Name: Laelin
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual, with heavy leanings toward males -- but touch-phobic.
Craft: Smithcraft -- Specialization in Ceramics subcraft
Rank: Apprentice // 'Candidate'

History: Laelin was raised just the same as everyone else in Ghenza -- his mother, Aurelia, was a Farmer who married Felin, a Smith, and thus Laelin (and his three older brothers) all became, well, Smiths. His mother is a gentle, humble woman with a passion for making their home strong and self-sufficient, and his father is a proud, sturdy, soft-spoken man with genteel sensibilities and a determination to excel at his craft and thus make himself notable. As such, Felin's pottery is quite well-known in the area both for decorative purposes and useful ones.

Though Laelin is younger he has been doing quite well in his studies with his father, learning to throw lovely symmetrical pieces on the wheel. He tried his hand at his mother's craft once when he was young, with disastrous consequences: his skin is fair, and he worked without a shirt in the middle of summer in his mother's little home garden, plowing and harvesting. This did not end well: by the end of the day, Laelin's skin was angry red and blistering everywhere it had been exposed. That incident, and the subsequent mockery and picking-on by Laelin's brothers, who relished pointing out how foolish he'd been by picking and prodding at his burns every chance they got, was the birth of a certain touch-phobia for the young potter. In present day, he's worked it up in his mind to a proper phobic fear of contact combined with a healthy dose of claustrophobia despite himself.

Appearance: Tall, lanky and narrow, the only parts of Laelin with much muscle are his arms and legs, from working at his profession -- legs from working the kick-wheel, and arms from steady work with clay and pottery and the fine skill needed to control the shape of the pots on the wheel. Otherwise, Laelin is simply wholesome and honest-looking and somewhat forgettable. His skin, slightly fair, is speckled with freckles, which are especially heavy on his shoulders and back from the whole sunburn fiasco. His hair is loose, a light chestnut-brown, and straight -- it's soft and pleasant to the touch, matching his mother's -- and falls a little bit over his slightly upturned, catlike light-brown eyes. It's a little bit like he's hiding behind his hair sometimes -- but it's not hard for Laelin to hide. Most of him is various shades mousy brown, and with his clothes usually somewhat covered in slip-clay and oversized, he's pretty darn good at fading into the background. If a little extra attention is paid to him, he'll smile -- and he does have a surprisingly delightful smile, soft-mouthed and gentle, that crinkles the corner of his eyes and makes him quite nice to look at in his own unassuming way. He does, in fact, also have a dimple.

Personality: Laelin is, in a word, somewhat ambiguous. He's hiding one hell of a personality behind his slightly dull exterior. He wants to be noticed, but at the same time, dealing with people isn't his strongest point -- so he ends up frustrated with himself whether he gets his wish or not. Still, even though he's a failure at being noticed, that doesn't mean he doesn't notice you. Laelin is watching and he wants to catch as much as he can. If he can't be the center of attention for his own sake, he wants to know all the best gossip -- and well, at a place like Ghenza, it's pretty easy. Not many people around means everybody knows everybody, and the smaller size means Laelin can usually find something interesting to listen in on. And make no mistake -- he's going to talk about it, too! What's the point of knowing information nobody else does if you don't disperse it?

Though he'd never give himself the title, Laelin is a gossip, shameless and when he feels it's warranted, somewhat vicious about it. He'll wield his knowledge like a blade if he feels wronged, and sometimes, just to get an edge over people. He's probably made a few enemies for himself in his day, but never anyone high-ranking who could make trouble for him. He'd be too worried to offend authority, though even they aren't immune to his ears.

On the flipside, he's also got a highly-developed personal bubble -- to the point of being somewhat phobic about being touched. He just can't handle it -- that sunburn incident had him in such misery for so long, it became second nature to fend off physical attacks, and then just developed from that to a combo-platter of touch-phobia and a healthy dose of claustrophobia too. He can't wear close-fitting clothes without feeling a little panicky, and intimate touching makes him, well, for lack of a better word, freak right out. It's not that he doesn't like people, it's just second-nature by now -- and unless he injures you, he's not likely to apologize for himself. Laelin will warn you just like everyone else, so take the hint or suffer the consequences.

One way or another, he's inherited his parents' love of hard work, to the point of sometimes forgetting himself in favor of finishing this pot or that dish until his belly's gnawing at his spine. Laelin works himself hard and keeps his nose (metaphorically) clean, and he expects everyone else to unless they're unable. He'd love a good long chat over the pottery wheel, too -- as long as you're working and giving him his personal space, he'll be personable in his own quiet, somewhat awkward way. Until he gets that new bit of gossip, and then he'll practically pop with the need to share.

Other: Laelin is intensely proud of his craft and would probably have sold what he could on the side or taken commissions as soon as his father would allow. Anyone who'd like could feel free to say they own a piece of his pottery.