Daisy (NPC)

Name origin
A flowering plant
Birthday
The day your character became official
Sexuality
Unsure
Gender
Hen
Sex
AFAB
Plot Death
Yes!
Alternate Death
Killed while defending the Wanderer’s camp from bandits

Purchased traits
Unique animal (silkie chicken), Minor deformity (polydactyly)
Scars
Small scar on left haunch, tendon ossification in right wing (aquired disability)
Items
Yellow headband
Size class
Small
Weight class
Spry
Appearance
A relatively small, stoic hen, Daisy doesn't have a very expressive face. What little you can see of it under her fuzzy crest, anyway. Unlike her sister, it's rather difficult to tell what Daisy is feeling at any given time. Daisy has a rather unusual appearance, with soft, hair-like feathers covering the majority of her body and extra toes on every foot. While still somewhat water repellant, these feathers definitely make a better mop than a raincoat. When working, or doing anything that generally requires eyesight, Daisy ties the fuzzy feathers atop her head back with a headband..

Nestling
0 - 6 months
In a small highland town of the Northern Kingdom, Daisy was born the first child of a lone mother. Her sister, Pepper, hatched only a few days later, but Daisy was larger and pluckier and would always be referred to as her ‘big sister’. She didn’t mind. Right from the start, Daisy looked after her little sister.
Sheltered in the secluded village, the sisters wouldn’t learn the horrors of poverty or war until later in life. Their mother worked as a farmer, and they didn’t particularly understand what a ‘dad’ was just yet. It wasn’t until their schooling years that they would learn their mother had left the battlefront to raise her clutch. Even then, they would need to be much, much older to speculate why her eyes glazed over when they asked about their father or why crowds made her cry sometimes. As children, Daisy and Pepper wanted for nothing, except perhaps for their mother not to work so much, so they didn’t have to go to the nursery as often.

Fledgling
6 months - 1 year
The sisters were signed up for school as soon as possible. They were young, but they did well enough in their studies and never had any trouble with their teachers. Their fellow students were another story altogether. Being a small town, everyone knew everyone, but that didn’t mean the pair got along with everyone. What had previously been ‘those older kids down the road that’re kinda mean’ quickly became ‘those bullies’. Their mother was ‘from out of town’ and their feathers were ‘weird’ and they ‘had too many toes’. For one excuse or the other, the pair stuck out. Pepper in particular, being small and timid, bore the brunt of their bullies ire and often returned home with plucked feathers. Their teachers, overworked and exhausted, could do little for them. The pair stuck together and did their best to avoid their tormentors, but they’d always manage a swipe or peck here and there.
One day, on their way home from school, a handful of their bullies managed to corner the sisters against the wall of the town hall. It was peak harvest season and the majority of the town wouldn’t be back for some hours yet. They were on their own and at the mercy of their accosters. There was no way they were getting out of this without tears and plucked feathers. Except they did. Not a single second after the first brute opened their beak to taunt them, Daisy leaped at them, flapping, pecking and screeching obscenities. To everyone’s surprise, that absolutely worked. Too stunned to launch a counter-attack, the sisters scampered off unscathed. Daisy even clasped a beakfull of the largest brute’s feathers, which she proudly hung on their bedroom wall that night. Served them right. Anyone coming after her or her sister could expect the same from now on.

Sub-adult
1 - 2 years
This tactic, it seemed, proved crude but effective. Not keen to pick on kids that pecked back, the bullies quickly went looking for an easier target before ultimately graduating into apprenticeships or being drafted into the war. With their biggest problem solved, the rest of the schooling year was a breeze for the sisters.
After a visit to the local nursery as part of the required course on child-care, the sisters quickly fashioned a plan. Their mother had strictly forbidden them from signing up as soldiers. In fact, she had demanded they both pick something, anything, in an essential industry and ‘study that like your life depends on it.’ This was the very nursery they had spent so much time in as nestlings, and their former carers were delighted to see them again now they were nearly-grown. That and, truth be told, the both of them absolutely adored children. They were pink, ugly, sweet and totally, utterly helpless, which particularly struck a chord with Pepper, but Daisy supposed she felt the same. She wanted nothing more in her whole life to care for and nurture them. They very thought of anything bad befalling them wrenched at her heart. Pepper signed up for an apprenticeship that very day, and Daisy was quick to follow when she realized she preferred the job over farming or hunting.

Adult
2 years - present
Proving to be naturals at the job, the sisters graduated into being official nursery workers at the same time they would have graduated school. This was perhaps the happiest year of their lives. The sisters were together, with colleagues they liked, doing a job they loved. With the extra income their mother was able to spend a bit more time at home and even seemed to be… Daisy wasn’t as sharp as her sister, but Pepper would often say she was ‘improving’, which she supposed was true.

