Cypress Woodward, District 7

Cypress Woodward stands at 5'8'' and has straight black that she wears pulled back. Cypress' eyes are a dark brown with long, brown eye lashes. Her face is angular with a small chin. Pale skin is speckled with a few freckles in the summer; kissed with a slight bronze from the sun. In the winter as the sun recedes her skin becomes pale as fewer rays of the sun stretches down between the trees to reach her.

She is work - thin; a body shaped by a life of activity. Cypress bears a small 2 inch scar on the inner wrist of her right hand from mishandling an axe when she was younger. Cypress has always had enough food to eat while she was a child, and has grown appropriately. Yet she's been eating smaller meals lately; ever watching the family's smaller produce for the market. The after effects are that she's starting to have a more gaunt appearance and losing some of her muscle definition.


She wears earth toned clothing in simple cloth; cheap but suitable. She prefers shoes that allow her to move quietly in the wood; and in her belt she usually has a worn spade that her aunt has given her for digging out plants. Cypress clothes while suitable for her climate, have a look of being well worn. The clothes are always clean and well mended, however.

Cypress is somewhat adventuresome; wishing to have been allowed to work when her brother came of age. However, she sometimes feels that her brother received preferential treatment - and got to go to work when he wanted to - because he was older and the first born. Cypress tends to be envious of first born or only children (who only has one child?!?)

She understands her parents reservations with resignation and genuinely cares for her younger siblings and cousins.
She becomes thier go to person when in her care; and she tries to provide the same warmth and stbility that her mother does.
Cypress tries to be the mediator of the family - solving squabbles and diffusing tempers. This tends to make her think about how the other person in situation feels, and what their motivations are. Cypress' next step is to try to appeal to their motivations for an outcome that pleases every one.
In the arena; this empathy for other people won't help her make it through unscathed...

When she is in the woods with her aunt Oaklyn, she works to show her maturity. She is inquisitive, eager to learn of the plants and edibles that her aunt brings to town.

She tends to be quiet when she is not with her family. At home, she is her mother's ally, sheperding the younger ones and assisting to try and ease her mother's duties. Cypress consider's herself an advocate for her family; working to keep her younger family members safe and out of trouble.

Due to her hands on experience in raising her young family members, she occasionally feels more knowledgeable about them than her parents. She has to restrain her prideful interjections about what Elm's slang means or how Cedar calls his best friend by a nickname the adults seldom hear.

History:
The Woodward family consists of her mother Rowan, her father, Harth, her elder brother Alder, her younger brother Cedar and the youngest sister, Elm. She also as a maternal aunt Oaklyn and her husband Lars, who live in the next house over with their three children Rose (16), Lily (11) and Ward (9).
Cypress was welcome into the Woodward family as the second born when her older brother, Alder, was three. She was followed by a younger brother, Cedar, two years later. The fourth Woodward was Elm, born when Cypress was five.
The Woodward children:
Alder: 19
Cypress: 16
Cedar: 14
Elm: 11

Her father works in the lumber industry, harvesting trees for wood goods. He works out in the forrest; selecting trees for harvesting. Her mother works in the lumber mill, working on finishing the wood that has been harvested into planks to be shipped out.

Cypress' older brother joined her father in learning how to select trees. Cypress attempted to tag along and learn alongside Alder, but felling trees can be dangerous work. She was kept away from the job site for her own safety and tended her younger siblings while her mother worked in the mill.

Her mother worked six days a week; earning enough of a living alongside her husband that her children hardly went to bed hungry. They may not have expsensive new clothing or a fine house; but they had suitable axes for chopping, winter jackets when the autumn chill descended and a healthy family.

Family was very important to the Woodward and they eat nearly every meal with Oaklyn's children. Oaklyn traverses the woods gathering medicinal and edible herbs; occasionally at odd hours. She leaves her children with Cypress as well as Cypress grows up.

Alder is a patient elder brother, allowing his younger sister to tag along as he completes the chores of chopping firewood, the errands thier parents leave to him such as making purchases for dinner. The family expects that he will follow in his father's footsteps in harvesting wood with the work crews.

When her cousin Rose turns fifteen, she occasionally has Rose watch her own siblings as she travels with Oaklyn. She is interested in herbal lore and the plants that Oaklyn turns over to the town's healer. Oaklyn teaches her about edible plants and which are good to bring back to town to trade to the town's healer.

When Alder begins to work alongside thier father, Cypress' earlier interest in assisting the districts' trade re - emerges. Her father takes to showing her how he selects trees for harvesting; which are harvested for furniture, which for houses, which for other things such as staves and bows.

She expresses her own interest in harvesting trees when she is old enough; something that her parents allow her to consider. It is the district industy and her brother has been learning well with the work crews. On thier days off, Cypress, Alder and Harth walk the woods; showing Cypress things to prepare her for her chosen profession.

Now that she shares caring for the children with Rose, she now takes over the duties of minding the house hold such as chopping wood, making the house hold purchases and all of the tasks her brother used to do for the household.

Last year, her father injured his hand at work. He was unable to work for several weeks; slowly eating through the family's reserve of resources. Her father returns to work once his hand will bear the weight; but he's not as fit as he once was. Cypress hears her parents worred voices; sees that less food comes home from the market place. Elm is growing too tall for Cypress's handmedowns and new clothing is becoming a luxury.