Kiri

Kiri is a kenku child who was rescued by the Mighty Nein in the Labenda Swamp after being separated from her family. She traveled with them for a time before being left in the care of the Schuster family in Hupperdook.

As an NPC, Kiri is played by Matthew Mercer.

Appearance
Kiri is a kenku child, about the size of an adolescent human. Her body is covered in black feathers and she does not have wings; rather, she has exceedingly long fingers resembling a crow's primary feathers. She has bright, raven-like eyes and a long beak.

Personality
Kiri seems to be a kind and appreciative girl, saddened over losing her family but excited and hopeful that the Mighty Nein would "adopt" her. Kiri has no spoken language (Caleb's Comprehend Languages spell had no effect), communicating instead through clicks, crowing noises, and mimicry. Her mimicry can replicate both the accent and the words of others. Most of the party found her behavior adorable, with Jester being especially enamored.

Kiri has a proclivity for picking up swear words with her mimicry and stabbing dead bodies with the dagger Fjord gave her. Nott views this as evidence that the Mighty Nein's behavior is "corrupting" Kiri.

Background
Kiri was born in kenku family wtih her parents and four sisters who all lived somewhere east of Labenda Swamp. After the start of the War of Ash and Light, they fled to the Labenda Swamp and have passed Berleben.

The day the Mighty Nein met Kiri, she and her family were running from the "swamp folk", but Kiri got trapped in mud. Her family attempted to pull her out, but in the end were forced to abandon her. The Jester discovered in the stomach of a crocodile the remains of three bird-like creatures and concluded that they were probably kenku relatives of Kiri, either her sisters or cousins, although it would appear that Kiri's parents were able to escape.

Kiri was first encountered by the Mighty Nein, threatened by two rapidly approaching crocodiles of the Labenda swamp. Due to Jester's initial curiosity, hearing distance sounds of struggle off their main path, the group managed to save Kiri and decided to escort her to the nearest place safe for her well-being.

Jester got a detailed description of Kiri's parents, but was unable to contact them with her Sending spell.

Having arrived in Hupperdook, Yasha volunteered to babysit Kiri while the rest of the Mighty Nein continued on exploring, and partaking in a drinking contest. Jester later bought Kiri a music box from Cleff Tinkertop. After discovering the Schuster children, the Nein left Kiri with the kids while they continued on to Gearhole Prison.

For her safety, and following a tearful goodbye, Kiri was left in the care of the Schuster family.

Jester messaged Kiri via Sending to check on how she was doing and to let her know that the Mighty Nein were thinking about her.

While exploring the Folding Halls, the Mighty Nein learned from an outside ally that Hupperdook's factories had been attacked by the Kryn Dynasty. At first Jester was worried for Kiri's safety, but Beau reassured her that the Schuster kids were good at staying out of trouble.

Jester scryed on Kiri, seeing her well and apparently healthy at the Schuster residence, although Upper Hupperdook had sustained serious damage from the Kryn attack, which was in the process of being repaired.

Jester contacted Kiri via Sending again to tell her that they missed her. Kiri repeated Jester's statement "we miss you", and told her that she had built something. This turned out to be a music box.

Beauregard
Beau saw Kiri as fragile and thought that she would probably fare better outside of the Mighty Nein. When Kiri mimicked Beau, Beau was taken aback learning what she sounded like. Leaving Kiri with the Schusters affected Beau more profoundly than she expected, reflecting that the act of first saving the Schusters from prison and then giving Kiri a home among them was the first truly selfless action she'd taken and it felt good.

Frumpkin
Caleb let Frumpkin to soothe Kiri when the Mighty Nein first met her. Afterwards, Frumpkin and Kiri would frequently spend time together on the road or in inns.

Jester
Jester and Kiri seem to be fond of each other. Jester has tried to take care of Kiri, teaching her phrases for everyday use, helping her adapt to Dwendalian social norms, and attempting to contact her parents. In return, Kiri has been affectionate to Jester and used the phrases Jester taught her in unexpected ways.

Mollymauk
According to Taliesin, Molly actively avoided getting to know Kiri because, much like Beau, he believed that her continued presence was putting her life at risk. In his own words: "He's avoiding Kiri for the same reason why you don't name animals you're going to butcher".

Notable items

 * Nott's cape
 * Music box (purchased by Jester from Clef Tinkertop's store)
 * Dagger (received from Fjord; later given to Beau)
 * Homemade music box (built by herself)

Kenku abilities

 * Mimicry

Appearances and mentions

 * Campaign 2

Quotations

 * "Where do babies come from?" (mimicked from Beau)
 * "It's sharp." (mimicked from Fjord)
 * "Go fuck yourself!" (mimicked from Jester)
 * "It's an amphibious assault" (mimicked from Fjord)
 * "Yes, I'm very sweet." (mimicked from Jester)
 * "I killed people!" (mimicked from Calianna)
 * "WELCOME TO THE MIGHTY NEIN!" (mimicked from Nott)
 * "This means we are friends?" (mimicked from Caleb)
 * "She's probably a good egg." (mimicked from Caleb)
 * "Yeza was his name. The halfling man... from before." (mimicked from Nott)
 * "Okay. I don't know if its smart." (mimicked from Jester)
 * "Don't eat humans, okay?" (mimicked from Jester)
 * "I am Kiri!" (mimicked from Jester)
 * "It's fun. We miss you! I built something. Please come!" (mimicked from unknown people in Hupperdook)

Trivia

 * A full list of Kiri's imitations, updated to episode, can be found here from CritRoleStats.
 * Sam Riegel dressed as Kiri in the Halloween 2020 episode (see Halloween Gallery for more costumes).