Post by Rouxy on Jul 28, 2010 11:29:18 GMT -5
Character:
Name: Naoko
Age: 31
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Occupation: Dragonless Astronomer and Telekinetic instructor
Description: Of average height, Naoko stands somewhere around 5’6”. Her body is lithe and thin, giving her a fluid flexibility and ease of movement that came natural to her even as a child. After the loss of her green, Lavith, she took to first physical and then mental pursuits to keep herself occupied, and the Turns of aerobics and tumbling taken on the side of her studies at Honshu have kept her limber and quick. Her skin has a sun darkened layer over her already pale pigmentation, and it gives her an overall olive complexion. She used to wear her hair short -and as if to emphasize on this small means of forgetting- she keeps it long and layered now, feathering somewhere between shoulders and midback. Mostly black in color, some brown highlights show precedence, and a few silver strands have shown up at her temples despite her age. She wears it down, and occasionally pieces will fall forward to obscure her face. She always brushes them back though almost immediately, as she dislikes having anything that close to her eyes. She has a few small thread burn scars, as all riders do, but she was lucky enough to avoid most.
Her face is a smallish oval shape, with arched brows and dark eyes that hold a slight slant to them. Her nose is small and pert, while her lips and mouth seem inviting with a small smile. Always around her neck is a claw no more than an inch in length, clasped in silver, decorated with a tiny emerald and threaded on a silver chain -one of Lavith’s first baby claws kept and then crafted into an appropriate memorial piece by Naoko’s family.
Her clothing is simple and typical of a Weyr. Tunics over pants belted at the waist in colors that typically don’t match. She’s not picky about her clothing, and comfort is the top priority, with ease of movement coming in close second. Sandals that strap up to her calf are her footwear of choice, though it’s not unheard of to see her barefoot. Boots make her uncomfortable, but she’ll wear them if asked. She typically walks with an even stride, not hurrying, but never wandering unless she has her nose in a book -which happens more often than she’d care to admit, and she’s gotten quite good at avoiding traffic while never taking her eyes from the page she’s focused on.
Personality: If nothing else can be said about Naoko, she’s a believer. Not to say that she’s gullible, but that she’s got an amazing capability to hope. If there’s something wrong, of course it can be fixed! Dragons can all learn, it’s just a matter of time! It was this about her that allowed her to continue living when her beloved green died. Of course, it was a difficult blow to her psyche, and she may never fully recover, but she’s come a long way from the wreck of a rider that lay abed for a full month after the accident. She’s friendly for the most part, but can sometimes get a dazed look when she thinks back on something that happened when Lavith was alive. She doesn’t think back often, but certain things will set her off -particularly hatchings. She avoids them if at all possible, and is all the happier for it.
Her studies, started to try and keep her mind focused, have proven to be more than just a distraction for her. Naoko has found a passion for learning and to a lesser degree, teaching. She might have eventually been a Weyrling Master if things had gone differently. As it is, her position at Honshu gave her both happiness and a reason to keep on keeping. She can pass a whole day researching some obscure piece of information or the specific movements of a constellation. Despite all that’s happened, she still finds pleasure in researching dragons, and their capabilities, widening her research to include the other draconic cousins. She’s particularly curious about whether whers have the same abilities as their larger counterparts, seeing as they cannot fly.
When around people, Naoko’s the quiet type, but she’s not shy. She just rarely finds opportunity to be drawn into a conversation. She’ll talk readily enough on subjects she’s interested in, but she’s abysmal at small talk, and first meetings seem to make her more awkward than usual. People she knows will find it much easier to talk to her, even if it’s only the second meeting. She enjoys the company of people in general, and finds it difficult to dislike someone. On this same note, she rarely holds grudges and it will take a lot to make her angry. Oh, she’ll get disgruntled and annoyed, particularly at herself, but angry? Very rare. When she does get annoyed, she’ll almost immediately find someplace secluded and hum the songs her mother used to sing to her.
Despite her past rider status, Naoko’s still interested in men. She’s been with women, female blueriders all who caught Lavith. Even though she didn’t particularly mind past the flight lust euphoria, she still found that her preferences lie with males. She’s not reclusive about finding lovers, but she wants to find her mate, and perhaps start a family. She always took a quick trip between after her flights, not wanting the burden of a child, but now she sees things differently. If she can find a solid man, she would be happy having his children and raising them within the Weyr.
History: Naoko was born in Southern Hold to Rusak and Jenna, the fourth child in a family of six kids. Her father, Rusak, was the secondary leader of a major Vintner Hall, one among a small council of five who held the power and Marks to give their families a good, easy life. His lovely wife, Jenna, was a harper. Taught at the Harper Hall in Fort, she was still only at Journeyman level, and her main talents included a lovely singing voice and skill with assorted stringed instruments. Guitar took first place in her preference and skill, and she sang each of her children to sleep every night.
