Audie Anderson

The first impression one might receive from Audie is that of a hesitant girl who isn’t extremely fond of people. In a way, she isn’t. Audie is still a pessimist at heart, and strongly prefers to keep most people at arm’s length. But anyone who knows the Yanma might have begun to notice a subtle shift in her personality. She’s still quite stubborn and temperamental: however, more recently Audie has begun to open up to people much more. She isn’t quite a social butterfly just yet; nevertheless the Yanma has started to show her much sweeter and playful side to people, whether they’re her friend or not. Of course, Audie still finds herself most comfortable around her best friends. Loyal to the end, of course, she’d do just about anything for those few people who manage to worm their way into her heart. The dragonfly might be a little too blunt from time to time, but Audie continues to try to do her best for her friends.

The small town life in the middle of Johto was exactly what you might expect it to be, quiet and slow-paced, your neighbors several miles down the road from you, and everyone’s business the town’s newest gossip the next day. The Anderson family was just like everyone else: a happy, slow, little ranching family in the happy little community. Everything was perfect and peaceful; that is, until a certain hyperactive little dragonfly was born into the world. A shock to her parents, who weren’t expecting another child so long after their two sons had been born, Audie Anderson started out life as a surprise bundle of excitement and energy.

Even from a young age, little Audie knew there was something more to life than the quiet and small community in which she found herself residing. No, this Yanma had dreams, she was shooting for the stars! Lively and perhaps a little too energetic for her family to handle, Audie was given the free reign to do as she wished, and what she wished was simple: she wanted to explore! Hopping onto the back of her faithful steed, Audie spent her entire childhood exploring the woods beyond her property; what worries did her parents have for their daughter? Nothing dangerous lived in those woods.

It was a rainy day towards the end of summer; Audie was twelve years old at the time. She was pretty far from home, and the rain was starting to grow even stronger. It was as she rounded a bend that she saw it: an abandoned cave, right smack dab in the middle of the woods she ventured so often! As good a place as any to take shelter from the rain. However, she hadn’t been inside the cave for very long when the worst possible thing could happen. Lightning ripped across the sky, shaking the very earth beneath the girl. Adrenaline flooded her veins as terror made every hair on her body stand up, the ones not already standing straight from the electricity. The world slowed down, and the girl raced for the exit with desperation.

Rocks caught her legs, dragging the girl to the ground and nearly burying her entirely. She cried for help, crying to the empty woods as she laid there, trapped and panicking. The more she struggled, the more the dirt shifted and buried her more, the more her legs would slowly grow numb, until she couldn’t feel them at all. The poor girl would lay there all day, even into the setting of the sun, crying and shouting for help. Where were her parents? Were they even worried about her?

A bright light in the distance. The crying face of her father, fleeing the scene as she cried to him brokenly, crying for him not to leave. The glowing of the lantern. The night would pass in a whirlwind, many of the memories blurry, yet vivid. Her father would return with her mother, both faces terrified and sobbing for their daughter. The dirt was removed, her mother’s Psychic powers, and away they went, back to the house, off to the hospital. Audie was uneasy; why didn’t her legs hurt like all the rest of her?

The hospital. The beeping of the machines, the bustle of the doctors and nurses, each one calling out some number or words lost entirely on the preteen. Test after test was run, doctors and nurses running about, her parents growing paler and more frantic for answers by the minute. But when all was said and done, Audie would watch as the doctor walked up to her mother. “Her spinal cord has been… severely damaged. Your daughter is a paraplegic now.”

Several weeks in the hospital, before being carted off to rehab. Why couldn’t she walk? Why weren’t her legs working? Why did she have to take so much medicine? She was frustrated beyond belief by her sudden lack of independence, not to mention the pitying and sad looks the nurses would give her with each question she asked. What twelve year old would ever be able to understand it? She was fine! Except, she wasn’t, and it wasn’t until the first time she was set in a wheelchair that it would dawn upon the Yanma.

After her accident, everything was different. From her daily routine, to her school life, to her whole family dynamic, everything changed. The Yanma hated it. All of a sudden, everyone seemed to care about her, suffocating her. “Do you need help?” “Oh, let me get that for you!” “No, Audie, that’s too difficult for you, let me!” She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she was fine, she could do everything by herself and didn’t need help. Nobody seemed to believe her, of course, and even her own parents would cage the Yanma, barring her from so much as leaving the property without supervision. Audie felt trapped, and reacted accordingly, by blocking out those who cared for her the most.

Years passed, and high school came up quickly. Audie was quite ready to get on with her life, to leave this town once and for all. Her parents had long since given up on the girl making friends; after all, every “friend” she ever had was quickly chased away by the venom in her voice and the sting of her “friendly” pranks. But it was halfway through freshman year when everything would change. His name was Easton Williams, a Fletchling boy from a faraway land. He didn’t know any better, the poor British boy, as he tried to befriend the Yanma. But unlike her classmates, Easton would simply… laugh off her pranks and go about his merry way.

This infuriated Audie. How could he be so careless, so uninhibited in his happiness? Why did he have to treat her with kindness even while she treated him like garbage? She hated him, but with each passing day, Audie would feel guiltier and guiltier. He would still smile at her, compliment her even, while she sat there and harassed him. It was only with complete exasperation that Audie would allow her guard to drop and allow the bird in.

But Easton didn’t worm his way into Audie’s guarded heart. Easton smashed the walls and let the sunlight in, allowing the Yanma to smile a way she hadn’t been able to since she was a kid. She had a friend, someone to talk to and listen and simply hang around. Everyone couldn’t be happier, from Audie’s parents to her two older brothers to Audie herself. The only problem was Audie’s reliance on others. She hated it, being so unable to care for herself. Was she destined to rely on her parents and others for her whole life? Easton wouldn’t allow it.

Easton taught Audie to fly. Day after day, the Fletching would come by, coaching the Yanma and refusing to give up on her, until, at long last, she could do it. Audie could fly! The Yanma was eternally grateful to her best friend, and the rest of her high school career was joyful, if a little bumpy. But, graduation came and went in the blink of an eye. Easton was moving on in his life, off to college, and Audie was left behind. Bug and bird were heartbroken, but with the promise to keep in touch, things were fine. Audie needed to move on too, out into the great big world!

Audie’s parents refused. They still saw their daughter who needed protecting, who might end up hurt or worse if she didn’t stay right there on their family ranch. A fight was had, words were said, doors were slammed. Her grandmother would pull the young Yanma aside with an offer. She knew the Yanma was itching for adventure - some habits die hard. So, she had bought Audie a small plot of land on a faraway island she had once visited, a ranch all for her own. Surprised and forever grateful, Audie would pack her things and disappear into the night.

Nothing would have ever prepared the Yanma for what she experienced on Raccolto. She’s totem swapped a number of times. She’s made friends. She’s even managed to fall in love. Audie’s a happier and calmer person than she used to be, and she’s even continued to keep in touch with Easton. Despite the unrequited love and the absolutely devastating heartbreak, Audie is still trucking. She’s getting better, her nightmares slowly becoming less frequent, much to her relief. But still, the cowpoke can’t help but to feel as if something important is right around the corner... It’s probably nothing, right?