Character Analysis
"Total Psycho"
From the moment she busts in with her crazy girl act, we know Arriane is going to be a loose canon of a character, and she doesn't disappoint.
We don't learn a lot about what landed Arriane in this school system in the first place, but she does turn out to be invaluable to Luce on her first day, and she's an oddly loyal companion, despite wanting to use Luce as her in-resident pyro.
We also know that Arriane's not afraid of living on the edge. For example, despite the fact that Luce has absolutely no training doing hair, Arriane totally lets Luce play hairdresser on her.
She's also not afraid to offer Luce some stone-cold advice, or to remind her that she's not the only one with problems here: "I don't know what you were expecting in terms of mushy-gushy friendship here at Sword & Cross. But let me be the first to tell you, it just ain't that easy. People are here because they've got baggage. I'm talking curbside-check-in, pay-the-fine-'cause-it's-over-fifty-pounds kind of baggage" (4.61). It may be brutal, but it's an accurate description of the student body.
Sure, she might talk smack and put on a show of being intimidating, but Arriane is a good person to have on your side, and she's got Luce's back from day one. She shows Luce the ropes on how to dodge broken or dead "reds," she tells her to avoid sitting next to Mr. Cole on social Wednesdays, and she even takes the time to look out for her when Cam's around.
While not as constantly loyal as Penn, Arriane is a topnotch guardian and friend, tenacious and unerring in her badassery.
Because of her manic, hilarious, slightly dangerous personality, it's no surprise that Arriane's also a fallen angel. We also suspect that she got the scar on her neck during an epic fallen-angel battle. Arriane doesn't seem like the type to burn herself on a curling iron…