#ch: laith

[bird-bureau]

HELP I was going through pictures on my phone and I DO NOT remember making this???

[bird-bureau]

🌲🍁🌻 for Laith?

@mystery-salad

Ah thank you!! I've had Laith on the brain all week

🌲 How deeply does your OC feel? Are they typically empathetic or do they have a hard time connecting with others in this way? What are they like when offering support and comfort to someone they care for?

It's... complicated for her. When it's a matter of diplomacy, she has the formula down and knows what to say and when to say it to put people at ease. In personal situations... She cares for others deeply, achingly, but often doesn't know what they need or how to connect with them. She's a better leader than a friend, and that eats at her.

She's a good listener, though, even if she isn't always sure what to say. She offers her support through calming gestures -- she may not be able to give you the comforting words you need, but she can make you a cup of tea and be a shoulder to cry on. Say the word and she'll do what she can.

🍁 Where does your OC go when they need to have some time to themself? Would they ever have their own “comfort corner” filled with all the things they like? Do they have a favourite spot outside that feels like its theirs and theirs alone?

When she needs time alone, she turns off comms and goes camping. She sets up her campsite near a lake and spends most of her time out in her boat. She'll fish for some of that time, but mostly she sits back and watches the sky or the shoreline, soaking in how quiet it is out there, the sound of the wind and the birds. When she gets too into her own thoughts, she finds something more productive to do. She's gotten quite good at skipping stones.

🌻 What little things do they notice about people or the world around them that make them happy? What tiny little treasures do they find in the normal every day that makes the world seem a little brighter for them?

She used to find something wonderful in almost everyone she met, but there have been too many years and too many people since then. Her wide-eyed days of adoration are gone. Still, when people show genuine compassion and kindness, or when they have resolve in the face of things much larger than them, her heart twinges a bit, and her day is brighter for it.

Absorbed in her work as commander, she doesn't often notice small things in the world around her; she lives a utilitarian life. When she has the time to slow down, though, she takes quiet joy in heavy rainstorms, dark cups of coffee, sets of animal tracks in the snow, the ripples made by fish just below the surface of the water, and of course, when a stone skips just right.

[bird-bureau]

Hi since we're on laith brain again I wanna know what the ideal experience will be for her once EoD is over. How is she gonna get her r&r

I don't think she knows how to truly rest and move on. This has been her whole life -- the purpose she was born for, all she's ever known -- for almost 30 years. It's going to take time for her to know what her ideal actually is. Currently, it's a blank space in her mind.

Immediately after the EoD story, I think she takes some time to herself in Cantha. Rents a room somewhere quiet, splits her time between managing the transfer of the commander's duties to the next person and going out in her boat. She wouldn't linger too long; she's aching to be home.

Once she gets home, she isn't sure what to do with herself. The work is done, but the stress and pressure remain. She gets frustrated -- she's resting now, she has no grand obligations. So why doesn't she feel rested? Why doesn't she feel better? Was it a mistake to retire?

Slowly, she'd start to improve. She takes up her old hobbies (namely woodworking), spars with new wardens, cares for the animals around the house. Falls into a routine. Maybe she starts a garden. The need to be productive never leaves her, but she fulfils it in smaller, quieter ways, and she's happy.