Winged Female Member (Canto)

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Winged Female Member

Order of Mata Nui Messenger
Status	Alive
Location	Adytum, Vayu Peninsula
Species	Sky People
Element	None
Kanohi	None
Tools	Claws, wings, talons

Winged Female Member, or Whuffem as she is often miscalled, is both a member of the Sky People species and the Order of Mata Nui where she dutifully serves as a messenger.

History[]

Early History[]

Like all other Sky People, Winged Female Member, then called Winged Fledgette Fishcatcher, originated from the island directly south of Keetongu's Island. As her name suggests, she spent most of her life on the island soaring out over the open silver sea, catching Rahi to sustain the rest of her kind.

Recruitment[]

Order of Mata Nui records show that the Sky People's island had been on their radar for quite some time as the island's inhabitants were long-slated to be a valuable allied species. The Order set out with their plan of convincing members of the Sky People to join their cause as messengers as their natural talents and stamina made them perfect candidates. They did not expect to find a comparatively advanced civilization fiercely loyal to their leader, the Empress. Nor did they expect this leader to have an intellect that could easily surpass the top Order or even Brotherhood scientists.

Weeks, then months, of negotiation bore no fruit until a sole Winged Person decided to venture off the island. She wasn't sure why she came to this decision, only that she felt this was for the best, not only for her Empress, but also the rest of the world. As such, Winged Fledgette Fishcatcher was re-named by the Empress, her new name using "Female" instead of "Fledgette" as a mark of respect from the Empress who saw before her a youngling beyond her years.

At last, the Order had a covert messenger they so greatly desired. Winged Female Member was spirited off to Daxia to be trained as an Order of Mata Nui auxiliary member.

Teridax's Reign[]

As the battle between the Order and Brotherhood raged on, the need for communications and logistics become more important than ever. Winged Female Member continually relayed top-secret messages too vital to be transmitted by broadcasts lest they be detected by a Makuta's powerful telepathic abilities.

After Teridax took control of the robot, Winged Female Member was sent back to her home island where she was safer with Winged Empress First-Mother. As such, she was one of the lucky few who survived the destruction of Daxia. As hordes of Rahkshi roamed the Matoran Universe preying on the unfortunate on various islands, the Empress used her powers to cloak the Sky People's home, in a similar manner to what Arthaka did many years ago. As such, the rest of the Sky People race were also spared.

Spherus Magna[]

Following the defeat of Teridax, Winged Female Member, along with the rest of her species and all other Matoran Universe denizens, managed to migrate to the newly-formed Spherus Magna. Her people stayed in the Mega-village while the Navigation took place but Winged Empress First-Mother led her subjects to lands unknown to all but the Sky People before long. Winged Female Member stayed, intending to continue serving the Order.

She now provides long-distance communication throughout the Northeast Quadrant with her base of operations centering around the Vayu Peninsula.

Abilities and Equipment[]

Natural claws, wings, talons: Made of protodermis, Winged Female Member's claws and talons are durable and she often uses them to perch on ledges or even hang upside down. Her wings are also made of protodermis, but of a more pliable variant. She is able to glide for many hours and even hover in place, something all Sky People are able to do despite their substantial body mass. They are, however, still sturdy enough to deflect projectiles thrown at low velocities.
Birdsong: Like all Sky People, Whuffem is able to talk to any avian creature or Rahi. She uses this ability to encrypt messages so that only other Sky Person messengers are able to understand her, making for an efficient and secure method of relaying information between Order agents.

Personality[]

Winged Female Member tends to be slightly scatterbrained, often driven by her stomach more than her head. She means well, however, and her simplistic mindset allows her to make difficult or highly consequential decisions others would often balk at, the most important example being the decision to be the first Sky Person to assist the Order.

The Winged Empress noted her loyalty to her race and ruler, despite serving another, albeit equally important, cause during the years leading up to the Reformation. Even after Teridax's defeat, Winged Female Member's first and foremost loyalties lie with the Empress even thought she continues to ferry messages across the planet.

She is typically upbeat and optimistic, though this comes with a tendency to be tone-deaf to the situation at hand or be oblivious to someone's mood. This slight deficiency in social skills can also manifest itself as missing a joke or the gravity of a situation. Some would go so far to describe her behaviour, or antics, depending on who you ask, as outright silly. Despite this, her cheery disposition is infectious, something that was rare during the dark years leading up to the Reformation, and something still welcome by many during this time of peace.

Etymology[]

It is a common mistake to assume that "Winged Female Member" is an epithet. On the contrary, it is her true name, given to her by the Winged Empress First-Mother. Members of the Sky People speak in an extremely concise manner, to the point where their speech is overly simplistic to one not familiar with the species. "Winged Female Member" is in fact a complex name that, when analyzed, offers a detailed analysis of her state of being. As such, it is not an exaggeration to say names are vital to the Sky People. One of their kind can go through as many as twenty names throughout their lifetime.

"Winged" translates to a state of knowing oneself as one of the Sky People and therefore a vassal, first and foremost, of their one Empress. All Sky People's names who are loyal to the Empress begin with this word.

"Female" not only denotes gender, but also signifies adulthood. Those that have not reached adulthood are named with Fledgling or Fledglette instead.

Lastly, "Member" holds an interesting translation. It literally means "part of an organization". To add "Member" to a Sky Person's name signifies that they have pledged allegiance to a cause other than the Empress but still recognize her as their one, true leader. It is seen as somewhat of a derogatory descriptor by some of their kind. However, "Member" is fundamentally a neutral word.

"Whuffem" is what Winged Female Member is most often called by those not of her species. It is derived from a common type of acronym: pronounced as a word, containing only initial letters. Her true name was often shortened to "WFM" and to expediate saying that already shortened version, Order members called her Whuffem.

Trivia[]

The ability of Sky People being able to use their own tongue as a cipher is based on the Cree and the fact that their language was also used to encode messages during wartime.

Gallery[]

"Do you have anything to eat?"	Outdoor pose.
Side view.