anaïca victoire toussaint

the basics

full name ♦ Anaïca Victoire Toussaint
nicknames ♦ Annie
age ♦ twenty-seven
birthday ♦ March 3rd, 1991
occupation ♦ Veterinarian
school ♦ N/A
species ♦ Human
ability/power ♦ Animal Empathy
how the ability works ♦
Similar the average empath, Anaïca has the ability to sense and understand the emotions of animals. From a young age she felt a kinship with animals big and small. Annie is able to figure out the emotional disposition of an animal simply by looking at them, provided they are within a quarter mile radius. In spite of being able to determine how an animal is feeling, she cannot have a direct impact on them unless they are within roughly a two-hundred foot range. When within range, Annie can not only detect the emotions of an animal, but is able to project different ones onto them in return. Unlike certain empaths who take the emotions of another living being on themselves, she isn’t required to take on their emotions. However, the way that her ability to detect the emotions in animals is very much like she is experiencing their feelings for herself - this obviously covers every inch of the emotional spectrum and she can’t disconnect from it.

Unfortunately, there is no turning “off” this ability. Everywhere that she goes, Anaïca carries that energy with her. While she is someone who is typically very calm and thus puts off that sort of aura to sooth the souls of beasts, her temper is something that can escalate more aggressive animals, sometimes even provoking them into attacking. Similarly, her episodes of sorrow can cause animals to almost become reclusive instead of like their normal, excitable selves. The longer that an animal spends in her presence, the more they will be affected by what she is putting out into the world. This typically results in a slight shift in persona that can make even the most wild of animals seem tame. Her ability comes in handy most frequently for her career as a veterinarian, aiding in keeping the animals calm when they might be nervous or tense in the new environment.

Because this ability revolves around energy, it does work on shifters, though typically only connects with the animal side of them. This can occasionally lead to seemingly “split” personalities as the human mind might bump against the animal side more instead of working with it as is typical of the species. Anaïca can aide in easing the pain or upset in shifters, but can’t take it away as fully as she might in the case of an actual animal.

Extended exposure around animals, especially large groups of them, can be a double-edged sword. While it fills her heart with great joy, Anaïca often finds herself feeling run down and as though her energy is being pulled in several different directions. A quick recharge usually involves a quiet night in on the couch and then she is able to immerse herself in the world again.

gender ♦ she/her
sexuality ♦ bisexual

the appearance

face claim ♦ Zoe Kravitz
height and weight ♦ 5’6 ; 137 pounds
identifying features ♦ In addition to a variety of tattoos, Anaïca has her septum pierced and several piercings in both ears.
overall appearance ♦ Anaïca stands at a height of 5’6 and has dark brown hair that varies from being kept loose around her shoulders or done up in dreads. Though she has dabbled with bleached hair, she prefers to keep it natural for the sake of convenience. Typical clothing for Annie includes keeping it comfy casual, which means jeans and a t-shirt, though she has been known to get dressed up when an occasion calls for it. Many of her color choices lean towards the more muted tones, with a heavy preference towards various shades of black. While not completely unrealistic for her to have some color, it’s certainly not as common. Her skin is covered in a variety of tattoos from her torso up, with the exception of one on her foot. In addition to her tattoos, she has several piercings in her ears

the personality

likes ♦
Thunderstorms
Animals
Gumbo
Cooking
The wilderness
Shapeshifters

dislikes ♦
Being sick
Traffic
Being unable to figure out what is wrong with an animal
Too much time around people
Crowded rooms

strengths ♦
Empathetic
Resilient
Independent

weaknesses ♦
Overprotective
Fierce
Guarded

dreams ♦ Annie wants to form a wildlife preservation that helps animals that need the extra care. Outside of that, she wants what anyone wants - to be happy and secure in a life of her own design.

fears ♦ Deep space. Not being able to use her ability.

overall personality ♦ Based solely on first impressions, Anaïca might not be someone that people immediately feel a connection with. It would be easy to consider has to be an ambivert. She isn’t the most open when it comes to interactions with people, if only because she realizes just how cruel and fake they can actually be. It is because of this that she goes into situations rather guarded and, in some instances, terribly defensive though the latter is dependent on the environment. Anaïca has found that a life of empathy and independence of have done her great favors in learning how to navigate difficult terrain. This means that while she’s successful on her own, Annie does find herself drawn to a certain allure of people. While her empathy ability is strictly with animals, she likes to imagine that there are bits of it that leak over, when in actuality it’s just the type of person that she is.

