Arissae Wisppaw
Mar 10, 2016 13:30:26 GMT -5
Post by Arissae on Mar 10, 2016 13:30:26 GMT -5
[Preliminary; may change through roleplay]
Name: Arissae Wisppaw
Species: Squirrel
Gender: female
Dibbun Weapon: a small stake, somewhat blunted at the pointed end, shorter than a sword; alternatively, if she is in the gardens, a part of some plant nearby that will either sting, pierce the skin, or smart if she hits you with it (e.g. a branch from a rosebush, or a green, whip-like twig, or a switch from a nettle plant)
Adult Weapon: Five daggers of various shapes and sizes, which she can also throw if need be.
She knows how to use a bow and arrow but is not a sharpshooter; similarly, she can use a sword, but will only do so if no other blades are at hand.
Appearance: A slender, light brown female of average height for a squirrel; neither remarkably pretty nor exceptionally ugly. Her eyes are likewise brown, with flecks of green, calm but always aware, always observing. She keeps her fur relatively clean and unmatted and her nails trimmed, and seems to be partial to green clothing, knowing it flatters her eyes.
As a Dibbun, she wore the habits all Redwallers are given, hitching hers up a bit with her belt to ensure she wouldn't trip on the hem. She never really seemed fond of sandals (or footwear in general), often abandoning them underneath her bed as soon as she was out of sight of the badgermum.
As an adult, she prefers practical, comfortable clothing that allows her a certain range of movement: a tunic and pair of pants that are slightly loose, yet not so loose as to snag on every twig in the forest. She might be partial to skirts, but it's rare to see her in one, given that they're not exactly conducive to climbing trees or running through undergrowth. You'll usually see her with a sash slung over one shoulder carrying three or four daggers, and if she's out in the woods she'll have a bag with provisions and a change of clothes slung over the other shoulder, so the straps cross in the middle of her chest.
Personality: Arissae has always been independent, wanting to do things for herself, on her own, if she could. She is generally friendly, if a bit standoffish or awkward around people she does not have more than a passing acquaintance with. She is fairly quiet, incredibly observant, slightly wary of the unknown.
She is not very affectionate, even with those she is close to, though it is obvious that she enjoys giving and receiving affection. She is dutiful, eager to help if she can, and not above tasks that involve getting dirty (though she'll clean herself off again as soon as she can afterwards).
She is eager to learn new things, though these new things don't always stick; she was never quite cut out to be a scholar, even if the Recorders (or the Gardener, or anyone else with something to share) do love her patient interest in whatever they have to tell her.
She tends to express gratitude and loyalty through action, and feeling useful is very important to her.
Even as a Dibbun, she tended to be stoic, unwilling to let others see her cry, and only rarely smiling.
History: Her family--her mother, her father, herself, and her little sister--were Mossflower nomads, sleeping in the treetops and foraging and occasionally fishing for food. It was a simple life, with mostly themselves for company and only owning what they could carry, but she was never hungry or lonely. Sarina, her mother, taught her about the plants of the forest, which were poisonous and which were not, and how to find your way through the trees as soon as Arissae was old enough to go wandering through the forest with her.In the evenings, her father would tell stories by the light of the moon, or her mother would sing softly, and she would perform her own balancing act of a dance to it on the tree limb that would later be their bed.
One day, when she was perhaps seven seasons old and out foraging with her father, they were set upon by a roving band of vermin. It was not only the food they had their eyes on, but a potential slave--her. Her father told her to run, and she did, losing her pursuers as she raced through the canopy back to their camp.
But day turned to night, and her mother began to pace. She left them in the camp, for a few hours, with instructions to be very quiet, and when she returned her jaw was set, her gaze far away.
Arissae didn't question her mother as they packed up the camp and traveled north-west for many, many days.
Redwall was every bit the haven it was rumored, to be, and the inhabitants kind to a fault, but she couldn't enjoy the sunshine or the food for many days after she arrived: her father was dead, her mother gone to avenge him, she and her sister left among strangers, even if they were kind ones.
Neera warmed to their new home more quickly than Arissae, but she too eventually fell into the contented rhythm of life at the abbey. Ari (as she was occasionally affectionately nicknamed) had little patience for the shenanigans of the younger dibbuns, including her sister, and preferred to spend time in the gardens, tending the soil.
