#tova things

The young Kaldyr’s blue eyes widen with excitement, energy hardly contained in her small frame. 

So I originally planned as doing this as three completely unrelated fun tidbits, but one of them kind of bit me and told me it wanted to be written. So I’m just gonna wing it here.

When Tova was five, she tried to trade one of her tribe’s priceless heirlooms for a small ceramic cup. In her defense, she had never seen a merchant caravan before, and it was a cute little cup.

Tova did end up getting the cup, however. The merchant eyed a rabbit just a few yalms away, and stared at it longingly. Young Tova was quick to spot his expression, and saw an opportunity. “Eef I catch rabbi’, can I ‘ave cup?” Not thinking for a second that this scrawny miqo’te child could actually capture it, he agreed, looking forward to the silence when she left. Not even 5 minutes passed before the young girl returned, rabbit in hand.

She still has the cup. Sometimes she’ll plant something small in it, or she’ll use it to hold neat trinkets or tokens from hunting and adventuring.

You know what color that cup is? Red.

Bright red. The color of freaking APPLES.

FAERIE APPLES ARE ONLY TOVA’S MOST FAVORITEST THING IN THE WORLD

TOVA BOUGHT A CUP BECAUSE IT LOOKED LIKE AN APPLE THAT SHE ATE

SHE STILL HAS IT

Tova always accepted death as a natural part of life, an infinite circle - until the death of her sister Tehja, and her mate, Kazh. She might have been able to accept it, but the terms surrounding their death lead to Tova being cut off from her family and tribe, which sent her into a tailspin.

She was trained to hunt since the day she could walk. For her, it’s part sense, part instinct. She can read terrain, run her quarry to ground and close in for the kill.

So the men that took her sister’s life? She took theirs. Sometimes cautiously, staying out of sight and striking from the shadows. But once she fully lost herself to blood lust, she would find their camps, act as a traveler lost along the way before killing them, reveling in the surprise and horror painted on their faces.

I’ve gotten a few questions about Tova’s attire in relation to the climate in Coerthas. While yes, Coerthas did used to be temperate, I believe Eorzea has seasons, and as Kaldyr lived close to, if not in, the mountains, I believe Tova was well acquainted with snow long before the Calamity.

So Why So Little Clothing? While yes, Tova can and has worn furs and heavy layers, she does not necessarily need to. She has a high tolerance for cold, and could run around naked in the snow if she truly wanted. She has described the feeling of cold on her bare skin as not a harsh, unpleasant feeling, but a very subtle bubbly feeling, like champagne.

OH GOD AMI PLZ

★ While Tova’s physiology closely resembles that of a Keeper of the Moon, Tova herself is not strictly nocturnal. This is attributed to her tribe, the Kaldyr, having “mixed” bloodlines. Some tribe members feel the pull of the sun, or the moon, but many, like Tova, feel neither.

★ While not completely devoid of bugs, the northern highlands were definitely lacking in the insect department. Tova isn’t grossed out by them so much as she is unnerved by the noises they make. The click click click of diremites, or the high-pitched buzz of the syrphid swarms are two sounds that really put her on edge. The Yarzons… She’d gladly pay to never see them again.

★ On a more positive note - she is completely enchanted by glowflies.

★ Tova makes no attempt to hide her contempt for those she dislikes. There will be lots and lots of verbal hostility, snark, sass… I suppose in some cases, you could even call it bullying.

★  While not a bard by any means, Tova has an immense love of music.

Her tribe, the Kaldyr, is not a literate tribe – all stories and legends are told via the spoken word, song, or dance. Yes, that means Tova can’t readAs a soon-to-be Ahlfyra (alpha), Tova had to know them all. Not that she minded – she learned them all at her grandfather’s knee as a kit, wide-eyed and eager to learn. On many occasions, as she grew older, she would be found in the tavern, drinking mead and leading her fellow hunters in song, or dancing atop tables.