Celandine

Name: Celandine
Name Meaning: based off the flower. also means bird.
Gender: female

theme song - Blue Fields

General Information
Always a wanderer at heart, Celandine is a quiet viscet these days. On one of those rare times where she actually met someone, they ended up asking if she could actually speak. ...It was an awkward experience. Either way, she simply appreciates the silence, and understands the true value of listening.
. Though, sometimes in the past, the silence had seemed a bit too quiet, the night too dark, and it had been on these occasions that Celandine had realized how lonely a path she'd really taken. So many nights in the past she wished desperately for a friend to help her along the journey, and she's only just found one. It makes her world a little brighter, knowing that just one person cares. Alt - her friend - he wants her to be brave enough to rejoin the real world, but after living her fantasies for so long... she doesn't really know how.
. Besides Alt, she's been guided by a tiny hummingbird for most of her time in the forests. Celandine supposes this means she has two friends now, instead of just one. ...That's nice.

----

Petrichor had heard many whispers about the guardian of travelers, but he'd never actually met her in person. Still, judging from the stories, he hadn't expected to. It was enough for him to listen to the trees sing about the good deeds she had done, enough for him to craft a tale of his own.

. The storyteller sat by the campfire, ready to once again tell the legends of the past.

...

It started, as most stories do, with a beginning. In this case, the beginning of a life. Celandine came into the world on a warm summer night, a full moon high in the sky. Those present said it felt like an omen of good things to come.

. Her parents lived in the deep forests of Sunglow, pretty far out from most places. A tiny town in the middle of nowhere - that was to be where Celandine would live her early years. Truth be told, it fit her very well. Celandine was always a wanderer, and it was so easy to go exploring in such a vast place. It was almost a constant daily thing for her - that is, until the day it all went wrong.

. She knew the forests better than probably anyone else in that town, so no one ever expected her to get lost. But then no one expected the flood, either. There weren't really any warning signs, the water wasn't there one minute and it was pouring down the next, just as Celandine was preparing to head back home from one of her wanderings. She hurried to get to higher ground, but in her panic she went too far - into unfamiliar territory, and the water blocked off the way back. It soon caught up with her and carried her away as she struggled to stay afloat.

. By the time Celandine was able to drag herself out of the swirling current, she was further away than she'd ever been, a young, still-learning viscet tossed into a brave new world. It was terrifying.

. Once the water stopped pouring from the sky, Celandine climbed a tree to try and see where she was. There was nothing familiar, as far as the eye could see. The flood had dragged her almost all the way to the other side of Sunglow.

. Unfortunately she'd never find her way home, not until it was too late for her to go back. What she found instead was a hummingbird.

. It was trapped under a rock with a broken wing, unable to escape, so Celandine took it with her and they sheltered from the tail end of the storm in a cave. As the last drops of rain dripped, they ended up talking to each other. The hummingbird had gotten lost, too, and in all the chaos he had been separated from his family. The two decided to help each other get through it all. They ended up staying together for longer than either of them planned.

. Slowly, the hummingbird's wing healed, and Celandine tried to plot a route home. They wandered from place to place, never quite getting where they wanted to be, but perhaps where they needed to be.

. They first stumbled across another lost soul about a month into their adventures. It was a honey badger, old and scarred, in the dead of night, and Celandine was instantly suspicious. So instead of approaching the stranger head on, she lit a match and led the badger on to the main road without truly being seen, apart from the flickering flame.

. This became their pattern, as the longer they stayed hidden in the woods, the less they felt that contact with these travelers was necessary. It started to become an urban legend, almost - the tale of the lights that would lead wanderers back on track. Celandine found she liked it. She didn't quite need to go home any more, not when she had people to help, a purpose for her wandering. The hummingbird was content as well. So perhaps, slowly, they faded into legend, as the guides of the adventurer.

. Celandine felt as if she would remain that way forever, in her practically solitary way with only the hummingbird as her friend. Sometimes she felt the slightest pang of loneliness, but it didn't really ever stay around for too long. Maybe one day it would be nice to meet someone who'd understand, who'd actually talk to her, but years passed by and it didn't happen. That is, not till a long time later.

. Enter Alternate. He was a fairly simple fellow, not one to worry about too many things, but he'd heard the rumors of the blue lights that led people to safety, and he was sure that something deeper was really happening. So he packed up his bags and headed for the forest.

. He was lucky enough to stumble into Celandine on his first trip into the woods. Quite literally, too. He found the place she had made a home, deep in the thickest part of the forest. It was pretty rare for anyone to go so far, but then, Alt had always been fond of the difficult journeys. It was so well hidden that Alt ran right into the vine-woven door. Thump. It sounded loud and clear, a knock on the wood behind. Alt wasn't expecting an answer. He got one.

. Celandine had been resting from her 'duties' when she heard... well, it sounded like a knock, only a bit too heavy, more like someone had tried to ram the door than anything else. Strange. With a shared glance, the hummingbird zipped out the canopy on top of their little shelter to take a look.

. When the hummingbird reported back, she was told of a very strange, slightly glowing dog that was apparently waiting patiently for something to happen. Celandine still isn't sure why she did what she did, but she's certainly glad of it either way.

. She opened the door.

. The two quickly gained a blossoming friendship, though Celandine was (obviously) a bit hesitant in the beginning. But Alt was a nice guy, and the hummingbird had taken quite a liking to him. So, slowly, she began to get to know her second friend. Alt was careful not to let anyone know what was really going on in the forest - Celandine rather liked being some mysterious guide - but he managed to visit almost every day, and eventually... well, he moved in. It's nice, really, to have some extra help. In a way... it reminds her of home.

----

- lotus flowers, night skies, moondust and water lilies. koi fish. lanterns.
- guardian of travelers. lights the way home.
- was once a child who got lost in the woods. That's mainly why she helps out others.
- Basically peter pan? very small compared to others, best friends with her shadow, has a tiny fairy friend?
- or hummingbird friend?
- quiet, kind. very lonely, though. rarely seen by the residents of Silvarum. (except for one??)
- can play the ocarina. melancholy melodies.
- might like fire a tiny bit too much. can stare at a candle or campfire for hours.
- loves to swim
- inquisitive, not easily startled.