Chané Laforet

"I can't do anything for Claire in return. And if I ask for his help, that means I can't do anything for Father, either. And if I can't do anything for Father, then I'm worthless. And if I'm worthless, Claire would... Claire would just smile at me, the same as always, wouldn't he."

- Chané

Chané Laforet (シャーネ・ラフォレット Shāne Raforetto) is the mute eldest daughter of Huey Laforet and Renee Parmedes Branvillier and the older sister of Leeza Laforet.

Chané participates in the Lemures' hijacking of the Flying Pussyfoot at the end of December 1931 with the aim of freeing Huey from prison, though she does not approve of taking hostages. In the wake of the plan's failure, she joins Jacuzzi's Gang and grows to deeply care for her new companions, fighting for them as fiercely as she does her father.

Shortly after reuniting with Huey in 1935, Chané meets Leeza for the first time—the younger sister she never knew she had. In February, on Huey's orders, the sisters patrol the three day party at Ra's Lance while he prepares to execute an experiment intended to affect a large swatch of the New York population. During the mission, Chané seeks to kill Nader Schasschule in the hope that doing so will return her to being an emotionless tool.

Chané eventually marries and starts a family with Felix Walken, whom she first met when he was still "Claire Stanfield." Both of them are alive and in their nineties in August 2002, by which time they have two teenaged great-grandchildren.

Appearance
Chané is a beautiful, pale young woman who bears a striking resemblance to her father Huey, having inherited his black hair, golden eyes, and lean build; however, her features are more angular than those of her father or sister and her muscles more pronounced. During her childhood, she kept her hair a little longer than shoulder length and had bangs; as a young adult, she keeps her hair short like her fathers and her bangs splayed.

Chané often wears a black Spanish-styled spaghetti-strap dress with a small black rose on the left strap, long black gloves, and ankle-length black boots. When she is mistakenly kidnapped by Graham Specter in January 1932, she is wearing a custom white dress and boots which Claire gifted her.

Personality
As Huey's guinea pig from birth and his daughter—being herself to be his 'only family' until 1935—Chané is devoted to him and wishes to protect him despite knowing he is an immortal. Her devotion is tantamount to fanaticism throughout her childhood and into her early adulthood; for much of her young life she sees herself as and is content to be a mere tool for her father to use, never seeking or craving his affection as her younger sister Leeza will later do.

Chané's encounters with Ladd Russo and Claire Stanfield during the Flying Pussyfoot incident leave her off-kilter, but it is in joining Jacuzzi's Gang and getting to know Claire that she begins changing as a person—in living apart from her father, her world expands beyond him: for the first time, here is a man who sincerely loves her; for the first time, she is among people who offer her kindness and friendship without expecting anything return; for the first time, she among friends who care about her for her sake and not as a means to her father.

While Huey is never far from Chané's mind over the next few years, she grows to love and care for her friends as fiercely as she cares for Huey and she grows as an individual. Her devotion begins losing its fanatical edge: although she had objected to taking hostages during the Flying Pussyfoot hijacking, she at that point in time was still able to kill without emotion or hesitation for her father's sake; in going three years without killing anyone and coming to trust in Claire and her friends, she finds she is no longer the 'emotionless tool' she once was.

As Chané still considers herself lacking true purpose without Huey and worthless if she cannot be useful to him, she does not consider this character growth to be positive growth; rather, she believes she has grown soft and weak. Early 1935 finds her in inner turmoil over how dull her "fangs" have become, full of self-doubt over whether she will be able to kill (or whether she will be killed by) Ladd Russo and filled with chagrin that she is coming to 'rely' on Claire (and that she likes trusting in him). Huey's return in the midst of her internal conflict fills her with joy, but fuels her determination to regress as a human and return to being the emotionless tool she believes her father needs her to be.

Chané usually communicates via the written word or through gestures, having never learned sign language. When acting as Huey's silent, watchful tool, her countenance is expressionless and indifferent—something which often led others to perceive her as frigid or distant in the years leading up to 1931; while many still find her 'hard to read' or her changes in expression exceptionally subtle, she has become more expressive away from Huey and more of a brooder. She is at her most outwardly emotive when alone; in 1935 she paces to and fro in her apartment, stabs her table in irritation (an apparent longstanding habit), and is visibly weary and melancholic in a way she would never be with another person.

Chané is fiercely loyal and fiercely protective of the people she cares for, willing to sacrifice herself and more than herself for their sake. One cannot know to what extent this is in her nature and to what extent it is the result of her calculated upbringing, though her upbringing is entirely responsible for warping her sense of purpose and self-worth: for most of her life, her purpose *in life* was not merely to be useful to just anyone; her sole purpose in life was Huey, the only person for whom her life had any value, and she realized she was most valuable to him as a tool rather than a daughter. For most of her life, she has measured her worth in terms of how useful she can be to Huey specifically.

