"When you are young they assume you know nothing"
~ cardigan, by Taylor Swift
BASICS
NAME: Bettina, Betty for short. Now elided to Bet’ti
GENDER: female
PRONOUNS: she/her/hers
ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
BIRTHDATE: Late Winter, Turn 2754
AGE: 20 as of Early Spring, Turn 2774
LOCATION: High Reaches Weyr
OCCUPATION: Harper apprentice, newly graduated BLUERIDERRRR
WING: Raindance Wing
APPEARANCE
EYES: blue
HAIR: black
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6’0 tall, slender build
FULL APPEARANCE:
At six feet, slender Bettina is five inches taller than Jace.
She has long, wavy black hair, which softly falls just short of her waistline in thick and lustrous waves. Betty will wear her lovely hair in different styles - created at whim daily - depending on her mood/what she’s feeling like on any given day. Sometimes she leaves it a mess/in a messy bun or plait or some other hairstyle on her down days.
Big light blue eyes are set on either side of her cute, yet average-sized nose, and sits comfortably beneath thick black eyebrows. Her face is round, and well-formed - Jace calls her beautiful, and to a seemingly effortless degree, she is; though she isn’t really vain about it. Some of her beauty comes from the inside, from being comfortable in her skin; or at least, being more comfortable in her own skin than Jace is - see, whereas Jace is more rigid in his stance, Betty’s tends to flow/shift a bit more like water at times. She possesses a wonderfully contagious light-up-the-room grin, though it hasn’t been around as much lately. Betty also gestures a lot with her hands.
Betty is equally comfortable in well-made clothes of good quality - varying from Harper blue tunics & leggings to crop tops and skirts, depending on the weather - as she is in a stunning dress/something fancy with minimal makeup in public. She likes to wear dark lipgloss colours on such occasions, as one of the few people capable of pulling off the look. She also wears a cosy and kinda over-sized cardigan over her outfits. This cardigan is soft grey, has three large dark grey-blueish stars arranged over the elbows of both sleeves, and two deep pockets. One pocket has stars and song lyrics embroidered on it.
Her fingertips are slightly calloused, and her flexible hands bear small gitar string scars. Occasional ink splatters or charcoal smudges can be spotted somewhere on her light skin, often on her hands, arms, neck or face. Betty is frequently found sitting somewhere with instrument and pencil & parchment in hand whilst working away on a song or two.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
Bettina is smart and well-educated, very good at learning. She is talented, especially when it comes to Harpering - she is quite musically inclined, being capable of singing and playing a few instruments well. She is soft, yet mature and already-sorta-jaded for her age, especially more so since experiencing - and still experiencing - her first heartbreak. She spends some of her free time pouring her feelings/emotions in general into her song-writing as she tries to process certain things. Songwriting is one of her methods of trying to process something/make sense of major things that’s happened in her life.
Quick-thinking Betty is sassy and sarcastic, capable of swearing quite a fair bit; she definitely will say words like forsk, and is pretty inventive when it comes to swearing up a storm. She is a scathingly wise smartass & clever wisecracker. Betty is the kind of person who doesn’t overly sugarcoat her words, though she can sugarcoat things a little bit depending on the scenario. Believes that sometimes the truth is better off left unvarnished.
She is a Good Friend, although sometimes she can listen so well she ends up getting other people’s problems dumped into her lap too. She has a small circle of close friends she valued back home, and will have a new bunch of close friends in the Weyr. Jace was one of her Best Friends before they started dating, which makes things with them post-breakup rather… awkward. Things are complicated. Feelings are complicated.
Betty has a soft spot for animals and dragons, and she adores her pet feline to bits, though certain creatures like tunnelsnakes do freak her out a bit.
Her ‘Mom Friend Override’ mode gets activated when she’s around others more anxious than she is - she will step up and help/support them, even if she is still anxious or worried about whatever it is. For example: volunteering to go get food if the other person is more nervous than she is about getting said food, or encouraging them to do something/face certain fears that they’d otherwise not do on their own. Afraid of irreversible failures, Betty is anxious about standing on her own two feet without Jace’s support. She worries from time to time that she won't be able to trust and be vulnerable again. But Betty keeps going anyway; what else is there to do?
