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Name: Lani
Appearance: Lani is a small, slender girl reaching about 5'4" in height. Her bright red hair falls in wavy cascades to the middle of her back and her face is rounded, making her look younger than she is. She wears a short black choker and over her right eye are the faded designs of an old tattoo painted with plant dye on her pale skin. Her eyes are moss-green but hold a fire that challenges anyone who looks into them.
Age: 16
Occupation: Kunpari
Personality: Lani is an active, animated person who doesn't tread lightly when speaking her mind. She's a little quick to temper but tries her best to be fair in judgement. She has a good sense of humour and is not above making small jabs at her friends for her own amusement. Oko is commonly a target of her teasing, though she makes sure to be mindful of people's limits. Lani is quick-thinking and quicker to react, this can sometimes lead her to make hasty decisions or step into situations she hasn't completely thought through. When this happens she usually relies on Oko to be the voice of reason.
When something is bothering Lani she tends to go quiet, choosing to speak only a few necessary words before resigning herself to secluded silence. She can usually be convinced to shake it off however and will always try to put on a smile for the sake of morale.
Lani wants to be a good team player, but her life alone has hampered that ability. She is so used to doing things by herself or with only Oko that she sometimes forgets to rely on others or include them in her plans.
She is getting better on this slowly, though her reckless streak sometimes sets her back. She is also much less mindful of others when it comes to their limitations and can over-ask on some tasks. One of Lani's deepest fears is to be left totally alone. Now that she has a mind link with the other Kunpari she couldn't imagine a life without it. The thought scares her and she tries to avoid thinking about it.
Lani respects strength and cunning and wit and is determined to develop all three within herself. She can be a bit careless but is genuinely interested in being a good knight and a benefit to her friends and her city.
Biggest flaws: Lani's fiery spirit can lead her to be hasty. She is also proud and both can affect her relationships with others as well as her ability to make good decisions. She can be easily goaded into dares or bad ideas and is not above breaking the rules if she believes they are in her way. Lani is also quick to temper which may sometimes drive a wedge between her and her superiors or even her peers.
Goals/dreams: Lani has grown up dreaming of faraway lands and one day she wants to travel and see them all. She also dreams of one day winning the ceratopsian races with Oko, held every year at the sun celebration festival.
Backstory: Lani has been an orphan since she was twelve. Her mother died when she was very young and her father was a miner digging for ores that helped make the tools they used in the cities. She tended the small farm they kept while her father was working as soon as she was able but she had always dreamed of bigger things. It was lonely working on the farm, and hard, they often had to barter for help from the neighboring houses who had dinosaur workers to plow the fields. When a young triceratops calf wandered out of the jungle and into their lives Lani gained more than just help for their failing farm. She gained a friend. Okorin was just 2 years younger than she was but had the same fiery spirit. He couldn't speak to her directly, though eventually Lani began to understand him without words. Together they cooked up grand futures and for 2 years life was wonderful.
Then, just after her twelfth birthday Lani was brought the news that there had been a tunnel collapse at the mine. Her father had been under the fall. The people of Tolares had promised to provide for her and they did to the best of their ability. Lani refused any invitation to leave her farm however, she felt like she would be betraying her father if she sold the land. So she stayed, and so did Oko, for they were family now. For six years they worked the land, six years through their hard work and with help from a few others they managed to drag the farm back into productivity. It wasn't much, but it was enough. When they weren't working Oko and Lani sparred, Lani with two sticks that served as swords, Oko with his growing plate and horns. They would play stealth games, and tag, Lani made a bow and practiced with it, Oko would shift big rocks to build his muscles.
Then, not one month earlier it happened. Lani woke to a strange feeling, like a humming in her head. She could have sword she heard whispers, ancient voices in muted conversation about her. That morning was the first time she had heard Oko's thoughts. Both were speechless. They stood facing one another in the doorway of the small house, Lani within, Oko without and the same excited looks dawned on both their faces. They were Kunpari. Lani couldn't contain her excitement. She galloped up to the palace on Oko's back and proudly told the guards of her new abilities.
She was tested by the elder herself and admitted into the Kunpari academy at the palace. Despite being offered a place in the barracks she and Oko declined, opting instead to share the run-down little farm house she had grown up in. Lani is still a new recruit but she and Oko have been training diligently since they discovered their powers, both dreaming that one day they will be fully-fledged knights.
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Name: Okorin (Oko)
Age: 14
Species: Triceratops (5'3" at the shoulder)
Occupation: Kunpari
Personality: Okorin can certainly be seen as the more level-headed of the pair, though only by a small amount. Next to Lani he is thoughtful and cautious, though he has his own streak of rebelliousness that can get him into trouble. Oko is not full grown yet, only just shy of his full size, with horns that haven't tapered into points and a plate that's just slightly too small. He is a bit sensitive about it, seeing so many other ceratopsian dinosaurs in the guard that are comfortable in their full bulk.
Oko prides himself on being fast however, at least for a triceratops. He is eager to join the races and test his metal against the experienced racers. Oko has a strong heart and won't back away from a challenge easily.
When Oko isn't thinking about racing, or testing his skill he's slightly lazy. He loves basking in the sun or swimming in the canal with Lani or his other friends. Lani usually finds him asleep in the fields on their farm or on a sun-covered patch of rock by the city gates. Sometimes this can really irk Lani, who is always on the move, but now and again its a good incentive for her to take things easy.
Oko is a loyal friend and likes to hold himself to his word. If he makes a promise, he keeps it, end of story so he is a great ally to have at your back.
Biggest flaws: Oko is lazy when it comes to things he isn't interested in, this often prevents him from reaching his full potential. Oko also doesn't pay attention to many things some of these important, like signs of danger, or warning issued by their instructors. This can land him in trouble.
Goals/dreams: To win one of the ceratopsian races held at festivals, the largest being the one during the sun celebration. Only full-grown dinosaurs are allowed to enter and he still has a few years to go before that happens.
Backstory: Okorin doesn't speak much of his past before he met Lani. He was part of a nomadic herd that traveled across the flatlands once a year to nest. It was his first full migration and the journey was long and hard. Close to the end of it they were attacked. Several species of carnivorous dinosaur working together. They sported strange ink prints on their flanks. That was all Oko remembered because his mother told him to run. She stayed to fight, and make sure he got away. Oko carries the shame of running with him, even though he was less than half the size of the adults who were cut down so easily, part of him still believes he should have fallen with his herd.
Lani helped. The pain became steadily less as he spent more time with her. He had never been close to the city before, but Lani showed him the wonders of Tolares and...took him to watch his very first race. Oko was enthralled with the event. The speed, the action and feeling of watching dinosaurs like him compete. From that day on he knew he just had to be a part of that world. But the world it seemed had a different plan. Lani's father's death meant that they now had to provide for themselves, so fooling about on make-shift race tracks became tilling fields and planting seeds. They had little time for real training, so Lani had them practice something else. Training for the Kunpari.
Oko liked that well enough, and enjoyed the little time they had sparring and learning new ways to dodge and attack. When the bond finally appeared Oko wasn't all that surprised. Now they had a new calling, but it also meant that they didn't have to work the fields anymore, they would be paid members of the Kunpari order. Deep down Oko hoped that it would mean they could one day race in the games.