Laira Wells

[Laira Wells]

Laira Wells

Appearance

Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Birthday: 17 Summer 497
Birthplace: Sunberth

Appearance: Laira is on the taller side, standing at around 173 cm, with a thin, almost willowy build. She has coffee brown eyes with subtle honey gold accents around her pupils, and shoulder-blade length hair of similar coloring. Her skin is slightly tanned, with plenty of freckles inherited from her mother.

Character Concept

Laira has always taken herself very seriously as a result of her childhood independence, and when first meeting her one might think that she comes off as cold and awkward. While stealth may be helpful when hunting or on missions, Laira’s ability to blend into her surroundings can lead her to feeling generally insecure and having low self-confidence when it comes to interaction. Once getting to know Laira, conversely, she is fiercely loyal and affectionate, even overly so depending on the depth of the relationship. One thing that seems to remain consistent with Laira’s personality is her bashfulness, wherein only the longest held friendships would allow her to let her guard down. Lastly, be it nostalgia, grief, or otherwise, Laira has a keen memory, and often connects the present with the past in order to understand it.

Some more positive traits…
Alert, Organized, Protective

Some more negative traits…
Suspicious, Overly-cautious, Easily unnerved

Likes:
-Laira enjoys the bookends of the day: early in the morning and late at night. She appreciates the serenity, beauty, and clarity that it brings.
-Safety and stability (who doesn’t?). For Laira in particular, however, and especially with her Sunberth upbringing, safety and stability is as valued as it is rare.
-Laira loves being in nature, though is rarely able to do so due to the dangerous nature (no pun intended) of the wildlands. Being around plants, especially those with fragrances, is quite relaxing for her.

Dislikes:
-Loud noises, sudden/unpredictable ones in particular, put Laira on-edge.
-Manipulative personalities do not bode well with Laira’s already borderline paranoid disposition, and those she (rightfully or not) senses to be manipulative find it difficult to return to her good graces.
-Laira will avoid face-to-face confrontation at all costs due to her lack of confidence and experience with it, and tends to try to convince others to do so on her behalf if necessary.

Character History

 

Birth

Laira Wells was born on the upper west side of Sunberth, near “The Muted Maiden”, into a financially well-to-do household (relative to the average conditions of the area). She never took pride in this stability, however, as her father made his living as a small-time slave tradesman who often supplied the twisted brothel with it’s “employees”. Laira’s father, Ari Wells, had just reached 35 when he found Laira’s mother- with “find” being a nice way of saying he kept her as his very own slave. Viserra, Laira’s mother, was captured by slavers at a young age and raised to possess great levels of obedience, culinary skills and other abilities prized in a good slave. Viserra was eventually passed about between multiple greedy hands and ended up with Ari, who refused to resell her for profit as he first planned to, after managing to fall in love with the captive woman.

After Laira’s birth, Ari was disappointed in the fact she was a girl, and just, if not more, upset that Viserra was left with a limping, painful gait which impacted her ability to perform most tasks he would have given her that required more than moderate activity. This was one of many things he would blame Laira for.

 

Childhood

Laira had been to an extent treated like an adult as long as she could remember, often being ordered to do the things that her mother could not, even if that meant venturing into the dangerous streets of Sunberth, albeit rarely at this time. A small respite was the delicious food her timid mother would offer at the end of long days sneaking in the shadows in an effort to go unseen. Food was one of the only ways Laira could communicate with her mother, who avoided showing too much affection to Laira when her father was around.

Laira, at the age of 7, found herself increasingly curious about the world, and coupled with her lack of friends, eventually complained to her father enough to allow her to spend more time with the neighboring children so long as she promised to stay out of trouble. Many families, she found, were large, and Laira was eager to befriend those around her age, however her avoidance of illicit activities kept her from a lot of fun. Luckily, Laira did find herself a group of loyal friends with the children of the house beside her own, the mother of whom would take Laira under her wing as well. It was in this house Laira would spend most of her time, and where she would get her academic education. Laira was more studious than her friends, however, perhaps as a result of her longing for familial affection.

Laira’s relationship with her father past this age grew more and more tense, with an overtone of bitter formality, almost as if she were someone else’s child. Someone else’s responsibility.

