Tikka Swift

Tikka Swift
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Gender	Female
Race	Miqo'te
Clan	Seeker/Keeper half-breed
Citizenship	Undocumented
Age	17
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Street performer/thief
Height/Weight	5'2"/110 lbs
Orientation	Bisexual
Relatives	Hanji'a Kiraja (Father, deceased) L'tarra Khoran (Mother, deceased) Pyha'to Polaali (Half-brother) Sumari Polaali (Half-sister) Tarra Swiftpaw (daughter)

Tikka Swift, sometimes known as "Tabitha Emberfury", sometimes known as "Princess", sometimes known as "Hey, you, stop burning things!" is a miqo'te thief and street rat who has no current permanent place of residence. During the day, she can often be found on the streets of Ul'dah, performing elaborate feats of stage magic and acrobatics in order to draw crowds of marks to make for easy pickpocketing. At night, she plies her trade across the rooftops of the city, testing her lockpicking, safecracking, and trapfinding skills out in the homes of various unsuspecting noblemen. It has recently been discovered that her birth name is L'anya Kharja. Given that she's also learned that L'Kharja Nunh is not only NOT her real father, but he's the one who murdered her family, Tikka has decided that her *real* birth name is L'anya Polaali.

Basic Info

LIKES ■ Chocoberries (Chocolate covered strawberries) ■ Things that explode ■ SUGAR!!! ■ Not being on fire ■ Having her hair/ears petted ■ Stealing things ■ Shiny objects ■ Pretty smelling scents ■ Dominant males ■ Acrobatics/parkour

DISLIKES ■ Mean people ■ SHARKS! ■ Coconut (Not the flavor, the consistency) ■ Being on fire ■ Submissive/whiny men ■ BUGS!!!! ■ Finding an uncrackable safe ■ People who secure their valuables ■ Alert/competent guards ■ Fences who try to lowball her on her score

OTHER ■ Alignment: Chaotic neutral ■ Vice(s): Thievery, drinking, sex, gambling, eating pure sugar cubes ■ Favorite Food: Chocolate covered strawberries ■ Favorite Drink: Zombie! (1 oz dark rum, 1 oz amber rum, 1 oz white rum, 1/2 oz cherry brandy, 1/2 oz apricot brandy, mix with equal parts pineapple and orange juice in a tall glass.) ■ Favorite Color: CANDY ■ Favorite Weapon: Throwing knives ■ Favorite Climate: Warm to hot ■ Hobbies: Trolling people, conning people out of coin, performing stage magic, collecting shiny things (and treasure!) ■ Special skills: Acrobatics, Lockpicking, safecracking, trapfinding/disarming, sleight of hand, cheating at cards

Appearance & Personality

Tikka is an acrobat and it shows through her build. While not overly strong, she is extremely agile and dextrous. She has a small frame and is very light, but uses that to her advantage, both to throw people off guard and to throw herself around. Her hair is a mix of red and white, though the white highlights are a natural coloration rather than a dye job. Her eyes are perhaps her most striking feature, a vivid green that often shimmer with energy and youthful exuberance. Although the young thief appears to be a Seeker, a clue to her hybrid heritage is in her slightly elongated canines -- which are far more pronounced than a Seeker's should be.

A hedonist at heart, Tikka lives a wild and crazy lifestyle. She acts on impulse, and does what she feels like doing at any given time, without any heed to potential consequences. She enjoys being random, a trait that often convinces people that she's actually at least partially insane. Plus she is generally high on sugar cubes, and that contributes significantly to her hyperactivity.

Biography

Tikka's mother was part of the Viper ( L ) tribe, and was one consort of many for one of the tribe's nunh's. She got pregnant by a Keeper rogue that she had fallen in love with. Since things would be bad if anyone ever found out the truth, she did her best to trick the nunh into thinking that the baby was his. Fortunately, Tikka was born with mostly Seeker features, save for her elongated canines and heightened sense of nightvision. She continued her relationship with the Keeper, and often brought Tikka to meet her real father in secret.

When she was old enough, her father started teaching her rogue skills, and she hung out with him and his group. It was because of this continued interaction that the nunh of her tribe eventually found out about the truth. He tried to have Tikka and her mother killed, but Tikka's father and his band of rogues swooped in to pull them out of danger. However, the insult would not stand, and the nunh gathered up men of his own. They pursued the band and, during the battle, Tikka's parents (along with most of the rogues) were killed.

But before they died, they urged Tikka to escape. The young rogue ran for her life, but the nunh soon caught up to her. They fought, and he beat her to within an inch of her life. But before he could land the final blow, she struck him with a knife just below the heart. His own blow proved a glancing one, but it bounced her head off a rock and Tikka went unconscious. Leaving her dying, the nunh retreated to seek medical aid -- he couldn't tell anyone the truth of what had happened, for fear of what would happen to his status if it became known that he was nearly killed by not only a female, but a female child.

