Post by shiny on Jul 20, 2017 9:00:03 GMT
Name: Mitzi
Gender: Female
Age: 4 Years
Species: Barn Owl
Faction: Guardian of Ga'Hoole
Position: Librarian
Appearance: Mitzi is the stereotypical tyto alba. Her face is round and white, a harsh contrast when one considers her round eyes. An injury from her youth has left her blinded in her left eye, as well as a slightly deformed wing. She can still fly, but she needs an aide to go with her in order to keep her steady or help her land.
Her wings and the top of her head alternate between brown and gray, flecked with black dots rhythmically between them. Those black dots also spread down her chest.
Personality: Outside the tree, she needs an aide to fly. Inside it though? Inside the Great Tree, the library is her domain. She doesn't need the sight in her left eye when her hearing is as clear and magnificent as any other Barn Owl in the world. She's quick to shut down any trouble, and takes library privileges very seriously. If you lose a book, damage a book, break her trust in any way, and you're never going to get it back. Oh she'd never deny anybody access to the library, it's against the Guardian Way to keep anybody from seeking knowledge. But you aren't allowed to check out any book unless she knows for sure you'll treat it with the respect it deserves!
The breaking of trust holds true for other things in life too. She was betrayed by someone who was once her friend as a young owlet, and it resulted in the injury that left her crippled. It's left Mitzi slow to trust and quick to distrust. She has very few friends as a result, and even less romantic prospects. But who needs friends and mates when she can read about them instead?
Her pride will one day be her downfall. The simplest way to draw her ire and rouse her temper would be to call her a coward. She is NOT a coward. Just because she can't fight or do a stupid dare doesn't mean she wouldn't if she could!
History: Mitzi was hatched to a normal pair of Barn Owls in the Tyto Forest. She was their only chick, and as such were fiercely protective over her. Whenever one was hunting, the other would stay with her and keep her safe. It never bothered Mitzi, her hovering parents. She understood they only wanted what was best for her. Plus, it could only last so long. It's not like they could keep her a chick forever. Soon she'd be branching, and then flying, and then hunting, and then she'd leave the nest to find her own mate and start her own family.
And it's not like she was TOTALLY alone. There was a family of masked owls living in the same tree in a different hollow. They had a daughter who was only a few months older than Mitzi. Ronda was her name, and they were friends. Or as good friends as they could be, since neither of them could leave their hollow and their only means of communication was by talking. Being older, Ronda learned to fly first, and she often came to visit the family of barn owls. She visited so often that Mitzi's parents actually came to trust her to look after Mitzi, and left to go hunting together.
Life was looking pretty great for young Mitzi... until the fire came. To this day she doesn't know what started it. She'd only just started branching, and her parents had finally decided she was old enough to be left alone. One moment everything was fine and dandy, the next it was like the entire world had ended. There was fire everywhere, and smoke made it difficult to see. She'd foolishly started moving, thinking maybe she could back away from it and she could wait for rescue, but instead she toppled over the lip of the hollow and fallen to the ground.
It was a long fall, but luck was with her. In a manner of speaking. She landed on a soft pile of moss, but sections of it were already smoldering. Some of her feathers were singed, but nothing more than a bit of down, and Mitzi wasn't exactly vain about her appearance. They'd grow back.
No, the real pain came later. Mitzi was calling for help and stumbling along, taking care to look where she was going, when she heard swooping from above. It was Ronda! Mitzi screeched for her and Ronda heard, Mitzi KNEW Ronda heard. She'd even looked right at her. But a second later the masked owl had turned and flown away.
Mitzi ran awkwardly after her. Very few owls were meant to be walkers, but it was the only choice Mitzi had. She'd stopped paying attention and stumbled over a burning branch. A stick on fire smacked her right in the face, across her left eye, and Mitzi shrieked. She passed out soon after that and probably would have died there if the Guardians hadn't found her.
She woke up in the infirmary at the Great Tree, bandages wrapped around her head. A kindly matron told her she'd never see out of that eye again, but the feathers would grow back around it after she molted. It tore her apart, and in her anger, Mitzi blamed Ronda. If Ronda hadn't left her, she wouldn't have run after her, never would have tripped on that branch, never would have injured her eye.
