Lachina Stromness

[Shor]

Name: Lachina "Leah / Kirsty" Aileen Stromness [Pronounced: Lock-een-uh]
Age: 18 (as of three days from now)
Birthplace: Western Sea
Gender: Female
Species: Sea Otter
Job/Position: She has no job or position, though she previously worked as Lachie's assistant, as well, at times, as an interrogater, spy, hypnotist, and polygraph (truth/lie detector).
Physical Description:

There is a stark contrast between the ottertwins. Lachina takes after her mother, and is a bit on the short side, while Lachlan is rather tall, like his father. Although she isn't as tall as her brother, nor nearly as strong, she is a surprisingly strong ottermaid, despite the first impression her gentle appearance creates.

She is covered head to footpaw in ruddy-brown fur, one of the few traits that the twins share. Her fur is notably soft, one of the many perks of being a richbeast. Like her mother, she possesses two pale green eyes, which aren't nearly as striking as her father's deep blue eye. But this only adds to her gentle appearance, which is quite useful, especially in her line of expertise. She rarely fails to look a beast in the eyes, which, normally, would be rather discomforting, but under the circumstances (she's a Stromness, and nothing is normal about those), it's actually quite the contrary.

Her voice is soft, though a bit in the alto range when she speaks. When singing, her voice is smooth and unexpectedly powerful, complemented by the huge range she boasts. Of course, she doesn't have any memory of her past, and so does not remember that she was an excellent singer -- there won't be much of that from her until she comes out of her amnesia-like state.

Belongings:

She does wear clothing, but she does not tend to wear the same clothing all the time (It never ceases to amaze me when someone includes only one outfit for a character.). When outside the abbey, she might wear a nice maroon tunic with fancy-looking embroideries all over it, a similarly embroidered red tunic, a slightly differently embroidered green tunic, trousers if she's to, in some way, get messy (How's THAT for splitting an infinitive! What!), an only slightly frilly skirt that reaches down to her footpaws or an almost identical skirt that reaches down to the middle of her shins, and to top everything off, a pair of black boots (It seems a family tradition, doesn't it?) that are only distinguishable from those of her brother and father by two things: size, and the fact that they actually have been washed in the last millenium. In the event that she is going to a formal someplace, she does own a pair of white slippers embroidered with lovely gold designs, and a matching red dress that reaches down to her footpaws -- there is also the possibility of a dress identical thereto, only colored in gold. . . (Oh, you thought I was talking about gold as a color?)

She doesn't really have many notable possessions, other than the clothes on her back, plus whatever articles of hers Lachie carries (on top of all other supplies). The only object of significance is a small doll, resembling a mouse -- the only surviving remnant of the shipwreck other than Lachlan and herself.

Personality:

Lachina is something of an enigma at the moment. She manages to keep the appearance of an ottermaid who knows what she's doing, but in all honesty, she doesn't. She recently developed a case of amnesia, which, though generally considered a debilitating, has given her a fresh start. And in the few months following her new beginning, Leah has decided upon several important matters -- most involving her personality. She knows that the world has hurt her and her family, but for some reason, she comes at life with an open heart and mind, confident that she can make it through anything it throws at her -- after all, it took her entire life away, and she's still standing. She hides nothing, distrusts nothing, and lets nothing stop her from accomplishing whatever needs to be accomplished (a trait inherited from her father, though she doesn't know it). There is an odd air of confidence about her, but not in the manner of arrogance; it is as though she simply decided to quit listening to the world tell her what she can't do.

This new Lachina isn't exactly up to date with social interaction, however, and doesn't particularly understand every implication which beasts tend to load their sentences with -- there is a certain level of naivety that comes with facing the unfamiliar. What makes Lachina different is her indifference toward the matter. Hey, she's got amnesia; can't really blame her if she says something that could be construed as rude.

But she is a fast learner, and probably won't make the same awkward mistake twice. Interestingly, Lachina seems to have maintained some of her ability to read a beast's emotions. She listens to and understands anybeast who is willing to confide in her, though such beasts are few and far between. She often finds herself verbally analyzing beasts' behavior, and can sometimes go as far as to help Lachie "read thoughts." She, of course, is not nearly as skilled with it as before -- it's all talent. But, like her brother, she can and does make mistakes.

As Lachlan's twin, she doesn't feel that she's done very well at it. She does care for her brother, and recognizes that he, of all beasts, is the most protective of her, but the amnesia has had an effect on their relationship. She understands that Lachie is upset that she doesn't remember him, and though she shouldn't, she feels guilty for not remembering. Lachlan tells her not to feel guilty, because it's obviously not her fault, which complicates matters further. Nevertheless, their relationship as family is not completely disrupted -- they simply try to avoid discussing the amnesia, though neither can resist trying to trigger her memory every now and again.

History:

She awakened to an empty room. It bothered her that she didn't know what was wrong. Glancing around, she noticed a bed, a chair, and a desk, but there wasn't anything that indicated that anybeast had ever been in the room, other than herself. She wore a tunic, trousers, a belt, (all light brown) but footpawwear was nowhere to be found -- no boots, shoes, slippers, or anything of the sort.

She didn't even know her own name. All she knew was that the last thing she remembered hearing was "Kirsty," so she assumed that this Kirsty was her. As she rose to her footpaws, something told her that she shouldn't be awake yet, and that if she was found awake, they wouldn't like her -- whoever "they" were.

The sea ottermaid opened the door, and stepped through to find herself standing in the middle of nowhere -- literally. What she stood upon seemed to her like a desert, but it just didn't register, and she dismissed it. As is happened, she was on abandoned farmground somewhere on the isle of Terramort, and she as she wandered, she soon learned that many other buildings such as the one she'd been kept in existed on the isle. This frightened her, and she fled to the beach, where she remained for two days, afraid to venture back inland.

The very next morning, she awakened to somebeast shaking her shoulder urgently. She let out a cry of surprise, and scrambled a few feet away. Studying the beast who'd awakened her, she saw that it was a sea otter like herself, but he was tall, burly, had searching blue eyes, and looked as though he'd just tried to hug a hurricane. He tilted his head, and furrowed his brow, as though her behavior was completely out of the ordinary. He introduced himself -- Lachlan Stromness -- and proceeded to ask why she was so afraid.

The truth was she didn't know, and that was exactly what the problem was. She didn't know anything! She couldn't remember anything beyond two days ago, and nothing registered in her mind as familiar. But the big sea otter's concerned expression made something in her mind click into place, and she felt that he was safe. She thought, as she hugged him tightly, and cried into his shoulder, that if she were to remember anything, she should stay with him. There was just some strange connection between herself and Lachlan.

By the end of the day, both were aboard the schooner that Lachie had used to travel to Terramort, and both were at an understanding that somehow Lachina had lost her memory, and had awakened on Terramort. The only thing that she failed to explain was that she'd discovered several buildings on the isle that matched the one she'd been kept in -- it just didn't seem important at the time, and besides, she didn't want to remember anything about that terrible isle. Lachlan found it rather suspicious that she'd awakened on Terramort in a relatively comfortable room, but he thought that it was perhaps the work of a good Samaritan. Whatever the case, Lachina was his main concern, though he certainly hadn't expected to find her, let alone here.

He decided to bring her to a place he called Redhall Abbey (he was later told to replace the "h" with a "w"). Through the entire journey, he has tried to trigger some memory in her mind -- any memory at all -- but it seems that her amnesia won't fade anytime soon. Nevertheless, it does seem that she still maintains a modicum of her ability to read emotions.

The ottertwins are now approaching the Abbey, where Lachina will stay, at least until her memory returns.

[Treble Tiderunner]

Accepted