored suits and blouses, high heels a must to add a few inches and force her to stand up straight. If she must tour the plant, she trades skirts and heels for slacks and flats. Off the job, Elena prefers casual clothes like jeans and khakis, paired with simple t-shirts or sleeveless tanks in bright colors. Hooded zip-up sweatshirts or a beloved long black peacoat are worn when it gets a bit chilly. Boots or sandals are the preferred choice when it comes to footwear off the job, although she does own a rather ratty pair of Adidas sneakers that she refuses to throw out. Jewelry is minimal and tasteful, in both gold and silver with a variety of precious and semiprecious gemstones. Finally, Elena bears a blue pawprint 3/4 inch in diameter on her right shoulderblade, the letters "UK" in white at the center.

Able to speak three different languages fluently (English, French, and Italian), Elena's true accent can be hidden with a bit of effort. Her French has a more southern twist to it, while her Italian is classic Rome. When speaking in her mother tongue, Elena's Kentucky accented mezzo comes out with a gentle drawl that is a bit harsher than the 'Southern belle' accent typified in movies. She could hide it, but why bother? She's proud to be a Kentucky girl!

Personality

As the talented and professional Maserati factory liason now living in Rome, Elena comes across as intelligent, logical, persuasive, and fairly refined. She considers each word carefully and assesses every situation with a cool optimism. Elena does not sugarcoat her opinions, but she makes it a point to find positive language rather than bring on confrontation with a strictly blunt verbalization of what's running through her head. Emotions are controlled, the prevailing attitude of an optimistic realist ruling her reactions. This is the persona that Elena presents to strangers and casual acquaintances, the alter-ego that Vincenzo introduces as "Elena Majella" when they're out together at posh social events. 'Elena Majella' speaks thoughtfully and politely, keeps her elbows off the table when eating, and would never dream of leaving the house with black shoes and a navy handbag.

As the ex-mechanic who loves to watch college basketball and clean the apartment while Aerosmith blares on her speakers, Elena doesn't mince words. "El Healy" speaks her mind and gives her opinion on any situation, but manages to wait until someone asks before she starts. Elena is vocal, the type to yell at a referee thousands of miles away through a television screen because of a bad call during a game. She doesn't cry easily; instead, she lets everything build until it's simply too much to handle, whereupon she just melts down and sobs for sheer emotional relief rather than for one specific reason. Anger, sorrow, frustration, melancholy... if they can't be worked out through a screaming tour of the countryside or a session with her punching bag, then she resorts to a good old-fashion crying session. 'El Healy' appreciates an opportunity to hang out in her apartment, watching a basketball game with a cold beer in her hands and her sock-covered feet kicked up on the coffee table.

Elena's love for her work fuels her and keeps her going. Work and hobbies go hand in hand; she is an engineer twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Elena could spend ten hours at the factory, bring work home with her, and visit the dealerships to 'check in' three times a week rather than the required weekly visit. With her, it's not that she's kissing up to her superiors. Elena genuinely wants to learn everything she can and be helpful. In a small way, she's always seeking approval and outside justification that she's done a good job. Keeping her boss well-informed and her clients up-to-date with the newest factory modifications is Elena's passion. Workaholic? Well, she would simply describe herself as extremely enthusiastic and dedicated. The educated observer might wonder if she had a life outside of her career, as she is prone to spend her 'free' time going over documents and drawings, almost to the point of obsession. She is rather critical of her own work, demanding perfection in whatever she does. Workmanship and quality are important to her, and she takes great pride in making sure that even the smallest details are held to her high standards at the completion of a project.

Brought up in a Roman Catholic household, Elena does cling to her faith in a strangely modern and selective fashion. She possesses a very strong respect for life, so much so that it could hinder her effectiveness as a Senshi. Killing someone is not at all concurrent with her personality and beliefs. At the same time, her take on such modern subjects as homosexuality does not coincide with the stance of the Church. Elena firmly believes that there is too much hate in this world to be accusatory when it comes loving another human being. While she is decidedly heterosexual, she has no problem with two people of the same sex having a loving relationship, sexual or otherwise. Bedroom stuff isn't her business, anyways. Most of her other views echo those of the Church, and she does attend Mass once a week. For Elena, her faith is a constant in her life, but she isn't outspoken about it.