Soon afterwards, Tikka was discovered by a traveling band of mercenaries -- Louis, Reis, and Shin. The trio of adventurers took her in and nursed her back to health. But after she had recovered, Tikka recalled nothing of her former life. The adventurers invited her to join them. Since she couldn't remember her name, they helped her think of one. Louis started to train her to defend herself, but when he did so, he soon discovered that she had several innate talents related to thievery. He called her 'Swift', because she was innately fast on her feet and quick fingered. Her role within the group determined, she set off with the trio in search of adventure.

Developments

● Had her heart broken in a relationship with Sparrow. Until she met him, Tikka had never loved anyone before, at least not as far as she could remember. She'd been with a lot of guys, and had certainly felt attraction. But she'd never even considered becoming exclusive with someone. That's why it was so much harder for her when it turned out that he was in love with someone else. This relationship has had a huge impact on Tikka. She has withdrawn, choosing to distance herself even further from people emotionally. She has also found comfort in the bottle, deciding that being drunk all the time keeps her mind from wandering back to the comfort she'd found in his arms.

● During a beach party, Tikka was refusing to go into the water to join the rest of her friends due to her fear of sharks. Instead, she stubbornly camped out on the beach and built herself a sand castle. After awhile the others managed to coax her out to join them. For unknown reasons, the sand castle animated and became a sort of miniature sand golem. From that moment, it started following her around like it was somehow connected to her. She cannot currently figure out a way to rid herself of this construct. She has tried smashing it, slicing it into pieces, dropping it from high altitude, burning it, and having mages throw magic at it. It has thus far managed to reconstruct itself each time. She has since named it 'Sandcastle' and treats it like an annoying pet. Her theory is that someone who doesn't like her placed some sort of a curse on her. Currently, in order to give herself a few moments of freedom from it, she has taken to bursting it apart into tiny pieces, putting the pieces into separate containers, filling them with water, and sealing them. Each time, Sandcastle has somehow managed to escape, reform, and locate her again. How long this process takes seems to vary from a few hours to a few days.

● Tikka has recently been hired to help rig some fights run by her friends Yorric, Ari, and Gen. They figured that with her charisma and her enthusiasm she would have no trouble whipping up crowds into a frenzy, causing them to bet on their fighters, who would then throw the match. It's become a profitable arrangement for all parties involved. Plus Tikka has gotten lots of pretty gems and sugar cubes out of the deal.

● She kept a secret stash of her belongings and stolen goods at her room at the Quicksand. Recently, her room exploded and a group of unknown assailants attacked her and Yorric. There were no survivors amongst the assailants, and there were no identifying marks that might indicate their origin. The explosion was confined mostly to her room, with just a bit of damage to surrounding rooms. The wall in which her window was placed was pretty much blown wide open. Until she's able to secure a new base of operations, Tikka's current status is mobile, and she's relying on her set of emergency caches scattered throughout the major cities. Update: Her friend Cookie (Vanilla Wayfarer) offered to share her room with Tikka, thus solving her housing situation.

● Tikka, Glow, Gen, Yorric, and Ari perpetrated an intricately planned heist and stole millions of gil worth of artwork from an art auction in Ul'dah. They are currently sitting on this now hidden stash, preparing to sell it later.

● Armed assailants working for L'kharja Nunh tracked Tikka down to the headquarters of the Light Crusaders. They managed to render her unconscious and, despite the valiant efforts of her friends and company members, she was abducted and taken away to an unknown location. Tikka's half-brother, Pyha'to, and half-sister, Sumari, had been tracking L'kharja's men and wound up locating her just before she was kidnapped -- Tikka hadn't recognized either of them, and had fled from Pyha'to when he confronted her. Tikka's real name was revealed to be L'anya Kharja.

● Tikka spent many months in captivity. She was held by a group of cultists known as the Eyes of Zzahg'ghazz. They were a primal cult, based in a volcano lair about a day and a half's travel by airship from the shores of Limsa Lominsa. They were gathering crystals, intending to summon their insect god, the "Singing Lord of Shadows". Tikka was indoctrinated through the use of a special serum. She was given various magitek augments, and turned into a brainwashed assassin for the cult. She had her baby while in captivity, and L'kharja cruelly named it 'L'tarra', after Tikka's mother. He fully intended to raise L'tarra to worship Zzahg'ghazz as well. But thanks to the timely intervention of Tikka's friends and allies, and her brother and sister, Tikka was rescued from the cult and given an antidote to the indoctrination serum that had claimed her. While she had no memory of her time spent with the cultists, she catches glimpses in nightmares. Her baby was rescued from the clutches of the cultists as well. When she was introduced to her child by the father, Gen, Tikka dropped the L from the baby's name, and decided to call her Tarra Swiftpaw.

