Name: R'aum
Age: 29
Nameday: 3546/02/08
Sex: Male.
Sexual Orientation: Things are complicated. (Panromantic and confused.)
Weyr: High Reaches Weyr.
Rider Rank: Wingrider.
Previous Rank/Craft: Trader.
Physical Description:R'aum is...kind of just average all around. He doesn't boast shocking good looks or an incredibly alluring physique, and is instead very much the kind of person that looks like you'd lose them in a crowd if you weren't paying them your full attention. He stands at about 6' flat, but usually slouches or otherwise shifts his weight around to get the load off his bad leg, which makes his height a little unreliable. His face is soft, somewhat rounded, and wholly unremarkable, with almond-shaped eyes glinting a soft blue-green that is by no means vibrant, and a small nose that's faintly upturned at the tip. R'aum wears his hair short and loose, rarely ever allowing it to pass chin length, and it's a dull dishwater blonde, somewhat on the darker side. His skin is a fairly middle-of-the-road tan, with a gentle dusting of freckles on his cheeks, shoulders, and chest.
His right leg is something of a mess of scars, still showing clear evidence of the mauling he received at his first Hatching. Surprisingly, he didn't manage to lose any toes, but the damage is significant enough to where it gives him a permanent limp, not to mention some trouble when the weather changes.
Personality: R'aum is perhaps far too chill of a dude to be doing something so serious as fighting Thread. It's not that he doesn't understand the magnitude of the situation or the potential consequences, especially when the ancient enemy is concerned, he just--tends to take a very relaxed approach to most things, and sometimes that blows up in his face. He keeps a very above-board work ethic when it comes to his duties as a rider, but as far as everything else goes, he's far less particular. R'aum isn't fussed about the details of his life or just about anything that goes on within it--unless it proves to be a detriment to him. When there's difficulties afoot, his mood changes quite drastically, instead heading straight for...bad, to be honest. He doesn't respond well to significant setbacks or anything that throws a big enough wrench in his day to be noticeable, and almost always jumps right to the most negative conclusions possible for both why it's happening and what the eventual outcome may be. Once he's in a bad mood, it tends to stick around for at least a few days until he can finally let himself let go of it. Once it's over, it's completely over, as far as he's concerned--except, not really. Outwardly, he'll move past whatever made him upset in the first place, but he's entirely liable to stew in it for quite some time afterward.
He's easy to talk to and get to know, with little objections to telling others the more personal details of his life--he knows when to stop in order to avoid unwanted oversharing, but he likes to hold himself as an open book. Why should he be worried? It's not as if he has anything to hide. Still, he uses this open door policy of his as something of a test for others--he's careful to monitor their reactions and how they treat him after. If he finds something unfavorable or a response he isn't a fan of, he's quick to put on a mask of politeness in order to disguise the distaste he feels. It takes a long time for R'aum to genuinely trust anyone enough to show them who he is at the core rather than who he appears to be. R'aum is incredibly picky when it comes to who he deems safe enough to be in his personal circle, sometimes going too far and blocking out others out of reflex rather than any real reason. He's fine with acquaintances and friends, but anyone who's after a deeper connection is going to run into plenty of problems on the way.
Despite his internal conflicts, R'aum does actually love helping others, as long as it's not heavy emotional labor. He's at his happiest when he can work with his hands and get his mind off of anything else, and he's particularly resourceful, making him a handyman worth having around. While it can be somewhat difficult to get him to do something if it's not a task he's particularly enthusiastic about, it's easy to nudge him toward making good on his promises with a little conversation. He loves having company around, especially to chat with while he's working, and is almost always willing to have others over for whatever reason. When he's not in some shade of a bad mood, R'aum's doors are always open, and he doesn't have much of a concept of personal privacy--his weyr is your weyr, as far as he's concerned. He has very little that he's not willing to share in some way or another, although how open he is with his generosity is by far the easiest way to tell his personal opinion of someone. If he likes them, he'll have no issues--if not, no matter how hard he tries to hold on to that polite facade, it's liable to crack with barely any pressure at all.
