I WANT TO RIDE A DRAGON!

Rider's Name: Z'ya
Rider's Age: 35
Rider's Sex: Female
Rider's Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Rider's Secondary Craft: Apprentice Dragonhealer?
Personality: At least two flaws and two virtues!

Z'ya is one of those people that falls squarely into the classification of socially awkward. The problem is that Z'ya is just no good at communicating with other people. She could tell you in a flash what the body language of her dragon's wingmates meant but damned if she knows whether their rider is fidgeting with their hair out of nervousness, excitement or to flirt. Z'ya to this day still confuses a " leave me alone " scowl with a "I am frustrated let me vent to you" one. Talking with other people Z'ya still trips over subtle cues, forgets that some things aren't said aloud and generally fails at communicating on more than a base level. More than once Z'ya has fallen back on her dragon to get points across when she gets too frustrated at her inability to explain what she really means.

These days Z'ya tends to keep conversations short with those she doesn't know well. If she can minimize what she has to say there's less chance of an epic miscommunication along the way. Friendly smiles are followed by declinations to have a cup of Klah, words of congratulations for a promotion or job well done are given before she fades away into the crowd. Z'ya wants to know people, she wants to have more than handful of understanding friends but it's very likely that years of stunted social growth will never let her grow beyond what she is now. Years spent playing more with animals than people, learning their physical and vocal cues once served Z'ya well. Now she's a grown woman who is still unable to really connect with the people in her life.

While she may not be picking up social cues at any kind of speed Z'ya is a quick study in most other areas. With a voracious appetite for knowledge Z'ya is quite content to sit back and listen to people ramble on as long as she's getting some new information out of the process. Not the best standard education student during early childhood she hit the books as an apprentice and found no problems getting her reading, writing and math up to snuff. These days Z'ya is the sort that can glance at a map once and remember the the various locations on it and the distance between them with ease. She's rarely the first person to memorize and perfect a new flight pattern given to the wing but she's always in that top percentage. When she applies herself Z'ya finds there are few barriers to her ability to absorb and utilize new information swiftly.

Z'ya's tenderheartedness gets her in trouble more than she cares to admit. While compassion is all well and good, too much makes her easily manipulated. Your fingers are sore, no problem Z'ya will tend to your leathers while you rest them. You can't possibly stay awake for that one night-watch you've known was coming for a fortnight, Z'ya will take your shift and wish you a good rest. Z'ya can't resist a sob story real or fake and she'll do almost anything for anyone who knows the right way to ask. Part of her feels that if she can't earn good will by spending time talking with other people at least she can help them out some?

On occasion she gets the sense someone is taking advantage of her but Z'ya has no idea how to properly put her foot down about it. There are probably candidates who can get her to run circles for them if they are inclined to play on her nature.

Z'ya can also be distracted by her softheartedness. Helping a distressed person spotted while on patrol is a good thing. Veering out of formation during a drill because one of your friends just cried out in pain not so much. Z'ya is drawn to the injured and there's been more than one incident in the past where her desire to help has only resulted in a bigger ********. Z'ya still struggles to walk the fine line of knowing when to be helpful and when to observe or mind her own business.

Z'ya's greatest strength is her organization skills. She makes mental lists of everything and it keeps her on task and in the know most of the time. Dragons she knows are sorted by rank, colour and temperament and each list gets used in various situations. Her weyr is always tidy, her things always in specific places so they can be grabbed easily when in a hurry. Z'ya keeps a checklist of when she needs laundry done, when her riding leathers need to be oiled and when her dragon is due for a bath whether they think so or not. She's not obsessive and is more than capable of breaking her routines. Z'ya simply finds life easier when she's got a plan.



Virtue: quick learner, organized
Flaw: easily manipulated. Socially awkward.
History:

Z'ya was born Zoya and raised in a minor hold situated in the eastern floodplains. Growing up among both farm beasts and the natural wildlife the plains boasted she soon developed a strong love for all creatures great and small. Zoya's father was a Herder of quality fleece bearing Ovines while her mother turned their fleece into yarn and other valuable products to be traded within the hold. Zoya's childhood days found her most commonly playing amongst the ovines, chewing on grass and talking to them as if they were people. All manner of bugs were often picked up and carried off by Zoya to enjoy a short lived captivity in her room before being ousted on a regular basis by her parents.

