[J] Meep's Collective

[Meepfur]

Iafri: Taken
Girofleth: Taken
 

[Meepfur]

Name: Iafri
Age: 20 (3555.01.27)
Sex: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Weyr: Western Weyr
Rider Rank: Wingrider
Previous Rank/Craft: Holdless
Physical Description:
Iafri is a rider who matches her dragon, a 'slip of a girl' so to speak who stands 5'2" and is thin of figure with barely any curves worth mentioning. Her hair is straight and dark brown, falling to mid-back, and her eyes are grey-green. Iafri's face is pretty enough, but always marred by dark circles under her eyes, and is rarely lit by a real smile.

Personality:
Iafri is meek and submissive, the sort of person who's always looking down and away from whoever's talking to her, and has a nervous manner at all times. She's forever chewing on her fingernails, shuffling her feet, or fussing with her clothes - she just can't be still. She'll speak, mostly when spoken to, but never raises her voice. If she didn't really hear what you said, she'll pretend she did and give whatever the most appropriate non-verbal response seems to be, because she'd rather not bother you by asking you to repeat yourself. She'll only double-check if you were telling her what to do, because she can't afford to not know that and get it wrong.

She shies away from violence entirely, even rough-and-tumble play, and conflict in general. She won't argue with anyone, even in a friendly manner; she would rather agree, get it over with, and have things go back to being peaceful. Well, as much so as they get. If someone asks her to do something, she'll do it with few if any questions asked, as long as it doesn't involve confrontation or physical harm of any kind. She'll take someone else's chores, give them something of hers if they demand it, help spread a rumor, or even steal.

Iafri doesn't like being this way, but what can she do? If she were to change, she'd have to stand up for herself, be responsible, lose her 'friends,' and all sorts of other terrifying things. She chides herself for being such a doormat, but doesn't have the courage to pick herself up off the ground, leading her to be self-deprecating and constantly frustrated.

When left to herself, Iafri is kind and gentle, especially with children, or with individuals similar to herself. She'll smile, laugh, and even stop chewing her fingernails. She's a good shoulder to cry on, a sympathetic listener, and surprisingly, a keeper of secrets to those she believes have been honestly friendly to her. Her loyalty and gratitude to those genuine few runs deep, and she will not betray them. If she were ever forced to choose between loyalties, though, it is impossible to say what she would do. How does anyone ever choose between friends?

Positive Trait List kind, sympathetic, loyal
Negative Trait List meek, nervous, easily taken advantage of

History:
Iafri was born Holdless, and for most of her life knew little of the truth of the world outside of her particular group. All she knew were the stories, which tended to paint outsiders in a very unflattering light. They can't be trusted, they had rejected them, cast them out, forced them into this dangerous life...nevermind that many of them are Holdless of their own doing, cast out of society for very good reasons, and for a handful it may even have been a choice. Easily-influenced and eager to see the best in others even when it's not there, Iafri believes that the Holdless have become as they are - rough, survivalist, and sometimes even amoral - because they are Holdless, and not the other way around. This belief, along with a naturally meek personality, has led to her resisting the Holdless stereotype: she doesn't want to be 'bad.' This has taken her in the complete opposite direction, to be retiring and non-confrontational. These are not the best personality traits to have in such an environment, though, and so she was easily bullied and taken advantage of for most of her life, including by her own siblings at times.

Iafri has two brothers, one older and one younger, and would have had a younger sister as well, but that youngest member of the family took ill shortly after she was born and died within a few sevendays. Other than that, her family was intact for most of her life, though she lost all contact with them when she became a dragonrider, and has no idea what's happened to them since Thread returned. As for her mother, she was born Holdless as well - and her parents, and as far as anyone knows, their parents as well. That side of the family has been Holdless for generations, and her family takes a certain amount of pride in that. Her father was a runnerthief, and made Holdless when he was caught...not that that stopped him for long, although he started stealing other types of livestock more and runners less. It made more sense to steal food directly than to steal something they'd have to sell (not that you can't eat a runner, but as they're worth a fair amount alive, that seemed like a waste). Their group as a whole made their living in a variety of ways, depending on individual skillsets, but that of Iafri's family was theft.

