Nivali

[*]Name/Alias: Tam
[*]Age: 28
[*]Experience: CEO
[*]How You Found Us?: Bon
[*]Member Title: Water Finder
[*]In the event of unexplained inactivity, should we kill off or adopt out your character?: undecided


[*]Full Name: Nivali (nee-vah-lee)
[*]Soul Name: n/a
[*]Tribe: Plainsrunner (pure Sun Folk)
[*]Age: adult (654)
[*]Gender: female

[*]List Of Personality:
-calm: her parents were very calm and instilled that in her. It takes a lot to rattle her.
-independent: she does not like to be fawned over, and while she isn't afraid to ask for help, she doesn't want it offered.
-supportive: many in the tribe have many differences, and she hopes she can be supportive enough to keep the tribe together.
-confident: confidence was key when learning how to get around without sight, and quite solidified when she chose to remain blind.
-affectionate: her need to touch to perceive something has made her a very casually affectionate elf. She's not necessarily flirty, just touches others often.
-flexible: she's not afraid to have her views challenged, or be seen as incorrect. She's very open to learning.
-ambivert: she enjoys spending time with elves, but enjoys her solitude as well.
-active: though she doesn't fight, she does enjoy some of the training movements she's learned with her staff, and uses it more as a meditation. She gets a bit fidgety if she spends the whole day doing a single thing.
-curious: she likes to learn everything she can about a new place, or refamiliarize herself with old ones; she'll often explore all she can before settling in for the night.

[*]Skills other than Sending?:
-Sending: terrible, finds "speaking" in sends exhausting, and never truly got the hang of sending images. She would prefer not to send at all.
-Senses: She can't see, but she can smell well enough to sense when there is water nearby. Her sense of hearing is on par with any JWR.
-Hunting: terrible. She can't see what she's hunting, so while she could be guided by another elf, she simply tends to be more trouble to take on hunts than she's worth.
-Fighting: similarly terrible. She does have a staff to swing at anything in emergencies, but if fighting breaks out, she's better off running up a tree.
-Sewing: she can easily sew designs into fabric; her sense of touch helps her "see" what she's doing. She can also make simple repairs.
-Herding: any animals she herds would easily get away from her.
-Singing: excellent
-Swimming: good
-Dancing: good
-Cooking: average with meat, not so good with other things.
-Tent assembly: good, if she has someone with her. The support poles and reinforced spots in the tent material guide her.
-Herbalism: average. Often helps the tribe forage for herbs and edible plants, but always has to get what she gathers confirmed. She often gets what is needed thanks to her sense of smell.
-Counseling: excellent
-Weaving: average, but because her skills as a water finder are not always needed, and she isn't terribly useful watching the animals, she prefers to travel in a cart so that she can process preserver silk and weave. She is better with grasses and fibers, but can weave silk well enough. Sometimes, she will simply sit in the cart and spin the unstickied silk onto spindles, almost like she's meditating.
-Pottery: interested, but hasn't devoted much time to it yet.
-Tree climbing: she's an avid climber, but doesn't often climb because she has a lot of trouble getting down.

[*]Likes/Dislikes:
+/-: ponies. She feels uncomfortable around them because of their size, and having a hard time predicting their actions, but she will certainly approach one if accompanied by another elf.
+/-: fire, for the same sort of reason as ponies. Small ones are easier to deal with, and they need fire for warmth and cooking, but fire is very unpredictable.
+/-: goats. They're adorable and sweet, but they eat her clothes!
+: people who don't fuss over her; she appreciates help, but only when she asks.
+: her daughter's talk of the stars. Nivali can't see them, but she delight's in Nyota's fascination.
+: curling up with someone at night.
+: Buttercup, the preserver, though its singing is atrocious.
+: spinning silk
+: meditating
+: the feeling of relief at arriving at one of the homes, and the feeling of excitement when leaving.
-: humans. She doesn't mind them so much if they stay away, but they seem to have been more trouble than not in her long life.
-: elves who seem to love fighting too much. Seems to be more prevalent in the wolf-blooded elves, which causes her to be a bit wary of them, but she struggles to put that prejudice aside.
-: intolerance
-: stubbornness

[*]Family:
-Mother: Nyvorla (nee-vor-lah)
-Father: Qildor (keel-dore)
-Daughter: Nyota
-Recognized: Slate (no longer together, hunter in splinter tribe)

[*]History: Nivali is the only child of Qildor and Nyvorla, two very peaceful, traditional Sun Folk. There was little "special" about them; they weren't magical, they weren't great fighters or leaders. Nyvorla cared for ponies and goats while Qildor was a farmer and a forager. When they Recognized, it was a shock to no one, and two turns later, a dark-skinned, red-headed girl was born.

From the very start, Nivali was a bright, curious child, her light blue eyes scanning anything and everything, absorbing faces and landscapes like she was trying to see all she could while she had the time. One morning, Nyvorla picked up her young daughter and noticed her eyes started to cloud. They had no healer at the time, and the herbalist urged her parents to watch her more closely; hopefully it was simply something she'd gotten into her eyes while playing. As time passed, the blue in Nivali's eyes disappeared and her distress grew as her vision faded. By the time she was three turns of age, she was completely blind.

