Name: Malta Age: 36 Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual Rank: Journeyman Healer/Wingrider
Description:
Malta used to have issues with her appearance. She was cute, but not pretty, with a natural pudginess. Puberty did not treat her well, and she was very sensitive about her appearance for a long time, even after she grew into herself a bit more.
As an adult, Malta is a short lady. She is pudgy, but, thanks to the fitness regimen of a dragonrider and her personal eating habits, she only has the padding that genetics gave her and not much more. Her skin is clear and free of acne, but it blotches easily, especially when she cries. She is proportional, and often has a wide-eyed innocent look on her face. Her hair is thin and black, except where stress is turning it grey and white. Usually, she keeps it tied in a braid, at no longer than mid-arm's length.
She wears simple clothes, preferring healer-y garb and feeling out-of-place in rider gear. She wears her dragonrider and journeyman knots together, because, well, that is what she is. Other than that, she is unadorned, save for a pair of handcrafted reading glasses- a rare splurge on her part. She is rarely seen without Poecileth nearby
Personality:
Malta is a quiet, mousey, shy thing, generally inoffensive and inconspicuous. She interacts well with people when she interacts at all. The problem is that it is easy for a person to intimidate her- she just finds everybody frightening. To her, other people have this malicious and confusing secret life. She doesn't understand some of the things that motivate people to do not-so-nice things. Resources have never been a issue for her- she's always had enough to live humbly by, she has never wanted status or power, and she had never felt vengeful. Love is a different story, but she still doesn't understand how people can hurt others and kill over it. She just wants to help people, thats part of the reason she likes healercraft. She likes to make people better, to put it simply.
She has little self confidence. Before Poecileth came along, she had none, or even less than none. As she has grown up under her dragon's careful cultivation, she has developed some, mainly in her ability to perform her craft and help others. In the seven years she was able to practice as a journeyman, she felt happy and wonderful. She even was able to gain confidence in other endeavors. However, with thread's return and the unique terrors of threadfall and the stresses of drills, her confidence has taken a major hit, undoing much of Poecileth's hard work. She is just starting to recover, but only because she is working herself to the bone as both a dragonrider and a healer, and because Poecileth is able to keep encouraging her. Hard work, for her, breeds confidence, and she still knows she can be a healer. Dragonrider? That is still a bit difficult.
She is still recovering, however, and so she constantly second guesses herself. She tends to sink into the background and let others- people she feels are far more qualified than her- make the decisions for her. Fortunately, she considers Poecileth more qualified, so her dragon often has to speak for her when she shrinks away. Poecileth has tried to get her to open up, and is trying to find nice friends for Malta to open up to, but ever since threadfall it has been an uphill battle.
Being quiet does have its advantages. Malta is just an all-around nice person, and she has a sweet bedside manner. Its hard to be too afraid of someone who is extremely injured and bedridden, or who is barely concious, and she does not fear dragons or whers, so when she does interact, it is usually with them. She has a very gentle touch and can be almost painfully kind. She may have a low opinion of herself, but she is still an optimist. She is always willing to keep trying and not give up. There is always a solution to any problem. Of course, this isn't always true, but she tries to keep believing in this. She has to. Otherwise what she does is in vain, and she can't have that. Poecileth encourages this optimism, and under the dragon's care it has thrived.
And if there is a possible solution, Malta can usually find it. She is very smart beneath the unassuming and self-deprecating exterior, and has spent countless late nights studying up on her craft. She was an avid student in class and out, drinking up information like a sponge. As an adult, she still spends what little free time she has studying. Its a comforting activity to her. Though her specialty originally was as a General Practitioner, as of thread she has sort of gravitated back to general assistance (which is handy since she knows a bit about everything) and nursing, with a side of dragonhealing.
Despite her intelligence, she can seem naiive and childlike at times, particularly in her need to cling to people for protection. Poecileth, fortunately, takes the brunt of that and is happy to do so, but other people may find her clingy and needy. She is also, to put it bluntly, a weak-willed crybaby. Serious breakdowns don't happen as much as they used to- Poecileth is a source of great strength for her, and she has become, gradually, used to her harsher life- but it still happens, especially during Threadfall.
