Alli





Character Name: Alli


Name Meaning: her real name is Eevi, but she earned the nickname “Alli” from the plaintive cry she wailed over and over, as a very little thing, first as a baby, and then when her brothers ran off and left her to play by herself. Alli is the name of the long-tailed duck that nests in abundance around the Long Lake, and the little girl’s cry sounded exactly like the bird’s call – ow-ow-owal-ow!



Age: 9 (almost; at least she is closer to being 9 than Eradan is!)



Date of Birth: March 9, 3002



Race: Man



Residence: Esgaroth



Profession: scamp



Appearance: short; skinny; long, curly, blazing red hair; big green eyes; freckles, freckles and more freckles; curious, frank expression; saucy set to her way of moving; her clothes are basic and utilitarian – starting off clean, but patched, and usually ending up dirtied and rumpled as an active gadabout’s will tend to be; moves with stealth when needed; small enough to get into some amazing places



Personality: Alli is a lively little thing, emphasis on little and lively. Her personality would easily fit an eighteen year old woman – at least, minus any interest in boys! She is curious as a cat, and frequently found in places only a cat, or squirrel, could get to. She is as chatty as a squirrel too, prone to “borrowing” pretty, shiny things, like a magpie, and can scold like a jay – always trying to boss her brothers around. They of course pay absolutely no attention to her. She is the apple of her father’s eye, but he’s a busy man and she probably enjoys a great deal more freedom than is healthy for her. She is always getting into scrapes, and then her two youngest brothers get blamed for not watching her closely enough, and so they tend to think of her as a pesty brat. She loves adventure and wants to have some grand ones. At least, she thinks she does.







Parents: Elias, 42, fisherman; Anna, deceased



Sibling(s): She has a passel of older brothers, ages 22, 19, 17, 14, and 12



Spouse: n/a (gross! Boys! Yuck!)



Children: maybe one day, as long as no boys are involved (-snickers-)



History: How sad that Alli’s mother had for so long yearned for a little girl; and yet, in giving birth finally to a sweet, little daughter, Anna perished from complications only a few days later. Elias was heartbroken for he loved his wife dearly. Now his children were left without a mother. He turned to his widowed sister to help take care of his brood, and a wet nurse was found for the newborn. Eevi her mother had named her. But from her earliest days, her brothers teased that she sounded like the ducks that forever called over the Long Lake. Alli – the long tailed duck – and that nickname stuck, and no-one calls her Eevi except her aunt.

Elias could not pause in his work for long to mourn his dear wife. He and the older boys returned to what kept them alive – fishing on the Lake. It was not a glamorous profession, nor did it line his pockets with gold. But Elias loved the water, and loved the freedom, and loved being his own master. He was a good man, a good father, and he worked hard every day to keep his children fed and clothed. This left him with precious little time, though, to spend with his precious little daughter. It made him sad to miss so many hours of her growing up years. Many was the day when he rose and left the house before she was awake, and returned after she was asleep. Thank goodness his sister, Oona, was there to see to the raising of the younger ones.

But soon enough, Alli was able to run around some on her own. Her aunt never wanted her to – Oona was always afraid the little girl would fall in the water and drown. But Alli was too clever for that. She ran after her brothers whenever she could – and they always wanted to run away from her. Who needed a little sister tagging along and spoiling their fun? But she was determined and so she became quite adept at tailing them, often finding short cuts, learning to climb like a squirrel, and stalk them like a quiet cat. She was bold and rambunctious and always full of curiosity – she loved to ask questions, of anybody. Her brothers found her annoying – all the more reason to try to evade her. But Elias told them they had to look out for her. Every time she got into trouble – which was often – he would scold them and they in turn would tell Alli she was a brat.

She didn’t really care. She just wanted to be out running around the lake town, seeing what was going on, poking her nose into anyone and everyone’s business. Her aunt despaired of her. Her father was both permissive and too busy to do much supervising himself. So Alli got to enjoy the freedom of having the run of the town. She loved boats as much as her father did, and he would often enough take her out, when the weather was calm. He taught her to sail and to fish, like her brothers. Eventually her oldest brother settled down with a local girl and married and moved out of the tiny house. The second oldest decided he’d had enough of smelly old fish and moved to Dale to learn the craft of brewing, as he was far more keen on ale and beer. This still left three boys at home, enough to help Elias with all the chores involved in his work. Oona tried to educate Alli in the things a girl should know – cooking, baking, sewing, cleaning. Boring! As often as she could, Alli would give her auntie the slip and run wild in the watery streets of Esgaroth.

It was in the watery byways that she made the acquaintance of Eradan, a boy almost as old as she was (she forever reminds him that she is the older one of the pair). They hit it off, both being free spirits and the kind of children who dream of adventures. She watched him build his own boat, which was an amazing feat really, when you think about it. It certainly garnered her respect, even if he was younger than her. Dan told her of how he wanted to sail off the Lake and down the river, to visit the elves maybe, or go even further – maybe all the way to the White City. Alli would sit and listen to him, enraptured by such dreams, and wanting very badly to go on some big adventure herself. Only problem was, she didn’t have a boat. Well, she was a clever little thing. Surely she could figure out a way to overcome that petty obstacle…..