Logic and reason are paramount for Elena in all aspects of her life, or so she would like to make people believe. She demands a reason for every action and a fully detailed explanation for any new concept that someone might present. Her faith and her Senshi calling are the only two examples where she does not demand proof. She can blindly trust in Heaven, yet Elena asks for proof of the effectiveness of a new chassis design by way of a portfolio of drawings and calculations. If it's readily tangible, she wants hardcore proof. In the same vein, Elena provides details for every idea she presents, usually with fully drawn-up diagrams and cleanly handwritten equations. Somehow, she can always manage to explain why her ideas are always correct... no matter if they're a bit on the idealist side. They might not be attainable, but they will be correct.

Growing up, Elena kept many of her emotions bottled up for fear of ridicule by her peers. Once she got to high school, she managed to cultivate a deceptively open personality that still manages to keep distances between herself and anyone she might meet. She is the type to always put her best 'face' forward, claiming that life is fantastic and that the events in her life couldn't be more spectacular. She broods rather than complains to another person, as she doesn't see fit to burden another person with her problems. It is the rare person to whom she will open up completely, and so far, Cephalus is that one 'person.' He's seen her at her best, and at her worst... and everywhere in between. That poor rabbit has sat in her lap while she's bawled over breaking a favorite glass, cheered on her basketball team, and oogled the newest line of engines. If anyone knows the girl, it's Cephalus.

Now that Elena has fully matured and managed to get some semi-regular exercise with her punching bag and the stairs to her apartment, she is rather content with her appearance. Sure, she could work out more, but she doesn't want to sacrifice her time at work. Instead, she keeps promising herself that she'll buy a treadmill so that she can walk while she watches her beloved UK games. She enjoys wearing clothes that show off her curves, takes personal pride in her lovely rich brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, and is rather finicky about her eyebrows. Elena's self-confidence has led her to become somewhat of a flirt, relying upon intellectual innuendos rather than just her appearance. She finds intelligence and common interest far more attractive than just 'looks' and would probably take the smart scruffy guy over the gorgeous boy-toy with muscles for brains. She doesn't see herself as a flirtatious person, yet an observer would likely label her as an extreme flirt, due to her witty conversation skills and her charming laugh.

When it comes to her own emotions, Elena fails miserably in both explaning them to others and handling them. Even at her best, communicating how she feels with more than a single adjective results in a broken stream of consciousness that consists of comparisons to both tangible and abstract concepts. More often than not, she will distance herself from the situation causing the emotional onslaught, attempting to dissect it with logic. When that fails, she goes into denial and will do anything to distract herself. Work, driving, a bout with the punching bag, shopping, even a hated session of laundry... Elena prefers to avoid her more complex range of emotions. Truthfully, they scare her, as they lack logic and are not always easily controlled.

Meeting new people is rather easy for Elena; she slips into her professional personal and chats amicably for as long as necessary, sizing the new person up. Despite her claims that she is an open person, Elena is rather judgemental for someone who prides herself on her pursuance of logic. She judges people by how they speak and how they treat others, appearance rarely a factor in her opinion of someone. Once she makes up her mind about a person, it is rare that she will change her opinions, unless presented with overwhelming evidence that contradicts her initial perception and decision. Elena's memory is rather good; she tends to remember customers she meets at the dealerships, even after a simple five minute introduction and quick chat about a floor model.

Deep down, Elena is a down-home Kentucky girl with a taste for the simpler things in life and a want to make her peers and superiors happy. Learning about this Senshi thing doesn't bother her, but the fact that she might wind up hurting or even killing someone distresses her greatly. It's become rather hard for her to rationalize Eos and her faith, so she just chooses to keep them separate. Maybe meeting someone in the same situation will give some reason and substance to this whole Eos thing.

