Talaria, Lady of Orro

[Zeneka]

Handler Application

Name: Talaria
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Rank: Lady of Orro

Location: Orro

Appearance:
Talaria is quite pretty. She has long, slightly curled, raven black hair that falls to her lower back. Depending on her plans for the day, her hair either falls freely and unbound or is tied back in a single long braid. Her eyes are a rather striking pale blue-green and, depending on the light, may appear more blue or more green at times and are only made even more striking by the long lashes and dark eyebrows. Her skin is pale, something both her genetics and rather nocturnal nature have helped to preserve and the dark hair framing her face helps to accentuate, and a spattering of dark freckles appear here and there on her neck and shoulders. She has an athletic build, toned but not obviously muscular. Her soft curves prove her to be quite clearly female.

She stands at five foot seven and moves with the lithe and purposeful grace of a hunting wild feline. She has a strong presence that does not often go unnoticed. She has a number of intricately designed *henna tattoos on her arms and back and reapplies them before they fade too much. Because of her lack of a normal sleeping schedule in any sense of the phrase, she generally has a slightly haggard look about her. She most often wears simpler clothing without too much excess material. Most of her clothing hugs her body loosely, a precaution from mine working nights, to keep her clothing from snagging on anything in the dark. The practice has stayed with her out of pure habit. Being elected Lady of Orro has not changed her simple tastes and her clothing is normally darker in color, without any intricate designs or patterns. Sturdy boots are normal footwear for her.

(*Not sure if henna exists on Pern but I’m assuming something similar could be used instead)

Personality:
Talaria is a highly moral person. She does not lie, not even to save feelings, she will always give you the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Lying by any manner does not sit well with her and she cannot abide it. She is also quite good at detecting lies, there are almost always signs… little facial quirks, a quick sideways glance, the shuffle of a foot, something… and the better she knows a person the easier it is to see. It makes her quite a good ‘judge’ when the situation calls for it. She is able to listen to both sides of an argument without bias and more often than not able to divine the truth of the matter by watching for those lying signs.

Looking back on her childhood Talaria is sometimes rather ashamed of her rather selfish nature. All she cared about was how she could gain that particular day and she went out of her way to ensure she did, but hardly ever repaid those who helped her. In her later teens she realized this and made sure to begin repaying all those who had helped her and who still were. She will always repay a favor, whether the one who gave it expects a return favor or not and she rather enjoys helping others. She is loyal to those who are loyal to her and always works for the ‘greater good’; she has become a remarkably selfless person in adulthood. Her own dreams came true and she believes everyone on Pern should have the same chance for their own dreams to become reality. If she can help get someone one step closer to their dreams, then she feels quite accomplished.

She is a highly motivated individual, hard-working and efficient. She is driven to make the most out of every day she is given; no matter what she is called on to do that day she will do it to the best of her ability and she will not stop until everything is completed. However, this also leads to overworking; when I say she does not stop until everything is completed it is no exaggeration. She has worked herself to the point to fainting from sheer exhaustion. She expects much too much of herself, and also of those around her. You don’t reach your dreams while sitting about doing nothing, you work hard every day to get there. She cannot abide laziness, whining, complaining, and if you wish to get on her bad side do just that. She is quite the demanding person, but she does not see it as unfair because she is so exceptionally demanding of herself. She simply expects the same of others that she does of herself, which, seeing as she works herself to fainting on occasion, isn’t exactly the greatest thing.

Practical to a fault, Talaria sees no need to spend frivolously on nonsensical items that have no real use other than to look pretty. She is quite simple in how she dresses, in what she owns. She lives humbly and is happy for it. She is rather a bit too practical; she will never to be one to ‘stop and smell the roses’, she will never be able to appreciate the simple beauty in a flower, nor the exquisite colors and form of a masterpiece of art. It holds no use; it simply sits there to look nice and therefore is absolutely nothing to her. She has far better ways to spend her day than gawking at a pretty picture. One thing she does appreciate, quite a lot, is klah. Klah helps to keep her going when she feels she might drop, helps her be more efficient, makes her days last longer, and to Talaria is one of the best things on Pern and don’t you dare say otherwise. She is highly addicted to klah and indeed rarely goes more than an hour or two without a cup.

Family:
Father (55) - Nental and Brown Tolm (Wherhandler pair)
Mother (54) - Rialara and Green Elu (Wherhandler pair)
Younger Brother (34) - Larnen and Blue Taevas (Wherhandler pair)
Nephew (13) – Vizlar (Wher Candidate)
Nephew (5) - Nenarin
Younger Brother (27) – Talrinen (Smith)
Sister [in-law] (25) – Malany (wed to Talrinen, Housewife)
Niece (6) - Talany
Niece (2) - Marina
Aunt (56) – Ariala (sister of Rialara)
Uncle (60) – Denarien (wed to Ariala, Smith)
Son (16) – Rariazon (Smith Apprentice)
Son (9) – Talarvos
Daughter (4) - Liana

Background:
Talaria was first born to two Wherhandlers and grew up very much with a Wherhandler’s mentality. Her parents were bonded to Whers and so were most often active during the night, and so was she. Her little brother Larnen, born 2 turns after her, seemed to be the same way. Even when an aunt took them in when they were still very young, her parents hoping they might be able to have a more normal childhood this way, they remained rather nocturnal children. Her aunt was unable to have her own children, however, and she and her husband were quite willing to take over care of them. She was fascinated by the Whers and their handlers, by their strange ways, so different from other people… and her parents were a part of that! Much like a weyrbrat watching their parents ride dragons and wishing to do the same, she wished for her own Wher, to belong to that strange and fascinating culture of handlers that was her parents’ world, and her brother seemed to feel the same way.

