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Name: Shenja
Age: 13
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Homosexual
Craft/Rank: Entertainer – not an official craft, but he travels with his trader family and performs his acrobatic feats at gathers.
Description:
Shenja's face is round and impish, with large, sparkling grey eyes and short, messy pale blonde hair. He is on the short side of average, with an athelete's body, all knots and no bulk. He tries to keep his clothing of a loose, mobile, and simple variety, but sometimes his sister makes him dress up.
His normal expression is a mischievous smile... except when he is serious. Then you know something is wrong.
Personality:
Shenja is an impish and charming young man with a powerful desire for attention and a keen eye for things others may miss. He is a showoff and takes great pride in his skills as an acrobat, and likes to play with those skills and show them off whenever possible.

Seemingly carefree and energetic, he often gets into trouble, which his sister has to either prevent or bail him out of. He doesn't seem to comprehend danger or horror, he simply enjoys what he does and that is enough for him.

This innocence hides a clever and calculating child who understands far more than he appears to, and is manipulating more than he ought.

He tends to poke his nose into places it doesn't belong and eavesdrop if given the opportunity while not supervised. This has led to trouble (that he has attempted to charm his way out of) and to some very interesting opportunities for adventure. He finds this fun because he never knows what he might hear. Little pitchers have big ears, as the saying goes, and this little pitcher can walk lightly on a wire.

Of course, sometimes it means he hears sobering things that hurt his normally cheerful worldview.

When something pierces his happy view of the world, he latches onto it and tries to understand it. And if it would hurt him or someone he cares about, he keeps on his act of cheer, all the while, manipulating the situation to make it go away.

Very few have seen the serious, insightful, authoritative side of him, and even his own sister, who he is very close to, almost thinks its a mirage. He's a lot more like her than anybody, including himself, realizes, but as long as she's there this isn't going to emerge.

Shenja is also highly social. No fear of strangers at all.
Sometimes, he spends some time doing something else, like chores or some other unobtrusive menial task near a person he wants to approach, observing them from afar. This is only when he is being cautious. Most times, he will walk right up to someone and say hi, trying to get them to talk.
He tends to make one of a few specific first impressions. He generally either comes across as a too-friendly annoying little trader brat who is probably trying to cheat you out of your marks, a troublemaking imp, a generally friendly harmless kid, or a smiling child of no importance. Or other: those are just the ways he commonly comes across to people.
Of course, this lack of fear can be problematic when he screws up and approaches someone he shouldn't have, or approaches them the wrong way.

He usually will try to talk/weasel his way out of trouble should it arise, using the trader art of fast-talking and the entertainer art of lying. Which could always potentially get him in more trouble.

And if he can't weasel his way out and things start to get ugly, He'll try to run using his nimblness as an acrobat to his advantage.
Whenever he has a chance to be a show off he is. Even when he is in danger he honestly can't help himself. He knows he is dextrous and nimble and can do some amazing things with his body. He's proud of it. He works hard to keep himself in shape. Even if nobody is around, he gets fancy with his moves... he just enjoys the feel of the complexity, the pride and knowledge of how good he is.

Of course, showing off on an unplotted course, especially in a situation where he is running from something, can be problematic. Things happen, like OH SHARDS I DIDN'T KNOW THAT BOARD WAS THERE. Or OH SHARDS I DIDN'T KNOW THAT PLANK WAS ROTTED or OH SHARDS THERES A DRAGON THERE.
Things like that.

And when hes in trouble where he cant weasel, charm, or run his way out of it... thats when he calls for his sister. Not that he wouldn't call her over to help him at any point, if not just to annoy her than because she tends to know how to get him out of trouble.
Of course she punishes him later. So its really out of the frying pan and into the timeout corner...

Shenja isn't all roguish acrobat-trader. He has a noble side that prevents him from being a self serving little narcissist brat. If someone is in need, he cannot ignore them. He's tried, and it resulted in sleepless nights and a loss of pep that was not pleasant for him. If he sees someone as needy and/or downtrodden, he will be there, their knight in... sort of shining armor that isn't his... to help them.

