Danika
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A mess of long black tangles with streaks of gray pulled into a high ponytail. A round face and smooth skin. Bright smiles as unguarded as they are frequent. A constant appetite for apples and sweets. So much about this strange girl seems simple, childlike, that it's hard to believe she's aged a single day since she first set foot in Narfell many years ago. Yet her tall frame moves with the confidence of experience, and she's included in histories of wars and adventures stretching back a few decades now.
Description
Straight-hipped and boyish in figure but not overly thin, at 5'11" Danika stands above most human woman as she holds her head high, ever alert, but she walks at the edge of attention. She may cheerfully share her apples, but she joins and leaves gatherings as blithely as she slips into and out of the light. Danika lives in a world of her own, watching what others cannot as her large eyes dart from shadow to shadow at every whisper or crackling of leaves.
Danika speaks with a raspy voice that that wavers like a moan. It's plain from her expression that speaking more than a few words at once requires she concentrate on each syllable for any of it to be clear.
Danika keeps her head uncovered in all weather, though on patrols she has been seen to wear a wolfskin hood which leaves her face visible. She wears the leather of a displacer beast, dyed the color of the local foliage with obsessive attention to hue and texture. She favors loose layers of hide and fur over tight bindings. Mud-stained and wild as she appears, Danika's three necklaces stand out: one a pendant of a unicorn, one small shards of clear glass, and one a wolf fang.
Personality
Danika has a reputation for coming and going as she pleases without warning. She rarely acknowledges traditional leadership or authority and frequently acts on her own initiative, slipping away wordlessly only to return with warnings. Whether this is a sign of competence or immaturity is a matter of opinion.
She rarely speaks of her faith, but it's not difficult to guess her ties to Mielikki from her actions. A ranger through and through, green adventurers will know Danika from witnessing her swoop in when they find themselves over their heads in the wilds. Oftentimes where she came from, where she goes, and how long she'd been watching are anyone's guess.
Danika claims to dislike sitting still more than anything. It is rare to find her remaining anywhere for longer than a brief nap. She displays a strong streak of curiosity and a fascination with the touch, smell, and taste of new places, objects, and food. She watches others closely as they speak, react, and move. In the past, her tendency to look others directly in the eye as they speak was so attentive that many mistakenly assumed she was deaf. At other times she seems so focused on details - the corners of a mouth, the wringing of a hand - that it's easy to believe she isn't paying attention at all.
Her friends will know that she stiffens involuntarily when touched, even if it is only a finger.
Background
For a long time Danika's voice was a mystery. Even when she took severe hits in battle, she'd do no more than voicelessly hiss or blow puffs of air. Her condition was brought about by a childhood illness and a botched healing attempt, but in time that damage was undone.
Perhaps owing to her past silence and lack of identifiable accent, Danika's history isn't well known. Although she is awkward girl most at home in the wilderness, she is neither as inept nor disengaged in social situations as a feral child might be. To adventurers, her use of both longbow and twin blades reveals a technique that is more practiced than intuitive or haphazard. By her face and complexion, those who know the North well will recognize Ulutian features familiar across the Great Glacier, but those less familiar might believe her to have Tuigan or Shou ancestry.
She's been seen to speak Common, Uluik, Rashemi, and Sign.
She's also known by the nicknames Boots and Salty Leaf.
Since coming to Narfell, Danika has established a reputation as a good-hearted scout and tracker. It's common knowledge that she worked for The Realm of Norwick until the final days of the war against the Hungry One. Since leaving the militia she has no associations that are widely known. Aside from her wolf fang, she wears no colors nor other emblems of any organization.
Notable Equipment
Greater Wolfbow: The Featherlight bow she carries once belonged to Jerrick Rayfe. When she twirls it above her head, the string vibrates and 'howls.'
Wolves Archer Cloak: The layers of silk in this cloak seem to prevent arrows from causing more than light bruises before they fall to the ground.
Wolves Stalker Moccasins: Padded within and expertly sewn, these place Danika's feet among the nimblest and quietest in Narfell.
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