Miscellaneous

RUMORS Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC! ◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard) ■ Tikka is utterly crazy. ■ Tikka eats sugar cubes, straight. ■ Tikka is fairly promiscuous, and enjoys such company with more than one person at a time. ■ Tikka has a two-handed axe named Breadslicer. Actually, she calls most axes this. ■ There was an explosion at the Quicksand recently on one of the upper levels. Rumor has it that she had something to do with it. ◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear) ■ Tikka once set fire to a merchant stall by accident. ■ Tikka is a pickpocket and a skilled thief. ■ Tikka has a trained pet coeurl named Sergeant Whiskers McSpots, the Savage Kitty of DOOM ◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard) ■ The Tikka that she presents to everyone is an act; she is only herself when she is not wearing her mask. ■ Tikka has connections with various fences and thieves guilds in both Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa. ■ Tikka has amnesia, with no memory of her past. ◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players) ■ "Okay, don't get me wrong because I love Princess- I really do, in that you know, best friends and stuff kind of way- but if I have to hear about the 'Grand Bug Conspiracy' one more time...." - Glow Valeria ■ "Tikka IS Crazy, and one of the sweetest girls I know" - Gen Quickpaw ■ "She stole some of my completely legally earned products! Can't be mad, it was well done." - Yorric Lesh ■ "She is a criminal mastermind, packaged in adorable." - Arianne Soren ■ "Zsshzzzhhhhszzhgzzzz *click* zshaksshhkkk *clickclick* gshhh!" - The bugs ■ "She's completely unpredictable in all the best ways. The things I did to her are unforgivable. I hope she finds happiness." - Lynn'wo Vahnal ■ "She threw a tear gas bomb at me! For no reason!" - Anton Borneheld ■ "I was so worried at first if she'd always hate me. I always felt terrible for what had happened. I'm so happy and relieved that we've gotten close. She's such a fun, good, and interestin' person, and I'm more than happy ta' call her my friend." - Misha Jinhri

