Rinoa Heartilly

Rinoa Heartilly is a member of Squall's Forest Owls and the love interest of Squall Leonhart. She wields a unique weapon called the blaster edge in battle, a bladed projectile she launches from a firing mechanism on her left arm. After hitting the target, the projectile returns to Rinoa like a boomerang. Rinoa's faithful dog Angelo accompanies her. In When the Cold Breeze Blows Away, Rinoa Heartilly is founding member of the Forest Owls, a Pro-Alliance resistance faction during the battle with the Galbadian Empire, whose affilated with the Red Star.

Rinoa is compassionate, warm, and friendly, although she can act stubborn and naive. She was born to a well-to-do family, her father heading the Axis military, but she is concerned by the state of the world. Rinoa joins a resistance movement fighting the Axis to achieve Timber's independence in a mixture of genuine desire to fight for Timber and rebellion against her father and later the Axis Empire. The Forest Owls are amateurish and she has little experience with the realities of combat, and is anxious at the prospect of fighting solo. She can be impulsive and act without thinking, which gets her into trouble. She is loyal to her friends and committed to doing what she thinks is right.

Rinoa clashes with Squall and Quistis for what she perceives as a cold and mechanical attitude and their impatience with her inexperience. Rinoa serves as a foil to Squall as a person who can freely express emotion. Although she initially dislikes him for his coldness, she grows fond of him and encourages him to open up and talk about his feelings, as well as teasing him playfully to try and break through his shell. Although Rinoa puts up a brave front, her isolation is hinted at, having lost her mother at a young age and having a strained relationship with her father. Rinoa has many followers but not many close friends save for her dog, Angelo, leading her to bond with Squall over what they're both missing from their lives.