NPC: Ariel/Rebecca

Name/Nicknames: Kyle Kelly
Gender: Male
Rank/Position: Child
Age: 6.5 (born 27d.8m.05y)
Birthplace: Monaco Bay, Pern
Physical Description: Just shy of both four feet and fifty pounds, Kyle is a slightly bigger then average six year old. His limbs are growing faster then his torso, giving him a gawky look. His father�s green eyes are muted to a smoky jade hazel, while his complexion favors the dusky tones of his mother. Also like his mother, Kyle�s hair is a dark near black brown that tends to wave if it grows long. Though still cradled in the roundness of youth, his features show evidence of the chiseled strength of his father. He is beginning to show interest in what he wears, and tends to like shorts, sandals, and long sleeved tee shirts. His favorite color is red, so he�ll often end up in quite a jarring outfit.

Personality: Individual and intense, Kyle is a curious and imaginative child. He likes the company of a few close friends, but becomes intimidated by large groups. He loves books, and also enjoys music. He is intensely private about his feelings, although they tend to build and then explode. At this age he is particularly fond of �pretend� games, including war games and anything active. Despite his moderate introversion, he is becoming fonder of group play as he ages. Another favorite obsession is boats � including playing sailor, seeing the New Landing fleet, and his own collection of toy boats. He has a strong sense of good and bad, and praise works best with him.

He is unsettled by change, and doesn�t deal with it well despite (or perhaps because of) the uncertainty that has marked his life. This has perhaps exacerbated his six year old �no� stage, for he is quick to protest any outwardly imposed alteration to his typical schedule. In his introspection, Kyle can often be �out of it� and/or unaware of how his actions affect others.

Independence is the basis of his self-esteem, and he likes to come up with his own ideas. Structure and order are desirable to the extent of providing a stable background, but not to the point where it stifles his creativity. One area of disorder is his personal hygiene, for as with many young boys he has little regard for bodily cleanliness or the order of his room.

Even at this young age Kyle is a perfectionist, and is capable of acting older then his years. He is resourceful and creative, though his natural confidence is currently warring with an age typical streak of self-doubt as he gains a greater grasp of the magnitude of the world around him. He hates thunderstorms and of course is deathly afraid of Thread. A greater appreciation of mortality has also led him to be quite mindful of Marduth�s ledge, particularly since Bizima�s fall. He is afraid of strangers, and is even a bit nervous around the other dragons. Wherries are particularly frightening as large and vicious creatures. While his dreams are not as frightening as they were the previous year, what nightmares he does have involve Thread and the death of Halieh and/or Bryce. Especially with the arrival of the northern refugees, he has become particularly concerned over his mother�s welfare.

Kyle has a short attention span, and is easily bored. He can be extremely stubborn, sticking with something once he�s set his mind on it or refusing to participate in an activity that doesn�t interest him. This tendency paired with the common traits of his age has made him a particularly picky eater. Yet one pastime he enjoys doing with Stacy is cooking, and aside from being creative it often helps him accept the resulting meal. He is bossy, stubborn, and domineering as many kids his age, but it is made all the worse because he must compete for attention with Marduth and Haylee. Marduth is a bigger problem, because he is at the perfect age to be curious about babies and thus enjoys participating in the care of his little sister. Also age typical, he is often defiant with Stacy. He longs for affection and attention from his father, but this is somewhat impeded by Marduth�s presence.

Background: When Kyle was born, his parents were both actively working along the Southern Coast. Halieh took up residence at the busy port of Monaco Bay in the late stages of her pregnancy, and stayed there well into Kyle�s first year. The tragic death of his father�s dolphin partner occurred a few months before his first birthday. Halieah was just beginning to resume her work, and it seemed a logical enough move to send one year old Kyle to his grandfather�s ranch with his father.

Thread fell the year Kyle turned three. He has foggy recollections of the fear of hiding in a stone feed container with his grandfather�s family, wondering where his parents were, and of the shocking and instantaneous change to the previously green landscape when they emerged. He has equally vague memories of Halieh, as she moved north a few days before his fourth birthday.

A month or so after the ships went North, the Kelly family relocated to the plateau above the Jordan River Hold as a result of dwindling sled protection. Bean was a perhaps unwise gift at this time, something that was his to keep after the chaos his life had been for the past year. When his father remarried to Stacy, Kyle moved with him down into the Hold proper. At five, Kyle was dismissive at best when it came to dealing with his new mom. Yet her pregnancy happened to coincide with the boy�s growing interest about such things, and he has since become rather involved with his little sister Haylee. If he is defiant towards Stacy, it has become more a function of his age rather then purely the fact she isn�t his �real� mom.

Yet another major factor in Kyle�s life has been his father�s Impression to one of the first dragons. Initially, this was a mark of pride to the five and a half year old. Yet the sentiment rapidly dwindled as Marduth�s demands on Bryce�s time detracted directly from the attention Kyle wanted from his father. The situation was made worse by the move to the plateau, because this brought Kyle farther away from his best friend Wally. The months that spanned between Marduth�s hatching and Kyle�s sixth birthday marked a time of tension and tantrums for the boy.

Moving back into the New Landing cliff side, turning six, and starting his second year of school have all been factors in Kyle�s gradual change of temperament. The tantrums are becoming infrequent, and day-to-day he is overall happier. He has become more invested in school, particularly reading. With Marduth requiring less attention now that he is older, Kyle is able to spend the time he needs with his father. He is also enjoying after school activities, including music classes and gardening in the hydroponics facility. Yet his biggest obsession right now is boats, and he loves any time his teachers or his father takes him out to see New Landing�s ships.

Family:
Grandfather: Chip Kelly/62/cattle rancher/New Landing Plateau
Father: Bryce Kelly/ 28 (01d.04m �17 at year of Landing) / bronze partner & asst. teacher
Mother: Halieh Trubrek/ 2 / sailor / (south (Nerat) group from Cave Hold)
Step-mother: Stacy Dane/ 18 / wait staff/ New Landing
Half-sister: Haylee/ infant /New Landing

Friends:
Wally Fentellow/ 6.75 / New Landing
Bradley Marscone/ 7.25 /New Landing
Naomi Terrill/ 6 / New Landing

Hobbies & Skills: He likes reading and music, and all things related to boats. He enjoys physical non-competitive activities like swimming and playing catch.

Pets: Brown Bean- He is colored almost exactly like a dried pinto bean, with a pale yellow-tan under color irregularly splotched by darker chocolate brown. A small and roly-poly fellow, it is perhaps his linkage to such a young mind that makes this fire lizard particularly clueless. Or maybe that is why Bean found Kyle acceptable in the first place. In any case, the young fire lizard seems perpetually confused and overwhelmed. He is a docile sort, and amazingly tolerant of the rough handling he occasionally receives from his young master.

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