While Jacuzzi's gang and Claire have proved to her that relationships are not inherently utilitarian—while she knows they value her for who she is, and loves them for it—by 1935 she still cannot value herself in the same way; her desire to protect her friends is no doubt genuine, but it stems from her deeply-rooted need to be useful to those she cares for and need for a purpose in Huey's absence. Her turmoil in 1935 is not only incited by her fear of being unneeded by Huey, it is co-morbid with a terrifying sense that she is losing her very identity.

Chronology
(To be expanded.)

Youth
In 1922, Huey and a young Chané are seen going for a walk. Given her unique relation to him, he tells her that he will show her a glimpse of the knowledge that only he holds and explains that she cannot tell anyone of it or use it for herself. She promises that she won't, and he prepares to show her 'all that is forbidden' - that of his goal, and the world as he sees it through his own eyes. He acknowledges that he is practically forcing this on her, and says that if she wishes for anything in return she may ask him. Her request is simple: She wants Huey to take her voice from her. Huey calls Chané "truly a good child," and reassures her that it will only take a moment's work to take her voice away. When and how he does so are unknown.

In September 1925, Chané accompanies her father to the docks of New York. There, her father seeks out Tock Jefferson (Tim), a twelve-year-old boy who has run away from home. Chané watches as Huey introduces himself to Tock as a monster, thrusting his hand into his lantern. The skin melts off his immolated hand, only to swiftly slip back into place. Huey is impressed with Tock's calm reaction, and calls out to Chané that it appears that their guest does not intend to flee as she may go.

Chané nods and vanishes, sprinting soundlessly into the darkness of night.

1931-1932
On December 29, 1931 Chané gathers with the other Lemures in an abandoned factory under the orders of Goose Perkins. During the meeting, Nader Schasschule attempts to betray Goose and fails. Chané severs his right hand with one of her knives.

On the evening of December 30, Chané boards the Flying Pussyfoot along with the Lemures, a cult that wishes to free her father from prison. The Lemures plan to hijack the train and take hostages, whom they intend to use for negotiation purposes. Chané does not approve of the terrorists' methods, and knows that they really only want her father in order to learn his secret of immortality. She is also aware that the Lemures plan to kill her on the train; however, she goes along with their plans in order to see how much they can accomplish. While aboard the Flying Pussyfoot, Chané kills a White Suit that is threatening Mary Beriam, whom she captures and delivers to the Lemures. Later, she fights with Ladd Russo on top of the train. Their second encounter is interrupted by the Rail Tracer (Claire Stanfield) who takes a liking to Chané and proposes to her. She is shocked by the proposal - it is the first time someone has told her that they love her. At the Rail Tracer's request she carves her answer to his question in the roof, telling him that she will be in Manhattan. She proceeds to leap off the train and into the river, so as to avoid arrest.

Several members of Jacuzzi's Gang fish her out of the river and bring her to meet Jacuzzi Splot at Fred's Clinic. Chané is confused by their kindness towards her, and she remains aloof for the first few days she is with them. While in their company, she is kidnapped by Graham Specter, (who believes she is Eve Genoard). At Graham's warehouse, she swipes at Graham with her knife and he realizes his mistake. He is impressed by her fighting prowess, and is excited at the thought of fighting her. Jacuzzi's sudden arrival interrupts the fight, and he offers himself up in exchange for Chané's release. Nice Holystone and the rest of Jacuzzi's gang show up soon after, along with Claire.

Chané is flabbergasted that they would go out of their way to come for her, that Jacuzzi would willingly sacrifice himself for someone he barely knows. When Claire proposes to her again, she accepts.

1933
By September 1933, Chané has become a full-fledged member of the gang, and has grown to think of them as friends.

One day in the Genoard Family mansion, she sees Tick Jefferson and Maria Barcelito walking through the garden. Thinking that they mean her friends harm, she rushes to the garden and attacks Maria. When she hears Jacuzzi scream, she reenters the manor and witnesses Dallas Genoard regenerating. She is further alarmed when she hears Tim talking about making people immortal. She knows that the more immortals there are, the greater threat there is of her father being devoured. She charges Tim but is blocked by Adele, who cuts her face. They proceed to have a stand-off.

Chané is present when Dallas casually reveals to Jacuzzi's gang that Huey is in charge of the Larva, and the revelation sends her mind reeling. She considers the possibility that her father might deem Jacuzzi and his gang specimens, and wonders if she'd really be alright with letting her new friends die—or if he told her to kill them herself. At the height of her inner turmoil, Claire enters the room and embraces her, telling her that everything will be fine.

