Syn app

[wolvering]

P L A Y E R;
NAME: Bear
AGE: 32
PLAYER JOURNAL: naturalcyber
TIMEZONE: EST
CONTACT: naturalcyber or realisticfakefish at gmail
OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED: Lupa from Digital Devil Saga and Ryoutarou Doujima from Persona 4 (AU)

C H A R A C T E R;
NAME: Pod of Gray Holt
CANON: Joanne Bertin's Dragonlord Trilogy
POINT IN CANON: near the end of Bard's Oath, right after Linden drops her off at the Healwort Guild Chapterhouse
AGE:13 or 14. probably. in canon nobody is sure how old she actually is, not even her
APPEARANCE: She's tiny (under 5 feet), wiry, and has pure white hair and hazel eyes. Tends to look a little younger than most people think she is (so around 12 or so)
CANON HISTORY:
The chronologically oldest known fact about Pod is that Pod’s presumed mother collapsed at the door of a remote holding in the middle of a snowstorm, newborn babe in arms. The woman promptly died, and if she was able to give any information about herself or baby girl before doing so, none of it was ever told to either Pod, or to her eventual rescuers.

The holders despised the bastard child thrust upon them, but had no one to foist the girl on, so they reluctantly gave the absolute minimum of care to keep her from dying. She was beaten for anything that angered her “caretakers,” and made to live with the animals. Even the name she was given “Pig,” reflected the attitude of the holders toward her. The only human kindness she ever received in those years was from one of the milkmaids, who was probably the one who gave her rescuers what little information they got.

Yet, while she was despised, she was also coveted, because even as a toddler, the animals doted on her, and grew healthier with her presence. The holders knew she had the rare and precious Beast Healer’s gift, and how much it benefited them, especially when things like cattle plagues swept the countryside.

Here, her tale intersects with the protagonist of the series’. Linden Rathan had chosen to ride through Kelneth to visit the tomb of his long dead friend, Queen Rani, and ran into a Journeyman Beast Healer named Conor, overtaxed from running helter-skelter to treat the plague and about to drop. Linden magnanimously stopped to aid the teenager, careful to keep his identity and rank secret, and once Conor was back on his feet, accompanied the Healer to one last holding.

Linden, when recounting the tale, describes his sheer disgust with their treatment, especially Conor’s, at the hands of the holders, and how willing he was to leave them to the ravages of the plague shortly after arrival. The only reason they didn’t was Conor’s devotion to his duty, and staying let them find the girl in the stables.

She was half-feral, wary, and so filthy all over that not even her hair color was visible. She was also covered in cuts, bruises, and oozing sores. Her wariness quickly overcome by some instinctive recognition of Conor’s similar magic, she latched onto him, and they were able to coax out why the holding hadn’t been completely ruined by the plague. When the animals were ‘sad’ she visited them and wished them better, she told them.

Conor claimed her for the Beast Healers, but it took Linden drawing a blade for the holders to rethink the idea of keeping the girl by force. The holders' recalcitrance is the reason they had to guess at Pod's age, three or four, probably, instead of actually knowing.

They were, of course, attacked during the night, where they'd been forced to camp not far from the holding, and Linden transformed into his dragon-self to scare off the holders for good. The girl, opposite of being terrified like everyone else, was awestruck by the sudden dragon.

On the trip back to the chapterhouse at Gray Holt, Linden and Conor discovered the girl's hair was pure white. It was a bittersweet shock for Linden, who was strongly reminded of Rani, and formed suspicions about the girl's ancestry. That white hair also got the girl her new name, Pod, after her resemblance to a burst milkweed pod upon getting out of bed.

Pod was taken in by the Beast Healers and grew and learned, but she was different. Not only her hair, but her lack of a brother-in-fur. The other apprentices all had theirs by the time Pod was (probably) ten, but she hadn't gotten even an inkling of hers. Though there were assurances that she had to belong, because she could heal, many of the older Healers and Pod herself were very concerned and worried over the lack. Every true Beast Healer has a brother-in-fur; it's a basic fact. But Pod did not.

At the same time, Conor was called out to the main chapterhouse at Stag Holt, and Pod was very upset at his leaving. The others shook their heads and left her alone to cry it out, but she turned up missing. Fast horses were sent out along the road, but nothing turned up. The woods were searched, for two days, and still no sign, as well as rain washing away any scent. They were about to admit defeat, sure Pod was dead, when she came out of the woods, an animal wrapped up in her tunic, so big and heavy it made her stagger.