He is not normally a gullible kid, but when someone he sympathizes with (such as said needy and/or downtrodden people) tells him something, he feels almost compelled to believe it. And, on occasion, act on it. He tends to think like a Pernese Robin Hood, taking from the 'wrongdoer' and giving to the 'wronged'
He feels good about the deed and sleeps better...
Of course, someone could lie. And, because of this situational gullibility, he might believe a lie that causes him to do things with consequences he might not want, or that others might not want.

(Traits Summary: Troublemaker, Charming, Observant, Social, Narcissistic/Self confident/Self overconfident, Noble)
Other:

On Dragons:
Shenja has never stood. For a while he was too young, and then he and his caravan just had the... luck, good or ill... to not be in the right place at the right time to be Searched.
He's a smart kid, but he just has never considered dragons and dragon riders as anything more than customers and an audience.
If he had to think about it, he would say that the traditional system of color and stuff has worked for a long time... but that doesn't mean its 'right' or 'good'. Who you are doesnt matter as much as what you do, and in that respect he agrees with the revolutionaries... Just not with what they are doing.
He doesn't like violence, however, and though he was younger at the time and only heard rumors, he finds the events of the revolution at Benden disturbing and tragic. He'd like to pretend such things only happen in ghastly stories told around campfires.
He doesn't see himself as an agent of color equality, but again, if pressed, he would say that there has to be a better way.

Still. If called, he would answer. He wouldn't like being separated from Diedre, but he knows enough to know that a dragon without a rider is a dead dragon. And if he refused to stand, he would feel responsible somehow for a hatchling's death. If he left, then he wouldn't be able to care for a dragon.

Of course, though this kid has thought of everything else, he just hasn't thought about himself actually impressing.

Or Didi for that matter. She's a trader, and in his mind will always be a trader.
But if she impressed, Shenja would likely stay with her. Leaving her for a dragon is wholly different than leaving her for a caravan. He feels that he has to help/annoy her, and to some extent protect her... and be protected. She is also an element of stability for him.
So if she impressed, he'd be right there with her.

On hopes and dreams and... Stuff:
Shenja could see himself being a trader and an acrobat forever, sure. But he's a bit of a wily oppurtunist. If something comes his way that interests him, he will investigate it. If he ends up trying to be a jack of all trades, he will accept that.
He takes life as it comes.
And as long as the people around him are happy or can be made happy by his actions... so shall he be happy. Simple enough.

Fears...
He doesn't like them. He ignores his fears behind his own cheer. It seems like he is fearless, but he has them.
Oh shards he has them.
He fears danger in the dark. He fears blood in dark alleys. He fears monsters. He fears thread.
He fears his sister and extended family being harmed by all of those things.
He'd like to keep them safe, keep that danger away.
But the sorts of dangers that keep him up at night could be lurking around any corner. He's never at rest, really.


Name: Diedre “Didi”
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft/Rank: Trader
Description:
Diedre is always concerned with her appearance. She likes to... look... responsible and reasonable. Her clothes, even on the road and dirty, are kept in reasonable condition.
Even when her brother is in her hair.
Her eyes are a stern grey, and her carefully tied up hair is a dirty blond. She has a very severe look to her, a maternal air. Shes the sort of person that many would instinctively not mess with, just on looks.
Personality:

Didi is a straight-backed, no nonsense young lady. She may still be young but she acts and thinks like an adult. She has a bit of a temper, and will crack and break into scolding and shouts eventually. It's a gradual escalation, though, not a sudden snap.

Diedre is slow to anger. She has a sort of look that she gives people who frustrate her, a cool, motherly look that sends chills down spines and communicates that she won't take s**t from anybody. She speaks calmly and sternly when she's like this, and tries to get her point across as clearly as she can.

It's fairly intimidating, but due to her age- she is still tender and unseasoned in the eyes of many- It doesn't always do what she wants it to do, which is get people to do what they should be doing.

Shenja, especially, likes to laugh at her glare. Better meaning people give her a smile and do the work.
And some people glare right back.
When her look fails, thats when she starts to get angry. She starts out slowly.
Usually she will talk first, getting more and more frustrated and restraining herself more and more until, finally, she hits a breaking point.
And then suddenly she will be shouting. It's a very rational rage- not quite a disgusting tantrum but it could be mistaken for one. It is probably terrible for her health, and Shenja finds it quite funny.

