This is long, I'm sorry. lol
Give me like 12 hours after you eventually approve this to uncolor code and remove comments.
Can he still fly thread with that injury? Do search riders still fly thread at Western or does it take too much time from practice?


Name: T'val
Age: 29
Nameday: 3546.8.17
Sex: Yes Male (Genderfluid) He/They
Sexual Orientation: Pansexual
Weyr: Western
Rider Rank: Searchrider
Previous Rank/Craft: Journeyman Harper

Physical Description:

T'val has a graceful look about him physically. He's perfected the art of standing in a way that looks statuesque, which might be absurd for anyone other than a vain harper, and that impression is aided by his slim physique and penchant for posing; hand on the hip, face in 3/4 profile, shoulders straight, no really this is just how I stand...

He has long golden brown hair with just a hint of curl, the grooming of which involves pretentious, cultivated dishevelment for that perfect "oh it's nothing, I woke up like this!" style. He absolutely hates how it looks after flying any distance even though 99% of people would think it looks exactly the same, and will often be seen running his fingers through it or otherwise fussing with it.

T'val's blessed with relatively soft facial features for a man, something he's forever proud of. He smiles easily and often, and his usual pleasant expression suits his face very well. He's got kind hazel eyes, which often seem to scan the area around him with polite disinterest; a trait picked up as an apprentice harper who tried to nonchalantly observe as much as possible.

He's always clean shaven, and he smells nice and clean, as does is dragon whose oil is infused with a mix of herbs, citrus and and wild flowers. Benefits of having a small dragon, you can go for oil quality over quantity!

He's got a bit of a limp these days (more than a bit when it's particularly cold or wet out), which he likes to think gives him a bit of dignity he was lacking before; got to make the best of a bad thing, and he earned it fighting thread (or falling off a too agile white dragon and getting his leg caught in a strap, but he was technically fighting thread right before so it counts!) so he's going to wear it proudly. It's attractive, right? He always thought a few battle scars looked good on other people.

Personality:

The first impression people get of T'val is a cheerful, carefree, flirt of a harper, harmless and flighty if a bit annoying and overconfident. Chatty is the word most people who have met him would use to describe him, he's a natural conversation starter and enjoys getting a feel for new people. As a harper, and now as a search rider, people being at ease with him has served him very well, and he wouldn't change a thing about how he's perceived if he could.

If asked about his biggest weakness he'd freely admit to an abundance of vanity, the rider treasures his appearance. In truth it was one of the few things that used to give him confidence before he impressed Korazenth and he still can't stand looking less than his best, it's the first impression people have of him!

With a deeply empathetic nature at his core, T'val is very alert to what's going on with the people around him. Assessing the mood of any room he's in is something the harper learned to do habitually as an entertainer, and he has a keen sense for anyone who stands out emotionally. Are you sad? T'val has noticed and no matter what's wrong he's going to try to distract you or something. He really feels for people who are unhappy, regardless of what got them there. His meddling can be a little annoying sometimes? But he's trying!

Which leads to the habitual lying. See, T'val doesn't necessarily want to tell people anything too personal, a lot of things are personal or uncomfortable and things about his time before impression are not particularly happy. No one really wants to hear about that any more than he wants to talk about it, do they? But he needs to make conversation, and the way to make conversation without revealing anything is to make up something that strikes the right chord in the moment.

That or... he could just flirt, and he certainly resorts to that often enough, maybe to an annoying degree at times. He'd love to find the right person for him, he was very preoccupied with that before he impressed, but now that he's not lonely the flirting is just a habit and falling for someone is something he doesn't really expect anymore. He'd like to? But he doesn't need to. He usually just settles for finding the right person for the night and leaves it at that.

He could just tell people real things about himself, but that's so... ew. He'd rather just skip the potential rejection, and he doesn't particularly mind when people don't react positively to the inconsequential lies he tells them, why would he? Lying just keeps things nice and pleasant, it controls the cadence of interactions and keeps everything flowing smoothly. It's an art form!

Maybe that makes it funny that he spends his free time writing pointless love songs he'll never show anyone. He's definitely no less sentimental about relationships now. He really thought impression would make him care less about that, but no luck. Well, that's just how it is sometimes, no one gets everything they want. It's alright, really!

Overall, T'val is content with things. Yeah, he can see that not everything has been sunshine and roses for him, but he realizes that everything that has happened has lead him to where he is today, so it all worked out for the best. Even if it seemed bad at the time, one door closing means another opens. Come what may, everything will be alright as long as he has Korazenth, and that makes it easy for him to just go with the flow.

Before Korazenth, T'val was a much less confident person internally, constantly second guessing his feelings about things and prone to being a people pleaser when it came to those he wanted to like him. The little white dragon has cleared that right up, if he's unsure about something she'll tell him how things are; she has no similar uncertainties and that's done him a world of good.

Positive Trait List Sanguine, observant, extrovert, empathic
Negative Trait List Vain, private, flirtatious, habitual liar

History:

T'val grew up with a big family at a small, isolated mining hold in the mountains. His family was alright, there were a lot of other children and his parents didn't give him as much attention as he would have liked (the kid loved attention) but they were okay. He's not exactly enthused about them, he visits them a few times a turn now if he cares to, they're just... okay.

As a child, he was always the odd one out. The rest of his family seemed so passionate about the craft and he really didn't get it. Wow, dirt and rocks? Once in a while the rocks would be rare pretty rocks! Uh... yawn. Pass. He hated how tough and efficient everything was and he always knew he was going to get out as soon as he could.

