Heartsease

[nikki]

Name: Heartsease Violanus (Alias: Heartsease Whitefoot)
Age: 15
Birthplace: Valerian Warren (Western Plain, east of River Moss)
Gender: Female
Species: Rabbit
Job/Position: N/A
Physical Description:

A rabbitmaid starting to come into true doehood, Heartsease is a slender beast with brown-gray fur and dark brown eyes; her ears are tipped in black and she has white fur on her chest and abdomen, while her right footpaw is white to the ankle. She prefers simple clothing, most often dressing in a tunic dyed the pale purple of her namesake flower with a yellow accent belt to signal the flower's center; the belt is sturdy enough to support small supply satchels, of which she has two plus one water flask and a knife better suited to woodcraft than battle. A more likely weapon is a yew-and-iron spear slightly longer than she is tall with a double-edged tip flanked by two lugs on the spearsocket, which Heartsease normally carries ready over one shoulder. She does not wear any sort of jewelry, though she has a certain fondness for ribbons and will make leaf or flower garlands in season. As a rabbit, Heartsease is head-and-shoulders smaller than the average hare of similar age, and she knows and admits she lacks a hare's raw speed and power. Nevertheless her bearing shows confidence and a comfort in her own pelt - all a part of her determination to fulfill her dreams of the Patrol.

Belongings:

Spear: Old but well-kept, Heartsease always keeps this close at paw.

Utility Knife: Short and sturdy, this is made for trimming lines, slicing fruit, and other mundane tasks rather than war.

Flask: Normally filled with water, unless somebeast offers something better.

Satchels: Two small ones, to carry the fruits of foraging.

Map: Taken from her home warren, this shows the landscape but is somewhat out-of-date concerning settlements.

Personality:

Cheerful and outgoing by nature, Heartsease has all the confidence of a young beast out on her own for the first time. Though her upbringing has made her quite courteous and she is eager to please, her wish to impress the hares she admires often lends itself to a leap-before-you-look demeanor and her sense of humor has gotten her into trouble many a time (usually with the stuffy older rabbits of her home warren). This same will to impress and succeed does lead her to throw herself into tasks and exercises with zeal, and Heartsease makes an attentive student if given a patient teacher; on the other hand she has a slow-burning but very real temper, and will bridle at skepticism and may hold grudges (and can be irritated by the sometimes-dismissive attitude toward her species in general, particularly the idea that the very word 'rabbit' is an insult). Overall she is a goodnatured rabbitmaid with a willful streak and a deep need to prove herself; time will tell if this will mold into real skill.

History:

Heartsease Violanus, a descendant of the rabbits who fled Mossflower in the time of Lonna Bowstripe, was born the middle child and only daughter in a family of seven kits. A member of a warren of rather traditional rabbits, Heartsease grew under her parents' belief that rabbits, particularly does, should be demure and mannerly beasts.

Heartease herself, however, was cut from somewhat more rambunctious cloth.

While she often put on her best manners to please her parents, Heartsease's enterprising nature and resulting explorations found her lost in the wilderness at an early age. While no harm came to her - and she never even encountered vermin - she was lost for several days until a detachment of Long Patrol hares found her and led her home. Deeply impressed by the hares' carefree, rowdy natures, deep camaraderie, and kindness and bravery, Heartsease soon began to talk of nothing but joining the Patrol as soon as she was old enough to leave home. Her parents, dismayed, said anything they could to get this idea out of her mind - rabbits are stay-at-home beasts with no business in battles or patrols, only hares were permitted to join the Long Patrol, she had no weapons or fighting ability nor anyone to teach her - but Heartsease's dream remained strong.

Luck was with Heatsease in one respect, however - an elderly squirrel friend of the Violanus family, Timothy Highleap, was amused by her determination and took her on as a pupil. At first, her lessons were limited to basic orienteering, both to reassure her parents and to see if she was a ready pupil. Once the maid showed both a will to learn and some ability in basic woodland skills (though her skill at navigation was somewhat offset by a remarkable inability to identify wild plants aside from her own namesake), Timothy taught her the basics of combat and, once she showed more than a basic understanding of the weapon, eventually traded her an old spear for some of her mother's honey-and-flaxseed cakes. With her new weapon and founding knowledge, Heartsease left home to journey to Salamandastron in hopes of seeing her dream of being a real 'perilous beast' come true.

Of course, she did leave home alone, in the dead of night. After all, her parents would never approve of a delicate doe traipsing off to a mountain fortress, and sometimes a maid simply has to take matters into her own paws.

Code Words: -correct-

[Treble Tiderunner]

Nice, I like her. Accepted!