History

Elena came into the world just past noon on an otherwise uneventful Tuesday in September. Rita had suffered several miscarriages since her marriage to Jack six years prior, so she attributed her healthy baby girl to the intervention of Saint Gerard and gave Elena the middle name Majella in tribute to the saint's hometown in Italy. Being active members in the local Roman Catholic community, Rita and Jack endured a steady stream of visitors who all wanted to stop by the hospital and see the little girl. Even old Father Wilfred stopped by, declared Elena the very image of an angel, and accepted the family's invitation to come by the next Sunday afternoon to watch the UK football game. Constantly surrounded by friends and relatives, Elena endured the passing from one person to another with little complaint. And so, the first year of life went by quietly, unless you count the impromtu nekkid-baby incident when she was eleven months old and managed to rid herself of dress and diaper before streaking down the aisle at Sunday Mass.

Being both chubby-cute and possessing a charming little giggle, Elena prompted many of her mother's friends to say that Rita should get the child modeling to help pay for her college education. Rita would always respond that she couldn't spend time shuffling the little girl back and forth to picture shoots, and that her daughter would get by on her smarts rather than her looks when the time came. Jack echoed his wife's claims, spending countless hours showing her picture-books and reading bedtime stories. Between the two of them, they inundated Elena with everything mathematical and scientific that a small child could pretend to appreciate. That, and Sesame Street, of course. To this day, Elena still bears an affinity for Grover's 'Near and Far' skits, and she enjoys watching the European variations in order to brush up on her language and vocab skills.

Growing up in Lexington meant growing up with a fervent appreciation for UK basketball. Jack and Rita brought Elena up to recognize the UK fight song and to cheer, "Go Big Blue!" on command. Seeing a three-year old in a Wildcats cheerleader outfit jumping up and down at the sight of a flawless field goal is rather endearing... unless you're a Duke fan. She also considers Christian Laettner to be the embodiment of the anti-Christ, but that's not something people are likely to understand if they haven't grown up with the Healy's fervent appreciation for basketball. One might call it a cultural thing... then again, one would have to recognize college basketball in the southern United States as a distinct culture, first.

Anyways, Elena made her way through preschool and into elementary school, having her share of playfriends along the way. Her parents' attention to scholastic endeavours had her reading the back of the cereal box by the time she entered kindergarten, and Elena discovered the joy of Ramona Quimby the summer before first grade. Still chubby, she became the target of the 'popular kids' and their unrelenting teasing by second grade. Smart and a bit on the sensitive side, Elena withdrew from social activities and spent recess in the library. Extra attention from teachers regarding the torment by her peers only caused her to cry, so they learned to leave her alone as well. Middle school came and went, Elena's rapid physical development prompting the boys to point and jeer. When it came time for high school, Elena tearfully pleaded with her mother to not make her go to the local Catholic high school and to let her enroll in public school. Initally reluctant, Rita relented after Elena came home bawling, having been cornered by a quartet of girls who mercilessly poked fun at her acne, faintly embarrassing facial hair, and still-developing chest. The next fall, Elena started her freshman year at Woodyard High.

By fifth period on her first day of school, Elena had found two new friends and actually had company when she sat down to eat lunch. Overjoyed, she began to come out of the shell that she'd created for herself in elementary school. Elena joined the academic team, the French club, and the school's robotics design group. Her circle of friends grew, and her weekends were spent cheering on the high school football team and going out for coffee afterwards rather than curled up at home watching sitcom reruns. While not considered popular, Elena managed to make a small name for herself among the more studious cliques of the high school as well as among the jocks who took machine shop with her. The sheer fact that people wanted to talk to her and spend time with her outside of class thrilled her to no end. By the end of her freshman year, Elena had an air of confidence that pleasantly surprised her parents... as well as herself.

Uncle Dano noticed it, too. Rita's brother had come down at least once a month to spend the day with his niece since Elena was six years old. A former mechanic who now headed the maintenance shop at an Ohio Maserati dealership, Dano could be blamed for Elena's interest in all things mechanical. When Elena was ten, he screeched up to the house in a bright yellow Maserati Spyder GT and asked her if she wanted to come for a ride to the store with him. By the time they returned with a few dinner necessities, Elena had asked her uncle to explain everything he knew about the top speed of the car, what cylinders were, every gauge on the dashboard, and why his car needed special tires. Each time he came with that car, Elena demanded to know more about it. Soon, she began asking her father about his car and going with him to classic car shows in the summertime. The summer after her freshman year, Dano came to the house with a proposition for his niece... a summer job in Ohio, living with her older cousins and working in the reception area at the dealership. By law, she couldn't work out on the floors with the cars, but she could learn everything about them. Ecstatic, Elena begged her parents to let her go live with Uncle Dano and Aunt Gina for the rest of the summer.

