Profile
A college dropout who, when faced with the commitment a "normal" job & life would bring, flaked out and fled to Jorvik to pursue her childhood passion: a career with horses. Only once she arrived did she realize that the island had other plans for her.
Early Life:
Lakshmi was born to an Indian computer scientist mother and a Dutch composer father who met in Amsterdam. Her parent's marriage was brief and she spent her younger years with her mother who traveled to a handful of different countries for work. Tiring of the constant moving and never making any real friends, Lakshmi asked to live with her more stationary father back in Amsterdam in her teens. Even while staying put in the Netherlands, she never quite built up the connections she craved, so she instead commuted out of the city's limits to stables and riding barns and spent her free time around her passion: horses.
Her parents, especially her mother who is considered brilliant and driven, pressured her to find a "worthy" path in life. Reluctantly, Lakshmi started college, but found herself feeling even more aimless in her studies than ever. At one of her last visits to the barn she frequented as a teenager, someone mentioned the island of Jorvik being a horse-lovers paradise. She hastily told her parents she was taking a leave from her studies, much to their consternation, and booked a flight to Jorvik city, half in curiosity and half out of a desperate wish to escape her family's critical eyes.
Coming to Jorvik:
Lakshmi showed up with very little money and started mucking stalls and exercise riding for practically nothing. She was basically a homeless undocumented immigrant for a while, sleeping in barns and relying on what connections she could make. Eventually, Marley Summers leased her a horse and she was able to get her foot in the door as both a competitor and reliable farm worker.
She ran errands, raced horses and used chainsaws to make ends meet until, unbeknownst to her, her ~magical destiny~ found her. Finally being free from her parent's ideas about how her own life should go, Lakshmi outright denied any weird or magical events and tried to focus on her new life on Jorvik. However, these strange plans destiny had made for her could no longer be ignored when she met her Soul Horse, Honey, by chance at Redwood Point. After hearing a horse talk to her, she could no longer deny there was something magical going on in Jorvik and that she was a part of it. Lakshmi felt that this magic found her a bit too late in life, as she's older than the other Soul Riders (by 5~8 years?? depending on how old the riders are) and so being so suddenly thrust into a leadership role of a team she never asked for was very jarring. She does try her best, for Honey's sake, if not Jorvik's. She remains mildly suspicious and distrustful of the Druids only because of their secretive and exclusive nature, but has come to trust her fellow Soul Riders. She's closest with Alex and Linda as they've had the most time to bond. Lisa is still a bit intimidating to be around because she seems like she has her life together despite being a lot younger than Lakshmi. Lakshmi couldn't quite get a read of Anne yet, assuming she would be a spoiled rich kid at first, then seeing her then as grief-stricken and emotional after her rescue. Lakshmi is beginning understand Anne better and see the real her as she begins to heal. Evergray holds the most interest for her, and has been the most honest with her by far. She wishes he would officially mentor her and sees him as someone she could learn the most from. He has denied her requests for apprenticeship, saying he'd never hear the end of it from Avalon or Fripp.
Lakshmi struggles with magic and considers herself the weakest of the Soul Riders. During the confrontation at the Valley of the Frozen Mist with Sabine, the wand Elizabeth Sunbeam gave her was destroyed in the fight. Despite her weakness, she trains with Rhiannon multiple times a week. Lakshmi currently resides in Valedale to be close to the druids in case of an emergency and for her training with Rhiannon. She's building her own string of eventing horses and trains and boards horses for others. Her schedule is busily divided between her various commitments to the druids and to her horses, and even though she looks like she hasn't had a proper sleep in years, she doesn't regret coming to Jorvik.
[I also have an AU where Lakshmi isn't the 5th Soul Rider at all, but a member of the Star Circle. So, still connected to the druids, still privy to magic, but not the main-character.]
Personality:
Lakshmi is earnest and down-to-earth and seems to always wear a neutral expression. While they appear calm and collected on the surface, inside they can be very anxious. Their cool demeanor is something they've learned since adolescence as Lakshmi was always considered a "weird kid" by her peers. They find social situations and formalities intimidating, sometimes over-preforming them not knowing how or when someone will consider her rude or not. She was kept at arm's length and eventually accepted her perceived role of a loner, preferring to do things by herself and finds it hard to ask for help when she needs it.
Where Lakshmi struggled to make human friends, they found it effortless to be their authentic self around animals. She is kind and patient, and actively tries to be more compassionate to living beings. On Jorvik, it seems everyone is trying to make it a sport of how much they can ingratiate themselves into Lakshmi's new life. She's finally found the companionship she craved as a child, if only she could overcome her hesitancy to accept it.