After she's calmed down, she is usually prickly and sulky and annoyed... but she will also move on. Holding grudges is not in her nature, and if she is holding a grudge, it was built up over many episodes of frustration.

Diedre is, aside from a scalding temper, a natural leader. She knows what needs to be done, and she will do it. She has a great sense for who does well in some things and not in others, and has a knack for assigning them tasks that they either appreciate, like, are good in, or at least two of the above. Sometimes people don't like the jobs, but she usually tries to talk people into at least tolerating their job, or acknowledging that it's a necessary job that they need to do, or are extremely capable at doing, or something like that.

If she can, she will work too, and will perform any job she is able to perform that needs someone to do it. She isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and she certainly doesn't shy away from work.
Its just that managing is also a very important job that not many can do.

She is a canny trader, and has been known to turn a raw, crappy deal into something fair. She can negotiate very well in most situations, as long as she keeps her emotions out of the way, which she usually can do, except when people really upset her, as above.

It really is hard to do, though... the frustration-to-explosion thing. That takes serious stubbornness on the part of everybody involved. Mostly she just acts like someone fed her too many lemons.

She may be cranky, but she isn't really mean or antisocial, just very focused. Some might find her severity off-putting, but she will, if not happily, then seriously listen to your problems and offer solutions. Sometimes, she will engineer the solution. She won't say it in as many words, but she does care for people- even if she may seem cold and bitchy- and it it rare for her to actually hate someone.

People need to be physically and mentally healthy if they are to do their best, and she wants to make sure everybody is at their best.

With this philosophy, she knows she should take better care of herself, but she finds it hard to take it easy and stop working. It's hard for her to manage herself. Sometimes, she needs someone else to tell her to stop.

She won't admit it, but like her little brother she is very curious and adventurous. She usually holds herself back, but sometimes it shines through.

In all, Didi is a strong leader and trader with a powerful and repressed curiosity and a good head for people and fairness, who doesn't cut herself any damn slack.

Other:

On Dragons and color:
Diedre has also had the dubitable luck to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time to stand. And she has regretted it. She feels that standing for a Hatching is the duty of anybody of appropriate mindset and age.

If she Impressed, she would immediately take responsibility for the dragon under her care and start wrapping things up nice and neatly with her caravan, finding someone to take on her duties for her.

She would stay in the weyr and do the best she could by her charge- they are a great hope to a planet, after all.

Unlike her brother, she has given some thought to impressing, the occasional youthful fantasy. She thinks she would do well as Weyrwoman. She knows that leadership is her strength, and she knows that very few people are willing to give as much effort as she does. She doesn't consider this bragging, just fact.

But even if she didn't impress a gold (or a crimson), she would take her role in stride and try to excell in any way she could.

Looking in from the outside, she sees no problem with the color system. She is under the impression that people gravitate to the roles they are most suited for, and fancies that thats how impression works.

Of course, she is a natural leader and if she Impresses and is stuck in a role that does not fit that, she may have issues with it then. She'd likely be a bit irritated.

Her brother and her agree, though- violence is never the answer. Careful deals and manipulation is the proper way to the goal. Less blood spilled, less upset people.

On the Future:
Didi wants to be a trader. She wants to run her own caravan.
Dreams? Desires?
Dreams are impractical. Desires need to be controlled and scrutinized. She may once have daydreamed about becoming a dragon rider- who doesnt- but that isn't a real goal. Thats a pasttime. She doesn't have the time for pasttimes.

She's in the present. The past was done. The future is uncertain. She makes plans that will hold in that uncertain future and keep people in the black... not plots that sprawl out over large spans of time. Shenja plots. She stays in the practicality of reality.
So no dreams or desires for her.

Fears though...
Shes got fears.
She is very close to Shenja. Despite how annoying he is, he is her baby brother. He's always been there. She may not show it, but she loves him dearly. He knows this. She knows this.
She's afraid that, in his mischeif, he will go too far. He'll miscalculate. He'll fall. He'll piss off the wrong person.
She doesn't want to think about what would happen if he died.
She also fears failure.