She went right up to the Master and asked permission to take the 'wee hurt beastie' inside to get him warm. The 'wee beastie' turned out to be a half-grown wolverine (called a woods dog, a wolvering or ghulon in canon), wild, badly hurt, and very angry with it, but Pod calmed him with a word. She'd finally found her brother-in-fur.

She grew, and taught Kiga, her brother-in-fur, "manners" in between learning everything she could get her hands on about her calling, partly out of a drive to make Conor proud of her. When the time came for the yearly outing for young journeymen, and select outstanding apprentices to go on training journeys with the Healwort guild, Pod was picked, to her joy.

She was assigned Master Fiarin of the Healwort Guild, and one of their apprentices, Kaeliss, for the journey, and overhearing bad news of a fire destroying one of their storehouses for rare plants the night before hardly made an impression on her. The journey started pleasantly, with Pod demonstrating more knowledge than Master Fiarin expected, and also learning a great deal. But then Fiarin began acting strangely, taking them further instead of back. And when an innocent conversation about a rare plant turned into Pod and the other girl, Kaeliss, being asked about what they'd both overheard, Fiarin got even stranger and downright scary.

Pod followed in silence for a while, but her concern over their safety and Fiarin's strange behavior got to be too much, and she confronted him, respect for a guild master be damned. He told her that his plan was to find an old stand of a very rare healing plant, which would replace the stock lost in the fire--for the plant was one of the few that could cure the sometimes very deadly lung sickness that struck in winter--and also heal one of the best Simplers in recent history--men and women who mixed herbs into medicines.

She was swayed, not by promises of wealth and fame, but by the appeal to save lives and agreed to continue. Within two days, Fiarin had been bitten by a snake and was dying, and Pod and Kaeliss with no real way of helping him. Desperate and afraid, Pod decided to try a healing, which failed miserably and hurt her in the process. She had a thought that she was making her magic angry by going against its nature. Without Fiarin conscious enough to guide them the girls were truly lost, but Pod kept presence of mind to find water, which seemed strange at the time because people had obviously built up the spring, but not important enough to consider.

After the night passed, it was obvious Fiarin would die, but Pod couldn't give up and tried to Heal him again. The magic actually threw her physically back when it resisted, and after that she prayed that she would at least be allowed to put the Sleep on him to ease his passing. Though it hurt her, it worked, and Fiarin passed away quickly. They located a strange pile of collected stones to bury him in a cairn, and after some confusion, decided going east was most likely to take them home.

The forest got stranger as they went and animals all but disappeared, leaving the girls with only what plants they could forage for food. Finally they found a deserted village, and Kiga began acting very strangely, snarling at nothing and whining in obvious fear. The good part about the village was left over plants that could be used for food, but while setting up camp, Kaeliss made a comment about Kiga being useless after Pod asked him to go hunt, and on top of that Kiga refused the request, and angry with injured pride on top of everything else Pod used the magic and their bond to reinforce the order.

She regretted it instantly, but hesitated too long, and couldn't call him back. The next morning, when exploring the abandoned village, the girls put things together and realized just where they were. The most cursed spot in the Five Kingdoms, and haunted by the spirit of the most evil killer in recent history. Though the girls knew they had to leave, the promised plant was also growing there, as far as the eyes could see, and Kaeliss convinced Pod to pick it and stuff their packs full.

Their escape was cut off quickly by a madman, mumbling about the 'blood of the forest' and very intent on killing them. Kaeliss recognized him as one of the members of her guild, lost while searching for the self-same plant they'd just picked. Though scared, Pod threw dirt in the man's eyes and was able to kick his knife away and hit him hard enough to knock him down. The man was delayed but not deterred and began chasing them.

The chase lasted until dark, with Pod and Kaeliss finally getting enough distance to hide, and Pod desperately prayed to Kerras before sleeping. In the morning, the madman found them again and chased them to a strange clearing with no plantlife but evil mushrooms, and a single recently cut stump in the middle. A sudden storm raged and the girls got away from the madman again but not without injury, and at their next rest, after splinting Kaeliss's broken arm, Pod got to work making spears for them both. Tears overwhelmed her once but she pushed them away and focused on calling Kiga back to her with all her might. And then she fell asleep.

