[ooc] application for the golden hour
Full Name: Olinda Duval
Race: Other
If Other, provide a description of how they differ from humans: UNICORN. In the form of a human woman. She can understand and speak Unicorn. The ability to purify things also carries over, though she is unaware of both of these things, and she would have to kind of...fiddle and figure out how to purify something without her physical horn. Contact with her horn purifies and heals. Her blood heals if topically applied. She is also naturally quiet on her feet, a unicorn thing. Also, she likes virgins. 8)
Occupation: Neophyte, beginning second year-ish (pharmacy)
Faction, if applicable: Golden Hour
Reputation & rumors: Considering unicorns were believed to be real back then, Olinda's pretty well off, albeit now in an indirect way. City/GH-wise, her reputation is that of: smart, but kind of odd / why does she look so sad sometimes? Must have a History / high expectations for her as a pharmacist.
Age: Claims 18, actually 47
Birthday: Claims November 12th (the day Eunice took her in)
Birth Location: Somewhere In Europe
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 143 lbs
PB (Played-By): Amelia Warner
History: DISCLAIMER: I cannot take their names seriously so I will not be offended if you can't, either.
Unicorns generally travel alone or in packs no larger than five. They are wanderers, never staying in one place for long, though they may return to previously visited areas on a whim. No one is sure if this has always been the lifestyle of the unicorn or if it is an adaption to hunters, who have killed a fair amount of an already small population for their horns. Most unicorns stay far away from human settlements, ignoring the innate desire to approach virgin maidens, but there are still a few unicorns who find themselves unable to ignore the call.
Sundrop, as was her name when translated to English, was a unicorn that traveled with her sister, Moonsong, across the European continent. The pair were inseparable, keeping each other company and, in the case of Moonsong, keeping Sundrop out of trouble, for Sundrop could not give up her curiosity of humans completely. Moonsong would often find the other skirting dangerously close to villages or traveling merchants and end up chiding Sundrop on her recklessness. She was placing herself in unnecessary danger, Moonsong would always tell her, but Sundrop just couldn't leave the two-legged people be. The sisters would often get into little disputes that would eventually end in Sundrop giving in, apologizing and keeping her distance...only for someone or something else to catch her eye, causing the cycle to repeat itself once again. It is a testament to Moonsong's love and patience that she didn't kick Sundrop to the curb.
During their travels, the duo picked up a third - Fleetfoot, who became Moonsong's mate. He proved to be a nice medium between the two sisters, sharing Moonsong's caution of humans but intervening on Sundrop's behalf when Moonsong scolded her. Despite technically being the 'third wheel', the couple never treated Sundrop like one, though she sometimes would get fed up with their affection and travel behind or ahead of them (usually it was the latter.) She never begrudged them, though, or Fleetfoot's presence. Sundrop considered him a good friend and genuinely enjoyed that period of time together.
Unfortunately, neither Moonsong or Fleetfoot could keep Sundrop from indulging in her curiosity. Both cautioned that it would get her into serious trouble one day, and lo and behold, it did. Oh, how it did.
One day, Sundrop was traveling ahead of the trio, not at all unusual, when she sensed the presence of a maiden. Now, whenever she had felt a maiden previously, Moondrop would always usher her away and Sundrop would always obey, because the luring of a unicorn was always done with a maiden. With all her curiosity, even she could not deny that. Yet the pull drove her mad and for once, Sundrop wanted to see what it was with maidens that affected the hearts of unicorns so. That day, with neither Moondrop or Fleetfoot to stop her, Sundrop indulged herself.
Approaching the clearing slowly and cautiously, Sundrop could see, through the foliage, a young girl sitting under the shade of a tree. She was sparsely dressed, shivering slightly from the Autumn chill, and was clearly unhappy. Sundrop could also sense a slight nervousness to her. Disturbed by the girl's state, she approached the girl and whickered softly, so as not to alarm her. The girl looked alarmed, anyway, but also enchanted by her beauty. Eventually, Sundrop felt it acceptable to fold her legs under herself and lay next to the maiden. When the girl placed her hand on her flank, Sundrop felt immensely content.