Working at the dealership was something close to heaven for Elena. She soaked up information like a sponge, learning both the business and technical aspects while endearing herself to the older college boys who worked in the garage. One stern look from Dano or her cousins, and they backed off... usually. A month into the summer, one of the college boys gave her chest a rather gratuitous groping while she was restocking a supply shelf. Too shocked to say anything, she ran and hid in the bathroom. Half an hour later, Elena crept back into the office where she sobbed into her uncle's blue work shirt. Behind the garage, her cousins Mike and Louie lectured the offending mechanic for a scant minute and a half before leaving him with a broken nose and a few cracked ribs. Dano completed the ritual with a pink slip the next day, and the rest of the crew realized that "El Healy" had her cousins watching out for her. Sure, she was great for a conversation... but the Manlio brothers were there to ensure that conversation was ALL that anyone would get out of her.

It was Louie who offered to teach her how to fight. Even though Elena had a year on him, he still thought of her as a little sister of sorts. The second summer she spent in Dublin, Ohio, Louie mentioned offhandedly that boxing would be a good workout, if she was interested. Elena initially objected, but quickly changed her mind when Mike pointed out that Louie wasn't always going to be around to get his nose broken on her behalf. Despite the obvious dig at his younger brother, Mike had a point. She was a big girl, she could learn to watch out for herself, and it'd be a great way to work out. Who better to teach her than her cousins? Most evenings after work, Elena would accompany her cousins to the YMCA where they would put her through the paces. Slowly, she learned punches, jabs, and managed to master an uppercut that knocked poor unsuspecting Mike out for a minute and fifteen seconds. Good thing he came to laughing...

Learning how to brawl with the Manlio brothers paid off. The summer before her freshman year at college, Elena found herself the target of a dashing thirtysomething saleman's attentions. The recently married playboy wouldn't take no for an answer, yet he always managed to whisper his indecent propositions when Dano and his boys were out to lunch or dealing with a client. One evening, he backed Elena up against an engine she had rebuilt, all the while being rather graphic as to what he'd like to do to her bent over said engine. Having had enough of his lewd descriptions, Elena reared back and slugged him with a left hook, followed by a knee to the stomach. Dano rushed in to find his niece standing over the salesman, yelling at him and brandishing a tire iron.

Uncle Dano bragged for weeks.

Elena kept up the schedule through her junior year of college, enrolling at the University of Kentucky to study mechanical engineering and take advantage of her mother's faculty tuition discount. Languages were also a favorite study, and she managed to minor in both French and Italian, much to her mother's delight. Elena took a semester off to work with her uncle in the shop, learning how to do tune-ups, oil changes, and alignments. Engine rebuilds followed the next summer, and upon graduation, Elena could have left engineering and simply remained a very competent mechanic. Wanting to do more, she enrolled part-time to work on her master's degree, dividing time between the dealership and her studies.

The job market suffering when she graduated, Elena moved in with her cousins and returned to the machine shop. As a gift for her graduation, Uncle Dano insisted that she accompany him to Modena, Italy, to tour the Maserati plant and attend a weeklong series of seminars devoted to the rollout of the company's newest models. On that trip, Elena hit it off with the dashing and revoltingly handsome Vincenzo Ianniello, the son of the owner of a dealership in Rome. Over dinner one night, she offhandedly mentioned her degrees and her experience as a mechanic, in reply to her 'date's' claim that he had finished his second year in law school. His father pulled her uncle aside and quizzed him about Elena's experience in the shop. Did she really know Maserati that well? Was she comfortable around mechanics as well as executives? Could she interact with the dealerships as well as the factory?

Did she have a job?

