Name: R'bin (formerly Rosbin) Age: 36 (3541.08.19) Sex: male Sexual Orientation: heterosexual Weyr: Western Weyr Rider Rank: wingrider Previous Rank/Craft: --- Physical Description: Standing about 5’11” when his hair isn’t curling from humidity, R'bin is of basically average height. Like most dragonriders, he is fit, though he got a lanky start to things and never filled out all that much, though he has a surprisingly powerful grip and sufficient strength to keep up with a very slightly-larger-than-average brown dragon. His skin tends to freckle and both his eyes and hair are a dark enough brown that they pass for black in dim light. His teeth are a little crooked and the soles of his feet are hard as horn from a preference for being barefoot as much as possible. Positive Traits: forgiving, curious, creative, joker Negative Traits: unmotivated, dilettante-ish, indecisive, insecure Detailed Personality:
R'bin still walks around his weyr in a funny pattern from a time when Huarangith stuffed himself and then burped some solids on the floor, and rather than clean it up immediately, R'bin simply altered the paths he took from furs to entrance and suchlike until all of his friends lost the betting pool on how long it would take him to clean it up and one of them took one for the team. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to clean the mess up, per se, and it certainly wasn’t that he enjoyed having partially digested herdbeast gradually decaying on his floor, it just never seemed to be on the top of his to-do list. He’s always been like that, though. He procrastinates, rarely takes the initiative, and even claims he missed the first searchrider to come to his hold when he was a teen because was taking a nap. In truth, he couldn’t convince himself he really wanted to have all the responsibilities of a dragonrider (and also, maybe secretly, he was afraid he’d be measured and found wanting), so he used his fabled nap to leave it up to fate whether he made it back to the hold while the searchrider was still there (he didn’t actually nap, by the way, but instead hid out in his favorite napping spot trying to decide whether he should run back and ask to be given a chance). He usually finishes the story of missing a search by reminding listeners that he sleeps like a stone because his brain’s returning to its natural state. It’s not exactly laziness that makes him do this. He’s just not a self-starter (or a morning person), and he will second-guess himself right up to the point of no return, or missing out completely.
On a related note, R'bin is the person you never want to ask “what do you want to have for dinner?” He will suggest and then dismiss half a dozen things before his companions even have the opportunity to decide whether those are things they, too, might like, and ultimately conclude, “Whatever you want’s fine with me.” On the bright side, on the occasions when he turns out to be mistaken in thinking he’ll be fine with the group decision, he keeps his complaints to himself. Well, mostly. He has a real gift for unintentionally describing food in unappetizing ways, so in this particular example, he might say something about how a boiled tomato reminds him of a skinned rat or some such. Sometimes that kind of thing comes across as funny (that’s the goal), but it wouldn’t be hard to see it for criticism. R'bin would not want his companions to see his humor as critical, even when it takes the form of sarcasm.
R'bin’s insecurity is a large part of the reason he has such a difficult time making up his mind about things. He wants to please everyone, and to that end it’s a good thing he’s a creative thinker, because that’s a more or less impossible goal. It’s also why he has a whole host of half-mastered, basically useless skills: whenever he makes a new friend, falls, in with a new crowd, or finds a new interest he does his best to fit in quickly by adopting his peers’ mannerisms and pastimes and employing self-deprecating humor until he’s comfortable enough to turn his wit onto other subjects. In this way he has sort of learned to play pipes, sort of learned how runner races go, sort of learned to draw, sort of learned how to cut and style hair, sort of gotten good at several kinds of sport, and on and on. His hobbies tend to change before he ever acquires true mastery or knowledge of any of them, largely because he loses interest in things once he grasps the concept to his satisfaction, and then moves on to some new fun thing/group of people. The outcome is that R'bin has a lot of friendly acquaintances, but knows that none of them are really friends, and that feeds into his insecurity, too.
Part of the reason R'bin fits in easily (at least on a superficial level) is that he is very forgiving. Surprisingly, given his insecurity, his willingness to forgive and forget is probably not the result of being afraid to lose friends (though he’s definitely conflict avoidant). He simply doesn’t stay mad at people. Everyone, in his opinion, is flawed enough to make mistakes (here he would take time to list a few of his more entertaining ones to illustrate the point), and the fact that they’re called mistakes indicates they were not performed with malice aforethought. Holding grudges against people who make honest mistakes or tried but failed is just pointless. He includes himself in his blanket forgiveness, which is part of how he ends up in situations like the one mentioned earlier with Huarangith’s productive belch. It’s okay that he hasn’t cleaned it up. It doesn’t make him a bad person, and the only folks bothered by it ought to be himself and his dragon, and neither one of them were, so it’s really a nonissue. Obviously, being a human being, R'bin takes a dim view of calculated betrayals, but he’s fairly philosophical in those instances, too, even when he’s the victim. He figures there were probably signs that were missed, even if they were just as basic as failing to somehow realize that one’s betrayer is, in fact, a slimy wherry turd with the loyalty of a sand crab.
He’s had only one serious romantic relationship in his life, and he did nothing to deserve it. The lady took an interest in him, made the first move, and initiated every milestone thereafter. It wasn’t his being searched and then Impressing Huarangith that destroyed their relationship – Ness claimed that she could understand and live with that. Ultimately, it was her realization that she was the one doing all the work - even to the point of trying to find a position in the Weyr so they could be together - and he was making no effort to build the life that they always talked about, that she finally gave up on him. Their break-up was amicable, although she was secretly heart-broken, and he recalls the relationship with fondness, assigning minimal blame to his actions for the outcome, but ruminating for many nights on whether it was because she’d spotted some fatal flaw in his personality that was so awful she couldn’t bring herself to tell him about it, even though when he asked her “why?” she’d cited his apparent disinterest in actually doing any of the things they’d planned. This is how a lot of his relationships with other people go, with other people being expected to take the initiative once he’s positioned himself in their proximity, and with no hard feelings when they drift out of it.
History:
R'bin’s childhood was nothing especially exciting. No one in his family practiced any craft. His parents were semi-skilled laborers who liked to leave their work at work at the end of the day, and simply go home and enjoy the company of friends and family. He had an astonishingly precocious and motivated younger sister, Reya, who baffled everyone else in the family and was the main reason he ever accomplished anything before being searched, even though she was a surprise child born eight years after R'bin. He spent a good deal of his youth either avoiding or entertaining her, depending on his mood. His parents never minded that their son was seemingly content to follow in their footsteps in terms of life goals (in fact, he didn’t really have even that much of a goal in mind, he just wanted to feel happy and secure), just as they never minded that their daughter was a tightly-wound enigma of ambition and work ethic. Whether their offspring tried, failed, succeeded, or didn’t try at all, they loved them just the same and told them they were proud of them.
The day R'bin was actually searched he was seventeen. He had been in his first (and only) serious relationship for about a year and he was feeling antsy about the increasingly pointed hints from Ness that he was smart enough to do more than semi-skilled labor for a living, and that it would be much easier to raise a family – or at least move in together - if he would apprentice to a crafter (like her father, who was a leatherworker with enough talent to keep his family from ever knowing hunger). She was a few turns his senior, and just at the cusp of being too old for a traditional search, so it seemed likely that when he was searched their relationship would come to an inevitable end. It was almost like an extreme form of unconscious ghosting on his part, although he couldn’t have known that he’d actually be deemed worthy of candidacy. After becoming a candidate, Ness continued to work to keep in touch with him, always understanding when he didn’t reciprocate – training to be a dragonrider is hard, time-consuming work, after all. She actually found a way to be at the hatching a turn later when R'bin Impressed Huarangith in Veniath and Zehavath's clutch, and was nearly as delighted by the bond as he was. R'bin was actually overwhelmed and snappish because he was convinced Huarangith had made a mistake. It wasn’t a mistake, though, and Huarangith turned out to be the perfect helpmate and companion for R'bin, his decisiveness and dedication pairing well with his gung-ho attitude to transform a mediocre candidate into a basically average weyrling, and eventually wingrider.
After Impressing R'bin made a half-hearted attempt to end things with Ness, citing the rule that weyrlings were not supposed to be in more-than-friendly relationships, and that he’d be an even worse partner now than he was as a candidate, but Ness loved him with an almost dragonish devotion and worked on finding a way to be employed in the Weyr so that when he was allowed to pursue more-than-friendly relationships again, they could get on with the life they’d dreamed about together back in the hold. It was his indifference to this idea that was the last straw there, and so R'bin was dumped not long after the hatching feast, while his handsome brown dragon slept, replete, a few feet away. He was not much fazed by this break-up, as he hadn’t really considered them together-together since a month or so after he was searched, and he was still overwhelmed with having another consciousness in his mind at all times. The happy-happy feelings of Impression probably had a similar effect to the hormones and chemicals allowing women who give birth to forget the very worst of the pain, making the separation painless (for him) and freeing him do devote himself wholly to Huarangith.
As weyrlings R'bin and Huarangith made a good team, with the brown frequently taking the lead, but happy to cede it to his rider whenever R'bin found something he wanted to pursue, and then supporting R'bin in his decision and defending him staunchly. Despite their very good working rapport, both dragon and rider knew they did not want to try for any sort of leadership position, and when Thread returned, R'bin found just the tiniest hint of direction and purpose which his life had been lacking up to this point, but it's a small, incipient thing, and only really flares up during actual Threadfall, so people don't tend to see the pair at their best during drills and rehearsals.
