Tree: Linden (or Basswood)
Gender: Female
Appearance: Build: Linden is tall and willowy, with slightly broad shoulders. All her limbs are longer than what would be considered normal on a human body. Her body is semi-human, but more flowing and less segmented than that of a human. Her limbs flow easily into her torso, there are no parts of her body that look harsh or drastic.
Head and Shoulders: Her cranium is the same shape as a human's. She has a deer like muzzle which melts into the frontal part of her face, and a pointed chin. She has pointed ears that swerve and swivel when Linden is listening for something specific, as a deer's would. Linden's ears extend horizontally from the side of her head and are parallel with the ground. A soft amount of dense, pale gold material grows from the inside of her ears, resembling fur, though it is actually the inner bark of the linden tree growing there. Her lips are thin to the point of nonexistence, and a dark gold. They are placed beneath her nose, near the flattened-off area of her muzzle. Her shoulders are rounded, with a design that resembles the bloom of a linden tree on her left shoulder. Her neck is exceptionally long, as well, with a length somewhere between a swan's neck and a fawn's neck in proportion to her body. Where her collarbone would be, a growth of dusty gray-gold bark juts out from underneath her skin.
Eyes: Her eyes are small and oval-shaped. Her irises are amber colored, with flecks and swirls of gold and green. She has no pupils, or white around her irises. Her irises take up the entirety of her eye. She has no eyebrows or eyelashes. Her eyelids are a paler color than the rest of her face, a light gold with green undertones. Her eyes are set wide apart in her face, on either side of the ridge that forms before her muzzle.
'Skin': Her skin is a pale golden color, that of a linden blossom. Her skin is soft and gives under the fingers, like that of a flower, and is a source of the haunting smell that molds itself to each person - it appeals to what each animal, nymph, or dryad, finds the most comforting. Linden's skin is, in fact, the same material as a linden blossom, though it has some key differences. Her skin may have greenish tinges and gold undertones near her elbows, knees, and chest bones, but they are not drastic and do not draw much attention. The variations in her skin work their way from the furthest point of her extremeties into her torso in swirling, S-shaped patterns. Usually, the variations will be green in the center, with golden browns and dusty golds around the outside of the pattern.
Hair: Linden has an immense amount of curling, tumbling flowers and leaves that make up what humans call 'hair.' Her hair reaches to her shoulders, and also emits the scent that her skin does. She has no hair on any other part of her body other than her head. Her hair changes with the seasons, only coming into bloom in the early spring. In the summer, the amount of leaves increase, giving her the appearance of having a tree growing from her head. In the fall, the leaves yellow and fall, and in the winter, she has no hair. During the winter, however, one can see that the crown of her head is a darker gold than the rest of her body, with dark green undertones. During the spring, a large amount of insects - especially bees! - can be found bustling about Linden's hair, because of it's delicious nectar. The honey made by bees who use the nectar of Linden's hair is exceptionally clear and almost without color.
Arms and Legs: Linden's limbs are exceptionally long. Her arms, when held out horizontally reach to twice the length of her torso. Her legs are two-and-a-quarter the length of her torso. From her knees downwards, her legs slowly change from the flower-like skin of her body into the dusty gray-gold bark of her tree, until they reach her hooves. Along the bark, S-shaped whorls can be traced. Her legs are hollow, as many linden trees often find their soft heartwood washed away after the years, and emit a delicate, musical sound, like that of a wood block. As her bark-legs are hollow, they are extremely delicate, and make it difficult for Linden to travel long distances. Thus, more often than not, she rides Skip when she needs to make long journeys. (This will of course only be applicable once Skip has grown into staghood.) From Linden's elbows on wards, the same dusty gray-gold bark grows, attached to her skin. However, unlike her legs, her arms never completely become bark. The bark grows on the outer side of her arms, the side that, when the arm is raised to shield oneself, is projected outwards. The bark moves from her elbow to the end of her little finger, but is hinged slightly near her wrist, to allow movement.
Hands and Feet: Linden's hands are delicate creations, her little fingers are made of bark, while the rest of her hands are made of the same flower-skin that covers the rest of her body. Her fingers are long, and have the ability to hook five times - as though she would have five knuckles. Linden has hooves instead of feet. They are hardened bark, with a small amount of quartz on the bottom to aid in the maintenance and upkeep of the hooves.