 

Teenage Years

Laira spent less time at home than ever, partially due to the realization of her father’s job (living near a slave brothel isn’t something most brag about), and partially due to intrigue pulling her away from it. By 15, Laira became more adept at navigating the streets of Sunberth, and was somewhat beloved by many shop owners and other locals for her uniquely lawful disposition. That isn’t to say that she had no way to protect herself, however, as at this time Laira had managed to befriend a kelvic fox, Ren, of the same age. In return for this protection, Laira would steal food and money from her parents for the girl, who lived near “The Den”. Ren, who was skilled in a number of weapons, decided to teach Laira archery as Laira was stealthy and preferred to keep distance between herself and danger.

Laira and Ren became extremely close over the course of the next few years, becoming bondmates, which would come in handy after Laira’s parents discovered she had been stealing small amounts from them for quite a while, only finding out after she had decided to steal a little too much gold. Laira’s father was so enraged, he threatened to sell her as a slave to repay what she had taken. Not taking any chances, now 18 year old Laira had established herself enough to buy her own place as far away as possible, and brought Ren along as well. It took the pair nearly a week to reach The Sunset Quarters, and along the way, Laira confessed to Ren that she had feelings for her beyond being just friends. By some miracle, as Laira saw it, Ren shared the sentiment.

 

Leading up to the present

Unfortunately, the lifespan of the red fox is all too short, and consequently after a couple summers in their new home across the city, Ren had aged significantly.
It was at this point Ren decided that she and Laira were at points in their lives that were simply too different, and decided to break their bond and move out to save Laira from the pain of watching her wither away. Though Laira was deeply devastated, she understood the reason why and took some solace in convincing herself that the separation would benefit her in the long run. Within a few more seasons, Laira received word Ren had passed.

At last, Laira was completely and utterly alone, estranged from her family and having no nearby friends. Being in this state of solitude and grief drove Laira to near insanity, and just as she had many seasons ago, Laira decided to uproot her life and move. In order to cope with the loss of her red-haired love, Laira knew a big change was in order, and set her sights on Syka. It was rumoured to be opposite of Sunberth: supportive, close-knit, safe (well, so long as you stayed close to civilization). Sometimes exchange for her services as a hunter, Laira hopped between caravans and ships, and eventually found herself at the shores of Syka, hoping to the gods it was all as promised.

Language

Fluent Language: Common
Basic Language: Fratava (Learned during the journey between Sunberth and Syka)
Poor Language: N/A

Skills

Skill	EXP	Total	Proficiency
Hunting	15SP	15	Novice
Stealth	15SP	15	Novice
Weapon: Shortbow	15RB, 5SP	20	Novice
Wilderness Survival (Forest)	15SP	15	Novice

Lores

Helpful Lores:
Lore of Sunberth Street Layout
Lore of Sunberth Culture

Possessions

1 Set of Clothing
-Simple Shirt
-Simple Pants
-Simple Undergarments
-Simple Cloak
-Simple Boots
1 Waterskin
1 Backpack which contains:
-Comb (Metal)
-Brush (Metal)
-Soap
-Razor
-Balanced Rations (1 Week’s Worth)
-1 eating knife
-Flint & Steel
-1 Shortbow
-20 Shortbow Arrows

Heirloom: A back quiver with a fox carved into its leather
While Laira’s prized possession was not gifted to her by a family member, it might as well have been. Ren gave this personalized quiver to Laira once she became proficient in archery as a reward for her progress, and through its mere presence manages to reassure Laira immensely. A simple touch or glance comforts Laira, as the quiver reminds her of better times at Ren’s side.

Housing

Location: Syka

House: The Guest Quarters (for the time being, but planning on making more permanent arrangements in the future)

Ledger

Purchase	Cost	Total
Starting	+100 GM	100 GM[
Shortbow	-30 GM	70 GM[
Shortbow Arrows (20)	-1 GM	69 GM
Housing Cash-in	+500 GM	569 GM

Thread List

Winter 519 :

1st- A Busy Beach (In Progress) Nico and Laira arrive, and in true Syka fashion, a party breaks out.
2nd- A Familiar Face (In Progress) What a small world...