Taliel

Taliel never knew her parents. Sometimes she tells herself that she wouldn't have cared to meet them anyway; a lie, of course. In truth, many of the kobold's nights were marred by bad dreams and restless sleep, as Taliel was constantly plagued by visions of what could've been, had she a family. A fellow urchin, whom Taliel called big brother, acted as her guardian during her most vulnerable years. He was the only family she had; her brother was the one that had taught her how to speak, how to walk, and how to survive in the streets. He had cared for her, dressed her in whatever rags he could get his hands on, and fed her with whatever paltry morsels he could snag or beg for. Even her name, Taliel, was something he had given her, and though it was a boyish name, she wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Without her brother, Taliel would've been just another starving runt, left to freeze to death in some alleyway in this callous, unforgiving city.

On a particularly cold Winter afternoon, Taliel had returned to their hovel after a long day of begging, only to find her shelter ransacked, and her brother's lifeless body curled up in the reddened snow outside of it. It was with tentative steps that Taliel had approached her brother, before she laid down next to him, burrowing her little face into his chest, and wept. The sniffles and sobs of a six year old orphan, abandoned for the second time in her life, moved no hearts; it was only another quiet instrument in the bustling orchestra of the city.

In those hardscrabble years, Taliel often envied her contemporaries, lucky children that they were, who could attend school, who could go to sleep full and satiated, and who had parents that loved them. Though she was stunted in several regards, being both illiterate and of rather meek physique, she had learned a thing or two from her life on the streets. Years of skipping across rooftops and scaling walls had left her with an acrobatic, nimble body. With an impeccable sense of balance and an unusually pliable body, Taliel could turn her begging into amusing performances for passer-bys, playing both the part of tightrope walker and contortionist at once. Though this substantially increased the amount of alms she received, it wasn't enough to keep her from going hungry. Thus, she turned to a life of criminality.

With a feather-light gait and a knack for squeezing her way into places she shouldn't be, Taliel quickly became a fairly bothersome thief, plaguing local shops and households with her uncanny ability to show up seemingly anywhere she pleased. She was restrained at first, taking only what she needed to survive, usually foodstuffs or baubles that she could pawn off for money, but her covetous nature, which had laid dormant within her all these years, was now rearing its ugly head. Taliel became bolder in her incursions, breaking into larger, wealthier estates, and stealing increasingly greater amounts per trip. Whenever her trusty satchel could fit no more, Taliel instead exploited her limberness to stuff things down her gullet, safeguarding her stolen goods inside her until she'd fled the premises and could regurgitate them. As her wealth grew, so did her infamy; her unseen, daring escapades having caught the attention of not just the denizens of the districts, but more importantly, the city watch. It became clear that she could no longer remain in the city, and for fear of being imprisoned, she chose to leave the only place that she'd ever called home at the age of fourteen, carrying with her the modest fruits of her labor, and the promise to return to her brother's resting place soon.

In the years that followed, Taliel lived as a vagabond, travelling from place to place to sustain her way of life while avoiding the yoke of law. At times she travelled together with strangers, partly because it was safer, but also because they sometimes carried shiny knick-knacks that she could purloin before parting ways with them. Even if one could hardly call her rich, her aptitude for stealing had ensured that she could at least eat her fill and have some money to spare. Though she'd eventually mature into an adult, she never really did grow that much after her mid-teens; a life of malnourishment having made its mark on her body's development.

Today, Taliel is a fairly petite woman, standing at an unimpressive 4'2" and sporting an equally unimpressive bust, both of which are qualities that she's self conscious about. She's not completely lacking in feminine edge however, as her rich appetite, one which can only be achieved after lifelong hunger, has led to her hips and rear becoming fuller. That said, Taliel's appearance is still rather unassuming, and she is often seen as a skilled larcenist first and foremost, and a lady secondarily, much to her chagrin. Indeed, one of Taliel's greatest wishes is to one day be treated like a normal woman, that somebody will look beyond her bravado and rough edges to find the tender, shy kobold hiding underneath.

While she hasn't changed much outwardly, her skills as a thief are sharper than ever, and she's garnered a small, but meaningful amount of reputation in the criminal underworld as a highly dependable burglar. Taliel's flexibility is also at an all-time peak, and little by little, she has trained her stomach to accommodate increasingly larger objects. In fact, Taliel's associates occasionally ask her to demonstrate her capacity, only to be surprised to see just how much the demure girl can pack away in her paunch, almost to the point where her rapacity becomes concerning, bordering on threatening. Evidently, the passing years have only made her more of a greedy guts than before.

Though her life has been arduous and at times brutal, Taliel tries to not let her past rule the present. In public, Taliel is quite sociable and extroverted, and she is drawn to many of the simpler pleasures in life. She enjoys the occasional drink, and is quite fond of banter and gossip. She has a sharp, immature wit, and is not at all averse to getting into quarrels, usually stemming from condescending comments about her height. If caught in a particularly foul mood, she may even nip at the offending party's hand with her pointy little teeth. If there happens to be a festival running in town, one can rest assured that Taliel will do her best to attend it. She is most fond of plays and stories, even the ones made for kids.

When alone with Taliel, however, the extroverted facade fades away, and what remains is a fairly shy and reserved woman. In that peaceful tranquility, her at times crass and boisterous demeanor is instead replaced with softness and vulnerability. At times, she may even give off the impression that she craves intimacy; that she desires to be held and comforted. It's in these passing moments that Taliel's heart feels most at ease, when she can share her feelings with somebody that she trusts.