Yoska Petulengro
Age ➳
20
Gender ➳
Male
Nationality ➳
Romani
Role ➳
Horse trick rider
Personality ➳
Yoska is a quiet young man who would prefer spending time with animals rather than people. He's often kept to himself, and is happy to stand at a distance rather than socialize. That's not to say he isn't friendly if approached, just shy. He's come a long way from the quivering shell he was when he came to the circus. His social skills have far improved. However, he still harbors a fear of men, particularly those larger than himself.
Other ➳
His first language is Romani, and he had picked up several others in his travels.
Speaking German, Romanian, French, and English, he may be one of the most multilingual members of the circus. However, due to having almost no proper schooling, Yoska is almost completely illiterate. By this age, learning to read and write is difficult, and he's too ashamed to ask for help. He's afraid people will just think he's stupid.
Appearance ➳
Yoska is about 5'10" with lean muscles and dark olive skin, clearly a mutt. His hair is curly and dark brown, usually messy and unkempt. Taking a brush to it is quite the feat. His eyes are dark brown. He usually always has a little hair on his face. Yoska can always been seen with his necklace on, the only thing he has left to remember his family by.
History ➳
Yoska was born to a Romani family that traveled around Europe. They were a very traditional bunch, using horses and wagons (along with cars) to travel from place to place. From a young age, the horses had captured Yoska's attention. He had always loved animals.
When Yoska was 10, his family crossed the border into Romania, where they were arrested and deported due to lack of passports and papers. In the chaos, however, Yoska, got separated from them and left behind. Alone, he became thin, sick, and was in constant fear of being hurt or robbed. The Romanian people didn't have a very kind view of gypsies. He survived by moving from town to town, begging on the streets.
When he was 15, Yoska was found and taken in by a farmer, who put him to work to earn food and a place to live. Yoska was never paid actual money, making the transaction illegal and slavery by deffinition. Yoska did everything from make home repairs to work in the fields, all the while favoring the barn animals over farmhands. Although his life had improved from begging for money on the street, Yoska still lived in fear. The farmhands weren't too kind to him, often making him do the work that they were supposed to do, calling him a 'filthy, lazy gypsy' all the while. If he ever tried to defend himself, he would be beaten or scared into submission.
It wasn't until Yoska was 18 that he decided that he'd had enough of the mistreatment at the hands of the farm workers. He ran away, returning to the harsh life of a vagabond. He came across the circus while trying to hitchhike to a new city. Their caravan found him as he was walking barefoot down a stretch of road that didn't have any civilization for miles. He had been walking for about two days, was thin, dirty, and dehydrated. The circus picked him up, and after hearing a bit of his story, it was decided that perhaps they could help by giving him a job.
Yoska started off as a stable hand. He cared for the horses and livestock, as he was too skittish to fair well with crowds. After about a year, he showed promise of being a natural born rider. It wasn't long before he was being trained to perform in shows. Performing has brought him out of his shell more in the last few months than the last couple years combined.
