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Name Pronounced: nuh-VAN-dro
Character type: Dragonrider
Rank: Searchrider
Political Alignment: Resistance
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Sexual Preference: Homosexual
Appearance: Unlike his half-brother T'redy, N'vandro inherited their father's strong, handsome face. He's 5'10", attractively muscular, and he likes to show it off with tight pants and sleeveless (or absent) shirts when he can get away with it. He inherited his tanned complexion from his Igenite-native mother, and it goes well with his short dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. He dresses to impress -- it doesn't have to be expensive or even new, it just has to be the right style and color to flatter his good features. He looks good in bright colors and isn't afraid to wear them.
Personality: In some ways, N'vandro is the stereotypical greenrider. He's well-groomed, cares perhaps a little too much about his looks, can be temperamental, and has a reputation for sleeping his way through most of the green and blueriding population in the Weyr. Beyond that, though, he's not what most people consider greenriding material. He's confident, completely at ease with himself, and refuses to apologize for Hazlimenth's hide. He's a sharding *good* dragonrider, too -- competent, dependable, a reliable pillar of strength among the greens of any Wing he finds himself in. His understanding of Threadfighting tactics and formations is almost instinctive at this point, and if he had only Impressed brown or bronze, he'd have been promoted into leadership long ago.
Except that he doesn't *want* leadership, and he's glad he doesn't have to worry about it. He's with the Resistance because he wants respect and to live without fear of getting beaten for looking at someone wrong, not because he wants rank! Avoidance is his game -- outside of his duties as a dragonrider and to the Resistance, he consciously avoids commitment of any type, particularly when it comes to intimacy. Why tie yourself down when you don't have to? He's actually a lot more closed off than his outgoing nature would ever indicate. He'll show you all sorts of faces, but he won't ever let you get close enough to see his vulnerable side. He doesn't fret, he doesn't cry, he doesn't *care*.
C'bey opened up that side of him, though, and it scares him. Over the past few turns, he's found himself changing, starting to care more, to try and help his new wingmates acclimate. Unwilling to admit to his feelings and yet equally unwilling to let C'bey go, he has kept him as a close friend but nothing more, and only recently has begun to realize just how deep his feelings are.
Birth Place: Fort Weyr
Parents: Bronzerider V'dred and Greenrider Nalle. Half-brother T'redy (2 turns older)
History: N'vandro grew up at the Weyr, one of the younger, more favored sons of a bronzerider. He was loud and assertive as a child, clearly self-confident, which kept him in fairly good standing... right up until he Impressed green Hazlimenth. Despite the surprise and disappointment of those around him, he didn't suffer for it as much as some boys do. The truth was, he'd known for quite some time that he was attracted to men, too, and had already decided privately that he didn't really *want* to be tied down the responsibilities of leadership. He'd grown up tied down by high expectations, and now he didn't have to worry about those anymore. All he had to do was keep his head down around the rankers, and he'd be more free than most people on Pern. Sure, he had hoped for a blue, but how could he look at Hazlimenth and be unhappy, even when things were rough?
After graduation, he settled into his Wing with a few bumps and difficulties along the way, surviving mostly by avoiding the rankers altogether whenever possible, sticking instead with his own little social group where he could be more himself -- with his half-brother T'redy, whom he had become closer to since their similarly disappointing Impressions, with R'gandal, whom he spent his time sniping back and forth with, and with K'jier. And then, one day, he Searched a frightened, naive young man by the name of Colbey... and something about the boy brought out protective instincts that he'd only rarely felt before. They became friends, as best they were able, and when C'bey Impressed a green and his dragon was old enough to socialize with the rest of the Weyr again, N'vandro took him under his wing, helping him learn to cope as a Fort greenrider, introducing him to a stable group of sort-of-kind-of friends. And when new transfer J'raster joined them, everything seemed complete.
Then the trouble started. R'gandal and K'jier had barely finished a messy break-up when R'gandal's playful flirting with C'bey started to take a more serious turn. N'vandro objected vehemently -- he might enjoy poking and teasing back and forth with R'gandal, but the roughnecked, occasionally vulgar man was absolutely *not* someone he wanted to see sensitive C'bey with, especially not immediately on the heels of a bad break-up. And suddenly faced with the prospect of losing C'bey to another man forced N'vandro to face his own feelings, too -- he was in love with C'bey himself, but had been content to "just be friends" because admitting love seemed too much like giving up his much-treasured freedom. Now what?
Information about N'vandro's dragon
Dragon Name: Hazlimenth
Colour: Green
Age: 16
Wing (Weyrling Group): None
Appearance: Hazlimenth is an ideally-sized green, just a bit larger than average, with a strong but not overly-muscled build. She's long-legged, though it doesn't seem to hinder her fluid movement any even on the ground, where dragons are sometimes ungraceful. Lack of grace is not a problem that Hazlimenth has, because she's green to the core and it shows in her movements and mannerisms -- she's feminine, and a master of using her body language to convey exactly what she wants to convey. The sultry step, the coy glance over her shoulder at a male she's interested in... Hazlimenth knows exactly what she's doing. Her hide is a bright, unblemished emerald green that shimmers attractively when wet or freshly-oiled. Or proddy.
Personality: Like her rider, Hazlimenth strongly values her freedom, and doesn't wish to be anything else. Golds? Bah, they have too many demands on their time -- and who would want to be tied to the Hatching Ground several months out of every turn? As a green, she can flirt with all the males she wishes without worrying about politics or reproducing. What else could a girl ask for? While she rarely allows herself to be flown by the same male twice, she doesn't discard them completely -- they're always good for cuddles and flirting, after all -- and there's a large stable of males in the Weyr whom she seems to have wrapped around her little claw, some of whom she has never actually mated with and perhaps never will get around to. If N'vandro were ever to decide to settle down with someone, it's highly unlikely that Hazlimenth would follow suit. She'd not begrudge him his happiness, but he had best be willing to wake up with a different lover every time she flies, the same as usual.
She's hardly a stereotypical airheaded green, though. When she wishes, she can turn that same devious cleverness that she uses to manipulate the males to other things, too... it's just that she rarely has reason to. She's not flighty or nervous -- no, she's relatively calm, quite confident in herself, and not easily intimidated. She's serious about Threadfighting and capable of better focus than most greens, but takes everything else in life with a distinct lack of too much concern.
Weyr of Origin: Fort
Abilites and weaknesses: Hazlimenth is an excellent all-around fighter. She's just fast enough, agile enough, and strong enough to fill a green's traditional Threadfighting role well, and do it longer than most of her sisters. However, she'll never be able to fill the useful niche roles as well as some of her faster or more flexible sisters, and her contribution often goes unnoticed and unappreciated.
All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are copyright© Anne McCaffrey 1967,2005, all rights reserved, and used by permission of the author.
The Dragonriders of Pern® is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey, used here with permission. Use or reproduction without a license is strictly prohibited.