Kiwi

## Kiwi Johnson

Kiwi the Kenku Fanart by @CitricKing

Rogue (Frying Pan Specialist)

*"I'm sorry! Whenever I'm under stress I do illegal things!" ~ Kiwi*

Kiwi is a kiwi Kenku who previously served as an Engineer's Mate aboard The Talon, the re-appropriated Gnomerian Airship used by the Bladefoot Pirates. His duties revolved around the operation and upkeep of the crystal Heart of Nerasmun that kept the ship airborne. He performed this role alongside his "mate" Fletch and his associate Margo under the supervision of Erma, the lead Engineer. After the vessel was torn apart by the Storm Coatls sent by Stormbeard, Kiwi was rounded up with the rest of the pirates and carried away to receive proper trial. Kiwi testified that he was being held hostage by the Bladefoot crew, forced to keep the ship running under threat of death. He was able to avoid a guilty verdict and returned to Alivast.

Supplied with a dock ticket, he found a job shipping magical goods under Captain Clarence Warhol aboard his vessel, the Green Gulley. When the Green Gulley was rammed and boarded by the United Clergy of Orun, Kiwi was trapped underneath the ship. Though he was never seen resurfacing after the battle, he revealed himself to have survived by hiding in one of the crates of magic items. In the night, he distracted the nearby orcs with a well-placed cake, knocked out the cleric Audrey with a frying pan, and freed Remy from his bindings. By Remy's request, he brought Audrey with them as they fled into the woods of the island to plan a further escape.

Kiwi later became an integral, and surprisingly effective, cog in the war against the Clergy's forces. In the battle, he utilized his signature weapon, the frying pan, with devastating efficiency as well as being transformed into a brontosaurus by Zenrio. After the battle, Kiwi tagged along with the Unexpectables and is currently residing at Sweet Dragon. Helga eventually gave Kiwi a job as a server.

## Personality

Kiwi is rather sentimental and skittish for a pirate, but his role as engineer kept these traits from impeding any piracy. He's deeply loyal to, and concerned about his friends, but will also speak his mind when he feels he's been undermined for double-crossed. After his life as a pirate literally fell out from under him, and nearly landed him in prison, Kiwi has been deeply invested in staying out of trouble. He has, however, proven himself a decent tactical thinker capable of feats of courage, as evidenced by his daring rescue of Remy.

He has also confessed to being a poor judge of good and evil, a quality likely related to his past as a pirate. Kiwi's criminal tendencies seem to be somewhat involuntary; he has exclaimed that he defaults to them while stressed, a factor that may point to some form of mental instability. This was exasperated during the battle against the United Clergy Base, where he struck without mercy, foaming at the mouth and declaring an overwhelming desire to kill. Kiwi claims this bloodlust came from an overabundance of energy that no longer has an appropriate outlet.

## Relations

### Bladefoot Pirates and Captain Bladefoot

Kiwi's role as an engineer made him a rather valuable asset, but that also resulted in him spending most of his time working below deck. He was known to butt heads with his supervisor Irma somewhat frequently. He also complained about his former Captain behind his back over kidnapping the cast and crew of the Opera House, which he saw as unnecessarily aggressive and poorly-planned. Kiwi was surrounded by dangers while aboard the ship, citing attacks from White Dragons sent by Sky Giants as a specific example. When the going got tough, Kiwi seemingly didn't hesitate to abandon his former crew, claiming they had been holding him at knife-point to work as their engineer. He has no desire to associate with them now that he has a legal source of income.

### Fletch

Fletch is a fellow Kenku with plain, brown feathers and an accent similar to Kiwi's. He was Kiwi's best friend aboard the Talon, and seemed to have a history of going on misadventures that began before their life as pirates. On one occasion, while working in a field for "The Gloria Woman," Kiwi asked Fletch to start a campfire, and Fletch decided it'd be easier to just set the whole field ablaze. Some time before the Skycrimes arc, Fletch and "another bloke" left the ship to conduct covert operations from inside The Romansion, but he failed to return to the crew when they invaded Alivast, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

### "Fletch"

Thankfully, Kiwi never became aware of his mate's sudden and unexplained disappearance, because his role and identity were quickly stolen by Greckles, who Kiwi mistook for Fletch wearing blue makeup. Using context clues, a fake accent, and some makeup from his disguise kit, Greckles almost perfectly adopted his new persona. He spent his time aboard the ship interacting with Kiwi, who was blissfully unaware anything was wrong. When the Talon was torn asunder, Kiwi tearfully reached out for Fletch to comfort him while he was falling, but the two were separated by the Storm Coatls and kept apart by Stormbeard. Greckles tried to put in a good word for Kiwi, but he was unable to stop him from being carried away by the storm giant. Kiwi would then come to partially resent Fletch for leaving him behind.