Torso: (The torso, for the sake of this description, is basically everything that should be covered by a one-piece bathing suit.) Linden's torso has an almost rectangular form, from her armpits to her hips, though she has a slight waist. She has no marks on her torso that you would normally find on a human, such as a belly button. Linden does have markings that resemble a white-tailed deer fawns' markings running from the contour of her right bosom down to her right mid-thigh. These markings stay on her right side, as the flower 'tattoo' remains on her left side. Speaking of bosoms, hers are slight, delicate curves that protrude in the proper place. They are not large and are not particularly sexual, as Linden has a rather boyish figure. Her hips are slightly curvy, though they are also rather boyish.
OMGISSHENEKKID!?: Err...yes? There's nothing much to hide, actually. But if Mu is uncomfortable drawing nekkid nymphs... She can wear a gauze-like scarf material that has the texture of a blossom, which wraps around her body tactfully. It gathers up near her shoulders, where it is clasped by a gray-gold material made of bark that wraps all the way around her upper arms. The same type of clasp can be found on her waist, giving the blossom-wrap shape. There are no clasps on her arms or legs because of the bark parts that come above the skin, and the blossom-wrap simply floats about there. Her collarbone is exposed, as well.
Adornments: Because Linden is a vain little thing that she is, she constantly picks up pretty stones, plants, and such, to compliment her appearance. Most notably, she keeps pale white quartz stones on the bottom of her hooves (she put them there - they didn't grow!) to make her hooves a little more durable. She also has different colored stones embedded in her collarbone, as her skin will break and mold around an object where her 'bone' is close to the skin. She may also put pretty stones in the whorls of her legs and arms, and braid grasses or flowers into her hair. However, she never keeps any of these adornments on for very long, as she gets bored of them quite easily. Even the rock under her hooves rotate with the seasons, or the month, or even the week or day! Granted, Linden is running out of ideas - not to mention materials. But she is ever vigilant in the upkeep of appearances and beauty. After all, no one wants to be comforted, or join with, an unattractive nymph.
Personality: From her tree's association with the Norse goddess Freya, Linden's personality begins to take form. She enjoys comforts, such as clean air, sunlight, and the easy life that is provided by the Great Spirit within Cantumwood - she would never think of leaving, simply because she prefers to have an easy life. Linden is a creature of desires and love, both sexual love and emotional love. She takes no one particularly close to her, except for her brother-guardian, Skip the fawn, and while Linden may have many lovers or admirers, she cares for none particularly (though that may change.
ninja .) Linden enjoys bringing comfort to other creatures, either by way of her presence or the scent she emits, but she doesn't understand the emotion. Linden is fiercely loyal to Skip, and the Great Spirit (though she has ulterior motives), but she remains aloof from other creatures, becoming a sort of general, vague, comforting presence with chilly undertones. Think of a trace of a scent that reminds you of something comforting, like Grandma's cookies, but the scent is partially ruined because you remember Grandma died two years back.
Job: Linden exists in order to maintain the scents of the blossoms within Cantumwood. Specifically, she maintains the scents of linden trees, and any other plant that emits a comforting smell. Linden also exists to make sure these flowers are pleasing to the eye, in color and texture.
Magic: Apart from emitting a haunting smell, linden trees were also sacred to the Norse goddess Freya (I think I'm repeating myself) who was the chief goddess of love, lust, and fertility. From this bit of mythology, I can assume that Linden would have the ability to ensnare any nymph she chooses, through her comforting-but-not-nice smell. However, this nymph must be weak-willed, or particularly open to such an attack, which makes it so she can only manipulate a nymph once, since they probably won't be up for it again, or never, if they are stubborn, comfortable with themselves, or strong of will. And even so, it's such a bother to manipulate people that Linden hardly ever uses this power. Also: This can only be achieved during the spring, a time normally associated with love and lust, because that is the only time that Linden's 'hair' is in bloom. Though her skin does emit some smell, it is not enough to captivate.
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Guardian Animal: Skip, the Fawn
Gender: Male
Personality: Skip is a sweet, caring, lovable, goofy little thing, who enjoys things that fawns without linden branches enjoy: frolicking, eating, sleeping. However, Skip is quite content with taking care of Linden, because he feels she needs it. Skip is very much like a young child, kitten, or puppy (to give you some relation) who will eat, play, sleep, all day. Skip is a simple creature who first charmed Linden with his playful, doting nature, and will surely charm others. When Skip was born, he landed on his left front hoof in a strange way, which made it difficult for him to walk correctly. He would limp, or 'skip' from place to place, instead of simply walking as other deer did. The other deer in his herd teased him incessantly, and dubbed him Skip. Though he eventually grew to walk as a normal deer would, he couldn't shake the nickname, poor kid.
Pictures!: Skip/Fawn
Linden
More linden Note: I don't particularly like this picture, because linden trees normally have heart-shaped leaves. However, I wanted to give you a close-up look at the blossoms.