She did before she left Modena. The dealership owner, Paolo Ianniello, brought her to his superiors the next day whereupon she proved that she knew the product well enough to sell it and possessed the personality to explain the technology behind the car to middle-aged executives who had never popped open the hood of their own cars. Hired to serve as a factory-dealership liason, Elena went back to the States with the news. While her parents were somewhat upset that she would be moving so far away, they took somewhat of a family vacation to get their little girl settled in her new studio apartment. Rita and Jack found Paolo and his wife to be as protective of their children as they were of Elena. Rita made it a point to mention to her daughter more than once that Vincenzo seemed like such a nice and intelligent young man, and that having him over for dinner every so often couldn't hurt. Meeting the Ianniello family put the Healys at relative ease, much to Elena's relief. So, with a fair amount of tears and a threat to come and get her if they didn't get a phone call every Sunday, Elena was on her own in Rome.

Paolo's law student of a son, Vincenzo, shadowed Elena for her first month. Driving her everywhere, taking her to lunch, accompanying her on shopping trips... Elena wasn't used to this kind of attention. True, 'Cenzo was handsome and intelligent, but Elena wasn't the kind to need such shadowing. Mike and Louie were family... this guy was like a valet, or a male escort. He made it a point to introduce her socially as Elena Majella, her non-Italian last name subtlely dropped in favor of the way her first and middle name rolled off the tongue. Three weeks of such attention, and Elena finally felt that she needed to set the record straight with the young man. She liked him... just not in THAT way. Imagine how surprised she was when 'Cenzo sat HER down and told Elena that he was using her to keep his father thinking that he was interested in the opposite sex until he finished school. He apologized profusely for the charade and begged her not to tell his father. After Elena finished being amazed at 'Cenzo's cover story, she promptly kissed him on the cheek and asked him to get the apartment next door. It'd make Paolo happy, them being so close, and she desperately wanted someone familiar nearby. Luckily, 'Cenzo agreed. It's made the adjustment to living in Rome far easier, and Elena found her new friend's knowledge of the city and fashion sense indispensible. In exchange, she accompanies him home for dinner, makes pleasant conversation, and plays the part of the endearing adopted cousin to a tee. Oh, and she indulges the boy's love for dessert. Elena can get almost anything she wants from 'Cenzo with the promise of chocolate chip cookies. Does she exploit that? Rarely...

Uncle Dano and her parents gave her the biggest, most glorious surprise to celebrate her first six months in Rome. Vincenzo and Paolo were in on the game, which prompted Elena to gleefully reprimand them after they presented her with her own car, purchased with Dano's factory discount and Paolo's ability to pull strings at his dealership. Her own Maserati Spyder Cambriocorda GT in Rosse Bologna, a metallic rich burgundy speed demon that can top out at 176 mph and go from 0 to 60 in 4.9 seconds. 'Baby' is her pride and joy, kept impeccably clean and used for those thrilling weekend jaunts through southern Europe when she can take the time, not to mention her everyday traveling needs.

Time? Well, it's been sorely lacking, as of late. 'Cenzo is back at school, so Elena rarely sees him more than once a week when their schedules allow for it. True, she sees Paolo twice a week, thanks to work and dinner, but it's not the same. He's older than her own father. These days, she spends her down-time shopping, watching college basketball on her satellite TV, going to church on Sunday mornings, and listening to Cephalus.

Cephalus found Elena one rather wet Friday night as she made her up the stairs to her apartment after the usual dinner at the Ianniello estate. A small shivering ball of jet black wool with obsidian eyes huddled up to her door, nose quivering in a rather endearing fashion. Immediately sympathetic, Elena scooped up the animal and deposited in her empty bathroom sink, where she proceeded to blowdry and brush the Angora rabbit into a rather handsome creature. Thrilled at the prospect of what she initially thought was a simple pet, Elena proceeded to babble on in her easygoing Kentucky accent at the poor creature. She told him about the men at the factory who kept making passes at her, the stain on her navy blue pinstripe skirt-suit, the fact that she had forgotten to get gas on the way home from dinner, and her need for clean underwear. It wasn't until she stripped to a bra and panties under the seemingly innocent watch of the small rabbit that a deep voice resonated from the creature and told her that she was a rather fine specimen of woman... in flawlessly suave Italian.

