Name: Aliscia
Gender: Female
Age: 28
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual (by preference; bisexual by practice)
Rank: Greenrider/Wingrider
Appearance: A casual observer would probably label Aliscia as wholly unimpressive, and, really, they could scarcely be faulted for such a judgment. Tiny is this greenrider, small enough that she is probably the size of the average twelve-Turn-old at the very largest, maybe 4'10" if she stands up straight to be measured. Her frame is dainty and delicate, built along the lines of a dancer. Her body is well-proportioned in all its smallness, with neither her hips nor breasts being exceptionally larger or smaller than one would expect for her frame. Perhaps this is due to the lack of body fat on her body, for Aliscia carries very little of it. A rigorous (and almost obsessive) exercise routine keeps her body well-toned. Every movement she makes is almost feline in its grace, and though her upper body strength will never match that of a larger person, she is strong enough for her size. She will never look exceedingly muscular or impressive, but close inspection will show just how lethal she could be... if the occasion struck her
For all the amusing strength in her tiny body, Aliscia's features somehow detract from her overall appearance of toughness. She could be considered 'pretty' in some circles or just 'child-like' in others. Her face is a rough oval in shape, and her features are delicate enough. Only her eyes--nearly always seeming narrowed and calculating--make her seem as more than a child, and the near-gold coloration is slightly disconcerting, reminding one of a wild feline. Her skin is lightly tanned, the run-off from growing up in a sea hold. Her hair is light brown in color, somewhere between a true brown and a dark blonde. The color could be pretty, were it not for the fact that she keeps her hair chopped off at chin-length and tucked behind her ears. The helmet-like hairstyle does not suit her, but she finds it easier to tuck under her headgear for flying while in this style. Who cares about looking pretty? This is eminently more practical.
Her practical hairstyle is mirrored in her choice of clothing. Aliscia prefers neutral shades of brown, when she can get away with it. This stems not from a dislike of colors but from a strong dislike of trying to match and having to worry about keeping nice clothes clean. She can normally be seen wearing simply a tunic or shirt and pants, accompanied by a pair of sturdy boots. The clothes are never too tight or too loose, to keep from restricting her movement. She often has to alter clothes to fit herself, but this is a chore she bears without complaint. She hates ill-fitted clothing.
The constant practice in fighting and a childhood in a sea hold have left their marks on Aliscia's body. Her forearms and legs are marred by no small amount of knife scars, where practice swipes got a little too close for comfort. Her hands are callused and tough, though never cracked. Her most noticeable scar is on her right cheek, where a thin line starts just a bit away from the outside corner of her eye and moves straight across her face to disappear into her hairline.
Personality: Aliscia compensates for her lack of stature with considerable attitude. This is not evident in her speech so much as her demeanor, as she would be perfectly comfortable with ignoring and avoiding most people. Instead, her body posture speaks volumes about her distaste toward people, the silent aggression that dares everyone to push the boundaries. As much as she prefers to keep people at arm's length, she very much enjoys a challenge to her space on occasion. There is nothing like an excuse to whip someone's backside to a state of fiery redness, after all, especially when one has gone without a good fight for some time. Her tendency to start (or end, really) fights is an outlet for aggression and bitterness, and though she usually manages to keep from truly harming people, it temporarily lifts her spirits to knock someone over backwards. This is the end result of enduring much bullying and personal tragedy.
Of course, Aliscia's somewhat violent tendencies are so much a part of her now that she believes herself incapable of enduring human company. This is not true, but this practice of self-delusion keeps the young woman from insanity. Disappointment and rejection are two emotions she does not handle well, and she often covers them with a snap and a snarl. She is as likely to bite someone's hand off as to accept kindness, and a person would be ill-advised to offer her charity or pity. She senses and despises both, and having spent so much of her time building herself up as a creature capable of taking care of herself, such offers of unwanted (and, in her mind, unnecessary) help threaten her image. She likes to be alone and independent, thank you very much, and your approval and assistance are wholly unnecessary.
