Leyna

Name: Leyna
Preserver Name: jingle-healer-highthing
Soul Name: N/A
Title: Healer
Age: Adult, 495
Gender: Female

Bio Picture: See below

Face Claim: Jasmine Sanders

Hair: Thick blond curls, usually kept pulled back in two long braids that come to her waist
Eyes: Shades of green and brown and blue (central heterochromia), thick lashes
Height/Build: 3'10", soft and curvy, wide hips and slightly larger than average (c-cup) breasts
Skin: Dusky brown, a light dusting of freckles on her face, arms, and back

Clothing: (see pictures below)
Warmer climate: Knee-length, sleeveless dress, with a short-sleeved ghawazee coat over it.  Sandals or barefoot.  Wears shades of pale sand-gold and blues/teals.  Several jingling bracelets on each wrist and a bell-anklet around her right ankle.  A simple necklace.  Often wears a bejeweled circlet across her forehead.

Colder climate: Ankle-length harem-pants, a wrapped sarong around her waist.  A long sleeve choli.  Simple shoes.  Same colors as above.  Continues to wear a lot of jingling jewelry.

Personality:

- Quiet, gentle but not shy

- Hides her true emotions and thoughts

- Insightful, observant, and practical (when she tries)

- Tends to sarcasm though it often goes unnoticed in her mild manner

- Enjoys flirting and teasing and joining (although her heart is not on the market)

Magic:
Type: Healing
Strength: Strong
Description of powers: Able to heal cuts, bruises, broken bones.  Can relieve illness and symptoms.  Cannot "prevent" death but can heal a great deal of near-death injuries

Skills:
Sending: Average
Hunting: No
Tracking: Weak
Fishing: No
Weapons:
     - Bow: Average
     - Knife: Weak
Swimming: Average

Herbology: Excellent

Apothecary: Strong

Massage: Excellent

Riding: Weak

Yoga: Strong

Meditation: Average

Sewing (tapestry): Strong

Likes/Dislikes/Phobias:
+ Helping her tribe

+ Conversation

+ Being surrounded by others

+ Music & dancing

+ Sparkly things

+ Flowers & herbs

+ Using her magic

+ Not NEEDING to use her magic

+ Working on sewing projects

- Hiding who she is because she's "the healer"

- Death/pain in any form (even hunting)

- Fighting

- Drought

- Being alone

- Overly salty food

- Her magic not being enough

- Ponies

- Snarled threads

= Being "too late" to save someone

= Thunderstorms

= Commitment

Family/Friends:
Father: Drial (deceased)
Mother: Whyn
Siblings: Nidara (half-sister)
Grandfather: Sikeen
Grandmother: Beilana
Lifemate: None
Lovemate: None
Cubs: None
Mentor: Vashti
Student: None

Freesharer: Yes, open, male or female

History:
Leyna was raised the only child of the tribe's herbalist. Her father had a minor healing gift but relied heavily on other means to help his tribe. Her mother Whyn was a hunter. The pair had a very rocky relationship, like lodestones pulling and pushing. Some of this was fueled by jealousy as Whyn couldn't ever really accept being second place, not even to the tribe. Leyna didn't understand this strange dynamic when she was young, wanting to please both parents equally and being equally loved by both

However Leyna discovered early on that she didn't like seeing people in pain or the sight of blood. This led to her often emulating her mother, trying to be a strong brave hunter. Until she realized that she hated even more being the cause of pain, even in the name of food. In this one thing, her mother and father came together, seeing how upset their daughter was about not being able to be a hunter. They started having her work with Drail on herbs, thinking perhaps at least to teach her gathering skills. Leyna found herself enjoying helping her father, and by extension, her tribe. Eventually she was able to overcome her dislike of blood.So she became her father's apprentice. As she grew older she found that, like her father, she possessed healing magic.  It was not long before her healing gift outgrew her father's.  However like he father she continued to rely on herbs and massage to treat injuries where possible to keep the tribe from becoming dependent on her.

As she grew older she also came to understand her mother's jealous behavior. The two would often butt heads when Whyn saw her daughter behaving so much like Drail, placing the tribe before her friends, her lovers, even herself. Drail taught her that being the tribe's healer meant putting the tribe first, not letting her personal life or emotions distract her from her duty. So Leyna came to understand that being the tribe's healer required sacrifice and that Whyn wasn't able to accept anything less than her mate's full attention but also couldn't stop loving him, partially driven by the very commitment to their people that irked her. Leyna would learn in her own life experience that Whyn was not the only one who didn't want to share

When Leyna was 200, Drail was killed during a terrible storm while the family helped on the Run to River's Hand.  The fierce storm toppled a tree onto their tent. Drail died soon after from injuries, despite Leyna's best efforts to save him.  After that, Leyna couldn't bring herself to travel with the caravan any longer than necessary, eventually refusing to travel with the caravan at all.

Whyn and Leyna grieved but Whyn also found a new freedom to find a new love that she didn't have to share.  She also was able to share herself without getting any guilt over it.  A few years (and MANY lovers later) Whyn bore another daughter.  Leyna adored her half-sister, who (despite their shared jackwolf-rider heritage) shared her quiet and gentle in nature.  She often had little Nidara trailing after her, looking at her almost as more a mother figure than the sisters' own mother.

However Nidara has no healing gift and showed no interest and herbs.  So eventually, as she grew, Nidara started to break away, something that Leyna encouraged.

She also developed feelings for her childhood crush, the elder Ashra. For many turns she kept her feelings to herself because he was devoted to his mate, Nesha. However, Nesha died tragically. Leyna waited patiently, not wanting to rush Ashra, who was clearly still grieving for his mate. When she finally did get the courage to try and court him 50 turns ago, he shut her down flat. Understandably it broke her heart. She couldn't stop her feelings for him though but neither did she want to make things awkward or difficult for anyone so she put her feelings aside and pretended nothing happened.