This personal mental weakness makes her vulnerable to being taken advantage of and ordered around by stronger minds. Fortunately, Poecileth is one such stronger mind, so she at least has someone looking out for her interests, more if Poecileth has her way.
Other:
On Dragons: Malta loves dragons. Dragons cant hurt you, no matter how big and scary they are. Also, Poecileth is always there for her, and to Malta that counts for a lot. She may be nervous around other riders, but dragons don't scare at all.
On Whers: Malta grew up around whers and their handlers. She knows whers- how do deal with them, how not to deal with them. She really likes whers. Yes, they are dangerous and can kill you and can grow very big, but that is somehow all right with her It's their handlers she's afraid of.
On the Revolution: Malta isn't sure what to think. The old way was nice and peaceful and she never had a problem with being 'just' a green rider. But Poecileth is intrigued, and Malta feels she has no choice but to go. She hates the violence and the general hostility and just about everything but the whers. She doesn't care about the cause, though the lack of traditional roles makes it a little easier to spend her time at the clinic, where she feels she belongs. She is here because Poecileth is here, and that is that.
On the Resistance: … That said, she has no real opinion on the resistance, positive or negative. She doesn't see what they did and are doing as wrong, or agree with them. Its just not her concern, it never was her concern. But Poecileth cares, and she will support her dragon. After all, Poe's been supporting her all these years.
On Threadfall: Ohshards she hates thread so much. She does not belong in the sky. She does not belong on alert. She does not belong in that kind of danger. She just doesn't belong. She knows it, everybody knows it, and she wishes it all would just go away. Every time she has to go up to fight it, Poecileth's soothing influence is all that keeps her from having a panic attack every single time. She is afraid that this distraction could cost her dragon dearly, but she can't help it. Its not fear of heights (Poe managed to deal with that quickly and cleanly). Its just the tension of being in the wing with all these bigger and stronger and better dragons and riders, and then seeing that seemingly endless sheet of writhing white coming down on them. Sheet after sheet, wave after wave... The very thought of it fills her with hyperventilating terror. She has nightmares about it constantly. She hopes she gets used to it soon, because she knows its not going to stop unless she dies, and the only thing she wants less than going up into that deadly sky is to actually die.
On the Freehold: Malta wishes she was there
On Flights and sex: When Poecileth rises, she hides. People are scary, and the idea of intimacy with another person is an intimidating thought. She knows enough to know her preferences, but she has never acted on it. (Maybe if the right person comes along....)
Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 9:10 pm
History: Malta was the baby of the family, born to a large, loving family of miners and wherhandlers in a mining hold. Her looks were not spectacular, but with a virtual cadre of tough brothers and sisters and some whers, she managed to survive without much teasing for most of her childhood. Unfortunately, mining towns are dusty and they played havoc with her respiratory system. She had frequent allergic reactions and asthma attacks because of the air, and her parents and siblings worried about her often. In an attempt to get her out of the bad air, they had her stay in the hold itself and help out there. She became close with the healers there and started helping them almost exclusively. Her family noticed and, after some discussion, funds were scraped together to send her to a healer hall to learn the craft. (10) She was very afraid of being in a new place, and was very shy. However, the clearer air did wonders for her breathing and, aside from the occasional cough, she was healthy. Without the fatigue and coughing brought on by respiratory problems, she thrived in the classroom, being an exceptional student. She seemed to drink up the information in the books and hides and given by her teachers. Staying up late was a frequent occurance, either because she was doing homework, looking something up, or so absorbed in what she was reading that she lost track of time. During her apprenticeship, she excelled in the classroom and in an assistant capacity. She even sometimes found the courage to ask questions about the information. After class, of course. She was very shy, and away from the protection of family, she was exposed to teasing and unkindness about her appearance. She wasn't very pretty, and as she started to hit puberty, it did not come gracefully. She did not end up making many friends her age, preferring the milder company of books and older and wiser people. When she was Searched, she was less than happy, in fact, she was very upset. Despite the teasing, she felt safe at the healer hall. It was where she belonged and she was happy there. But she was too timid to let the dragonrider know, and he was so