Way Back Wednesday: Shira Pelletier

[aldersprig]

1702

The woman stalked through the forest.

She had not worn a name in many years, and could not, precisely, remember what she had been called when she had landed here.

She spent her time, her attention, worrying about more real concerns: She had to eat, and to eat, she had to hunt. She needed shelter, sometimes, and for that she needed to build. She needed, more rarely, companionship, and for that she needed to speak to the fur-hunters who also worked her forests.

"Wild girl," they called her, and chasseuse sauvage, and fourreuse de forêt, and more pleasant names. They paid her in trinkets and good food for the furs she brought them, and gave her company without asking questions.

And none of them asked about her ears, which perked above her twisted hair like a deer's.

Comments

[thnidu]

INteresting! I am glad they received her well.

May I suggest, though, the feminine forms chasseuse (sauvage is the same for both genders) and fourreuse?

[aldersprig]

Yes, please, fixing now.

[aldersprig]

Also: this one actually surprised me. Figuring out people's back stories is always fun!

[inventrix]

Well that was unexpected!

Now I'm wondering where the name Shira Pelletier came from.

[aldersprig]

I know where the surname/Name came from, but not yet where the personal name appeared.

[thnidu]

Is this the first you've written about this character? I wanted to see more, but this is the only post tagged character: pelletier.

[aldersprig]

She shows up as a teacher in Addergoole, centuries later, but not much written about her before that time, if anything.

This - http://www.addergoole.com/MemorialDay2010.html - is the only thing I can find offhand. And, written 3 years ago, it's not, well, as good.

[thnidu]

I just read it. You have nothing to apologize for. ++

[aldersprig]

Thank you so much *bows*

[thnidu]

"Shira" is a Hebrew feminine name meaning 'singing', 'song', 'poetry'. It's derived from the noun "shir" 'song'. The Biblical book "The Song of Solomon" is called, in Hebrew, "Shir haShirim" 'The Song of Songs' (≈ 'the greatest of songs').

Now, you may not have known this, and you may not have meant this, and you may not want to use it. But in case you do, now you know. :-D

[meridian_rose]

It's short and sweet, a lovely character sketch :)

[aldersprig]

Thank you.

[aldersprig]

I did not know that, but that is awesome.

Most of the teachers at Addergoole are using assumed names, or names which involve their Names in some way. (Mike VanderLinden's Name is Linden-Blossom, for example)

[clare_dragonfly]

Wow. Interesting. I wonder how she ended up there alone, and why she didn't mask.

[aldersprig]

Good questions!