That all changed in a second when an arrow struck her in the side. Bellowing in pain, Sundrop jumped up, sending the young girl tumbling. A group of hunters burst into the clearing, daggers drawn and bows strung. Bugling in terror and anger, the unicorn began to fight, striking down the closest with her hooves. She would have surely been killed were it not for Fleetfoot, who dived into the fray, crushing a man instantly under his hooves. He urged Sundrop to flee and she had no trouble complying. She galloped from that clearing as quickly as her body allowed. In her terror, she nearly bowled over her own sister, who took one look at her and bolted in the direction she had just fled from.
Sore and exhausted, Sundrop didn't follow, choosing instead to plop down right where she stood and rest. But when Moonsong didn't return several hours later, Sundrop picked herself up and returned to the now bloody clearing. The sight caused her heart to drop. There, among several human corpses was Fleetfoot's body, Moonsong standing over him, his horn sawed off and gone. Before Sundrop could say anything (not that she could think of anything to say), Moonsong whirled on her and she could not ever remember seeing her sister as angry as she was right then. The lash out was harsh, bitter, and full of resentment, accusing Sundrop of Fleetfoot's death. It was all true, of course. Had Sundrop simply heeded their warnings, the unicorn would still be alive. And now, almost as horrifying as his death, his horn was gone as well. Disturbed and guilt-ridden at causing the death of her sister's mate and her friend, Sundrop quietly turned around and left the clearing.
However, she was not traveling aimlessly. Determined to at least retrieve Fleetfoot's horn, the unicorn followed the tracks of the hunters and eventually came upon their camp at night. Normally it was difficult for a unicorn to stay hidden at night, but thanks to the earlier fiasco, Sundrop's coat was camouflaged with dirt and blood. Still, nothing could be done about her horn and that was what gave her away. She fought again, intending to die trying for Fleetfoot's horn, but this time was different. A waft of something heavy, spicy? she could not describe it, dropped down on her and the hunters, and then Sundrop blacked out.*
When she next woke, it was with a cloudy mind, as if her head was filled with heavy perfume, and hands. The girl who appeared in Sundrop's place could not remember how she had gotten there or why she was there at all, nor did she recognize the men or the young girl lying near to her, seemingly in a deep sleep. There was blood on her body, but no wounds, and she was without clothing. Not knowing much, but knowing that being naked and being covered in blood was a Bad Thing, the girl removed one of the hunter's outer clothing and dressed herself in it. She took his boots and pack, too, but left the daggers and bows. She did take something else, though- a horn, long and pearly white, for she knew instinctively what it was, and that it was very unfortunate and very dear to her.
There were two reasons why she didn't lose herself in the wilderness: one, despite not remembering anything about her life as a unicorn, Sundrop still felt the familiarity of her surroundings. They were different senses, as she had then relied on her sense of hearing and smell more than her eyesight, but didn't feel as if she was in a completely unknown area. And two, there was a voice in the back of her mind that told her to go this way or that, find the tree split in two, then go left... Eventually, it lead her to a small village on the outskirts of Balfour, where an older woman was waiting for her.
If, at the time, Sundrop could understand English, she would have learned, as Eunice clucked in disapproval at her filthy state and washed her down, that an older gentlemen had come by and informed the woman that she would be arriving soon and in poor condition. He had also left her a pouch of coins, a modest amount that earned a scoff from Eunice who, nonetheless, took it. The older woman wasn't cold-hearted, but neither was she soft, and as soon as Sundrop was physically well, she set the girl to work dyeing fabric, for that was the woman's business. She also taught the girl how to speak English and, to a lesser degree, how to write and read, and gave her the name Olinda.
Olinda picked up the language fairly quickly, though it took a while longer for her to stop tripping on herself. Still retaining that great sense of curiosity (and also feeling a strange pull towards the city, not unlike the pull of a maiden), Olinda begged Eunice to let her accompany her into Tyrol to sell her fabrics. After several months, Eunice relented. Subsequent trips and the discovery of the Golden Hour led to Olinda begging to learn medicine, a request Eunice approved of, even though it meant losing an extra helping hand.
Olinda joined the Golden Hour as a Neophyte of medicine. Initially, it seemed like she was the slowest of her peers, but once Olinda got the vocabulary down, she excelled. It's now been a little over a year since she's been there. Throughout everything, she has kept Fleetfoot's horn with her, hidden away and never spoken of, though she still has no idea why it fills her with such grief and why she keeps it despite that.
*No, but in all seriousness, a person/other on a self-given mission to stop the hunting of unicorns with the ability to cast spells did it. Fuck yeah, magic.