Name: Huarangith (taken from the Amharic word for geode) Age: 17 turns Clutch: Veniath x Zehavath (3560.07.11) Color: brown Size: 74' (37’) Physical Description: Just barely above average size for a brown, what really stands out about Huarangith are the markings on his hide which give the casual viewer the impression that he sparkles just a very little. Well, that and his ruddy underside, which is what most human beings see when observing him up close. His apparently sparkling hide can in no way be interpreted as shimmering metallic hide of a bronze dragon, and since he is perfectly within the size range for a brown he would be astonished if someone mistook him for one. Positive Traits: self-confident; forgiving; adventurous Negative Traits: stubborn; indecisive; unimaginative Detailed Personality:
Huarangith is very like his rider except for one key factor: he lacks R'bin’s insecurity, and that sometimes makes the two of them seem like drastically different individuals. Instead of second-guessing and wallowing in indecision, the brown is a self-assured, confident dragon who is unafraid to take risks because he genuinely believes that things will be fine (especially if R'bin is involved, because R'bin’s plans are the best plans). He supports R'bin's plans and passions whole-heartedly, and often pursues them with more dedication than R'bin himself, who is usually content simply to have had the idea. Huarangith is the one who wants to try implementing them. Not being the most creative of dragons himself, Huarangith loves all the directions R'bin’s mind can go in, and all the possibilities he can imagine. Except the bad and wrong ones, where R'bin thinks he will fail or that people don’t like him, or that he shouldn’t even try. That is when Huarangith’s not-so-inner cheerleader really comes out in force. One of his favorite things to do is to ask give R'bin "what if" scenarios and listen to the different possibilities his rider comes up with, almost like a form of storytelling. But when it comes to potential ideas, this brown is not as good at discerning between “what if” and “let’s try.” He will take an idea and run with it. It’s a good thing, really, that he has a rider with minimal motivation and the ability to question the wisdom of his decisions, because otherwise this brown would wear himself out trying to do ALL THE THINGS. Similarly, Huarangith always has an answer when asked for an opinion, sometimes past the point of stubbornness, and often on R'bin’s behalf when his human is unwilling or unable to make decisions. He will stick with things long past when R'bin has lost interest in them, and as such tends to form deeper relationships with other dragons and stronger feelings toward other humans than his rider does. He’s the dragon who will remind R'bin that they haven’t gotten the gang together to play sportball in a while, and then make the arrangements so all R'bin has to do is show up. Sometimes this leads to friction between the two, because Huarangith gets stubborn when R'bin refuses to at least try things. It might sound as if R'bin is holding Huarangith back, but in point of fact, the brown is self-aware enough to know that he is not an idea dragon, nor is he a particularly happy supervisor. He prefers to be an organizer, working toward a goal, according to a template, and collaborating with any interested parties.
Name: Taibbi Age: 18 (3559.5.16) Sex: female Sexual Orientation: hetero-flexible Craft: n/a Rank: n/a Location: Western Weyr High Reaches WeyrSmithcrafthall Physical Description: Medium brown skin with bad acne, medium brown eyes, dark brown hair that tends to be greasy because she doesn't wash often enough. A little to the short side of average height (5'5" or so), and a little on the thick side when it comes to her limbs. Her hands are strong, though, with permanent indentations from drafting implements on the fingers of her right hand. She's missing two toenails on her right foot from playing pretend with her mum's hammer when she was a child and dropping it on her foot. Those same two toes also don't bend very well. Positive Traits: helpful; loyal; stoic Negative Traits: unhygienic; judgmental; pushy Detailed Personality:
Taibbi is a real workrunner. Set her on a task, she'll keep at it until she either finishes, is told she can stop, or drops in her tracks. Even if it comes to dropping in her tracks, Taibbi won't complain. She'll just do her best to get back in the harness as soon as possible. She'll happily volunteer for extra duties if she sees something needs doing, or someone seems short of hands, even if she doesn't really possess the necessary skills. That's all right. She'll just learn as she goes.
Her willingness to volunteer for work gives her many opportunities not only to learn new skills, but also to meet new people, since Taibbi has no problem interjecting herself into a situation without prior invitation. In fact, she seems almost deaf to people telling her she's really not necessary, and is the sort of person who will insist on staying late after a party to help clean up (even if the host would really rather everyone just went home so they could sleep and clean up the next day), and also try to corral everyone around her into helping, too. She is not subtle when it comes to corralling folks, and can tend toward domineering, even though it comes from a sincere desire to be helpful and do good.
Despite her very strong inclination toward helping others, Taibbi can be pretty judgmental. If she sees someone doing less than their best effort, or acting in a way she disagrees with, they are on her s**t list, and it will take a great deal of concentrated effort on their part to redeem themselves in her esteem. Some of this is her age - fifteen is a good age for extremism, after all - but a lot of it is that Taibbi is not particularly detail-oriented, so she likes to be able to paint people with a broad brush in order to simplify things for herself. Some of the things she judges people harshly for include: laziness, whining, betraying trust, gossiping (especially in the form of talking about her mother), wasting time (especially on one's looks), and being too emotionally extreme.
She is too young and inexperienced, as yet, to realize that she's guilty of some of her own pet peeves, and would probably be disappointed in herself to realize her inadvertent hypocrisy, but see it as an opportunity to improve herself. Taibbi is very much a fan of self-improvement, and can be almost aggressive when it comes to helping others achieve their goals. So while she may be the girl who will wake up with you at five to exercise off some extra pounds, she is also the girl who will actually take a cookie out of your hand and remind you that you're trying to lose weight.
Her pushiness is largely an unfortunate side-effect of her desire to help, and rarely something that manifests on her own behalf, but not always. It also stems from her loyalty to those she cares about, making her an almost obnoxiously supportive friend who flat-out refuses to hear criticism of her loved ones, and will absolutely get fighty with people who badmouth or betray them. Nevertheless, if Taibbi's made the judgment that someone's a good sort, she will always feel that way about them and defend them with word and deed (and fists, if need be). She really is a very good friend, if you don't mind someone who's pushy and not always the best listener because she's pretty sure she already knows what's best.
As far as being unhygienic, she simply doesn't care a great deal about those sorts of things, even though her father died from complications surrounding an improperly cleaned-out wound. She hit puberty while her mother was deep in the grip of depression and everyone assumed her mother had been teaching her about the sorts of things she should know regarding her new hair and hormones, but she hadn't. Basically, she doesn't wash often enough, or thoroughly enough, and doesn't really understand why she always seems to smell more strongly than everyone else around her.
Impression Effect: Taibbi, through Neuwith, is going to suddenly be quite aware of how important it is to be clean. Taking care of herself is just as important as taking care of Neuwith, because Neuwith will die if Hers doesn't stay healthy. This means bathing, brushing hair, teeth, and generally becoming the best rider they can be! This isn't just weyrling training forcing her to do it; Taibbi will simply wake up with renewed understanding that a healthy life is the best life. And Neuwith will certainly be there to help!
History:
Taibbi's parents met as smithcraft apprentices and chose complementary areas of specialization so that they could work together as partners when they became journeymen - Hall permitting, of course. Their plan worked out and they were both assigned as journeymen to the same hold, where they eventually got married and had Taibbi.
Both of Taibbi's parents tried to teach her about their craft, but it was Taibbi's father who had the most lucky. Her mum, the one who actually worked with hammer and anvil, melting and molding, was a dreadful teacher who only really succeeded in teaching Taibbi to work the bellows of her forge. Taibbi's father, on the other hand, was her mum's draftsman, and he had more success, though it became apparent early on that Taibbi would never have the skill to become an apprentice in the craft.
It wasn't a bad life, though, until Taibbi turned twelve and her father stepped on a sharp shaving of metal. It was easily removed, of course, but the tip broke off without anyone realizing it and soon became infected. It was the middle of the harvest season, and the whole family was either busy helping in the fields or - in the case of Taibbi's mum - making repairs to the implements they used. He didn't think it was a big deal. Nobody did.
He died a few weeks later when the infection turned gangrenous, and Taibbi's mum just stopped caring about anything. Taibbi hadn't the skill to make up for what her mother let slide, but she tried to fill in as her mother's drafter. In that, too, she wasn't very helpful there, either, but she did accomplish one important thing: a turn after her father's death she secretly sent a message back to the Hall saying that her mother needed help. Not long after, the Hall summoned Taibbi's mother back and sent another journeyman to take her place.
Taibbi's mum's depression did not lift in the Hall, but at least she had peers to support her. For Taibbi the Hall was a strange place, where most of the people her age were in training to become smiths, and found her an oddity because she wasn't. Nevertheless, Taibbi made some friends and some enemies and got crushes and her period like most girls her age. She simply didn't have her mother to turn to to explain anything for her, which some people tried to insinuate reflected poorly on her mother. Taibbi would have none of that, though, and that's when she started getting into fights.
Threadfall didn't change a great deal for Taibbi, who had been in six fights that turn alone as she defended her mother and her ever-deteriorating mental state. She wasn't alone in these fights, and they probably didn't have to happen at all, except that she was overly sensitive toward remarks about her mother. Her group of friends fought at her side, but that just gave Taibbi a reputation as a bad influence, since her friends were all apprentices.
It was a relief for everyone when, at fourteen, Taibbi was searched, even Taibbi. She didn't like being labeled a troublemaker, and she was convinced that by leaving she would no longer be a burden to her mother. Plus, she was never going to be a smith, so why not try to Impress a dragon?
She was at the Weyr for the next two turns, and after one particularly violent Hatching Taibbi almost asked to return to the Hall, she got a letter from her mum (to whom she'd been writing faithfully the whole time) encouraging her to keep trying. It was at the next hatching that she Impressed Neuwith.
Name: Neuwith (In his first description, Schinz named the margay Felis wiedii in honour of Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied who collected specimens in Brazil. Neuwith also takes her name in honor of him.) Age: 2 turns Clutch: Killakeeth x Teth (3575.06.12) Egg: Mint Chocolate Chip Egg - A medium sized egg that beckons you closer. This egg wants a better look, thanks! Color: green Size: 48' (24') Physical Description: Neuwith is average for a green, but delicately boned, and quite light in weight. Her legs are long, her tail strong, and her feet delicately small. She's a green who is all about agility on land and in the air; she moves gracefully, and can squeeze easily into tight places. She may not be the tiniest of greens, but she is certainly flexible! Positive Traits: Athletic, Active, Helpful Negative Traits: Meddlesome, Gossip, Troublesome Detailed Personality:
Neuwith is the sort of dragon is quite athletic with a healthy love of acrobatics. As a green, this will serve her well, but unlike some of her brethren, she wont limit her agility to times when she's in the air. No, Neuwith is the sort of green who is happy to get into all sorts of trouble on the ground; if there's something that she thinks she can climb, she will do so; if she thinks she can slip into a small space, she won't hesitate. This green is limber and should her rider, or another dragon, try to catch her or keep her in place, Neuwith will have no trouble squirming out of their hold. This green loves to move, and it will serve her well; she's quite healthy, all things considered, and certainly enjoys physical activities. Sparring, wrestling, flapping her wings, this green lives everyday to its fullest!