Her aunt exposed them to other crafts, including taking them to their uncle’s forge on many occasions, hoping simply to let them see there were other options for their futures, to give them every chance to become exactly what they wanted to be, but their shared fascination with Whers did not lessen and nothing else caught their attention half so well. By the time she was nine, her brother seven, their aunt had quite accepted that the two of them were set on trying to bond Whers of their own and with the new addition of their youngest brother Talrinen to care for, she simply tried to keep them on track in their education and otherwise let them learn from their parents about the Whers they so loved.

She and Larnen spent as much time as they could with their parents, both in the late dusk hours and the early dawn, so they might be able to spend time with their Whers as well. Their parents were quite delighted at their interest in Wherhandling and were very encouraging, loving nothing more than to teach their children about the world of the Wherhandler, but also encouraging them to keep up with their lessons. While Larnen was a rather lackadaisical student who was grew distracted and bored easily, Talaria did her best, partly because she wished to make her parents proud and partly because she liked the feeling of working hard and doing a good job.

She was particularly adept at learning the different languages commonly spoken in Orro. She grew up speaking Orroan and listening to her parents speak Wher, but never understanding. Their aunt, who had grown up with two Wherhandler parents herself, taught them a little of the Wher’s language herself, when she wasn’t busy with their little brother. But then there was this other tongue some people spoke that seemed just completely and utterly foreign to her. Her aunt told her it was Common Pernese, spoken by those from the Northern Continent. Well, at first she was uncertain as to whether she should try to learn it or not… when would she ever talk to someone from the Northern Continent?

It was shortly after her tenth turn when a small group of Montane Wing riders visited Orro that she decided she would indeed learn Common Pernese. Dragonriders from Montane had visited before, but she had usually been asleep or at lessons, or otherwise occupied and uninformed of the visit. This time she happened to be with Larnen and her parents at the Wher Stables and the riders, along with a few Wherhandlers from their Wing, stopped by the stables. Her parents didn’t speak Common Pernese and so couldn’t tell her why they were there, but another handler spoke to them and mentioned something about trading. It didn’t much matter to Talaria, all she knew was that if dragonriders came to Orro, and dragonriders spoke Common Pernese, then SHE wanted to speak it too.

When not with her parents learning about Whers, or at her lessons for reading and writing and the like, she spent her time with her uncle, Denarien, who knew Common Pernese and agreed to teach her, little by little, if she’d help him with little things around his forge each day. For a child, her days were quite busy. With all the things she wished to learn about which could only be taught at certain times of the day, she never seemed to a get a good night’s rest, or day’s rest for that matter. It started a habit that she still has to this day, where she never gets a ‘decent’ sleep, but instead simply snatches sleep where she can throughout the day in the form of long naps. After a lifetime of living that way, her body has grown quite used to it... for the most part. On a few occasions when she has vastly overworked herself, she has fainted from sheer exhaustion. With any spare time she managed to find she spent it searching out people to practice having conversations in Common Pernese and in Wher both. She met quite a few people this way, adults both young and old who humored her in her learning quest.

When she finally came of age and was able to try for a Wher of her own, she held herself back. She wanted to get a better grasp on Common Pernese and also wanted to wait until Larnen was able to try for one beside her. Their mother and father added staff training to their own little private wher lessons after that, so they would be ready for true Wher candidacy, and she and Larnen became closer than ever, often sparring with each other whenever they got the chance and gradually, very gradually, improving. Looking back she will admit with some amusement how awkward they were in the beginning, tripping over themselves as often as not.

As soon as her brother was old enough, the two became official Wher candidates. Her brother bonded first, to a Blue from their mother’s Wher’s clutch. It wasn’t until a turn later, after Talaria had turned 18, that she bonded Laikiv. When the little Wher approached her she hardly realized what color she was at all, simply that she seemed to want HER. She offered the little Gold some meat and promptly pricked her finger to seal the bond it seemed she had waited forever for. It was only after that initial bonding that she finally realized the beautiful Gold standing before her was actually hers. Wherlinghood was rather exhilarating, deepening their bond for each other and learning how to work as a true Wherhandler pair; becoming truly inducted into the world of her parents at long last.

By the time she bonded Laikiv she was pretty fluent in Wher, but after Wherlinghood was over she continued searching out others in her free time to practice Common Pernese with; generally most of the same people she had found when she was younger. She kept up with her many contacts from the past and began helping them out every chance she got in return for the time they’d spent helping her. Most told her many times it was unnecessary, but she felt quite the contrary. She of all people knew the value of time and over the turns they’d given her enough of theirs to warrant some of hers in return. And truthfully, she enjoys helping others so it was no inconvenience for her to do so. She built up quite a network of contacts within Orro this way; people she could rely upon and that could rely upon her.