The wayward crew mates reunited on the eastern shore of Alivast when The Unexpectables and Remy met with Captain Warhol to begin their contractor partnership. Greckles quickly pulled his hood over his head to stop Kiwi from seeing his blue feathers. Upon seeing Greckles/Fletch, Kiwi ran up to him and throttled his neck, berating him for leaving him behind. Greckles slipped back into his Fletch persona and rebuked Kiwi, telling him he did everything he could given the circumstances, and that he was happy to see him safe. The two birds quickly made up, but Greckles had yet to reveal the fundamental deception that their friendship is built upon. After a few days aboard the ship together, Kiwi started to notice that "Fletch" was behaving strangely, expressing a desire to move on from their days as troublemakers, and reacting strangely to their old stores, but failed to realize anything was amiss. Greckles attempted to get the United Clergy of Orun to save Kiwi, but they ignored his request.

When Greckles was reunited with Kiwi at the village of the Blood of Gnash, he finally revealed the truth of his deception, to which Kiwi admitted that he was getting a little suspicious. Greckles reassured him that he would still be friends with Kiwi, and he seemed to accept this. However, he admitted that he would have difficulty calling Greckles by his proper name, as he was too used to calling him Fletch. Greckles has since allowed Kiwi to continue using the nickname.

Kiwi considers Greckles to be his best friend, and their bond is strong enough to snap Kiwi out of a state of bloodlust. He attempted to save Greckles' life during an encounter in the camp's northern watchtower, but Greckles was capable of handling the threat himself. On entry back to Alivast, Kiwi met Greckles' friend Welch while handing Leonel to the guard. While initially jealous, he conceded that Welch was a cool guy.

### Remy

Kiwi briefly also mistook Remy for Fletch when they first met, due to the color of his feathers, but quickly dismissed the notion as Remy was too tall. Remy in kind was incredibly confused by Kiwi himself, who "Fletch" is, and why Greckles was speaking with an accent, though Task was able to explain the situation to him. Remy showed concern that Kiwi would be emotionally hurt when the facade fell apart, but elected to not involve himself with it.

When Kiwi was loaded off the Green Gulley in a crate he was hiding in, he bore witness to Remy's inhumane and humiliating imprisonment by the United Clergy of Orun. Kiwi kept watch until the coast was clear and stealthily rescued Remy by distracting the orc guards with a stolen cake, and sneak attacked Audrey, who he believed to be torturing Remy, with a frying pan. Remy was thankfully exasperated at this rescue, exhausted by his situation, yet critical of Kiwi's judgement of Audrey's character, as well as his personality in general. Kiwi agreed to bring the unconscious Audrey along as he and Remy escaped. When Remy passed out from his wounds, Kiwi threatened Audrey into healing him. When he regained consciousness, Remy threatened to cut off Kiwi's arm if he continued.

### Audrey

Kiwi met Audrey first when she was showing a moment of mercy, but misinterpreted her actions and promptly knocked her out with a frying pan. When Remy collapsed from exhaustion and injury in the woods outside the United Clergy camp, Kiwi held Audrey at knife point using a dagger he stole from her, and forced her to to heal Remy. She continued to do so after Remy backed off and returned her knife.

### *The Blood of Gnash*

The orcs from *The Blood of Gnash* express amazement and confusion at Kiwi's size and shape, commenting that he resembles a living potato on a stick. As part of Remy and Audrey's negotiation with their leader Gruul Hellhorn, they agreed to preserve him and give him better treatment than the United Clergy would have.

### Borky

During the Brimfang roast celebrating the ousting of the United Clery, Borky challenged Kiwi to a battle in the Grouse. Kiwi's swift motions proved surprisingly effective against his brutish foe, and allowed him to land a peck in Borky's eye. Despite his performance, he was ultimately thrown to the dirt, exhausted. Borky offered Kiwi a job under Tai Borpington at the Sweet Dragon as an outlet for his energy. During a tour of the facility's public bath, Borky threw him into the water before cannonballing in afterwards.

### Robin

Kiwi was head-over-heels in love with Robin the moment he laid eyes on her, proclaiming that she was the roundest bird he had ever seen. Unfortunately he locked up and could do little more than say his name when she's around and faint afterwards. The party has told him that they can help him meet her.

## Trivia

* The existence of a Kiwi Kenku made the players briefly wonder if they suffer the same terrifying egg/body size ratio as real kiwi birds.
* Despite looking like a round potato, under his feathers, Kiwi is skinny as a stick and comprised mostly of legs.
* Kiwi speaks with a heavy, cockney accent.
* Kiwi's hair-feathers fluff out to twice his normal width after baths.
* Kiwi is the second Kenku in the series to be named for his species, the first being Robin.
* MontyGlu has demurred to answer questions about Kiwi's height, preferring to leave it to fans' interpretation.
* According to Monty, Kiwi is really "weirdly statted". His signature frying pan is similar to a club, but given the finesse property to better fit his role as a Rogue.
* Kiwi's last name is Johnson