Unfortunately, the war came for everyone, eventually.

When they were three years old, the war had gotten desperate. “The north needs every talon we can get if we want to keep what little we have,” the recruiting officer had announced. Despite being practically overworked, the orphanage was deemed ‘overstaffed’ and were ‘requested to send workers to more important industries’. Of course, everyone knew what that meant: we need more soldiers, decide which of your staff can survive being drafted or we’ll do it for you. Their manager, a kind old veteran, held a meeting with the staff on the matter. Daisy had volunteered as soon as they’d announced the purpose of the meeting. She’d made the decision as soon as she realized the situation. Not on her life would she let her soft-hearted colleagues, or even worse, her little sister be marched off to the battlefront. Besides, herself and Pepper were rooky staff. If someone was going to be forcibly cut, it would be them. The thought of leaving her small family pained her, but she would rather it was her than them.

The news didn’t go down well with their mother. Daisy had never felt fear like that before. She’d face any obstacle head on, but her mother… She’d never seen such pure, unbridled rage in the eyes of the brittle, quiet hen. For a sobering heartbeat, Daisy was sure she was going to strike her. And yet the moment passed. Instead, her mother whirled and retreated to her room. They heard her sobbing that night as Pepper helped Daisy pack.
The next morning, their mother had risen before them. By the way she swayed where she stood, Daisy could tell she hadn’t slept a wink. Standing in the doorway, Daisy’s voice quaked for the first time in years as she bid their mother goodbye.
She nearly lashed out as she rushed for her. Nearly.
“It’s not you I’m mad at, sweetie. Never you,” her mother croaked as she pulled her eldest daughter into a tight hug. She couldn’t look her in the eye, but she pressed something cold and hard into Daisy’s talons fervently. Copper spurs. “I’m so sorry. Do whatever it takes to get back home. I love you.”
And so, Daisy left for the battlefront. She could have sworn she left her heart back at home.

War sucked. She’d done well in her combat training, but no words or lessons could prepare her for the chaos of true battle. Daisy barely managed to keep herself alive through the first couple battles, sustaining more than her fair share of wounds. Thankfully, Daisy was placed under a gigantic, fearsome sergeant by the name of Cinnabar. She was quite literally the largest avus Daisy had ever seen at that point in her life. The hen was kindly enough, if a little blunt, and ruthlessly efficient in battle. She was more than happy to let Daisy dart nimbly around her legs and deal with smaller harpies- 'ticks', she dubbed them- during battle. This turned out to be perhaps the only reason Daisy survived at all. In her first battle, half of her flight-mates had been wiped out.
There was no time to mourn, though. Daisy was quick to learn that those higher in the command chain didn't give a rats ass about their foot soldiers. The only one trying to keep you alive was yourself, and maybe your flight-mates if you were lucky. As Cinnabar put it, "you either walk yourself off that battlefield, or you die there." She shuddered to think of how many wounded she left to die in the field when she crawled back to camp, battered and bloodied after every fight.

A few months into the job, as she made her way to the physicians tent for bandaging after battle, Daisy caught sight of a familiar face: Pepper. Daisy was overjoyed! Daisy was terrified! Daisy was… angry? She had missed her sister dearly, but the front lines were the last place she wanted to see her sweet, soft sister. Even medic’s weren’t safe during a raid. Not to mention… she was suffering through all of this to keep her away from the front lines. She didn’t speak a word of this to Pepper as they embraced tearfully. There was no point. Once you had signed up for war, you left as an elder or you left as a corpse. They were both still alive for now, that was all that mattered.
As Daisy had been, Pepper was thrown in the deep end. The two only got to spend time with each other when the army was on the move, outside of that, Daisy was weathering battle after battle and Pepper was rushing around tending to the wounded that crawled back afterwards. Daisy had to admit, having her sister on the medic team was a small blessing. She and her flight could always expect to receive the best of care. More than a few times Daisy suspected her sister’s close eye had saved one of them from a raging infection. And so, the war raged on for years, and the sisters tried to keep their heads above water.

Until Daisy's flight didn't make it back.

