Name: Chrysicai 
Age: 19
Gender: Androgyne (prefers either masculine (he) or increasingly neutral (they) pronouns)
Rank: Candidate
Appearance:
Genetics did Cai a favor when it comes to physical appearance. Cai stands at a modest but acceptable 5'8" with a generally narrow frame from top to bottom. Determined effort has broadened and defined the muscles of their upper torso and arms, giving them a slightly more triangular silhouette while ensuring their ability to keep up with the sometimes grueling demands of being a candidate.
His skin is fair and bears the dragons share of perns freckle allotment it seems, covering almost every inch of exposed flesh. More often than not it appears flushed either with sun, or high emotion as Cai's natural reaction to anything is to turn bright red. The closely shorn hair atop Cai's head is a vibrant orange color in no way resembling a pretty sunkissed blond, nor warm russet. It is just orange. Given time to grow, it may take on a more yellowish tint, but there will be no escaping that eyecatching shade until it is taken over by age.
Cai's grey eyes are set beneath thick straight brows and are only a shade or two lighter than the candidates uniform they wear daily. His pointed chin and jawline could be potentially described as strong, or stubborn depending upon your tastes and his nose is neither particularly long nor short, though the tip does turn up just a bit.
Personality: Responsible, Bold, Trustworthy
Sarcastic, Argumentative, Controlling
Sit Down. Shut Up. Do as I say or get out of my way. Cai is In Charge and you'll just have to deal with it. They need to have their fingers in every little pie and everything needs to go as they expect it to. Cai is very much the micromanager. They'll constantly be on others backs, making sure they're doing their work properly. Cai doesn't so much agree with lazing about. There are things to be done and people need to do them NOW not later or when they feel like it.
Someone OBVIOUSLY needs to take control of these unruly kids and get them into shape! Cai believes their doing what's best for the Weyr and it's inhabitants though many will just find him bossy. Cai will question anyone and everyone's methods if they don't think they're the best. "Why not do it this way? It would go a lot faster if you did this..." ect. Cai hates to argue about it and if possible they'd prefer to do a job personally rather than trust to someone else's shoddy methods.
Cai internalizes a lot of emotion and stress. Their need for control of their external situation often comes from a pessimistic and anxious mind automatically jumping to the worst possible scenarios at any given moment. Cai's highly defensive and protective of their own privacy and an insistence that yes, everything is ok and no one should worry about them at all because they have things under control if people would just leave them alone and let them work! Cai's driven to keep their mind busy so as not to dwell on things and any idle time must be filled with productive tasks to stave off anxiety.
Casual, reserved friendships are safe enough and fairly easy to maintain as long as it's a person who doesn't fret over being snapped at on occasion. Anything deeper is difficult for Cai and requires a lot of effort on both parts to preserve the type of wary trust they must give in order to have that connection.
History:
(I used pronouns to reflect his identity during the time being written about, not those Cai currently identifies with now.)
Born in a moderately sized cothold near Nabol Cai was one of the various orphans of the plague brought to the Sofianes shelter as a toddler. Cai was raised among the order rather than being fostered out. As a young child, she had trouble socializing with the children around her age, preferring the company of older children and adults. This persisted throughout most of her time in the orphanage. She spent most of her free time among the women of the order, listening to their stories and absorbing the messages within them.
As she aged, she began to help the Sofianes in caring for the younger children. It started as picking up after them and holding the youngest while they cried, then progressed to feeding, changing clothes and bathing as she grew large enough to safely hold the toddlers. By the age of ten it looked like Cai had made up her mind to become a Sofianist herself and devote her life to the 'greater good'.
The effects of the Dragonplague were largely removed from where she lived, though she'd heard small snippits of worried conversations among the adults around her, many did not want to speak in front of the children.
Entering into her pre-teens during the Civil Wars she developed a wider understanding of the political and social aspects of the order. What with the influx of orphans and refugees from the battles it would be hard to keep the knowledge of the war away from her. Cai began to learn more about the world outside of her Hold and even Nabol. Cai learned of the actions taken by other groups of Sofianes in their effort to improve the lives of the unfortunate. While in her own small hold, activism wasn't even considered, she craved news from various travelers of Sofianes in other Holds. Of minor uprisings and protests, even of those that turned to violence to affect change. In her eyes, these actions were justified. Did not Sufia herself spend her life fighting the vicious ruler of Nerat to bring peace and prosperity to her people?