To make matters worse, this green tends to be a bit too active. She can get easily bored, and will often try to turn something she doesn't like into nothing but fun. She loves to run, play, wrestle, tussle, and even climb; once she learns to fly she will love to be on wing as often as possible. If her rider isn't as active as Neuwith, they'll learn to be, because this green doesn't seem to have an "off" button. The only time she's still is when she's asleep, but that takes quite a bit of doing! If her rider isn't into moving, or is lazy, you can bet this green will be sure to encourage them to get up and go!
Neuwith is known to be a helpful creature, though sometimes her help goes too far. She loves to be involved in her riders affairs, and if her rider isn't around, than she will have no trouble getting herself involved in all her clutchsibs matters. Oh, are you going to bathe? She'll come with and keep company. Oh, are you getting oiled? She'll help carry the buckets, nevermind that she spills most of it in her attempts to pick it up or carry it in her jaws. Are you unhappy? Well, Neuwith will entertain you, and if that doesn't work, she'll try to find out what exactly IS wrong so she can fix it!
Yes, her helpful nature might be good as she grows and matures-- for with age, she will never hesitate to volunteer herself and her rider for whatever needs to get done--but she can go a bit too far. If her rider is unhappy, she'll want to know why, and then try to fix it. If her rider is upset because someone hurt their feelings, Neuwith will confront them about it; if her rider is crushing on someone, Neuwith won't hesitate to try to get them to meet, never mind whether or not the other individual is available. This green loves to be of assistance, but too often, she finds herself meddling in the affairs of others and is prone to aggravating others. Trouble follows where Neuwith goes; not because she tries to cause problems, but because she just doesn't seem to know when to stop getting involved.
Neuwith can't help it. She just wants to know. This green is the sort of green who is nothing short of a gossip. If there's a rumor, she's going to talk about it to everyone she meets. If her rider has any secrets, this green isn't going to be very good about keeping them. She just loves to talk, and loves even more than that, to have people interested in her what she says; so by learning a little bit about everything, or keeping the gossip train rolling, Neuwith will never be without a circle of interested friends. When it comes to dragons who are in the know, right or wrong, lie or truth, this green will always be iin the know.
Neuwith is the sort of green who loves flights. Oh, she can't wait to begin to chase, and will love nothing more than to talk, talk, talk to all her suitors and spectators. Boys, girls, girls, boys, it's all the same to Neuwith; she just wants to be the talk of the Weyr and have a good story to tell afterwards! Rest assured, anyone who catches her will find themselves the talk of the Weyr simply because Neuwith will tell her fellows ALL about how they stacked up in the mating department... So hopefully, you fly this green well.
Also, Neuwith and Euxanth should never be left in a room together. These two greens know how to make nothing but talkative trouble!
Acquired: Mystery Hatching Colorist: Uta Inspiration: The margay (Leopardus wiedii) is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer.
Its fur is brown and marked with numerous rows of dark brown or black rosettes and longitudinal streaks. The undersides are paler, ranging from buff to white, and the tail has numerous dark bands and a black tip. The backs of the ears are black with circular white markings in the centre.
Most notably the margay is a much more skillful climber than its relative, and it is sometimes called the tree ocelot because of this ability. Whereas the ocelot mostly pursues prey on the ground, the margay may spend its entire life in the trees, leaping after and chasing birds and monkeys through the treetops. Indeed, it is one of only two cat species with the ankle flexibility necessary to climb head-first down trees (the other being the clouded leopard). It is remarkably agile; its ankles can turn up to 180 degrees, it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws, and it is able to jump up to 12 ft horizontally.
While margays are nocturnal, in some areas they have also been observed to hunt during the day. They prefer to spend most of their life in the trees, but also travel across the ground, especially when moving between hunting areas. During the day, they rest in relatively inaccessible branches or clumps of lianas.
Like most cats, they are solitary, with the adults only commonly meeting to mate.
There has been one report of a margay using auditory mimicry to try to lure one of its prey. A margay was observed to imitate the call of a pied tamarin infant while in the presence of a group of adult tamarins, leading the adults to investigate. While the margay was not successful in catching one of the monkeys, this represents the first observation of a Neotropical predator employing this type of mimicry. Why Taibbi? Taibbi is going to find her life suddenly brightened by the presence of Neuwith. The first thing that drew this green over was just how hard-working Taibbi happens to be: always volunteering for some task, always helping out others, always being ever-reliable in the duties and assignments she's given. As an incredibly helpful creature, this paired up nicely with Neuwith's innate nature. This green will be like oil meeting fire, and it's safe to say that Neuwith and Taibbi will be all over aiding (or meddling) in their fellow weyrlings and future wingmates affairs. Neuwith wants so badly to be of good use, and will never outgrow her meddling... But there is hope Taibbi might help direct Neuwith's meddling more towards work and less towards personal drama.
Where Taibbi is stoic and serious, Neuwith is a talkative and friendly creature. She will help (see also force) Taibbi to find friends and good company; and if they are simply alone, this green will have no problem chattering to her to fill the quiet. While Neuwith might exhibit some behaviors Taibbi doesn't approve of, there are two opportunities for growth. To start, the girl might well be able to help break Neuwith of some of her worst habits, to round her out, and teach her when it's time to talk and when it's time to be serious. On the flipside, the girl might also come to ease up a little, and accept that no one is perfect, and not every heart needs to be changed--even if it's different than your own. There's more to life than fun and games, but life also doesn't have to be uptight and hidebound, either.
With Neuwith, Taibbi will find someone who is just as willing to fuss over her, as she's willing to fuss over others. Together, if a balance can be found, they should be able to grow up and mature into reliable wingmates--and if Taibbi ever wants to go farther, Neuwith will be the green to happily take her there! Theme Song:
Name: Reya Age: 27 (3550.9.13) Sex: female Sexual Orientation: heterosexual Craft: n/a Rank: n/a Location: High Reaches Weyr, previously Western Weyr, previously Rivercrest Physical Description: Curly dark hair that she used to keep short, but which is now growing out, so it's usually a curly dark halo around her face and shoulders. Dark brown eyes. A tendency both to burn and freckle in the sun, despite having an olive complexion, although both conditions fade quickly. She stands about 5' 6", usually with her arms crossed or with her hands on her hips, unconsciously doing her best to loom or adopt a power stance so that people will listen to her. She does not tend to respect personal space when speaking to people, although she is good about keeping her hands to herself. Positive Traits: driven; curious; ambitious; organized; independent Negative Traits: critical; obsessive; impatient; unwilling to relinquish control or ask for help Detailed Personality:
From the very start, Reya has been in a hurry to get things done. She weaned herself early enough to be inconvenient, and set about trying to do everything for herself. The words most often heard coming out of her mouth are still, "Just let me do it." In her opinion, the only way to get something done right, is for her to do it. This meant that growing up, she tended to do most of the cleaning around the house, even in areas that weren't her responsibility. It would frustrate her, of course, that no one would follow the lists of task assignments she drew up, nor would they put things in the places she'd established for them (which made so much more sense than their lackadaisical approach to things).
Although Reya prefers to always have a plan and a schedule, she is perfectly capable of being flexible. She's nowhere near as easy-going as her parents and brother, but she is capable of adapting her plans at need. She has learned that more gets accomplished this way, and that adhering rigidly to a single course of action when it is clearly not going to be successful is a waste of her time, which she considers a valuable commodity. This is why she was able to shift her attentions from becoming a harper to keeping the books for a brothel with only a minimal mourning period for her childhood dream.
Of course, Reya had more in mind for herself than simply keeping the house clean, and scheduled time each day, even as a child, for self-betterment. This meant practicing the teaching ballads, learning to read and write and do sums, and working on any skills she thought she might need. She will work obsessively toward her goals, but her organized nature means that she will not forget her other obligations - that is why schedules exist! It is her firm belief that anything can be accomplished with sufficient hard work and planning. In an ideal world, it can also be accomplished without having to resort to asking others for help. Reya dislikes having to rely on others for anything.
It is worth noting that while Reya is mildly disapproving of people who do not share her work ethic, and almost totally unsympathetic when it comes to people who complain, she doesn't actually dislike or resent such people (although she doesn't have much patience for them, either, and will totally tell them all the things they're doing wrong, whether or not they ask). There is no one she holds to a higher standard than herself, and she does not expect other people to live up to her expectations for herself. If she ever met someone who did, she would probably fall in love with or kill them on the spot, depending on whether they were in competition for something.
At this point in her life, Reya is also very suspicious of romantic attachments, and is functionally celibate, preferring not to get entangled in another relationship like her first (and last) one. She loves her son, but she doesn't want any more children, nor the hassle of a relationship. She's more open to forming friendships, though most of her acquaintances tend to come from her seeking out someone with desirable knowledge or skills and spending enough time with them to learn those things without ever having to overtly ask for instruction. The people she prefers to spend "leisure" time socializing with tend to be mild, affable people like her family or clever, entertaining people by whom she needn't feel threatened.
History:
Reya was a surprise child born 8 years after older brother Rosbin to loving, supportive parents who were largely confused by her driven nature, which bore no resemblance to anyone else in the family. When she was nine, her older brother was searched by Western Weyr and more or less ceased to be a part of her life, although before he had been a favorite source of fun and entertainment, when she wanted those things.
After her brother was searched, Reya began pestering the local harper to send her to the hall as an apprentice, because she was convinced she had useful traits that would put her in good stead as a harper. However, her lack of actual musical talent outweighed her intellect and after three turns of her increasingly less subtle hints he bluntly told her it wasn't going to happen, no matter how perfectly she knew the words and the lessons of the teaching ballads, nor how well she understood the principles of meter and mathematics. Undeterred, twelve-turn-old Reya got her parents to give her permission to work as an assistant accountant for a successful brothel in the hold, a position where she rarely interacted with the courtesans and never with the customers, and so remained impressively ignorant of what sort of activities earned the marks she tallied. (She chose a brothel because it was one of the few places she knew actual marks were exchanged, rather than bartering or payment in-kind.)