nice... she just couldn't say no. At the weyr, the teasing and cruel remarks became worse, and she was not fond of the other candidates. A lot of them were older, and she felt alone and vulnerable among them in the bunks. Again, here, the classroom was where she excelled. She was a quiet, good little student, but again she was too afraid to ask her questions in front of the class. She liked what she learned here, but she yearned to go back to the nice, safe, healer hall. That is, until the clutch on the sands was ready to be touched. Feeling those minds still in their shells was such a pleasant experience that she even was a little uncharacteristically disobedient and tried to sneak onto the sands to touch the eggs again. She got caught and got in trouble, but she didn't actually regret trying. When the hatching day came, though, it was not as lovely. It was a particularly violent hatching, with 30 candidates and two hatchlings badly injured, and three candidates dead. The unexpected violence was more than jarring for Malta, and when a hatchling came charging for her to cause further harm, she was too scared to do more than trip over her own feet and whimper as the hatchling bore down on her, clearly not caring about anybody between him and His. Fortunately for Malta, Poecileth managed to shake free of her shell. She stood between them, and Malta was only aware of one word: (13) Her life changed dramatically. Poecileth rarely left her side. She was the confidence that Malta didn't have and the strength she needed to do the brave things that other people took for granted. Through her weyrlinghood, Malta began to, at Poecileth's encouragement and endless patience, come out of her shell and talk to others. Though still shy she started to feel more comfortable with people. Poecileth managed to build relaitonships and friendships among their fellow weyrlings, friendships that were beneficial to both of them. When Poecileth had grown up, Malta studied under the Weyr's well-regarded head healer. Although she was an almost obsessive student and assistant, she had trouble choosing a specialty. This, and not being taught at the Healer Hall, delayed her journeymanship. Eventually, she walked the tables into journeyman practice (21, 22), continuing in the nursing capacity for a time while she and Poecileth weighed their options. Eventually she became a general practitioner. Having finally found her place in the world, she was happy for the seven years she worked as a healer. In that time, she grew into her own body, gained confidence, and even had some marks set aside for a comfortable future. She even fell in love, and was being persistently and properly encouraged by Poe to 'go for it'. Unfortunately, she never got the chance. (29) When thread returned, she- as an able-bodied dragonrider, was called to service. Though bolstered by Poecileth's confidence, both dragon and rider soon noticed that they did poorly in drills. In their first threadfall fight, they were able to affirm it- the pair were just not built for Threadfall. Malta tried to do her job as a dragonrider, but the stress was too much for her. She was on the verge of a serious mental breakdown when Poecileth intervened. The dragon was being affected too, so she had been thinking about it and she saw a solution: Being a dragonrider was inescapable, and neither wanted to be criminals on the run, so the source of the panic and stress was also inescapable. Poe had an interesting idea. At Poecileth's suggestion, Malta began working at the clinic. Although she had no free time, she didn't want any. She wanted to do what she loved, and if that meant she had to spend all of her remaining time doing that, so be it. It was a gamble, being an additional source of stress, but it actually worked out for her. Healer work was not the same sort of work as Dragonrider work, and that difference was enough to balance her life out and keep her from cracking under the constant threat and pressure. When the revolution came a-knocking, she was actually at home visiting with family, a rare refuge from her life's hardships. So she actually had time to think about her choices. Poecileth was intrigued. The revolutionaries pledged a merit based system and, the more the dragon thought about it, the more she realized how unfair the old system was. She liked the sort of changes that were happening and wanted to be a part of it, perhaps nudge it in the right direction here and there. After completing their family visit, they went back to their home weyr and joined the revolution. They soon realized that they had made a few miscalculations- the duels, the general atmosphere of hostility, and the ever-present violence of the wherholders was not a healthy environment for Malta. She managed to find solace, again, in the clinic. From necessity, she started to edge towards dragonhealing (for whers and dragons) as well as human healing, which at least distracted her for a while with the wonders of new information. Poecileth, though she felt terrible for putting Malta in such a situation, decided that the revolutionary cause was worth a go. She quickly began networking, trying to surround Malta with friends she could count on to protect her.
