Impatiens Pallida.'s page

Growing up in the temple of Shelyn was challenging. Challenging not only for the young tiefling but also for her guardians. Most infants are both utterly adorable and capable of producing disgusting substances. Their innate cuteness helps their caregivers not abandon them. Impy was never cute and she produced especially disgusting emissions.

Then there was the matter of Impy's innate tiefling traits. She had and still has an amazing temper and was capable of epic temper tantrums as a child, usually when someone was trying to teach her art or music or theology.

In desperation, the priests turned to an older temple guard who taught Impy how to harness her anger and how to fight. She showed an immediate liking and proficiency for fighting. Unusually for a tiefling and to the delight of the priests she also showed a good moral sense.

What didn't help is Impy's inborn knowledge of both Abyssal and Infernal. As well as her habit of forgetting to speak Common and addressing her interlocutor mid conversation in one or the other or both. The temple inhabitants learned to deal with it, but many of the surrounding merchants and townsfolk grew a little unhinged at being addressed in an obviously evil language by a red skinned tot.

The priests and acolytes were dedicated to their goddess and refused to give up. As Impy grew older they tried instructing her in every possible art. All that took was a certain basic literacy and a love of beauty. Only by sheer and utter determination did she achieve a passable level of musicianship. It helped that her vestigial claws, useless for anything else, made perfect picks for plucking strings.

As an adult, Impatiens regards the temple of Shelyn with affection. They were and are people who exhibited an amazing level of stubbornness in caring for a very difficult child. While she is still shaky on matters of art and theology, she quite likes Shelyn and feels a sense of obligation to her.

Her mentor, Olaf of the North, and he very much refused to get any more specific about his actual name or origin, taught her everything he knew, except about sex, about which he claimed he was an expert, but refused to say anything more.

At fifteen, a very good looking older boy named Baphy showed an interest in Impatiens. He was good looking, he had money and his conversation was more than "So, you're red and you have horns?" He was an older man of seventeen, so he had maturity and gravitas. Impatiens was smitten. She drew little hearts all over her scabbard. She drew even more hearts on trees with Baphy + Impy inside.

It was true love until one night he lured her to a romantic grove of death elm trees and eight of his closest fiends tried to sacrifice her to their dark lord. Luckily they discussed their plans in front of Impatiens in Abyssal. Her education stood her in good stead. All those years of endless and dull instruction coupled with holding her temper in check allowed her to wait for an opportune moment then explode and beat up her foes. Baphy is now an operatic soprano. She still sees him occasionally in passing. She has moved on and forgiven him.

Olaf did hook Impy up with a merchant caravan as a guard for her first gig. The guard captain was an amateur musician and liked to have jam sessions over the evening campfire. Impy may not have much musical talent, but she could play back up better than any other caravan guard. From there she has drifted from job to job.

A certain sort of person likes being guarded by a large evil looking humanoid and Impy does not mind playing up that aspect if it will bring her honest work. She works very hard at being professionally scary yet staying away from being so inhuman that paladins think their god will reward them for slaying her. It's a balancing act, but Impatiens is starting to think she is getting the hang of it.

As for her personal life, Impatiens has been working the Outsider social network in town for all she's worth. She feels she is ready to settle down and at least try to have a steady relationship. She is well over her bad boy phase and wants a good, kind, hard working, responsible man who is tall, dark red and mostly symmetrical. A tail would be nice, but isn't necessary. Mostly she wants a man with good character. She has absolutely no interest in having a one night stand or a hook up.

Impatiens has strong views about family that only an abandoned tiefling child could ever really appreciate. She wants to have a child or more, gods willing. But only if that child will have two loving parents and a stable home life. Impatiens is willing to settle for a man who has a low paying job, if he is a steady worker. She isn't willing to settle for a man who won't be a good father.