Post by Zaxal on Dec 3, 2012 17:09:12 GMT -5
[Oxasar]
[/size]Age: 20
Gender: Genderfluid
Rank: Wherhandler
Appearance:
Oxasar can be a bit confusing at first glance to people who don't know them well. Their appearance is a chaotic mess of mixed messages that never quite settles, changing from day to day according to what Oxasar feels like on any given morning. They stand around 5'8" and are lean without much muscle to give them weight. As such, Oxasar doesn't have much of an initial presence, or wouldn't if not for the way they dress and move.
Oxasar's hair, when unbound, unfurls around their shoulders, thick red locks framing a pale face with oval, blue-gray eyes and a rather large nose. Thick amounts of freckles cover their face, neck, shoulders and legs, all of which have been exposed to the sun and freckled over after the initial burn. Oxasar often ties their hair into a short braid or simply away from their face depending on their mood. They often fidget with it when they are nervous, rebraiding, retying, or simply running their fingers through the shaggy mess until it is messy and wild.
Oxasar has a tendency to wear bright colors when they can, though the style of dress varies. They have a significant number of skirts and dresses as well as tunics and breeches. When presenting as feminine, Oxasar has a tendency to be very loose with their movements, calm and smooth. Their movements are often graceful and sometimes over-the-top. When presenting as masculine, Oxasar has very direct movements in hands and motion. They move quickly and with purpose, often fidgeting when forced to sit still, impatiently tapping their foot and waiting to get out and do something productive.
Personality: Oxasar is a very easy person to get along with. They are always ready with a smile and kind, open, positive words about the people and creatures around them. Oxasar is very social, and it's a rarity for them to be alone for very long at all. Whether it firelizards, canines, felines, runners, whers, or people, Oxasar is almost always with someone. They shamelessly feed, pet, and praise any animal that will accept their attentions, and people are just as likely to receive friendly touches and a lack of personal boundaries if they don't establish firm boundaries with Oxasar to begin with.
Oxasar has so much energy that they don't always know what to do with it. When forced to sit still, they automatically start shifting their leg, cracking their knuckles, toying with their hair, anything to distract them and keep them busy. It can drive other people up the wall to be stuck with Oxasar in any sort of formal setting that requires them to be on their best behavior. Giving Oxasar something to do with their hands and with their mind is the kindest thing to do for them, even if it's something they've never done before. Oxasar revels in new challenges, and they love learning new things. Even when they prove to be quite bad at something, Oxasar doesn't take it as a personal slight -- they're good at many things, but they can't be good at everything, so why bother being worried?
Oxasar is totally at peace with themselves, and as such, it can take a lot to make them unhappy. Personal insults hurled at them seem to slide right off of them, and personal failings are apologized for and attempted to be made up somehow before Oxasar lets them go. They don't dwell long on the past, and they encourage others to do the same.
However, Oxasar is a person of many passions. Competition isn't something they can resist easily, and when it comes to things they enjoy, Oxasar becomes so excitable that it can be hard to make them stop talking. This extends to people and animals too -- Oxasar feels strongly about everything, and if they like you, then they like you, and if they don't, it can take them quite a long time to get over their initial misgivings. The easiest way to get Oxasar upset is to insult their friends, their family, or Oxask. Oxasar is loyal to a fault, often failing to see the problems with the people and animals closest to them. Oxasar loves with everything in them, and it almost takes something devastating for them to be able to take a step back and see things from a different angle.
Oxasar's affinity with animals is something that can't be taught. They bonds with canines, felines, and runners in a way most Pernese people don't, and they value them as much as they do any of the draconic lifemates. They know how to train them and treat them right, and they would have an entire pack of their own assorted animals if not for Oxask.
Oxasar's relationship with their wher is one of absolute adoration. Their partnership, at its base component, involves two needy creatures who found someone who needs them as strongly as they need to be needed. As such, they are constantly challenging themselves, pushing their bond and their partnership to its limits in the name of becoming a stronger pair. Once the cave systems began to be explored, Oxasar took special interest in them. As it requires a strong bond between handler and wher for the safety of everyone involved, Oxasar sees it as the ultimate test, and both the handler and the wher are excited to see how they can measure up.
History: Oxasar was born in Keroon Hold to a Beastcrafter and her runner-trainer husband. They were the fourth child of five, and everyone assumed – as people tended to due to anatomy – that they were a boy. They had three older brothers and a single sister that was born two Turns after Oxasar. By the time Oxasar was five, they were no longer being babied but being treated as someone capable of doing chores and helping out as both of Oxasar's parents were firm believers in the communal good that should be contributed to by everyone as much as possible. Oxasar was familiar with animals from a very young age – their parents often allowed them to feed treats to the runnerbeasts, and there were several canines and felines that Oxasar's family fed and cared for as pets.
Oxasar's family was very close, and they grew up in constant, fond company of their siblings. Their oldest brother was the first one to take them on a ride on a runner's back, and the others taught them to read and write, how to sing the Harper songs, and how to train canines to sit, roll over, and so on. Their younger sister was often given pretty clothes to wear that she detested, and Oxasar would allow her to dress them up. It took them Turns to realize the comfort they had in feminine clothing and in a fluid identity.