It had been well over a turn since the last Search passed by their area. She was now 13 and among those presented to the passing rider. The young man, a firm believer in Rider Servitude, didn't need to say much to inspire the young girl to accept his offer of Search (never mind the fact that two other children her age who she'd managed to befriend were also searched). In her mind she rationalized it as a quick and efficient means to gaining the political power to Do something. Merely by being a rider, she would have the ability to create change, plus every one knew riders were rich. She wouldn't need the marks, but she could send them back here and to other Sofianes so that they may do good in her stead.
That she would be away from her small hold and those who raised her did not scare her. That she may not find like-minded folks or that she would encounter those who believed far different from her never crossed her mind. She had the luxury of a couple of friends and even if she didn't, she had her mission. She left everything behind, bringing only enough clothing to keep her warm for the short hop between to the Weyr. She had no real idea of what she'd just signed up for.
During her first turn of Candidacy, with hair shorn and body beat into shape that Cai really came into his own identity. While candidacy was the same in theory for both boys and girls, Cai found comfort in adopting a more masculine persona though he still identified mostly as female. At first it was to assert his position in the weyr's society. He was observant enough to notice that while they weren't as bad as some places, High Reaches still held a preference for males in general, especially male riders. Cai used this opportunity of being a relative stranger to most to adopt a new identity to further his own goals. As he settled into the role, he found a relief in it of a stress that he hadn't really been able to place before.
Cai took a little longer than average to finally be ready for a squire. Between puberty doing it's best to drive him insane; his rather outspoken, stubborn and somewhat rebellious temper; and the fact that no matter how hard he worked it seemed his body was not the type to put on the muscle he wanted, it was a miracle that Cai managed. It was the support of his friends that got him through those turns after the first. When he was chosen though, it was by a rider of third wing one. Seeing violent death first hand, being exposed to the reality of it rather than just the concept from second hand talk put a damper on his belief the the ends justify the means. It also sparked a surprising and previously unexplored interest in anatomy and medicine. While he'd only had two turns with his first squire, it changed Cai's mindset in a very dramatic way.
During that time he also began to once again question his identity. He'd put himself into his current position out of what he thought was necessity to begin with, then found comfort and ease in it that allowed him to relax some of his more uptight tendencies. His friendship with his two companions had grown stronger and much closer than any of them had anticipated. The trio kept it to themselves for the most part, not wanting to get caught out but it wouldn't be impossible to an observer to note that there was a distinct intimacy forming between the three. Still, Cai found himself growing tired of the constant self-imposed pressure to prove his masculinity. To who, he wasn't even sure anymore.
Cai was transferred to a new squiremaster when his previous was demoted for a bad habit of challenging other riders to duels... and not settling for just a scratch on the cheek. For Cai this was purely a good thing. His new squiremaster was a young woman who'd flown in 3-1 with his previous squiremaster and had just been promoted to Second Wing. The 16 turn old found himself absolutely in awe as he got to know her. Re'ka was impressive to say the least and challenged his impression of who and what female riders could be in the weyr. While Cai never could quite let go enough to be completely at ease with her hedonistic ways, and flirting with anyone was something that still turned this redhead's ears a bright shade of crimson, he did find their hours working together to be quite the lesson in being yourself despite others opinions.
Cai would stand for another three turns, leaving the Sands empty handed with his friends each time and yet he felt little disappointment in it. Yes he wanted to become a rider, but his initial devotion to the Sofianes had matured along with his identity and was more ambiguous than his youthful zeal. Soul searching had very much become the name of the game in Cai's late teens and he started thinking of himself as less male, but no more female than he had since he'd arrived at High Reaches.
Now the fire of passion seeks to burn strong again as old beliefs are brought forefront and center with the sudden appearance of Sharath and her entourage in their time. Cai was right there with those who pressed at any perceived weakness in the protections around the time riders, seeking any opportunity to catch sight of them or better yet get in to talk with them. As a candidate with little sway anywhere in the weyr, Cai was unable to breech the tight quarantine until it was lifted. With Sofianes crowding the weyr, and their entire idea of what dragons were capable of shaken, Cai is thinking hard again on Impression. Maybe there was a reason Cai had gone unbonded so long...
Other: The pair frequently mentioned are two of Shaddaling's characters, Wen and Jemi. I left as much vague as possible about them so she can write them on her own time. I just want to get Cai in on things now. Cai's story has been written with input from her though to work what bits are in here out. biggrin
