about me
the long version
you asked. or you clicked. same thing.
hi. i'm kiri. i'm a stoat, mostly: the ears, the tail, the inability to sit still. the rest of me is just a regular person who climbs things she probably shouldn't.
i'm not on a quest. nobody gave me a prophecy. i go places because i want to see what's there, and because the feeling right before you find out is the best feeling i know.
plate 1 · drawn from life
a field guide entry
Kiri
Mustela erminea (sort of)
- identification
- tall for a stoat (5'10"), quick, and usually somewhere she shouldn't be. look for round white-lined ears, pale cheek marks, a long tail with a dark tip, and wrapped wrists.
- 1round, white-lined ears
- 2pale cheek marks
- 3wrapped wrists
- 4long tail with a dark tip
- habitat
- cliffs, trails, rooftops, the top of anything
- call
- a loud “hey, come look at this”
- diet
- snacks. constantly.
- range
- widening
- similar species
- cats. she will correct you.
explorer’s character sheet
filled in by: me (biased)
class
wanderer
level
24
alignment
chaotic curious
- curiosity
- 5 out of 5, and then some
- doesn't fit on the sheet
- agility
- 5 out of 5
- stamina
- 4 out of 5
- 4 before snacks, 5 after
- strength
- 3 out of 5
- working on it
- patience
- 1 out of 5
- caution
- 1 out of 5
- rounding up
- sense of direction
- 2 out of 5
- i always find a trail eventually
- loyalty
- 5 out of 5
- competitiveness
- 5 out of 5
- mostly against myself
the basics
- name
- kiri
- nickname
- kiri. i don't really do nicknames.
- species
- stoat girl
- age
- 24
- birthday
- 21 march
- height
- 5'10"
- pronouns
- she/her
- home base
- wherever i parked last
i'm impulsive. i know. i'd love to tell you i've grown out of it, but last week i climbed a tree to see if i could see the car park from the top. (i could. it was the car park.)
i'm also stubborn in a way that's useful about half the time. tell me something looks impossible and i'll be thinking about it for weeks. i don't need to be the best at anything. i just want to find out how good i can get.
but i'm not reckless with people. if you're my friend, you're my friend. i'll carry your pack up the last bit, and i'll remember how you take your tea.
for the record
things i like, and don't
yes
- the top of things
- maps with blank bits on them
- cold water, in small doses
- rain on a tent
- people who say “yeah, okay, let's go”
- trail mix (the good bits)
- being underestimated (briefly)
no thank you
- being told to wait
- wet socks
- the way down
- geese
- “you'll hurt yourself” (i know)
- sitting still on buses
known issues
quirks
- 1
when i'm really excited i do a little hop. it's involuntary. stoats do it. look it up.
- 2
there are snacks in every pocket of every jacket i own. every one.
- 3
i name the boulders i climb. the mean ones get mean names.
- 4
i can fall asleep anywhere as long as i can curl up.
- 5
i've never once looked at the map first.
the list
goals
- get lost on purpose (done)
- sleep outside in the snow (done)
- one-arm hang for ten seconds (not yet)
- see the northern lights (not yet)
- climb something everyone says is too hard (and come back down) (not yet)
- find out what's on the other side of that mountain (not yet)
- write all of this down (not yet)in progress. you're looking at it.
favourite songs
the trail mix
a mixtape. for walking uphill.
kiri's trail mix · vol. 1
side a
side a
- A1
Ends of the Earth · Lord Huron
the first song on every trip. it's the law.
- A2
Dog Days Are Over · Florence + the Machine
for the last hill before the top
- A3
Mykonos · Fleet Foxes
for long drives with the windows down
side b
- B1
Home · Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
it doesn't matter where, as long as i'm with people i like
- B2
Holocene · Bon Iver
for the quiet bit at the end of the day
trivia
a few fun facts
- 1
the tip of my tail is dark and always has been. all stoats have that. it's supposed to make hawks grab the wrong end.
- 2
i'm 5'10". people expect stoats to be smaller. people are wrong about a lot of things.
- 3
i've broken the same finger twice, on two different rocks, in two different countries.
- 4
i eat about six small meals a day. it's a metabolism thing. please don't comment on the snacks.
- 5
my birthday's 21 march, which is basically the first day of spring. i always spend it outside.
where i'm from
the backstory
i've never been very good at staying in one place.
growing up, i was the kid who climbed things she wasn't supposed to, wandered off to see what was over the next hill, and came home covered in scratches with a story i couldn't wait to tell.
not much has changed.
now i go wherever my curiosity takes me. i pick up new skills, meet interesting people, and get myself into situations that probably could've been avoided. i'm not chasing some grand destiny, and i'm not trying to prove anything to anyone. there's just too much out there to spend my life standing still.
i don't need to be the best at anything. i just want to find out how good i can get.
and if something looks impossible? well. that usually makes it more interesting.
— kiri