If one can manage to intrigue her into conversation, the person will find themselves shocked to find there is some intelligence behind the snarls, glares, and silent promises of death and grievous bodily harm. Aliscia is no mental slouch, and while she will never rank among Pern's greatest geniuses, she will never be one of its fools either. In fact, a person who can get close to her will find that she is a decent conversation partner in that she retains quite a bit of what she sees and hears. Being quiet makes it easy to overhear conversations, and Aliscia seems to garner more than her fair share of juicy gossip. If you're clever enough to get into her good graces, she would be happy to share that bounty. If you are stupid enough to earn her ire, she would delight in passing on some gossip about you. All of it is true, of course. Making up stupid lies about people would take too much time and energy. To her friends, she is loyal, honest, and open, preferring to bluntly state her opinion in as short a way as possible. This can come off as a bit cold or rude, but it is simply her way. If she chooses to speak to you, be prepared for radical honesty at its finest. Aliscia does not sugarcoat.
Aliscia does have her few, rare good points. She has a keen wit and a rather bawdy sense of humor. This, of course, might completely frighten the prudish, but that will only amuse her all the more. She enjoys being amused at the world in general, when she is not growling at it. Her hobbies of rigorous exercise, knife-fighting, and carving are perhaps not of the feminine variety, but she is surprisingly good at all three. Not that anyone will ever see her precious carvings... or her sketches, for that matter. Those are kept as private as her lovelife. Or... they would be, if she had a lovelife. The loss of two weyrmates has made her generally disagreeable toward the thought of a little company in bed, and she purposely keeps people (especially men) away. The rare occasion that she does indulge is during Tanith's flights, and even then, she usually tries to sneak out of bed before her flightmate wakes up. Awkward mornings are not her thing, and she has to strongly resist the urge to scrub herself clean immediately afterward. Dirty, dirty humans.
History: Aliscia was one of a large number of children born to a fisherman and his wife in an Istan sea hold. From her birth, it was apparent that there was something a little lacking with her. She was just... small. Her health did not seem to suffer. In fact, she was rarely ill as a child. Thus, she was raised just as the rest of her siblings were. She went to the docks to check the nets, helped in the kitchens when she was made to, and snagged bits of charcoal to draw pictures on rocks whenever she was not otherwise engaged. A mildly artistic and always-curious sort of child, she was always sticking her nose where it did not belong. Of course, all of these activities were hampered by her lack of stature, and she seemed to be always running and struggling to catch up. Because of this, she often found herself the butt of many jokes and being bullied. Her father, Aris, was concerned by this, and by the time Aliscia was eight Turns old, she was spending a great deal more time with her father at his craft. Aris' logic was simple: to make her tough enough to flatten or avoid anyone who would dare poke her.
Being on the boat or tending to the nets was no easy task either, and her older siblings (especially the boys) made sure to make life a bit difficult on her. Aris' plan started to work just a bit too well for even his reckoning. At thirteen Turns old, Aliscia had hit puberty and was arriving at the age where she should have been eyeing the boys with a bit more interest. Instead, she put a powerful foot into the gut of the first boy who shyly tried to hold her hand. Aris' curious and good-natured child was turning into something of a wild creature, and he tried to rein her in. At fifteen, though, she was still as friendly as ever to those who knew her... and still as snappish as ever to those who got too close without permission. She did not like being bothered, and since she could do her chores just as well as any boy or any normal-sized girl, she greatly disliked the way they looked down upon and poked fun at her.
Before the problems could really start, though, a clutch of dragon eggs was laid on the sands of Ista Weyr just after Aliscia Turned sixteen.. Aris' boat was unloading a good catch of fish at the dock when one of his deckhands found herself staring at the jewel-like facets of a whirling dragon eye. Aliscia was curious about the green creature and was at first unaware what the beast and her male rider were present for until the man announced that she would come with him to the weyr. Curious as ever and ready for an adventure, Aliscia accepted happily before the rider could even finish his explanation. A cautious but resigned Aris wished her well, and Aliscia left her parents' worried gaze to arrive at a previously unknown place, amazed by the multitude of dragons in the place.
The clutch hatched within a sevenday of her arrival, and Aliscia was eager to start her life anew at Ista Weyr. She missed the parent who had taken over her education, but at the weyr, she could be taught how to fight, how to be intimidating and be left alone. And to have a life-bond with a beast as impressive as a dragon? Surely, there could be no greater calling in life. Thus, she watched with disappointment as dragon after dragon stumbled their way to a their lifemate, leaving her standing grumpily by the group of shrieking and quivering girls. Was there not even one present for her?
