Marisol might be thought beautiful but for the weariness in her features. She stands 5’8” tall, weighing only 122 lbs. Her hazel eyes don’t possess the sparkle you’d expect to find in a sixteen year old girl, and her lips only turn up in a soft smile for those who earn it. Freckles dot her tanned skin over her shoulders and cheeks. Those who look closely will notice her hands are calloused and rough and she is missing the last two knuckles on her right pinky finger. Light scars criss-cross her legs, but she does her best to hide them under long pants or skirts if the weather permits. Her face bears the lines of too much work in the sun and growing up much too fast.

Marisol’s clothes are almost always ill-fitting, a size or two too big for her slender frame. She belts longer shirts over her pants and boots. However, her clothes and those of her siblings seem to gain embellishments over time, beads and ribbons and trinkets sewn onto them in bright patterns. It helps to add color to the fine layer of dust and dirt that seems to cover most everything owned by the Jenner family.

Agility and stealth seems to be Marisol’s strong suit. She’s never been particularly strong fast, but when she doesn’t want to be found, she isn’t. She has been known to climb rock faces, the outsides of buildings, and of course trees, finding just the right spot to have some time to herself. She also was quite the accomplished dancer, before her time was taken up by other things.

Marisol’s best feature though, and the one she’d never admit to being proud of, is her hair, which falls in rich dark brown waves around her face and down her back. She cares for it, rinsing the dirt from it any day they can spare the water and keeping it under a kerchief or hat when she finds herself working out in the sun. Those who knew her mother in her younger days tell Marisol she got her silken locks from her.

In recent years, Marisol has gone from a smiling, carefree (or as carefree as you get in the Lower Districts) child and preteen to a serious, determined, and preoccupied teenager. She attends school with rest of her classmates and does have many friends among them. But she rarely socializes with them outside of school. She excels in her studies and has an eye for details, making her something of a perfectionist. When she sets her mind to a task, it tends to consume her time until it is finished.

Outside of school, she’s fiercely protective of her family, willing to do whatever it takes to care for them, up to a point. She signs up for tesserae each month, sparing her siblings that danger. She takes the eggs her family’s hens produce to market for trade and is fairly well-known among the merchants. However, she firmly believes in staying within the law, so as not to bring dire consequences down on her family or herself.

Thus far, the Hunger Games have only tertiarily affected Marisol. Despite having her name in multiple times, she has never been called up. Neither have any of her friends or their siblings. While she doesn’t like them, she seems to just accept them as a fact of life for now. As just the way things are. She has much bigger worries at the moment. That could all change in a instant.

Marisol is the eldest of the four children of Delia and Lucas Jenner, both herdsmen of District 10. Her childhood was spent climbing trees and learning the finer points of caring for the family’s chickens. While her family was by no means wealthy, her parents still strived to make their children’s lives as special as possible. Each child’s talents were sought out and nurtured. For Marisol, that meant her mother noticed her gift for sewing young and taught her everything she could about it.

When Marisol turned eight, her mother began taking her to the merchants with her, teaching her how to trade their eggs for everything the family would need. Marisol looked forward to these trips each time as she loved seeing the merchants and all their wares. She loved picking out special things for her father or her siblings. She liked meeting all the people in town and the compliments they gave her.

Marisol’s life turned upside down though in the autumn when she was 12. Her mother fell ill with a fever. The healer of their village came and went several times, each time applying what she could to get the fever down. But never fully being able to find the cause of the illness. After weeks of touch and go and many close calls, the fever finally abated. But it was not without it’s consequences. Delia Jenner was left blind, unable to return to her job with the herds or care adequately for her family.

Marisol quickly fell into the role once occupied by her mother. Before school each day, she and her younger sisters care for the chickens in the yard. Then once a neighbor comes to care for her mother while she is gone, Marisol walks her sisters and brother to school. After school, her day is filled with looking after her siblings and her mother until her father comes in from the herd. Then she sets down to cooking dinner, finally going to bed after everyone has been fed, cleaned and tucked in for the night.

Her nights are one of the few times she lets her mind slow down and think about herself. About the things she wants, but may never find. About the things she misses. About the life she wants for herself someday. Whenever that day may be.

I didn't list this as a WIP, but if I need to add or tweak anything, please let me know. This is my first character on the site, so I'm kind of feeling out the community I suppose.