Beginnings

Talie's mother had a one night stand with Charley's father when he was in Limsa Lominsa on business. Talie has no idea she has a sibling, as she has no idea who her father is. Lily having died in childbirth took the information to the grave with her.

The Past

Raised by her mother's best friend, J'tikva a Mi'qote. J'tikva, bundled the infant Talie with her back home to Gyr Abania. Though diminutive in Roegadyn terms, Talie was very large compared to her playmates growing up and thus was accustomed to tempering her strength and gave her a tendency to mother hen the people she cares for. She grew up feeling like an outsider among the tribe she was part of, tolerated, but rarely accepted, and often teased by her litter mates. At 16 summers, full of the usual teenaged angst and feeling as though she didn't belong anywhere, she snuck out in the dead of night with nothing but a pack of clothing, secured passage over the wall into the shroud and made her way to La Noscea, seeking to find out who she was and where she came from. Armed with only a vague description of her mother and no knowledge of her heritage, she wandered the streets of Limsa Lominsa and the surrounding areas inquiring about the elusive Lily but never getting any results. After a particularly ale soaked night in a tavern near Limsa, she picked up an axe lying nearby on the ground and took out her frustrations on a nearby tree, screaming in rage at the night sky where she was noticed by a member of the maurader's guild, who, after nearly loosing an arm to the angry little woman, led her back to the inn and left her with a note of invitation to begin formal training. For ten summers, she employed herself as a mercenary for adventurers. An accident during one expedition led to her nearly losing her life, and were it not for the quick intervention of a passing conjurer, the lives of everyone in the caravan she was supposed to be protecting. The loss of life because of her own stubbornness effected her deeply and after a long and difficult recovery, she lay aside her axe, vowing to appreciate the life she was given and taking up the tools of carpentry, eventually honing her craft and specializing.

The Present

Talie is a quiet, sometimes clumsy roegadyn. Endearingly goofy, if slightly awkward at times, she can almost always be found sitting in a corner somewhere either crafting or people watching. She is a carpenter and weaver who takes commissions for custom furniture and a tailor of high quality armor and clothing. She has recently begun freelancing as a photographer and may sometimes be seen, camera in hand, photographing the various wildlife around Eorzea, both the two legged and four legged varieties, though for the latter she generally will take an escort due to her tendency to be absentminded and accidentally stumble into danger. She loves to sit on the beach at sunset. She'll often wax poetic about the beauty of her surroundings, and she tends to babble when she's nervous or feeling awkward to fill silences. She can also sometimes be tripped over curled up in a remote (and sometimes even perilous) location with her nose buried in a book. (Usually a novel of some type or a travel and adventure journal, though she'll quickly hide the book from you if she's indulging in a frivolous romance story.) She's extremely self conscious and a bit shy of new people, easily overwhelmed by large crowds, which is at odds with her love of music and night life, so she may seem a little quiet when approached, but with a little prodding, she'll speak animatedly on just about any subject, hiding her awkwardness behind a silly sense of humor. These days, though she won't hesitate to fight, especially when she sees someone in need of help, her nature is to find a diplomatic solution to problems. She can be brash when coming to the defense of someone smaller, however. Although her outward demeanor is shy and aloof, she's tender hearted with a soft spot for children, though she never had any of her own. Her hobbies are baking and exotic dancing, though you'd be hard pressed to get her to admit to the latter and it would take an persistent army to drag from her how she picked up that particular hobby.
Talie is recently married to a wonderfully attententive and genuinely sweet Au Ra man she met while working at one of the venues they both are staff at. They are devoted to each other in body, mind and spirit. Their relationship is an open one, allowing them both the freedom to wander and explore, but her heart is inextricably tied to her Esugen.

Beginnings

The door closed behind Conrad with an audible click. He blinked a few times, adjusting his small pack on his broad shoulders, giving himself a moment to let his eyes adjust to the dim interior. His senses were assaulted by the heavy scent of flowers and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on as he wandered down the stairs to the main floor. He'd been here once before, and had woken with only vague memories of the night. He assumed they put something in his drink. His boots sounded loud in his ears as he walked out of the hall and into the darkened main floor. They were closed right now. 'Thankfully', he thought to himself. He looked around, taking in the shocks of flowers blooming from the architecture, the shine of the wooden bartop, painstakingly cleaned, the sound of the water rushing in the baths along the back wall and wrinkled his nose."Took you long enough..." He nearly jumped visably when the womans voice floated out of the cavelike corner. His head swung in the direction of the sound. She stepped out of the shadows with the grace of a cat, the black and blue dress clinging to every curve. Just as alluring as when his drunken eyes had first lit on her several moons past. He inclined his chin politely in greeting."You said you needed to see me?" He was eager to get this over with and leave. The aromas in here were overpowering and without the aid of the alcohol, the heavy aura in the room made him nervous on a primal level. He studied her for a moment, watching the play of the glow dancing over her skin, then his eyes lit on the bundle in the crook of her arm and he cocked his head in confusion. The bundle shifted, and a tiny hand waved up momentarily grasping at the woman's hair and a soft coo met his ears. His eyes softened, but her face showed annoyance. "Is that...?""She's yours," came the reply. The voice was honeyed and silky, but the tone hard. "You brought the amount we agreed on?"He leaned in, lifting the blanket. There was no mistaking the his own vibrant blue eyes peering back at him from the chubby little face. He dropped the pack on the floor at her feet then lifted the infant from her arms and turned on his heel. "It's all there. You can count it if you like.""Pleasure doing business with you." He stopped mid-stride and turned back, giving her a short curt nod before hurrying to the door. He strode past the gate, hugging the infant to his chest then slowed, wandering to a nearby tree and lowered himself carefully to the ground, laying the child in his lap and moving the blanket from her face again. He stared down into those bright blue eyes with curiosity. She had a shock of black hair, shot through with blue-green streaks that seemed to catch the light from the sun and glow. Tiny fingers reached for him and he offered his own. A gentle smile touched his lips when her fingers closed on his large one."Aye, and a strong grip for such a wee thing, hm?" His voice was soft and gentle and the girl child blinked up at him, soft long lashes fluttering. She sneezed, and his eyes widened. Fox ears? The infants eyes flared and glowed bright blue as she cooed at him, and the ears shimmered out of sight again. "Bloody hells, what are you?"