When she was sixteen a much-older musician named Joha, who sometimes worked at the same brothel, swept Reya off her feet with his stories of his travels as a journeyman harper and by the time she was eighteen they were living together and she was newly pregnant with his child. Around this time Reya learned that not only was Joha not really a hall-trained harper, just someone who had taught himself some tunes on a pipe and could keep a beat with a drum, but he expected her to keep house for him and tolerate his continued philandering, even around their shared place of employment, which she found humiliating. His fidelity faltered as she grew more gravid and he was less interested in her rotund figure.
Eight months into her pregnancy Joha disappeared. In his absence Reya threw herself into her work at the brothel and into caring for their son Eridan. Eventually, she came to take the place of the woman who had taught her the job to begin with. There may or may not have been some maneuvering to convince the woman it was in her best interest to retire and let Reya move into her position. Who can say? While Reya worked toward improving her status in life, she moved back in with her parents and often left her son in her parents' care, which worked out well for everyone, as the brothel certainly didn't want a squalling child around, and Reya found she hadn't much patience for a toddler. Not that she didn't love him, she simply found him very frustrating.
When Joha returned after two turns, he was full of apologies and sweet words, though short on explanations. But Reya had grown wiser in his absence, and less tolerant of his behavior, and was not interested in allowing him back into her life. For one thing, he showed no interest in their son, and although she wasn't all that involved as a mother, it certainly upset her that Eridan's father disinclined to be even as involved in their son's life as she was. For another thing, Reya had simply found that she was happier without a man to appease. Unfortunately, although Joha had been fired by the brothel where he and Reya had met, he still worked as a musician at a similar establishment not far from where Reya worked, and he took it upon himself to alternatively harass her and apologize to her on his breaks and when she left work.
After a turn of this harassment, Reya's brother, R'bin, was summoned, and he threatened to have Huarangith flame him to keep him away. The threat of Reya's dragonrider brother was effective for over a turn, but when R'bin made no more trips home to visit his family, Joha grew bold once more. When Eridan was nearly five, Joha broke into her parents' home and tried to force Reya to come away with him. He was stopped and turned in to the authorities, but Reya no longer felt like she was safe in Rivercrest. At their parents' urging, R'bin came to take his sister and nephew away to the Weyr, where they could hopefully make new lives for themselves.
Not too long after Reya and Eri had settled into their new lives at the Weyr, R'bin offered to bring Reya to High Reaches Weyr's double hatching. There, she surprised everyone by Impressing green Raqisath.
Name: Raqisath (taken from the Arabic word raqisa, which means “dancer,” chosen because the Tarantallegra charm causes one to dance unwillingly) Age: 3 turns Clutch: Rhianth x Kronoseth (3574.11.20) Egg: Mystery Egg Six - Sky Blue and Tan Color: green Size: 40' (20') Physical Description: A quick and lively green, with somewhat above average flexibility, Raqisath will grow to acquire exquisite control of her lithe body, but as a hatchling she will be a mess of limbs, constantly in motion. Because she is quick to learn most physical skills it won’t be long before she becomes graceful even on the ground, and eventually exuberant in flight. As an adult she will master the skill of deliberately isolating movements so that she does not come off as twitchy. She is stronger than she looks, but if her rider does not ensure she eats well, her stamina will be limited.
Positive Traits: quick learner; dedicated; disciplined; detail-oriented; good in groups Negative Traits: poor self-esteem; not a creative thinker; easily manipulated; vain Detailed Personality:
Raqisath prefers not to lead, although she loves to be praised and held up as an example, and can be quite competitive when it comes to demonstrating her mastery of a skill. Otherwise, she is mostly a follower. She is not the dragon to turn to for new wing formations, despite the ease with which she fits herself into group maneuvers. Creativity is not her forte, though with a given framework and instruction she can accomplish just about anything. This being the case, she will follow a person or a dragon with a strong vision almost slavishly.
This dragon, unfortunately, is mostly unable to see the good in herself unless it is reflected through someone else’s eyes. Even in areas where she excels, Raqisath will dismiss her abilities as minor, or credit her accomplishments to someone else, which makes her both easy to get along with and easy to manipulate. Raqisath craves positive praise, but will settle for any sort of attention, believing firmly that corrections are infinitely superior to nothing, because at least if someone takes the time to correct her, they still believe she is capable of improvement. Nothing would just mean it isn’t worth the time to try to set her to rights. She is absolutely the dragon who requests feedback after every practice and takes it very much to heart.
Fortunately, she is a quick learner, at least when it comes to physical things, and has excellent muscle memory, but even if she didn’t, Raqisath is both disciplined and obedient. She absolutely has it in her to dedicate herself same task for hours and hours, polishing minute details to a near obsessive degree. In this, Raqisath’s dedication is a double-edged sword. On one hand, she is a hard worker who will apply herself to a skill until she masters it. On the other hand, her single-mindedness in the pursuit of pleasing others (and thereby pleasing herself, at least fleetingly) means she could well do herself or her rider injury by pushing too hard.
An interesting aspect to Raqisath’s attitude toward improving herself is that she truly believes that improvement is always possible. Perfection, of course, is unattainable, but one can always be better. This may seem like an odd sort of optimism for a dragon who thinks so little of herself, but she does not only apply this belief to herself. She believes that hard work really can be a substitute for natural ability, and that anyone can accomplish anything, if only they are willing to discipline themselves to put in the time and effort, and her eye for detail, while usually turned inward, makes her a good assistant teacher, sort. She wouldn’t want to lead the class, but she could certainly walk around and make sure everyone was getting everything.
To address the matter of her vanity: Raqisath has a very clear idea of the Green Ideal, at least physically. A green should be small and quick, lissome and lithe. Her movements should all appear effortless, and her hide should always gleam. A green should never overeat, because to do so would create unsightly bulges in that petite form, and although strength is important, it is equally unappealing to have muscles that bulge excessively. After being such an ungainly hatching, Raqisath will always take great care to arrange herself in attitudes which display the long-muscled line of her body to greatest advantage. To achieve this goal, she has the self-discipline (and lack of self-regard) to limit her food intake and assume uncomfortable poses for long periods of time, rather than be shown to her best advantage. Raqisath also has a distinct eye for beauty in others, but it is less covetous than appreciative, and she always prefers someone who can move well over someone who is decorative but stationary.
Despite being a very physical dragon, Raqisath will probably be slow to reach sexual maturity, and not much interested in flights besides. Her body is a tool, and since as a green she could not possibly produce eggs from a flight (nor would she want to), she would not be putting it to its best use simply by rising to mate. At least in her opinion. Her human, of course, is welcome to do as she pleases, and obviously Raqisath believes in true love for both humans and dragons, but anyone who falls for her had best know that she will never, ever believe them when they say she's beautiful.
Raqisath really likes music, especially when there's a strong drumbeat. She absolutely cannot keep still in the presence of a harper plying their trade.
Acquired: Do You Believe in Magic Hatching Colorist: Smerdle Inspiration: The Tarantallegra charm, or the “dancing feet spell,” is a charm used to force another person’s legs to begin dancing uncontrollably. It requires a clear, unobstructed view of the target to be successfully cast. The name of the charm is likely derived from the Italian tarantella dance, which is a quick and lively dance. This curse is cast several times throughout the Harry Potter books, most notably in Book 2, when Malfoy casts it on Harry at Dueling Club, and in Book 5, when Antonin Dolohov casts it on Neville, causing him to smash the prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort. Why Reya? Reya is exactly the sort of strong and practical mind Raqisath would follow between and back without a thought. The fact that Reya, too, is driven to excel and willing to work obsessively will also appeal to the green, who will also benefit from Reya’s ability to balance her time. Reya knows when to say enough is enough and move on to something else, so when Reya says it’s time to stop practicing, Raqisath will heed her because she knows Reya understands how important it is to get things right, and that Reya is equally unwilling to look a fool by putting forth insufficient work and preparation. Similarly, Reya’s experience in caring for others means she will pay attention to how hard Raqisath works, and whether she is making unsafe decisions for the sake of self-improvement, and she will help her make more moderate decisions without simply issuing ultimatums. It isn’t just that Raqisath needs Reya to lead her and care for her, though. Reya will find in Raqisath a kindred spirit who shares her love of learning and her ambition to push herself to ever-greater heights. Raqisath’s appreciation for beauty will help Reya see that not everything in life has to have a purpose. Sometimes it really is enough simply to be beautiful. Theme Song:”Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons
Name: T'of (formerly Tofir) Age: 32 (3545.7.10) Sex: male Sexual Orientation: heterosexual Weyr: High Reaches Weyr Rider Rank: searchrider Previous Rank/Craft: senior apprentice mindhealer Physical Description: T'of has dark brown hair that he wears short. He never allows his hair to get shaggy. Ever. He hates having it fall into his eyes and his work. It also makes it much easier to care for, and when it comes to his appearance, ease of care is of great importance to him. His eyes are dark brown and rimmed by dark lashes that are short, but thick, creating the illusion of length. His eyebrows are thick and dark. He can move the left one independently of its mate, and often does so to let others know how stupid he finds them. He has a remarkable scowl, but it's not his only expression. In general, his face is very animated, and his feelings are right there for anyone to see.
T'of is of an average height, but he projects such an air of confidence that he tends to seem taller than he is, and he has perfected the art of looming. It's all about the scowl and crossing the arms firmly over your chest with your feet planted no more than shoulder-width apart. Any farther and you start to lose height and begin to look comical, which is counter-productive to looming. He is reasonably well-built for someone who has only recently had to perform hard physical labor on a regular basis. Part of being a young man in Healer Hall was that he was expected to act as an orderly in the case of patients who required restraint. It was while doing this that he acquired a broken nose, though there's no visible evidence his nose was ever broken except that he snores now and he didn't before. Positive Traits: good listener; self-possessed; observant Negative Traits: germophobic; arrogant; a snob about having an education and being intelligent Detailed Personality:
T'of's motto is, "It's better to be silent and appear stupid than to speak up and remove all doubt." His second favorite phrase is, "Everyone's entitled to be stupid, but some people abuse the privilege." People who do or say thoughtless things really, really get on his nerves, and he's a real proponent of thinking before acting or speaking, even though he can be pretty sharp-tongued himself (particularly when pointing out to others when they are abusing their stupidity privileges). This was something he struggled with as a mindhealer-in-training, too: allowing people to make mistakes and learn from them rather than trying to head them off.