She was woken by the madman closing in on them, and they fled again, with the forest actively trying to thwart them, to end up back at the strange clearing. Given the choice to keep running with the forest against them or stay and try to fight, Pod chose to stay. She was ready for conflict, but the madman had a melody in his voice, and though Pod tried to fight the magic there, it caught her.

Just as they were about to die, a rescue came in the form of a dragon. Linden changed to human form in the air and fought the madman, getting wounded for his efforts, and forcing the man to retreat. A moment later there was a snarl from Kiga, and some screaming, and the wolverine came out of the forest, bloody and happy to see Pod.

Afterward Linden explained how he'd been hunting for evidence of a Bard using a harp made of the cursed wood of the witch spruce that had once stood in the clearing to commit murder and stumbled on Kiga. That his magic had amplified Pod's call, and Kiga had led him to the girls, and by the grace of the gods, the evidence he sought. In return the girls told their tale. Once away from the worst of the tainted magic, Linden changed into a dragon and used his draconic Healing Fire to Heal them both. Pod tried to return the favor, but Linden ordered her not to out of fear for her health. She ignored the order and began healing him anyway, offering a cheeky response, and a stern command to show her his injuries. The healing finished, Linden carried them to the nearest Healwort Chapterhouse and dropped them off to safety and rest. It is at this point that Pod would be taken to liminal by the Trumps.

I have a lot more written up about the world in the books including brief synopsies of the books and cultural info here at this link Optional, and long, but as there is no wiki for this canon at all, I figure it could be a useful resource!

CANON PERSONALITY:
Pod is, first and foremost, a survivor. No matter what happens, she comes out on the other side, more or less intact. For example, the first few years of her life were marked by abuse, but Pod wasn’t beaten down mentally or emotionally by it. Not to say that it didn’t affect her at all, because she’s described as very wary and frightened by people at first, but she overcame that to first give her trust to Conor, who rescued her, and by her canon point she’s grown into a strong and compassionate young woman, who can see the good in people.

Another more recent example is how she reacted to being lost, virtually helpless and hunted by a madman in a cursed forest. Even in the most hopeless hour, with the forest itself against them, Pod was able to summon up the will to keep fighting. Not only did she make an attempt at better defending herself by whittling a wooden spear, but even when she was surprised and chased, she kept the presence of mind to hang onto it. It took being captured by what was essentially a mind-control spell to make her drop it, and even under the spell and trapped inside her own mind, Pod fought as hard as she could. Futilely, because the spell was too strong and hard to break, but she was still trying when a rescue came.

Additionally, and tied into that fact, Pod is very brave. This isn’t a foolish or fearless bravery either. When retreat is the better option, she’ll run, but when it is not, she’ll hold her ground, be it against a madman, a person with authority over her, or even a dragon. She certainly feels fear, more often for others than for herself. She worries most for her brother-in-fur when they are separated, and over the dying Healwort Master Fiarin at different points in canon than she fears for her own sake. Over others or herself, she doesn’t let the fear beat her though. With hope dwindled to nothing and almost certain death looming, she did break down and cry, but very quickly dried her tears and got to work making those spears in an attempt to fight back.

Pod will stand up to authority as well, if she thinks it warranted, even though she knows there could be serious consequences. When Master Fiarin’s increasingly strange behavior makes her worry and even to start to fear him, Pod confronts him about what he’s doing, even though rules and culture dictate that she should follow his direction without question. She also outright refuses an order from a Dragonlord, who are revered near to being gods, and almost always obeyed automatically, even when the order isn’t backed up by “Dragonlord’s orders.” She was correct to do so in that instance, because it was an order made without the proper knowledge of the situation, and out of concern over her health. Pod knew her own gift more intimately than the Dragonlord did, and both knew and felt that it should be enough to heal him in dragon-form. Still, her cheeky reply was certainly not proper, even if it surprised and amused the Dragonlord into meekly letting her do her work.