Learning to read was not easy, and she was at first far behind, but the Recorder found her an eager student of most things (besides, perhaps, history and literature beyond the epics of the heroes).
An athletic young creature, she was often first (or among the contenders for first place) during the Redwall Abbey Games, and an eager dancer whenever someone brought out a musical instrument.
Arissae lived for the day when her mother would return, but as she grew older, her hope dimmed. Instead, she resolved she would go out and find her, begging the Abbey warrior to give her a small weapon the Abbey could spare and teach her how to use it to defend herself before she set out. It was simply a small metal knife, but she knew her life depended upon it, and was simultaneously proud and grateful.
Her mother's trail had gone cold, however, after many seasons, and after eight seasons of searching around Mossflower and up to the north (where she was told her mother was last seen), she returned to Redwall, a little more despondent, a little more world-weary, a little more hardened, sporting several proper daggers she had taken off vermin who wouldn't be needing them anymore.
Pleased to see that Neera was flourishing in training as an assistant cook and bellringer, she stayed for a season, grateful for the peaceful life the Abbey offered, but she found herself growing restless again, and left to wander through Mossflower again.
This became a pattern; return to Redwall for a season or two, leave for twice that time, and return again. She met other creatures in the forest and in Redwall, other squirrels, too, but none who inspired quite enough affection for her to stay with them, or for her to ask them to leave their lives and stay with her. As a favor to the Abbey, she would take one or two young creatures a few seasons out of Dibbunhood with her on occasion, for a moon or a season, and show them how to live and survive in the forest.
Any other favors the Abbey asked of her, she was also glad to do--look for a Dibbun who had escaped through the wallgate, scout ahead for a foraging party, make sure the area would be safe for a picnic outside of the walls, guard the Infirmary Sister while she looked for the herbs she needs, go with their creatures on patrol or on a quest they had need of her for.
Even as she grew older, she didn't spend any more time in the Abbey than she previously had, refusing to surrender to aching bones or creaking joints, even if she did return to Redwall once with a makeshift splint around her left arm after she had fallen out of a tree.
And then, she simply didn't return. Neera continues to insist that she must still be out there, wandering, though most speculate she fell victim to one of the vermin hordes that tend to sprout up in Mossflower every so often.
Name: Arissae Wisppaw
Species: Squirrel
Gender: female
Dibbun Weapon: a small stake, somewhat blunted at the pointed end, shorter than a sword; alternatively, if she is in the gardens, a part of some plant nearby that will either sting, pierce the skin, or smart if she hits you with it (e.g. a branch from a rosebush, or a green, whip-like twig, or a switch from a nettle plant)
Adult Weapon: Five daggers of various shapes and sizes, which she can also throw if need be.
She knows how to use a bow and arrow but is not a sharpshooter; similarly, she can use a sword, but will only do so if no other blades are at hand.
Appearance: A slender, light brown female of average height for a squirrel; neither remarkably pretty nor exceptionally ugly. Her eyes are likewise brown, with flecks of green, calm but always aware, always observing. She keeps her fur relatively clean and unmatted and her nails trimmed, and seems to be partial to green clothing, knowing it flatters her eyes.
As a Dibbun, she wore the habits all Redwallers are given, hitching hers up a bit with her belt to ensure she wouldn't trip on the hem. She never really seemed fond of sandals (or footwear in general), often abandoning them underneath her bed as soon as she was out of sight of the badgermum.
As an adult, she prefers practical, comfortable clothing that allows her a certain range of movement: a tunic and pair of pants that are slightly loose, yet not so loose as to snag on every twig in the forest. She might be partial to skirts, but it's rare to see her in one, given that they're not exactly conducive to climbing trees or running through undergrowth. You'll usually see her with a sash slung over one shoulder carrying three or four daggers, and if she's out in the woods she'll have a bag with provisions and a change of clothes slung over the other shoulder, so the straps cross in the middle of her chest.
Personality: Arissae has always been independent, wanting to do things for herself, on her own, if she could. She is generally friendly, if a bit standoffish or awkward around people she does not have more than a passing acquaintance with. She is fairly quiet, incredibly observant, slightly wary of the unknown.
She is not very affectionate, even with those she is close to, though it is obvious that she enjoys giving and receiving affection. She is dutiful, eager to help if she can, and not above tasks that involve getting dirty (though she'll clean herself off again as soon as she can afterwards).
