Cithri Willowdown

## Personality

Cithri is a quiet kid, but she isn't a shy one.  She doesn't particularly like being around other people - not because she's an introvert or anything like that, if the choice was up to her she would actually be quite social - but just because she's scared of what she might do to them.  For all the she appears to be a sweet young
ten-year-old (which, rest assured, she most certainly can be), she is absolutely *riddled* with trauma and wants to keep to herself as much as possible.  Push her the slightest bit too far and she's liable to just break into tears, and push her farther than that and she's likely to lash out physically (with a surprising amount of strength for a child).  She wears her heart on her sleeve and isn't one to even *try* and hide what she's feeling.  At the same time, she also isn't one to consider any dangers that may come her way as real, possible threats, as she tends to consider *herself* to be the most dangerous thing around.  This can, at times, lead her towards reckless behavior if she thinks it's in the best interest; because she does actively *try* to help others, even if she's afraid of hurting them and even if they try and stop her because she's "too young". Most of the time, situations she tries to help with really aren't that grave, and are mostly relegated to listening to someone else pour their heart out for a little while or helping some old grandmother with a chore or two.  Though she does *try* to stay away from other people as much as she can, both to prevent passing on the curse and from hurting others, she's a pretty lonely kid, and any chance she gets to spend just a *little* bit of time with other people she can't help but to take.  For all the Cithri can act like any other child, though, she does tend to act a bit feral, too - she has, after all, been living out in the woods for two years, and is a werebear.  Manners are something that tends to fly over her head, and if someone gets her nerves then she's liable to growl, snarl, or (worst-case scenario and very rare, as she's actually quite conscious about what she does with her teeth) bite.  She also tends to not be the most socially-aware, but most people forgive her for it due to her age - even if she will occasionally receive lectures about how she should act in public, or how she should be more polite (more than once, she's been cuffed upside the head by some adult after making a comment that she didn't know was offensive).  She feels most at home out in nature, but isn't uncomfortable by any means in towns and cities - as long as it isn't around the full moon, at least.  Like all kids, she's naturally curious and she doesn't like being told *not* do so something, but often she'll recognize that there's probably a reason for her being forbidden to do said thing and will actually listen.  When it comes to her curiosity, though, she can be a bit nosy when she wants to figure things out, sticking her head in where it doesn't belong if she thinks it'll give her the answers she wants.  She's also plenty playful, but she rarely ever gets to express that side of her; not with her living out in the woods, turning into a bear cub every month, and doing her best to keep away from anyone that she could play *with*.  She does, however, tend to get along quite well with animals - which can be expected of a ranger - and will oftentimes consider those to be her friends over any other person that she comes across.  They are, after all, far more resilient, and she can't pass on the curse to them.

## History

Cithri was born in a moderately-sized town that most people would look over when they were looking at a map.  She was the youngest of three human siblings, with a sister (Ralrin) who was five years older than her and a brother (Tolelm) that was two years older.  She lived your typical youngest-child life - being doted on, getting away with things that would have gotten her older siblings in trouble, being harassed by her older siblings - until she turned eight.  That was when her family was going on a trip to visit some old friends of her parents; two other adventurers that her parents had met back when *they* were still adventuring.  The journey was meant to take about a week, maybe longer if they went slow, but they were traveling during a full moon and along the way they were attacked by a werebear.  Cithri was the only survivor of the attack - she was left heavily injured, but alive (most likely due to both of her parents dying to protect their children, and both older siblings dying to protect her in turn), and after three days she was found by a ranger who managed to help heal her.  Unbeknownst to her, she was given the curse of ursinthropy, but for the next month she spent her time recovering from the attack and learning a bit about nature from the elven ranger, Sylfiel, until the full moon, when she turned into a bear.

More
specifically, a bear *cub*.

...A very *angry* bear cub, to be fair.

Sylfiel escaped unharmed, as did Cithri, but the girl woke up alone with blood covering her from a midnight snack she'd decided to have.  From then on, she decided to keep to herself in the woods, taking the skills the Sylfiel taught her and building on them, becoming a ranger herself despite her young age.  By the time she was nine, however, she was more lonely than she'd ever been in her life, missing her family and still grieving their deaths, and just wanted to have a *friend* - which she found in a tiefling boy a few years older than her named Erthos.  She didn't care about how people treated him - partially because it flew over her head, and partially because she figured she was more dangerous than Erthos ever could be.  There were a few people who tried to dissuade her from spending her time with them, but they all went ignored, too; by this point, spending so much time in the wild was already starting to get to her, and she was known to growl at those who tried to tell her not to play with him until she was dragged away.  For his part, Erthos was glad to have someone close to him, but he was suspicious, too - he didn't understand why she was so stubborn in being his friend, and why she'd disappear for days at a time during their months-long friendship, only to
reappear later (usually scratched-up and acting a bit off, but generally fine otherwise), or why she had so many nightmares (typically triggered by the night her family died, or the night she first turned, or every full moon since then).  He decided to find out for himself where she was going and what she was doing while she disappeared, and he followed her when she disappeared into the woods - unfortunately, on the night of the full moon.  Cithri wasn't aware that Erthos was there until she was about to transform, and even though she tried to send him away, it was too late.  She ended up attacking him - she isn't sure how bad, only that she left him alive - but when morning came, she never returned to see him again, and ever since she's been more careful in keeping to herself despite her loneliness.