Xanthee was born at Igen Weyr just four Turns before Thread started to fall in the 12th Pass. Her mother was a brownrider named Lexi. She doesn't have many memories of her mother since she died in the first Turn of the Pass. Xanthee was barely out of toddlerhood when it happened, so she was taken in with the other Weyrbrats to be raised collectively by those in the Lower Caverns. She quickly adapted to being a ward of the Weyr, and by the time she was 6 and 7, she would often disappear for hours and hours without telling anyone where she was going, which was exploring. She didn't have much patience for the other children, they seemed to be so dependent on their parents to tell them what to do and when to do it, so Xanthee became something of a free-range weyrbrat. This would cause her to get in trouble sometimes with the Weyr's Harper because of missing classes with the other weyrbred children, but he soon learned that trying to keep her from doing something fun was impossible and she would just skip.
When she turned 10, she began to help out the aunties in the lower caverns with their work, doing fetch and carry tasks and the like. Again this meant that she was not around children, but the elderly. And she liked that because it they doted on her if she would do things for them, and let her get away with almost anything, within reason of course. She liked to especially spend her time outdoors, swimming and exploring the dunes around the Weyr. She never really enjoyed a vocation of any kind, she couldn't sing or play an instrument, didn't have any desire to make things with her own hands. So when she turned 13 and was mostly on her own, she started working in the Lower Caverns as a way to earn her keep. And she doesn't mind the work, it's mostly mindless and she only has to work a set number of hours, the rest are hers to do with as she pleases.
Soon after she turned 15, she was asked to stand for a double clutch of eggs. Candidacy was probably one of the most exciting time of her short life so far and many friendships blossomed among her fellows who were also as excited for her as the big day. It was an emotional roller coaster, with a lot of self-doubt, some panic, and lots of boys around to break her heart from afar. It all culmunated in Hatching day, and even with over 60 eggs breaking their shells, she was left alone when the last hatchling had Impressed.
Xanthee spent almost a week wallowing in her despair at being left standing before her mood was lifted enough to be able to function again in her role as drudge at the Weyr. But quickly, she knew she needed a change, and if that wasn't going to be a dragon it could be something else. The idea of running away with the Traders was thrown around, but then a chance encounter at the Dustbowl Cantina, landed the teenager with a job at the Tea Room as server. And so now she has found her something new and in the months since the Hatching, her mood has lifted.
After a few months of working in the Tea Room, she was approached while on the job by a Southern greenrider, Vani. Well after a bit of conversation and a walk to the Weyr bowl, the green seemed to take an interest in Xan and she was asked to stand for the clutch of eggs hardening on their Sands. Excited with the idea of finally leaving the Weyr, the black haired girl jumped at the chance without hesitation. And they were off to the sweltering heats of the Southern Weyr.
Xanthee was relieved when she found out she wasn't the only Igenite Searched for this clutch, her good friend from the Zingari, Amania, was taken as well. The two got a lot closer as they shared a bunk in the Barracks. She met many new friends, and some more close acquaintances, she was doing great, excited about the possibility of this jungle Weyr being her new home. Everything was going well until one fateful jog down by the boardwalk had her run into a brownrider.
F'kan was his name, and he was charm personified. With shaggy blond hair and cool blue eyes, Xanthee was caught, hook, line and sinker. After a few close calls, they were more discreet, meeting in secret in the loft of the Stables to canoodle and whisper sweet nothings away from prying eyes. But her activities weren't entirely subtle and people started noticing her strange, evasive demeanor. After a few conversations, one in particular with Amania after she admitted the liaison to her friend, she was convinced, that since the Hatching was so close, that she should tell F'kan that she needs to stop until the Hatching. Her busy schedule meant that it was several days before she could arrange a meeting.
When they did meet, an hour from lights out, in their usual spot in the loft, Xan asserted that she was putting a halt to their activities for the time being. F'kan charmed her into one last kiss that quickly turned heated and caught up in the passion of her first time, Xanthee threw caution to the wind and didn't put a stop to it. Unknown to her, the wildling Candidate Rhuysarr watched her go into the Stables, heard them as they began their lovemaking and ran to get one of the assistant weyrlingmasters, N'iel.
The end result was Xanthee being expelled from her Candidacy with only days until the Hatching. She was then swept off back to her home at Igen Weyr, with only a pack on her back and her mother's old riding jacket. All she had brought to Southern with her. As soon as they landed, she made a beeline to The Dustbowl Cantina, where several patrons witnessed her get very drunk, very quickly. When joined by her Tanner friend, Daenerys, things got a little shouty, then she got a little sloppy and the kind Tanner helped her to her bed.
Xanthee threw herself into her work at the Tea Room after she returned in disgrace from Southern Weyr. She created some new recipes based on some of the fruits she found around Southern that had some success. After wining a nice size bet on the Southern Weyr Hatching, Xan bought herself a very nice stiletto knife since she was spending more and more time in the Bazaar and sometimes her shifts ran rather late. Daenerys even helped her with some training with it, in which she turned out to be something of a natural. She also continued with her jogging and weight training so that, which she may be small, she is tough.