Extra:
-Speaks fluently in Dutch and English (her parents conversed mostly in English and she lived for a few years in the United States), decent Swedish and conversational in Hindi. She isn't as confident in her Hindi as she only spoke it while she was a child with her mother.
-Her father is a composer and musician, but he mostly makes his living on scoring tv dramas and commercials. He fostered a love for musical variety in Lakshmi, and as such she likes just about any kind of music.
-Lakshmi finds her own mother intimidating, but hardworking and extremely intelligent. They compare themself to her a lot, usually negatively. Lakshmi would say she still loves her, but she finds it hard to live up to her expectations. Her father is much more laid back, almost to a fault.
-She might be involved with a woman named Lilac Nightborne. I mean, Lilac certainly thinks they have something there. Lakshmi boards Lilac's horse, gives her lessons, lets her crash at her place in Valedale quite often, and she's probably her closest human friend on Jorvik, But somehow Lakshmi is quite oblivious to this.
Lakshmi's Soul/Guardian Horse (You know, the special horse, the one that goes on all the story missions with you, no, Lakshmi never got a Jorvik Warmblood from Justin I have no idea what you're talking about).
Early Life:
Honeycake grew up in the Wildwoods as part of the Warrior herd, but because of her sweet, inquisitive and meddlesome nature, she is familiar with many of the different herds' customs. She's bold and can get a little too excitable, but she carries a sense of duty and wonder with her in everything she does. This eventually drove her to leave her home in the mountains and explore the Grey World outside the forest.
Partnership with Lakshmi:
Honey only made it as far as Redwood Stables before blundering into Lakshmi, who was there assisting and working for the Jorvik Rangers at the time. Surprised that they could understand each other so well, they became fast friends and eventually forged a Soul Steed and Rider partnership. Honey helped Lakshmi learn to understand other horses on a deeper level, not in a "speech" sense, but by reading a horse's body language and coming to understand that they think very differently than humans. Communication with normal horses isn't a 1-to-1 translation like it is conversing with Honey or other Starbreeds who are magic, but it has helped Lakshmi in her career as a trainer and rider immensely. Honey hates bits and will only ever wear a hackamore or halter. When being ridden by Lakshmi, Honey primarily yields to their leg and vocal cues. She's a bit clumsy and relies on Lakshmi for directions and as a second pair of eyes. When not engaged in Soul Rider missions or training, she is free to come and go and often visits her family in the Wildwoods. She has also assumed the role of "barn manager" and makes sure the horses stabled at Lakshmi's barn don't fight or cause trouble. She has her own "pet" fox that she picked up (kidnapped???) named Pocket.
Personality:
Being a young horse, Honey can still be a bit of a handful. Lakshmi has had to teach her many things, from the meanings of words to concepts like personal space. She loves sweets, playing, rough-housing and compliments. Honey can be a bit vain and enjoys wearing pretty flowers in her mane or jewelry worn by the Mystics when practicality isn't necessary. She's outgoing and can make friends with almost anyone, but is especially good friends with Tin-Can and loves to tease him. Her favorite thing is when Lakshmi reads to her.
Extra:
-Loves sweets, especially those with honey or honey flavoring! This is actually how she got her name in the Wildwoods as she tried (unsuccessfully) to get to a beehive as a foal.
-Hates show jumping. Cross-country is a little more fun as she likes to run and gambol through fields and take daring leaps, but she's bad at jumping anything with height and finds show jumping tedious (also she's just a sore loser).
Other horses Lakshmi "owns":
"Tiny" Tiny Dancer - Selle Francais (5 yo grey gelding) Co-owned by the Baroness's Stables, Lakshmi was able to afford this young gelding. His pedigree is nothing to sneeze at, but his being so young and a gelding also lowered the price. He's currently in training to be Lakshmi's "foot in the door" to higher tiers of competition.
Horses she boards/ trains for clients:
Witchcraft (Laverna) - American Paint and a bad influence. A wild spirit that infiltrated Lakshmi's barn and made herself at home. Vain, conceited and loves to make mischief on those she thinks are undeserving.
Coffeebiscuit - Appaloosa (7 yo mare, black w\ white snowcap pattern)
Angelo - Crabbet Arabian (5 yo gelding, liver chestnut) Young horse Lakshmi is training for a client from the ground up. He's showy and proud and very eager to please. Currently training for cross-country and endurance. Gets along well with Lakeland.
Hollyhawk - Lipizzaner x Lusitano (7 yo bay mare) Under training for a client for working equitation, dressage, and some cow sports.
CrownRoyal - Dutch Warmblood (8 yo cremello stallion) Dressage blue blood
