Ava Lisa Pike

She always has a few wrenches and screwdrivers on her, as well as unique pebbles which, when she finds, she likes to collect and stick in her pockets. She usually has a twenty or so, some change, her license, three keys on a kite key chain (one to her apartment, one to Ezra's, one for her car)and perhaps a hard candy or two. Actually, she usually has a box of candy on her, tucked in a large cargo pants pocket or the inside of a jacket.

the only piece of jewelry she likes to wear is a locket given to her by Ezra, which has tiny pictures of their parents on the inside.

her familiar is a sugar glider (also known as sugar bear) named Jack Frost (Frosty for short):

he is the size of a grown man's big toe, pure white, with black eyes. he is an excellent climber and has the ability to "glide" much like a flying squirrel. He spends most of his time in Ava's pocket, munching on apple slices, berries, and such, but does have two cages, one in Ava's chop shop, serving as their little mascot, and another in her apartment.

Much like her brother, Ava is tall and thin. Her legs are longer than her slender body and her curves are slight, her clothes typically just hinting at the frame that lies underneath, due to the fact that she doesn't enjoy showing it off that much. Her jaw is angular and her cheeks always seem rosy. Her skin is, for the most part, flawless. Sometimes she'll get the minor bumps and bruises that come with her job, but typically she keeps herself intact. Only her ears are pierced, once, but in a streak of rebellion during her college years she did get the tattoo of a hummingbird behind her left ear, hidden from her brother simply by keeping her hair down. According to Ava, her hair has a mind of its own. When humid, it falls in sloppy brown waves while, when the air is dryer and more tolerable, it is straighter. It falls a good five inches past her shoulders.

At first glance Ava is a hardcore tomboy. The cargo pants, the cut tank tops or t- shirts, the leather or cargo jackets. Look closer and you may find a splattering of makeup on her, a bit of mascara, a tinted chap stick, a touch of blush. She does like to get dressed up sometimes and she cleans up well despite her typical 'grease monkey' work uniform. When she has the heart for it, she'll add a touch of color and something more lady- like, but nothing to draw too much of the wrong attention. She doesn't like being admired for her body, but for her personality, and although she is aware that she does have to put a bit of effort into her looks, she doesn't want to make it the main focal point.

In two words: Tomboy Feminist. She would rather collect cars than shoes, she saves up for new tools instead of puppies, and she finds glitter to be the herpes of arts and crafts. Not that being a tomboy takes away all her feminine desires, however. She does appreciate the affects of make- up on men and can understand how dressing up can be important. Given the choice, however, she would rather wear a pair of jeans than a skirt any day. The feminist comes into play mostly due to her job. She's a mechanic. She'll bring a car to a show and god forbid she invite her brother. Despite the fact that he's so clean there's no way he's touched a car engine in his life, the guys at the show will ask him about the cars. Because, after all, there's no way a little girl like Ava could be responsible for them. It irks, her, the way men think girls need to be protected, that they're weak and stupid, and thus she barely tolerates her brother's protective nature. It's okay for family to protect one another. She's protecting him back.

Two more words: Brilliant Wonderchild. Ezra's smart. Some would argue a the Bill Gates of Law. But Ava's always been smarter. Naturally, without work, she is a terrific problem solver, clever, and overall quick to pick up things. She doesn't hide this, but she doesn't flaunt it either. It's a part of her, that's all she knows, and at the same time she hasn't attempted to do anything with this apparent 'brilliance' than what she loves- fixing cars.

"Alright young man, sit right here, and tell Santa what you want for Christmas."

"Hohoho, well, you can just whisper it in my ear, if you stand up over here, young man."

"Have you been a good little boy this year?"

"Hohoho, let's let Santa keep his day job here."

"Listen, kid, just tell me what you want already and let the next kid go."

"B-b-books."

Ezra didn't get books that year for Christmas. Instead, he got Ava. Oh, and she was the greatest gift little Ezra ever received. He's cherished her since the get-go. She was kind of his only friend when he was a nerdy, wimpy, stuttering teenager. Then he grew up into a brilliant hard-as-nails lawyer, but his love for her never waned. When he was attacked by a werewolf and changed five years ago, his OCD became overpowering as a coping mechanism and there were a few months during which he quit his job and stayed with her and she pretty much looked after him. He's convinced that without her, he would never have bounced back and started his epic quest to change paranormal law forever. He begged her to move to Chicago after he started making enemies in high places and wanted to keep her safe.

See, it was NYC where the Pike siblings were born and raised. Ava, a whole 10 years after her big brother Ezra, was a miracle child. She began walking and talking faster than most children. She was reading by the time she was 2. She used to sit in preschool and read the books to the other kids. She graduated middle school early- years beyond the maturity of most preteens- and thus graduated high school at 16. People expected she would go become a lawyer. A doctor. A surgeon. A scientist. For a year after that she spent her days with her boyfriend and his friends, working on cars until her parents, unsure what to do with her, shipped her off to NYU and set her up with an apartment there. That is where she nursed her brother back to health after he was bitten. It didn't take long for her to agree to go to Chicago. It turned out her boyfriend- or rather, ex- boyfriend- was expecting Ava to help wash the cars... not fix them. She was a girl after all.

Rather than let her brother at her ex, she simply left town, started a new life in the windy city. It is there that she opened her own shop, a women- run- and- operated one, and they're really, really good at fixing up cars. She has an apartment with a roommate named Miranda and she joined the Gentlemen's club in order to protect her brother. There, Miranda is her mentor on all things weaponry and she's picking things up quickly. Even figured out just what was wrong with that Westly fellow. Not that she tells her brother any of this. Oh no, his innocent little sister doesn't touch guns and daggers. Just like she doesn't have a tattoo behind her ear....

(see jay.)