image made with Portrait Workshop
TITHONIA
image made with Portrait
Workshop
STATS
Name: Tithonia
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Looks: Tithonia stands proud
and straight. She has long dark grey hair, a long nose and a downcast curve to
her lips. She
has a lot of wrinkles that have been formed by years of living outdoors.
Tithonia is not very curvy, she is slender and wiry with good posture. Because
of her age she does have some issues with arthritis that acts up in the colder
months or during prolonged wet periods. Tithonia likes yellow and often wears
bright clothes.
Personality: Tithonia is an optimist. She has lived by herself for a
long period of time, her only company the llama-like Chentuu that she keeps. She
is resourceful and self-reliant. When she meets other people it often takes a
little while for her to adjust but she generally enjoys social interactions
unless she needs to interact with a large group. Like the Mexican Sunflower she
was named after, she is a loyal friend with a tenacious side. She can withstand
extreme conditions and is healthy and fit.
Family & Upbringing: Tithonia grew up high in the mountains and
has seen more animals than people. She married and had a son, Tagetes.
Her husband died when her son was young and now he has lost his wife. She understands
the grief he feels but would like to see him move on since he is still so young.
She has found healing in her interactions with the animals but knows that her
son might need a different remedy.
Clan: Asteraceae
Flower Symbolism: Faith, Loyalty and Adoration (Mexican Sunflower)
Pets:
* Brown with White front legs and belly Chentuu Gladioli (m) - flower
symbolism: Sympathy and Memories (Sword Lily)
* Chocolate Brown with Yellow Chentuu Salvia Elegans (f) - flower
symbolism: Healing (Pineapple Sage)
* Brown with White spots Chentuu Salvia Miniata (f) - flower symbolism:
Protection and Healing (Belize Sage)
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THE STORY OF
THE FLOCK
Tithonia looked out across the high situated plain where she'd let
her flock of Chentuu graze. She herself had travelled to one of the lower
villages to buy some necessities she couldn't produce herself. She'd been gone
for a few days but wasn't exactly worried. She'd been a part of the flock since
she'd been a little girl and her father had herded the Chentuu. Some would say
life hadn't treated her kindly but Tithonia knew that life was what you made of
it. Like her flock she lived her days surviving. When things were good she found
joy in the days, when times were dire she found strength in her flock and worked
like a dog to provide enough to get through to the next day. She had a little
hut where she could sleep and where she cultivated some vegetables and herbs.
Her flock provided wool with which she could make fabrics and wool and the rest
of it she sold or bartered. Some would say her life was simple but Tithonia felt
like it was anything but. Choosing the right valleys to let her flock graze,
determining when to move and when to take shelter. Nothing of it was easy. But
she'd had years of experience and trusted her gut when it came to such
things.
A brown head popped up from behind the boulders and Tithonia smiled as her large
dominant male Chentuu, Gladioli, appeared from behind the boulders where he'd
led the rest of her pack to take shelter. He'd been the first fowl to be born
after her husband died and she'd named him after the sword lily flower.
Sometimes she could feel the presence of her husband with the large male and he
seemed smarter than he should be. But maybe she was just seeing the things she
wanted to in his behaviour. After all, she had given him more attention than the
other fowls so it was probably natural that he was so attached to her.
There were two more males and about a dozen females and neuters in the flock. Tithonia
carefully counted the members of her little family and was relieved to see that
they were all there. She'd had an uneasy feeling these past days and had hurried
back though there wasn't exactly a reason to be worried. There hadn't been any
sightings of predators and the weather was fair. But there was something in the
air that made her wary. Maybe sensing her worry, Elegans stepped toward her and
laid her head on Tithonia's head. Tithonia grinned and scratched the younger
Chentuu's neck and throat. Elegans and her sister Miniata had been born after
her daughter in law had passed and she'd named them after the sage-herbs in her
garden. Their mother had been old when she had them and had not produced enough
milk to feed the twins. In the wild maybe only one of them would survived or
both would have succumbed to hunger, but Tithonia had helped feed them. Elegans
was by far the most caring of the two, often coming for a touch or making her
laugh while Miniata was a bit more distant.
As Tithonia led her flock back to her little hut she told herself she was being
silly. She could have stayed on the meadows a bit longer. Returning home would
put a strain on the fields where she kept her flock during the winter. But she
still felt uneasy and wanted to be home. Miniata was the last to follow and the
mare raised her neck and spat at the wind before she followed. Maybe the mare
just felt her owner's unease... or maybe she sensed the evil on the wind.
"I have a feeling visitors will be coming." Tithonia said to no-one in
particular.
Gladioli warbled and set a faster pace for the flock who followed unusually obedient.
Maybe it was a good thing she'd bought more than she'd been planning.
Gladioli
Salvia Elegans - Salvia
Miniata
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