Claire proceeds to 'talk' with her and assure her that he'll settle things with Ronny and make sure that Chané's friends are unharmed - and to leave her father to him. He adds that he's not happy about the cut on her face, and that he can't "let it slide on a personal level, see." He then saunters over to Dallas and intimidates him into confessing what he is hiding. Jacuzzi and his gang leave to talk with Tim, while Chané and Claire head for their hideout.

Chané arrives at the abandoned factory (their hideout) just in time to see Maria advancing towards Chané's fellow gang member Fang Lin-Shan, with Tick and Eve nearby. Furious, Chané throws one of her knives at Maria's back. The knife is deflected. The two woman appraise each other—Chané gives her full attention to Maria, since Maria was the one who'd threatened Chané's friend. Claire interrupts the tense stand-off by greeting Tick; he is interested that Luck Gandor decided to send Tick to handle the negotiation business.

Thrown off by Claire's arrival, Maria asks Chané if she is still prepared to fight. Claire assures Chané that he can handle it, and quickly identifies Eve as a friend of Luck and Keith Gandor friends. Fang introduces her to Claire, and Chané is surprised to learn that Eve is the owner of the house she is staying at.

The group is soon joined by Jacuzzi, who informs them that the Larva and Dallas are planning to storm the Mist Wall come tomorrow. The next day, Chané, Claire, Tick, Maria, Fang, and Eve head to the Mist Wall. As Eve and Fang step back, Claire attempts to lockpick the main entrance, only for Ennis to arrive and physically kick the door down, Chané and the others take the elevator to the Babel Restaurant on the top floor. There, she witnesses the arrival of the Lamia and the killing of the restaurant manager (and his regeneration). When Claire and Christopher Shaldred take their fight outside (through the windows and onto the pyramid), Hong Chi-Mei and Chané follow. There, she and Claire fight against Leeza and Christopher in the raging storm - although Chané is not aware that Leeza is her sister at the time.

During the fight, Claire brings up the very dilemma that Chané has been worried over: if Huey ordered her to kill Claire, whom would she choose? Claire...or Huey? Claire confidently states that she can still follow her orders and pick him (Claire) at the same time. If Huey orders her to kill Claire, then she should try to do that as best she can. Claire will just avoid everything that Chané throws at him, and they can keep on loving each other.

An explosion rocks the restaurant, and Chané heads down to see if their friends are all right at Claire's urging. When she returns, she 'informs' Claire that Firo Prochainezo and "the kids" are fine. Chi leaves with Christopher slung over his shoulder. Claire and Chané make their way down into the restaurant, and after looking around they head for the elevator. Once inside the elevator, Claire muses about Huey and Nebula, and decides that if something strange happens again he will have a talk with Huey.

1934
In 1934, Chané has an unwelcome encounter with Spike, who was part of the Lemur faction aboard the Flying Pussyfoot in 1931. Chané also becomes friends with Miria Harvent when the woman stays with Jacuzzi's gang at the manor—she is grateful that Miria readily accepts her muteness and abnormalities.

1935
Chané reunites with her father in February, and formally meets her sister Leeza for the first time. The two sisters go on patrol together near Ra's Lance that same month. During their patrol Chané spots Nader and attacks him, remembering how he betrayed her father in 1931. Worried that she has grown soft over the past few years, she resolves to kill Nader without any semblance of feeling.

Abilities
Chané specializes in knives and is one of the most capable combatants in the series, able to go toe-to-toe with powerful fighters along the likes of Ladd Russo, Graham Specter and Maria Barcelito. She is athletic and light on her feet as she is able to fight on top of a moving train with ease, demonstrating impressive reflexes when she dodges Ladd's bullets. Though it is accidental when she blocks one of those bullets with her blade, her unflinching reaction is a testament to her strength as well.

Her skills are such that she is personally responsible for numerous White Suit deaths aboard the Flying Pussyfoot, with the Lemures considering her their trump card against the other faction.

Relationships
Huey Laforet: Huey is Chané's father and, until she is a young woman, the only family she has. Fanatically devoted to him even in childhood, she voluntarily chose to give up her voice for his sake and involved herself in his work from a young age, from recruiting followers to his side to aiding his experiments. She was and is aware that her father considers her a tool, but is content enough to be a tool he can use and wants to protect him regardless.

Huey has only ever considered Chané an experiment—albeit a guinea pig that can occasionally surprise him—and does not love her, though he would speak gently to her when she was young. As he never once told Chané he loves her, she is not entirely sure whether the emotions she comes to feel for Claire and Jacuzzi's gang—the same emotions she feels for Huey—are indeed love.