While Elena was used to compliments, hearing a French Angora rabbit with a voice that smacked of Barry White and Isaac Hayes was not something that she'd expected. All professional cool lost, she shrieked and ran out of the apartment in her bathrobe, spending the night with 'Cenzo. Her excuse for the impromptu sleepover was a nightmare, and the thought that someone had broken in. The next morning at sunrise, she returned to find the rabbit sitting calmly in the pampasan chair. Cephalus introduced himself, told her that he'd wait while she showered, and suggested that perhaps some breakfast might be in order. She numbly obeyed, the shock not wearing off until she had dressed and found the sanity to make a pot of coffee. Once Elena was seated on the floor, Cephalus smoothly lectured her on the Senshi of the Dawn and the responsibilities that came with the designation, as well as his take on those he called the Romanus senshi. Elena didn't find his assessment all that open-minded; she had always preferred to judge people for herself rather than rely upon another person's opinion. The thought that there are other people with similar abilities does intrigue her; it's that possibility that now keeps her out and about in the hopes of getting acquainted with other 'different' people.

Warrior Form

Senshi: Eos, Graikos/Deus Senshi of the Dawn

Fuku

Eos sports a two-piece bodysuit in white, the top ending just below her ribcage and the bottom hidden under her skirt. The top of the bodysuit is sleeveless, with a rectangular cutout across her cleavage to show off her... assets. The French collar fastens with two small buttons to Eos' left. Her pleated skirt ends at midthigh, the fabric a shimmery shade of deep lavender accented by a broad stripe of palest rose a half-inch above the hem. Fingerless gloves in the same pale rose reach past her elbows, ending in two lavender stripes. Pale rose slippers reminiscent of a ballerina cover her feet, ribbons crisscrossing up her calves. A long cape of dark shimmery lavender hangs to her ankles, the inside of the cape pale rose. The cape fastens about her throat with a simple eyehook, often hiding the simple deep lavender choker that bears a marquis-cut bit of tanzanite at the center. The tiara about her head is platinum, embedded with a trio of marquis-cut tanzanite arranged in an upside-down triangle. Upon henshin, her hair winds up in two riduculously high ponytails on either side of her head, the shorter side pieces left to hang free or get tucked behind her ears when they prove annoying.

Picture available here.

Transformation

Eos doesn't require a henshin item, but her transformation mandates that she have at least one hand free to stretch above her head. Palm open, she calls out, "Eos Deus Power, Make Up!" In her outstretched hand, a ball of shimmering lavender and rose light gathers to a one meter diameter as what could only be described as 'magic henshin wind' whips her hair and any loose clothing about in a delightfully dramatic manner. With a masterful flick of the wrist, she allows the finished orb to slide over her body, coating the surface with a swirling liquid light that sparkles with deep purples and pinks. These colors lighten, becoming more and more brilliant with each passing second until Eos glows like the morning sun. The liquid brilliance separates to form the semblance of her fuku, sans cape. A snap of her fingers and the light explodes, only to shoot back through her body in a dawn-colored sunburst to create her cape and solidify the rest of her clothing, as well as finish her pigtails. The henshin wind continues for a few seconds more, only because it looks nice and dramatic with the cape.

As a side note... transforming to Sailor Eos leaves Elena with a rather inconvenient side effect, left over from the days of the Greek goddesses. She falls prey to Aphrodite's curse, becoming rather distracted by members of the opposite sex. It takes a good deal of concentration for her to get over this mental block, and making her angry generally allows her to ignore the "ooh, cute guy!" voice that echoes through her head while in Senshi form. Soooo... yeah, cute guys have an advantage. Cute shirtless guys... well, she might as well just de-henshin and go for hand-to-hand combat.

Powers

Morning Dew: A healing/rejuvenation ability, this allows Eos to awaken any target with a wave of her hand. Calling out the phrase, "Eos Morning Dew," she brings both hands together akin to the movement of a pitcher on the mound. Fingertips now rosy, she flings the forward hand outwards in a wide arc, dispersing a heavy mist of lavender-rose that can cover no more than fifteen square feet at a given time. The effect of the droplets on a person is akin to a rather strong cup of coffee after a full night's sleep, and is instantaneous. Once the droplets hit a person or creature (it works on guardians, too!), the target immediately awakens, regardless of the amount of sleep it's managed to get. These effects wear off after ninety minutes, after which the target may feel anywhere from slightly tired to dead exhausted. This 'attack' takes very little effort for Eos, and she may do it once every twenty minutes. Using it more than five times in a eight hour period will cause her to become slightly fatigued, with each additional use bringing her closer to exhaustion. By the tenth time of usage in that eight hour period, she will automatically de-henshin and be in desperate need of a nap.