He shows his anger in far less blatant ways, instead withholding help and items he could contribute, among other things; while this doesn't extend to fighting Thread out of a desire to avoid heavy consequences, he's not above being a pain in the a** on the ground when he can. R'aum is careful to keep this as below board as he can, though, and won't actively do anything that would ruin his reputation as a friendly, useful guy to have around. He's very mindful of what others think of him, and while he might not act on their opinions at all, he certainly does keep it in mind, sometimes to the point of detriment. If he knows he's about to do something with someone that doesn't like him, sometimes he won't put in anywhere near as much effort, simply because he's convinced himself it's going to end badly regardless of what he does. In this manner, he can sabotage his own relationships with others rather than working to build them up, and although he knows he's doing it, he finds it difficult to derail this kind of thought.
At his best, R'aum is a quick-thinking, adaptable individual who would love nothing more than to help out. He knows his standing as a Brownrider of High Reaches affords him a perfect niche--he has responsibilities and duties to uphold, sure, but he has status without having to deal with the same level of pressure that a Bronzerider would. He's in a comfortable place, and if there's something he can do to help those that he likes, he'll absolutely do it. Maintaining his rank is important, but not necessarily for the standard High Reaches reasons--he's not in it for power or because he's working on traditional ideas. More than anything, R'aum wants Modrioth to be happy, and although the highly-structured life of the Weyr doesn't quite suit him, he has no problem with making it work for the sake of his dragon. Modrioth matters more to him than literally anything else in the world, and he hardly needs anyone else when he's got his Brown by his side. He doesn't exactly see the reason to get to know people in a deeper sense, seeing as he's already got his most trusted companion and bondmate, but at the very least, he does understand
why it's important to at least try. Is he good at taking his own advice, though? Not particularly.
Positive Trait List: Easygoing, good-humored, welcoming, casual, helpful.
Negative Trait List: Unambitious, unmotivated, pessimistic, hypercritical, two-faced.
History:A small-scale trader born to a traveling caravan, Rinaum specialized in...junk, honestly. Sure, he'd brag that his collection was made up of storied antiques and mysterious valuables long since lost to the sands of time (before he recovered them, of course), but unsurprisingly, he never really managed to make that many marks in the process. Still, his social skills and propensity for attracting attention with flashy displays kept him useful, not to mention his insistence on lending a hand wherever possible. In the end, he made a reputation for himself as more of a handyman than a purveyor of legendary relics, picking up slack or patching up holes often before his caravan had the time to notice there was even a problem at all. Rinaum was well-loved, even if he didn't seem to have much drive to better himself, and seemed to have no trouble making a decent, if uninspiring, living.
Everything changed when he was Searched on what was supposed to be a routine stop to peddle some of their collective wares. Rinaum, with no plans for his own life and with plenty of encouragement from his extended trading family at his heels, decided--why not go for it? If it didn't work out, he could always come back to the band, probably. It wouldn't hurt, right? High Reaches couldn't be
that bad.
His first Hatching proved a little different. Rinaum was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, and wound up being taken off the Sands with a rather significantly mauled leg--the resulting limp almost was enough to make him drop out of candidacy altogether, but without knowing where his band even was to go home to, he decided he was better off waiting just a little longer, at least until he could
definitely go home. Not five months later, his second Hatching appeared on the horizon; although he was particularly hesitant to stand again, this time went far, far better.
He was approached, calmly and coolly, by the Brown that emerged from his favorite egg--he'd had a good feeling about that one, and while Rinaum wasn't sure he wanted to get his hopes up, he was almost willing to do just that when he'd seen it on the Sands properly for the Hatching. Rinaum expected to be passed over, or maybe even slapped around again, but instead, the little Brown simply sat beside him, curling his almost ungainly long tail around his legs and giving a soft rumble of contentment.
That was the first moment he knew Modrioth--not with any kind of words, but instead a
feeling. The Brown seemed to be everything he wasn't, and R'aum was baffled as to why he'd been chosen; Modrioth swatted those doubts aside, leaning in closer. There was no more room for that, now. He was here, and they had much to do.
But first, weyrling training. Then--then, there was much to do.
