Name of and link to old profile: Flinli of green Flinsk
Handler
Name:Flinli
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation:
Rank: wher handler journeyman/Apprentice minecrafter
History: (I'm writing this with the wher as a green, since that's her original color, but if it ends up as a different color I'm edit the history appropriately.)
Flinli has always lived in a small minehold in the mountains of the Southern Continent, which mined mainly copper ore. Although her family had been miners for generations, she turned out not to have the same build and strength as most miners, so even when other children her age started training for mine work, she was generally relegated to less strength-oriented tasks. She protested, wanting to do what the rest of her family did, but several tests of her ability throughout her early years proved that she was ill-suited for it, despite all attempts to build her strength.
Because of her caring, patient nature, her family was considering sending her off to be a beastcraft apprentice or Harper teacher, when she discovered her father's wher. To be fair, she'd always known the beast lived at their mine, but she never paid much attention to it until she was about 12 Turns old. The brown was hardworking but trusted few, yet Flinli's patient attention wore him down until he tolerated her, then grew to like her. Her family grew very relieved when they saw her way with the wher and her father began training her to be a wherhandler, hopefully to bond to the brown when he passed away.
That was never to be, since when she was 15 her father and the brown both died at once. They were inspecting a new vein of ore and the mine suddenly suffered a cave-in, crushing both. Although the mine mourned the loss of a good miner, they mourned the loss of a good wher, too, since the beast had been a great help in saving and protecting many people. They quickly decided a new wher was needed, and Flinli was the obvious candidate for wherhandler. Although Flinli was a little reluctant at first, since the idea of a new wher reminded her of the brown she had befriended and lost, she agreed because it was best for the mine. She did have plenty of time to grieve, though, since the miners had to send her to another mine with wherhandler, so that she could be further trained.
She had learned much of a wherhandling under her father’s tutelage, but still had to study for nearly a year before her new teacher considered her ready for a wher of her own. She wanted to study as quickly as possible in order to get back to her mine, since they needed her and the wher she would bring. But though she learned quickly, she had little capacity for adapting to new situations, so her teacher decided to try and cover as many possibilities as possible in order to best prepare her.
Once she was finally deemed ready, she was sent to the next available clutch with the hopes of everyone riding on her chance of getting an egg. She was determined to succeed, since she did not know when a clutch would next be available. Yet luck was against her from the start. The gold wher was in a foul temper when Flinli was sent to try for an egg, and the queen's handler neither tried to soothe her beat nor allowed Flinli to try another day. So the young woman faced the glaring and growling queen, trying every trick of chirps, clicks and purring sounds she'd learned, while trying to send out a constant stream of soothing, respectful, hopeful feelings. Slowly the gold calmed a bit, though she never stopped glaring or giving the occasional growl, and eventually let Flinli see her eggs. The young woman didn't bother looking for the biggest or brightest and just reached out for the closest egg. As she was scooping the egg up, the queen seemed to change her mind and snapped at Flinli, but she snatched her hand away in time and clutched the egg to her chest. No matter that the queen was still giving her dirty looks; she had her egg. Even if getting the egg was unusually difficult, she was sure bonding it would prove no trouble. Unfortunately, she was to be proven wrong.
She traveled back to her home mine so that she’d be ready to start getting the wher trained in its new home as soon as possible. Once she got there with egg in hand, her family and friends greeted her warnly and congratulated her on her promotion to Journeyman. Then, since she felt restless with nothing to do but watch the egg, they found her quiet work she could do inside and alone, so that nobody would be around to disturb the egg. She watched the egg constantly, never letting it out of her sight as the days drew on. Even so, she almost missed it when the egg started hatching. The egg chose to hatch in the middle of a thunderstorm, with pounding rain, howling winds and the boom of thunder making such a racket that she later felt she wouldn't have noticed if a dragon had roared at the hold. Although she missed when the egg first started moving and cracking, she nearly pounced on it when she did notice and was huddled around it by the time a claw poked through the egg. Slowly the egg started to fall away until half of a dark head peeked through the hole in the shell. In the dim light of the corner of the room, it was hard to tell what color the hatchling was.
A sudden brilliant flash of lightning was followed almost immediately by a loud crash of thunder. The bright light and loud sound startled the young wher, who shrieked and tried to scramble away, breaking off the rest of the shell in her flailing movements. It was a her, since in the flash Flinli could clearly see that her wher was a green. She had only a moment to register the color before she focused on crooning encouragement and offering feelings of loving welcome to the youngster.