Dawn's Early Light: This might be described as an offensive ability, although Eos is more likely to utilize this as a means to simply light up the darkness. This allows her to literally throw orbs of slowly growing light that become puddles upon impact. The light starts off rather soft and pinkish, taking thirty seconds to grow into a rather intense glow that could temporarily blind someone if they stare at it. To use this ability, Eos claps her hands together, calling out "By Dawn's Early Light!" She pulls her hands apart, a translucent orb the size of a softball now betwixt her rosy-tipped fingers. If Eos simply holds onto the orb, it will glow softly to provide the tiniest bit of light to guide the way. If she hurls the ball of light at a target, the orb will travel at a rate of ten m/s, able to travel a maximum distance of thirty meters before it simply loses momentum and falls to the ground. Upon impact, the orb splatters (it even makes a soft tinkly splatter sound!) to provide a hemisphere of light of radius no greater than three meters. This light goes from soft morning light to standard blinding-sunrise-look-to-the-east brightness in one minute. The sphere can be seen for quite some distance, but the bright-as-daylight illumination fades quickly outside the initial radius. Held in Eos' hands, the orb will fade after five minutes. Thrown and shattered, the light evaporates completely after ten minutes, with its effectiveness fading quickly after the first five minutes.
If splattered on a person, this light will render them glowing and possibly blinded for up to five minutes, depending upon how much of the attack got on them... and assuming that their eyes are open. If directly thrown IN someone's eyes, the light could do some serious (but not permanent) damage. Eos may perform this attack at a rate of no more than one orb per minute, and is unable to throw more than ten orbs in an five hour period. It can be dodged if one recognizes the attack setup, or dives out of the way. It is a solid projectile and can be blocked or shattered by magic or other projectiles (it's about as strong as a water grenade balloon).

Guardian

Guardian Type: French Angora rabbit. See picture here.
Name: Cephalus. Unfortunately, Elena's love of Shakespearean comedy and seventies' funk has led her to call the poor thing Shafulus, or worse... Shaft. That's right, Shaft the Bunny.
Appearance: Cephalus weighs in at seven and a half pounds, with silky black wool that may make one think of a fluffy piece of coal with ears. Ears are long and silky, five inches long, and twitch constantly. When he sleeps, the ears rest against his back, fuzzy body resonating with little bunny snores.
Personality: Charming and flirtatious, Cephalus is one suave rabbit. Relatively even-tempered, he maintains a certain objectivity about his surroundings and his new charge. He's rather fond of Elena and finds her attractive, something which he hadn't counted on when tasked with locating Eos. You might say that the fluffball has a crush on Elena... until she calls him Shaft. He abhors the nickname that Elena has given him, and will refuse to answer her unless she uses his proper name. Cephalus is a bit on the vain side, which means that Elena must bathe and blow-dry him at least once a week, or endure the baritone/bass melancholy of an unkept rabbit.
Cephalus enjoys accompanying Elena out during her shopping (he goes along in an oversized purse) but does not enjoy getting in the car with her. In his opinion, the girl drives too damn fast. When he's not lecturing his charge on her driving habits, Cephalus can be found dozing in the pampasan chair he claimed as his 'space' upon his arrival or nosing through Elena's Shakespeare anthology. He's learning to tolerate her sports-watching, although her constant yelling and cheering does get on his nerves. Basically, Cephalus thinks she could be more refined, given her profession and Senshi calling. At the same time, he genuninely likes her for the person she is, and has a tendency to call her Bella out of affection.
When it comes to the Romanus Senshi, Cephalus does his best to convince Elena that they pose a threat and that she should be ever watchful and vigilant. Having yet to encounter one of these 'evil' Senshi, Elena constantly tells him that they can't be all THAT bad, and that she'll have to meet a few to make up her mind. Cephalus hopes that she has the presence of mind to transform to protect herself before she invites them over for dinner.

Elena was created by V. for Sailor Myth which is owned by Em.