Cinnabar and her flight had been sent on a ‘reconnaissance mission’. Right from the get go, the sergeant had a grim look on her face. They’d been sent to scout enemy territory before, so Daisy didn’t quite see what the problem was, but she stuck close to Cinnabar nonetheless. They were on the edge of Plains territory, skirting the lowlands in search of enemy units, as a few border villages had been raided in recent months.
As a veritable squadron of enemy soldiers rose from the tunnels of an abandoned mine, Daisy knew exactly what ‘reconnaissance’ ment: Bait. Immediately, Cinnabar had ordered them to hunker down against a small rocky outcrop. She’d seen this before. If they could just survive for a bit, a squadron of Northern soldiers would arrive to crush the enemy now that they’d revealed their position. Daisy only had a few seconds to brace herself before the enemy descended upon them.
Arrows. The thunder of hooves. It was an allied force. It was carnage. A volley of arrows and spears buried themselves in the ground, their armour, their flesh. Was that Cloud that just went down? Fear lending her speed, Daisy darted nimbly between her sergeant’s legs, slashing at the heels of anyone bold enough to get close. One flight-mate down. Two down. Was that a third? A fourth? Growing confident, the enemy closed in again. She caught sight of a small, wild looking harpy only a second before it seized her by the throat. She lashed out and… that’s where the memory ends.

Next it was dark. Damp. The scent of blood. A voice… her sister, crying. Blearily, Daisy’s eyes opened. She felt sore. She felt cold. She felt as heavy as stone. She was still alive, though. She didn’t remember much of that night, but she knew they spent it out in the field, sheltered from the Lowland chill by Cinnabar’s immense wings. They were the only ones in the flight to survive, and without Pepper rushing out to find them, they probably wouldn’t have done even that. She knew Cinnabar had taken a lot of spears and arrows, but only a hippus stomp to the head had taken her down. Daisy knew she had lost a lot of blood from a bite to the neck, and her wing was broken. Cinnabar had fallen on top of her, which was ironically what had probably saved her life. Pressure on a wound, and all that.

Come the watery light of the morning sun, the wounded soldiers were miraculously still alive. Though she was unsteady and had to take frequent breaks to wait out spells of dizziness, Cinnabar was well enough to walk, and well enough to carry Daisy with her. Daisy hated being carried like a dead rabbit, but she’d take it over being dead. Yard by yard, the small team picked their way through the battlefield and back to camp.
Opinions on their return were… mixed. Most were delighted to see them, but the captain… Pepper had technically disobeyed orders, but he couldn't very well punish her for returning with Cinnabar, who was widely regarded as a valuable sergeant, especially after surviving such an onslaught. Whatever, Daisy didn’t have the strength to care. Prognosis at camp was little better than it was in the field. Daisy had sustained significant blood loss, and wing injuries rarely healed. If she was lucky and wasn't struck down by infection, she should pull through. Cinnabar was in a similar position. She was expected to recover from the concussion, but the sheer number of wounds she had posed a huge risk to infection.
Faced with the prospect of being flightless, Daisy found herself… not really caring. It was horrible, of course, but she would be alive, and absolutely nothing in this world was worse than the battlefront. If she never flew again but got to go home, so be it.

Pepper checked up on them practically every hour.

After excessive 'fussing', as Cinnabar put it, the pair pulled through without major infection. As everyone had suspected, though, despite their best efforts, Daisy's wing was already showing signs of seizing up. Unwilling to foster soldiers with increasingly little 'use', she was discharged on medical leave as soon as she was well enough to walk. Surprisingly, Pepper was redeployed back to their hometown to train more army physicians. Pepper confided that she suspected this was either because the captain didn't particularly like her after her rescue stunt, or perhaps at the request of Cinnabar or Root, her mentor. Regardless, the pair were more than happy to be sent home. Bidding their mentors goodbye was sad, but dying on the frontlines would have been far worse, Daisy knew for certain.

And so the sisters returned home in one piece. It took a while, with Daisy unable to fly, but eventually they were back in their mother's wings. Daisy's wing, unsurprisingly, never did heal, remaining stiff and unable to open fully, but she was alive and she was home and that was all that mattered. Mercifully, the war ended before anyone could call for Pepper to be redeployed for field duty. Finally, with the war over, perhaps the family could live in peace again. The sisters will stop at nothing to live in peace as a family again.

KIN:

OTHER:

Likes

• Her sister. The two are practically inseparable
• Spending time with friends and what little family she has left
• Children. She has a particular soft-spot for younger avus, often taking them under her wing
• Peace and quiet every now and then

Dislikes

• Chaotic or noisy crowds. They remind her of the war
• That kind of person you know gives service workers a hard time
• The rain. Her feathered feet become tiny mops and it’s awful

Trivia

• Character based on my real-life chicken, Fancy Pants c:
• Almost always wears her headband, as left to their own devices, her feathers fall in front of her eyes and create a huge blind-spot directly in front of her
• Her feathers are still repel water to an extent, just not as well as regular avus

Theme Songs

• Wolves (song of the shepherds dog) - Iron and Wine
  
• Gulf - Jack Conte
  
• Free - Mother Mother
  
• Hail of arrows - Raised by swans
  
• Glory - Bastille