First Person Survey for: Marlaina

Name Given at Birth: Marlaina Eliesa Vasputin

Nicknames:  Laina, Marlaina, Vaspar

Hometown or where you were born: Danzig, West Prussia

Current Residence:  Firenze, Italy

Age: 26

Class: scum of the earth.....

What do you do, your main function in life/society: I dance, sing, entertain, da'ling...

Have you ever gone skinny-dipping / do you know how to swim: Of course I know how to swim; and in my mind, skinny dipping is the only way to swim, unless you have accidentally fallen in the water.

Do you make fun of people: All the time. Some people just don't realize who is watching.

Favorite Color: Red. It is the color of passion, love, and sometimes rage. But, you realize, just because one has a passion for something, does not mean that something is loved. Passion can be fueled by rage...

Have you ever committed or been convicted of a crime: More often than not. We gypsies are falsely accused all the time, but nobody but us realizes this.

Closest friends/How did you meet: I try not to get to close to people. I hold trust for two people currently: my father and myself, and only one is still alive. I did not meet my father until I was 10 years old. My mother tried to keep me away, knowing I would love my father more.

One Pillow or two: As many as I please. If I'm being accused of thievery, I might as well steal every once in a while, just so the accusations are not in vain. If I want one more, I will find one more.

Pets: Dimglaz, my Siberian tiger.

Favorite Type of Music: Anything I can dance and sway to. If my heart can hear it, my feet will follow.

Hobbies/Pastimes: I dance to relax, do tarot to indulge, sing to entertain, and run away from camp every once in awhile to see who notices.

Personal Hygiene: I bathe in a stream, river, ocean if I can find one. If one is not near, I clean my hair with stolen wine.

Favorite Food: Baklava

Are your parents alive, do you get along with them: I have not a care if my mother is living. My father has passed on. I loved him dearly.

If your parents are dead, when and how did they die: My father was killed in recent years, protecting me from the Royal Guard, who mistakenly identified us as thieves of the Queen's entourage.

Favorite place to relax: Around a bonfire, dancing and absorbing the heat of the flames.

Favorite Holy Day / Why: Samhain. I honor my father every Samhain, and rest in the fact that I am not lost in this world.

Favorite Drink: Honey-Chamomile Amber Ale.

What's your bedtime: When the bonfire retreats.

What, if anything, do you usually wear on your feet: Sandals that make my feet swift, as to not miss a minute of life.

Are you married or single: Single. If I were to look I would not know where to start. Besides, the only man I ever wanted to love was my father, and that was taken from me. Why should I trust another?

Do you have a family / who are they: The only family I have as of now are my fellow gypsies. I do not get as close to them as they would like, however.

Favorite Entertainment: I have to admit, I do love to take dolls from children while they are not watching, just to see the iridescence of a teardrop.

Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: My father taught me the art of reflexive response. Basically, instead of thinking of a rational response, you use your reflexes as your response. It strengthens my fighting skills.

Least Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: My mother always made me make her a warm bath every morning. I had to sit by the bonfire for 4 hours just to heat enough pots of warm water to fill the horse trough.

Favorite Sport: I love to spar with a dagger. It takes extreme skill to be able to move fast and dodge two daggers.,

Most Humiliating Moment: When I was young my mother had me arrested by the local magistrate so she could get close to him. I was in the stocks for 7 days before she walked past me one day and said, "Oh Laina, how could I forget?" I thought I was free but I was not. What she had forgot, was to put my hair up the day I was arrested. So she tied my hair in a scarf while I was still in the stocks, and left promptly. I could tell she was drunk. It made no matter, though, the damage was done. I was the laughing stock of everyone that happened to be in the town square that day.

Proudest Moment: I remember the time I loosed all the horses before a Royal Tournament. The horses awoke to the sound and sight of my precious Dimglaz. All the horses sped off to the country side and I melted into the crowd, watching the embarrassing explanation the stableboy had to give the King.

Craziest Person or silliest you know: Saphira is such a crazy little witch. I let her take the attention though, because no one knows that I truly hold the power.

What do you look for in the opposite sex: I want passion and fire, yet mystery as well. I want to see secrets when I peer into his eyes, and a deep longing for something fantastical.

In our Hierarchical Society everybody has somebody "over" them, Who is your immediate "overlord" Clopin

Favorite Sport to watch: Jousting

Do you remember your first kiss: I had my first kiss in my 18th year. His name was Valdir and he was a student of my father. We practiced and trained with each other everyday. One day we were sparring and I when I tried to clip him around the neck with both hands he grabbed my wrists from below, pushed them upwards toward the sky, which, in turn brought my lips swiftly against his. It was most enchanting, but short lived. He was arrested the next day for stealing bread and was executed by the magistrate's henchman.

Do you keep in touch with your childhood friends: The only friends I had as a child were the mice that I fed at dinnertime.

Where is your favorite "Vacation" spot: I love to climb up a tree to the highest branch and gaze at the stars. Most times I will also sleep there so I can feel the leaves chopping at my skin in the night.

Have you ever been overseas: I've been everywhere I know exists.

Do you have Dirt/Mud floors or Stone:  Wood

What is your bed made of: People if not pillows

How many people sleep in your bed:  as many as can find a spot, usually the entirety of the gypsy troupe

1. I participate in the art of black magick.

2. I am hard to get close to.

3. I am mysterious, but only because I'm self-consious.

4. I am 21 years of age.

5. I am a thief who does not deserve to walk this earth.

6. I will never trust you.

7. I fight better with my right side.

8. I will never be beaten.

9. I always look happy and pleasing to the eye.

10. What you don't know about me might kill you.