Oxasar was well on their way to following in their father's footsteps as a runner trainer. They had a natural gift with animals, and in their early teens, they helped their father and eldest brother break a runner to ride. This runner became Oxasar's pride and joy – they cared for them carefully, took them out for rides, and even rode them in the informal races at the Keroon track. Their first ride in a formal race was to be their last. Rounding one of the final bends in the track, a dragon unleashed a mighty roar, and the runner bucked Oxasar off. They avoided serious injury, but the runner's fear of loud dragon noises meant they'd never be more than a pet or cart puller. Oxasar ended up selling their friend the next time a Gather was held to a Beastcrafter who wanted the runner's size and color in their bloodlines. Paid handsomely, Oxasar decided to spend their Marks the way they wanted. They bought a beautiful blue dress and other assorted cloth, and Oxasar's sister, who had been practicing making clothes, helped change their wardrobe.
When Oxasar finally told their family about their discovery about their gender, there was perhaps the briefest moment of confusion before Oxasar was embraced and assured that they would be loved no matter what.
Not long after that, a Searchrider came to Keroon, searching for candidates for a dragon clutch at Igen. The Searchdragon picked out Oxasar whose hair had begun to grow out as they began more and more often to wear whatever clothes suited them for the day. Oxasar, then 14, refused candidacy, convinced that their place was at Keroon with their family and the runnerbeasts. In the ensuing 2 Turns, Oxasar helped their father and brother break in and care for several more runners, but they began feeling as if something were missing. When another Searchrider came to Keroon, they left with Oxasar in tow.
There were three Hatchings in the next Turn, and Oxasar was left Standing each time. Discontented, Oxasar began to consider returning home, but during a late-night wandering, they happened upon something that changed their life. A wherhandler was out wandering with their partner, and Oxasar found themselves falling in love with the hideous little creature that fawned over them, played games with them, and was equal parts intelligent and silly, with a huge personality that Oxasar adored.
The wherhandler – a woman named Vieri, partnered with brown Vierisk – quickly became a close friend of Oxasar, a mentor into the world of whers. The more they met of them, the more convinced they became that they had possibly found their place in the world. They met many of the wherhandlers in the Weyr, and they put themselves in as a wher candidate instead of a dragon.
The next Hatching was Vierisk's, a strong clutch of ten eggs, and before dawn had risen, Oxasar found themselves with a lapful of Oxask, a bronze wher that was to be their partner. Wherlinghood seemed to pass by in a flash, and Oxasar, like many wherhandlers, began to search for a way to be useful. A pack of wild canines began attacking animals at Keroon mercilessly, and Oxasar volunteered with many others to go and perform night patrols at Keroon.
They got the chance to see their family again, and the reunion was so much better than Oxasar had anticipated. They love Oxask as much as they did, and it took only several nights of patrolling before the whers caught the scent of the canines. Oxask and Oxasar remained at Keroon with several others to ensure that there weren't two packs, and in the morning, they departed.
The Turns up to the present have been fun for Oxasar. They've had a chance to grow as a person and become a competent wherhandler. Oxasar began teaching people how to train canines, firelizards, and they've been seen several times at the stables with the runners. The pair have gone along on several expeditions in the caves, and they are in training to lead expeditions themselves.
[Oxask]
{Wher}
Age: 3
Color: Bronze
Sex: Male
Appearance:
Oxask is a big, bulky bronze, easily larger than most other non-gold whers. His body's angles seem to jut, making him seem as if he's made up of a series of cubes. A heavy tail and thick legs are offset by wings that are almost comically small on him. His wings are too weak to carry him for more than a few seconds in the air, giving him a better jump than he usually would have. Most of the time, he seems to forget they're there, only remembering when he needs to make himself seem even bigger. Oxask knows how to intimidate other creatures and, in fact, has perfect it as an art form. It's almost as if he realizes that he is an ugly wher and intends to use it to the best advantage he can have.
Oxask's color is a deep bronze, seeming almost brown if not for the lighter, yellow-green-tinted markings that form stripes on his muzzle and legs. Oxask's movements are powerful simply because of the weight he can put behind it. If he runs, it's going to hurt when he hit something to stop him. If he's walking around, he's practically stomping about almost always. There's very little grace in him, and he is clumsy in that his tail, limbs, or occasionally a wing will accidentally hit someone without his meaning to. Oxask forgets sometimes that he's not a baby wherling, and it can lead to people bearing bruises if they accidentally stand too close when Oxask moves quickly.
Personality: Oxask seems, at first glance, to be almost like a canine in the way he acts. He is openly affectionate, playful, constantly seeking attention and touches from anyone that comes near to Oxasar, but upon looking closer, anyone can see that Oxask's friendly attitude is mostly a front. In quiet moments, Oxask drops back to be near Oxasar, near his source of comfort. He becomes quiet and watchful, careful that no one should come too close to His if he doesn't approve of them because, often, if someone does not like Oxask's original persona, they will not like Oxasar at all as they tend to be affectionate, overly friendly, and extremely attention grabbing.
Oxask, then, is a very clever wher. He values challenges, competitions, and puzzles like what the cave systems present to him because he feels more helpful navigating them and feels happier having found something new than he would simply as a guard. When either he or Oxasar are presented with something complex, if Oxask is present, he is almost immediately at Oxasar's side, leaning into him and offering his support and an attempt at solutions if he can understand the problem.
That isn't to say that he is only cold and calculating. Oxask does value the company of others. He will play -- especially with other whers and firelizards -- and he will be more than happy to branch off from Oxasar for a while to even encounter new humans. He likes meeting new people even if just to encounter something new. However, like many whers, he considers the Weyr to be his family, and those close to Oxasar to be an even tighter niche than that. If someone is trying to get through his guard, the playful puppy persona melts away, and the nice, quiet, friendly wher almost vanishes. Oxask can be downright violent if he feels someone is crossing a line that they shouldn't be allowed to. He is fiercely protective and loyal, traits that echo in Oxasar, and the two of them are a force to be reckoned with if someone comes off as having ill intents.
