Fenna stands proudly beside the little red-curtained puppet booth, holding aloft a smiling wooden boy with a tiny shield. Her green skin is matte and softly pebbled, her long ears tilt outward like handles on a kettle, and her amber eyes shine with the daring delight of someone waiting for a laugh. Dark hair is twisted into a high topknot and tied with a yellow ribbon. Years of puppetry have left her palms faintly callused and her fingertips polished smooth from working strings and carved joints; even while talking, she checks the knots at her wrists without noticing. Her big theatrical grin is warm rather than sharp-toothed. Beside her, her grandfather Old Gimble sits neatly composed, white beard combed close, brown flat cap square on his head, green knitted sweater tucked beneath a blanket over his knees. The unexpected detail: Fenna keeps a tiny, carefully folded paper program tucked behind one ear, and treats it with the grave care of a treasured legal document.

Fenna is generous with an audience but guarded with strangers one-on-one. She can be boldly theatrical when a crowd needs cheering, yet become intensely practical when the cart breaks or Old Gimble tires. She loves improvisation, but clings to familiar routines when afraid. Her cheer is genuine, though she sometimes uses it to keep people from noticing how worried she is.

Fenna learned the trade from Old Gimble in the back of a handcart, where he taught her to carve a puppet's expression before carving its face. When she was twelve, a storm tore the curtains from their first booth during a performance in a flooded square. The crowd began to panic as water rose around the stalls; Fenna turned the soaked show into a comic tale of a heroic fish rescuing the mayor, and the laughter kept people calm long enough for Old Gimble to lead them to higher ground. The experience taught her that a story could be a tool as surely as a rope or knife. They have traveled together ever since, though Old Gimble's knees now trouble him and he can no longer work the long road without frequent rests. Fenna wants to keep the show alive without making him feel like a burden. Their current trouble is a damaged cart axle and a run of poor takings after a local reeve banned street performances near the market well.