Aleu

Although hunters are a fabled role, it's their supports that make the Guild's operations possible--so it was no accident that Aleu (pronounced AH-lou) was exposed heavily to the profession in her mother's smithy. It was one thing to learn how a blade is shaped, but another entirely to swing it in the heat of battle, and she decided she liked that shock of adrenaline far more than the oppressive heat and clanging of the family forge.

The central thing holding her back from hunting was her voice. A lack thereof was more accurate, really; Aleu's vocal cords had been malformed since birth, leaving her unable to produce the base sound needed to shape into words. Not so much as a scream or a whisper could come from her, never mind complex calls and commands. Whistles, clicks, and gestures only got her so far with her fellow apprentices, who found more convenience in hunting with someone they understood, and the fullness of sign language was lost on most people she met. Frustrated, Aleu threw herself into training solo, determined to be her own team if no one else would join her.

Her plight was not lost on her parents. Her father didn't have much to offer other than encouragement, being just a grocer in the village square; but her mother had taken an interest in the village of Kamura for their steel, and had left for a weeks-long journey to the area to scout possible suppliers. There she learned of the canynes native to the region, as helpful as a palico but without the need for a full conversation. With some finesse, she managed to get a young canyne shipped back to Jantama village, where teenage Aleu would reluctantly start to incorporate the creature into her training.

Initially, Aleu wasn't sure what to make of the Yeoman the canyne. But he took instruction readily, and it wasn't long until her clicks and whistles made a return, becoming intricate commands to her new companion. Suddenly the two went everywhere together, but especially to the hunting grounds, where they honed their skills enough to climb the Guild's ranks as Aleu got older.

Eventually, the wider world came calling. A freshly-christened adult with her village's traditional coming-of-age tattoos, Aleu was eager to explore, and it wasn't long before she found herself making her way towards Kamura. She'd gotten to know Yeoman quite well, but there was much more to learn about canynes still, and where else to study than where the creatures made their home? That was how she found herself in Kamura as the rampage returned to ravage the land; and it was how she ended up staying there long-term, filling in the ranks as the wyverns swarmed outside the gates.

Even after the natural world returned to order, the huntress found herself lingering. By then she'd become a verifiable expert with palamutes, and had taken on Starboard, a spry young counterpart to the aging Yeoman. Her work had been recognized by the Guild, and she had claimed her spot on the A-list. But nowhere in particular was calling her name--that was, until word went around that the Hunter's Guild was looking for another round of volunteers to send to the "new world". Hardly anyone in Kamura was interested in giving up their station to head out to some wilderness outpost, and not without reason; but Aleu found her interest piqued, and before long she'd signed up, taking one more canyne pup for the road before heading back home to Jantama to bid her parents farewell--and to get the achievemt portion of her traditional tattoo applied, a symbol of her commitment to her hunting career and palamute expertise.

Since then, she's shipped out to Astera, and has been putting her unusual choice in companions to use as an expert tracker and scout for hunting parties. Although she cannot convey her findings out loud, she keeps diligent and tidy notes, often presenting her comrades with a page of neatly crammed observations and surprisingly accurate maps. Because of this, she often finds herself working with the research division more than straightforward hunting, which is fine by her as it allows for more solo work. She's also raising her canyne puppy in Astera, although she's hoping it won't be needed as a backup any time soon ....

• The red marks under her eyes are tattoos from her family tradition, applied in her teenage years to mark coming of age and added onto when she realized she'd found her calling. Should she undergo another momentous change she may get another segment added on, but that remains to be seen.
• Because the smithy in Astera is not familiar with canynes, she often drafts the patterns for their armour herself. How convenient to have grown up with a blacksmith for a mother!
• She's quite proud of her khezu armour, but since none have been found around Astera, anyone there unfamiliar with the nasty wyvern has no idea what the fuck she's wearing.
• She's very fond of wordplay and will sneak it into her notes regularly.

VYVIAN❈

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Being from the same village, she recognizes Vyvian's tattoos--and knows immediately that he's way too old to not have at least his second segment yet. This clues her in that he's That One Guy she's heard about .... which explains why she doesn't seem to think very highly of him.