As a mindhealer T'of really strove to be an active listener, allowing the patients he practiced on to do the majority of the talking, even though his natural instinct (and secret desire) is to be a hero who can save people from themselves. It helps that he's comfortable sitting in companionable silence with people for as long as they need to. He is also capable of being tender and gentle with those who require it, although almost always at a physical distance of at least a meter. This is particularly easy to see in his dealings with women - he has a very strong urge to protect them that borders on chivalric, though he will deny it until he's blue in the face, insisting that he treats everyone the same. In fact, he's actually quite the sucker for a damsel in distress. Or anyone in distress, actually. T'of's tendency to think that he knows best makes him step in to render assistance (and advice) a lot more often than he thinks it does.
Naturally, it's important to mention that T'of is very uptight about cleanliness. He doesn't like to be exposed to sick people without taking every available precaution, and really doesn't like to touch people who have skin conditions that involve flaking or open, oozing sores. Dandruff and psoriasis freak him out. He hates the thought of have flakes of someone's skin coming off onto him (or something he's going to touch later; he does his own laundering whenever possible). He has similar problems with peeling sunburns, though it's a condition he can't catch through contact. Or at all, really, since his natural tendency is to tan. It should come as no surprise that T'of isn't a very tactile person. It's anyone's guess whether the real reason he always tends to have something in his hands is because it makes it impossible for people to greet him by shaking his hand.
Perhaps surprisingly, T'of isn't opposed to hard labor. He's done it before and he has no objections to doing it now, though he is firmly of the opinion that his education as a healer are wasted by using him for menial tasks. He would never admit that he finds a certain peace in the simplicity of work that involves pure brawn, but a person could probably make an educated guess to that effect based on his fondness for sport. He enjoys games of catch, and he's a strong swimmer.
History:
T'of's fascination with healing began early in his life, when his younger sister fell from a roof she'd been walking on a dare and broke her arm. An infection, and then fever set in and a healer was summoned to treat her. The healer, a pleasant young man who had only been a journeyman for a few turns, allowed T'of to help him in small ways. T'of loved the feeling of power that it gave him, to watch his sister sleeping and check her temperature and her wound, knowing that it was up to him to tell someone if anything changed. He was eight at the time, at a perfect age to find someone to worship as a hero, and Healer Niroj was a perfect candidate. The healer was young, good-looking, self-confident, and incredibly intelligent. He also indulged T'of and allowed him to follow him around, though he only allowed the young boy to help if his patients agreed and if T'of had finished all his chores.
T'of showed an aptitude for healer work and a determination that might have made a difference even if he'd been less apt. With his slightly-better-than-average memory for the written word, his ability to acquire information was limited only by his ability to acquire reading material and the amount of time his family allowed him to spend in study. T'of's parents were reluctant to send him to Healer Hall when Healer Niroj suggested it because they were average holdfolk who were accustomed to the idea that their children would grow up and live nearby, but they were proud that one of their offspring might be qualified to be a healer, which they considered a fine profession.
At Healer Hall, T'of found that his memory served him well, but he was by no means a prodigy. Especially after his classes in contagion and hygiene had left him basically phobic about cleanliness. He became an assiduous hand-washer and actually reluctant to deal with patients who presented with contagious conditions or who demonstrated a poor grasp of personal hygiene while under the care of their healer.
It seemed for a while that he would not be suited to healercraft at all, based on his difficulties with contamination and contagion, but when he was twelve, T'of took a required course in mindhealing and realized he had found his calling. With mindhealing, he would never be called upon to touch his patients. Instead he got to work on piecing together the most complicated puzzle he could imagine: the human mind. He became particularly interested in exceptional minds, especially those who were able to form bonds with whers and dragons, and was really looking forward to a future researching that topic.
Shortly after walking the tables, T'of begged permission to continue his studies at a Weyr - any Weyr. The masters debated for a while, weighing his general skill at healing with his difficulties with the day-to-day rigors of the job. No Weyr would accept a healer who would treat injuries or mental distress but refused to deal with the sick. T'of was obliged to undergo a thorough evaluation by a master of mindhealing to determine whether he would be able to carry out his oath as a healer and treat all those in need. He passed, but his answers were still suspect, since he was a student of mindhealing. In the end it was decided the he would be allowed to go, but he would be demoted to the rank of senior apprentice so that he could be ordered by the Weyr's healer to perform tasks he might otherwise avoid.
T'of accepted the condition and the demotion willingly and was shipped off to High Reaches as soon as arrangements could be made. His plans for study were quickly disrupted, however, when he Impressed a little blue dragon while standing by as a healer at his first hatching. He struggled a little as a weyrling because of some of the more gory aspects of dragon care, but eventually he adapted by wearing gloves any time he has to deal with raw meat and making sure Makhmilith's hide never had a chance to get patchy with frequent oiling (there's actually a funny story about a time he over-oiled Makhmilith before drills and the entire harness slipped off when he was trying to mount up).
When he and Makhmilith graduated, he petitioned to be allowed to act as a searchrider, figuring that his training as a mindhealer would come in handy, and also not-so-secretly hoping that he'd be able to conduct a little research on the side. He's a much better searchrider than wingrider, although he and Makhmilith are generally in the right place, at the right time.
Name: Makhmilith (taken from the Arabic word for velvety) Age: 5 turns Clutch: Serenath x Dormith (3572.01.01) Color: blue Size: 57' (28.5') Physical Description: Deep blue with darker points and delicate swirls, Makhmilith is not too far off when he gets broody and makes pronouncements like I am the night. He's about average size for a blue, but he works hard on his physical fitness, always striving to be stronger and faster. He has a few more scars, perhaps, than a dragon of his age and (in)experience ought to have. He tries very hard to seem inscrutable. If he could stop his eyes changing color with his mood, he totally would. Positive Traits: intelligent; protective; determined Negative Traits: headstrong; arrogant; suspicious Detailed Personality:
When he Impressed on T'of, Makhmilith sensed his bond's deep desire to be a hero, and connected with that, because in his own clumsy way, Makhmilith does want to be a hero. Or a vigilante. Brooding and serious (think: Lego Batman dragon), Makhmilith can find the cloud to every silver lining. He sees his pessimism as realism, and thinks it is his duty to look after others who are blithely (or willfully) ignorant of all the bad in the world, usually by acting as the local Debbieth Downer. Sometimes he can go overboard when it comes to pointing out the bad in a situation, taking his interjections from negative to morbid or cruel. He does recognize, largely due to T'of's influence, that simply telling a person what can go wrong not only doesn't help, but can often make things worse by adding to their anxiety or a million other things. This is why Makhmilith developed a habit of lying: to protect people (and dragons) he deems too soft to handle the truth. He tends to do this in the most broody, dramatic way possible.
Makhmilith thinks of himself as a loner, but secretly he finds a sort of comfort in being part of a crowd (though he imagines himself as a dragon apart). Whenever there are difficulties during wing practice, it's usually because Makhmilith is doing his loner thing, not because T'of disagrees with the wingleader's course of action. Makhmilith is deeply suspicious of authority figures and keeps trying to convince T'of that they should strike out on their own, where they can do more good, but T'of won't go along with it. Instead, Makhmilith likes to imagine complicated scenarios where it turns out the Weyr's leadership is corrupt and he (and T'of) literally swoop in and save the day by foiling the plots in a grand reveal. He might actually think of his human as something of a sidekick sometimes, though he'd deny it if asked, insisting that first of all he's not a hero so he couldn't possibly have a sidekick.
With luck and careful guidance from T'of, Makhmilith will probably age into a valuable, useful part of the Weyr, because his penchant for conspiracy has made him pretty good at forming connections in his head, and even though he instinctively distrusts authority figures, he's otherwise a decent judge of character. Of course, he does currently think that everyone is naive (compared to him), unless they're part of the System, but T'of is working on that. Being a searchrider has actually been very helpful to him in that respect, as being introduced to so many people has given him the opportunity to realize that the average person is not a clueless dupe, as Makhmilith seems to believe. The fact that he's inclined to be suspicious means that he is very thorough in selecting candidates, but he also tends to favor candidates with rebellious streaks, which T'of encourages, since it means working to change the System from within rather than going rogue.
As a side note, for all that Makhmilith is scrupulous about eating well and remaining fit, he has almost no regard for his own physical safety. Sometimes his claws and his wings foul up because he's attempted something too complicated, or he's pushed himself too hard. He frequently over-exercises outside of practice unless T'of forces him to stop, and works on risky, dangerous stunts that he will almost certainly never need to perform. This is how he's racked up an impressive tally of injuries for a dragon of two turns, and earned T'of several reprimands for failing to take proper care of his dragon. It's an on-going argument between the pair, about how much is too much.
Name: Eridan Age: 7 turns (born 3569.12.1) Sex: male Sexual Orientation: n/a, but probably bi when he grows up Craft: n/a Rank: weyrbrat Location: Western Weyr, previously Rivercrest Physical Description: About average height for a child his age, he's on the plump side from being adored (and overfed) by his grandparents for the past several turns. He's probably going to stay that way for most of his life because he eats when he's unhappy and he finds a lot to be unhappy about. He'll grow up to be average in height, with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He'll also have horrendous acne as a teenager. Positive Traits: creative; outgoing; focused Negative Traits: unforgiving; melodramatic; self-pitying; dislikes dragons Detailed Personality:
This youngster will exaggerate to ridiculous lengths to get attention and sympathy. So, obviously, Eri likes to tell people he's had a hard life. As in, he really likes to tell people that. He wants people to feel sorry for him: abandoned by his father (who later tried to kidnap him), uprooted from his loving home with his grandparents by his mother, then abandoned by his mother when she Impressed a dragon at High Reaches Weyr and left in the care of his incompetent uncle (who Eri's certain wishes he didn't have to look after him). Woe is Eri!
