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Rider
Name: Etasha
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Rank: Wingrider
History: Etasha was the daughter of a Weyr-based crafter – a tanner, one who made riding leathers primarily, and did a very fine job of it. Tasina took a shine to a particular handsome brownrider, and the brownrider took a shine to the pretty fair-haired tanner who mended his straps and stitched them in bright colors to match his knots. When the brown failed to catch a gold (no real surprise to anyone involved) it turned into a convenient excuse for the two of them to do something they’d both wanted to do for nearly a Turn, and it resulted in Etasha. She grew up close to her mother and at least knowing who her father was, even if he spent most of his time doing dragonrider things and being paternally fond from a distance. It was not a life of luxury, but it was a pleasant childhood.

She Impressed Coryxoth relatively late, as Candidates go, at a time after she had already more or less accepted that she might end up a tanner for life herself. Her first set of beautiful white flight leathers were a gift from her mother as a celebration of her Impression, and when she outgrew those, she made another set of her own. They stood out so handsomely against his black hide, she grew to be terribly fond of them; they weren’t really sensible for everyday use, so she kept them tucked away for special occasions, but they were always close by.

Then it seemed that every terrible thing on Pern happened to Trine.

First an invasion of Benden healers snooping everywhere (and it didn't help when Coryxoth inadvertently picked a fight or two with a Benden brown), then threats of boycott, then the death of crimson Alumanth. Etasha took the Benden bronzerider's actions rather more personally than was probably strictly wise, and ended up dangerously close to being imprisoned for trying to pick fights with Benden riders. Fortunately she managed to avoid any unfortunately career-ending consequences, but the repercussions still stuck with her for a while.

Then the attacks on the goldriders: Abigail lost, but not Brakiath. Not yet. For a time, it seemed that the comatose goldrider would not survive. The riders of Trine closed ranks, Etasha among them, and her paranoia only grew... until First Fall, and shortly after that the Revolution. Trine was fortunate: the dragonriders won, the wherhandlers forced to retreat. The two of them defended their home weyr as best they could, but Coryxoth dealt no casualties, the black finding himself sadly unable to attack his fellow dragonkin.

The fact that Malvren and Benden may have technically had it worse off only serves to annoy Etasha further: that just means that Trine has to clean up after their mess! And being a rider of an atypical dragon, she naturally has some Feelings about that whole mess… Malvren’s not so bad as Benden, although quite frankly she doesn’t trust either of them. The political fallout – and more recently, the devastation of the storm disrupting the latest clutch – have only made things worse, and Etasha ultimately ended up pulling the old white leathers out of the closet once again. They are a symbol, to her: a symbol of a time when Trine was peaceful and prosperous and well-governed. The Weyr will always be something that she admires and takes pride in – but Etasha wants the rest of Pern to admire it, too. Let them see that Trine’s riders bear a heavy burden, but do not bend under it.

Description: Image here!

Etasha is a tiny girl, only just over five foot even, and she's not exactly hefty either. While she does have some breasts and a pleasant curve to her waist - enough that she won't be mistaken for a boy anytime soon, even in her flight leathers - she's more on the slim side than anything. And while she has the necessary lean muscle that pretty much all dragonriders possess just by virtue of hauling around bags of firestone, she's far from what you'd call muscular. Athletic, sure, she can run around the Weyrbowl until the herdbeasts come home. But not muscular. If you're looking for the kind of sheer mass that counts in a contest of physical prowess, look elsewhere. Maybe at the guards or the wherhandlers.

She's fair-skinned and fair-haired, the skin tanning slightly and the hair sun-bleached slightly until they are very nearly the same color. She keeps her hair cut short, around chin-length: short enough to be sensible so she doesn't have to tie it back or braid it when she's flying, but long enough to still be feminine. She also has intensely green eyes, an unusual quality among the Pernese and one that she will occasionally set off with a touch of kohl or other simple makeup. It would be lying to call Etasha vain, but neither does she completely disregard her appearance. Like every other physical asset she possesses, it is a tool. Attractiveness is not something to be sought for its own value, but looking appealing and well-put-together is useful, especially if she's going to be demanding the attention and respect of her fellow riders.

Personality: Etasha is a proud rider of Trine, and equally proud of her place among the Gale Stalkers. It’s no secret that she looks at the refugees from Malvren and Benden as… well, not Trine. It’s not that they’re bad, and she’s certainly not going to advocate kicking them out or treating them as second-class citizens, but as soon as someone begins a sentence comparing the way Trine does things to the way they’re done at other Weyrs, she tunes out instantly. Pern doesn’t have the expression “when in Rome,” but if they did… Well, you’re in Rome now. Learn to speak Latin or go away.

She and her black Coryxoth are only wingriders, and wingriders of no particular note, but she’s wholeheartedly embraced the idea that it’s the greens and blues and blacks that hold the Weyr together. Especially during Fall. Can you imagine a wing made up entirely of browns and bronzes? What a mess that would be. This doesn't mean that she's not ambitious - she certainly wants more out of life than just slacking off as a no-name blackrider! She just doesn't find it necessary to be openly critical of the current system, despite being a rider of a small chromatic dragon. Instead of complaining about how bronzes lead everything, she'd rather devote her energies to finding things that she can do with her talents and with Coryxoth's limited stamina. You can't make Threadfall shorter by sulking at it.