The green was having none of it, frightened out of her wits by the continuous loudness and periodic brightness. After several moments Flinli feared that if she didn't bond the little one soon she'd loose the opportunity, so in a rare flash in inspiration she decided to take a chance. She quickly grabbed the bucket of blood-oat porridge she'd always kept handy lately, tucked the wher in her jacket (though in her haste, it was rougher than she wished), and ran out of her hut into the rain. She was soaked instantly, kept getting buffeted by the wind, and fell down several times, but she finally made it inside the cave that led to the mine. She ran through the stone chamber mostly by memory, turning into a smaller chamber that had been converted into a storeroom. It was much quieter here, though distantly the raging storm could still be heard.
She fumbled for a glowbasket, flipping it open before she remembered that whers hated bright light and re-shielded it so only a trickle of light came out. Then she peered into her jacket to check on her charge. The green seemed streaked with red, which startled Flinli until she realized that her chest stung and twinged. In her flight, she hadn't noticed that the terrified wher had clawed her shirt to ribbons and gouged the skin under it. She carefully set down the bucket, let the trembling, chittering hatchling down to the floor and began crooning to the little one, taking off her jacket to use the sodden fabric to try to wipe down the green hide and make sure it was unbroken. The wher didn't want to be touched, but after a long session of cajoling, comforting and occasional pleading, in both human tongue and all the wher-like noises she could think off, the green finally stopped trembling and let herself be tended.
When Flinli was sure that the little one was neither hurt nor would try to resist, she picked the green up and placed it on her lap to begin feeding it. As Flinli reached for the bucket of now-watery blood porridge, the green sniffled at the young woman's torn chest, then licked tentatively at the blood. Figuring that would do was well as anything for blooding the wher, Flinli let the green continue for a few moments before offering a handful of runny porridge. The porridge tended to splatter and as much got all over the pair as in the green's belly before the little one was satisfied. Then the wher settled down on her lap to rest, though she still twitching and mewled at particularly loud cracks of thunder. After the storm the mine healer would tend to the wounds that left scars on the new werhandler's chest, but for now the pair rested.
Flinli was never sure if it was that frightening first introduction to the world or just the wher's nature, but Flinsk was a nervous wher, tending to look about skittishly and twitch or shy back from every bright light or loud noise. After a time, she nicknamed the green "Flinch," though only used the name affectionately within the privacy of her own mind. It initially proved difficult to train the wher, since even at night in the privacy of their small, private hut, Flinsk noticed enough noises to keep her on edge and draw her mind from their task. It wasn't long before Flinli converted another cave storeroom into a den/bedroom for the wher and herself, and here the green was able to calm enough to learn her lessons. Then she proved to be a quick and attentive study.
Since Flinsk was adverse to light, Flinli grew accustomed to walking around the cave with only a faint glow, mostly shielded so there was just enough light to see where to put her feet. She mostly Flinsk's senses do all the seeing for both of them and trusted the wher to lead her, especially through passages that were familiar to both of them. In response, Flinsk began closing her eyes when the pair had to venture outside, trusting her handler to lead the way. With this bond of mutual trust, their teamwork grew even stronger. Although the wher had difficulty working when other people were nearby, the pair proved to be a valuable aid to the mine.
When Thread began falling, there was little concern for the mine. Stone was abundant where they were, so most buildings were already built out of it, and anything that truly needed protecting could be kept inside the mine. So work continued as normal, as most of it could be continued even during Threadfall.
The Revolution brought a bit more of a stir to the mines. They were hardly the first to get news of world events, so the Revolution was long over by the time they heard of the event, and the wherholds already established. The adults often debated what they were to do about it all. The world seemed to be changing, and the wherholders seemed a harsh lot. They could be forced to pick a side. Everyone had their own opinions on the issue, but eventually a consensus was reached: they were under Trine’s protection during Threadfall, and for most miners it was hard to feel any sympathy for the far-away wherholds. Sure, their ideas seemed nice, but the mine had no dragons and only one wher, who would be little trouble to anyone. Flinsk was a dear thing, too skittish to be a danger, and (though they didn’t say so in Flinli’s hearing), her handler wasn’t bold or clever enough to think of running off to the wherholds, even if she had the means. So the miners listened for news, but decided to leave the issue alone and keep on as they always had. Which suited Flinli perfectly fine.
