Sasha Benfield

Appearance
Shay has long, black, hair that falls to her mid-back. The strands are think and faintly wavy. Her skin is a dark chocolate in color, while her eyes are a lighter shade of brown. Her lips are full and her nose is vaguely delicate with a straight bridge. With a narrower face and sharper features defining her high cheekbones and pointed chin, Sasha has the body of an athlete. Specifically, she has the toned legs of a track runner and a firm abdomen. In height, she reaches a fair 5’7”.

Her neck is slender, her shoulders are narrow, and her legs are long. By all means, she would not consider herself well endowed but she certainly does not have a flat chest. To society, she would be attractive but does not meet the “big butt” desire. Shay is perfectly fine with this.

Sticking to form-fitting clothing, she favors a tank top with a cropped shirt over it, skinny boot-cut jeans, and sneakers or tennis shoes. Colder weather would call for a decent jacket more intended to keep her warm than in style. If she is not wearing this outfit, she can be seen wearing track shorts with her tank top and running shoes. The only constant is a plain-looking wristband on her right wrist.

Magical Outfit
Her long hair becomes a startling white, spiked at seemingly random places as if electrified. From her hairline, three strands of hair spike up and backward, much resembling the "horns" on Zebstrika. Her irises become yellow while her pupils shine like blue stones. On her upper arms, a single band of white mark her dark skin like lightning bolts, similar markings decorating her exposed sides; two on each. Her chest is covered by a cropped, black, tank top that is highlighted with white. On her hips rest baggy pants connected at the waistband with what could be called the bottom half of a coat or cape. More white lightning bolts and markings follow the edges and cross along the fabric.

Her boots have short heels, matching the rest of her outfit and pointed, the bottoms of her pant legs tucked into the flared tops. Slim bracers cover her forearms, sporting white rings on the black material. Where they should hug her elbows, the bracers point out instead. Black gloves seal nicely against the edges at her wrists. Finally, a silvery white chain hangs from her hip, ending in a piece of metal designed to mimic the "lightning burst" at the end of Zebstrika's tail. It is there where the Great Ball is embedded.

Background
Sasha wants to be the fastest, to be the best on the track team. She is ambitious and dedicated, often seen training or researching past champions during her free time. The phrases “I can’t do it” and “I give up” are not part of Shay’s vocabulary. People call her stubborn because, when she has a goal in mind, she won’t stand to be deterred. Sasha does have a cool head upon her shoulders and thinks a situation through much more than people might realize. Some just see her as running at any challenge, head-on. She does, but not before she’s done her homework and learned what she can.

Growing up, she has always enjoyed sports but, track was her most favored. Being on a team was never an issue as she worked well enough with others but, it didn’t stop her ambitions. Sasha can be loud but she is often able to curb and control the volume of her excitement. Mostly, people have seen her as a relatively quiet child with a startling amount of passion when a favorite topic comes up.

Not having biological siblings, Sasha connected most with her cousins and over sports. There were enough to make up a full team for many games and, if there were gaps, neighbor friends often picked up the slack. Sasha has never been a straight A student but she wasn’t unruly enough to be flunking all of her classes. Passing notes in class and gossiping had their temporary limelight in Sasha’s life. Did she ever dream of more? Of course. She still dreams of more, including the Olympics and earning that gold medal.

When she met Naomi, her views of the girl were exasperated at first but, the girl ended up growing on her. Shay became fond of Naomi like she were a sister shaped into a best friend. When she wasn’t training for the track team, she was usually getting dragged around by Naomi to go see some new clothing sale or to hear about the latest fashion show results. If it wasn’t fashion for Naomi or track for Sasha, then the two usually ended up finding their way into trouble. Of course, it was mostly due to Naomi’s wild ideas but, on the rare occasion, Sasha would want to do something different.

Prank calls, pretending to be creeps who followed someone around, and other typically harmless stunts were most of Shay’s sparse ideas. As the pair got older, Naomi started being more physical in terms of her stunts. Usually, it was leading guys or girls on, playing them for free meals or drinks, and then leaving them short. Sasha wasn’t exactly happy with the ideas but she never denied Naomi the opportunity to have a good time. So long as there wasn’t any threat of being arrested, Shay was comfortable with being Naomi’s “partner in crime.”

Fun Facts

 * 1) Imagines clouds as weird shapes/forms.
 * 2) Knows sign language due to having a deaf cousin.
 * 3) She has a big aversion to porcelain dolls. More specifically, the glassy-bead gaze they typically possess.
 * 4) Sasha's a cuddler. She especially likes to cuddle and will often have a panda bear stuffed animal in her lap when she's relaxing on the couch or on her bed.
 * 5) Sasha got her panda bear back in elementary school when a little boy admirer gave it to her for Valentine's day during class festivities. It now has a couple of patches after a few tears in the fabric needed repairing.
 * 6) Will call people by what they prefer to be called/what they were named at birth (depending), even if they're her significant other. She won't use pet names frequently but will do so once in a while.
 * 7) A text message response will come whenever she sends one.
 * 8) Sasha is more neutral in the relationship department? I don't know how to express it, really. She'd love curling up on a couch with a friend, family member, or significant other to watch a movie or two and share a tub of ice cream. Shay's less touchy/hug-y and more about personal space being respected so she isn't the sort to be ceaselessly texting/calling/talking throughout the day to the other person. If she (or the other) is busy, she'll be focused on getting what she needs done first.