Ionela

Ionela is small and scrappy, standing at a petite 22" tall at the shoulder. She is usually overshadowed by her dire sized family, hiding somewhere between the crush of shoulders. Her fur is often mussed up and disheveled - depending on how she is feeling, she doesn't put much effort into personal grooming, although she tries her hardest to be presentable. There is always something amiss (a cowlick here, some leaves clinging to her hindquarters there).

Nellie's base colors are shades of slate grey, the lower half of her face, underbelly, insides of her legs and beneath her tail being the lightest color. A cloak of darker grey rests atop it. Starting at the crown of her head and edging down the back of it and across her shoulders is a dusting of charcoal, matched by four socks of the same color on her legs. Darker black striping is laid across her front ankles.

Her body is laced throughout with blue stripes, fading in and out of palest cornflower blue to a dusky navy. She has brilliant teal eyes that are bracketed beneath by black striping, as if to underscore her already expressive gaze.

appearance

addictive personality - flower child - attention hungry - clumsy - future wine aunt

From a young age, Nellie will feel a little lost in the crowd of her siblings. It will be difficult to find her footing as an individual amongst the taller and more refined older Carpathians, so she will rely on a child's tricks: whining, explosive outbursts, wriggling and dancing on her paws. She will succumb easily to both the highs and lows of her emotions, allowing them to rule her actions without much thought - for far too long than is acceptable or cute. Ionela will soak up individualized attention from family members like a sponge, relishing in being doted on and instructed. Her heart is in the right place and she always strives to please, but to a point where she can drive herself a bit mad trying to be exactly what she thinks someone else is looking for.

As she grows and her bones develop, it will become clear that something is a little... different. The girl who was always light on her feet will now complain of aches and pains beyond those of a typical growth spurt. During a particularly devastating accident, Nellie will badly break a bone and the healer treating her will discover that the inside of her bones contains cavities and spaces like that of a bird's. She will be treated with some kind of pain medication and will become somewhat dependent on it. She will continue to struggle with the aches/pains as her mutation develops, probably from about ~9 months to 1.5 years, and develop a taste for all sorts of numbing agents. At her heart, Ionela is an addict with a heart of gold, unable to get out of her own way.

Nellie will become interested in all manner of different flowers, berries, honey and brewing processes. She will strive to create wines or meads that are unique to her family/the Hallows and refine her palette until she is quite the sommelier. personality