Eridan is very much inclined to feeling sorry for himself and shifting the blame to others (or just circumstances, if there are no actual people who can be blamed), and he'll do so in the most dramatic way possible. He throws epic tantrums, has the focus to sulk for days at a time, and is always grievously wounded whenever he's injured, and illness always brings him right up to death's door. He'll tell people all about it at great length, with much embellishment and little regard for the facts. Fortunately, he has a fertile imagination which supplies him with endless ways of tweaking events to better suit his preferred narrative.
Obviously, Eri likes to be the center of attention, and that means that he's become very good at seeking out new audiences. He is quick to attempt to befriend new people, though his manner might be off-putting, as his preferred method of making friends is to make people feel sorry for him and spend time with him because of that. Hopefully he'll learn more effective strategies as he gets older. People who scorn him are reframed in his mind as nemeses who actively dislike him. The same for people who disappoint him or slight him in some way. Unfortunately, his focus allows him to hold grudges for a long time.
His focus is not always a bad thing, though. In fact, usually it's one of his best traits: he's able to listen with intensity and can learn rapidly because of that focus. He is able to keep to assigned tasks and see them through without requiring constant prodding and reminders. He is able to set goals and work toward them (even though right now his plans tend toward the absurd rather than the practical). This is not a kid who is easily distracted.
And then there's the dragon thing. At the moment, Eri associates all the bad things that have happened to him with dragons. He was taken from his home on a dragon. He was so afraid going between for the first time that he wet himself while still on the dragon's back. His mother left him because she Impressed a dragon. Nothing good comes from dragons. He doesn't want to meet any more dragons, or ride dragons, or talk to dragons or anything. He might grow out of this, he might not. It will depend on how things go for him.
History:
Eridan's father walked out on his mother a month before he was born and didn't come back for two turns. Then, when he did come back, he dedicated himself to making Eri's mother's life wretched. For reasons of practicality and security, Eridan and his mother lived with his grandparents for what little he can remember of his (earlier) childhood. He liked living with his grandparents. They were very forgiving, very permissive, and very free with the sweets. His mother wasn't around as much, since she worked outside the home, but she sometimes brought him fancy buttons or colorful fabrics from work to amuse himself with, and he never doubted that everyone in his household loved him.
When things got much worse, with his father coming around and making threats and finally attempting to kidnap him, Eri's uncle R'bin, a brownrider at Western Weyr, came and took Eri and his mother away to live with him at the Weyr. The trip was terrifying and somewhat traumatic for Eri, and although he settled into the creche and Weyr life fairly quickly, he remained afraid to travel by dragon, or even to get too close to them. Fortunately, he and his mum moved out of his uncle's weyr pretty quickly, so he wouldn't have to spend too much time around Huarangith, R'bin's dragon.
Things were definitely improving for Eri after that: he was making friends in the creche, learning his way around the Weyr, and finding that his mother spent much more time with him than ever before. And then, came the double hatching at High Reaches Weyr. His mother and uncle went without him (just because he happened to be sleeping over at a friend's weyr and it was two in the morning!) and while they were there his mother Impressed a green hatchling and never came back. Eri is very upset about this and would quickly come to associate dragons with all the bad things that have ever happened to him, no matter how unreasonable it is for him to do so.
Now he's living with his uncle again and they're both adjusting to that. Or trying to, at any rate.
Name: Csinda Age: 29 (3549.02.28 ) Sex: female Sexual Orientation: bisexual Weyr: Western Weyr Rider Rank: wingrider Previous Rank/Craft: N/a Physical Description: Csinda's height is not conspicuous, but after a lifetime in the Weyr her physique more closely resembles that of a well-muscled fourteen-turn-old boy than a nearly-thirty-turn-old woman. She is badly scarred by thread and has a pronounced limp on the ground as a result of a deep slash she received in an aerial collision during her first threadfall. Since it doesn't hinder her riding ability, she doesn't mind it much, and chooses instead to use it as an excuse to take indulgently long soaks in the baths. She keeps her dark hair less than half an inch long and her dark eyes seem to be narrowed in a perpetual squint against the suns, which gives her frequent smiles extra brilliance. Positive Traits: open-minded; brave; optimistic Negative Traits: bellicose; impetuous; alcoholic Detailed Personality:
Csinda is not fearless, but it would be hard to discern what sorts of things frighten her when you consider that she'll brave thread and public censure with the same determination. That's probably a good thing, considering she's a dragonrider with a mouth on her, and likely to see plenty of both over the course of her life. She will face any danger and run any risk, confident that things will work out in some way, even if it means that future-Csinda will have some difficulties.
Frankly, she doesn't give much thought to future-Csinda most of the time. Not when she gets drunk and has to go to morning workouts and drills hungover. Not when she gets drunk and does her best to goad people into brawls. Not when she gets drunk and takes on idiotic bets. Basically, not when she gets drunk, which is a more frequent occurrence than it should be. However, since Tijuth enjoys the second-hand buzz and lassitude that comes from Csinda's drunkenness, the dragon has never made any attempt to curb her rider's drinking.
Even sober, Csinda has always liked a fight, but has never been one to bear a grudge. She's happy to share a drink with someone with whom she was trading blows minutes before, and will truly consider the matter over and done with. Her open-mind makes it easy for her to imagine others' points of view, and easy to get over disagreements and disappointments. People who hold grudges after a fight - especially a physical one - baffle her. She loves the days when her wing holds martial drills and combat training.
History:
Born to a pair of lower caverns workers in Western and raised in the creche, Csinda had a typical childhood, though she definitely got into more fights than the average child, many of which were ill-considered. On the other hand, she somehow managed to avoid making too many enemies, as the fights she got into were more like out-of-hand wrestling matches or mock-battles than attempts to hurt or humiliate anyone. She went the entire turn before she was deemed old enough to be a candidate on her best behavior, and all the turns of her candidacy keeping out of fights and acting with a level of care and consideration which nearly drove her to distraction. It was a good thing she Impressed Tijuth when she did, because she was nearly ready to burst with the effort of containing herself all the time.
Tijuth was slow to Impress, returning again and again to examine a quartet of candidates until the pressure became too much for her and she looked away in distress. Then her anxious yellow gaze fell on Csinda and she knew that she hadn't been able to choose between the other four because none of them were Csinda.
They had a rough time as weyrlings and spent their first half-turn on a wing on semi-probation. Not so much because of Csinda's reckless behavior, but because it was hard even for their instructors to gauge how well they (well, Tijuth) truly understood the material, and how ready they were to be on a wing. Eventually they proved themselves and were taken off probation and the routine of training and drilling was fine for them.
When thread began to fall for real, things were less fine. Tijuth was not mentally prepared, despite her genetic urge to destroy thread, and her panic got both of them injured when she emerged from between and collided with another dragon and their mutual flailing drew enough blood that Tijuth was grounded, partly in punishment and partly because she'd absolutely taken the worst of it in their accidental tangle. The next time they flew, Tijuth's refusal to go between in order to avoid a potential recurrence of the last time meant they both got badly scored and spent yet another long stretch recovering. It was at that point that Csinda began to turn to alcohol for muscle relaxant and pain relief. Csinda started drinking long before that, but only socially.
Csinda's going to need to deal with her drinking problem, but right now she doesn't see it as a problem. She will probably not take well to being told that it is a problem in the future, either, but it's absolutely something I want to see play out for her.
Name: Tijuth (taken from the Yoruba word for "shy," tiju) Age: 17 turns Clutch: Veniath x Zehavath (3560.07.11) Color: green Size: 48' (24’) Physical Description: It is neither her size nor her conformation that make her stand out, but her extensive scarring due to a pair of unfortunate events during the earliest threadfalls wherein she was accidentally clawed when she messed up formation to avoid a clump of thread and emerged from between right next to another dragon and their wings got tangled. In the first threadfall after her recovery she was so afraid of repeating her mistake that she refused to go between at all and both she and her rider ended up severely scored. Positive Traits: Negative Traits: Detailed Personality:
Afraid to put herself forward in most situations, Tijuth is easily overlooked, which is fine by her. If no one notices her, no one will notice when she messes up. Which she absolutely will, because Tijuth's anxiety about making mistakes often causes her fears to become self-fulfilling prophecies. This makes her come across as fairly incompetent - another one of her fears - and forms a vicious cycle.
Tijuth is a very, very focused dragon. Focused to the point of fixation. She will agonize over decisions, constantly second-, third-, and seventy sixth-guessing herself until the moment has long passed or she simply throws caution to the wind and acts. When she does this, it's as if she hadn't just spent an age considering every possibility and angle of a situation, and instead threw herself into fortune's claws, certain that whatever decision she made would be the wrong one anyway, so it's best left to chance.
The frustrating part of all this, at least for those who know Tijuth and care about her, is that the green is neither careless nor incompetent. She knows all of the regulations, all of the best practices, and everything else she ought to know, but her self-doubt cripples her when it comes to demonstrating her mastery. If she wasn't so very self-effacing, Tijuth might make a fine instructor, but her tendency to fixate to the exclusion of all else makes that an impossibility.
It isn't all nerves and insecurity in Tijuth's head, however. The green, though very quiet around just about everyone, has a wide streak of sarcasm and a gift for seeing the humor in situations not involving her own errors. She can actually find humor in her own peccadilloes, too, but it takes time for her to reach the point where such things become sources of entertainment rather than embarrassment. At any rate, anyone who happens to overhear the comments she can't quite keep to herself will find themselves in stitches.