Years later word began to get around that a new settlement was springing up, seemingly somewhere to the north of them. A Weyrhold, they called it, a place unrelated to any Weyr or Wherhold, one where riders, handlers, and unbonded would all live on equal terms. It seemed like a nice, fair idea to Flinli, and she hoped they did well. When it came out that the Weyrhold needed workers and allies, the heads of the mine deliberated. They were fairly close to the Weyrhold, they reasoned, close enough that once the dragon population got to full fighting strength, they would likely be flying Threadfall in the area of the mine. They’d be beholden to the Weyrhold for sure. So it was decided they it was best to get on the Weyrhold’s good side, and a small delegation was sent to let the Weyrhold know that their mine would support them, and would gladly sell them copper ore at a very fair price. Flinli would also be glad to help them in any capacity she could. Though for Flinsk’s sake, she hoped she’d mainly be needed in mines or other quiet, sparsely populated places.
Description:
Flinli was never particularly dark-skinned, and two Turns of stating mostly inside with her wher has made her skin paler. The contrast between her fair skin and brown eyes make her eyes look large and dark in her narrow face. Her hair is also dark, a deep brown that would try to curl into loose ringlets if she didn't keep it cropped short and fairly close to her head. After spending so much time in dark caves, when she goes outside she's started to take on the slightly bewildered expression of a nighttime animal that has been abruptly startled by a bright light. She is slim and lean, not a build usually associated with miners, but it allows her to slip into narrow spaces with her wher that a larger person would not be able to pass through. She has never seen much need for fancy clothes and sticks mostly to simple, utilitarian ones. Since bonding to Flinsk, she wears mainly darker tones, especially green and brown, because her wher seems to prefer them.
Personality:
Flinli is patient and caring, sometimes showing an almost motherly streak that would be well-suited to dealing with children or skittish animals. Which is just as well, considering she ended up with a skittish wher. Since her father was killed in a cave in she was rather nervous about mines and slightly claustrophobic, but after living in the cave with Flinsk she's grown more tolerant, and some would say courageous since she's willing to travel in total darkness with the wher. Yet still sometimes when she's in the mine, particularly in tight spaces or when the air grows bad, she becomes very nervous and worried that the mine will collapse. At these times, Flinsk's encouragement and support is as important as her own fortitude in calming her down. If she were to be caught in a cave-in herself, she might not stay calm enough to direct herself, let alone her wher.
She’s willing to help anyone who asks, and will happily set herself to any task she’s given. But while she’s a hard worker, she’s also an unimaginative one: she works well when told what to do or look for, but is no good at thinking up new things. She tends to get in a rut unless given new direction periodically, and if left to her own devices she sticks with what she knows and keeps doing it. If she can’t do what she’s used to, she’s at a bit of a loss and either reverts to something else she’s done in the past or has to ask someone in charge what she should do instead. Every time some unfamiliar situation comes up, she has to ask for advice, though her memory is good enough that she rarely has to ask about the same situation more than once.
Other:
Although her senses are not nearly as sharp as Flinsk's, her hearing, touch and smell have improved somewhat by traveling through the dark of the mine, allowing her to judge when one type of stone seems to be changing to another by feel, or catch sounds in the dark that other humans would miss. As a trade-off, her eyes ache a bit in bright sunlight and she tends to wear a hat when she goes outside unless it is overcast.
Wher
Name: Flinsk
Age: 4 turns
Colour: Green, Blue, Brown
Description:
(click for full image)Personality:
Flinsk is a jittery creature, twitching and flinching at bright lights and loud sounds; the brighter or louder, the greater her reaction. As such it's hard to make her focus unless in the dark and quiet. In the caves, however, unless there's loud mining going on she is much calmer and is very dedicated to her work. Her high sensitivity also makes her very attentive, and she quickly notices any changes in her surroundings. This sometimes makes her all the more skittish, but sometimes makes her find dangers or locate useful things more quickly. She trusts Flinli deeply, and if her handler tells her that a thing must be done in the noise or the light, she may cringe a bit but will do as the young woman asks, since she knows that if she senses something and insists her handler must act or follow her, the woman will do so without question. Flinsk is leery around other people, especially big or loud ones, and has a tendency to hide behind Flinli like a shy child if other people try to approach her. She will of course let others touch her if Flinli says it must be done, but if given the choice she will avoid it. She is fairly high-strung, and the only time she will relax completely is if she is alone in her cave-den with Flinli, there are no lights (aside from possibly a small, shielded glow) and it is very quiet aside from the handler's soft crooning to her wher.
Other:
Firelizard?: Bronze Flint
