MOTHER: Jacinta Riera; Pureblood; Guatemalan diplomat
DAD: Lawrence Otterwell; Pureblood; International Trade Lawyer, Canadian MoM
BROTHER: Terrence Otterwell; Pureblood; Currently much more well adjusted; 10

Jacinta and Lawrence liked to pretend that they had a star-crossed beginning to their relationship, that they defied all odds. The only odd they really had against them was geography, though, and that doesn't really count with airplanes and magic combined. Jacinta's family was a powerful Central American pureblood one from a wizard community tucked away in Antigua, Guatemala. When she got to be 20 and wanted to travel, she did diplomat work for her country pretty easily. Lawrence was a trade lawyer for the Canadian Ministry of Magic. So when they met and shared first a wonderful gala and then weekend in New York City, they weren't defeating many odds at all. They were actually very similar. They were both driven, beautiful, rich people who had been born with at least some percent of silver spoon in their mouths.

The actual dating part was difficult. They wrote a lot of letters. Their owls got very tired. They got tired of it too, and decided to marry inside a few months. It was logical. Combining Pureblood families from far away and mixing bloodlines was never a wrong thing. To keep up the aura that they were doing something rebellious, they eloped in a partnership both their parents definitely supported anyway. They settled eventually in Vancouver, but never really settled long. Both of their jobs sent them in opposite directions a lot. Their decision to have children meant that they hired nannies for years. But when both Otterwells went on assignment, it was impossible for them to leave young children with au pairs for literal months on end. Eventually, they both tried to be at least in the same country at once. It's just that was always changing.

Jade was born in Canada, and a citizen there and Guatemala both, because of Jacinta. Unfortunately, as of her very first portkey, Jade really hated travelling. That is something that stuck. Jade's early life was spent scattered around the Americas, sometimes in Europe, as an accessory to whatever assignment her parents happened to be on at the time. Jacinta and Louis tried to give their children as normal lives as they could. Still, little Jade was not a happy child. She was one of those babies who always seemed to have a chip on her shoulder for no real reason. Impossible to please, she was a picky eater. Her clothes never felt right. She hated for everyone except her parents to hold her. She was always exhausting. Her mother felt some guilt about this, and quit most of her diplomat work when Jade was little because she wanted to be around. Of course, it didn't really do much except for drive Jacinta crazy in a home with a cranky preschooler. But she did try. Her parents thought another child, a playmate for Jade would be good. Jade really did like her little brother, who was born when she was five. He was like a doll to her, but the only person around who she was consistently pleasant, kind, and open around. It's quite like that even now.

Jade and Louis never went to just one school, because boarding schools weren't quite as common for smaller children, and their parents did not want them to rely on tutors. They went to small, specialized schools for international students, because it was an environment where they could be exposed to people of all different backgrounds. Many students had similar backgrounds, having grown up in several countries. Once Jade was in school, her parents thought that she would adjust. And she really did. She liked school. It was just she had to keep changing. And Jade hated change.

Even in grade school, Jade decided that it wasn't fair to be uprooted so many times. But it wasn't just because of whatever entitlement she felt. Jade really was painfully shy as a child, and hated having to leave a comfortable place just when she'd finally started adjusting. It didn't get any easier the more she had to do it. There was always the harrowing period of being a new kid, then making a few friends, growing to trust them, and then watching as it was all ripped away from her when one of her parents decided to country-hop for the nine millionth time.

That didn't get much easier as she got older. Harder, actually. Year after year, she got a little more sick of it. At a certain point, Jade didn't even try to make friends. (What was the point?) She found that she could avoid the adjustment/uprooting circle by feigning how bored she was, at everyone. She began to control people by using the very emotions for which she used to be ignored. This revelation taught her how to be an excellent actress, sociopath, or maybe both. She learned to stride up to the most popular kids in whichever school she was in and demand their respect. She earned it by making fun of whatever children happened to be beneath her, or if the case really called for it, by trying to take down whoever was at the top. She could never really see the full repercussions for her actions. Usually at that point, her father had won a case, and she was back to Vancouver, or off to France, or wherever. She got to scorch some earth, the schools didn't have to deal with her long. It was a win/win, as far as Jade was concerned.

Unfortunately, her conduct reports still went home to her parents, and they were Very concerned. To counter it, they decided that every year, they would at least go on summer holiday and remain in Antigua for three months; a cleanse from all the people that Jade was victimizing. This really only isolated her more, though. When the new school year started, she was worse than before. Her parents made her join extra-curricular activities instead, hoping some positive influence would happen there. She chose acting when she was in seventh grade. And actually, it did exactly what Jacinta and Lewis had hoped. When she was in a play, her energies went towards that, less towards climbing the middle school social ladder. They breathed a little sigh of relief.

The only trouble was, when she was all set to lead a play in a school in London, there was a call back to Canada. Jade almost refused to go. It wasn't fair. But she had to go. Her grand exit was to set up a trap on stage so that her replacement would fall and literally break her leg on opening night. Actually, she only wanted her to fall. It worked a little too well. No one could prove that was her, but she felt pretty vindicated anyway. Jade still refused to speak to her parents for upwards of three weeks. Everyone involved was deeply unhappy. That's when her parents began to explore Jade's high school options.

Gooseberry was the perfect choice, now that Jade had systematically burnt all the bridges at every international academy in the western hemisphere. (This is only maybe an exaggeration!) It was small, which she needed, homey, which she also did, and tucked away in the middle of nowhere. Plus the drama department looked amazing. Jade was a little hesitant about the idea. She fancied herself far too metropolitan for such a hicksville place, but in her very deepest heart of hearts, she realized that if she went to this school, she wouldn't be toted around like an old suitcase anymore. She would get to establish a base. A home. The scales were tipped when her family mentioned what a good drama program there was. They didn't mention footage of her acting was how she even got into the school in the first place. They did mention how quickly she'd be thrown out if she pulled the stuff that she did in middle school. Tellingly, Jade did not even complain much while packing her bags to the middle of nowhere.

Once at Gooseberry, Jade was sorted into Azurcrest, and was a little unsure of how to approach this new situation. The Mean Girl Revolution was how she started, but in a slightly toned down way. She wasn't going to orchestrate any broken legs here. (Even if she did get the impression that it wouldn't be too hard; what with all the snow sports.) She didn't really want everyone to hate her; that wasn't the point. As a freshman, she still found it sometimes necessary to assert her dominance, but this school had a definite hierarchy that she didn't want to mess with too much. She was that brave freshman owl who would open her pet Senior's packages and steal one of the chocolates they were sending. She was haughty enough to keep up her Reputation. But it was tempered, here. She wanted to do well. Maybe make some actual friends.

Jade joined Drama, but hasn't got leads yet. She knows that's because she's young, and she hasn't even sabotaged anyone yet. She's doing better in her classes, because she knows she'll be around to do the final exams. All of this stability is not making her any friendlier yet. But it is calming her down. So hey. Maybe there's hope.