Name: Noska Age: 24 (3553.06.13) Sex: female Sexual Orientation: bisexual Weyr: High Reaches Weyr Rider Rank: wingrider Previous Rank/Craft: holder Physical Description: Her long brown hair is really Noska's crowing glory. She spends an inordinate amount of time caring for it and styling it. Not that she ignores the rest of her appearance. Even though she's lost the pale luminescence which had marked her early in her candidacy courtesy of all the time spent outdoors, Noska is careful to keep her skin clean and as blemish-free as possible, and always takes the time to apply kohl around her eyes, no matter what the plans for the day are (although it may be as simple as an outline of her eyelashes). Her eyes are a fairly unremarkable brown, her figure is about what one would expect from someone who was a candidate for three turns and then a weyrling, and her lips are full and red (because she deliberately bites them to make them appear so). It is important, she feels, to always look "on brand" (in other words, clean and good-looking enough to be mistaken for an authority figure, even if she doesn't have any actual authority). Positive Traits: brave; well-intentioned; idealistic Negative Traits: vain; show-off; lazy; gives a strong impression of phoniness Detailed Personality:
Noska's favorite stories growing up were those of strong weyrwomen who led their weyrs through tumultuous times, performed daring last-minute heroics, and died tragically in their lover(s)' arms. When the harper (not to mention her foster parents) tried to tell her that wasn't exactly how things usually went, and that the best weyrwomen tended to be those who prevented tumultuous times in the first place with good planning and sensible leadership she didn't want to hear it.
She still doesn't want to hear it. Dragonriders are heroes in Noska's mind. Always have been, always will be, and for as long as she can remember, Noska has wanted to be one. She wants to be immortalized in song alongside weyrwomen like Moreta and Lessa. That is basically the most important thing about her. That, and her fervent belief that she can be, if she simply patterns her life after theirs.
Noska actually believes that if she looks the part convincingly enough, everything else will fall into place. To that end, she takes great care with her appearance (because heroes are always attractive) and tries her best to embody the traits she values in a leader, like courage, optimism, generosity, and goodness.
As a teenager this meant she actually tended to speak in excessively florid language, like she'd walked right out of a tapestry or ballad, but after she was Searched the candidatemaster took her aside and told her to cut it out, it was weird and would not help her chances to Impress a dragon. She still tends to speak in what are basically quotable soundbites, which makes actually conversing with her feel a little stilted, but she's really toned it down a great deal in the last two turns.
Overall, it's not a bad strategy, except for the fact that Noska really doesn't like hard work, and really wants people to admire her. So when she's not instantly good at something, she tends to avoid doing it and when she is instantly good at something, she does it a lot. Preferably with an audience. The same goes for things she knows. If she doesn't know something, it's not important, but if she does know something, her hand will be waving in the air so the teacher will call on her and she will positively expound on the topic, no matter how far off-topic she may end up, or who she may annoy by butting into a conversation.
It is worth noting that Noska has never managed to internalize that it is possible to be brave while also being afraid, as long as you do the thing that scares you anyway. She's very good at doing things that scare her, but she believes the fact that she's afraid means she isn't brave. She does not think of herself as brave, and is very touchy about perceived implications that she is not brave or has not acted with courage.
History:
Noska was a fosterling who bonded happily with her foster parents and siblings, but especially with the harper, who told the best stories, a thing she came to appreciate profoundly after a prolonged illness in her eleventh turn which kept her indoors for the better part of a turn, during which she was bored out of her skull with the mending and smallwork permitted to her, and had no other real responsibilities except to learn her lessons. It was during this period that she really became enamored of the idea of actually becoming a hero, instead of just listening to songs and stories about them.
After that, she started doing the hero thing, where she did her best to act like the leading lady in a ballad. By the time she was Searched at fifteen, that persona had more or less become the way she really thought of herself, but with the physical awkwardness that accompanied the onset of puberty (Noska was a late bloomer), she had begun to go overboard with it, using antiquated speech patterns that possibly no one had ever used and unnecessarily grandiose vocabulary. Being Search both reinforced the idea in her head that by seeming like a hero, she would become a hero, and also gave her an entirely new situation to adapt to.
She was absolutely the weird girl in her candidate class for nearly a turn, largely because she was such a dragonrider fangirl when she first arrived that it was just cringeworthy and awful for people to be around her for too long (unless they were dragonfolk who liked to be fawned over or similarly adoring weyrfolk). Fortunately, she outgrew that stage, along with the awkwardness of new puberty, and as she got comfortable in her own skin again and turned out to be moderately attractive, people either found it easier to put up with her or she felt she didn't have to try quite so hard to impress people. Either way, she did actually find a way to get along with folks, and the only real complaints she had about her life were that there were entirely too many unexciting things like work and lessons to do, and it was taking an awfully long time for her gold to find her.
She was twenty one when she finally Impressed, and to be perfectly honest, Impressing a green was a bit of a bump in her plans, as Noska had always seen herself in the role of a goldrider, but it took no time at all for Feslegenth to show her that they wanted the same things, and Noska quickly became convinced that they would accomplish those great things together. They'd just have to do them at Western Weyr!
Other:
Although she was searched by High Reaches, Noska and Feslegenth intend to request a transfer to Western Weyr at some point in the future since they both imagine that there will be more opportunity for a green pair to advance there than at High Reaches. However, they first plan to be named wingseconds and then maybe even wingleaders. Obviously those are just their IC hopes. Also, both dragon and rider cannot be convinced that there isn't a magical turning point at which they will stop having to conform to a daily routine and be able to simply exist without drills or chores or anything mundane. They're in for a rude awakening. Also, this pair really isn't interested in overthrowing the hierarchy or anything like that. They aren't the sort to talk back or get into fights. They just want to make a positive difference in the world in a way that will make them famous forever without requiring a great deal of effort or personal sacrifice.
Name: Feslengenth (Tulsi tea is taken from the tulsi plant, which is also known as "holy basil." The name Feslegenth comes from fesleğen, the Turkish word for "basil." ) Age: 3 turns Clutch: Susurinth x Cordrath (3574.04.07) Egg: unremarkable Color: green Size: 54' (27') Physical Description: On the larger end of the green scale and powerfully built, Feslegenth has more endurance than the average green, but is less maneuverable. As a weyrling she would overeat in the hopes that it would have an effect on her ultimate size as an adult, but as she's come into her last growth spurt she's going to have to cut that out, or else she'll get fat.
Positive Traits: confident; social; idealistic Negative Traits: preachy; meddlesome; easily influenced by good looks Detailed Personality:
Feslengenth is confident that she is destined for greatness. The fact that her hide is green is immaterial. She knows that she is magnificence itself, and is unshakable in her belief, after all, she is large, lovely, and bonded to the best person on Pern. She very much sees herself as a sort of ambassador for chromatic dragons, especially greens. Greens are great. She would have a sash made with that slogan embroidered on it and wear it everywhere if that was a thing people did on Pern. She would hand out buttons saying the same, and whenever she encounters people who believe differently, she treats it as a teaching moment, gleefully detailing all the wonderful things green dragons can do and have done and might do if given the opportunity. When she gets on her soapbox, it can be more than a little obnoxious, but her heart's in the right place.
Apart from her chromatic advocacy, Feslengenth is genuinely a kind and caring dragon who will go out of her way to check in on injured wingmates and likes to try to solve others' interpersonal problems by acting as a mediator. She will do this without being asked, but she loves to be asked. She loves to be asked for advice, as well, although she's happy to offer that for free, too. Honestly, Feslengenth is more than a bit of a busybody, and really enjoys having a cause to advance, but aside from her rider's goals and her greens are great campaign, she doesn't have a lot of dedication when it comes to things like causes (or grudges - she's very hard to make an enemy of) and tends to give up when things get too hard.
What she loves most, though is fighting Thread. Thread is the Enemy. She knows it is her purpose to destroy it, and she delights in it. Her willingness to stand up to authority is borne out in her fearlessness facing actually danger. Or, it would be if she didn't have a very vulnerable human being who she loves more than life itself strapped to her back. The fact that she shares Noska's desire to do good deeds and act heroically doesn't mean she doesn't fear for her much more helpless rider's safety when confronted with actual danger, which is something they will have to find some way to cope with. Once they get more comfortable, Feslengenth and Noska will be a great team, if not necessarily great team players because of their shared tendency to showboat.
It must be said that Feslengenth is not a paragon of perfection and open-minded wisdom. She is incredibly susceptible to the fallacy that if a person is good-looking they must also be a good person. Appearances matter to her not just because she is aware that she represents all green dragonhood, but because she simply likes to look nice and to be surrounded by nice-looking things.
Feslegenth prefers to be pursued by bronzes when she rises, and so is always happiest when her flights coincide with gold flights, which bring all the bronzes to the yard. She has a tendency to belch her flames, rather than breathe them out on a controlled exhale if no one in authority is watching because she believes that she can store up heat and range by doing so. There is no evidence to suggest she is correct in this belief.
Acquired:NPC Tea Personality and Character Contest Colorist: Uta Inspiration: Tulsi tea is used in Indian culture as a religious, spiritual, and healing herb. Dried tulsi leaves can be steeped to create an invigorating herbal tea. It is often described in Hindu texts with words like "holy," "divine," "god," and "queen."
One legend about tulsi marks the plant as the earthly manifestation of Lakshmith, the goddess of wealth and principle consort to the Hindu god Vishnu, whose other two wives cursed her to be born on earth as a plant. Another legend relates tulsi to the Samudra Manthana, the churning of the cosmic ocean by the gods and demons during battle, after which the gods' physician, Dhanavantari, offered the elixir of immortality, in thanks for which the god Vishnu shed happy tears, the first of which fell into the elixir and sprouted the tulsi plant. A third legend places the tulsi as a threshold between heaven and earth, with the creator god Brahma residing in its branches while other deities dwell in its stem leaves, the Ganges River and Hindu pilgramage centers residing through its roots, and the Hindu scriptures in the upper part of its branches. Why Me?
Feslengenth and Noska share a desire for greatness and ideal world that they really, really want to either stumble upon or create. It isn’t only the fact that they both have an ideal world in mind, but the fact that their ideal worlds are very, very similar places. The fact that Feslengenth is a chromatic dragon rather than a metallic opened Noska’s eyes to the idea that everything doesn’t have to fit the prescribed narrative and will continue to do so, while Noska’s ambition to be remembered on a global, historic scale will encourage Feslengenth to think on a grand scale when she goes about advocating for change.
