Name: M'kai (Makai)
Age: 23 turns
Nameday: 3552.02.01
b]Sex: Male (trans)
Sexual Orientation: Pansexual
Weyr: High Reaches Weyr
Rider Rank: Wingrider, Searchrider
Previous Rank/Craft: Trader
Physical Description: Despite the fact that M'kai was assigned female at birth, he has a naturally "masculine" appearance, only augmented by the fact that he attempts to present in a traditionally hypermasculine manner. Although slightly short, at 5'5", he has a naturally thick and strong build, masculine and burly, almost like that of a lumberjack. He's a little chunky, but mostly muscular. M'kai is dark-skinned and dark-haired, and prefers to wear his hair in a shaggy cut that almost reaches his shoulders. His eyes are dark, appearing black in most light. Despite avoiding finery like the plague, M'kai has a strong sense of style, and will balk at needing to wear something that isn't his style. He prefers baggy clothing in neutral, earthy, or dark tones, often with an accent of color, usually red.
M'kai's blocky figure has naturally little in the way of curves, and most of what he does have, he's able to hide easily. That said, he doesn't much like his body. His facial features include full lips and cheeks, but also a square jawline, thick eyebrows, and a wide nose. Despite M'kai's many insecurities, he holds himself as if he were confident, and each step he takes seems assured and deliberate. He's a little clumsy sometimes, and relies more on brute strength than finesse or dexterity. In a fight, M'kai is a brawler, with straightforward and easy to predict tactics, but he's more than capable of defending himself.
Personality: M'kai generally means well. It's just that he's a very prickly person. He's a good man, deep down. He's generous, and would do anything to protect or save another. He'd quickly sacrifice himself to save a stranger. If it's someone he cares about, he loves deeply, especially if he's known them a while. That said, he's bad at expressing affection, and gets very awkward when he tries to.
Even if he was a generally pleasant person, M'kai is not the type to have many friends. He is awkward, uncomfortable in social situations, and tends to interact with others in odd ways. Easily embarrassed and flustered, it is rather easy to catch him off-guard, but he always acts like everything is fine. He has trouble talking to people, especially if they're attractive, and often will swear, insult, and generally be rude, even if he means well. He dislikes authority, generally speaking, and can be a bit rebellious. Asakoth usually keeps him in check, but the adjustment to High Reaches has been an interesting one. He is resentful, including past resentments of his family and current resentments of his Weyr. He hates his low rank, ignored and insulted at times, but hates standing out even more. Sure, he likes when his loved ones notice him--who wouldn't?--but he hates being in the spotlight of the general public, especially at a place like High Reaches. He hates feeling controlled or put down.
Asakoth is M'kai's calming force, keeping him grounded, away from the anxiety and anger and insecurity that threatens M'kai on a daily basis. Generally, M'kai is an angry jerk--certainly rude and coarse. He's rough around the edges, but inside, he does have good intentions. While not always angry and hateful, he often acts as though he is. If he were quietly insulting, or if he had some finesse about it, it'd be one thing. No, M'kai is loud, with all the subtlety of a fully-grown dragon who hadn't grown out of their hatchling clumsiness. Straightforward and direct, he often lacks what might be referred to as nuance or cleverness. His trigger rests on a hairpin, and he's prone to lashing out, but would never intentionally hurt someone. Sometimes, he goes too far, and will almost immediately apologize if he does. Still, his attitude does not win him many friends. Paired with his colorful and loud vocabulary, he's generally an annoying person to be around (if you don't know him well), at best.
While prone to anger, M'kai is also prone to anxiety and insecurity. He worries a lot about others disliking him. He knows he's not the nicest guy, and feels as though he's a terrible, irredeemable person. He's so down on himself that he often thinks he has no value whatsoever. He's insecure about his masculinity, due to his family, and as a result,
M'kai enjoys singing and music, but never pursued the harpercraft--nor is he able to now, due to his dragonrider status. He's a bit insecure about his music, but not so insecure as to avoid performances. While he enjoys this cultured art, his second main interest is a bit different. He enjoys fighting and sparring, particularly to get out his energy. To the surprise of others, he doesn't usually fight in anger. He's more prone to yelling, and doesn't want to actually hurt anyone if he doesn't have to.
As a surprisingly honorable man, M'kai is never one for dirty fighting, be it in a physical fight or in anything else that would be dishonorable. Cheating, stealing? Oh, no, not him. He's relatively moral, and can be surprisingly sweet if he cares about you. If he upsets someone, he will be awkwardly gentle, and try to console them. He feels so bad and would do anything to make someone stop crying, to cheer them up. His strong value system revolves around honor, fairness, and equality. He believes that people are sharing equal, and if you think a whiterider is lower than a goldrider, sear you! (Asakoth will help him avoid cussing out the Weyrwoman, thankfully.)