Each of the children in their family was given equal opportunity to learn and grow in either of their parents’ crafts. Naoko’s two younger sisters each went the way of their mother, while two older siblings, one brother and one sister, followed their father’s craft. Naoko and her older sister Sena, third in the family and closest to Naoko in age, both flirted with each craft back and forth, unable to decide. The sisters learned a little of each craft, and gradually as they grew older, they each began to find their small successes. For Naoko, she developed a tongue for wines, and it amazed even her father how accurately she could discern where a wine had been made by the grape content. She inherited a decent voice from her mother, though it was nothing too terribly special, and she enjoyed the teaching ballads.
It was a stroke of fortune for both girls when a searchrider happened to swoop by and land in the Hall for the dual reason of giving the potentials a look over and carting off an order of Southern wine to the Weyr. His dragon singled out both girls and another pair from the Hall as potentials, and the flame was lit. A Rider! That event gave both girls the fire they lacked. Their dreams suddenly held flying dragons arcing across the skies. What with two children going into each craft, their parents were happy to see the girls finally excited about something after their listless years. At 15, Naoko stood on Southern Weyr’s sands for the first time, and walked away bonded to Lavith, while her sister impressed to a large light colored blue. The sisters took to their Weyrling lessons with gusto, but the unfortunate truth of the matter was that their dragons would eventually fly and chase each other, and no one wanted those consequences. So, after their dragons reached maturity, and before they were chosen for the Wings, Naoko transferred to Honshu Weyrhold.
Honshu was most in need of young dragons and riders for their training programs, and from the girl’s tinkerings in her library, she had found some interest in the Star Hall. This was the prefect opportunity for her to explore it further. Lavith took to the telekinetic training like a fish to water, and through the next eight years, she and Naoko were in the thick of it. Their teachers were very excited about the leaps and jumps in progress they made. Lavith had a talent for showing other dragons how to work their more subtle abilities, and the pair quickly joined the ranks of teachers because of it. Two more years passed at Honshu, happy years. They flew Thread when the expected threat reappeared, and the greenpair gathered their own sets of scars.
It was two years into the Pass that Lavith rose to mate at the same time as another green at Honshu. The two greens, despite the urgings of their riders, tore into each other in a frenzy. Tormented by the pain sent through their Flight heightened bond, Naoko passed out mid flight, only to wake up with an odd feeling of utter emptiness where a very familiar personality had once resided. Lavith was gone, along with the other green, smashed against a nearby cliff as they’d blindly tousled midair. The agony of loss was terrible for her, and it was months before she could function properly again. Lavith had mentioned some months before after a close call with a nasty patch of thread what she wanted from Naoko if the green were ever to perish and she had extracted a promise, as if she somehow knew what would happen. Keep living, mine, even if I am gone. I don’t want you to follow me until it’s your turn.
Naoko kept her promise, but it was several more months before she could live with a semblance of normality again. Honshu’s riders were very sympathetic, and the ex-rider was still just as good a teacher as she’d been before, after she picked up the pieces of herself. She returned to duty solely as a teacher for riders and dragons taking the telekinetic training, as well as picking up more personal training in astronomy. Her studies grew more diverse as she required more and more things to keep her focused on the here and now. She picked up tumbling and acrobatics from the performers who traveled around gathers, and archery from the handful of talent at Honshu. She rode runners, but never deigned to keep one herself despite the means to do so. While she sought new things to help her sleep at night, Naoko began to develop an interesting idea. The dragons were created to have their third gift, which was given to them by the first settlers from the firelizards which had no trace of telekinetic skill. The whers, however... was it possible they too had this skill? It was supposedly developed into them as well, despite their lack of flight as a means of expressing it. This intriguing notion had her wondering if it were indeed possible.
There was only a single wher at Honshu though, so she was hard pressed to find a way of experimenting while there. The idea grew as the years passed, and then word passed around that a new Weyr was open, and they had a Gold Wher who was on orders even to procreate! It created just the kind of opportunity Naoko had been hoping for to test her theory. She put in her request for transfer, and was soon packed up on the back of a blue for the trip, her first time a dragon-back since Lavith’s death.
Fun Facts: Naoko has an understanding of wines, and a good taste for them. She can generally pinpoint where any certain wine was made at within a few sips, usually from the grape content.
Her skill in archery is so, so, but she is very good at her tumbling and acrobatics, and she has a keen sense of balance.
Bonded Critter(s):
Type: Wher
Name: Naosk
Color: Blue
Age: 9 Months
Telekinetic Rating: 49
Bonuses/Minuses: (Base Roll 36) + (Blue +3) + (Training +10)
Specialization: Concentration
Breakdown
Strength: 22
Precision: 5
Endurance: 10
Concentration: 22 (12+10)
Description:
Personality:
Fun Facts:
Craftskills:
Craft: Starcraft
Level of Proficiency: Journeyman
Specialty: Telekinetic training
Weakness: Northern arrays
