Approved by Tawny

Character Name: Melina
Age: 19

Gender: Female

Sexual Orientation: Really not interested/no preference

Craft/Rank: Journeyman Star Smith

History: Melina was always interested in the night sky while she was growing up. She was good at her math lessons and applied herself vigorously to her studies, gobbling down her lessons with enthusiasm. Her two brothers were many Turns older than her, so while she technically has siblings, she never saw them much and was treated for the most part as an only child, just with more experienced parents. When she was old enough to be apprenticed out, she was accepted to the Star Smith Hall in Ruatha to her excited delight. Always the studious type, she advanced well and helped on numerous projects, plotting comet paths and trails, helping to observe weather patterns, and many other things that are the responsibility of the Star Smith Hall. They had been tracking a meteor in the north, but the masters at her hall had decided that they needed eyes elsewhere on the continent, Aquor, to be exact, high up in the mountain ranges. She accompanied her master to assist with notes and double-checking information, and they were dropped off via a Fort Rider. Their return trip was to be managed by Trine Weyr, as they would be in Trine territory. Her master got the necessary readings, but really was quite disappointed that they wouldn't have eyes constantly in the skies here, to report back changes as needed. When the Trine dragon Searched Melina, they had the answer to their problems. As some of the very first Star Smiths were dragon riders, she was quite excited and promised her masters to make good use of her time in Trine Weyr, even if she didn't Impress. Hers is a craft that can be performed anywhere, as long as you can see the night sky.

Description: Of a shortish height, Melina has often had to make adjustments to her world to make do, such as putting crates on the telescope stands to be able to reach the eye piece. She has shoulder-length brown hair of a rather dusty, ashy color, though in the rare times that she's out during the day, it has gold glints when the sun touches it. Her hazel eyes are flecked with gray, giving them an odd yet somewhat beautiful appearance. She is thin and athletic by nature, as running up and down all of those observatory steps is bound to keep anyone in shape. She doesn't have much in the way of womanly attributes, though she isn't exactly flat chested. Her face is plain with not much to draw the eye, but she has dimples when she smiles and a light spread of freckles across her entire body, showing up well on her fair skin. She can often be seen with a pair of binoculars hanging around her neck, or with her eye glued to a telescope, un-moving for hours at a time.

Personality: Growing up with her brothers already out of the home and spending most of her time with her parents, Melina has a rather elevated air of maturity about her. She still gets along well with her peers, but she might just choose "peers" that are actually older than herself.

Melina comes with a single minded focus that is excellent for finishing projects and helping her keep her attention focused on a single object in the night sky for hours on end, but rather hurts her socially. She has a tendency to talk and possibly obsess over whatever object is her focus to the exclusion of all else. This makes her come across as possibly conceited and not much caring about the lives of others, but she can't help it and isn't even aware of her tendency to do so. This trait lends its way into others - she is hard working, diligent, and hates to give up on anything, lending her some tenacity as well. But, all work and no play leads Melina to be somewhat dull, only well-versed in the Star craft and not much else. There is such a thing as being too dedicated, and this is definitely a factor for Melina. She normally has to be dragged away from a telescope and forced to attend social events, though she will enjoy herself once there, after a small period of pouting.

Being in a craft that involves extensive night-time hours, she is on a rather backwards circadian rhythm - dawn is her cue to sleep, and she wakes up in the late afternoon, finishing up any tasks that must be accomplished before sunset comes and it's time again to watch the stars. As such, upon coming to the Weyr, if a schedule change is in order, she might well be grumpy and grumbling for a while, as these things are never easy to change. Most of her friends back at the Star Smith Hall were also in her occupation, so friendship here will be a new aspect for her as well, as almost everyone sleeps at night. Wher handlers will probably be a good source of people for her to interact with, as they keep her strange hours.

She is generally friendly, but not the best at communication, so she comes across wrong to some people. Her heart is in the best place and those that aren't put off by her single minded manner (she may go weeks without talking to someone if something is interesting enough and she isn't forcibly interrupted) will find her a steady character, and one that will always be there for them. Persistent people have a better chance at getting to know her, as she simply tends to forget about people that don't make it a point to be part of her life. Thankfully, her passions can be changed and added to, depending on her knowledge of the subject and its interest to her. She's intelligent and quick to pick up on new things, so as long as you can get her attention long enough to show her something new, chances are you'll have a new partner at your activity. Just, remind her to get some sleep and to still eat, will ya?

Other: I know she's from Ruatha, but this has nothing to do with the normal perceived bias of queen riders coming from Ruatha. This is based soley on the fact that that Lord Jaxom ceded land from Ruatha to set up a Star Hall, and as I haven't read all of the books yet, it is the only designated Star Hall I remember being mentioned. I wasn't sure if Honshu would have been made into a hall, even with the wonderful observatory, so I went with Ruatha to be safe. That, and she'll be all hyper and up all night staring at the different view of the sky she can see from being this far southwest xd