Claire

Name: Claire Elford Aliases: Miss Claire (Ashe), Commander Claire (Ashe) Affiliation: The Shortcake Project (with Ashe) Weapon: Kick (main), Lighter (secondary) Age: 23 Date of Birth: August 10th ♌ (Leo) Blood Type: O Relatives: Dorothy Elford (grandmother), Fiona Elford (mother), Unnamed Father Species: Human Gender: Female Height: 5'4" (162cm) Hair Color: Sky Blue Eye Color: Blue Status: Deceased (Common Bad Ending, Killed by Sirius) Deceased (Ashe's Scenario, Stabbed by Ashe) Deceased (Wilardo's Scenario, Shot by Wilardo) Deceased (Sirius's Scenario, Shot by Wilardo, In Hell) Deceased (Noel's Scenario, Stabbed by Ashe) Deceased (Bonus Stage, Suicide) Alive (Sirius's Conclusion) Alive (Wilardo's Conclusion, Both routes)

Appearance: At the start of the game, Claire is seen wearing a blue tank top with black shorts and blue shoes, as well as a blue headband with a large ribbon.

After getting trapped inside the mansion, she was introduced to her room and found a blue, ruffled long dress with a blue rose ornament paired with dark blue gloves, stockings, and blue doll shoes which she can use. According to Sirius, it belonged to the owner of the mansion.

When her mouth was temporarily possessed by the demon named Invective, her eye color changes from blue to red.

When she was a child, Claire used to have longer hair, with two pink ribbons tied on her sides which matched the ribbons attached to her dress, which were blue with pink ruffles.

Personality: Claire is a very cheerful and encouraging character. While she may be quite the 'airhead' of the group, she is a worrywart, constantly looking after the other characters, even for the seemingly cold-hearted Sirius. Due to this, she doesn’t focus on herself, leading her in to dangerous situations.

She also loves everything that is girly, going as far as to wish for a house made up of sweets, cakes for her to eat, and own a fancy orchard for a garden (and a lot more) should she get a hold of the legendary Witch's Heart. With Ashe, she established the Shortcake Project (SCP) to fulfill her wish of chomping down shortcakes. Claire gives off an impression of being childish when first introduced because of her interest in all things cute and pretty, but as you get further in the game, she shows examples of being more than capable of being a mature person.

Her impetus for starting to work out was apparently to help people, and throughout the game, she is consistently very kind and selfless. Upon learning that she has the Witch's Heart, Claire asks to sacrifice herself to bring Sirius back to life, despite only having memories of two days with him. She is one of the most strongest human characters both mentally and physically. Even when she realizes the death of her mother, she continues her positive outlook on life. However, Claire is a stubborn/determined person, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the situation.

Claire is also very understanding and forgiving, saying that she does not hate or think any of the other people in the mansion are evil, even after learning how many times they had killed her to advance their own goals. She appears to sympathize greatly with even Ashe, who she had learned had killed her over four thousand times, as she still believed he was capable of genuine kindness and caring.

Throughout the game, Claire is extremely trusting of the others to the point of putting herself in danger. This is pointed out by multiple characters, notably Ashe in his scenario, after killing her, as well as Charlotte, Zizel, and Wilardo in the bonus stage.

Pre-Memory Wipe: Before her memories are wiped by Dorothy, little of Claire's past is shown until she is found and rescued by Dorothy and Sirius. Flashbacks from the perspective of Fiona tell us that she was very much wanted by her family, and because of their attempts to hide her, she managed to escape execution. Claire was shown to be attached to her mother, immediately worrying over where she was and asking to see her again. In her diary, she draws herself crying and writes that she wishes to see her mother again.

Claire is found about a week following the execution of her mother but is not told of this. Instead, Dorothy, who wishes to protect her feelings, tells Claire her mother has gone on a long trip. She then tells Claire that she is her grandmother and that she would be taking care of her from then on. Claire is quick to accept Dorothy as her family, and she in turn is loved by Dorothy, much to Sirius' jealous dismay.

Claire met Patricia while exploring on her own, becoming fast friends with them. She praised Patricia greatly in her diary, and the two spent much of their time together after the meeting. Despite this, Sirius continued to refuse to play with either of them, causing Claire to worry. Claire and Patricia discussed his feelings towards the former, Claire fearing that Sirius hates her. Eventually, Patricia and Sirius hold a conversation, causing Sirius to thank Patricia. However, he soon began to behave bitterly towards Claire, stating that he was glad Patricia came, as it got Sirius less time with her, and more time with Dorothy. Patricia defended Claire, saying that she was worried over him and earnestly wished to be his friend. Sirius became angry and claimed that Claire was only able to worry about others and remain happy because she did not know the truth about her parents. As he said this, Claire walked in. She revealed that she had realized her mother had died, and that she was sorry Sirius felt that way.