These were good years for Zoya and while she took in the lessons all children were required to learn, her interests clearly ran more towards the raising and care of animals than anything else. Most children do not ask for domestic Wherry chicks for their birthing day gifts after all. Helping her father and his canine herd the ovines, separating lambs from ewes at weaning and tying up bundles of freshly sheared fleece were all chores Zoya took to cheerfully as she grew to an age of being helpful. At that point she dreamed of nothing more than living in the hold forever surrounded by the animals she had come to love as much as people.

Having always had a tender heart when it came to animals Zoya took a shine to those that were weak, ill or injured. While reality taught her that they could not all be saved and that the weak must be culled for the good of the flock she never really liked it. While she'd never risk the rest of the flock's health Zoya was not above spending time with a quarantined animal and no other creature, waiting to see if it recovered from illness or injury. It didn't matter what anyone said to her, beasts had feelings too and someone should be caring about them.

It was not until she was fourteen that Zoya decided she was meant to do more with her affinity for animals than just follow in her father's footsteps. She had learned a lot from him, most particularly the ins and outs of caring and raising of Ovines, but Zoya wanted a chance to expand that knowledge to other beasts. She also wanted more than basic training in regards beasthealing and that meant actually apprenticing at the Hall. It was costly but her parents raised the money and off she went.

Six long years of apprenticeship followed with Zoya slowly coming to terms with what she'd truly signed up for. While she thrived on the wealth of information to be learned at the Hall there was no time to indulge in simply loving animals. She kept her fondess for them though and had favorites amongst the ones at the Hall. Zoya's passion did not die as she learned new skills but it did form into something more serious. Just because she was inclined to scratch a canine behind it's ears to show affection did not mean Zoya did not look the animal over with a more clinical eye than she once would have.

The hardest part of apprenticeship for Zoya was interaction with other people. She understood animals, decoding their body language and the sounds they made were second nature to her. Communicating with other people and interpreting the unspoken cues given during shared chores, lessons and meals was a whole other thing.

Zoya was twenty when she became a journeyman and chose to actually travel. Now that she was permitted to choose a specialty without hesitation Zoya chose beast healing. She was assigned to a master currently operating from Force hold for further training.

Impressing a dragon had never been on Zoya's list of things to accomplish and it came as a shock to her when it occurred. A few weeks short of her twenty second birthday she'd been invited to attend a hatching with her master as an early gift. It was a fascinating sight for Zoya and all the little dragonets each won her heart in some way or another. When one of them called for her thought it left the young woman stunned. She could not refuse her lifemate's request to join them, even when so much work had already gone into taking her life in another direction.

A year and a half of werylinghood went by a lot faster than expected and Z'ya eventually got used to the idea of being a draginrider.

Despite adjusting to weyr life and her new role Z'ya still longed for part of the life she had left behind. Her love of all things great and small remained strong in her and something had to be done to appease it. At twenty eight, after five years of wingriding and proving herself competent Z'ya requested permission to study under one of the Weyr's own Dragonhealers in her free time. If she could no longer continue with her chosen career path than at least she could learn to help mend the dragons she had come to love.

Seven years have passed since then and Z'ya has continued to work hard to balance her wingriding responsibilities with picking up a craft that her past skills provided only so much introduction to. Things are not easy but Z'ya is mostly happy with the life she has built for herself at the Weyr.

Appearance: Much to her displeasure Z'ya did not inherit her father's height and she stands a measly five feet tall. She's of average weight for her tiny frame and her strongest muscles are in her legs; developed from a combination of endless hours of traipsing about after animals and rider training. Her hair is a dull matte black she keeps cut to to just below her ears. Small dark eyes peer out from a narrow face and the most interesting thing about Z'ya is her dark skin. It seems set at the rich brown of fresh baked bread and never pales or darkens regardless of how much sun exposure it gets.

Plain comfortable clothing is the way to go as far as Z'ya is concerned. For things like gathers or feasts Z'ya will indulge in wearing a lip stain or a piece of jewellery that holds sentimental value.
Dragon Color Preference: Does not matter