There were other rescued owls too, but none of them she knew. There was no news of her parents either, and given how they were towards her, Mitzi would only assume that meant they were dead as well.
With no home or family to return to, Mitzi resigned herself to living the rest of her life within the Great Tree. She was taught how to fly, but the lack of sight in her left eye made it difficult work. She would need help whenever she needed to go somewhere, and it grated on her pride something terrible.
More than that was the lack of choices left to her. Search and rescue, weather interpretation, navigation, even colliering, anything that could have possibly been exciting to her required precise flying and intense concentration. Neither of which she would be able to do. Though maybe not being in colliering wasn't so bad. Ever since the fire Mitzi'd had a bit of a fear for it.
Even tracking didn't work well for her. Low level flying like what was needed for it took a finesse that Mitzi just didn't have. Trackers flew slow, more like gliding, in order to spot and identify any tracks in the ground or disturbed pockets of grass or any other clues to where their quarry had gone. Sure she could always be on the ground, but there's still the amount of flying done when you DO find a trail.
Mitzi almost feared she'd HAVE to go to Ga'Hoolagy. It wouldn't be TOO bad, maybe. There was honor in the work, taking care of the Great Tree that gave them their home. But it was so boring! Clip clip snip snip scratch scratch, that was it! If she had to go through that, Mitzi would throw herself into the Sea of Hoolemere.
Luckily it didn't come to that. The librarian was getting on in age and needed an assistant, someone to help her with cataloging and inventory. At first it sounded just as boring as Ga'Hoolagy to the young owl, but if her choices were between helping an elderly owl out and digging around in dirt, she'd rather be in the library.
The work was actually harder than she'd thought it would be. The library was vast, the information seemingly limitless. There were always books to put back, titles to catalog, messes to clean up. No wonder the elderly librarian had needed help, no way her old bones could keep up with all of this.
Then came the day the librarian no longer roused at evening tweener. The tree was in mourning, for they'd been part of the community for a long, long time. Mitzi inherited the position and has been at the job since.
Gender: Female
Age: 4 Years
Species: Barn Owl
Faction: Guardian of Ga'Hoole
Position: Librarian
Appearance: Mitzi is the stereotypical tyto alba. Her face is round and white, a harsh contrast when one considers her round eyes. An injury from her youth has left her blinded in her left eye, as well as a slightly deformed wing. She can still fly, but she needs an aide to go with her in order to keep her steady or help her land.
Her wings and the top of her head alternate between brown and gray, flecked with black dots rhythmically between them. Those black dots also spread down her chest.
Personality: Outside the tree, she needs an aide to fly. Inside it though? Inside the Great Tree, the library is her domain. She doesn't need the sight in her left eye when her hearing is as clear and magnificent as any other Barn Owl in the world. She's quick to shut down any trouble, and takes library privileges very seriously. If you lose a book, damage a book, break her trust in any way, and you're never going to get it back. Oh she'd never deny anybody access to the library, it's against the Guardian Way to keep anybody from seeking knowledge. But you aren't allowed to check out any book unless she knows for sure you'll treat it with the respect it deserves!
The breaking of trust holds true for other things in life too. She was betrayed by someone who was once her friend as a young owlet, and it resulted in the injury that left her crippled. It's left Mitzi slow to trust and quick to distrust. She has very few friends as a result, and even less romantic prospects. But who needs friends and mates when she can read about them instead?
Her pride will one day be her downfall. The simplest way to draw her ire and rouse her temper would be to call her a coward. She is NOT a coward. Just because she can't fight or do a stupid dare doesn't mean she wouldn't if she could!
History: Mitzi was hatched to a normal pair of Barn Owls in the Tyto Forest. She was their only chick, and as such were fiercely protective over her. Whenever one was hunting, the other would stay with her and keep her safe. It never bothered Mitzi, her hovering parents. She understood they only wanted what was best for her. Plus, it could only last so long. It's not like they could keep her a chick forever. Soon she'd be branching, and then flying, and then hunting, and then she'd leave the nest to find her own mate and start her own family.