When she was 20, something rather unplanned happened which caused her some frustration… Talaria does not like for her plans to be muddled up by random happenings. She became pregnant as the result of Laikiv’s Run; the father an older Wherhandler bonded to a Bronze. She didn’t let her pregnancy slow her until the much later stages, continuing her work with Laikiv until friends and family made her stop for the sake of herself and the child. The father, a man she was only acquainted with, offered for the child to be raised by his sister if she did not want to do it herself, but she refused. Her aunt had already assured her that after the child was weaned she would care for it. Laikiv was rather curious about the whole ordeal. She had no idea how human clutches worked. The next couple months were rather excruciating for Talaria as she mostly did nothing every day. It was starting to drive her crazy by the time the baby finally came.

Laikiv refused to leave her during the birth, both curious about the process and protective of Hers during her time of pain, but allowed her mother and aunt close enough to help. When it was all over she had a son and named him Rariazon. She stayed with her aunt while her son grew, until he was weaned, and finally at long last went back to work. Laikiv was quite restless and bored with the lengthy process and had been quite naggy for the past few months about wasting time. She found human young to be much too time consuming. This rather amused Talaria, for she rather agreed with the Wher and was incredibly thankful her aunt was there to care for her son. Her youngest brother, only eleven when Rariazon was born and still under their aunt’s care, took a great liking to his nephew and she was told often by her aunt how he was a great help with the baby. And now there was something else to add into her busy days; time spent with her son.

But it was fun to watch him grow, to see how much he looked like her with the same hair, the same eyes, his face so very similar to her own, from his lips to his nose to the very shape of it. He didn’t seem to have much of his father in him at all, which was fine with her. After she’d refused the father’s offer for his sister to care for the child he hadn’t seemed interested in being involved. But that was fine too, for Rariazon would have her aunt and her uncle, and her little brother, and her, and the rest of her family, and would not be lacking for a fatherly figure in his life. Their uncle was quite good at fulfilling that role. Over the next few turns, Talrinen was apprenticed to their uncle as a smith and eventually married and started his own family. Talaria had two more children, the further product of Laikiv’s Runs, another boy who she named Talarvos and a girl only a few short turns ago named Liana. Talrinen’s wife has taken to helping raise both their own children and Talaria’s with their aunt Ariala.

Three turns ago, after her 33rd turn, the Lord of Orro passed away and much to her surprise she was chosen in his place. She wasn’t at all sure what she had done to be placed in such a position of honor and responsibility, but if others thought her the best one for the job then she would do her best to live up their expectations. She honestly hadn’t even been aware that she was known well enough to even be considered. She hasn’t changed much since, though her daily schedule has. She no longer participates in the normal Wherhandler duties… well, most of the time anyway. She might go on patrol every so often just for a change of pace and a reminder of where she came from.

Pets: N/A

Wher

Name: Talask (true name), Laikiv (given name)
Age: 18 turns
Color: Gold

Appearance: Her main hide color is a vibrant, highly metallic gold. Indeed the color makes her seem almost as if she was molded from the very metal. However she also has rose-gold markings, including a broad stripe from her nose to her tail tips which completely taker over the end of her tail, along her wing arm and wing ribs, and as ‘socks’ on each foot that fade up into her normal gold coloration. She is small for a Gold with a much daintier appearance than other Whers… at least to Wherhandlers. She will certainly not seem at all dainty to those unused to being around Whers. If one with the bias that Whers are ugly creatures were to ignore her Wherness, they might agree that at least her coloration is quite beautiful. To those who know and love Whers, she is quite the fine specimen, her proportions just right, her only flaw being her rather small size for her color, and they would happily tell you she is one of the loveliest Whers to look upon.

Personality:
Laikiv seems to think she is the prettiest thing on Pern and loves to preen and be fawned over. Her vanity is so extreme that whether she is covered in dirt and muck or freshly bathed, she rather expects to be complimented. The quickest way into this Wher’s good graces is to praise her beauty, continuously and emphatically. Other than her vanity, however, she is not at all your ‘typical’ Gold. She enjoys working, no matter the task she’s put to; something she shares with Hers. She hates to be idle and gets bored easily, which often leads to getting in trouble. Therefore, it is best to give her a job to be doing to keep her occupied. She quite enjoys socializing with other Whers and can act rather childish around her own kind; prancing and bouncing around in an almost dog-like manner. However she doesn’t care much for humans other than Hers (unless of course they compliment her a lot) and is rather stoic and intimidating around most humans, especially those she has never met.

She is a rather curious creature and when something is happening that she’s never seen before she likes to be right in the thick of things, such as when Talaria had her first child. With Talaria she is highly affectionate and a bit needy. She absolutely hates it when Talaria ignores her, whether she’s trying to focus on some duty she’s been called to attend to or some other reason and can be quite obnoxious to try and regain her attention. She has a bit of a soft spot for Talaria’s chidren, having seen the wonder of them being born and growing from tiny squalling things into normal humans as she’s used to seeing them.