Toluene

Toluene is a high-class Mystic Lord with the ability to control any Mystic below her. That said, Toluene is the sort that loathes such behaviour, and would much rather prefer making friends than gaining slaves. While a majority of her past has not yet been gleaned, it's clear that she greatly adores her big sister, Atria, even in her reborn form, so she'll stay with the group so long as Atria is nearby and safe. She grew very close to Rose and seems to like Black-bell in the way children would, and affectionately refers to Rose as "Tea Lord". Due to her upbringing, she'll treat others formally until she gets closer to them. To the people she's close to, she's still polite but extremely informal, and acts more like a 'bro' than a noble lady.

Toluene is very odd for a Mystic Lord, as while she's proud of her skills, she's not stuck up about it and knows she has room to improve. With the help of her sassy weasel Familiar, N'air, she has quite a bit of necromancy practice underneath her belt. Unfortunately for her, she is not yet a master at it yet, and constantly tests new ways to revive long-dead creatures such as frogs and birds. Soon, she wishes to start practicing on bigger creatures like sheep and cows. While she CAN revive a human-like or human-sized being, she has to tie a portion of her life-force to their souls to bring them back. With practice, this will no longer be necessary.

When Toluene brought her best friend Zeru to the acres due to bloodlust/needing lifeforce, it became clear that they're incredibly close friends, to the point that they hurl friendly insults at each other from time to time. She seems to know how to push his buttons just right so that she annoys him, but he doesn't reach the point of becoming angered. The two childhood friends thusly seem to act like a couple at times, though Toluene isn't particularly attracted to Zeru for his species (as she doesn't believe her "One True Mate" won't be a Mystic).

Toluene is good friends with Takuto and Akibi, as she, Zeru and his twin brother, Haizea, would often play with them whenever they were in the capital. While Zeru is much less outgoing with Haizea's passing, he still seems to perk up when he sees the twins too.

N'air, her Familiar, was given to her as a gift and test from Atria once she passed her necromancy initiation, and was created out of materials Toluene has on hand (just in case anything ever happens to him). As Toluene was the one to give life to N'air, he's extremely grateful to her and often watches over her, though she sometimes uses him as a pillow when they go out. Oddly enough, he has a Boston-esque accent, and can be a little rash at times, if not mischievous.

So long as Toluene stays away from Hyacinth Town (her hometown) now that her mother has reclaimed it as her domain (it was Atria's before she was killed in battle), no other Mystic from Ceres will bother her. She seems to be toying with the idea of declaring a portion of the acres her own "territory", as the Clan has done, if only to ensure no one will come after her for marriage or any other such thing.

Toluene fights with fisticlaws, but will revert to her True Mystic Form if she's angered or in extreme danger. In that form, her hair becomes a bright teal, her claws and abilities gain a tremendous boost, and she becomes incredibly ruthless. In this form, she has to continuously drain life-force or will either return to her natural form, or die out of strain.

More recently, Toluene has revealed that she has the exoskeleton of a cockroach along her torso when she needed help softening it up enough to make room for her assets. The exoskeleton naturally grows with her as she ages, though at times it gets too tight and needs to be readjusted (as she does not shed her shell at any point in time). When in her True Form, this exoskeleton flairs out to protect her hips, shoulders and part of her back as well.

After a long time of thinking things over, observing the relationships both within the acres and reflecting on the past ones she had seen before, Toluene finally came to the conclusion that her True One didn't necessarily have to be a Mystic; this was realized after years of playful teasing and banter exchanged between herself and Zeru, who she came to realize she couldn't bear to live without. While they're still close friends, after Zeru proclaimed his love for her and asked if they could become partners, Toluene wholeheartedly accepted his love and has begun to live with him and N'air. While they do have their ups and downs (and the three of them tend to bicker a lot, whether playfully or otherwise), and still have some maturing to do together, the relationship already seems like it's becoming a tightly knit one. At least to Toluene, there's (almost) no doubt that Zeru is her True One.

Now that she's been away from Ceres for long enough, Toluene is free of her obligations as a Mystic Heir, and happily enjoys her newfound freedom with N'air, Zeru and Rose, happy that she no longer has to worry for her safety or that of her family and friends.

After a long time of coming to terms with her feelings and overcoming her shyness, Toluene confessed her love for Rose and, with permission from Rikiya and Black-bell, has become her girlfriend. With a little one on the way, Toluene’s experienced a new level of happiness she wouldn’t have experienced had she stayed in the Youma’s domain, and is glad she joined the acres so long ago.

A drawing of Toluene as a child vs an adult, with N'air.

Toluene with her True Mystic colours.