Papa Keali
"What's cooking today? 🎵 The soup du jour is Papa Keali! 🎶"
"Papa" Keali Haane is the manager of the staff cafeteria of the Hearth, the main headquarters for the Adventurers' Guild in Eversun City. He is a capybara-type Pestling and a member of the Creative Commons Division.
| Keali Haane | |
|---|---|
| Alternate Names | "Papa" Keali |
| Pronouns | He/him |
| Species | Pestling |
| Subspecies | Capybara |
| Division | Creative Commons Division |
| Role | Cafeteria manager |
| Aspect | Water-born, Earth-gifted |
Appearance
Papa Keali is a Pestling, but being of the capybara-type, he is of a size that frequently gets him confused for a greater Kindred. He has a blocky head with hooded dark eyes, small round ears on the top of his head, a burly, paunchy body covered in coarse brown fur, and hands capped with stubby claws. He usually wears colorful floral clothing in the cafeteria, and while he does have a chef's toque issued for his duties, he frequently doffs it in favor of balancing the produce du jour on his head for the sake of amusing his patrons. Despite his seemingly idle nature, he is known for bursts of surprising athleticism, often humbling Wayfarers who don't expect the schlubby cook to be quite as adept as he actually is.
Personality
Papa Keali is marked out among the Adventurer's Guild by his ceaseless and unyielding attempts to bring cheer and positivity to everybody, every day. He serves up tasty and filling food with a smile at the Hearth cafeteria, striving to remember every face and recall details about every life to establish and deepen connections with everyone he meets, and when circumstances permit, he offers his advice and support to individual adventurers going through troubled times. He is a frequent fixture at Eversun City festivals and guild events, managing food stalls and serving special menus for nearly every holiday, and is famous for his Patchwall vacation luau cookouts, invitations to which are limited to his most endeared friends and clientele.
He is even-tempered and good-natured, responding to arguments or criticism with good humor, deflection or inattention, and even taking physical violence directed at himself in stride with either passivity or clinching to prevent further assaults. Aggression directed at other cafeteria or cookstand patrons will see one escorted out, but generally without further ill will, while wasting food prompts more concern than anger, unless it becomes a habit. The only guaranteed way to spark an angry outburst from Papa Keali is to start or participate in a food fight, which is a sure way to earn janitorial duty for the rest of the day and the ill will of the cafeteria manager for a long time to come.
Biography
Not much is known about Keali Haane before his arrival in Eversun City ten years ago. Capybara Pestlings are native to the tropical regions of Castrella, and live life a little differently from their typical 'vermen' compatriots; their society and history isn't fully understood in the same way other subspecies' are. It's not known how his past shaped the person he is, but some of the hints and remarks he's dropped in conversations with adventurers over time suggest some personal experience with curses or tragedy that he has chosen to combat with a positive outlook on life. Of course, he's also been known to tell tall tales, so he might just be a congenital liar and perennially cheerful Charlie.
Contributions
Papa Keali runs the Hearth's staff cafeteria; it's of some debate whether this should be a Trade Division concession or not, but Keali made the argument and the Creative Commons Division backed it up that free, filling, and nutritious meals are foundationally important to the success of the Guild's other fields of aspiration. That's not to say Trade and Civil Affairs are happy with the decision, considering the loss of revenue from meals purchased not just by the adventurers in the guild but from purchases made in the vicinity of the Hearth, but it does make life considerably simpler and more convenient for the other Divisions of the Guild at the Hearth.
Relationships
Papa Keali is married to a fellow capybara Pestling typically called "Mama Haane" by adventurers. In public she often serves up verbal jabs and barbs about Papa's past mistakes and indiscretions, which he tends to play off with either forgetfulness, inattention or humor, as is his usual style, but in private they have a quiet, tender relationship.
Trivia
- Papa Keali is known to make a batch of soup strictly for himself to take a bath in; he even sings his own bathtime song on the subject when he does so.