She is eager to learn new things, though these new things don't always stick; she was never quite cut out to be a scholar, even if the Recorders (or the Gardener, or anyone else with something to share) do love her patient interest in whatever they have to tell her.
She tends to express gratitude and loyalty through action, and feeling useful is very important to her.
Even as a Dibbun, she tended to be stoic, unwilling to let others see her cry, and only rarely smiling.
History: Her family--her mother, her father, herself, and her little sister--were Mossflower nomads, sleeping in the treetops and foraging and occasionally fishing for food. It was a simple life, with mostly themselves for company and only owning what they could carry, but she was never hungry or lonely. Sarina, her mother, taught her about the plants of the forest, which were poisonous and which were not, and how to find your way through the trees as soon as Arissae was old enough to go wandering through the forest with her.In the evenings, her father would tell stories by the light of the moon, or her mother would sing softly, and she would perform her own balancing act of a dance to it on the tree limb that would later be their bed.
One day, when she was perhaps seven seasons old and out foraging with her father, they were set upon by a roving band of vermin. It was not only the food they had their eyes on, but a potential slave--her. Her father told her to run, and she did, losing her pursuers as she raced through the canopy back to their camp.
But day turned to night, and her mother began to pace. She left them in the camp, for a few hours, with instructions to be very quiet, and when she returned her jaw was set, her gaze far away.
Arissae didn't question her mother as they packed up the camp and traveled north-west for many, many days.
Redwall was every bit the haven it was rumored, to be, and the inhabitants kind to a fault, but she couldn't enjoy the sunshine or the food for many days after she arrived: her father was dead, her mother gone to avenge him, she and her sister left among strangers, even if they were kind ones.
Neera warmed to their new home more quickly than Arissae, but she too eventually fell into the contented rhythm of life at the abbey. Ari (as she was occasionally affectionately nicknamed) had little patience for the shenanigans of the younger dibbuns, including her sister, and preferred to spend time in the gardens, tending the soil.
Learning to read was not easy, and she was at first far behind, but the Recorder found her an eager student of most things (besides, perhaps, history and literature beyond the epics of the heroes).
An athletic young creature, she was often first (or among the contenders for first place) during the Redwall Abbey Games, and an eager dancer whenever someone brought out a musical instrument.
Arissae lived for the day when her mother would return, but as she grew older, her hope dimmed. Instead, she resolved she would go out and find her, begging the Abbey warrior to give her a small weapon the Abbey could spare and teach her how to use it to defend herself before she set out. It was simply a small metal knife, but she knew her life depended upon it, and was simultaneously proud and grateful.
Her mother's trail had gone cold, however, after many seasons, and after eight seasons of searching around Mossflower and up to the north (where she was told her mother was last seen), she returned to Redwall, a little more despondent, a little more world-weary, a little more hardened, sporting several proper daggers she had taken off vermin who wouldn't be needing them anymore.
Pleased to see that Neera was flourishing in training as an assistant cook and bellringer, she stayed for a season, grateful for the peaceful life the Abbey offered, but she found herself growing restless again, and left to wander through Mossflower again.
This became a pattern; return to Redwall for a season or two, leave for twice that time, and return again. She met other creatures in the forest and in Redwall, other squirrels, too, but none who inspired quite enough affection for her to stay with them, or for her to ask them to leave their lives and stay with her. As a favor to the Abbey, she would take one or two young creatures a few seasons out of Dibbunhood with her on occasion, for a moon or a season, and show them how to live and survive in the forest.
Any other favors the Abbey asked of her, she was also glad to do--look for a Dibbun who had escaped through the wallgate, scout ahead for a foraging party, make sure the area would be safe for a picnic outside of the walls, guard the Infirmary Sister while she looked for the herbs she needs, go with their creatures on patrol or on a quest they had need of her for.
Even as she grew older, she didn't spend any more time in the Abbey than she previously had, refusing to surrender to aching bones or creaking joints, even if she did return to Redwall once with a makeshift splint around her left arm after she had fallen out of a tree.
And then, she simply didn't return. Neera continues to insist that she must still be out there, wandering, though most speculate she fell victim to one of the vermin hordes that tend to sprout up in Mossflower every so often.