Betty has a tendency to overthink things, and has second-guessed herself sometimes - even when she’s pretty sure she’s right. She also struggles a little with not-basic-or-HarperCraft-related maths, and has a habit of getting so hyper focused on some things that she’ll forget the rest of the world exists/fail to notice her immediate surroundings. She often loses track of time this way, super-absorbed in whatever it is. But she can and will notice EVERYTHING, even unpleasant things, when she’s not busy hyper focusing.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
- 1 older sibling
- Parents
- idk, 5 younger sibs and/or foster siblings?
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: formerly Jace (why’d you have to go and RUIN IT Jace, you two were so cute dammit)
BIRTHPLACE: minor hold beholden to High Reaches (same one as Jace)
HISTORY:
Born in late winter of Turn 2754 at the same minor Hold as Jace, Bettina was a sweet child, if a touch bit too smart... It seemed obvious from a young age to her mother that she was destined for a career as a Harper, from the way the girl would often go about her tasks unconcernedly humming and singing away, and absorbing everything she learnt like a sponge. But her father wanted to wait a little longer before sending her into Harper apprenticeship, citing to her mother his reasoning that 1) little Betty deserved to make her own choices - what if she grew older and decided she wanted to be something else? - and 2) he felt that eight Turns was still a bit young to immediately enter apprenticeship.
So two Turns pass, until at age 10, (when it was even more obvious to her parents where Betty’s talents and interests lay) her parents agreed to ask their local Harper if she could be their apprentice. The Harper readily took her on, glad to train up another apprentice, and so a delighted Betty entered Harper apprenticeship. Some of the classes she had weren’t just basic education - and here was where the Hold heir, Jace, came in. He shared some of her classes, since he was the heir and thus needed more than a basic education himself. He was a bit quiet at first, unlike some of her friends.. But Betty quickly warmed to Jace, (and he to her), finding it the most natural thing in the world to become fast childhood friends with each other.
The Turns pass, and eventually they became the best of friends - laughing at silly inside jokes and Folklore’s - Jace’s flit - antics, and sharing in whispers their thoughts and dreams and secrets and everything in between that made them them. Their lives were as tightly intertwined as the fabric the Weavers wove; memories made everywhere they’d been in their minor Hold - the day Jace had found Sushi as a kitten nestled in a pile of forgotten Records, and ceremonially presented to her the young feline, which Betty happily adopted as she fell in love with the little creature; the quiet evenings spent talking on her porch beneath the star-spangled night, the Gathers, the laughter as they learned to dance, the way Jace helped Betty with her maths, and the way she unfailingly stuck by Jace’s side through thick and thin. All those little things, those moments, big and small.. that made up their lives. Soon her heart would begin skipping a beat whenever she saw him, and her grin would shine all the more brighter whenever they were in the same room. The Hold eventually came to see them as practically a unit - Betty and Jace - it wasn’t often you saw one without soon seeing the other, they seemed that closely knit. They were each other’s constant, each other’s shining star.
So it didn’t come as that big a surprise to the Hold in general once it became clear they were in love - at sixteen, Jace finally confesses his feelings to her; and, with wide sparkling eyes, Betty was quick to reciprocate her own feelings toward him. They began dating (this is the cutest thing ever!) - and collectively did their best to contrive opportunities each day for the pair to, well, be their usual adorable selves.
So on their lives went, one a Holder’s son dutifully learning the ways of ruling, and the other a Harper’s apprentice happily picking up as many of the tricks of her trade as she could; both spending their free time in each other’s company. Soon the day came that Jace told her he was to be called away to foster at another neighbouring Hold for two Turns. Duty, you see. It was what his parents wanted him to do. Two Turns? Yes, two Turns. Betty was, understandably, a little upset, given they’d only just been dating for approximately just over one whole Turn by that point. But she understood - it was his duty as Hold heir to go. ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’, right? She knew he’d come back; and she was prepared - no, determined - to wait for him, no matter how long it took. Still, Betty wanted Jace to write letters and send them via Folklore, and vowed she’d do the same in return. She wanted to stay in touch...
In the meantime, she focused on learning as much as she could of what it was to be a Harper, on refining her skills. Improving her writing and her music. She’d achieved ‘senior’ apprentice status by the time the Turn came to a close, (and she’d been told quietly that if she kept the good work up, she might very well find herself at the Harperhall walking the tables sometime in the next few Turns, if that was what she wanted).