As it turned out, the last egg to hatch was the smallest of the lot, and it spilled a dark green, almost black, hatchling onto the sands. The hatchling, wet and big-headed with limp wings, stumbled across the sands and rampaged her way through the gaggle of girls. There were lots of screams of pain and terror, and several girls stumbled away with bloodied legs, leaving a ring of open space and bloodied sand around the snarling and discontented little green. Something compelled Aliscia forward, and the short little teenager shoved a few of the other candidates aside to face down the tiny terror. "No one likes a bully," she fiercely informed the creature, an instant before the eyes of the hatchling, now whirling rainbows, turned up toward her. Then, she knew nothing but Tanith, and the fierce little green was hers.
Life in the weyr suited Aliscia just fine, even if weyrling lessons did result in a lot of bullying from the other weyrlings. She and Tanith were the smallest of the lot, even if Aliscia was far from the youngest, and the bronze of the clutch seemed especially keen on giving Tanith a hard time. At about four months old, Tanith settled the issue by bodily tackling the young bronze and beginning to chew on his tail. By the time that Aliscia managed to wrest the green under control, the weyrlingmaster was wholly alarmed by this turn of events. Dragons were not meant to be aggressive toward other dragons. Clearly, something was wrong with Tanith, and it was suggested that they should be eliminated from lessons. They remained in lessons, however, having garnered some new respect from their classmates. Everyone gave them a wide berth, with the exception of a bluepair that both Tanith and Aliscia found themselves quite fond of.
This pair was neither patronizing nor fearful, instead curious, friendly, and even affectionate. Having never understood male attention in her life, Aliscia found herself quite fond of her fellow weyrling, and so, when it came time for Tanith to Rise to mate for the first time, she was unsurprised to wake up with her favorite fellow weyrling curled beside her. They were weyrmated for nearly a Turn, until the bluepair decided to make a reckless move during a wingdrill. They never returned from between. Before this, Aliscia's generally good nature had largely held Tanith's aggression in check. Now, however, the two began to bleed over into one another. Tanith became milder, and Aliscia began to wall herself off, heartbroken and feeling cheated by fate. Somehow, though, a brownpair managed to worm their way into the greenpair's favor a few Turns later, and they remained together for many, many Turns. This too ended in tragedy during the spring games, when the brown was badly flamed. He betweened, and his rider died from the shock soon after.
Aliscia knew it was irrational to blame the Istan riders for what was nothing but a freak accident, but some part of her could not handle staying in the weyr. She became more snappish and difficult to get along with, and Aliscia's increasing agitation only fed Tanith's desire to n** at the flank of any dragon that passed. Thus, a few months after her weyrmate's death, when Aliscia suggested a transfer might make life easier on everyone, the weyrleader was quick to agree. The greenpair were shipped off to Telgar to become someone else's problem.
Pet(s): none
Other: In addition to being decent at sketching and woodcarving (though, only decent), Aliscia is quite good at combat techniques, either hand-to-hand or with a knife. This is very rarely useful for her, but she retains the skills nonetheless.
Dragon: Tanith
Age: 12 Turns
Color: Green
Appearance: Just like her rider, Tanith is very, very tiny. She is far smaller than the average green and is probably one of the smallest known to Pern. Her build, however, is slightly on the muscular side for her color. Tanith lacks the graceful and streamlined build that her color tend to be known for, and she has, instead, a deep chest and powerful hindquarters. This green is build for strength and stamina, and while she will never rival that of the larger dragons, she is very sturdy for a creature of her size. Her tail is thicker than that of most dragons, and it functions as quite the effective weapon when she is on the ground, a decent club to use toward those who irk her. Her wings are no longer than they should be in proportion to her size, but they are broad, giving her the extra lift for lasting through a flight. These broader wings help her to pull off more maneuvers than would be generally considered possible for her build, but she is still no acrobat.
