Venus
Venus grew up in the heart of the Sverven Korb desert, in the large oasis city, Corazon Island. While the island is a thriving hub as the central location of Bregne Fenn, it also serves as a cultural choke point getting things from Tricreche to Torsocanno. Being wedged between Eidur Mountain and Scath Mountain also makes for interesting dilemmas. The city is constantly under threat from both sides so heavy fortifications are needed. Her family wasn't wealthy, but they lived in a neighborhood that was slowly becoming gentrified as the city drew more and more wealth. That wealth also draws dangerous characters to the city, and there is a thriving underworld that mirrors the political machinations of the city above. The city walls are constantly being added onto, and between these additions there exists a second city where much of the black market is base.
The city is mainly inhabited with those races who are adaptable to the extreme heat, and although the markets look like a cultural mixing ground, the boroughs are fairly segregated. The Tabaxi neighborhoods are on the fringes of middle class, but for the first bit of her life, Venus had a rough start. She tried to keep a regal appearance, following the lead of her mother, who believed in refinement even when you weren't dressed in silks. This led other children to see her as standoffish or aloof, though she is open to everyone, which led her to trouble.
Her family wasn't wealthy, but they weren't the worst off in the neighborhood. Venus suffered from a lot of bullying and ridiculing as a child, and when a group of Rakshasas saved her from a merciless beating, she were eager to repay the favor. The Rakshasa are similar to Tabaxi, but they are evil. They try to blend into mainstream society by imitating Tabaxi, but that means that there are trust issues for citizens and Tabaxi, as they don't always know what they are dealing with.
They had her help them "protect" the city and beat up "bad guys" with her magic, until she realized the people they were hurting were actually innocents who had gotten swept up into the seedy underbelly of the city. After a particularly brutal "roughing up", Venus reached her breaking point and went to run home. On the way, she saw a pack of feral dogs terrorizing a kitten and she unleashed all of her anger on them, saving the kitten. After telling him to get lost, he decided to continue to follow her home.
She avoided the gang as well as she could over the next week, but they caught up to her. Venus explained that she wouldn't be helping them anymore so they tried to change her mind through violence. The tiny kitten she had saved popped out of the shadows and tried to bite them and run them off. They kicked him into a corner and beat Venus until she was unconscious.
She woke up to the kitten licking your face and purring. Venus, badly injured herself, limped through the city to take him to a healer and got his paw bandaged, then got herself bandaged up. She spoke to her family, giving them much of the money she had earned over the years to allow them to move into a better district.
Venus then left to give the gang some time to cool down, taking Perry the kitten with her. She decided that she will now be mostly a loner, but tolerates Perry. Accepting of everyone, but desires affection from very few, as she knows the strings that frequently come with "friendship". Get on her bad side and you'll see her teeth and claws come out.
Standing at the gates to the city, she peered at the horizon and flipped a coin. Heads would move her to the North, through Torsocanno and up into the sandy beaches of Cara Blanca, perhaps heading to Ilea Brin to learn to harness her raw magic along a more stable ley line. Tails would see her head south and disappear in the festival that she had heard so much about every year as travelers moved through Corazon to head to Tricreche and Balvonier.
The coin glinted in the desert sun and came down upon her paw with a soft clink.
Tails.