Character Name: Elena Madeira Casimiro.
PB: Cote de Pablo.
Journal: ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
elenamc.
Age: 32. (Born November 15, 1971.)
Faction/Affiliation: Watcher. Unaligned, although she leans toward the Scoobies due to her association with Giles.
Powers/Mutations: Trained in demon hunting and hand-to-hand as well as armed combat. Speaks at least five languages fluently and understands a handful of others to varying extents, including ancient & demon languages. Semi-proficient in magic -- not as skilled as an actual witch would be, but competent enough to work a few spells when her duties as Watcher necessitate it.
History: Elena was born in Coimbra, Portugal, to a Spanish father and a Portuguese mother. Their only child, she was raised to follow in both her parents' footsteps by becoming a demon hunter (like her mother) and ultimately a Watcher (like her father). The family moved to Sevilla, Spain, when Elena was 12 years old; her father split his time between Spain and the Watchers Council headquarters in England, and Elena spent most years being shuttled back and forth between the two locations as she trained to become a Watcher herself. On her 18th birthday, she officially joined the Council. Because of her excellence at the Watcher's academy, she became one of the youngest Watchers to be sent into the field, receiving her first assignment to a Potential while she was still technically a teenager herself. This was something of an anomaly at the time, and the head of the Council, Richard Ainsley, didn't seem to approve fully. But her charge, a Mexican Potential named Esperanza, was deemed a low-priority case. Not wanting to waste a better Watcher on the girl -- at least that was Elena's assumption -- Richard allowed the assignment, and in the spring of 1990, Elena moved to Monterrey, Mexico, to begin training her new Potential.
As they were only three years apart in age, Elena and Esperanza grew very close during their time together. The young women were inseparable, not just Watcher and Potential, but best friends, practically sisters. However, in September 1992 -- months before Elena's 21st birthday -- Esperanza was called as the Slayer, much to everyone's surprise. She had, after all, only been assigned such an inexperienced Watcher because she was considered a long shot for the position. Richard Ainsley decreed Elena far too young to be in charge of an actual Slayer, and he reassigned Esperanza to an older, more established male Watcher. Elena's heart was broken. Unwilling to resign herself to such a loss, she disobeyed direct orders and continued working with Esperanza in secret. When the new Watcher found out, he reported this information to a very angry Richard, who strictly forbade her from having any further contact with the Slayer. She was instructed to return to Council headquarters in London at once, which she reluctantly did. A week later (in June of 1993), Esperanza was dead, killed by a Cohgara demon. Elena never got to say goodbye. A part of her blamed herself -- and of course Richard Ainsley -- for Esperanza's death; if only Elena had been there to protect the Slayer, maybe she would still be alive.
Elena tried to tough it out and remain with the Watchers Council, but the memories were too bitter for her to handle. Unable to resolve her emotions, she ended up severing her ties with the Council, moving to the United States in January of 1994 for a fresh start. She attended Barnard College in New York City, became a naturalized citizen, and joined the New York Police Department post-graduation, where she worked until 2004. She kept in touch with her parents overseas but insisted that they never mention the Council in her presence ever again. Good news or bad, she didn't want to hear it (though she would have celebrated had she let her father tell her about Richard Ainsley's subsequent removal from the post of Council head). After the destruction of the original Watchers Council, Elena's mother had to break that moratorium briefly -- in order to tell her that her father had died in the bombing attack on the Council's London headquarters. Eventually, Elena heard that it was being rebuilt in Los Angeles, with Rupert Giles running the show. Rupert had always treated her with respect and kindness despite her young age, and Elena knew this was probably her only chance to repair her relationship with the Council. Though she still struggled with resentment toward Richard Ainsley for the discrimination she suffered at his hands, she missed being a Watcher. It was the foundation of her identity, and she knew it was time to reclaim it.
OOC InformationPlayer name/alias: Alison.
Player Timezone: Central.
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