The three eventually grew closer to each other, and Sirius agreed to play hide and seek in the house with them. Figuring that Sirius would not want to enter Dorothy's room without her permission, Patricia and Claire agree to hide in her room. However, Patricia disappeared suddenly while they were hiding, causing Claire to become very concerned. She gave up playing hide and seek, fleeing the house to look for Patricia.

A photo kept in Claire's diary, labeled "Granny, Sirius, and me". After Claire left the house, Dorothy and Sirius learned that Nicholas had planned to invade the mansion. Fearing for Claire, Dorothy elected to stay and wait for her. She was told by Rouge that Claire had fallen off a cliff, but had not died, and had been nursed back to health by a very kind and endearing old couple. Dorothy, wishing to protect Claire and Sirius at all costs, asked to use Fiona's Heart to erase Claire's memories so she may stay with the old couple without putting herself in danger. Rouge agreed, and, as Fiona's demon, Charlotte carried out the deed.

Post-Memory Wipe: After Claire's memories of her biological parents, as well as Dorothy, Sirius, and Patricia, were wiped, she was raised by the old couple who had found her following her accident. Claire tells Ashe that having no memories of her biological family was lonely, but she was largely content to be with her adoptive family. She considered her adoptive family to be very kind people and did not see any problem with how they raised her.

Despite her memory wipe, Claire would continue to dream about Patricia, though she did not understand who they were or what they meant to her. She continued her life regardless, growing into a capable young woman. When her adoptive parents eventually passed, instead of living in the inherited house, she built a hut in the mountains. While dreams of Patricia did cause her some grief, she lived a largely happy life before her return to the Witch's Mountain.

Relationships: Fiona Elford: Fiona is Claire's biological mother. Their only interaction was being cradled when she was an infant (as shown in the memory "Happiness and Misfortune's Beginning"). Fiona was a loving mother to her daughter, complimenting her future appearance and promising happiness to both Claire and herself as they make memories together when she grows up. Unfortunately, she died after getting caught up in the "witch hunts", making Claire an orphan at a very young age, leaving her hidden inside their house's basement, later found by her grandmother, Dorothy. After her death, Dorothy took hold of her heart and used it to wipe out Claire' memories of everything.

Unnamed Father: Not much is disclosed about her father nor their interactions, but Charlotte described him as the "happy-go-lucky" type, with Fiona adding that he's a very kind person. His fate after the death of Fiona is unknown.

Dorothy Elford: Dorothy is Claire's grandmother on her mother's side and her adoptive relative. When Claire got lost in the woods (possibly after her mother's death), she found her and took her in, acted like a surrogate parent and greatly cared for the well-being of both Claire and Sirius, raising them until her untimely demise. It was later unveiled (by Noel to Sirius) that she used Fiona's heart to seal away Claire's past memories, which causes the warped dreams of Patricia and severe headaches whenever she tries to recall them.

Noel Levine: Noel is one of Claire's childhood friends although she knew him by the name of "Patricia"; she wasn't aware of his actual gender at the time. Claire and Noel were very close friends and often dragged Sirius to play hide and seek with them. After his mysterious disappearance in the mansion, Claire went on a journey for 12 years to find him, brought about by her guilt that she was the one who brought him to his fate at Dorothy's room in the first place.

Noel harbors strong feelings for Claire, calling her both his "hero" and his "heroine" because she saved him. At present time (especially in his route), they share a very cordial relationship, where Noel initially gives her free 5 coins during the hangout event, and even doing stargazing together in his room. During the same event, she notices the teru teru bozu (raindoll) hanging above a window that almost prompted her memories of Patricia until her head throbs from a sudden headache as soon she gets a brief glimpse of the said memory. However, at the end of Sirius' route, she seems to fully remember who Noel was as she looks at him and mutters a "Don't cry, Patr..." before drawing her final breath.

Sirius Gibson: Sirius is one of Claire's childhood friends and fellow orphan who was adopted by Dorothy. Ever since they were little, Sirius wasn't too fond of Claire, being reprimanding and strict to her. This may be a out of his jealousy toward the attention she gets from Dorothy, and he considers her a rival in that regard. However, Sirius never saw Claire nor Patricia as bad people, which hints at his truer, inner personality that deeply cares about the people dear to his heart (he genuinely is a really kind and warm individual as remarked by Noel to Ashe). Near the end of his route, he saved Claire from Lime, a Hater demon---accepting (and winning) a showdown challenge from her, even while fully knowing fighting was not his strongest point.