The Past

Native of Shaaloani, Charley was a child, a mere five years old when she accompanied her father on a walk, gathering flowers and herbs for their pantry. They struck out from their home in Sheshenewezi Springs, Charley skipping along behind her father, happily singing and stopping to pick wildflowers to weave into a crown. The sudden appearance of the levin storm took them both by surprise, and her father scooped the girl up, dashing through the lightening strikes towards the nearest shelter. A loud bang and flash of light shattered the ground mere fulms from them, and the panicked man was struck by rocks and rubble flying from the impact. He stumbled and set her down. "RUN..." he shouted, pointing to the town ahead of them, and the glowing aetheryte. She ran, as instructed, covering her ears. She didn't see the lightening strike that felled her father, but she was blinded by the flash from it. She turned as she tripped over the rail tracks surrounding the little town to see her father, prone, unmoving, his clothes smoldering. A scream tore from her throat as strong hands grabbed her up, ducking inside a nearby building to shelter her in safety from the chaos outside.Charley grew up in the Outskirts, learning about farming tech and helping in the fields. Adopted, she thrived and flourished in the small town, eventually adopting local customs and donning a regulator. As she neared adulthood, she took to venturing to Tru View and watching the matches in the arcadion, idolizing the combatants. Her parents were unhappy with her choice to begin training, but she learned to wield the axe deftly and soon made a name for herself among her idols.

The Present

Spoiler warning for post dawntrail patch content “Living Memory” questline!!!Charley pulled herself up onto the crumbling remnants of the wall with a grunt and sat, long legs dangling, scanning the dingy street below for stray bots to put down. She slipped the bag of spare parts she'd collected already off, hanging the strap from a hooked piece of rebar and rolled her shoulders. The constant crash of thunder in the distance barely registered anymore, but sometimes a lightning bolt would streak too near and she'd find herself jumping and not knowing why. She fished her regulator out of her pocket, palming it a few times and then absentmindedly fidgeting with it while crystal blue eyes flicked from shadow to shadow seeking prey. Movement caught her attention in the distance, and she craned her neck, squinting, thinking to herself not for the first time if she shouldn't just bite the bullet and retire her glasses in favor of the eye implants the rest of the family used. The glitter of light reflecting off a long metal arm told her the prey she sought was in sight and she shifted, securing the regulator to her temple and giving it a single tap to activate it.Her eyes closed, and she prepared herself for the flood of adrenalin as her body augmented. Just as the tingle began, it subsided and a single blinking alert filled her mind's eye. "Urgent". The neon alert flashed. Annoyance flitted across her upturned face and she acknowledged the alert without reading what it contained. She froze. Every muscle locked and tense as her mind was flooded with memories in quick succession. Flashes of loved ones who'd passed in the recent battles within the city, flashes of friends she hadn't known she'd forgotten. Of holding the hand of companions felled in the fields while hunting. Back and back the visions took her. A parade of death and sadness she had not realized had vanished from her happy existence. A tear welled and rolled down a frozen cheek. Then a blinding flash of lightning and a scream echoed in her ears. Turning. A man lying prone while thunder and lightning roared around her. Looking up and seeing the electrope walls of the city itself flickering into existence. She shrieked aloud along with her younger self when the hands wrapped her middle and drug her into a building, then swore, tearing off the regulator and hurling it to the street. She sat, staring at it lights blinking green up at her from below. The silver chrome of her cybernetic hand clenching and unclenching as tears rolled down her face and her breath hitched. What the fuck just happened? What was that? The visions... memories?... were hers but where'd they come from? And where'd they gone in the first place?Confused, she slid off the wall and hastily grabbed the bag she'd hung there. She stopped, staring down at the regulator near her boot. A hot blast of rage filled her and she lifted her leg, crushing it under the heel with a satisfying crunch. She'd probably catch hell from the family for that, she thought as she stomped back towards the city of night and neon in the distance, scrubbing the tears from her cheeks on her sleeve. The vision of her biological father teased at the edge of her mind and she shoved it down, conjuring up her found family purposefully. Get it together, Charley...you're not a scared little girl anymore. And you're not alone... she chided herself firmly. She had a delivery to make.

Beginnings

The Past

The Present