Arabella

Arabella is Half Gift 's protagonist, a seventeen year old girl who was orphaned when her father died of magicpox the month after she turned seventeen. She decides to join her Uncle, Captain Jargosfin of the tradeship The Pursuit, in an attempt to escape going into a life in an orphanage or on the streets in the beginning of the book, and later decides to remain on the ship as life on the seas and ship-side grows on her. Arabella is a half-gift, who has the ability to levitate objects. Her powers are very weak, however, and they often omit in short, uncontrollable bursts when she's emotional, where she accidentally levitates objects and people around her. The uncontrollable nature of her powers tends to work to her advantage in strange and lucky ways, knocking over a lost key to a favorite chest in a fit of frustration or pulling the perfect dress from her wardrobe when she's nervous. They also cause problems for her throughout the story as she tries to stay emotionless to hide them from other people who could turn her in to the Gift Hunters in the government.

Personality
Arabella is kind and sweet, with a sparkling wit that shows itself in the quips between her and the other characters.

She also has a bit of a temper when it comes to things she cares about, and she isn't afraid to speak her mind just like her Papa used to, as Captain Jargosfin likes to tell her. Arabella is sad about her father's death, and is still mourning him during the story which affects some of how she acts around the crew and her uncle, and dampens what appear to be very lively spirits.

Physical Appearance:
Arabella is small and wispy in stature, and has dark reddish brown hair that she usually wears down or in a braid down her back. She has warm honey skin that tans easily, and wide hazel eyes with flecks of grey in them. She is usually wearing the standard clothing of the time: simple cotton dresses and slippers, but later in the book as she learns to blend in with the crew and ways of The Pursuit she occasionally wears white cotton shirts and trousers so she doesn't draw as much attention to herself.

Talents and Disadvantages:
Arabella is good at detecting other Gifteds. She can 'sense' them from almost 10 feet away, so she always knows if the people around her are normal. She is also fairly good at levitating objects- usually not when she wants to, however. And the levitation appears to be random. Arabella is very good at household chores (sweeping, cleaning, doing dishes) because of her upbringing by a single father. She is also a decent animal trainer as evidenced by her work with Fairi, her wombat. Arabella is extremely uncoordinated which doesn't help her when she needs to do things on the ship in the book. If there's something to trip over, she'll find it. She also has a good temper that can be provoked more easily during the storyline because she is still grieving her father's death.

Gift
Arabella is a half-gift who got a mutated gene. Her gifting is the fairly common Levitation ability, and she was born after the magic laws were put into place so she is restricted from using her magic.

Relationships
Arabella has several relationships

Papa Glin - Father

Captain Jargosfin - Uncle

Silver - Friend

Blunt - Friend