Name: Jade Ruva
Age: 33
Species: otter
Gender: female
Physical appearance: Unlike her adopted brother, Riptide, Jade is a river otter. She is shorter than average but retains the typical lithe and slender frame of her species. Her face is very expressive, and she has quite the winning smile. Her eyes are the reason for her namesake as they are a pale green hue. Jade’s fur is a rich chocolate color with golden tan markings on her throat, chest, and around her eyes—the eye markings being a family trait. While her frame is solid and she has some muscle and meat on her bones she has a very distinctive feminine grace to her. From blinking her eyelids to the way she walks she is fluid and steady.
Jade’s attire is simple and means little to her. Typically she wears an un-dyed shawl draped over her shoulders, a simple shirt, and a sea green colored skirt with a fraying hem. The only jewelry she wears is a modest bracelet made of a few colored beads and some small conch shells. It is one of her most prized possessions as Riptide made it for her when they were growing up together.
Personality: The first thing creatures notice about Jade is typically her zeal for life. It’s obvious that she loves being alive and this is easily seen in her every day actions. She is an early riser, up at dawn, and often keeps late hours. The otter is never bored and usually very productive, but at the same time she does not rush or hurry through life. Each moment and experienced is enjoyed.
She is very intelligent and enjoys learning. Along with this she also has a knack for teaching others. Often her enthusiasm for a particular subject is contagious. She has a clear, musical voice that is easy to listen to, and is very adept at using words to paint a picture or convey an idea in easy to understand terms. All these things rolled together transform her into one of those rare creatures that can make any topic sound interesting.
Jade also shares those common goodbeast traits. She’s friendly, encouraging, helpful, and generally optimistic. The otter enjoys the presence of dibbuns and they usually enjoy her company as well, though she doesn’t hand out near as many sweets as her brother does. She appreciates good food, music, friends, and family. However, no one is perfect, and like anyone else Jade has flaws. One particular flaw she shares with her brother is her reluctance to ask for and accept help. She often sees offered help as an implication that she is not capable of taking care of herself, an insult to her independence.
The otter also has a habit of holding deep grudges against others. What’s most interesting about this habit is her tendency to never reveal that she is even upset with another individual, leaving them to come to that conclusion on their own. Typically an honest apology or discussion can clear things up, but in some instances Jade’s grudges just need to be waited out. Riptide can tell you from experience.
History: Jade grew up in the Southsward region in a peace-loving but war-trained otter holt. She had two loving parents and warm extended family in the holt, and life was good. When she was two years old smoke was seen on the horizon and the warriors left the holt to find the sea otter holt by the ocean had been wiped out save for a few young ones, Riptide being among them. The babes were adopted by various families in the river otter holt, and Jade was thrilled to have Riptide join the family. In fact, she had even given him his name. And life was good.
Jade and Riptide grew up just like any other young otters. They played and swam and learned to fish and sling stones. Jade loved to sing, made the best daisy chains, taught herself how to read, and told great stories. She had her father’s strong will and hearty laugh, and her mother’s musical voice and enchanting smile. From a young age she was smart, fun, and good at nearly everything she tried her paw at. And life was good.
As Jade grew into her teenage years Riptide and their father spent a lot of time keeping the young males of the holt from getting any ideas about taking Jade away from them. Jade enjoyed the attention and had no goals to settle for a single male. She was a tease and developed quite an attitude and ego. She dominated her circle of friends for a while, but eventually drove most of her true friends away by making them jealous of the attention she received not only by the young males, but the elders of the holt. Jade was seen as the brightest, prettiest, and most talented of the holt’s young otters, and she worked (and sometimes fought) hard in order to remain so.
It was during this time in her life, at seventeen years of age, that something happened. One day in the summer, when life was good, Jade and the rest of the holt heard the drums. A group of vermin, too big to be called a band and too small to be called a horde, were on the move and coming their way. Almost needless to say, a battle ensued. The otter holt knew how to defend their home, however, and their losses were few and the enemy driven away. When the dust had settled Jade was among the injured. She was unconscious and had a deep gash in the back of her head, though no other serious injury. The otter was carried home and laid in her bed. Upon the next morning she awoke to a whole new world—the blow to her head had blinded her.
Life was no longer as good as Jade had been accustomed to.
The adjustment to a sightless life was slow and hard for the otter, but in time she did adapt. She learned to use a cane, though she no longer carries one regularly these days. Her other senses began to sharpen and develop to help compensate for her lack of vision. On top of the physical differences, Jade’s attitude went under major construction following her injury. Many things she once excelled at were now unavailable to her. She was no longer the most promising of the young otters in the holt, despite how supportive and loving her community was of her new situation.
Slowly, slowly life became good again. Jade lived happily with her holt for many more years. Her friends grew older and settled down, but Jade decided it was time to leave when they started having kits of their own. She knew she would always be welcomed at her home, but… she needed something else. She desired to get away.
And so she set out to see her brother Riptide, who had made his new home at a place in the north. Perhaps Black Arch Fort could be her home too.
Skills and weaponry: In her younger years when she still had her sight Jade was very skilled with a sling. Those days are over now and she is unable to use much in the way of weaponry. However, she’s quite adept with her cane or a quarterstaff, though in any kind of real battle she would easily be overcome due to her blindness.
As for other skills she still knows a little bit of everything, it seems. Something she was able to retain and even hone was her musical talent. Besides having a clear, strong voice she has taught herself to play a number of instruments, and even ones she has not encountered before she seems easily able to master.
Jade also has a number of small skills that evolve from her lack of sight, including very sensitive hearing, the ability to feel vibrations in the ground and judge what is causing them (to an extent of course), and a unique sort of sixth sense common to those who are blind in which they are able to tell the mood and emotional state of those around them.
The otter is also an avid knitter, though this is perhaps one thing she has always been terrible at. She only knows how to make socks.