With the comfort of general healer craft to sustain her through gruelling flight drills and with carefully cultivated friends to help her through everyday life, Malta managed, somehow, to survive. Years have passed, and she managed to settle - somewhat - into the stressful, unforgiving life of a rider in a wherhold.
With an upcoming clutch and potential candidates and weyrlings to assist with, Malta and Poecileth intend to stay very busy, helping and mentoring where possible.
Dragon Name: Poecileth (Character originally written for Wardens Weyr by Tetrachrome) Age: 21 Colour: Green Description: (Size: Above Average, Build: Average) (Appearance is based off of a Black Capped Chickadee) Poecileth has padding and has always looked chubby and well-fed. Her wings are on the short and round side, giving her great maneuverability at takeoff, but not being particularly good for long-term stamina. She has large eyes, usually green or blue. She rarely exhibits other colors, and when she does so, they are present as sparks or edging among the green and blue. Her body is very high-contrast, and she is easy to spot and recognize, even at a distance.
Personality:
Poecileth is a green with a strong personality and with ideals to match. She is nearly everything that Malta isn't; Poecileth is brave, bold, and willing to speak her mind. When a serious issue rears it's ugly head, she does not cringe away in fear, she approaches it with dignity. She is highly social, she loves people, and she will not settle for anything less than a good deal. Poecileth is not Malta's total opposite, however. She is noncombative, preferring peaceful resolutions to conflicts over violence.
Poecileth hates conflict and violence, and especially duels. She would much prefer to negotiate out a peaceful resolution through a reasonable discussion of grievances. Of the two, Poecileth does the talking, and she does a lot of it. Out of diplomatic politeness, she does not speak directly to bonded humans, but just about any other mind is fair game for her to 'discuss' off. She is very erudite and polite and dignified in her speech and manner.
She has a highly developed maternal instinct that manifests in being very protective of the weak, undertrodden, and disenfranchised. She is motherly and sweet to drudges, injured parties, people having a shitty day, basically anybody who needs it. Her rider takes priority, though: nobody may mess with or upset her Malta, this she makes clear either with politely worded warnings or with her own bulk if necessary. She sees Malta as delicate and precious and wonderful, and herself as her personal protector. She is soft and sweet, but that is the silk over a steely and resolute soul. Her rider is weak, so Poecileth must be strong for her and for others like her. She may be polite, but she will not back down.
She does know that she herself isn't exactly a powerhouse. She may be strong inside, but outside she is a fairly average green. So, she tries to surround herself and Malta with strong (mentally and physically) friends. She is highly manipulative, seeding alliances here and insinuating other things there, in the hopes that if something happens she and Malta have someone to turn to, or at least a big wher to get in the way of danger. Despite manipulating situations, she has a respect for people and whers and dragons as themselves, and not just pawns. She is playing a game, but in her mind, she wants to ensure that everybody wins, not just her or Malta.
She would never use people and toss them out. People of all shapes and sizes are too important to her and she likes them too much. She believes in the inherent goodness and potential of all people. That is why she encouraged Malta to join the revolution- they recognized the inherent worth of people regardless of color or gender or choice of occupation. She would really like everybody to get along, though, and she believes this is possible. The Resistance and the Revolution can see eye to eye, she is certain, and can resolve their differences peacefully. She is't going to be loud about her opinions- that would be impolite- but she is happy to nudge things in the right direction from this end. Once understanding is achieved by both sides, she believes, peace can happen. Everybody can get along.
This philosophy can make her seem naïve, but she does not consider herself to be so. She isn't naïve, exactly, just very hopeful. She knows that Pern is full of dangers and not-so-nice people, and there is still Thread to contend with. But she firmly believes that, in the end, things can work out and there can be peace and harmony and equality. It just needs some work.
