Hikaru Hacende

Little, leigh and light

Thin

Round and soft. Looks younger than they are.

Tends to play with a knife when doing almost anything else outside of the kitchen.

Wickedly skilled cook

A simple pair of hakama and a neat shirt with a hauori worn over all of it. Closed toe shoes and a cloth tied around the head finish their basic clothes. They also wear a single, simple ring on their left hand, made of iron.

Yoruian kitchen knives

Hikaru's early life was not pleasant. Born to a very poor family, Hikaru's parents could not provide for their children's needs. They vaguely remember being hungry all the time for their very early life. That changed when they were seven and actually big enough to work.   Hikaru doesn't really remember their parents. They prefer it that way. They'd rather not have faces and names to hate for what they did. At seven, Hikaru's parents sold them to a house in the red-light district. Too young to work as one of the girls, Hikaru was set about as a chore girl in the house. They were responsible for bringing clean items and food to the rooms for the girls.   The working girls often protected the chore children who worked alongside them, making sure none of the clients went after someone too young. One realized that Hikaru had a tendency to hang around the kitchen and managed to convince the house cook to take Hikaru into the kitchen as another pair of hands.   Then a yokai started hunting in the district. No one seemed to be able to pinpoint what kind of yokai it was, and people were dying. Then a stranger appeared in the district. He was beautiful, tall and graceful, with pale pink horns poking out from his red hair and lovely wings colored white and pale pink. Everyone was fearful of his appearance so soon after the yokai's, except for Hikaru. They started sneaking about, trying to get close. He spotted them and called them close.   They spoke for a little bit and Hikaru leaned his name was Lalith. Lalith was there hunting the yokai terrorizing the district and everyone's distrust of him was making it difficult to track it down. He asked Hikaru to assist him, and they agreed. Together, the yokai was found and killed, freeing the district from its terror.   The house Hikaru worked for had lost three girls to the yokai so they decided to gift Hikaru to Lalith. Lalith was appalled by this but took Hikaru anyway, offering to take them anywhere in the world. Hikaru begged him to let them stay. This was a chance to explore and they weren't passing that up. Lalith enjoyed their enthusiasm and agreed to take them with him.

Nonbinary

Almost none. They know how to cook but didn't learn to read or write until the age of thirteen, when their future husband taught them.

Galley chef on the pirate ship The Twilight Rouge

They were sold to a brothel when really young, which is where they learned to cook.

Shrewd and calculating. Very good at telling when someone's lying.

To keep their husband and the crew of their ship fed and happy.

Skilled cook     Not great with people due to their upbringing

Like sushi

Will put anything in their mouths if it appears to be food.

Neat and clean

Awkward. Better in the kitchen.