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Approved by Tawny

Name: Nilah "Ny-la"
Age: Seventeen turns
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft/Rank: Apprentice Starcrafter
History: Nilah was born to sensible parents, if nothing else can be said for them. They were farmcrafters, with a small holding. They had been thrilled when a local healer had informed them that they were expecting a child. Nilah's father had hoped for a boy. A good, strong boy to help about their fields. A boy to take over their holding when he fell to age. A boy to teach how to fish, a boy to teach how to hunt wherries.

Perhaps he had hoped too much. He was sorely disappointed when his wife gave birth to Nilah. He did warm up to her--teaching her to fish, to hunt wherries--he did his best to bond with his daughter. He failed, for the most part. Nilah, though interested in gleaning as much information as she could about fishing, hunting, tending the fields--was never interested in actively doing so.

No, what Nilah liked to do was read. She would hunker down under a tree, in a room, reading records, songs, harper tales.

It wasn't until she had reached her fifteenth turn that she had a dose of reality. Thread! Thread had returned! With it came the destruction of her family; though no one had been too badly injured. Many of the crops they had planned to harvest that season had been destroyed. The wherries they depended so greatly upon, gone. They fostered Nilah to a Master Starcrafter at Trine hold, hoping that she would eventually be able to make something of herself--and return with marks enough to help them rebuild.

For about a month, Nilah took in all she could from her master. Learning to chart the stars, their names. She learned how to tell the difference between planets and stars, and why some stars varied in color. That changed when a dragonrider visited, declaring that they were on Search. There would be a clutch soon.

Nilah had never thought much about that possibility; now faced with it, she was forced to. The aspect of leaving the place she had only just begun to call home for a new one frightened her. Surely the Weyr had records--even if she did not Impress, she would learn from the experience. She accepted the rider's invitation.

Description: Nilah has pointed, sharp facial features. She has long, straight, auburn hair that falls nearly to her pointed elbows. Often times it ends up covering her eyes, which are brown. She is rather dimunitive in height. She is not especially thin due to her past habits of inactivity and times of plenty while at the Her pointer finger and middle finger on the right hand are caloused from writing, close to the knuckle.

Her fingers are often smudged with ink.

While she is usually clean otherwise, the girl seems to have a habit of making holes in her clothing. Whether this is intentional or from sheer clumsiness, remains unknown. She appears to get dressed in a hurry; she may go to do daily chores without realizing that her boots are on the wrong feet. Ouch! Her clothing often clashes in color.

Her fingers are often smudged with ink.

Personality: Nilah is very articulate, choosing her words carefully. If ever insulted, her tone becomes formal and icy. She is always polite; some would say she has a smug tone to her words at times. She will quite intentionally use words that she believes her peers would be unable to understand if she's in one of her superior moods. Fortunately, these are few and far between. Only if she is questioned on a subject she deems simple, will she do this. She is very intelligent, and has a goal to impress those around her.

Despite not being particularly friendly, Nilah has a desire to fit in. She is quiet upon first meeting people; she would rather observe than participate, until a point. She loves to make people smile. She loves to help out; chores are no bother to her, having grown up in a small farmcrafting holding.

As a child, Nilah was easily fooled, trusting just about anything people told her. She still has the natural, childlike expectation that people tell the truth, at least most of the time. Once upon a time, if someone had told her that there was a wild wher under her cot, she would have believed them. Instead of being frightened like one would expect, however, she would undoubtedly search for it. Now, at seventeen turns old, she knows better; still, she will not fail to seek adventure.

She listens more than she speaks; and if she hears tell of a firelizard nest or an injured wher, Nilah is going to want to be there. This habit of seeking out danger--as can be expected, can lead to serious consequences. Curiousity killed the firelizard; well, it can get a candidate into trouble. If not injured.

She is extremely impatient. She has a bad habit of twitching her arms, bouncing on the balls of her feet, and tapping her fingers--movement in general when she feels something hasn't happened soon enough. This trait will show itself whenever she is moody--or particularly excited about something. If there is a clutch on the sands, expect to hear fingers tapping. Her impatience can cause her to jump to conclusions about others; and may cause her to judge others for holding a line up or if she feels someone's droned on too long. As she's a listener, rather than a talker, Nilah shows her impatience through body language.

She is loyal to a fault, often being defensive of friends at awkward times and judging others by how they have treated them. It doesn't matter if her friend is the one in the wrong; they will always have Nilah there to back them up. Whether it's an excuse describing exactly why they were late to chores again or if someone has made one of her friends a target. She is possessive and protective of the friends she gains. This does not mean she will jump in the way of a blade if ever one was produced--rather that she will verbally defend them with tones of cool superiority. She will fight reason with reason. Due to this possessive, protective behavior, however, Nilah will be wary of those attempting to approach her usual companions, regardless of their intentions. She often regrets this behavior afterward, but rarely acts on this.

She tends to be extremely imaginative. This may have to do with long candlemarks spent reading and listening to local harper. She seems to have utmost faith in harpertales. She tends to be vain. She will soak up compliments like a sponge; but will say very little in response to them.

Nilah dreams of a better Pern, and more recently, one without Thread. She hopes to see a Pern where everyone is treated equally within her lifetime, in holds and Weyrs. She fears, above all else, losing her family and those closest to her. After losing the majority of their livelihood to Thread, Nilah worries that her family will be faced with future difficulties.

Other:

Hey! This looks fine for the most part, just a few points.

- History is fine, but Thread fell a couple of turns ago now. That would make her about 17 if she was 15 at the time.

- Personality.

- Given her desire to fit in, does she regret it when she gets superior and acts in a manner that could alienate people?

- Given her impatience does she jump to conclusions about people, and situations? How does this affect her negatively?

- How does the fact that she's impatient fit in with her nature as a listener? Doesn't she want to butt in on things, or charge off to look for the nest before she's heard full details?

- I'd like to hear a bit about her fears, hopes and dreams and how she deals with those. Thanks!

Okay, thanks, approved!