When they finished after what felt like an eternity, Modrioth had successfully managed to instill at least a little bit of drive into R'aum. Perhaps not as much as he would've liked, but it was a good start. Still grumbling about that limp he'd been assured would be temporary, R'aum decided he should look into slipping away from High Reaches in favor of somewhere a bit less...
intense, disliking the thought of being reformed into a perfect dragonrider according to their specifications. After some convincing, Modrioth decided the plan couldn't be that bad, and they left after another Turn of dealing with life at the Weyr, returning to R'aum's home band following a few months of searching for them.
Now, R'aum was something else entirely. He wasn't a junk salesman, or really a handyman anymore, even though he still did whatever he could to keep the gears turning. Even though he felt at home with his family, it never really clicked in quite the same way as it used to, and R'aum found himself growing melancholic. Modrioth was far less of a fan of their new arrangement, and he disliked the idea of being reduced down to an overgrown guard wherry even more. It became clear to both of them that they didn't belong here, and although they stomached it for a few more Turns, it left the both of them feeling dissatisfied and ultimately, conflicted. Had they really made the right choice in leaving the Weyr and coming back
here of all places? Modrioth couldn't help but feel like his potential was being squandered, and R'aum couldn't pin down
what he felt. In short, it was hardly good.
They came slinking back to the Weyr, fully expecting to never hear the end of it. Instead, they returned just in time to witness the first Threadfall in centuries, and all their training had to be put to use. They'd have to be yelled at later--for now, there was Thread to flame, and people to protect.
R'aum still doesn't know if he made the right decision in coming back to High Reaches, but it's far too late to change his mind now.
Other: He presses flowers in his spare time, but would prefer if nobody knew about that.
DRAGON
Name: Modrioth
Age: 14
Color: Brown
Size: 37'
Physical Description: With a long, serpentine body and a sinuous grace, Modrioth moves like flowing water and looks almost eerie. His tail is long and whiplike, and his legs are thin, skinny things that almost make sense when the rest of his oddly lean build is taken into account. He doesn't look unhealthy, fortunately enough; he's just...very slim, with little padding laid over the muscles underneath. His eyes are deeply set into their sockets, and his eyeridges are somewhat downturned, giving him a constant baleful look no matter what he does. Modrioth himself doesn't seem to mind. His torso is equally long, almost to the point of being disproportionate, and he's
very flexible for his size. The downside is that he's far more likely to get tangled up in his own everything when sleeping.
Modrioth's hide is a rich brown that darkens along his spine and the back half of his wings. The underside of his wingsails are a light, almost leather color, and his hide is starkly marked with a few skeletal markings in a bright cream. He takes special pride in these markings, and will grow utterly furious if they're besmirched.
Personality: Cool, calculated, and aloof, Modrioth has much,
much more initiative than his rider does. He's incredibly concerned with how he's maintaining his image, and loves gathering up all the juiciest bits of gossip and information to hoard for just the right moment. He's almost surgical in his approach to social situations, and can be somewhat unsettling with his mere presence alone--he's watchful to the extreme, and takes particular care in picking apart the weaknesses of others. It's not from much of a malicious drive, either; he's simply interested in seeing what makes people tick, and what better way to understand them than to work through their faults and what may have caused them?
He has a strong interest in both decay and preservation, and uses his keenly scientific mind to try and figure out ways to prevent rot--through this practice, however, he's learned a few more generalized lessons, better suited to his views rather than his hobbies. For one, he's taken to heart that entropy does have its place, and has grown to be quite at peace with the notion of an inevitable end to things; he's actually a surprisingly sympathetic dragon in that regard, but his sentiments may not always come across how he intends.
While he does have a way with words, Modrioth is less skilled with properly understanding someone else's feelings, even though he thinks he's got it down pat. He has a tendency to try and predict how an interaction is going to go long before it actually unfolds, and is always baffled when it doesn't happen how he thought it would--the easiest way to catch him off-guard is to simply talk to him for more than a few minutes in order to make him run out of his prepared script, at which point you get to interact with him on a more genuine level. He kind of hates it, mainly for the fact that allowing people to see him for himself means that
he's the one being examined and picked apart. Modrioth is very strict about being in control of how others see him, hence his tendency toward staying in the shadows--for the tables to be turned on him is a horrifying concept that he'd rather not experience.
Dragon Art or Proof of Obtainment: [ Starter pack derg! ]
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