Skree

Skree is a small dark winged tengu with a crow head. She’s had a hard past, and has spent her childhood surviving in a harsh world instead of learning book smarts. Learning to survive came with its own lessons, which have left their mark on her. She has learnt that chasing rabbits into a thornbush hurts, leaving scars, and the rabbit usually gets away. She hasn’t spent a lot of time around people, so her limited past interactions have left her with a stilted speech pattern and a fear of being forced out again. One of Skree’s wings was damaged in the past, resulting in her having less movement in it. It tends to droop and move stiffly. Finding a place to stay in the Horde is a dream come true for her. She knows she has a lot to learn, but she’s finally making friends and isn’t being run off, so she’ll do a lot to stay in the Horde.

A couple of years ago, Skree happened to find a sparrowhawk chick that had fallen out of their nest. The parents were attempting to protect and feed the chick, but as the nest had already been predated, they were having trouble protecting them. Skree helped the small family, returning the chick, who she named Tilly, to the nest and staying to help protect and provide food for the family. Tilly somewhat imprinted on Skree as a result, so when Tilly was fledged and Skree moved on, Tilly joined her. Tilly shares Skree’s room in the guildhall, and although they do sometimes hunt together, Tilly will hunt by herself too, especially when she hunts birds. As far as Skree is concerned, Tilly is her family, and is not owned by Skree, and so she is unconcerned when Tilly does her own thing. They have a basic understanding of each other, but not full communication. Skree likes to watch Tilly fly sometimes, feeling envious of the bird’s ability to leave everything behind and glide over the world.

Skree has spent the last several years moving from settlement to settlement. When she was young, she occasionally found children playing in the forest and was able to join them, although they played roughly with her and then ran away when called for meals, abandoning her. If she dared to follow them back to their homes, she was chased away by the adults, with curses and thrown rocks. She learnt to stay away from the people she saw, but would venture close during quiet moments to steal minor items, like her clothes, knife and bow. Despite her fear of the villagers’ actions towards her, she doesn’t hold any ill will towards them. She has subsisted on food she gathered in the forest. One day, she came upon the outskirts of a small village, where a cottage bordered the forest. A llama wandered around the forest, making it difficult for Skree to get close enough to pick up anything she might need, until she saw a gnome in a bathrobe leaving the cottage to sit outside with a book and a plate of food. After a while, the gnome went back inside, leaving the food, and the llama moved to the other side of the cottage, so Skree ventured in to pilfer the food, as it obviously wasn’t wanted. Over the following days and weeks, the gnome frequently repeated this, sometimes staying outside longer, sometimes reading aloud from his book. Skree’s curiosity and bravery increased over this time until she became brave enough to reach for the food while the gnome was still sitting there. Once she did, the gnome seemed to ignore her, but began speaking to her, not just reading. It took a while, but eventually the gnome, Malachi, managed to befriend Skree. After that, he decided that Andaline’s new guild would be good to achieve the next step by socialising the little tengu. She has made some missteps, but is learning how to be around people and is making friends. She takes everything she is told about guild members to heart, trusting them completely.