Nyvorla and Qildor knew how difficult it was for the original Plainsrunners to adapt to a new way of life after leaving the Sun Village. If they could grow and thrive on the plains, Nivali could do the same without her vision. As she aged, they exposed her to everything they could so that she wouldn't become afraid of the world. Leatherwings inspired them to attempt to teach her to navigate by echoes, but it wasn't Nivali's sense of hearing that grew to fill the void her vision left, it was her sense of smell. It didn't particularly help her to get around, but she could smell when the animals would soon go into heat, when humans were nearby, and most importantly, where water was. Being put into such an important position helped Nivali feel that she wasn't a burden on the tribe, and that she could care for herself.

For many turns, Nivali and her parents traveled with their tribe, having good and bad encounters with humans, welcoming new tribesmates, mourning old ones, wandering over the continent and taking in all they could about Abode. One morning, Nyvorla was handling a particularly feisty young stallion who just wasn't accepting his reins. The pony reared, knocked over the herder, and trampled her leg; her screams woke the entire camp and, still without a healer, the herbalist numbed her as best she could and amputated her leg. It was a rough recovery, and though she ultimately survived, it seemed her spirit had been shattered along with her leg. Qildor made the difficult decision to take Nyvorla elsewhere, knowing there were other, more settled Plainsrunners, in the hopes that being away from all she'd known would help his lifemate overcome her trauma. Nivali made peace with her parents' departure, and they left confident that their daughter would be okay, but she struggled with their decision for a long time afterwards, not understanding how they could see her as whole, but her mother as broken.

Eventually, one of the elves showed signs of being a healer (this can be a nameless person or one of the healers we have!), and Nivali saw an opportunity; perhaps, after so long, she would be able to see. She approached the healer and they agreed to try. The healer succeeded in restoring Nivali's sight, but it wasn't everything she dreamed; the world was so bright, so confusing, so...painful! She tried to adjust, and the pain subsided...but she still couldn't truly understand what she was seeing. Everything made more sense when she could touch it. The struggle caused her to isolate herself, spending much of her time in her tent or in a cart. She could still find water for the tribe, but it was harder, being distracted by her sight. Eventually, the begged the healer to take her sight, and once she was blind again, she felt more like herself.

During those turns, Araf became their chief, and the tribe got more war-like. Humans were now creatures to play tricks on, to bait and tease and attack. Nivali never cared for humans, but she'd always been more of the opinion that if the elves left them alone, they would leave the elves alone. Eventually, Araf's attitudes became too much for some of the tribe and, led by Azir, they took their share of ponies and wagons and fled. Azir renamed himself Tusk, and though his tenure hasn't been perfect, it's certainly been more peaceful.

About six-eights of turns afterwards, the new tribe stumbled across the old one, Araf still in power. The elves still living with him seemed to either share his views or sounded too afraid to leave; both tribes, however, agreed to spend a few nights together, so that those who had loved ones in either tribe could catch up. It was then that Recognition struck Nivali; a stubborn warrior named Slate who smelled so strongly of wolf he made her gag. She'd always hoped she'd eventually Recognize someone who would compliment her the way her parents complimented each other, but that suddenly wasn't to be. She didn't want to be paired with a savage, angry fighter like Slate, one who's vitriol towards humans and the "weaker" Sun Folk had always made her uncomfortable, at best. Slate didn't want to be paired with Nivali either, seeing her as weak and a burden on the tribe. Still, they could not refuse each other. Their joining was quick, and the tribes separated the next day. For a short time, she mourned the loss of who she'd always dreamed would be her lifemate, but as with many other things in her life, she realized there would be other mates, and even if they weren't Recognized, Recognition didn't dictate how strong their bond could be. Two turns later, Nyota was born.

Now, with Nyota taking after her grandmother and working with ponies, Nivali feels more settled and comfortable; life is peaceful again, her daughter is mostly grown, and though she senses much of Slate in her, she senses parts of herself as well. When the tribe is settled, however, she feels a little lost with what to do with herself, and is trying to remedy that.

One longdays afternoon, Zaski died in a flash flood while trying to rescue Ursa; he did manage to get Ashfinger out of the water, but died in the attempt. Nivali feels an odd sort of regret that her friend died without them able to resolve their conflicting feelings for each other.

[*]Often seen wearing: Nivali doesn't particularly care what colors she wears, as she cannot see them, but she's been told she looks lovely in teals and yellows. She doesn't wear much jewelry, as she finds it too loud and needs to rely on her hearing; instead, her clothes are adorned with cut-outs and beads, decorations both she and others can appreciate.
[*]Height/Build: Average height, fit, a bit of a curve to her.
[*]Hair: bright orange/red, messy, just touches her shoulders. it's often unkempt.
[*]Eyes: cloudy blue, narrow; they take a little getting used to, as from afar, they simply look white.
[*]Picture: (Optional. Small size, please.)

[&]Bonded animal: n/a