That summer, Betty missed Jace. Missed him with all her heart. She felt his absence keenly - Betty missed seeing him in her lessons, missed holding hands with him under the table while trying to sit straight-faced at some stuffy formal reception, missed dancing around her room laughing about something that had occurred that day. There were a million tiny moments she wanted to share with him, if only he wasn’t away fostering at another Hold, so far from her. But at least Folklore still popped in occasionally, the brown flit having the advantage of being able to instantly go between anywhere he wanted. That was a comfort, and eased the ache somewhat. And she always snuck him extra treats!
One day, a particularly gossipy girl named Inez began gossiping, like she always did. At first, Betty paid her no mind, knowing full well the other girl’s rumours usually weren’t much more than insubstantial puffs of air. Sometimes they were juicy, sometimes saucy, but usually not worth getting worked up over. But then she mentioned Jace, and Betty abruptly tuned in to what was being said. What was Inez spreading rumours about this time?
…Jace slept with another girl? And kissed her? Betty had a hard time believing that. Her Jace could never do such a thing! At least, not without telling her upfront. He was far too honourable about things like that. Surely, Inez was just trying to start trouble again. Right? Still, her heart began to crack just a little, now that she’d had the insidious thought introduced into her head. What if he had? What if it was false? She needed to know. So she wrote to him, a letter filled with calm, steady words enquiring if that was the case; black-inked script belying her true feelings on the matter. She didn’t know how Inez had found out, and truthfully, didn’t want to know just in case it turned out to be true…
All too soon, autumn came, and with it, the confirmation of Inez’s news.
Betty was well and truly heartbroken. And confused. A bit upset and angry, even. He’d promised! He’d promised to return…
And then he did, defying his parents; trying to beg forgiveness. Jace, in the flesh, standing right there at her door. She.. She just wasn’t ready to forgive Jace. Despite her shattered heart crying out that she still loved him, Betty broke up with him. Told him in no uncertain terms that she didn’t want to be with him right now (even though the look in her eyes said she still did), because of what he had done. She shut the door on him, and cried over her gitar in her room for the next few sevendays as she wrote away, trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. Sushi was a big help, the black feline constantly pouring all her unconditional love onto Bettina, forever doing things like climbing into her lap, purring away, aggressive-affectionately head butting her or just generally trying to keep Betty active and living in the ‘now’. Folklore, despite being Jace’s flit, still popped in occasionally for pats and extra treats; always checking up on her. He often napped on her pillow, and played a lot with Betty and Sushi, like he’d always done in his whole existence. (Very wholesome, if a bit confusing for Betty.)
Things are kinda awkward between her and Jace now. The worst thing about this entire situation? She’s still in love with him/still wants him by her side, even tho she broke up with him and told him she doesn’t want to be with him right now… Faranth, what a mess. All these extremely confusing feelings & mixed messages between her head and her heart... It’s even worse because Jace was her best friend. Her forsking best friend! And now he’s ..her ex? Who’s also still her best friend? Forsk! What an mess! Thank goodness for her feline and Folklore, though. Betty’s still getting all the unconditional love from them, just without Jace in the equation. He’s probably jealous of his own flit!
Somewhere in that turmoil, life kept going, and soon Betty hits eighteen. To celebrate, she goes to the Gather. Tries wine, and goes dancing. Did her best to forget her heartache for one night. And that guy Betty danced with that Gather, unaware of Jace’s notice? Yeah, that was her cousin. Zero romantic feelings between them, of course. Soon after, she got Searched. Wow! This was the perfect chance for a change, a brand new beginning. Betty of course accepts the offer, not knowing until not long after that Jace had too accepted his own Search offer. Whoops. But she wasn’t going to rescind her acceptance of Search. Even though Jace was Searched too. Things were going to be awkward, either way, so why not see if the Searchdragons were right about them potentially becoming dragonriders one day?
UPDATES
- attends first Touching, first Hatching, then 2nd Touching and 2nd Hatching. Then 3rd Touching (gold parthenogenesis clutch!). At some point, Jace gifts her a firelizard egg, which hatched an bronze flit. Update this section with all the proper details!
- Attends 3rd Hatching (You Never Know What You’re Gonna Get, Gold Galdeneth x Garnet Eith), IMPRESSES Blue Trichath!! (Last to hatch, 15th of 15 eggs). Elides her full name to Bet’ti : D
