"It's not going to do itself."
BASICS
NAME: Anja
GENDER: Female
PRONOUNS: She/Her
ORIENTATION: Pansexual
BIRTHDATE: Winter of 2742
AGE: 30 as of 2772
LOCATION: Fort Weyr
OCCUPATION: Wingsecond, Greenrider
WING: Daylight
APPEARANCE
EYES: Dark, dark green
HAIR: Brown, kept short
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 5'10", strong, stocky
PLAY-BY: Artbreeder
FULL APPEARANCE: Anja is, at a glance, a strong and severe no-nonsense sort of woman. She holds herself with a soldier's pride, back straight and posture immaculate. Her riding gear is always in the best condition, her dragon's harness perfectly cared for, her expression lacking in mirth. She's well-built from years of physical work, keeps her hair trimmed short out of sheer sense, and some would say she never smiles.
In reality, once someone spends more than a few seconds looking at her, Anja actually does know how to smile! Her eyes dance with mirth often, and she's quick to laugh at a good joke. As she ages smile lines will make these facts more obvious from the start, but so far she has managed to remain fairly young looking. Her fair skin is unmarred--at least what can be seen outside her clothes--and she always looks freshly washed. Just because she has a bad case of resting bitch face doesn't mean she actually is that.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY: The severity of Anja's resting expression says a lot about who she is on the surface. She is a duty-bound woman who takes her rank and role as a Dragonrider very seriously, but not because of any express desire to stick to duty itself. It is the people of Pern she cares most for, a warmth in her that makes her want to be a servant of the people. She will gladly risk her life every day fighting Thread if it means the average Pernese person can rest a little easier at night. It is perhaps that desire to protect that makes her such a passionate rider.
It is easy still to take her as someone who is no-nonsense and refuses to relax or play around, but that just isn't the truth. Anja has a particular fondness for jokes, and the raunchier they are the better. She's a bit like a soldier in that: very serious when it comes to work, but her favorite ways to pass the time are drinking, betting, and hanging out with her fellow riders. She has no problem devoting her life to serving Pern, but she also has no problem putting her feet up when it's time.
Like her dragon, under the surface Anja can be quite soft-hearted. She often enjoys feminine things, but expresses such more in decorating her weyr than in the way she dresses. Soft fabrics, frilly-edged pillows, bows for her dragon (and Hayutoth)... Even a little kohl now and then isn't far beyond her, though that is often reserved for gathers and feasts.
But beyond that, she has a tendency to think she knows best. She has a problem letting go and letting people run their own lives, and often feels she needs to look after people. Anja cannot stand by and watch someone make a dumb decision; she is outspoken and loud about her thoughts and opinions, to the point of being brash and pushy. In her mind she's just showing she cares, but it usually comes off as her being commanding, demanding, and judgmental.
HISTORY
FAMILY: Unknown
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None? ;)
BIRTHPLACE: Telgar Weyr
HISTORY: Raised well and truly a Weyrbrat in Telgar Weyr's creche, Anja doesn't actually know who her parents are. She was the product of a mating flight between a greenrider and their partner, but beyond that, she just isn't certain--and she's quite fine with it. It has never truly bothered her, not when she considers other Dragonriders her family. It's hard to be alone in a Weyr unless you're determined, and she's always been prone to sticking her nose in someone else's business.
Because of this, she was always surrounded by other children, and grew up as a well-socialized person. It was no surprise to anyone when she became a candidate for a dragon, as all she'd ever wanted was to serve Pern and the Weyr she called home. She loved Telgar and its people with all her heart, and was very serious about training to be the best she could be. When green Northoth hatched and found her suitable, she was overjoyed to have her partner in justice. Or at least duty.
Of course, life always has plans, regardless of what the people experiencing it want. The other candidates-turned Weyrlings were Anja's family in so many ways now. Brothers, sisters--love interests? Weyrlinghood, of course, made love difficult, but that didn't stop her from considering her options for after. She was a young woman after all, and while she put all of herself into her training, a tiny sliver of her was left looking elsewhere...
Graduation came and went, Threadfalls pushing their training to their limits. She and Northoth did well enough; the green not the most agile, but her stamina kept them in the air longer than some. They came to enjoy their aerial fights, for lack of a better word. And naturally, as they viewed their classmates as family, when they started leaving for Fort Weyr Anja had to follow. Perhaps it was someone in particular she was following, but she would not let that slip.
So her new family became those in her class...and those of Fort Weyr. And she would do whatever it took to protect them.