She will, by the way, be the first to admit that she is terrible during a fall. Her stamina in the air is terrible, her firestone abilities are subpar, and she has a low tolerance for that sort of stress and pain. As Malta also hates threadfall, she feels that her and her rider's place is more about morale- in the air, she keeps up a constant aura of positivity and encouragement, and on the ground, they set about patching up people and dragons, and breaking up fights caused by the tension. She still has to do her biological duty and flame thread for a while, but her performance is unremarkable and she drops out when she can.
Other:
On Dragons: Dragons are big, beautiful, and smart and Poecileth is proud to be one. She knows she is a green, and she wouldn't change her color for the world. She does not, however, think of herself as 'just' a green. She is intelligent and she knows it. She sees color itself as a partially important factor related to physical size. In the end, it is the mind under the skin that matters.
On Whers: Whers are handy, and though she would rather people not get hurt, the threat of harm makes them useful guardians.
On the Revolution: Poecileth believes that they have the right idea, just the wrong methodology. She believes that she can work with their cause.
On the Resistance: Poe has nothing specifically against them, but she feels that its time for a change in the system.
On Threadfall: She sucks at it and while fighting thread is necessary, and she has to fight it, she is well aware that it isn't something she is or will ever be good at.
On the Freehold: Poecileth is kicking herself for not finding out about this sooner. However, she believes that the wherhold revolution can still work...
On Flights: She tries to be careful about when she rises. Malta has never been comfortable with her flying, so she tries to resist the urges as best she can. When she has to rise, she makes sure that Malta is in a safe place, preferably asleep or distracted.
Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 9:19 pm
Friends and Such
Malta Poecileth
------
Malta: I'm me... I'm nothing special, really... I don't want to be... I just want to be happy. My rider is a darling little wonderful ray of purity and sunshine that I must protect so that it can grow. She is my inspiration. If she is possible then the world I hope for is possible.
Green Poecileth: She makes the world a less frightening place. Who knows where I'll be if she didn't hatch into my life? ... Certainly not, um, here. I am smart and beautiful. Why should I be discriminated against for my color? Equality is the first true step to peace. I can make that peace happen, I know it.
OOOOO 5 completed roleplays, of which the character in question has a least 15 posts. OO Participate in at least Two (2) Threadfall Events until the end OO Participate in at least Two (2) Shop Events until the end O Apply for rank change and be accepted
Search Dragon-> Leadership Candidate
O 3 Months OOOOO 5 completed roleplays, of which the character in question has a least 15 posts. O 1 completed solo roleplays, these can be journal entries, letters, or personal responses to events in-game OO Participate in at least Two (2) Threadfall Events until the end O Participate in at least One (1) Shop Events until the end O Apply for ranking-up and be accepted after review
OOOOO OOOOO 10 completed roleplays, of which the character in question has a least 15 posts. OOO 3 completed solo roleplays, these can be journal entries, letters, or personal responses to events in-game OO Participate in at least Two (2) Threadfall Events until the end OO Participate in at least Two (2) Shop Events until the end O Achieved and held the Leadership Candidate Rank for at least 3 months Real-Life Time O Apply for ranking-up and be accepted after review
Wherholder Loyalty Rank: Wherholder
Loyalty Points: ?
Stats and EXP
Zenith Wing
Dragon: Poecileth Rider: Malta Colour: Green Build: Average Size: Above Average Agility: +1 HP: 35
Exp tally (total): 2
Registry: X - Wher Heroes Dare (Threadfall over Benden) = 1 exp, 1 Loyalty? or 2? # THREADFALL: Breathe into Me = 1 exp, ??? Loyalty points
Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 9:38 pm
Logbook
In Progress # Stitching up the Ego (Malta, E'lov, Poecileth, Magith) # Tiny Bit of Freedom (Malta, Poecileth, Valik)
In Limbo
Completed # THREADFALL, BENDEN HOLD- Wher Heroes Dare (Thread) # Flight: Banshideth Rises (Just watching) # Democracy in the Wherhold (Meta) # Candidate Q and A (ORP, Banshidheth's clutch) (Shop Event) # From the Dragon's Mouth (Malta, Poecileth, Vesresh, Vesin, Vosin) (RP) # Spooks, Myths and Folklore (Touching) (Just Watching) # Spooks, Myths and Folklore (Hatching) (RP) # Contentment # Toast the Future (Feast) (Shop Event???) # THREADFALL: Breathe into Me Thread
The hatching complete, Malta – exhausted from working it – settled in to catch a few stray hours of sleep. She lay on her dragon, who blanketed her with a rounded, soft wing.