Once Annie has found herself warmed up to people, she relaxes considerably. It’s nothing for her to be able to joke around with her friends, exchanging witty banter over dinner and drinks. When it comes to the people and things that she cares about, she is extremely protective, willing to go to great lengths to ensure that no ill will falls to those people. It isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility for her to engage in a physical fight if she feels strongly enough about the situation, but it’s not the first route that she might consider taking. Because of who she is as a person, Anaïca prefers to handle things diplomatically, even though that isn’t always the best option because there are some people that just won’t listen no matter how much you might try to make them.

When it comes to large crowds of people, it’s easy for her to feel overwhelmed. You are much more likely to get her to attend an event if there is going to be an animal involved - double points if she’s able to retreat somewhere quiet with said animal and simply sit in silence. It’s quite common for her to be overwhelmed by the emotions brought on by her ability, which causes her to shut down out of the blue. The only thing that seems to bring her out of it is a couple days of silence, allowing her to rest and recharge in a way that only the couch can offer to her.

the history

father ♦ Marcel Touissant, 52, unknown
mother ♦ Roseline nee Desjardins, 50, Seamstress
siblings ♦ Piper Addison Davies , 19, half-sister
important people ♦ Nadia Desjardins, 54, Aunt, Restaurant Owner
hometown ♦ Port-de-Paix, Haiti ; New Orleans, Louisiana
overall history ♦
Anaïca was born in the commune of Port-de-Paix in Haiti in the year of 1991 to parents of rather modest means. Roseline worked as a seamstress while Marcel traveled frequently for work, supposedly for a construction company. Anaïca was their first child and would be their only. Roseline suffered from complications with her daughter’s pregnancy, which rendered her unable to provide any additional children for her husband. It was because of this that Anaïca found herself placed with a world of expectations on her shoulders from the day she came into the world wailing. Her parents doted on her, though there always seemed to be a little bit of resentment from Marcel directed towards her. She was too young to realize it at the time, but Roseline was able to detect it, which only served to cause friction within their marriage. Neither adult believed in the idea of divorce, which meant that they attempted to work through their issues as best as they could, but anything worth fixing took time.

Deciding that there an opportunity for a change of scenery might have done their relationship some good, the Touissants made the decision to move to New Orleans, Louisiana - where Roseline’s older sister had moved four years previously. Anaïca was only five at the time of the move, but leaving Haiti was something that broke her heart. She didn’t want to leave her grandparents or the friends that she had cultivated since being born. The child had no choice in the matter though and just a few short months after the decision was made, the family crossed the Gulf of Mexico and started to settle into their new home. The upheaval of her life saw Annie withdrawing into herself, growing shy in a country where she didn’t speak the language proficiently. She was laughed at by her peers; she spoke funny, her forehead was too large, and her nose too wide. Anaïca hated the world that her parents had brought her to and began to spend more and more time by herself.

At age six, her ability began to manifest itself in small, subtle ways. They were indiscernible at first. A profound connection with the family dog saw her around the animal almost constantly. Conversations that seemed to last hours and a shift in her mood whenever he was present. Additionally, the dog itself seemed to be more at ease around Annie. Roseline had assumed that it was simply a childlike wonder and the canine understanding that the little girl was vulnerable and needed to be protected. At age seven, Marcel left New Orleans for a job in the Pacific Northwest. It was a great opportunity and would have done the family some good, but it would mean that he would be gone for a good chunk of time. Roseline thought that the time away from her husband would do them both some good, but Anaïca was upset that there was going to be another change in her life. The result was her dog lashing out and chewing on furniture as her anxiety spiked and had an impact. If it hadn’t been for Annie’s sobbing pleas to her mother, the animal would have been rehomed that day.

