Brianwen Lykshain: Wild Child

Name:	Brianwen Lykshain
Sponsor:	Nizekevigo Nightspark
Sponsored At:	The Abstract Destiny, Clutch 04
Homeworld:	Mythicalae
Species:	Fleshshifter: Equita family, Ryngefir or caribou variety
Age:	Young adult
Sex:	Female
Height:	5'10" human form
Hair:	Dark brown, curly, worn long and often tied up
Skin:	Ivory-pale, oddly never seems to tan or burn
Fur:	Dark brown
Eyes:	Black
Residence:	A very small village in a forest clearing, Mythicalae
Position:	Animal-healer, village herb-woman, and local "wild child"
Pets:	Lots.... Those with images include: Felines, Flitters, Fazzles, Dragon-like, and Blair
Description:	Despite the long and curly brown hair, wide black eyes, and porcelain-pale skin, Brianwen Lykshain is definitely no wilting waif! In fact, despite the coloring, she isn't particularly pretty, at all. She is tall, rangy, and with a definitely sturdy, almost boyish build, well-toned from climbing trees, digging for roots, running in her woods, and chasing after a multitude of animals. Her clothing is serviceable, usually stained or torn, but she honestly doesn't care.
Personality:	Brianwen has always been a bit of a wild child, whether to her somewhat confused father or to the village with whom she has settled and works. To the former, she is perplexingly settled and isolated, living alone and not wishing to run with the herd; to the latter, she is perplexingly mobile and strange, running barefoot in the forest without chaperone! She is generally friendly but hates being "cooped up" or caged in any way-- hence, she loves summer, when the days are long and she can spend most of them out of doors, and dislikes winter, as it means she's forced indoors more often than not. She can come across as prickly sometimes, and generally prefers the company of animals to humans or shifters. Just why she spends most of her time in human form, then, rather than animal, is perplexing, in and of itself.
History:	Caribou-shifters are usually nomadic, wandering in small or large herds across tundra and through northern forests. Brianwen is an exception in many ways: she has a home, wandering only through "her" forest and usually returning by nightfall to that home; and she does not have a herd, having left her father in that herd as soon as she was old enough to choose her own path. After searching for a year or two, she settled outside a small mixed-species shifter village and filled a need there: herb-woman and healer. Ever since settling down, Brianwen has started up a collection of animals: first local, then more foreign, and finally off-world entirely. It has turned into a bit of an obsession with her: whenever she hears talk of another new "pet", or other small creature, she simply has to find a way to investigate. Often, investigation turns into falling in love with one and bringing it home. Her house is full of strange creatures, all of whom she loves dearly, and rarely is she seen without at least one or two of her pets and companions.
Abilities:	Brianwen's abilities are very varied, though most of them aren't particularly powerful. Psionically, she has the ability to communicate with animals-- but not people or other shifters-- a very minor metabolic or healing ability, stimulating the mind and body of another to heal more rapidly than normal, and a fairly powerful empathic ability, both projective and sensing varieties. Majyckally, she has nothing but Earth majyck, and that fairly weak: she has a moderate healing talent, the ability to sense life-- and thus, presence-- within a certain distance, and mild plant-shaping abilities. Like all Fleshshifters, she can turn from a fully human form to a fully animal form, and anything in between, though the change is more difficult for her than most others of her kind. More mundanely, Brianwen's abilities are those most suited for a lone, hermit-like shifter who lives in the woods: she can track, stalk, and kill her own food, though she doesn't eat a lot of meat. She can shoot a bow and throw a hunting axe with relative consistency of aim and distance, though she has no skill at all with close-quarters weapons beyond the very basics of a staff. More importantly, she knows the woods: game tracks, water sources, the locations of important plants, herb lore, and places to hide.