Name: Ryala
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Sexual Preference: Hetero
Craft/Hall/Rank: Candidate
Personality: Generally quiet and gentle by nature, Ryala has been known to surprise folks with her strong will. She's a hard worker, and sincerely believes that there is nothing wrong with someone being their self. Oddly enough, she seems to be rather self-centered, though she's unaware of it. She will listen to what she's told, and follow orders until they clash with her own judgement. If she's told to do something that she disagrees with, she'll ignore what she's told and do what she believes is right. She also has little tolerance for those who try to shirk their duties, though she tries to be patient when dealing with them.
She will not accept bullying, and tries to talk the offender into finding a better solution. She doesn't mind joking around, whether she's the one doing it, or someone else is, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. She has great respect for workers of most professions, but has a particular fondness for music herself. When it comes to thieves, bandits, and *ahem* temporary company (mating flight excluded), though, she believes that they should be drawn and quartered, or dropped between.
Ryala can handle some of the day-to-day chores, like cleaning pots or mending bedfurs. However, she's an absolutely lousy cook, and should never be left responsible for fixing any meal. She absolutely refuses to touch any sort of alcoholic beverage, preferring to drink klah, fruit juices, or clean water.
Physical Description: Standing at 5'6", Ryala's slender form seems to be growing daily, though her bust remains small. This can tend to be a bit of a problem for her, especially when looking for appropriate attire. Under arched brows, lovely blue-grey eyes view the world from behind wayward strands of long red hair, which gently falls halfway down her back. Her strait nose is bridged by a faint scattering of freckles, which also appear lightly on her arms. Aside from that, her skin appears to be flawless. However, despite her natural slightly tan skin tone, she can still be subject to sunburns if she stays in bright sunlight too long.
Her pointed chin seems to give her face the appearance of being delicate, an impression helped by her long slender fingers. Her long legs end in feet that are definitely not delicate... they're larger than she likes, and when walking the big toe on her right foot tends to pop up. The one on her left foot does, too, but not as noticeably. The problem causes her to go through footwear in anywhere from a sevenday (if the workmanship was shoddy) to half a Turn (with better material and craftsmanship).
History: Ryala was born and raised as the second of three girls in a wealthy family in Bitra. The problem was, their wealth came from cheati -- uhh, gambling -- as tends to be the Bitran way. Although she turned out to not have any talent or interest for the art herself, she had no problems with spending the marks earned by the family. After all, if people felt the need to continuously be conned by the same tricks every time, then they deserved to lose their funds!
Being the middle child, Ryala was occasionally accused of having done things that her sisters did. Since, in her parents' eyes, her older sister was "old enough to know better" and her younger one was "too little to have done it", she ended up taking the fall for them a few times... but only when their was something in it for her, like a ribbon that she wanted. Otherwise, she found a way to prove that it was them that did whatever it was. The three of them mostly had fun together, though they still had nasty nicknames for each other. Ryala's sisters were fond of calling her "Beanpole", due to her growing height. It didn't bother her much, since her younger sister was a chubby little "Creampuff", and her older sister was a nagging "Wherry-hen".
As she grew, the girl learned of the great dragons, and desired to become a rider. Knowing that this wasn't likely, though, she started pestering her parents for a firelizard egg. To help achieve this, she quit taking the blame for her sisters entirely, no matter what the bribe, and straitened up her attitude, hoping to show that she was responsible enough to have a flit. After several Turns of hoping that she'd "just forget about it", they finally relented and purchased an egg. She was presented with it when she turned 16, and she was thrilled to finally realize this small dream. However, the little egg never hatched. Although she was upset, her parents were furious... they didn't pay good marks just to be given a dud! Apparently, other folks had purchased duds from the same supplier... and one of those other people had made the man pay with his life, and taken all his marks. The Lord Holder's men were still on the scene getting information from other duped customers when her parents arrived, and found that they could do nothing more than complain about the now dead cheapskate.
Unable now to demand a viable egg or a reimbursement of their fee, her father left on a hunt for a replacement egg. He hadn't yet returned when a Benden dragon arrived on Search. When informed that she was eligible to be a candidate, Ryala accepted, pushing the thought of a firelizard to the back of her mind. After failing to Impress at Benden's hatching, though, she requested to be transferred to a Weyr in a warmer climate. It wasn't long before she was sent to Ista Weyr, where she now waits with high hopes for either a dragon or a flit.
Talents: Stubborn, fair, sarcastic, honest, reliable
Notes: Ryala's unaware of the fact, but she has a twin out there somewhere... One day, I might just bring her into the Weyr, as well.