Speaking of cheek, Pod is capable of, if not a little prone to, speaking out, talking back, and even subtly mocking others, regardless of social status. She doesn’t do it out of any sort of malice, but she is strong-willed and self-assured. For example, when she found her brother-in-fur, Kiga, and knowing full well that the Master would balk at having a wolverine in the Holt, she purposely called him a “wee beastie” to try to sneak him past the Master’s inspection. Bold, certainly, if not very subtle, because anyone with eyes could tell that even then Kiga was anything but “wee.” She wouldn’t have gotten away with it, except for the sole fact that Kiga was her brother-in-fur, and Kiga would have been accepted even without the attempted misdirection. However, it further proves that Pod was expecting opposition and tried to stall it in advance by being sneaky.

Also, she’s not afraid of not behaving properly, nor particularly worried about proper behavior. She plays by the rules most of the time, but doesn’t feel guilty when she pushes propriety a little. When called out for swearing by a boy, she saucily and mock-severely tells him to suck it up and get used to it because more is definitely coming. And Conor, essentially her guardian since he rescued her, thinks fondly on how she not only would happily mock an uppity, high-class steward for his dismissive and stuck-up habits, but would do it subtly by suggesting a cold remedy for his tendency to sniff in disdain. Conor also knew she’d be able to do it completely straight-faced and look innocent while doing so.

Pod doesn’t completely disrespect authority though, cheek aside. She’s very intelligent and knows, for the most part, to save the backtalk and standing against authority for either when it is warranted, or she knows she has a very good chance of getting away with it. For example, before confronting Master Fiarin on his behavior, she holds her tongue for days, and before the strange behavior, actually eagerly followed his direction. It’s not until she starts honestly fearing for her safety, and the other apprentice breaks down and expresses similar fears, that she confronts him.

Pod is also just as capable, if not more so, of keeping her wits about her, as many older teens and adults. She remains calm and thinks things through when Master Fiarin is bitten by a poisonous snake and dying, and has the presence of mind to focus on finding water first when they are lost, in addition to the previously mentioned instances used as evidence for other traits. To elaborate on one of those incidents, when being chased by the madman, Pod ignores her instinct to run into the malevolent wood that is actually working against them, and chooses to stay in an open area where they can at least see the madman, and also keep an obstacle in between him and them. If not for the mind-control, which Pod had no idea existed, it would have been the better option for survival.

But Pod is far from perfect. She is incredibly bright, brave and mostly level-headed, but she’s also still very young and sometimes excitable. Her emotions can get away with her, and when they do she's very impulsive. There are many things that she doesn’t know, and hasn’t had a chance to experience, and stress, fear and pride can still get the better of her. The biggest example, is that in the middle of being lost, grieving, and frightened, and with Kiga not able to bring food and acting strange on top of it, a comment from the other apprentice about his uselessness makes her lose her temper at him. Instead of sitting down to think about why the wolverine might not be finding food, and acting fearful and aggressive, and even refusing her requests, she lashes out in fear, hurt pride, and anger with an order reinforced with magic. Though she starts regretting it immediately, indecision and her stung pride hold her back from rescinding the order in time, and she’s left hoping he’ll complete the task and return, or be close enough to hear her mental calls.

This incident proves a potent lesson that Pod will not soon forget, because shortly after that she realizes why Kiga was acting that way. It was because they were in a cursed wood, tainted with magic most foul and haunted by an incredibly evil spirit, and Kiga was able to sense that well before the girls did. When reunited with Kiga finally, she cries with relief and apologizes profusely to him. She’s not likely to ignore Kiga or be willing to be separated from him any time soon.

Another fault is that she can be a little too stubborn and headstrong for her own good. When Conor was called away to another Holt when she was ten, instead of having a good cry like the older Healers expected of a girl her age, Pod waited until no one was looking and set off to follow Conor with only the clothes on her back. She rightly guessed that they would find out and catch her before she caught up with Conor if she took the road, so she took to the woods instead, childishly expecting the technically shorter route to let her catch up, and of course, he’d have to take her with him on his journey then! Her stunt nearly got her killed and if not for the happy ending that also meant finding her brother-in-fur, she probably would have learned more from the incident.