History:
Diedre and Shenja were born in Benden hold. Their mother was a holder married to a travelling trader. They rarely saw their father, but he would bring back tales of travel that facinated Shenja and tales of trade that facinated Diedre.

When Diedre was 13 (and Shenja was 9), their mother decided to talk to their father about him taking them with him.
For one thing, Diedre was showing an aptitude for math and bartering skills, as well as a good head on her shoulders even at the tender age of 13. Her mother felt that she would make a good trader like her father.

Also, she had fallen on hard times and was finding it difficult to take care of two children, one of whom was incredibly adventurous and energetic.
Since the two were inseparable- Shenja always pestering Diedre and Diedre constantly keeping Shenja in line- she figured that if she could convince their father to take them with him she might be able to have enough time and energy to get to a better place in her life.

Being both persuasive and offering liberal sex, she managed to get their father to agree.
He was looking for new traders anyway.

So, one day without much more than a pack-your-bags, Diedre and Shenja left Benden with their father and joined the Caravan.

Shenja, being a charming, energetic, and helpful boy (at times) became well liked by the others. In particular, his natural flexibility made him popular at rest time as entertainment, and when selling wares, he proved himself useful as an attractor both with his acrobatics and his very good barking voice.
Being clever, he often helped the caravan's 'fixer' – the clever and fast-talking guy who manipulated things to keep the caravan out of trouble. It was speculated that Shenja was his apprentice, but since 'fixer' is not a real craft and both parties were slippery as hell, it was hard to tell.
He was also an annoyance to many, a prankster who got into more trouble than he was worth sometimes... but many traders have a good sense of humor so he did okay.

Their father, seeing Diedre's aptitude, began tutoring her further in math, bartering... Tradecraft. She started taking on accounting duties for him, managing his trades and reporting to the caravan leader.

This left him more time to... well...

Their father was actually a bit of a womanizer, and in their travels, they met a few half-siblings. The two they know of and keep contact with while in the area are Brennac, a Journeyman Smithcrafter at Telgar and Menndan, a very young boy (younger than Shenja) living at Trine dolfincrafthall (met after the route shift).

(possible future characters)
Since they didn't stay in the same place for long periods of time, they dont know their half siblings very well.

But they know enough to be somewhat angry at their father. (Not too angry, though. Their mother DID toss them out.)

Thread's return proved troublesome for trading caravans, but being part of a larger trading company gave them some advantages in terms of warnings and resources.
They also changed their habits, travelling quickly on the road and spending more time in holds.
The trading company had just moved their caravan and their route to the Southern contident to reinforce it's trade routes down there when the revolution hit. They were picking up supplies by boat at Ista Weyr when they heard the news.
The caravan was, for the most part, stunned by the whole affair. How could such a horrific thing happen?
There was little they could do but continue their route.

As of the current time, they have made their second stop at Trine carrying goods that they traded for in anticipation of a Hatching and Feast.

Hey Draconic! The base of the characters you have here is fine, but they will need more detail to them before I can approve.

History

- Which hold did their mother live in, and what was their early childhood like? How did their experiences differ? How did each of them get on with other children?

- What ages did they join up with their father, and what did they think of leaving their mother and friends at the Hold behind? How well had they known him before? Did he visit often? You only mention one visit, where they're given the choice to go with him or not; if that's the first time they saw him them wanting to go along seems very unlikely.

- How have meta events affected the family? What do they think of the Weyrs, and of the Revolution faction?

- If you want them to become candidates they will need to be in a position to be searched; a trade visit to the Weyr should work fine.


Personalities

Both of them need some more detail adding to them if they're going to be matched to dragons. Consider their hopes, dreams and fears. What things do they like and dislike? How do they get on with other people (besides one another). What do they each like and dislike in life; what gives them joy and what annoys them. What do they value most in other people, and in life?

I'd also like to hear what they each think about dragons if you want them to be candidates; why would they accept the offer rather than go on travelling with their father? What do they think of different colours, and the way the Weyr is structured?


Thanks in advance! I look forward to seeing your additions.

*stirs cauldron*

REvised!

Made some minor edits, and some formatting edits, and oh deat i didn't realize I slipped up there.

Shenja is similar to another character of mine, Shawn, so I keep accidentally slipping up razz