Kara Ashdale

Kara (Ashdale)
"... I didn't do it."
Gender	Female
Race	Hyur
Clan	Highlander
Citizenship	Unaffiliated
Nameday	19th Sun of the 3rd Umbral Moon (Current age: 17)
Guardian	Azyema, the Warden

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Appearance

A small Highlander with a thin, athletic build, Kara has darker skin and short brown hair that shows signs of sun-bleaching. Her eyes are somewhat angular and yellow, and her ears are pierced. Her clothes seem to be chosen more for function over style, and for the most part seems to prefer things that cover her skin.

Early History

Where Kara was born, and who her parents are, is unknown. She was found as the sole survivor of an ill-fated caravan in Thanalan by a semi-nomadic camp, and was taken in. She was estimated to be about three years old at the time.

The years spent living in the camp were decent enough; the other members were of mixed race and clan (with the exception of Elezen. They were oddly -- or perhaps not so oddly -- unrepresented), and she easily passed from tent to tent, campfire to campfire, learning and being entertained by anyone who had the time to deal with an inquisitive youngster. By the time she was ten she could hunt small animals with a bow, find water and food in the arid lands, make serviceable (but not always aesthetically pleasing) clothes and functional tools, and perform a myriad other tasks and tricks that were common knowledge for members of the camp.

Her twelfth year proved to be a rather bad year. The camp was raided, and most of the members were rounded up, chained up, and dragged off. Kara and a handful of other children managed to escape the raid, and they made their way to Ul'dah and lived for a while as street-kids. And then came the Calamity...

The two years after the Calamity saw the erosion of the group of children. One had died under a pile of rubble when a piece of Dalamud struck Ul'dah and caused a wall to tumble into the street. Another disappeared one day; grabbed by slavers or caught by a guard, the others never found out. The two eldest moved on to more unsavory opportunities. This left just Kara and another boy her age. They did not get along, so they soon parted company. Kara moved back into Thanalan, choosing to live outside Ul'dah and utilize the skills she had learned in the camp. Thievery and banditry supplemented what she could not provide for herself, and she managed to eke out a comfortable enough lifestyle.

A small fish in a big pond, Kara's activities were considered a minor annoyance. No warrants have been issued for her arrest and while she fancied herself as "Clever Kara", her name was never really known or came anywhere near infamous.

Current History

Kara's transformation from rogue to adventurer was born from, in her perspective, a series of unlucky events. She was caught several times picking pockets during an odd 'hunting trip' in Ul'dah, though she managed to weasel her way out of being handed over to the Brass Blades. One of the few things she was able to get away with that night was some money and a necklace stolen from a Hyur man.

She was caught by him a few days later, when she boldly (or, rather, foolishly) took the bait for a trap the Hyur and a Roegadyn had set. She was hit with a dart anointed with a sleeping agent, and carried back to the refugee camp where the Hyur and the Roegadyn were living. Kara's punishment was handed over to the Roegadyn, who decided to hang Kara by her wrists from a nearby baobab tree and charge travelers and passerby a coin to throw rotten food and mud at Kara. When the Hyur found out, he surprisingly seemed upset about Kara's punishment and cut her down from the tree and helped her back into the camp to clean up. It was decided afterwards that she was going to 'work off' her debt to the Hyur.

While the debt has, by this time, been worked off, she is still in the company of the Hyur. Both have managed to work their way out of the refugee camp and into Ul'dah, and gain recognition as adventurers.

Personality

Kara could probably be best described as being moody and flighty. She goes from emotion to emotion in the blink of an eye, and is prone to running off when she's upset or confused.

Her morality is perhaps a bit skewed. She feels no guilt or remorse for how she was raised or how she's lived and survived (and actually will display pride in such, if she doesn't perceive a danger of getting arrested). She does not believe in 'Good vs. Evil', instead seeing things as 'Me/Us vs. Them'. This viewpoint often leads to a wonderful mess of contradictions and sometimes hypocrisy. The one thing someone can be certain of, though, when dealing with her: she does not lie to those she considers a friend, but everyone else is fair game for stories and scams.