Her other big showing of stubbornness didn’t end so well. When Master Fiarin was bitten by a snake and dying, and them without any way of actually helping him, she attempted to Heal him. She knew it probably wouldn’t work, and quickly realized it was hurting her, but in her desperation she saw no other choice, and she just couldn’t do nothing and watch him die. A small part of her desperation was out of need; Fiarin alone knew where they were and where they were going, so without him they were truly lost. But most of it was out of genuine compassion. And stubbornness, because even knowing the results of the first attempt, and that a second might even kill her, she tried again. When that failed, she tried laying a Sleep on Fiarin, so that at least he would not feel the pain and would pass peacefully. That tactic actually worked, most likely because she really is that powerful to be able to overcome the magic’s resistance, even a little. But at least, that shows her stubbornness does have some limits, if not the best ones.

To add to all of the above, and expand on the last example, Pod is truly compassionate. This is most obvious towards animals, as seen from her childhood attempts to make them feel better, but also towards humans. In addition to the above example, part of the reason she agreed to follow Master Fiarin on his mostly mystery mission after confronting him was out of compassion. Master Fiarin was able to play on it by passionately describing all of the lives that would be saved if they succeeded in finding and harvesting enough of the extremely rare plant he had detoured to hunt. Included in that was the life of one of the Wort Hunters, who was extremely skilled in the mixing of plants into powerful medicines, and would then be able to save many more lives, if only he could be cured of his own debilitating illness.

As an aside to that incident, Pod is the opposite of materialistic. The plea from Master Fiarin included promise of gold and fame for succeeding, neither of which Pod had any reaction beyond mystification to. The idea of being paid for performing her calling is completely foreign, and the only draw of fame, would be that it would mean she’d succeeded and become one of the best Beast Healers around. She wouldn’t mind a little fame, but her goal to be the best is mostly for Conor’s approval, and Healing for its own sake. Gold, on the other hand, is only useful for providing food and clothing, or possibly for shelter, and if push came to shove, Pod knows that she could eek out a living in the wilds with Kiga’s help.

Another facet of Pod’s personality is that she’s very bright and curious. Many times she’s described as bright and indeed, only the best and brightest of the Beast Healers get sent on training treks with the Wort Hunters while still apprentices. But she’s also curious and has a desire to learn for its own sake. Fiarin remarks to her that no matter how bright, a person will make a poor student unless they want to know what’s being taught, and Pod definitely does. Her curiosity can extend to badgering people for things she want to know and can’t get on her own, such as her attempts to get all the information on Linden that she can out of Conor. It can also extend to eavesdropping, which gets her in trouble later when she innocently answers questions about what she overheard for the very person that the initial hush-hush secrecy was supposed to keep the information from.

In addition, Pod is very driven and passionate. She wants to be the best Beast Healer she can be and continually works toward that goal. That focus and dedication serves her very well. But she’s also excitable, as shown by how she falls into an impromptu dance when told good news. And, as hinted in many of the examples above, Pod doesn’t shy away from dirt, or blood, or pain, or hard work. She’s a very physical person and while she might question the why of doing something if she can’t figure out the reason on her own, if convinced of a reason she’ll never beg off of doing the task, no matter how hard.

Finally, in regards to social interaction, Pod is generally cheerful and friendly, but she does bear some scars from her childhood. She has gotten to the point where her default isn’t wary and distrustful, but earning her full trust still takes work and there are very few people she trusts implicitly. For example, even when she was following Master Fiarin’s orders, it wasn’t blindly. She had concerns very quickly, though she kept them to herself, and at one point considered turning around and following her trail back home. All of this happened long before the other girl even started to get worried, and with backup, Pod immediately forced the confrontation with Fiarin to get answers before agreeing to go further.

She’s also friendly and outgoing, but deep bonds are reserved for very few. Pod is shown as being friendly and comfortable with the other Beast Healers, even those older than her, but the only one she’s explicitly stated as being very close to, besides Kiga of course, is Conor. The other Beast Healers even call her “your Pod” to Conor’s face.

Conor is the most important human to Pod. He’s the first human being that Pod opened up to as a child and a constant presence in her life since then. Conor is her rescuer, her best friend in all the world, and her entire family all rolled into one. Making Conor proud of her is one of her deepest desires, and likewise, letting him down one of her deepest fears.

Kiga, of course, beats out everyone as most important person, even Conor, if only just. He’s her brother-in-fur and they match each other so very well. He is Pod’s and she is his and the love and pure trust of their bond is so fierce and bright that a Dragonlord can follow it like a magical beacon, even not knowing what it is at first.