Like the rest of her family, Iafri is a capable thief, although she doesn't enjoy it in the least, but she's a good hand with animals. She can do a passable job of most of the things the life of a Holdless requires, but never learned to hunt, as she can't stomach it. She is good at mending things, and with better training could have made a fairly good tailor. That was not the turn her life took, though. When she was 15, the group happened to be passing near Benden Weyr while there was a clutch on the Sands, and Iafri was sent to slip in an pick the pockets of distracted tourists while they watched the Hatching. Unfortunately for her, she was caught, but before she could be removed and punished, a tiny green hatchling rushed into the Stands to put herself between the girl and the irate man whose marks she'd lifted. Once the terrified thief overcame the shock of Impressing, though, Girofleth did insist that she return everything she'd managed to take, from that man and from others.

That was far from the end of Iafri's troubles, as no one at the Weyr was particularly happy that a Holdless thief had ended up with a Benden dragon (although at least it was the runty little green and not something important), and between the displeasure of the powers that be and the unkindness of the other Weyrlings, the pair had a rough Turn leading up to their graduation. They left after another half a Turn, but Girofleth insisted that Iafri could not return to being Holdless, which was the girl's first instinct. She knew her rider had potential, to grow and be better and be happy, she just needed the right environment...but that didn't necessarily have to be a Weyr, did it? They ultimately settled in Ruatha, where Girofleth hoped to begin the very long work of bringing her rider out of her thick shell (and maybe get her some semblance of an education), but it was only a few sevendays later that Thread returned. Though Iafri was completely and utterly terrified of Thread and the idea of fighting it, her green couldn't abide the idea of hiding from the danger she was born to protect people from. At her insistence, the two of them went to Western.  

[Meepfur]

Name: Girofleth
Age: 5
Color: Green
Size: 36'
Physical Description:
Tiny, long-limbed, and delicate, Girofleth is a daintily pretty green, with comparatively large wings that are out of proportion to the rest of her.

Personality:
All long legs and oversized wings, Girofleth is a delicate little green who looks as though a strong enough wind would sweep her up and carry her away, but who somehow manages to keep such a thing from happening, if only just. This seeming fragility belies an inner strength, however; she may be small, she may even be weak in a physical sense when compared to many larger dragons, but she gives no indication of fearing anyone or anything. This is not to say that she is truly fearless, only that she is exceptionally good at maintaining her calm in the face of a threat. Few but her rider will know when Girofleth has been frightened, and even that will often be after the fact, as she wouldn't want to spread her fear to others, especially not to Hers.

There is little else that this giving dragon will not share; as long as what is asked of her has no harmful implications for others (so far as she can tell), she will gladly give her aid to any who seek it, asking nothing in return but that they remember the kindness and pass it on. She is an incredibly trusting individual, because she wants to place her trust in others and believe that there is good in everyone. If she finds that her trust has been misplaced, that she has been deceived or manipulated, the betrayal and disappointment cut deeply. With the help of her rider, she will remember these instances, and those who use her will never be given the opportunity again: once her trust is lost, it is lost forever.

Being such a gentle soul, Girofleth has an inherent dislike of confrontation and aggression, and cannot abide actions that would harm another, whether physically or emotionally. If she sees or hears something she believes to be wrong, she does not hesitate to speak out against it, and if necessary, she will place herself in harm's way to keep someone else safe. She abhors all forms of violence, however, and will not fight unless it is a matter of life or death - and only then for the sake of her rider, whose life is tied to hers. She will stand in the path of those who would cause pain, calling their bluff by staring them down and forcing them to go through her. Inevitably, some of them will, and when they do, she will despair over her failure until it finally fades from her dragon memory.

When the time comes for her to take Flight, this is a green who will need to be courted and wooed, resisting any attempts to simply chase and seize her. Any male who would have her must first convince her that he is the one, and do so without aggression.

Inspired by deer fables (primarily The Hind of the Wood and The Story of the Deer-king).

Why Me?
One might expect Girofleth to seek a protector, but that is not the case; in fact, she insists that she needs no such thing. What she needs is a rider of like heart and like mind, for no one but a fellow pacifist can truly understand her. Iafri will never push Girofleth to go against her nature and fight, while Girofleth will push Iafri to take responsibility for her own actions: she always has a choice, and with her dragon's help, maybe one day she can find the courage to choose to say "No."  

[Meepfur]

Flits



 

[Meepfur]

Roleplays

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[Meepfur]

Character Songs
Iafri:
"Blood Lust" - Lauren Shera
Girofleth:
"Brave" - Sara Bareilles
Pair:
"Don't Worry About Me" - Frances

Character Voices
Iafri
Girofleth
 

[Meepfur]

Assorted


Art, Iafri:
Subdued, demon_pachabel
Exhausted, demon_pachabel