In every way, this man is stubborn. Getting him to budge or admit he is wrong is difficult, at least when using logical arguments or anger. That said, if you know how to manipulate him, it's rather easy to get him to change his mind. Just start sobbing and he'll do whatever you want. That said, he refuses to change his beliefs. Courageous and brave, M'kai can nonetheless be a bit foolish when it comes to protecting others. He can't keep his mouth shut if he sees someone being bullied or harmed. He's not the smartest guy--not stupid, exactly, but he leaps before thinking...and rarely pauses to think, at all.
M'kai can be a bit destructive in relationships, mostly self-destructive. He sabotages himself, puts himself down, and generally makes his life more difficult. He tends to ruin relationships, and can be a bit difficult to handle. As a generally irritable person, M'kai tends to get angry over small things, but even when he's angry, he's rarely the type to fly into a rage. He acts tough, but hides the sensitivity he feels inside. He's easily hurt, but rarely shows this to others, due to difficulty getting close to them.
While he curses a lot, he tries very hard to self-censor in front of children. He usually fails. He also tries very hard to be nice, most of the time. He almost always fails. He doesn't quite know how to be kind in speech, but shows his kindness in action. While he may get angry when someone is rude to him, he prefers when people are harsh and tough. If his insults roll right off someone, he feels most comfortable. If he's getting praised and pampered, he's uncomfortable. Give him a gift, and he'll have no idea how to handle someone being so nice to him.
Although he easily feels discouraged, he rarely seems it in action. He continues, persevering even when he feels like it's hopeless, only to be pleasantly surprised when something works out. He's strongly motivated by spite, and is determined to do things anyways. Reverse psychology, if applied well, is often successful with him. His attention span is short, and he's rather disorganized, but he tries hard to do his best, should he care about whoever/whatever he's doing his best for.
Positive Trait List Brave, caring, honorable, persistent
Negative Trait List Awkward, angry, anxious, argumentative (The Four Core A's of M'kai)
History: Born to the eldest of W'tarl's siblings, Makai's father was one of many raised on a farm. The farm would be Makai's small world, for much of his life. When he was little, the farm felt large, somewhere to explore with new places. When he grew up, he realized how tiny it truly was, and felt dissatisfied. He was born when Watarl was 15, and Liarl was 13, and was one of many children--not the oldest, but not the youngest, either. He didn't stand out much in his early life, but started acting out as a young child, perhaps to get more attention. A rebellious youth, many attributed his gender identification to a revolt against expectations.
As soon as he could articulate it, he insisted he was a boy, and wanted to be treated like one. He was generally humored and allowed to dress and act how he wanted, in that regard. He always looked up to his aunt, as a child, but when he was five, she was searched. He'd hear from her, of course, maybe even get to see her every so often, but he took the separation from his favorite of his father's siblings hard. He was too young to properly see her flaws, and idolized her as a perfect person. When she was searched, he began to hope to be a rider--just like she would become!
When he was 7, Watarl was searched, as well. He hadn't been as close to Watarl as he had Liarl, and he'd grown out of (most of) his petulance, so he found himself only feeling pride that both an aunt and an uncle had been searched. It was practically in his blood to be a dragonrider! (Never mind that he was from a farmer family and no one had even Impressed yet.) He vowed to someday go to High Reaches with them, to Impress where they would, a determination that only grew stronger when he was 10, and both Impressed. He was so happy and proud.
Around this time, however, he started lashing out more. His life wasn't what he wanted. It was small and boring. His aunt wasn't there. He had no skills, other than the farming knowledge he'd picked up, which didn't even count, in his mind. He felt tossed to the side, unimportant in his family, and tried to stand out in any way he could. Less than a turn later, however, his life changed--for the worse.
Liarl died in a betweening accident. His favorite aunt had died. His siblings were all boys--so his parents and grandparents started suddenly asking him about his gender. Was he sure he was a boy? They wanted a girl, someone to fill the void of Liarl. It was how they mourned, but Makai was livid. He ran away the day that Liarl died, despite his young age--barely 11. For a long time, he had no contact with his family. He didn't go to High Reaches, despite earlier ambitions. Instead, he ran away and joined a group of wandering traders.
He cared deeply for his trader "family," but it didn't fill the void left by his birth family. He resented his mother and father, and his grandparents, but he missed them, too...even if he wasn't self-aware enough to realize it. Makai told himself he hated them. He missed some of his uncles, but he wouldn't let himself think about his aunt.