Tanith's coloration does not discredit her strong build. The green is mottled shades of dark green all over, darker on top than on her underside. The effect is one of camouflage, and were it not for the giveaway of whirling draconic eyes, she would probably be very good at night-time stealth. As it is, her small size and dark coloration makes her blend in very well in dense foliage, and she can hide very well in dark spaces when she feels the need or desire to. Her hide is marred in a few places by scars, especially a vertical scar just behind her left eye that is leftovers from a fight as a weyrling. None of the scars are in particularly crippling places, and she seems to take great pride in the marks.
In the air, Tanith will never fly circles around the bigger dragons like the other greens. In fact, she is lucky to get in the odd acrobatic maneuver or quick turn, thanks to those broader wings. However, this is not to say that she is a slouch in the air, for she is certainly a sturdy and steady flier. Her stamina will never match that of a brown, but she could give a blue a run for his marks if she put her mind to it. As for speed... well, she isn't swift. She does not seem to mind, though, for the power behind her wingstrokes helps her to compensate for her heavier body. Instead of graceful twists and loops, Tanith (with her rider's help) has invented her own suite of aerial moves to keep herself out of harm's way. Some work, and some don't, but they are all a work in progress. Tanith, like her rider, prefers to stay in good shape.
Personality: As frightening as she can look, Tanith far outclasses her appearance with a frightening temperament. She came out of the shell with a taste for violence, and that has dimmed only slightly with age and Aliscia's (sometimes) good influence. Dragons were bred to be docile and non-combative, but either by genetic mutation or just some strange series of events, Tanith became the worst possible ambassador of dragonkind. Greens are meant to be the best of Searchdragons, and Tanith would instead prefer to intimidate the potential candidates. She takes a sadistic sort of thrill out of making people squirm and quiver in fear.
This being said, though, Tanith does not spend the entirety of her time making everyone's life miserable. The green prefers to be left alone for the most part, a trait she shares with her rider. For all that she likes to practice her aggressive aerial maneuvers, scratch her claws on rocks, and terrorize a herd of wild wherries on a whim, Tanith greatly prefers that the rest of dragonkind just stay away. Seeing as this never happens, she becomes increasingly more irritable as she has to deal with more and more dragons. They are all beneath her, clearly. Their increase in size has resulted in a decrease in brain capacity, in her mind, and she takes great delight in physically or verbally insulting whatever beast strays upon her peace. To go along with this dislike of dragons comes an incredible hatred of golds and bronzes, especially weyrling ones that have just outstripped her in size. She may go out of her way to stick her tail out in front of them in an attempt to trip them up. Watching such 'regal' creatures faceplant on the ground is endlessly entertaining.
Her snarling qualities are occasionally overshadowed by her affection for those rare few creatures that she likes. Those who manage to squirm into her favor are rewarded with tolerance and protection... as well as a share in her plotting against the weyr's most annoying creatures. Since Aliscia is usually very reluctant to let Tanith off the proverbial leash to get vicious, the green is usually reduced to just plotting mischief when bothered. Often, she will hold two conversations at once: a barely-civil conversation with whatever poor dragon has strayed too near and a vicious, conniving one-sided rant toward Aliscia that includes all of her future plans for gutting and bleeding out said annoying dragon. When a dragon is given insight into these plans, it is a great honor. Tanith rarely shares her plots with just anyone. Tanith's affection is hard to win but is long-lasting. She will remember those creatures that are in her favor, and they will remain so until they act horribly otherwise. Unfortunately, Tanith is very easy to offend.
As far as males go, Tanith is generally disinterested in males in general. Unlike some greens, she is not a flirt and would rather those annoyingly large creatures just go away and leave her alone. Still, she has discovered the value of sarcasm, and it is often her native tongue when it comes to dealing with suggestive males. Her flights are short and violent affairs, and there is no teasing so much as testing. Few dragons are permitted to rest within a winglength of her, and she rarely chooses physical contact with any dragons outside of flight, save for those she truly adores. Her aggression and distaste for others are only surpassed by her absolute adoration for Aliscia. Aliscia is everything to her, and Tanith will do anything in her power to make Aliscia happy, chasing off anyone who dares threaten Hers' peace of mind. The green desires to be in constant contact with Hers, with a wing or nose or tail. Separation is not something that either of the pair does well.
Other: none