And it's not like she was TOTALLY alone. There was a family of masked owls living in the same tree in a different hollow. They had a daughter who was only a few months older than Mitzi. Ronda was her name, and they were friends. Or as good friends as they could be, since neither of them could leave their hollow and their only means of communication was by talking. Being older, Ronda learned to fly first, and she often came to visit the family of barn owls. She visited so often that Mitzi's parents actually came to trust her to look after Mitzi, and left to go hunting together.
Life was looking pretty great for young Mitzi... until the fire came. To this day she doesn't know what started it. She'd only just started branching, and her parents had finally decided she was old enough to be left alone. One moment everything was fine and dandy, the next it was like the entire world had ended. There was fire everywhere, and smoke made it difficult to see. She'd foolishly started moving, thinking maybe she could back away from it and she could wait for rescue, but instead she toppled over the lip of the hollow and fallen to the ground.
It was a long fall, but luck was with her. In a manner of speaking. She landed on a soft pile of moss, but sections of it were already smoldering. Some of her feathers were singed, but nothing more than a bit of down, and Mitzi wasn't exactly vain about her appearance. They'd grow back.
No, the real pain came later. Mitzi was calling for help and stumbling along, taking care to look where she was going, when she heard swooping from above. It was Ronda! Mitzi screeched for her and Ronda heard, Mitzi KNEW Ronda heard. She'd even looked right at her. But a second later the masked owl had turned and flown away.
Mitzi ran awkwardly after her. Very few owls were meant to be walkers, but it was the only choice Mitzi had. She'd stopped paying attention and stumbled over a burning branch. A stick on fire smacked her right in the face, across her left eye, and Mitzi shrieked. She passed out soon after that and probably would have died there if the Guardians hadn't found her.
She woke up in the infirmary at the Great Tree, bandages wrapped around her head. A kindly matron told her she'd never see out of that eye again, but the feathers would grow back around it after she molted. It tore her apart, and in her anger, Mitzi blamed Ronda. If Ronda hadn't left her, she wouldn't have run after her, never would have tripped on that branch, never would have injured her eye.
There were other rescued owls too, but none of them she knew. There was no news of her parents either, and given how they were towards her, Mitzi would only assume that meant they were dead as well.
With no home or family to return to, Mitzi resigned herself to living the rest of her life within the Great Tree. She was taught how to fly, but the lack of sight in her left eye made it difficult work. She would need help whenever she needed to go somewhere, and it grated on her pride something terrible.
More than that was the lack of choices left to her. Search and rescue, weather interpretation, navigation, even colliering, anything that could have possibly been exciting to her required precise flying and intense concentration. Neither of which she would be able to do. Though maybe not being in colliering wasn't so bad. Ever since the fire Mitzi'd had a bit of a fear for it.
Even tracking didn't work well for her. Low level flying like what was needed for it took a finesse that Mitzi just didn't have. Trackers flew slow, more like gliding, in order to spot and identify any tracks in the ground or disturbed pockets of grass or any other clues to where their quarry had gone. Sure she could always be on the ground, but there's still the amount of flying done when you DO find a trail.
Mitzi almost feared she'd HAVE to go to Ga'Hoolagy. It wouldn't be TOO bad, maybe. There was honor in the work, taking care of the Great Tree that gave them their home. But it was so boring! Clip clip snip snip scratch scratch, that was it! If she had to go through that, Mitzi would throw herself into the Sea of Hoolemere.
Luckily it didn't come to that. The librarian was getting on in age and needed an assistant, someone to help her with cataloging and inventory. At first it sounded just as boring as Ga'Hoolagy to the young owl, but if her choices were between helping an elderly owl out and digging around in dirt, she'd rather be in the library.
The work was actually harder than she'd thought it would be. The library was vast, the information seemingly limitless. There were always books to put back, titles to catalog, messes to clean up. No wonder the elderly librarian had needed help, no way her old bones could keep up with all of this.
Then came the day the librarian no longer roused at evening tweener. The tree was in mourning, for they'd been part of the community for a long, long time. Mitzi inherited the position and has been at the job since.