Personality: Sundrop was the more inquisitive of the two sisters, eager to explore and gallop headfirst into uncharted territory. Her sister was definitely the more mature and sensible one. Despite Moonsong's constant admonishments and words of caution in regards to humans, Sundrop couldn't find it in herself to stomp out her curiosity of them. She knew that deep down inside, Moonsong hadn't hardened her heart completely, either, and would occasionally try to appeal to that heart, much to Moonsong's annoyance. As much as Sundrop loved her sister, she didn't respect her warnings, instead giving into her desire to roam, and she didn't take her scoldings to heart. Of course, this led to devastating consequences. In this way, Sundrop was selfish and definitely a 'leap before you think' kind of unicorn.
As Olinda is Sundrop, she shares the same personality, but the manner in which she expresses it differs slightly. Olinda is more soft in her mannerisms, though still inquisitive, impulsive, and prone to deciding and doing things without another person's input. As there are more eyes to hold her accountable, Olinda isn't quite as selfish with her antics as Sundrop was - meaning that sometimes she'll think before she leaps. Whether she thinks the whole thing through is another matter, though.
Unlike Sundrop, Olinda carries a heavy sense of sadness within her, though she is unaware of the reason (causing Fleetfoot's death, hurting and missing her sister.) Since her time with Eunice, she has gotten more accustomed to it and keeping it from interfering with her daily work, but when her mind isn't occupied by oils, utensils and other medical terms, that sense of regret always fills the empty space. She would love to keep the alicorn on her at all times, but knowing that it is generally safer in her living quarters, she tends to leave it hidden somewhere in there. As a result of being transformed, Olinda also suffers from constant restlessness. Since moving to Tyrol, the feeling has subsided somewhat (thanks to Belief), but it's still nags at her.
That she woke up in the wilderness next to wounded men, naked and covered in blood with no recollection of how she got there or who she was also bothers Olinda a bit, but the certainty of where to go at that time puzzles her more than anything else. Sometimes, when she's asleep she can hear the words that guided her. Sometimes, she dreams of the feeling of galloping through the forest and other cheesy unicorn feelings, and feels as if that was perhaps a past life, or an overactive imagination.
Personality Keywords: Immature, impulsive, inquisitive, lonely, antsy, naive, kind, somewhat gullible.
Appearance: Olinda is a plain pretty. Her hair, which falls past her waist when down, is usually kept in a loose braid when out and about. If she's not preoccupied with studies, an idea or a task, it's not uncommon to see her with an expression of mild longing or regret. As she's quick to snap out of it when called, most attribute it to her just naturally looking sad most of the time.
Her wardrobe is very modest. A chemise and a long, plain skirt makes up the most of her everyday gear. Whatever she's wearing, she likes it to be open and flowing - air circulation is a must. She hates the feel of bodices. Good luck trying to get her in one. Honestly, clothes are not so much an outward expression of her personality as they are a social necessity in her opinion. Olinda would be a-okay with walking around naked if it were acceptable.
(Un?)fortunately, there is nothing about her physical appearance that screams "unicorn!!" because Mini was too lazy to find a white-haired PB.
Languages Known: ~UNICORN~, English.
Skills: she has HANDS now she can open doors!! Good with directions in a landmark kind of way. She can do street names, but she naturally catalogs places by their landmarks. Sneaking up on people (albeit unintentionally.)
Strengths: Olinda is actually very intelligent - intellectually, anyway. She's a quick study; most wouldn't believe that she had only started to learn English a year ago. She also has a very good memory, easily distinguishing plants that may look alike. Knows a bit about dyes and the value of money. Her senses are way watered down from being in a human's body, but they are a tad better than the senses of an average human.
Weaknesses: 90% of her personality section. Virgin maidens. No, seriously. Olinda is innately drawn to them, whether she likes it or not, and she has no idea why. It doesn't take much for her to trust someone, either, so a virgin with some kind of motive lying to her would be a double-whammy. Olinda would never see it coming.
Despite being fine with conversational English, Olinda isn't fluent. Fancy words, specific vocabulary, complex grammar/sentence structure are all things she's still learning.
Also she can't eat meat, it makes her physically ill. Same goes for milk and cheese. She's a shitty cook.
Aaaand her handwriting is an absolute mess. Sometimes not even she can decipher it. It would make the doctors of today proud.