Mildred Farmgrave

AWESOME ANIMATION BY MARIIBOOPS https://www.deviantart.com/mariiboops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oEFl4VqeTo

Age: 16

Height: 5'1"

Weight: 132

Mildred was born to Victor and Selena Farmgrave. Selena tragically passed on due to complications shortly after giving birth, leaving Victor alone to raise the young Koroblin child. Victor was an explorer, which meant that Mildred was left at home for the most part. Thankfully, he had a good amount of servants who took care of her. Mildred was taught basic things by these servants, and she grew fond of them.

Victor would be absent for weeks, months, and even years on a few occasions. He made up for it when he was home, where most of his waking time was devoted to little Mildred. Between playing games of tag and make-believe, Mildred would sit on his lap while Victor regaled her with the experiences and items he had found on his adventures. Mildred would listen to these stories with big eyes, the stories clear in her imaginative mind. He would show her artifacts he had taken of ancient civilizations, bones from mysterious creatures, preserved leaves of mysterious plants, and her imagination would run wild on how these trinkets were originally used.

Mildred would mention to her father that she wanted to be an explorer just like him, but he would always say the same thing. "They don't let girls go out into the wild." Sometimes he would say something like "Oh, you could be a chef!" or "Oh, you could help heal sick people on the expedition!" but he ALWAYS said that girls don't go into the wild. Mildred would actively prove him wrong.

When Victor was out on expeditions, Mildred entertained herself with all sorts of fantasies. She would read old trashy comics about big muscly adventurers fighting wildlife, cleverly avoiding traps, and rescuing damsels from evil tribespeople. Every time she read, she imagined herself as the adventurer in all ways, except maybe minus the muscles. She would play with artifacts that Victor had left behind, using her dolly toys as damsels and the artifacts as all sorts of different threats. One of her favorite artifacts to steal was the Farmgrave family heirloom, a fancy rapier.

Her favorite form of entertainment was playing in the big woods behind her house. She would have to sneak out so that the maids didn't catch her, because they didn't want her getting dirty. Inevitably, she got dirty anyway. She met other kids who hung out there, so she would play with them and pretend to be an explorer. They were poorer kids, someone that the maids would call "riff-raff", but Mildred didn't care. To her, they were her fellow adventurers. It was this way that she met her best friend, Pumpy.

They had first met when Mildred was pretending to be the pirate captain of a "ship" (an old junked fishing boat someone had abandoned in the forest), and was ordering around a few other kids. While peering through an old piece of copper pipe, she spotted Pumpy trudging along in the woods alone and looking sad. Partially out of pity and partially out of desire to stay in character, Captain Mildred ordered her men to capture the damsel, because that's what pirates do. They dragged Pumpy back to the boat, and Pumpy was scared because she thought they might be bullying her. She started crying, which made Mildred feel confused. She pat her on the back and said "It's okay, you don't have to be a damsel. You can be the helmsman!" It was then that Pumpy realized that they weren't bullying her, but in fact trying to play with her. After a day of being pirates together, they promised to play with each other again. While Pumpy wasn't quite as adventurous as the boys, she was a damn good helmsman.

Mildred never grew out of playing in the woods. She went from pretending to be a pirate to spending nights out there just to enjoy the outdoors and build huts. Hunting was the one thing that she would never really do for herself; She opted to steal food from the pantry at home and sneak it out with her.

Mildred heard her father talking to (insert captain of this expedition here), and listened as he regretfully couldn't make it to the exploration of the land far to the south due to having another expedition scheduled. This triggered her mind for adventure, and she quickly developed a plan. Mildred waited for the two to leave before sneaking into her dad's office and examining the documents that they had been discussing. She copied down the ship information, as well as the time of departure. She had a few months to prepare, and prepare she did.

She told Pumpy immediately after she had made up her plans. Pumpy was devastated. Not only was this extremely dangerous, but it also meant that she wouldn't be able to see Mildred for a long time. Unfortunately, she also knew that Mildred wouldn't be talked out of it. Pumpy did her best to convince Mildred to stay, but it was hopeless. She decided that it would be best for her to simply help her out as much as she could at home in order to help raise Mildred's chances of survival.

Together they trained in many ways. Pumpy would help spar with Mildred so that she could use the rapier better. Together they went to the library to learn more about the processes required to identify animals and the kinds of things to watch out for when exploring unknown places. Together they practiced swimming in the cold rivers of Oregon to ensure that Mildred could handle the possible of rushing waters of the unknown lands. Pumpy was torn, wanting to help her best friend succeed, but also not wanting to leave in the first place. They may have been more than friends, but such thoughts were ones that the shy Pumpy was far to timid to consider.

Pumpy mapped out the train system to help Mildred get down to the coast. Pumpy helped Mildred pack up some things, and then got some things for herself so that she could accompany Mildred to the docks to ensure she made it there safely. Together they sat in the open train car, watching trees, clouds, and then stars. Both of them huddled up and wrapped up in blankets, Mildred's expression was one of adventurous confidence, while Pumpy was tough to read. She felt so happy being close to Mildred and flying away from the social constraints of how people would think of the two of them. She was haunted by the thought that she could only enjoy this moment for a few days until she had to say goodbye to the one she loved, and may never see her again. All the while Mildred's mind was buzzing with the excitement of what glorious she would find in the brave new world, what wonderful things she could bring back and tell stories of just like her father had. Neither of them slept very well, but for very different reasons.

It was a cool, cloudy morning on the Californian docks as Mildred and Pumpy arrived on the scene. There she was: The ship destined for glory. Mildred bid farewell and started to head off, but Pumpy stopped her. She handed her a heart-shaped locket that had an image of the two of them; One that Mildred had taken months ago and given to Pumpy as a gift. "Don't forget about me. When you come back, I want to hear about everything." To which Mildred replied "Well, duh! How could I ever forget my best friend?" Pumpy gave Mildred a kiss on the cheek, which made Mildred smile. They didn't have much time to waste, as Mildred had to sneak on board before it was too bright, so they bid their final farewells and Mildred crept on board. She had only one last chance to wave goodbye to Pumpy as she got onto the ship. Pumpy could thank her hair style that her tears weren't visible.