Linden is the other very important person in Pod’s life. If Conor is rescuer and family, Linden is the knight in shining armor (or scales, as the case may be) to the both of them. She’s never had the chance to spend much time with him, but he made an impression that lasted. To Pod, Linden is big and kind and safe and that impression turned into a strong desire to know him more, if only by badgering Conor for stories. And of course, all of this is only strengthened when he showed up yet again to act as protector, but even so, she’s not so awed either by what he is or what he’s done for her that she won’t order him around for his own good.

All in all, Pod is strong, brave and compassionate, but still young. She’s more than a little rough around some edges, and she has some growing to do, but she’s learning lessons as she goes, and she has potential to grow up to be a truly awe inspiring woman someday.

POINT OF DEPARTURE: Pod will be coming in as a veteran of a couple jaunts! It will not change her personality much, but the experience will make her more comfortable with the setting and game mechanics!

Her jaunt history as follows: (all pre-cr has been discussed in plurk and agreed upon by the players involved)

She arrived during the Arcade hell liminal, and spent most of it confused and frustrated inside the hamster-ball mazes (There was a puzzle that involved climbing ladders. Wolverines are not very good at ladders.)

Lightning Age Pod infiltrated as a Wolves' Child called Pesets (песе́ц in Cyrillic, meaning Arctic Fox) who had spent most of her life in the Tunguskan penal colony and survived by learning as much about surviving in the environment as about thieving and spying. Pesets was tough, mostly independant, a little wild and vicious, and a very skilled pick-pocket and cat burgler. She ended up in Nova Venezia not long before the jaunt started and immediately decided Mantis (Hajime) was hers. Pesets followed him around for the most part, and used her accomplished thieving skills to gather coin and small valuables to bring to The Wolf. She was not directly involved with most of the events that went down.

Camptory and Glass tomb liminals Pod spent most of camptory hanging out on one of the farthest campsites and adjusting the the post-infiltration disorientation. She made a couple trips to the workshop for food, but wasn't quite ready to seek out other people yet. (Animals, on the other hand, were fair game.) During the Glass tomb, she got herself lost exploring, and spent most of her time getting unlost.

Children of the Night Pod infiltrated again, this time as the feral child Dzaghli, who had been raised in a dog kennel as a parallel to her canon backstory, but hadn't gotten a rescue at a young age. During the jaunt itself, Riddick came upon the farm where she lived and rescued her, prompting her to decide to follow him around (and eventually become his corviger). Dzaghli had language issues due to her upbringing, but was a quick learner, and had very little sympathy for people. Treat her kindly, and she would treat you kindly back, but anything unkind and she would react potentially violently to defend herself.

Veteran Abilities
Three-dimensional stealth
Corviger Blood: from Riddick, she learned Animal communication, and gained the ability to grow claws (bitty ones but still sharp)
Wilderness Hunting

ABILITIES:
As a Beast Healer, Pod has the following skills and natural abilities:

** Kal-enteya (Brother-in-fur)/Familiar: Kal-enteya is the Yerrin word for the animal that shares a Beast Healer's life, and widely regarded (especially by the narration) as the most accurate label. It roughly translates to brother-in-fur, but loses a great deal of nuance in other languages. To better understand the nuance, first, consider that Yerrin culture values the bonds of kinship higher than just about anything else and to be disowned, or worse, declared parna (outcast) is the worst punishment that can be meted out to a Yerrin. Being made outcast is actually almost never done except in cases of kinslaying which is one of the worst crimes imaginable to a Yerrin. That showcases how close and strong the bond between Healer and brother-in-fur is. However, in most other languages that aren't Yerrin, familiar is the most common term, used because of the similarities to the familiars of magic users, and for ease of understanding of lay-persons. Brother-in-fur is something of a mouthful in languages that aren't Yerrin, and would confuse the hell out of people and require explanations each and every use, to boot.
---Pod's brother-in-fur is a full grown male wolverine named Kiga
---Healer and brother-in-fur share a magical bond that enhances the brother-in-fur (see "Kiga's abilities")
---the Healer is also enhanced, with somewhat stronger magic, and the brother-in-fur acts as a bridge between the Healer and the animal world, and if the Healer listens to them, the Healer has access to their superior sensitivity
---the Healer and brother-in-fur feel a magical pull towards each other. This allows the brother-in-fur to hone in on the Healer's location, even if greatly physically separated.
---the Healer can mentally call to their brother-in-fur, though this is severely limited by distance, which while not directly stated, seems to be only a couple miles. Other magic (such as a Dragonlord reaching out to try to telepathically talk to the brother-in-fur) can increase the distance the call can travel.
---the Healer can use the bond and their own magic to "push" and make an order almost impossible to fight, but this is generally advised against because of how dangerous it can be. In case of a push, only the order being rescinded or superseded can stop the brother-in-fur from carrying it out or dying in the attempt.
---brothers-in-fur protect and care for their Healers like they were their own (offspring or perhaps littermates, in most cases), often doing things like bringing them food (even if the Healer in question doesn't really like dead mice), grooming, and other activities.