Much of his trader life was uneventful. He learned the "trade," and enjoyed friendly banter and affection. It felt almost like a family. A few of the traders were dragonriders, and when a bronze in the group successfully flew a queen at a Weyrhold, the head of the traders insisted they be allowed to stand. At 19, Makai Impressed to his lovely Asakoth, alongside a few other traders. He was instructed, along with the other weyrlings, by a kindly, older rider at the Weyrhold, and M'kai admired the man greatly, despite not being especially close to him--and getting in trouble a fair amount. After a turn, M'kai and the other traders were set as full riders, and a lovely celebration marked the event. The traders left the next day for a trip, in high spirits from the night before. Their euphoria was short-lived; thread began to fall soon after, and the traders were not heard from for a few sevendays. News of a destroyed caravan arrived eventually.
Devastated, again, M'kai retreated into himself, finding a balance between isolating and lashing out. For almost three turns, he wandered, leaving the weyrhold. Eventually, his dragon's need to fly thread won out. M'kai had to admit, he wanted to see his uncle again, and see the Weyr that his aunt had lived at. Nervous about seeing family again, this previous missing child has not actually told any of them about his return. They might even think him dead. Still, he has recently arrived at High Reaches.
Other:
Family:
-Grandparents
-2 unnamed uncles
-Uncle: W'tarl of Green Altoth
-Aunt: Liarl [Deceased]
-Father (W'tarl's side)
-Mother
-Several brothers, older and younger
DRAGON
Name: Asakoth
Age: 4 turns [2571.05.12]
Color: Blue
Size: 24ft
Physical Description: Other than his coloring, Asakoth is nothing special. A bit small, but not the smallest, and with an average, albeit somewhat sinewy build, Asakoth's general physical makeup is not especially striking. His hide, however, is a dark, striking blue, colored with markings reminiscent of sparkling stars. Asakoth moves in a somewhat stealthy way, surprisingly quiet for a dragon. He has a habit of appearing and surprising people, much to his delight. It isn't entirely intentional. He just has a natural way of slinking about.
Personality: Asakoth is one of the snarkiest dragons ever shelled. Sarcasm drips from his words, and he's probably never been straightforward about what he means in his life. He enjoys teasing others, and is generally a bit too good at it. He'll give you a hard time about everything. Intelligent, and with a generally longer memory span than is average for dragons, he nonetheless would forget that one time someone messed up their words...if not for his ability to use M'kai's memories to his advantage.
He seems unable to take things seriously, and is generally a teasing jerk who always has a sarcastic comment or scathing jab to make. He even teases M'kai, but never about things that actually, seriously bother M'kai. As a fan of dry sarcasm, Asakoth can be insulting, but generally doesn't take things too far. A bit facetious and teasing, maybe, but generally a sweet sort. He won't usually tease people who can't handle it, but does tease if he feels he can. The more he makes fun of you, the more he likes you.
That said, Asakoth means well. He is a good dragon at heart, with everyone's best intentions in mind. He has a loving, affectionate streak, which is only heightened around young things. He likes children and animals, and can even be nurturing, though he'd hate to admit it. He acts brave and confident--even aloof--but this dragon hides his insecurity well. Despite his calm bravado, Asakoth cracks under pressure, freezing up. Intense situations cause intense emotions, and he doesn't hold his cool in danger well. His lack of practice fighting thread may require him to take proper lessons, particularly so he feels more prepared, and is less likely to panic.
That said, he's very noble, and will protect others with his life. He may not be as brave as he acts, and he may not think he's good enough, but he will put his life on the line to save others--a white knight, of sorts.
Asakoth has a mischievous side, one that manages to avoid being childish or immature, but remains a bit silly. He likes giving false information and tricking others, but will usually tell people it was just a joke...eventually. As an intelligent dragon, his wits are quick and his tongue is sharp. While clever, he uses his intelligence (mostly) for good, preferring to solve problems and help others...beyond being a tease and playing tricks on others, of course.
Asakoth is constantly teasing his rider, but never goes too far. He knows what makes M'kai tick, but also knows what kinds of things are completely off limits, on account of genuinely upsetting M'kai. Their relationship is unique in this way--Asakoth doesn't always know the limits and boundaries for other people, but can always gauge his rider's. M'kai and Asakoth do not hide anything from the other, but both are hesitant to express affection directly. Asakoth may show it through action easily, but he struggles with expressing it verbally.
Asakoth's mindvoice is decidedly male, but with a slightly higher pitch than to be expected. Dry and lacking emotion most of the time, it comes across as a bit disingenuous, even when Asakoth is being honest about his emotions. Maybe it's because he's usually being sarcastic.
Dragon Art or Proof of Obtainment: I want to say he's from the holiday egg thingy.
