"Put a little love in your heart and the world will be a better place."
BASICS
NAME: Rania
GENDER: Female
PRONOUNS: She/Her/Hers
ORIENTATION: Bisexual
BIRTHDATE: Spring 2758
AGE: 18 as of Spring 2776
LOCATION: High Reaches Weyr
OCCUPATION: Wherhandler, Beastcrafter
WING: Windsong Squad
APPEARANCE
EYES: Scorched brown
HAIR: Hazel brown/green
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 5'9" and unassuming
PLAY-BY: N/A
EXPY SOURCE: N/A
FULL APPEARANCE: Certainly not the tallest, not by any means. Rania is dainty and 'plain'-looking, lacking anything to really stand out from the crowd and that's perfectly fine by her. She doesn't aspire to be the main attraction of High Reaches Weyr and there are no complaints from her about that. Long dark brown hair thick with wild curls hangs, just barely, past her shoulder blades - commonly bound into a ponytail of some form to keep it out of her face. Everlasting patches of blush linger below eyes that intermingle somewhere between dark brown and green. Freckles hide within those rosey patches and speckle the vastness of her body, particularly along her shoulders. She lacks any scarring or unusual marks beyond those she was born with although her fingers are rough with callouses from working with all manner of beast. Rania prefers long, flowing gowns that are more practical than alluring. Most of her ensemble are stained from dirt and other questionable substances. At least she has taken to wearing a smock.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY: Rania is upbeat, joyful, and compassionate. She knows her way around the rougher parts of Pern's goings-on and maintains a positive outlook in the face of sadness and danger. 'Hopelessly optimistic'. She wants to 'save the world' however she can (or at least help). Rania is morally opposed to violence, seeing it primarily as a last resort. Despite her 'holier than thou' nature, she is not above harboring resentment for those who have wronged her and puts up a front of cold defiance to conceal her weakness when distressed.
Rania craves freedom and adventure yet loves her home and all the good that grows within its confines despite the rough history she'd been exposed to. She has a special fondness for all things fauna and flora and attempts to commune with them despite ... obvious ... inabilities to do so. Rania certainly offers a show for those who wish to sit back and view her attempts to negotiate with a rose bush to avoid being pricked by its thorns.
She is an absolute flirt to all the wrong types of people. Her theoretical partner would be somebody outwardly cold yet inwardly ... soft. Rania is convinced there's some good in everybody, even the deadliest of assholes - she's just gotta dig ... really hard ... with a sharp spade forged from her own endless kindness. Her desire to breach the tough exterior of a tough nut to crack is an epitome of her devout stubborness. Once she has set her mind upon something, nobody will alter her decision - not even the danger she may unwittingly place herself into. Rania sees all her tasks through to the end. No matter what.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Freya - mother (59)
Naaji - father †
Younger sibling (14) - Open Tie
Younger sibling (11) - Open Tie
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: (optional)
BIRTHPLACE: High Reaches Weyr
HISTORY: Rania's story isn't very complicated. She was born just as Thread started its new rampage across the skies of Pern, to a Weyr that was already facing challenges under the tyrannical leadership of Golre. But what did a baby have to stress about with all that mess? Her family never raised her with the aspirations to become a rider or handler even though her father was one of the latter. Ah, bronze Ajisk - her 'big brother', so to speak. The wher was part of her life from the moment Rania drew first breath and was her constant shadow, understanding the importance of protecting his handler's offspring when not on duty with his squad.
Basking in the bronze's ever-looming mass inspired her to grow close to the animals that made High Reaches Weyr home. Fire-lizards were fine and dandy, for sure. Dragons and whers were beautiful. But as a child she was often drawn to the herdbeast pens, taking pity on them with the knowledge that they were essentially doomed to be food for the winged creatures of High Reach's draconic arsenal. Even the wherries with their fickle temperaments were on the receiving end of loving scritches. By the time her youngest sibling was born into the world, Rania was already on her way to learning the ins and outs of animal care. She was 9 when she assisted in the birth of a herdbeast calf because there was only one ill-equipped beasthealer in the stall at the time and the laboring creature sprung the surprise on them far earlier than anticipated. Rania absolutely earned her 'wings' that day. By 13 she was essentially taken on as an apprentice beastcrafter with the insistence of her family although really she didn't need the push to make up her mind.
Najisk was still in her presence constantly during the days where no Thread fell or his squad was off duty. She was definitely the less rambunctious of her family - far more mellowed out. And it felt essential for her safety. He saw those big herdbeasts with their heavy hooves or the wherries with their sharp claws and felt it necessary to be a presence that kept the creatures in check should they decide to act out ... from a distance, at least, to prevent them from breaking into a panic at staring their predator in the eye. Rania's father often watched from afar with a hot cup of k'lah, tittering to himself about how his own bonded had become his daughter's guardian.
When she was 15 turns old, Naaji tripped into a thread burrow while surveying the ground during Fall. Ajisk hauled the old man from the hole with haste but the burns were severe and far-reaching. Naaji bore gruesome injuries up to his hip. He lay in a fellis stupor within the infirmary for seven long days before succumbing to infection.
Ajisk had the option of becoming feral and may have taken the opportunity if Rania didn't essentially pull him into becoming her field hand. They tempered their mutual grief by strengthening their bond further, only leaving each other's side when duty called. Thus the bronze was a more common sight outside the stables and stalls than he had been before.
After her father's death, Rania began spending time in the gardens within and just beyond the Weyr's reach. The flowers were a soothing balm. She began spending time picking the mature ones, weeding when she could, taking in their aromas ... Rania was 16 when Ajisk sniffed out a clutch of eggs in a field of lilacs. Tunnelsnakes! Except wild wherries had gotten to them first, shredding open the exterior to devour the yolk within. Only one managed to remain unscathed. Rania took pity on the poor thing, incubating it with hot sand in the same manner one might do with a fire-lizard egg until it hatched into what was, thankfully, a genus of tunnelsnake not known for their venom. It was ill-advised for somebody to take such vermin as their pet but Rania already proved herself to be unusual. With proper pampering and feeding, the little thing became attached to her.
She was on the cusp of 18 when Ajisk planted himself before her with whirling eyes, determination and ... a knife. Yes. A knife which, compared to his size, may as well have been a toothpick. Dropping it at her feet, the intention was pretty clear. Ajisk had made his choice, but it was up to Rania to seal the deal. Their bond was forged in blood and Ajisk took up the mantle of Niaajisk - an homage to his handler of the past and the handler of the now.
