" Walk the halls, soot along the walls
Some will smear their names in it
While some just go away
And you know, somewhere in there you know
There's nothing here but surviving 'til something goes away "
BASICS
RETIRE INFO: Retire
NAME: L'ten
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: He/Him/His
ORIENTATION: Asexual
BIRTHDATE: Early Fall 2715
AGE: 52 Turns as of Late Fall 2767
LOCATION: High Reaches Weyr
OCCUPATION: Rider
WING: Starfall
APPEARANCE
EYES: Blue
HAIR: White
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 5'11", average-muscular
PLAY-BY: Anderson Cooper
FULL APPEARANCE:
L'ten has been blessed by the Turns; though he seemed to have aged young, he hasn't changed much in the Turns since, and by now he's looking rather good for his age. His angular face has rather fewer wrinkles than one might expect, mostly at the corners of his bright blue eyes and at the edges of his lips, which are rather full for a man. He has a broad forehead and largeish nose, though on him it's actually a rather good look. He's been lucky to have retained all of his hair, which by now is almost all gone white, with a few grey hairs sprinkled throughout. He keeps it cut fairly short. His complexion is rather pale, though his skin has still fared quite well regardless, with few sunspots or freckles.
He tends to dress rather neatly, in well-fitted clothes that don't seem 'too feminine'. He shies away from much decoration, and especially shuns lace in public; anyone taking a peek into his clothing chest would find much different things for him to wear in his own quarters, but he wouldn't be caught dead in such frilly things such as skirts and bonnets.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
L'ten is extremely concerned with his reputation: he is determined to be seen as a macho manly man, despite age starting to catch up with him. He goes to great lengths to ensure that he's in good physical shape, and shies from anything he sees as 'girly'. He can be more than a little insecure, and wants people to think more of him than he thinks of himself, and most of all he wants to be externally validated. He has a few loves that he keeps secret to preserve his manliness: cooking, sewing, wearing frilly hats and dresses. All of these he does only when he is certain that nobody can see, lest his reputation be forever ruined.
He fails to see how rescuing tunnelsnakes from certain doom at the hands of whers isn't manly, and he'll fight anyone who says otherwise. In fact, L'ten is often rescuing some small animal or other, the cuter and fluffier the better, though really he'll take anything. Except cats. Told as a child that cats will try to steal your breath in a sleep, he hasn't trusted them since. He'll eat meat because he hates vegetables, but he tries very hard not to think about where it comes from, referring to it only as 'meat' or 'beef' or 'mutton', never by the name of the animal itself. He hates helping out with the herdbeasts, because he can't help but start to get attached, and he knows they'll be eaten someday.
He's not good at teamwork, often butting heads with leadership because he himself can be rather unreasonably bossy. Also, despite being good with animals, he's not at all good with children. He hates children. He has no idea what to do with them; drop them in a box with food? Maybe some straw? It works for animals, and yet people say he can't do the same for a toddler.
He can be rather loud and gregarious, with a booming voice, but don't hug him. L'ten hates hugs, unless they're the awkward side-hug because then at least everyone is uncomfortable and not just him. Really, he's a little on the awkward side in general, being convinced that he can tell what people are thinking and feeling but he's almost always wrong about it. He talks a lot, with just about anyone, save for early in the mornings when he hasn't had his klah yet. Or before his afternoon klah. He's extremely fond of klah, the stronger the better.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Older Sister, Ladra
Younger Sister, Tensa
Younger Sister, Ters
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None
BIRTHPLACE: High Reaches Hold
HISTORY:
Born the second of four children and the only boy of the bunch, Larsten was the son of two distant relatives of the High Reaches Blood, both Crafters and relatively comfortable with their positions in life. They were well off, and despite having four children to feed and clothe, they had few financial troubles. What they did have to deal with was the war. His parents feared that their children would be Searched by High Reaches, taken away and made to fight and die, and they told them repeatedly not to trust dragons.
Larsten had other ideas, but kept them secret from his parents and sisters. He dreamed of dragons, of flying and becoming a rider, of being Weyrleader with a glorious bronze beside him, but he feared that his family would mock him for those dreams, or worse, actively prevent him from pursuing them.
Eventually he got his wish: he was Searched, and whisked away to the Weyr to become a Candidate. He loved every moment of it. Every lesson, every chore, because it meant he was one step closer to becoming Weyrleader.
Until Shestith hatched and declared herself his and his happy bubble burst.
Not that he could resent her. He loved her immediately, but hated how other people at High Reaches looked at him, with a mixture of pity and revulsion. It was then that he became more secretive about himself, determined to prove that even if he rode a green, he was just as manly as any bronzerider. Their Weyrling time was difficult, and he grew to resent not his green, but the attitudes of the entire Weyr.
Almost immediately upon graduation, he requested a transfer to Benden, certain that as they were an ally his request would be granted, but that they couldn't possibly be as bad as High Reaches. He learned too late that their attitude toward chromatic dragons was much the same. He could hardly ask to transfer again; he was stuck. Hurtful words were the least of what he faced, but still he was determined to just suffer through it. Shestith helped; the green had a surprisingly good memory, even if the things she remembered were disjointed and out of context. She would reminisce about the good times, not often remembering the bad.
In time the war ended, and focus shifted to preparing for the imminent return of Thread. That, at least, was an enemy worth fighting, even if he and Shestith, as a green pair, received no praise for anything they did. L'ten didn't even consider returning to High Reaches; it was no better than where he already was, and the world seemed little inclined to get better.
It wasn't Golre's death that made L'ten open to returning. It wasn't a green in a position of power, for he'd heard the rumors coming out of Fort, their supposed progressive moves being destroyed by one goldrider mad with power. No, it was the near execution of a white rider for no crimes that he could concern. He wasn't going to High Reaches so much as he was going away from Benden, a place he could no longer force himself to stomach. He would only hope that the Weyr where he'd spent his youth was honestly trying to change.
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