This is an absolutely amazing idea! 

Name: Heather Grey (pun absolutely intended)

Age: 23

Appearance: Coal-black hair in a side braid, wears blue dresses with black boots. 

Personality: Quiet

Occupation: Cook for the coal miners. Sometimes she goes around with the water bucket. She has a small collection of books that she lends to people from her wagon, so she's the unofficial librarian.

I'll try as hard as I can to keep up with the RP!

I'll join this RP, but when school starts I might have to drop out, because I might not have time.

Name: Alex (Short for Alexandra) Morgan

Age: 15

Apearance: 5' 9"; Wavy, fiery red hair that goes down to the middle of her back; long, gangly legs; bright green eyes; pale skin and freckles on her nose and just below her eyes. She normally wears pants and t-shirts. Even thouh she is a miner, she is almost always clean.

Personality: Cheerful; intelligent; mature; Lauren is usally really nice, but when someone does something mean-spirited or wrong (like theivery), she gets super mad. She can hold grudges for a really long time. 

Occupation: Coal miner. 

Thanks for joining, people :) I really want to get this RP up and running quickly, so I'm starting. Anyone else can join, though.

Henry~

"Some say it was a big old Coal Viper,  the biggest one ya ever saw! It chased its tail around so fast, it whipped up a storm!"

I smirk, listening from the hallway to Grandpa telling the children storm stories. This tale in particular told of a giant Coal Viper, one of the snakes we often found in the mines. None of the stories were true of course, but people loved to come up with explanations for the Storm. They make us feel safe, and they're fun to tell. And if there's one person who loves fun, it's my Grandpa. Ever since he retired and passed on the duty of Chief Miner to my father, he's been running a sort of daycare in our house, looking after the children who's parents are busy in the mines all day.

I walk into the living room, and see a familiar sight. Grandpa's plaid armchair, facing away from me, with a back so tall I can only see his arms swinging enthusiasticaly as he tells the tale. A dozen or so small children are seated in front of him on an old red carpet.

"Some say the Viper will return one day," Grandpa continues, "And when he does.."

"He'll smash the town to smithereens!" I finish. Grandpa jumps clean out of his chair when he hears my voice, and the children burst out laughing.

"Gosh dang it, Henry!"  Grandpa swivels his chair around to face me. "Don't you give me a heart attack! Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"They gave me two hours off today for doing such a good job yesterday," I reply. "But yeah, I'm supposed to go now."

"Well, then, beat it!" Grandpa says jokingly, stroking his long white beard.

I grin and walk out the door.

Name: Catalina Boatwright

Age: Same as the others.

Appearance: Dark blonde hair, eyes like a sea in a storm (this is symbolic).

Personality: Quiet, mutters to herself. Amazingly intelligent. When she was young, she went through something traumatic (more revealed about this later) and occasionally remembers snippets of it.

Occupation: Author. Just kidding, she's a very talented seamstress and inventor (amazing with fine motor skills.) But she does like to write, and anytime parts of the memory surface she writes them down.

Can my charrie be from outside the storm? Like, she crashes onto the island...

Name: Jennie

Age: 17

Personality: short in height, fluffy brown hair, Startling black eyes, cheeky smile. 

Personality:  Cheerful, smiley, hopeful. A bit emotional, and extremely childish. 

Occupation: Coal Miner, though she's an unoffical artist, for she will give you a painting of anything you like for some money. And she's good at drawing. 

I love this idea! Great job!

Name: Cole (Short for Colette) Black (pun intended.)

Age: 16 1/2

Appearance: Brown hair, Brown eyes. But her hair turns black from all the dust in the air. She wears her hair in a ponytail, and usually wears a black apron. (For her job, except when she's on a day off.) Boots, and breeches. Always wears a sword that she made herself.

Personality: Sweet, and caring. She's used to taking orders, (she used to be in the army but quit because her family needed her.) and she tends to have a small temper. <!--break-->

Occupation: Apprentice blacksmith. (All of you coal miners need someone to make your tools, right?) She dreams of becoming a REAL blacksmith and own her own shop. She enjoys her work, but she also practices her sword fighting, and thinks of suggestions to help the shop and town improve. 

We definitely have enough characters to get going (technically, we have already started). You are all free to write.

Henry~

My boots clank against the dusty ground as I make my way to the mine shaft. I make my way past the usual buildings, the blacksmith's, the fried Viper vendors, the town hall. I look up to see the familiar circle of blue clear sky, an opening in the dark clouds that never left. And we're mighty glad it never does. We use that sunlight to grow food, and if the Storm ever covered it, well, we'd have to live off Viper meat and cave mushrooms. And that wouldn't end well.

When I get to the edge of the cliff, I gaze out at the distant black clouds, swirling with dust and crackling with thunder. I stand for a moment, and then climb down the ladder to a lower ledge.

On this ledge is the entrance to the mine, as well as the supply shack. Several miners are leaning against the rock face, chatting. One is eating an apple, which I don't know where they got because the apple tree harvest isn't until next month.

"Hey, Hen," someone calls out, using my obnoxious nickname. "Your Pa's been looking for ya. Overslept?"

"Maybe five or ten minutes," I admit. "Where's he at?"

"The spring."

Well, I'm actually okay with this failing. This concept may just end up being my nano novel..