**Healing magic: It takes the form of a green haze around the hands, followed by the laying of hands on the injury or animal to be healed. Pod can magically heal any beast, including magical ones such as dragons, and also heal shapeshifters in other forms so long as their other form is completely a beast. She is limited by her own strength and experience. Healing too great a wound, or smaller wounds too often without a break will exhaust her, and it's possible to push herself so far that she literally gives her own life into the healing and dies in the attempt. Injuries, venoms, poisons and illness can all be healed this way. She can't heal humans, and though her world doesn't really have any, presumably any other very humanoid or human-like species, but sentience isn't a factor in determining "human" or "beast."

**"the voice": A little bit magic, and a little bit knowledge, but Beast Healers have a very soothing voice that they can use to calm upset and aggressive animals. It has to be called on intentionally, and there's skill involved in getting the tone and cadence down right, because that's the core of it. The magic only enhances the effect. It doesn't always work, or work completely, and a sentient patient would be able to fight it off easily, if they wished. It can also have some effect on humans, especially small children, but not nearly as much.

**"the Sleep": Magical anesthesia! Canon implies, but doesn't outright say, that there are different strengths of the Sleep that can be cast, and that some Healers are better at both putting an animal into the Sleep and pulling them back out calmly and gently. Pod has a lot of power, but not a lot of finesse with it yet, considering that she can overcome the resistance of her magic and even lay the Sleep on a human (she would never do this again except in dire need, however, as it hurt and drained her considerably)

**good with animals: Supernaturally good. All Beast Healers seem to have this gift, where animals tend to gravitate towards and to like them a great deal. Pod has this ability in spades. To borrow a direct quote from the book: "When we saw her playing between the front hooves of their old bull, that’s when Conor was certain; that creature was downright vicious, yet it was clear that it doted on Pig." (Pig being Pod's original name)

**knowledge of animals and wound/illness care: Healers don't always use magical healing, and so must know how to care for their charges the mundane way too. As an apprentice (though according to Conor, likely to make Journeywoman very soon), Pod doesn't know everything yet, but she has a good mastery of the basics. It should be noted that Pod doesn't know what to do in case of poisoning or venoms, as those she would automatically switch to magical healing for.

**knowledge of healing plants: In the same vein as the above, Healers need to know what herbs will help what and how to find and prepare them in the wild, as they will wash a wound with a special herbal preparation, if at all possible, before even a magical healing. And they must go where the charges are, so sometimes out in the middle of the woods it is. Pod is stated to know all of the common healing plants, and some of the less common ones, and was in the process of learning even more when snatched from her world. Given the nature of her world, some of the plants she knows are magical, more than medicinal, in nature.
---these two things, as knowledge, could also theoretically be applied to humans too, but Pod would be skittish about it and defer to a human Healer

**language: Healers often travel, even between kingdoms, so knowledge of language is important, and with the long peace between kingdoms, multilingualism is more of a rule than an exception. Pod is natively fluent in Kelnethi (her first language), fluent if not quite native in Yerrin--because that's the kingdom her chapterhouse is in--and speaks at least a few important words of Cassorin, Pelnaran, and Thalnian. Pod can also read and write at least semi-decently, which is very unusual for those not raised as nobles in her world--but again, important skill for Beast Healers, who might need commands or request sent to them while in the field and a letter by messenger is usually the fastest way.

**intelligence: Pod is described as being very bright, and indeed, the fact that a child who was treated like a farm animal for the first three-four years of her life managed intelligible language, much less being reasonably well spoken for a possibly four-year-old is a miracle. She's also complimented on her knowledge and learning several times.