Another note-worthy event was Xan's meeting Malosim, a newly arrived Jr. Journeyman Miner and the attraction was immediate. But for several months their schedules just did not line up and only after a chance second meeting in the Cantina one evening, did they go on their official first date. The sparks were real and intense. But Xan had been burned by sparks before, so they took it slow. But now they have had a few more chance meetings, and they are planning their second date. They had a very adult conversation about Xanthee wanting to stand again eventually and Mal thoroughly encouraged her, a moment that made Xan realize just how great a guy he is, and solidified them into a relationship. Soon after, on a very special second date, they consummated their relationship.
Since her second go at Candidacy, Xanthee had started a subtle campaign of fact finding, wanting to finally discover whether or not there was anyone still living who may know who her father is/was. After months of nothing, a chance encounter with a bronzerider in the Bazaar finally brought answers. Ha'ze is her father, she being the result of a mating flight where both his and Lexi's dragons lost their chase. And even though she said she definitely wanted to know, she finds herself suddenly unprepared for the flood of emotions that accompany this relevation.
After she laughed at him when he first told her, Ha'ze decided to send one of his daughters, Xan's half-sister Elonoora, to have a little chat. She even brought a cake! After learning that she has several half-siblings, Xanthee began to warm to the idea of the scarred bronzerider as her father. So after arranging a meeting with him to clear the air, it seems like they are each willing to get to know the other at least, although Ha'ze was very vocal in his displeasure with women riders and tried to convince Xanthee to seek something else for herself. But she remained adamant about what she wants, and he seemed to accept that. Time will tell how her newly discovered family will affect the weyrbrat.
What was supposed to be a cozy Turnday party with her love and a few close friends turned into a disaster in the shape of one Southern brownrider whose dragon had just lost a gold flight. Xanthee planned the party at the Zingari camp, since so many of her friends seem to hail from the Trader family, and in a series of unfortunate coincidences, F'kan had recently learned of the Zingari escorts. So when his Quaverilth failed to catch Igen's junior queen, he decided he would check them out, Unfortunately though, this meant that the two ended up crossing paths.
F'kan accosted her, convinced she had been feeding the rumours about him at Southern. With his heightened emotions, he lost his temper and slapped Xanthee within view of her friends. Daenerys and Malosim came to her rescue though, the latter breaking the brownrider's nose before coming to Xan's rescue, with Daen polishing him off. When the dust finally settled, F'kan was told not to come back, and her party continued soberly.
The way she reacted to the confrontation, by freezing instead of getting her own back, gave Xanthee something to think about. Remembering a chance meeting with the bronzerider G'tan, she decided to seek out the greenrider he had recommended to her as a possible teacher in hand-to-hand combat. Finally managing to run into Kyara, Xan managed to convince the woman, the bruise from F'kan's slap still healing on her cheek, that she was in need of her tutelage. The red-haired greenrider agreed and they set up a regular training schedule.
Finally, after over a Turn since her last Candidacy, Xanthee was asked to stand for another clutch of eggs, this time Zsaviranth and Wendryth's. Determined to do things properly, Xan and Mal agreed to a break while she was a Candidate, meaning they planned on not seeing each other for the duration. And although it was hard on her, she never faltered and they were able to make it through the months of separation by sending each other increasingly sappy letters.
Working hard, Xan found that Candidacy had become as familiar to her as her job in the Tea Room. There were times that tried her patience a bit, like when trying to explain the importance of the rules to first-timers without actually using herself as an example since she was trying to keep her expulsion from her last Candidacy quiet. Then when someone filled the Barracks with foliage from the Jungle, she had to endure dealing with the spinners who hitched a ride. She did end up putting a positive spin on that situation though when she thought to use the jungle flowers to create potpourri for the clutchdam as a fulfillment of the quest given to her by Wendryth via H'rik.
When finally the day of the Hatching came, the eggs rocking in the scorching Igen summer heat, Xanthee was thrilled to see both her adopted brother Daenerys and his half-sister Edlsesa impress as she was standing right next to them. Unfortunately, she was left standing again, and though she felt disappointed, Xan was bolstered by her determination that she would still stand as long as she was young enough, and the fact that she could reunite with Malosim again.
Reuniting with Mal after the Hatching was made even sweeter when he asked her that same day to move into his room in the Crafter's Quarters with him and she accepted immediately. The pair were scarcely seen for a full sevenday before Xanthee finally returned to her job in the Tea Room content to resume the status quo and patiently await for her next chance at standing for a clutch.
But that wasn't to be. She wasn't back at her job a sevenday when the junior weyrwoman Nasrin came in with a job offer as the goldrider's assistant. It didn't take her long to consider and accept the offer and she quickly slipped into her new role with her own unique blend of drive and pep, determined to learn everything she possibly can from this fortuitous opportunity.
She threw herself into her new job, her resumed training with Kyara whenever her weyrlingmaster duties would permit, and spending every other waking moment making up for the months apart from her love in every way possible. It was a clever ploy to keep her mind too busy to focus on the disappointment of her third failed candidacy.
Over two turns passed until there was a clutch once again on the Igen sands, this time Gold Rajakhelath and Brown Raktraeth's eggs were barely clutched when she was asked to stand. Mal was as supportive as ever,