Ashe Bradley: Ashe was the first person she encountered when she initially reached the mansion gates. He cordially introduced himself as a typical traveler, but after getting stuck in the mansion, his intentions were fully uncovered: to get the legendary wish-granting treasure, the Witch's Heart. They immediately became acquaintances so did the development of their friendship, establishing the Shortcake Project with an aim of finding the Witch's Heart to have an endless supply of sweet delicacies, particularly cakes for her to snarf down. Ashe would cook for Claire and share cookies with her, and would often get visibly worried about her. Eventually in his route and most of the game's plot, it turns out that he is a cold-blooded killer who would do anything just to get his hands on the treasure he's after, his motive being the revival of his family. However, there were moments that he did feel remorseful about what he did, such as when he was pondering in the kitchen after murdering Sirius, where Claire consoles him.

Wilardo Adler: Wilardo and Claire's first encounter was at the mansion door where he nonchalantly pushed her aside and went inside the house, leading Claire and Ashe to believe that he was an occupant of the place. They are good acquaintances (especially in his route) and are curious/interested about each other, with Claire being fascinated by his job as a florist and his cause to settle with such job; while he was baffled about her reckless act in Invective's fantasy space, when she used herself as a barricade and bluntly told the red, multi-eyed monster to stop attacking Invective. They also watch each other's back, mostly when they are in danger, notably when Wilardo pushes her aside to take the hit from Ashe in his route. Ashe was surprised by the act, declaring that he didn't expect that he'd take a blow for her. When he finds out about the truth about the treasure, he was dumbfounded for a moment but then apologizes to Claire for what he's about to do, and then murders her. It was shown that he cared for her, as he uttered "Doesn't feel good, really...", referring to the deed he's done before proceeding to ask his wish, at the end of his route.

Zizel: Zizel is Claire's demonic pact partner. Claire first encounters Zizel on the first night in her room, where Zizel informs her of the demonic pact they are in, and tells her to look for the contract somewhere in the mansion. Merely soon after, Claire becomes fond of Zizel and appreciates her company, as well as being willing to play Rock-Paper-Scissors with her, and overall treats her like a friend. Zizel is generally kind to Claire, as she often provides assistance for Claire and is usually with her. At the end of the Bonus Stage, Zizel bets all of her chips on Claire's victory, implying that she has full belief in Claire and supports her on the final loop.

Charlotte: Charlotte is first encountered in an unknown fantasy space near the start. She says that "those guys" are "after her," and that she wants to finish her job quickly. This initiates a chase scene and failure results in Charlotte killing Claire, but Charlotte later claims that she was only joking. She is often messing around with Claire, an example is during Ashe's scenario where she tries to convince her that she might've killed Sirius, to which Zizel interjects and tells her not to joke around so much. Later in Sirius' scenario, Charlotte asks Claire to find her rabbit doll, and afterwards, she compliments her by saying that she's kind.

Lime: Lime can be encountered as early as the common bad ending, but is only properly introduced in the second scenario (either Ashe's or Wilardo's route). She comes off as affable to Claire, until she stabs herself in the throat to prove that she's not human. Claire is visibly disturbed by this and questions why she would do that, to which Zizel interjects, saying that Lime is a strange one. Lime is normally friendly towards Claire, going as to invite her to a tea party with Zizel and Charlotte. Despite her cutesy demeanor, she is malicious, and is the indirect cause for most of Claire's deaths after showing the contracts to Ashe or Wilardo.

Rouge: Rouge is first encountered in the Wine Fantasy Space, where she resides most of the time. She is hostile to Claire, calling her "ugly" as both an insult and a nickname. Rouge questions as to why Noel is so dedicated to protecting her, and often teases him about it. Additionally, Rouge only accepts particular gifts from Claire, and is quite prideful of her status as a high-ranking demon to Claire, and the Hater demons by extension.

Sheila: Sheila is first encountered in the Very Very Very Very Bottom of the Ocean. When Claire tries to interact with her, Zizel will warn Claire that she's bad news, as Sheila attempts to attack her in a state of heightened emotions. She will later calm down, and can be interacted with. Sheila will ask for 5 Mermaid Scales as a demon request. When fulfilled, she is grateful and is visibly happy.

Invective: Invective possesses Claire in Wilardo's route, and similar to Rouge, is brash and hostile towards Claire, although she is relieved that she's able to be in a healthy human body once more. In an unnamed fantasy space, Invective shows her true appearance. Claire is able to show sympathy for her and depending on the player's choice, can decide to give up her body.

Trivia: It is stated in her in-game portrait that she works out as a hobby and that she loves cute things, but generally lacks the money to buy them. Claire likes sweets and food that looks cute. Claire is reasonably good at singing, and often tends to make gestures while singing as well. Her voice is rather loud. One of Claire's strengths is her physical ability, but one of her weaknesses is studying, especially when there are numbers involved.