Kara has an odd habit of 'forgetting' things that greatly upset her. This seems to be a coping technique of some sort, where she will pretend something never happened.

Relationships

DISCLAIMER: The following information is to be considered out of character knowledge, and if I suspect that information is being used I will consider it godmoding and dismissed as such. This is my character's opinions, not mine, so do not assume that if I dislike you in character that I also hate you out of character. Characters that appear here are ones Kara has encountered either a) at least three times or b) the interaction was significant enough for her to remember.

Positive

- Clive Stark: Ever since she stole his necklace, Kara's relationship with Clive has been anything but smooth. They get along, they argue, they work well together, they fight, they are constantly frustrated with each other. Kara is known to call him "jerk" and "asshole" to his face, and while she has run off a couple times because she was angry with him, Clive seems to represent a point of safety and it typically isn't long before she returns. She has also admitted that she is attracted to him, which is another source of frustration between them.

- Whisper Willow: It has come to be known that Whisper was one of the leaders of the bandit camp that Kara grew up in. Oddly, though, Kara has no memories of the Roegadyn woman; only Whisper's mannerisms and how she handles matters are familiar. Kara unconsciously treats Whisper as if she was a stern aunt.

- Max: The puppy that Clive gave Kara as a gift (secretly a punishment) for Starlight.

Neutral

- Bartolomeo Filangieri: Kara encountered this man while she was gnawing on yet another 'issue with Clive', and his advice helped her resolve some internal issues about Clive. Unfortunately, that same advice came at a bad time and resulted in some more complications... and if she ever sees him again, she wants to give him a friendly punch in the face.

- Blue: Kara really doesn't know what to think of Blue. She finds her empty, soulless stare incredibly creepy and her ability to manipulate Kara with just a look disturbing.

- Valeria Idavoll: Kara finds her a little overbearing, but not too bad. Kara is even kind enough to forgive and forget that Valeria tried to arrest her.

- ???: Kara never got the man's name, and she would never admit it, but the lecture he gave her in Busccaron's Druthers about growing up and bettering herself had an impact on her.

Negative

- Blade Belisaire: Kara dislikes Blade because of his refusal to put their past (she stole from him) behind him. She hates him because, by his own admission, they have somewhat similar backgrounds and while he's gone and made himself better, he seemed to refuse to believe or acknowledge that she is trying to do the same.

Affiliations

Currently, Kara is not affiliated with any guild, organization, Grand Company, or Free Company.

Other Notes

-- Kara's surname (Ashdale) is unknown at this time, even to herself.

-- The camp that took Kara in and raised her was, in actuality, a bandit camp.

Out of Character Information

For the most part, I am almost always open walk-up RP in Ul'dah and Thanalan. Please, though, send me a /tell BEFORE you engage me, just so I am aware of your presence and I can adjust anything I need to, as I am not always running around 100% in-character or could be engaged in an out-of-character activity.

At this time, only Archer, Pugilist, and Goldsmithing are my in-character classes/jobs. Miner and Botanist could be debated, depending on where I am currently located/what I'm looking for. Bard is only in-character when I have to swap to it for higher-level content, and the swap is out-of-character.

Please be aware that I am prone to disconnecting. I play on a mobile connection, and sometimes there are dead zones on the highway, I go through a tunnel or into an underground facility, or the location I'm at has buildings or structures around that create a sort of Faraday cage. When this happens, please allow me up to ten minutes to reconnect as it is not uncommon for me to be in a dead-zone for several minutes only to encounter the 3102 boss when I try to log back in. I also may have to abruptly AFK for periods of time; I often help my husband with his job, and that includes checking weather reports, highway conditions, navigation, paperwork, fueling, load securement and inspections.