The exception to this rule, naturally, is the issue of atypical dragons. If someone tells her frankly that Coryxoth can't do something because they need a brown or a bronze to do it, that's fair. Sometimes you need a big dragon. If someone tells her that Coryxoth can't do something because he's an atypical and thus weak, be prepared to get your ear talked off about how he's twice as tough as any blue his size. Etasha can get pretty defensive about it, honestly.

Between the two of them, Etasha is the fiercer fighter. It's not that she's particularly talented at warfare. There are a lot of much better fighters than her in the Weyr, she's not a guard, and she doesn't have much in the way of martial training. Etasha fights Thread, not people. It's just that when the chips are on the table and you have to fight or else die, she doesn't believe in hesitation. She'll go for whatever delicate vulnerable dangly parts she can hit, and she'll hit them with the heaviest object available. This is what you get when you're small: you learn to fight dirty to even the odds.

She had a long-standing streak of paranoia for a long while, one that she is actively working on. The Weyrs have to stand together these days, and she knows that. It's just... difficult to overcome the past, sometimes. On the whole, however, she is relaxed and friendly when she's not given a reason to be paranoid. In the company of those she trusts, she is warm and friendly and eager to please. Etasha has a taste for the finer things in life, but she isn't greedy: there's nothing that delights her more than the chance to share a small luxury with a friend who needs something to smile about.

Her loyalties lie securely with the Resistance. Obviously. Those sick, wher-loving, baby-stealing, murderous Wherholders should suck thread, then see if they come crying back to the dragonriders –

Ahem. Her feelings run strongly on this issue. It’s probably best not to get her started. Her father was a dragonrider, her family is Trine to the bone, and her love and loyalty to her weyr are borderline obnoxious. Needless to say, she and Coryxoth will not be defecting any time soon.

Other: N/A

Dragon
Name: Coryxoth
Age: 10
Colour: Black
Size: Very Small
Build: Above Average

Description: Image here!

Coryxoth is a handsome fellow – rather tiny, and a bit on the stout and sturdy side for a black of his size, perhaps, but that’s just because he was fortunate enough to be well-fed and happy before all these… troubles started. Overall he's rather small, having never grown all that much bigger than a green, but he's solidly built rather than having the wispy frail look that some atypicals get.

His primary shade is a deep dark grey, with a jet-black dorsal stripe running down his spine and two similar stripes running down his flanks, towards the belly. Below those flank stripes, his underbelly is lighter grey; Etasha sometimes fondly refers to them as his racing stripes. His legs are darker, shading lighter towards his feet. His muzzle is lighter grey, connected to two splotches of lighter grey over his eyes and a blaze of jet black running down his face. It pairs handsomely (or so he thinks) with a distinctly aquiline nose for a dragon and an impressive set of long headknobs.

Personality: Coryxoth is... well, perhaps he could be best described as a herd animal. The black is happiest when he is surrounded by other dragons. He positively wilts when he is alone, easily succumbing to anxiety and stress when he feels isolated. Unlike Etasha, he has no particular preference for Trine dragons over Malvren or Benden dragons. This might be partially due to dragons' shorter memories - most dragons don't actually remember where they were hatched without being prompted by their riders - or partly because Coryxoth just doesn't share Etasha's fierce streak. He's patriotic, sure. Trine is the best Weyr on Pern. But he's quiet about it, preferring to lead by example: he can best show the strength of Trine's atypicals by being a flawless example of what a wingrider ought to be.

He gets along slightly better with females than he does with other males - he picked a female rider for a reason, and that's because he tends to like them. The same holds true for dragons. This is not to say that he is hostile to his fellow blacks and blues and browns. It's just that sometimes the bigger males get it into their heads that they can boss Coryxoth around just because he is small and sterile and uninterested in Flights. Quite frankly, Coryxoth doesn't see what Flights have to do with strength to begin with. He's also a bit on the old-fashioned gentleman side, which further reinforces his preference for females: obviously a green can do anything that a black can do, but it still makes him happy in some small way to bring a pretty girl a caprine for breakfast or share the best sunning spot on the ledge with her.

When challenged, he can be quite the flashy little beast, flaring his wings and baring his teeth and generally showing off just as well as any bronze, but he'll never actually land a hit on another dragon. It's all a bluff to disguise the fact that Coryxoth hates the sight and smell of ichor. Blood, that's one matter. Herdbeast and wherry are both delicious. He's a predatory animal. But dragonkin ichor... It distresses him deeply to see one of his fellow dragons in pain. He's a sensitive soul, beneath the bluff and the swagger, not at all the brutal or militaristic type who would be willing to sacrifice the welfare of one for the welfare of many. In Coryxoth's eyes, you never leave a man - or a dragon, or a wher, or a dolphin - behind.

Other: N/A