Strength, wits, and a complete lack of self-preservation. With these traits, it was only natural that Pearl Navi would strive to become a huntress.

A life stolen.

Pearl Navi was born in Beacon, though she spent her childhood on the rolling waves of the sea. Her parents fought after she was born, her father not wanting to leave his adventurous life as a treasure hunter, yet not wanting to abandon his daughter either. He chose the best of both worlds, leaving his wife and Beacon behind with his daughter in tow. As she grew up, Pearl got along happily with her father’s crew, each of them taking a role in raising her, her mother, and the normal life she wanted for Pearl, fading into distant memory.

Things were not to last, however. As the number of leads on precious treasure shortened, so did her father’s crew. Those who chose to stay often complained, but believed in the father’s promises of riches beyond all imagination. This ambition led the crew to an abandoned island, one that was once inhabited by Faunus seeking to escape the prejudice they faced on the mainland. After many, many attempts, the crew was unable to unearth the treasure hidden within the underwater labyrinth, and they turned on Pearl’s father.

The mutiny stirred up enough negative emotion to reveal what led the Faunus to abandon the island in the first place: A gigantic grimm in the form of an octopus rose from the sea and struck the ship. The crew tried to defeat the grimm, blasting it with the ship’s many canons, but their explosives had no effect. Crewmates were flung overboard left and right; that is, if they were not eaten first. A young Pearl had lost her hand in the commotion, the crew just managing the free her from the beast’s grasp as it prepared to swallow her whole. In a last-ditch effort, the crew prepared a lifeboat for Pearl and detonated every pound of dust left on the ship as the Krakkon pulled it toward the bottom of the sea. All Pearl could remember as she held her bleeding stump was the pillar of water formed by the explosion, burying her family in the sea she once loved.

Fortunately for Pearl, she was rescued a few days later. A local merchant took pity on her, supplying her with food, water, a prosthetic, and work once she got older. When he shut his market stall for the day, he ran a more lucrative business at night, one consisting of selling drugs to the poor saps down in the warrens. Pearl brought these drugs back and forth for him, wearing a red necktie marking her as a runner to those in the know. She saved her earnings to buy a ticket back to Beacon, never forgetting what happened to her family, and vowing to destroy the grimm that took them away from her and any other grimm that crossed her path.

Cold on the surface, warm in the depths.

Pearl maintains a tough-girl persona, brought on by her youth both at sea and in the streets. She is prone to belittle those she believes to be weaker, and earning her respect is a mighty challenge. Those who do, however, get to see her soft side. One that is not necessarily open, but no longer hostile, her jokes and teases being signs of affection.

She keeps an eye on her team, particularly Pahi, whom Pearl is slowly learning to respect. She sees an unspoken strength in Pahi, one that is not the raw grit and firepower Pearl honed for years. She’ll be keeping an eye on Pahi’s progress as a huntress for sure.

A calculated killing machine.

Pearl is a tank in combat, her abundant aura and muscular frame allowing her to stay in the fray for long periods of time, whether against grimm or against bandits. Her cybernetic hand launches from its socket with a cable, allowing her to land punches from meters away and swing around to her heart’s content. Her tactical genius is clear, too, with Pearl easily formulating attack plans around her and her team’s abilities.

Her semblance, Deep Blue, saturates her eyes blue color. Her aura is strengthened, her reflexes sharpened, and her nerves steadied. Deep Blue activates a state of pure emotionlessness, allowing her to think critically in the midst of battle, as well as masking her presence from grimm.

A sacrificial purpose.

Pearl feels a lot more than she would ever let on. In the farthest reaches of her subconscious, she wants to fulfill her mother’s dream for her. She would answer the many social calls of her team, answer the many proposals delivered to her by Slate, and allow herself to be vulnerable for even a moment. But this sentiment is buried behind half a decade of rage and an unfiltered sense of purpose. Pearl was meant to destroy grimm the way grimm destroyed her life.

But that drive could not fully explain her coldness. Perhaps she does not want a crew. Another group that would swear to defend her with their lives, only to make good on that promise down the road. She does not want to suffer that way again, nor does she want anyone else to suffer that way should she pass. So she closes herself off, not wanting to be mourned, to fill anyone else with the purpose she has. What Pearl wants most is not to create another Pearl.