Of course he took to the hold's harper, who indulged his interest in music and stories and art and all the things of the world that were more exciting than the insides of a mountain. She was extremely fond of the boy, as the only person in the hold with both interest in her craft and free time to engage her. He wasn't officially her apprentice or her foster, but all his free time was spent helping and/or pestering her and by the time he could apprentice to a craft he could write a tune or tell a story as well as anyone his age. His parents were happy enough to let him go where he wanted to be; the harper hall.

The boy did alright at the craft hall. He was okay at everything he tried, perfectly fit to play in front of an audience, but he would never make master. He accepted that, he didn't care, what he found he loved was entertaining and he was more than good enough to do that. What he lacked in skill he made up in charm, he could really read an audience and set the mood they wanted, and that's half the job of entertaining already done.

Relationship wise, the kid always seemed to have one best friend and a hundred acquaintances. When he got old enough to think about dating, he always gravitated towards whoever his best friend was at the time. Well, that was a disaster; either the offer offended them in the first place, or the relationship went wrong, and he'd be looking for a new friend to hang out with.

When his apprenticeship ended, the newly promoted journeyman felt he'd hit a plateau at the hall anyway. He was ready to get out of there, find a place where he hadn't already gotten to know everyone and learned what there was to learn from them. Of course when that lead him to another small hold teaching children, he wasn't thrilled but he had no choice but to give it a shot.

The teaching position didn't last more than a few turns before T'val impressed, however. He was initially meant only to attend the hatching at Western, having charmed his way into being the +1 of a friend who had family at the weyr. It wasn't his first time at Western but it was his first time attending a hatching and he was thrilled to be there.

During the hatching, the harper was paying rapt attention to the little white who was indignantly snapping at everyone who approached her and hissing at her siblings. She was inconsolable, and T'val was praying she'd find someone good enough before she hurt herself. She had begun trying to climb into the stands (where the moody little thing would certainly hurt herself and others) before she first spoke to him.

He almost rejected her at first, truthfully, trying to convince her that all the candidates were there just for her and he was just a harper but she shut that down immediately. He was the one, she would not be mistaken, it was him. If he wouldn't have her she would have to leave. End of discussion. He shouted for everyone approaching her to leave her be and rushed down to comfort her and make sure she hadn't hurt herself somehow and that was that.

Since his impression he's been engrossed in weyr life, though on the relationship front he's mostly kept people at arm's length; there would be no leaving there if he wanted a fresh start with new people. He still thinks that he messes up with people a lot, but it doesn't really matter as long as he has his dragon.

Restlessness is still an issue at times as well, and Korazenth is happy to pop them around the world wherever Hers fancies going in their free time. The time spent out and about at other holds getting to know people, and T'val's strong ability to read people, is why he was a perfect candidate for search rider. Before thread returned that was his purpose in the weyr, and it's become that again since his injury, though now that he's healed as well as he's going to he and Korazenth are right back to flying thread when the weyr isn't in need of candidates.

Other: For the record, his dragon is the only one explicitly aware that he doesn't identify as strictly male, though he doesn't stop her from referring to him with they/them pronouns to others, and has no problem with other people knowing and using either he or they if someone used she/her for him he'd probably just find it amusing but not uncomfortable. He's definitely GNC so people likely realize.

DRAGON

Name: Korazenth
Age: 9
Color: White
Size: 13' 6"

Physical Description:
A small, sleek white with opalescent swirls of color across her wings. Her hide is pristine, having been cared for exceptionally well as a growing dragon and she has a soft rounded look to her muscle and bone structure, being fed well and exercised often. When she isn't rearing, roaring and lashing her tail, Korazenth's movements are proud and strong. Her eyes default to a contented but watchful blue which can swiftly shift to challenging red, she's a 0 to 100 kind of girl.


Personality:
Where T'val sometimes lacks self confidence, Korazenth makes up for it in droves. She knows what's up, and if Hers sometimes needs some help remembering what they're worth, or needs her to back up their opinions, or remind them it's okay to be angry or hurt sometimes, she has no trouble helping with that. Korazenth is perfect, and Hers is perfect, and if they didn't believe her when she told them that wouldn't they be insulting her chosen rider? She doesn't tolerate anyone insulting T'val, not even T'val.

Despite her size, Korazenth is no dainty dragon; she revels in how intimidating she can be. She may not be as large as the others, but she can roar and flame with the best of them, and takes particular joy in terrifying whatever herd or flock she's feeding on. She shares T'val's flare for the dramatic, being prone to posing and showy displays of agility and ferocity whenever the opportunity presents itself.

As a fearsome creature, Faranth help anyone who disrespects her or T'val. She may not hurt them but she's very willing to scare the odd human who doesn't know she's harmless, and if nothing else they'll never hear the end of it. This girl can hold a grudge for life. Remember that time six turns ago when you politely suggested T'val stop talking for a few minutes? Korazenth remembers and she's still bitching about you to T'val every time she feels petty (which is basically all the time).

Often, a competitive streak is what drives the little white dragon. She is the fastest, the most maneuverable, has the best reflexes, and is the best at finding new riders for the weyr (or so she insists), all of which she's going to prove at every opportunity. It likely would get her in a lot more trouble if T'val didn't try to slow her down for her own good, and it cost T'val pretty badly once when she was showing off after a fall and they slipped and dislocated their knee when they caught their leg in the riding straps.

Ferocious though she may be, Korazenth loves pets, scritches and snoot kisses from T'val more than anything. She's secretly a big affectionate baby when it comes to Hers and the depth of their affection is one of the reasons she chose T'val. They dote on their dragon and she couldn't be happier with the attention. She deserves it! All of it!

Needless to say, Korazenth is a lot to deal with sometimes. She's grateful she has T'val there to help keep her from taking everything too far and she's pleased to have a rider who can just go with the flow and handle her with ease at her best and at her worst.

Dragon Art or Proof of Obtainment:
The white from my starter pack.