Hildred
Sex: Female
Age: 21
Fur Color: Brown
Home: Copperwood
Rank: Guard Mouse
Cloak: Olive Green
Brief History
Hildred’s father was the hero turned traitor, Marcus the Unflinching, but she’s never met him, only heard stories. She was born in Copperwood, into a large family that only seemed to grow the older she got. Her mother’s family all lived, three generations, side by side: aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins, grandparents… It could get pretty crowded, and rowdy. As one of the eldest, her duties soon included looking after the other children and keeping their fighting to a minimum.
Eventually, and much to both her and her mother’s relief, they moved out and into the home of a much smaller family when Ethel found another mouse who wasn’t quite as flighty as Marcus. Hildred became fast friends with his daughter, Sparrow, and they soon had a little brother to look after named Garth. Hildred was required to be helpful in her family’s business of baking, and she liked learning the ingredients and being near the warmth of the ovens, but while the quiet of an less full house had at first been pleasant, she found herself missing those moments when she was tumbling about with the other kids or dragging them apart or thinking up quick entertainments to keep them from under the adults’ feet. Instead of going back to that rather stuffy home, however, she took to the treetop, much to her mother’s chagrin, but it was there that she found her true calling.
First, she befriended the lookouts up there, happily clambering about amidst the high branches with the threat of falling an everpresent thrill. They let her stay mostly because she brought them free bread, fresh baked, and they even obliged her with a few answered questions. She was 12 when she first met Kerr up there, he’d just come in from a patrol and was setting out new points on a map while telling the lookouts what the patrol leader thought they should keep close watch for. Well, the simple fact that he was a Guard made her impressed, but she really, really liked his map. When he saw her lurking, he invited her over and that was the end of her baking career, for the most part. He took her on when she turned 14 and she learned the ropes of being a cartographer and a pathfinder under him. He showed her how to use a bow, as well as what signs to look for that might signify danger about.
And when the War of 1149 came, she was caught with Kerr while out scouting. He had his sword paw cut off during the attack, but she was only knocked unconscious. If it hadn’t been for a nearby patrol, they would have been lost. So when it came time to fight, she stood with the rest, drawing her bow until her quiver was empty and then leaping into the fray at Kerr’s side. He’d refused to stay out of the fighting, even without a paw. The fighting then was the worst she’d ever seen, and it satiated that thrillseeking part of herself that liked a good challenge so that the mouse that came out the other side wasn’t quite as sunny or daring as the tenderpaw Kerr had known before. He gave her the olive colour of her cloak to try encouraging her back into the effortless smiles of the past, as well as to acknowledge those skills she’d learned in her family home of keeping herself calm and calming others too.
Since becoming a Guard Mouse, Hildred has focused more on being useful than on solving her own troubles, up to and including learning that her father fought against the Guard during Midnight’s rebellion. She acts happy with her lot, and often enough, she is, but she’ll fight very hard not to let others know when she isn’t, and it can leave her a little more tetchy than she used to be. She covers those moments up by shutting her mouth and doing her work with maybe a little too much extra vigour.
Parents: Marcus the Unflinching and Ethel (Copperwood)
Mentor: Kerr
Friends: Sparrow and Garth
Enemies: TBD
Belief: Be alert, stay sharp, keep focused, but don’t forget to laugh.
Instinct: To guard all weak points in herself and others.
Goal: To accomplish each mission she is given.
Skills: Cook, Baker, Persuader, Cartographer, Weather Watcher, Pathfinder
Traits: Nimble, Calm, Quiet
Gear +3 (Trade Skill, Careful Packing):
Bow
Quiver of arrows, with extra bowstring
A bag of extra gabcroon and spices (the bag can double as a stew pot so long as water, fire and small rocks are available)
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