RELATIONS ♥ Romantic Interest ♥ Sexual Interest ♥ Platonic Love ● Good Standing ● Neutral Standing ● Poor Standing ♥ Ninja Lou : One of the members of the adventuring band who first discovered her and nursed her back to health. Louis has been a brother figure and a friend to her, and has helped her regain her fighting skills. Although she respects him and loves him like she would a real brother, she often enjoys helping herself to his coin purse, and challenging herself to see what else she can take without him noticing. ♥ Shin Lightbringer : Another of the adventuring trio who saved her. Shin was a good friend to Tikka, until a night of indiscretion turned things awkward. Shin mistook their night of fun for something more, and was ashamed of himself. He disappeared, and she hasn't seen him since. Although she worries about him, she also feels that he overreacted. ♥ Reis Ravenhart : Louis's wife, Reis has been a big sister figure to Tikka. While she tends to poke fun at Louis and generally makes him the butt of her jokes, Reis is the one that she respects the most. Lately Tikka has been training with a variety of different weapons under her tutelage, in order to enhance her versatility. ♥ Glow N'amownoc : Although Tikka doesn't know Glow's true name, referring to her only by the nickname "Blueberry", she has become fast friends with the Keeper from the day they first met. Blueberry is another thief, and an often partner in crime. Tikka likes her a great deal, and often responds to the alias "Princess" that Blueberry has given her. ♥♥ Vanilla Wayfarer : Vanilla aka "Cookie" is currently one of the few people who knows the real person behind the mask. She has become a person that Tikka can confide in, and Tikka views the Seeker as a close friend. ● Haru Hattori : For a brief time, Tikka was head of security in the KHFNNDB (Keep Haru From Not Not Dying Brigade). Although she knows little about the lalafell, she knows that Haru is a member of the guard and isn't one in whom to confide her more illicit activities. Nevertheless, Haru has a great sense of humor, and Tikka has had plenty of fun playing around with her in the Quicksand. ♥ Rhoe'a Lihzeh : While not truly an item, Tikka has spent more than one night with this dark skinned Keeper. She considers him a friend, and sometimes more than that, though she doubts it could ever develop into anything serious. ♥ Gen Quickpaw : Gen is her friend, and usually nothing more than that. However, when the alcohol starts flowing and things start getting a bit crazy, she has wound up in his bed at least once. She admires the Seeker for his quick wit and humor, and is still determined to beat him in a rooftop race. Her feelings towards him have continued to flourish. And now that things have been worked out with Flick, she feels like she can be more open with him about her love. ♥ Aurus Faith : This innocent young Keeper is another friend of Tikka's that went from platonic to "friends with benefits". Her room at the inn was a mess, and so when she found out that Aurus was a general laborer, she enlisted his services as what amounted to basically her live-in maid. She pays him a fair wage, calls him her "Swabbie", and lets him stay in her room -- which she hardly ever occupies. Though the times when she *is* around, she has nothing against sharing her bed. ♥ Rashaka Larola : This older lalafell quickly became a father figure of sorts to Tikka. He was the first that she confided in about her dual identity, and she holds a certain affection for him. ● Lynn'wo Vahnal : Lynn'wo "Sparrow" Vahnal was the first man that Tikka had ever truly loved. The pair had hit it off immediately. They were an impressive comedy duo, and partners in crime. They often talked about investing in a ship together to sail the world, one that they would name 'Ted'. She took off her mask for him, let him see her real self both physically and emotionally. He reciprocated by tearing out her heart and leaving her for another woman, leaving Tikka crestfallen and defeated. When her mask went back on, she vowed that she would never leave herself that vulnerable again. While she is still upset over the whole issue, she has decided that if Sparrow sends her rogue related work, she'd be more than happy to accept it. After all, emotion has no place in business. Even after their break, she had feelings for him for a long time. Things have cooled now, though, and Tikka has moved on with her life. ♥ Misha Jinhri : The woman that Sparrow left her for, Misha tried apologizing to Tikka for the whole fiasco. At first, Tikka viewed the apology as a veiled attempt to gloat over her victory and, despite the woman's offer of friendship, decided she wanted to have nothing further to do with her. She blamed her for Sparrow leaving her more than she blamed Sparrow himself, perhaps blinded by the feelings she had for him. Her anger towards Misha has long since passed now, however. And after spending time with Misha, she realized that this was someone that she could be friends with. ♥ Yorric Lesh : Tikka's latest business associate. She doesn't know much about this man other than he seems to know how to run a good scam. She has recently agreed to help him with a shady arrangement, and he won serious points with her when he provided advance payment in the form of sparkly gems and sugar cubes. And as everyone knows, TikkaPoints(tm) are one of the most valuable commodities in all of Eorzea. ♥ Reza'li Kaahn : She hooked up with this Keeper for what she'd intended to be a one night stand. However, her interest was piqued when he not only drew sketches of her, but he had a proclivity towards burning things. And Tikka likes fire. ● Flynt Knoltros : Tikka met this miqo'te only a couple of occasions, but he was fun enough to converse with. On their first meeting, she'd convinced him to leave the Quicksands with her. He believed he was being led into an ambush, so he secretly contacted a friend of his to shadow their progress. When Tikka found out that he thought she was setting him up to rob him, she was both amused and disappointed -- she was sure she projected a less shadier image than that. ♥♥ Arianne Soren : Tikka has grown a lot more fond of Ari in a short amount of time. While she still doesn't know a whole lot about her, she enjoys Ari's attitude, the way she's nicknamed Tikka "Squirrel", and she feels a genuine sort of affection for the woman. She views her as someone that she can confide in. ● C'sanhsa Tia : She met this miqo'te in one of the rare times when she had her mask off in the Quicksand. Fresh from her breakup with Sparrow, and needing an excuse to abandon a really bad conversation with a rude hyur, she went up and butted into C'sanhsa's conversation with Jihan Rowe. Neither minded, and they helped to console her. Then her miniature sand golem appeared and started stomping around, and captured the group's interest. ● Jihan Rowe : This miqo'te was with C'sanhsa when Tikka came up and butted into their conversation. He took particular interest in Sandcastle, and attempted to posit some theories as to how such a thing could have come to be. Tikka still remains convinced that the golem comes as part of an elaborate curse placed upon her by the bugs. She IS getting too close, after all. ● Star Flicker : Flick is Gen's girlfriend, and Tikka respects that. She hasn't spent much time getting to know her, but from the few times that they've interacted she's liked her. Lately she's overheard her saying some very unflattering things about her, but can't entirely blame her. After all, she was sleeping with her boyfriend for awhile, under the impression that they had an open relationship. At one point, Flick tried to literally murder her with a sword. But since that time, things have improved and they've been far more civil to each other. There's even been talk of letting their children play together. ● Erik Ketch : Tikka only recently met this hyur, but he has a habit of surprising her with delectable pastries. He would have remained just another face around the company house to her, but he scored big points when he stuck up for her when a Gridanian investigator appeared and started listing charges against her. Since she had nowhere to stay since her room at the Quicksand exploded, he graciously set up a cot for her in his room in the free company house, and gave her full access to his quarters. ● Anton Borneheld : One of the first friends that Tikka made during her nightly carousing at the Quicksand, although he disappeared for a long period of time. When he returned again, she almost didn't recognize him, and almost certainly forgot his name. But they became reacquainted again at the grand ball in Ul'dah, where he made a habit of trying to follow her on her insane leaps off of the balconies. Tikka enjoys playing off of Anton's banter, and loves the way that his wit seems to stack with hers. She sees him as a potential partner in crime.

Footnotes

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