Marcel returned several months later and things were never the same. The friction between her parents was getting worse and it had a severe impact on her mood. Anaïca began to lash out, aware that things were changing, but not quite sure what was happening. Then, at the age of nine, she came home from school to find that all of her father’s belongings were gone, along with the man himself. She was confused, scared, once again upset that the balance was being disturbed. Roseline explained that Marcel had made a mistake and that he couldn’t be around anymore. She didn’t know if he was going to be part of his daughter’s life, but she had hoped that he would. Nothing was ever the same after that. Anaïca pulled away from her mother, believing that the older woman drove her father away. She grew resentful as she came into her teen years. Rebellion seemed to be in full force as she talked back, stayed out late, and spent time around people that she probably shouldn’t have even associated with.

It wasn’t until her aunt sat her down and had a conversation with her that things started to change. Nadia explained the reason that Marcel had left - or rather had been kicked out. While he had been in Washington, he had cheated on Roseline. The product of that affair was a broken marriage - but it was another child as well. Nadia had the ability of Retrocognition, which had allowed her to view the incident in question and the events that had happened since. She also explained that the kinship that her niece had with animals was no mere coincidence. Anaïca had the ability of Animal Empathy, allowing her to interpret and manipulate the emotional status of animals to varying degrees. Neither of her parents possessed abilities themselves, and Nadia’s own ability had largely been kept quiet within the family. It wasn’t unusual for such gifts in their family to skip generations and Nadia believed that they had been blessed to have such passive powers when they could have been made to deal with something much worse.

At sixteen, Annie began to mend the relationship with her mother, just in time for the dog from her childhood to pass away. It was a devastating time for the teen, who had felt like she had more of a constant support in that single animal than she did in the rest of the world. Still, she pushed onward, knowing that there was something greater for her out there. Because of her desire to build a positive life for herself and fix the relationship with her mother, Anaïca was able to graduate from school a year early and was accepted into a pre-veterinary program at UNO. She worked part-time with her aunt during that time and was able to put a good chunk of funds aside for future use. While studying, she found that her ability leant itself well to the hands-on assignments. She had a natural way with animals and professors and classmates seemed to marvel at how easy the interactions came between woman and beast.

Anaïca graduated from UNO at the age of twenty-one and applied at a couple of the nearby universities to continue the path towards her degree. That summer, she was accepted into LSU and began classes that fall. The next four years saw many trips between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, but Annie never complained. She loved the work that she was doing and, perhaps for the first time, felt like she was on the right track to making a better life for herself. It didn’t erase the hurt that she felt in her heart from her father’s abandonment, but she has tried to push it out of her mind as best as possible. God forbid if she ever finds out about the letters he sent that her mother hid from her.

During her time at LSU, Anaïca discovered that her ability didn’t just work on the run of the mill animals; it also worked on shapeshifters. It was to a lesser degree because of the human aspect they had to them, but she was able to find herself gravitating towards them more than she did any sort of standard humans. Annie graduated from LSU at the age of twenty-five and spent the next year shadowing other veterinarians in the area in order to learn from them and grow in her own talents. Afterward, she found employ in a clinic in New Orleans. Everything had seemed to come full circle and she was looking forward to finally being able to sit down and rest. When the senior veterinarian and owner of the place that she was working made the announcement that he was looking to retire, he passed ownership of the clinic over to a couple of the most promising vets - which happened to include Anaïca.

She is now working with a team devoted to the well-being of animals and trying to help as many as they possibly can.

the role player

alias ♦ Sammi
age ♦ 26
pronouns ♦ she/her
code ♦ ADMIN EDIT
other characters ♦ Aisling Maeve Donoghue Astrid Isobel Perona Lilith Grace Taylor Nova Rose Pennbrook