**Kiga's abilities: brothers-in-fur are enhanced, and Kiga's no exception:
--- deep abiding and unparalleled loyalty to their Healer
---a deeper understanding and self-awareness. He's smarter than the average wolverine and more aware of himself and the intricacies of the world around him. Not fully sentient, though.
---an ability to follow requests from their Healer that a regular animal could not. Kiga understands the essence, if not the words, of even complicated requests, such as "go hunt and don't come back until you've caught something". Brothers-in-fur rarely ignore requests from their Healers, unless they conflict with the drive to protect and care for their Healer.
--- though not tame in the literal sense, behave in a way that would not be natural otherwise, such as a deer, a squirrel, a wolf, and a wolverine existing peacefully and traveling together with their Healers without any sign of fear or trying to eat each other. However, they are still animals, and will act like them most of the time, especially if the behavior is encouraged by the Healer (such as a dog being encouraged to chase cats)
--increased sensitivity to malice and dark magic: Kiga is the first to notice that the girls and him have wandered onto "the most cursed spot in the five kingdoms" and acts aggressive and confused, like there's an enemy he can't see lurking nearby. He even refuses a request in order to stay close to the girls to protect them. Another Beast Healer's brother-in-fur suddenly acts aggressive and terrified towards a man who just used dark magic to force an innocent man to brutally murder another in cold blood, when no one else suspects a thing, and doesn't behave that way towards the innocent man. Brothers-in-fur have similar sensitivity to emotion, and will preemptively get in the way of someone feeling angry/aggressive/malicious/etc towards their Healer, but this is easier to get around, especially if the person with malicious intent has a good handle on their emotions. Kiga is a little paranoid, and will get between Pod and a stranger if the stranger is the least bit agitated. He also is reluctant to let most people touch him, especially on first meeting, and him doing so is implied to be an indication of that person being overall very good and honorable (though not without faults).

INVENTORY; At the time she was taken from her world by the Trumps she had the clothes on her back which include sturdy boots, linen stockings, underclothes, a brown-and-green hooded tunic, and brown breeches, the latter two of which look like they've been through hell, and a pack with some supplies for trekking through wilderness. Most notably: "belt-knife" (which is a small utility knife for day to day activities like preparing food and eating, and not the proper size or shape for fighting), almost empty waterskin, flint and steel, one change of spare clothes (sans extra boots though), a cooking pot and utensils to eat with, bandages, and some (relatively) fresh-picked healing herbs, including some white mandrake, and an incredibly rare plant called King's Blood. She was, however, completely out of food.

During her time on jaunts she's picked up:
--extra clothes
--a pair of daggers more suited to fighting
--Nova Venezia currency and assorted jewelry (pick-pocketing spoils, essentially)

ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW?
Pod would be unplayable without Kiga, so hopefully he'll be allowed (the FAQ indicated that Pokemon would be so…), but if he wouldn't be, I'll work out a little more backstory for QC and use spirit animal as a skill instead of wilderness hunting.

S A M P L E S;
ACTIONSPAM SAMPLE: A pre-cr thread with Riddick, detailing how he and Pod's infiltration met! and a TDM thread where Pod is herself

PROSE SAMPLE:
The shock of being herself again isn't quite as bad as the first time, but it still makes Pod gasp. Kerras have mercy, what had she--

And yet, even as Pod asks the question in her head, she knows. That could have been her, if Conor and Linden Rathan hadn't found her. Would have been without that grace from Kerras, unless she'd died. It makes a little bile rise in her throat, but then there's a furry nose pushing against her face and Pod clings to Kiga. The woods dog croons, aware of her distress, and Pod buries her face in his fur for a moment.

Pod isn't that girl (even if she was, somehow, and she doesn't understand that. She needs to figure infiltration and how it works out sometime.) and she has Kiga here, and Conor and the other Beast Healers at home. Oh how she misses them!

"I want to go home, boy. I wish we could go home."

And if wishes were horses, all the world would ride like kings. Pod shakes her head, straightens her tunic, and then takes a deep breath.

"We'll figure this out. We'll find a way home, boy, I swear it. But for now, I think there's someone we need to find."

The woods dog croons again, in full agreement, and Pod sets off, not knowing exactly where she's going, but confident that she'll get there.