Name: Roka
Age: 30 31
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Unknown.
Craft: Healer craft - Trauma and Mindhealing
Rank: Journeywoman
History: Roka never knew her parents. Don't feel bad, who does when it comes to Weyrbrats like her? As a child, she was interested in dragons enough to agree to candidacy. Obviously, she never impressed. This didn't devastate her, but it did, however, offend her. Why wasn't she good enough? Stupid dragons!
Her best friend since childhood didn't face this rejection, becoming a greenrider among many. Roka, too, remained with her, though only after she spent more turns learning the tricks and trade of her craft. A sickness struck her down; a flu that was vicious enough to have causalities, and among them, her friend's beloved younger sister. So beloved, in fact, her friend just seemed to... lack the willpower to try and get better.
As others revived themselves, aided by other healers, from the illness, Roka watched helpless as her friend wasted away, too consumed in mourning the loss to concern herself with her own. She died, and after her dragon would suicide, they both left behind a completely baffled woman. It was this loss that prompted Roka to seek out more information about not just the physical needs of humans, but their emotional needs. She saw first hand that, without things she had previously cast aside as useless (willpower, love, feelings in general), not even a healer could help.
Since that time, she's bounced around from Weyr to Weyr, and now is hitting High Reaches before she finally returns home to Telgar.
Appearance: 5'6" and less than average weight, Roka, literally, is a sight for sore eyes. She doesn't look as old as she is, often mistaken for being in her twenties. This both helps and hinders her work; many assume her to be younger and thus less experienced than she is, but on the other hand, it's easy to have good beside manner when you're easy on the eyes. She has a traditional hour glass figure and isn't exactly lacking in the chest area, nor is she short on tops that flaunt this feature.
Her skin is dark enough to suggest it's the product of lineage rather than the sun, but being commonplace among Weyrbrats, no one seems to know what said lineage is enough to be sure. Her hair, too, is very dark, running down her back with a slight wavy sort of curl to it. Both are a contrast to her fairly light brown, oval-shaped eyes.
Personality: The first thing that Roka would make known about her is that she is a firm believer the healing of the body is no good without the mending of the mind. Other healers may feel the same, but Roka takes it to the extreme. It took some life experience to influence such a strong opinion, yes, and now she couldn't imagine thinking any other way. Although Pern has no established science for psychology, chances are, Roka is one of the closet things you'll get. She spends much time observing others behaviors, placing unknowing parties into what she calls "reaction tests"; scenarios which she involves multiple people in and pays close attention to the most and least common reactions. Of course, as this practice is more of a hobby than a job most of the time, it's of no surprise she's a specialist in trauma as well.
Alert and perceptive, Roka always seems to have at least a minor idea of what's going on around her. She's very observant of both events and the people involved with them, and given her line of work, one would expect nothing less. Not even little things slide past her when she's paying attention. She saw that face you made! Don't think she didn't catch that!
Speaking of, Roka has been called two-faced. Not because she's a liar. Not because she'll gossip about you behind your back. No, that's far from an issue. So why would someone accuse her of it? Because Roka handles people and patients very differently. With the later, she is mostly gentle handed. This has not always been so, but overtime, she has learned it with much practice and effort. It's not perfected quite yet, and her old ways may resurface in the face of a troublesome person. She has no problem quickly deciding what to do no matter who is around. Crisis? Psh. She can handle it.
Roka likes to be in charge when she's in her natural element and doesn't play nice with others when they step up to challenge her leadership if she feels she's best suited. Which she does, or she wouldn't be running this show, pal. Against someone too much like her, this stubbornness only intensifies. Putting two people like Roka together almost never turns out well. You know what they say: You're your own worst enemy. It doesn't help she's incredibly competitive, more than she realizes, and may take something as simple as a suggestion more personal than she should. Sometimes, Roka needs to learn she might not always know best, and that ways differing from her own can solve problems just as well.
In her work, she is competent and organized. A peculiar thing indeed given her room is in complete disarray. Clothes on the floor, things tossed randomly about, all the while her place of work is in no less than mint condition. Roka doesn't notice the irony in this, and if she did, probably wouldn't care. No one is going to be seeing her living quarters any time soon. All they see is the space of someone neat and tidy who has no tolerance for error or wrong doings being repeated. Sure, everyone makes mistakes. Just don't make them twice. Especially not if you're her apprentice. It's not really a wonder of the world why she doesn't have any. Her rule is you have one 'get out of failure' free card. Rules are not meant to be broken. Social taboos are. Sometimes.
All work, no play. What else would you expect? She didn't get to where she is in her craft by not being a workaholic. If Roka doesn't have a goal, something to work toward, she feels unhappy, as if she has no purpose. Don't mistake her as a social reject held up in an office for the rest of her life. She enjoys speaking with others and holds a confident air around her when doing so. She's outgoing, outspoken and if it's hard to relate to this loudmouthed, foulmouthed woman depends on the object of her social conquest. Criticism in her personal and work endeavors never seem to hold much weight for her future decisions. On the other hand, she likes positive attention; being praised she enjoys very much. She's a bit greedy of a woman, too, certainly not lacking in affection for material possessions.
Roka would like to leave some sort of legacy behind her, but only time will tell if this should come to pass. For now, she just goes about her daily life, sometimes intimidating the more mild mannered. Anyone who can stand up to her is a vessel for her respect. Don't mistake this for her liking you. They're two very different things. Roka positively loathes being told no, and as previously mentioned, doesn't like working as an equal either. However, she is very inquisitive, more so when it comes to learning things she didn't know before. She's mastered toning down her adventurer's spirit, acting as though she's never daydreamed in her life. This part of her can be quieted, but it can't be killed. If she seems curious, she is curious.
Empathy is a quality Roka admires and one she needs work on. She's becoming more affectionate for her patients over time, though.
Other:
- Stitches, burns, broken bones and things of that nature she can heal, mend, handle and treat with all the experience she's gathered over the years.
- Extremely good memory; not likely to forget anyone's name, or even their dragon's name.
- Excels in leadership.
Reply
