In a hole in the ground, there lived a hiros.

Soft . Loyal . Brave

While most hiros are accustomed to living in the sky, Tasche has lived under the ground for most of his life. He lives in a community made entirely of other half-hiros browbirds who, while they don't all think of each other as family, think of each other as deep and trusted friends. It's a place where doors are never locked, no law enforcement are needed, and young browbirds can freely play wherever they wish. A peaceful place to live and grow, and Tasche has thrived there for his entire life.

But as it happens with most good things, they all come to an end at some point.

Perhaps it was fate that brought the strange grey kitbull to his home, though Tasche would call it a curse for awhile. The kitbull's speech, wrought from a hemlock, was odd to the ear, and its promises of adventure and glory, while tempting to the younger side of Tasche still living within him somewhere, was not something that the halfling was willing to trouble himself with. He simply wished the kitbull a good day, and thought that would be the end of it — the end of it being that he suddenly found his dinner interrupted by thirteen browbird strangers later that evening, plus that same kitbull. The visitors, led by a rather taciturn browbird called Faust, were a company traveling to somewhere quite far off, desiring to rid their home of a vicious hemlock and reclaim their rightful kingdom. Of course, Tasche didn't really have any idea of what their plight had to do with him, until it was made apparent that they intended to recruit him as a burglar-type role in the party.

Though his initial response to their invitation was a firm refusal, listening to them speak of their home as he laid cozy in his bed that night really did keep his mind awake, trapped in the repeating thought of wondering if he could continue to enjoy his lax life with all of his belongings and comforts and never having much to do, while none of those browbirds could say anything similar about themselves.

And so as the morning came about, he left his home, catching up to the company, and agreeing to join them on their journey.

It wasn't as easy as he thought; while most of the party were glad to have him along, no one really expected him to stay long, especially Faust. He gave off the impression that he felt that Tasche would give up early and go back to his home filled with comforts, but that was part of what made Tasche stay. As timid and gentle as he appeared to be, there was some kind of stubborn fire lit under his heart, and he refused to let himself fold. He stuck with the company through thick and thin, even when it came down to beating impossible odds to do so. His loyalty was as strong as anyone else within the company, and he was determined to prove it to them.

Though, as much as Tasche wanted the company to believe his loyalty, he found himself wanting to prove it even more to Faust. He didn't want to admit it to anyone, least of all himself, but he'd fallen in love with the king. Not that it would be appropriate to tell him either, especially since they were in the middle of a life-or-death quest, but he desperately wished he could. Even so, he knew that someone as great as Faust would never give him a second look. Faust would probably seek someone of royal blood, or perhaps he already had someone elsewhere. Tasche simply had to put those thoughts out of his head, and put the company and their journey at the forefront instead.

It wasn't until after their journey came to a close, with the hemlock defeated and the mountain reclaimed, that both Tasche and Faust confessed their mutual feelings for the other. The two had grown close together over the course of their journey, and both had begun to pine for the other. They were married as soon as they were able, and Tasche readily gave up the thought of returning to his home in lieu of remaining under the mountain with Faust. They're very much in love and are rarely ever seen apart from each other. Tasche hopes to possibly return home someday, but it's something he tries to not think about too often.