“That was nice...” murmured Malta, her head pillowed on her dragon's chubby, pale side.
Poecileth agreed, the dragon was glad to feel the sleepy contentment from her rider, an emotion seemingly so commonplace had become a rare commodity for the dragon. Even before the revolution, Malta's feelings about herself and the world had been shaky. The revolution had come right as Malta had found some balance, and had shattered it, the emotion fleeing behind Malta's meekness and fear. Now, two turns later, some of it was starting to come back again. Poecileth valued her rider's contentment more than any shiny metal or marks.
Poecileth commented,
Poecileth huffed. she looked down at her rider's face, Malta's eyes already closed and ready for sleep. Her rider was drifting off – once, that would have concerned her, a long time ago. It was always concerning when one's rider was asleep, their minds slowly drawing away from yours, but you got used to it. Poecileth wondered at the new hatchlings – they too would be feeling the strange sensation of one's bondmate slipping into that murky between of sleep now. How would they deal with it?
Poecileth knew of dragons in her clutch – from memories stored in Malta's vast and beautiful mind - that had stayed up all night, watching their rider. Others had paced, keening until they woke. Poecileth had known, from the first, that her rider's sleep was not a problem. She had loved her rider, in all states, but sleep was the most peaceful. There, Malta did not hurt and could not be hurt. In her sleep, as in no other place in her life, Malta was truly happy.
Of course, Malta got so little sleep now, but Poecileth saw it as a way to make that sedate, happy dream world a part of reality, to be as calm amidst the harsh world they lived in as in the realm she slept in.
Malta's mental voice, clouded with fatigue, stroked against Poecileth.
Poe asked, purring, her great blue eyes closing as she enjoyed the scent and feel of her rider.
Malta's question surprised the dragon: it was a question that Poecileth felt she should be asking Malta: but she already knew that answer – Malta was beginning to be happy here.
for Poecileth, though, the question was more difficult. Was she happy? She had joined the wherholds with her weyr, fighting – mentally, of course – for equality and fairness. And, to an extent, she had gotten it. Malta no longer had to feel downtrodden because she was a green rider, or from handler stock, or because she was a woman. Poecileth's voice could be heard by a bronze and not dismissed because she was not a large and shiny color. Their voices in this place were as loud and clear and worthy of listening as any of the other voices in the weyr, their experience respected in a way that it never really had before. So, in that sense, Poecileth was happy.
But with that had come violence and a new order of inequality, with whers standing above dragons and wherhandlers favored by a single 'supreme leader'. Poecileth did not like Keller, nor the culture of violence and death and brutality he had introduced. Color equality was fine, but this was not the way to reach it. This wherhold, violent and harsh, was not what she had wanted.
She was determined, though, to make this nation work. She had heard of Euclid Weyrhold, that strange renegade place where a Trine queenling had decided to make her home. A new place, with new rules free of tradition and hypocrisy... a place that sounded perfect to the green.
But no. She would not go there, or uproot Malta to take her there: not unless she felt she had to, or felt that the wherholds were hopeless and would never become what she wanted. She did not believe that it was hopeless. The Wherholds could change – they would change – they must change. Poe could already see the instability – Keller was not as popular as he thought and brute force would only hold him there for so long. Eventually, the right way – the way she believed in – would prevail and evolve out of the anarchic chaos that surrounded them. The hatching was the first step, the beginning of something new in the weyrholds. There was hope, she believed, and they would prevail.
she said, finally, to her rider,
But her rider, as she deliberated, had already fallen asleep.
Poecileth chuckled and settled in to wait, ready to meet the dawn of a new age.
