Who would look at a little girl and assume she held such anger and strength within? Underneath those bandages, Taupe is a ball of the purest flame.

Born in a stray commune in Vaccuo, under the given name Sinai, Taupe toiled tirelessly alongside her fellow community members to maintain the rare plot of viable farmland they’d stumbled upon. She was the child of a hunter, who was the commune’s sole protector. Despite the reputation granted by his role, he was a terrible man. A constant drinker, lazy farmer, and abusive father. Taupe was regularly beaten and reprimanded by him for every slight mistake. His abhorrent nature was known by all in the community, but no one dared to do anything. Either out of fear of what he could do to them, or out of fear of what would happen if they ever were to lose their only hunter. So they kept quiet, never taking the risk of a confrontation with the hunter. It wasn’t all bad for Taupe, however. The few commune members who were sympathetic to her plight did their best to provide comfort and support outside of her home. She especially looked up to one of the women in the commune who was always the best to her. Taupe aspired to be more like her, an idea that her father was vehemently against. After catching wind of such ideas, the most heated argument between the pair ensued, and resulted in a beating worse than Taupe had ever experienced before. Furious at his child, who was now unfit for work, the hunter became progressively more and more intoxicated. And unfortunately for the members of the village, he was blackout drunk when he was needed most. A grimm attack, with no hunter to protect against it, quickly wiped the small commune off the map. Miraculously, Taupe was the only survivor, although she had suffered severe burns and bone fractures from the onslaught. She managed to remain alive, even if just barely, until Moates Verde and Verna Vidkinstein of the Carmine gang, stumbled across the remains of the commune. Out on a hunt for a potentially powerful relic, they passed through the wreckage. Using every ounce of strength she had left, Taupe began to follow them. Annoyed by her presence, Verna began to tease Taupe with her canteen of water, much to Moates’ chagrin. She raised the canteen higher and higher as Taupe struggled to reach it, when suddenly, the wraps around her arm slinked out and snatched the drink from Verna’s clutches. It seemed Taupe’s persistence earned sympathy from Moates, who offered her a drink from his water supply, alongside some food. Taupe joined the pair as they made a trip into the central city of Vaccuo, and eventually was inducted into the Carmine gang proper when they returned to Mistral, citing her near-impossible resilience and strength as grounds for recruitment.

After years of abuse from her father, Taupe has built a hardened shell around her feelings. She is seemingly cold and disinterested in conversation, only ever expressing great emotion in the form of anger. Although she doesn’t show it, she considers her induction into the Carmine Gang to have been life changing. Being among the gang was one of the few places she could express herself freely. She started going solely by the name “Taupe” ever since, and adorned a pretty pink bow on the top of her head. Her troubled past prevents her from being able to show it, but there’s nothing she loves more in the world than the gang, and she’d do anything to protect it.

Taupe is the muscle of the Carmine group. Although her body is small and frail, her semblance gives her the ability to control and strengthen the bandages which laces her body. This allows her to indirectly express immense physical power, alongside strangling and manipulating the bandages at range. She can weave dust into her bandages, allowing them to have elemental effects, such as freezing ensnared opponents, and packing an explosive punch from afar.

For the longest time, Taupe and Lilac got along well enough. But, Lilac’s growing interest in the world of hunting has raised suspicion in Taupe’s mind. She worries that Lilac is becoming more and more unloyal to the gang, and that one day she might betray them. She hopes she isn’t right, but she can never be too sure.