Feslengenth saw in Noska an earnest, good-willed young woman with lofty aspirations and a great capacity to love. Someone who would be a partner to the green in achieving her own dreams, but also a friend to relax with. She was also, to be completely honest, more than a little impressed by how put-together Noska managed to look at the hatching, and how attractive she was (for a pink-skinned quadruped).
It’s possible that in Noska Feslengenth also subconsciously chose a rider who would not push her too far beyond her comfort zone. She and Noska share an aversion to hard work or struggling, and will usually agree to abandon something they’re not succeeding at before they have to face the possibility of failing at it.
Theme Song:”A Million Dreams” by P!nk from The Greatest Showman: Reimagined
Name: T'nori (formerly Tonori) Age: 26 (3551.06.18 ) Sex: male Sexual Orientation: bisexual Craft: N/A Rank: Weyrling Location: High Reaches Weyr Physical Description: Tall and muscular, Tonori has the physical wherewithal to put a stop to most fights before they get started. After training for most of his adolescence to become a guard, he has the martial knowledge to keep any fights he does get into relatively short. He keeps his dark hair cropped close to his skull for simplicity's sake and for that same reason prefers to wear simple dress or his uniform most of the time. He used to wear a small hoop earring, but that was torn out during a practice bout when he was 18 and once his ear healed he never got back to wearing it, or any other piece of jewelry. His nose is not so much crooked as diverted - instead of going straight down the middle of his face, it goes down the middle-ish of his face at about 10 degrees to the right of center. Obviously he snores. His room- and bedmates suffer. Positive Traits: self-possessed; uncomplicated; discreet Negative Traits: poor communicator; uncurious; unimaginative Detailed Personality:
Tonori cannot easily be ruffled, which makes him well-suited to his chosen profession. Someone comes running up covered in soot and announces there's a fire in the kitchen? Well, that can be dealt with, no panic required. Same for blood and bandits. Same for thieves, mistresses, and any number of other unusual or alarming situations which might arise in a guard's work. He prefers to work from a rulebook or set of procedures, since improvisation is not his strong suit, but he's perfectly comfortable stepping into a position of authority and directing others according to what he feels is closest to the established best practice.
Another part of what makes Tonori such a good guard is that he never needs to know more than he is told about a situation, and almost never asks questions except to clarify his own understanding of what is expected of him. He absolutely never questions orders, and doesn't particularly appreciate when other do, either. It is his belief that if he was supposed to know something, he would have been told. If he is given directions that are spare on details, he will simply shrug and work with what he does know. There are, after all, protocols in place to handle most situations. Anyone who requests more information after a superior has stopped talking in a briefing is wasting time. He'll let them know later.
Because he absolutely will let people know when they are not performing up to code, or when they seem to be slacking off. He's pretty outspoken in that respect (and, really, only in that respect) and his usual manner of communication is blunt, with little consideration for how his words might be interpreted. To be fair, there's not usually a lot of room for interpretation: he's straightforward to the point of rudeness, and succinct, though never foul-mouthed. The only area in which you'll see Tonori deviate from this is if he disagrees with someone or has been told to keep his mouth shut on a subject, in which case he becomes stone-faced with a vocabulary consisting of the words "sir" or "ma'am" with various inflections ranging from courteous to threatening.
Despite his lack of communicative facility, his disinclination to ask for or provide more information than necessary has given him a reputation for discretion and integrity. He will keep a secret unto death if he is told it is a secret. Even minor ones. He values his word, and takes pride in being of use and providing excellent service once he has given it. He will compromise his personal integrity for the sake of this service, lying at the direction of or for the well being of his employer, but he is not a convincing or imaginative liar, and prefers simply to say that he "couldn't say, ma'am." He does not see this as a violation of his honor or integrity, because he considers that the oath of service he took supersedes anything else he might say or do as an individual. So far that's been working for him because no employer has ever asked him to do anything morally reprehensible.
Some people might think this is because his moral compass just isn't especially well-attuned, which is why he prefers to be employed rather than at leisure, with direction coming from the will and desire of his employer, but they would be mistaken. It can be hard to tell with him, since he's got a fairly inscrutable face and doesn't seem to get flustered or brood over hard things. In point of fact, he has a pretty keen sense of right and wrong, but he believes not as intelligent as everyone else, and that it's better for everyone involved if he goes with the flow instead of putting up a fuss about things he doesn't agree with or enjoy.
He does enjoy things, though. His life isn't just a grey haze of "meh." He genuinely enjoys exercise and martial training, and he likes games of chance and physical competitions. He also likes to relax with friends and listen to them tell stories and jokes, even though he doesn't speak up very often in these gatherings. He likes children, too, although he tends to intimidate them with his size, and singing. He is actually a pretty good singer, though nowhere near harper quality. He rumbles a solid bass and can hold his own with complicated rhythms both vocally and while dancing (another activity he really enjoys).
History:
The fourth of six children born to a family of drudges, Tonori quickly outstripped his elder siblings in height, and weight, and was clumsy with it for much of his childhood. Thus, he spent much of his childhood being smacked and called a clumsy oaf or moron or idiot by everyone in his family, who never considered that calling somebody stupid when what they really meant was they had poor proprioception for a body that seemed to grow faster than Thread burrowed. Even after he learned to be more careful with his elbows and to stop bumping his head on low door frames, the habit of calling him names that meant unintelligent persisted among his family. He took their words to heart, and eventually decided that they were probably right, and he probably wasn't as smart as they were, but he was big and strong.
His mother wanted him to put his size to use as a mine worker, and Tonori went along with it once he was big enough to pass for working age, despite being about nine. None of his siblings, older or younger, were moving out and they needed the income. He didn't mind the work especially. The dark didn't bother him, and while having to hunch in the tunnels was uncomfortable, he could tell he was being useful both underground and at home, and he liked that. He also got along well with his fellow mine workers, who had never heard his family call him a dimglow, and treated him like anyone else, since he isn't actually any less intelligent than average, despite his personal conviction that he must be.
Even things at home improved once he started earning wages, because Tonori was suddenly contributing more than any two of his siblings to the household, so he was fairly content as a mine worker, until word somehow reached the wrong ears that he was underage for the sort of work he had been doing, and so he had to be let go, even though he'd been a good worker and wanted to keep on working. As a kindness, the foreman for his section offered to put in a good word for him at the crafthall, but this offer he refused, claiming that he didn't have the brains for that sort of thing. He was also told that when he was old enough to work the mines, they'd be glad to hire him back, and he was much more willing to accept that.
His family was not. When he went home his mother beat him. Not for the first time, but absolutely for the last. He waited until most of his siblings were asleep, and then he slipped away with no real plan except to not be home any longer. It would have been a long four turns until he was allowed to return to work, and he couldn't imagine what life would be like just sitting around, being scolded for things he couldn't help, like how much he ate. It was the only time he ever let himself run away from something unpleasant, but since it worked out, he eventually decided it had been the right thing to do. Thread had not yet returned, and so he figured he was big enough to handle himself against most people. At twelve turns he was already over six feet tall and powerfully built from hard labor, and he'd learned that most people did not want to start trouble with him, for fear he'd hurt them, even though at the time he had never deliberately hurt anyone.
In the nature of boys seeking their fortunes everywhere, Tonori headed toward the largest hold he knew of, Crom Hold, and had the good fortune to arrive while the lord holder's guard was recruiting. The man he spoke to about signing up probably knew he was too young for the job, but most likely figured he would wash out in training anyway, and let him make his mark. (He was illiterate at the time, although the Weyr has been working on fixing that deficiency.) After all, he was a strapping young lad with good muscles on him, decent manners, and the sort of demeanor that looks pretty damn scary if he just holds still and looms silently. In other words, a pretty good candidate for being a guard, if he made it through training.
He did not wash out in training, and actually took to the martial aspects of it like a dolphin to water. Even more surprisingly, he had an astonishingly high threshold for boredom. Told to do a repetitive task for hours at a time, he simply did it and didn't even complain about it afterward. Told to stand guard in an empty hallway for an entire shift, he did it, again without complaint, or even seeming to mind. He figured that if he'd been told to do a thing, it was something needed doing, and so there was little use in complaining about being the one assigned to do it.
For the first several turns, his easygoing attitude got him a lot of scut work, but when other guards inevitably got in trouble and were assigned those sorts of tasks as punishment, Tonori was told to take over their more desirable posts. At least until they had served their time. However, the fact that he was just as good at these jobs as he was at the ones he usually performed did not completely escape his superiors' notice, and he was eventually taken off the scut roster and given more regular guard work. His confidence in himself grew in proportion to the confidence his superiors showed in him, and he continued to excel in his work.
In truth, he might have been on the road to someday achieving a low officer's rank when Thread returned and threw everything awry. A dragon from High Reaches Weyr came on Search and would have taken him, but when he joined the guard he had claimed to be eighteen, six years older than he actually was, and that although he was truly twenty one turns old, by all official records he was twenty seven, and too old for candidacy. The Searchrider's dragon had told her that he was not that old, but she needed him to say for himself that he was not too old in order to be allowed to take him with her. Tonori was stubborn about holding to his falsehood, until finally she told him that if he was really twenty seven he was too old, but if he was younger than that, she could bring him with her.
It was at this point that one of his companions, the man who had signed him up, in fact, volunteered that he was actually twenty three (he was guessing), and had enlisted in the guard under false pretenses, and could not actually say so with a superior present. It was enough, even though it was incorrect, and Tonori, assuming it was all right to tell the truth based on his superior officer's behavior, confessed that he was actually twenty one. His recruiter nearly swallowed his mustache in surprise and the dragonrider shrugged and set about figuring out how someone his size was going to fit on her relatively tiny green.
Tonori liked the Weyr, and liked being a candidate, even though the mandatory reading lessons were hard and awful. It was a place with enough structure and tradition that he never had to wonder whether there was a right set of actions to take in any situation. He knew without a doubt there was, even if he didn't know what those actions were, himself. He was good at the physical aspects of candidacy, and not as bad at the mental ones as he thought he would be. (Except reading. Reading is a chore.)
Name: R'bin (formerly Rosbin)
Name: Reya
Name: T'of (formerly Tofir)
History:
Name: Csinda
Name: Noska