Chané's reunion with Huey in 1935 leaves her acutely aware that she has changed since they last spoke, no longer the emotionless, 'flawless' pawn her father needs her to be. The thought of losing her edge fills her with dread, and she resolves to return to the way she was before their separation.

Leeza Laforet: Leeza is Chané's younger sister. Chané had no idea Leeza existed until (formally) meeting her for the first time in 1935, whereupon they are assigned to patrol Ra's Lance together and Leeza temporarily stays at her apartment. Although Chané is uncertain how to act around, relate to, talk to, and feel about her newfound sister, she does not close herself off; when Leeza is shaking with fear, she is concerned enough to ask what is wrong.

When Leeza tells Huey about her encounter with Chané in 1933, her attitude is competitive if not jealous; she is eager to insist that she is stronger than Chané and could kill her if Huey ordered it, and asks Huey which daughter is more important to him. Her perceived 'rivalry' with Chané has faded a bit by the time they formally meet in 1935, though she is not entirely happy to have to patrol with her sister, and in coming to know Chané she is far less antagonistic toward her than she would have been in 1933—even going so far as to call Chané 'sis'.

While both are unsure of themselves and how to best connect, both sisters are at least making an effort to do so.

Felix Walken/Claire Stanfield: Chané is initially bewildered by Claire on the Flying Pussyfoot, overwhelmed by his marriage proposal, self-confidence and intensity, but still asks him to find her in Manhattan. Once in Manhattan, however, she decides to kill him when he finds her; he is a threat to Huey not only in skill but through her, and she does not want her devotion to Huey to waver.

When they do reunite, whereupon Claire proposes to her again, it is ultimately Claire's sincerity that sways her. He is sincere in his love for her, sincere in his abilities, and when he says he will expand her world—not destroy it—she finds it impossible not to believe him. They begin courting soon after.

While Claire is serious about his intention to love Chané, he never imposes his will or forces her to do what she is not ready or yet willing to do; he assures her they can "start as friends" if she wants. Furthermore, he never makes her choose between him and Huey—a potential dilemma which troubles her greatly—and in fact assures her that she will never have to choose.Though she cannot speak, he can 'read' her well and is attuned to her thoughts and feelings—and thus is able to respect them.

Claire fully believes in Chané's skill; when he joins her in fighting, it is not because he believes her incapable, but that he simply wants to fight alongside her. However, as much as being with him gives her joy, Chané in 1935 fears that her trust in Claire will become reliance on him—and she is determined to "regain her fangs" so she can face Claire as an equal once more.

She is the only person allowed to 'call' him Claire after he changes his name to Felix Walken, as he considers 'Claire' the name of his soul. They are still married as of 2002, with at least two great-grandchildren to their name.

Renee Parmedes Branvillier: Renee is Chané's mother by blood, though Chané has never met her; Renee relinquished custody of Chané to Huey shortly after Chané's birth, and had no part in her life since then. In 1935, however, Renee travels to New York intending to 'reclaim' Chané for her experiments—claiming that Huey once promised to give her one of their daughters. Should Claire do a job for her, she says she will give up trying to collect Chané.

The Lemures: Despite being a member of the Lemures, Chané has no affection for her comrades nor the majority for her. She is devoted to Huey and takes orders only from him, whereas most of the Lemures care only about Huey's immortality, and the only true respect they have for her is her combat prowess. When Goose devises a plan to 'get rid' of Chané during the hijacking plot due to her being an obstacle, the lack of pushback is telling as to how little most of the others care for her as a person.

Jacuzzi's Gang: Like with Claire, Chané is initially bewildered by Jacuzzi and company's kindness towards her; they do not seem to want anything from her like the Lemures did, nor do they want to use her like her father. They continue to be nothing but sincere toward her, and she gradually realizes that she thinks of them as friends—and accepts their feelings and actions are genuine. For someone whose relationships until now have been utilitarian, this relationship—one built on reciprocity, on mutual love and trust and respect—is one entirely new to her.

Chané becomes fiercely loyal to her new 'family' and is determined not to let harm befall them. If a member of the gang is in danger she will immediately rush to their defense, as seen when she rushes to protect Fang Lin-Shan from Maria Barcelito in 1933.

Trivia

 * The name Chané means "oak-hearted" in French.
 * She treasures her given name as it is something that Huey Laforet (Chané's father) gave her.
 * Chané's surname Laforet means "the forest".
 * In addition, she is loath to ever abandon the surname Laforet that she and her father share.
 * Chané shares similarities with Celty Sturluson, a character from Ryohgo Narita's light novel series Durarara!!.
 * Both characters are mute and communicate via the written word.