Name: Drew Griffin

Gender: Male, straight

Age/DOB: ~18, 2022, aged in Icarus

Origin: Repurposed Earth, BMRC, Black Mesa New Mexico

Family: Mother Tina Saito, father Cedric Griffin, several half and spliced siblings including Delilah, Tabitha, Arachne and Theseus

Other: After Cedric went through the Icarus process it was clear he was considerably more important for future projects, and Melissa kinda sorta decided for them that Tina and he would be 'really perfect'. She was not wrong. He's incredibly good with the ladies, himself.

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 140* Icarus treatments and inheritances mean that he's already very strong, and the muscularity he has is even more powerful; burly build but longer and leaner than his father by a long shot

Hair: black, kept short in dreads as shown, has heavy brows, and wears a soul patch way better than anyone in the Rookery, according to him anyway

Eyes: deep brown, approaching violet, small, but intense

Appearance: darkly brown skinned, with heavy lips and a wide nose, takes physically after his father; has as rich a voice as you'd expect, and plenty of people like hearing him speak, even if it's to shout out orders

Icarus Processing: Yes, at the age of 3 like most of the newer generations, Drew was also already benefitting from both of his parents' Icarus. This strengthened his body and durability, but primarily focused his Vortal and mental prowess considerably.

Image Credits: Doll Divine Prince Maker

Genetic Abilities: Very strong group communication, Vortally able to connect dozens of people at range, while maintaining a strong self-sense and not getting lost in the mix. Strong empathy and able to 'conduit' information from one person to another. Also is able to do this with animals, usually of more advanced brain structure, but anything that has an ability to remember or communicate he can effectively imprint instructions onto or glean momentary memories from. He must be near animals, within 10 meters, to do so. (Generally he relies on his dragon friends but he also taps dogs and cats, houndeyes, and even the occasional headcrab.) All of this, however, comes at a cost, he has a strangely bright Vortal essence, and cannot possibly 'hide' himself from mental vision. If he's using his powers, anyone with the ability to detect Vortal auras can 'see' him even if they're over 100 meters away. He is an exceptionally bright 'star' at greater distances, though other people can also use this to home in on him should they need to find a 'waypoint'. (Those using out-of-body powers or teleportation specifically, and he can be of use to dragons that sense mental energy as well.)
Skills or Profession: Though he is quite the mentalist, since his father is an experienced soldier, he's had 'dad training' once he was aged a bit and started to gain the teenage and adult musculature needed for such activities. Given the standard educational downloads during Icarus, he also got communication and organizational skills similar to his mother's, and a good smattering of combat and stealth tactics. Though he can fight with many weapons, he does like getting up close and personal with enemies, and uses that big-ass steel bar as a sort of quarterstaff. He likes having access to 'traditional' forms of weaponry and will eagerly take a Combine's stun stick... actually one of his weirder skills is juggling, and he will juggle stun sticks and crowbars, just to show off. Those pointy bits on his weapon belt are pieces of Manhacks. He will throw those right back at Combine. Because he does manage two dragons he also has a good amount of experience with aerial tactics, riding one of them while sending the other ahead or behind - and he's very good at this. His half-siblings, Paxton's offspring, respect his abilities and he's one of the few people aside from their father that they will take orders from. Because he can reach many people at once, Drew along with his mother are still relied upon to distribute information and emergency procedure if needed - all without using a loudspeaker. Who wouldn't want his smooth mental voice telling them to hunker down?
Personality: He is well disciplined, sensible, and a tiny bit vain. He knows he's hot, and unlike some of the more clueless guys in the Pantheon, he uses his appearance and the presence of not one but two dragons, to attract the ladies... That's not all he's about, of course. He takes his duties as a perimeter guard and scout quite seriously. Along with Paxton's kids, he is right up there with the Pantheon's front guard when need be, but does honestly prefer the area sweeps and occasional fight than full on front line attacks.

Events or History: as with many of his era, he was on the young side when the Combine were defeated, and thus mainly grew up in a world cleaning up after them. To transition into the Rookery was probably the best thing he could have done, as he would have been bored out of his mind otherwise.

Currently this trio exchanges between the Rookery and the Ranch, and may even expand into the Mojave if needed. He wants to make sure that the Rookery is safe from the Combine before moving elsewhere though.

Dragon

Name: Vask
Gender: Male
Size/Shoulder/Length: Medium-Large 12' s / 51' l / 60' ws
Colors: Copper overall, from mottled tan-brown at head and neck, through a brightly orange-shaded speckling at tail; belly armor is more evenly medium brown; wingsails and ridge fins are brighter yellowy-orange but very strongly speckled in tan and copper; eyes shift due to Old World parentage, often enough are blue (comfortable) or red (hella angry).
Features: Glenn/Nexus Hybrid, four long and muscular legs with large curved claws 4 on front and 3 hind, two leathery 3-fingered wings which on first glance look a bit stiff but they are actually incredibly strong and flexible, fan-like in their motion, claws are quite short; body is a combination of hide along most, and scaled armor on belly from chin to tail - the hide is heavy and textured, often requiring shedding or good rolls in the gravel to free up small bits; body is also quite far off the ground compared to some dragon types, and is quite long overall, though very well balanced; head is long and narrow, with prominent eye ridges, nostril ridges, and three 'horns' on sides, internal ears; ridged fins from top of head down entire neck, body, and to tail tip; offspring may inherit bicolor or oddly-gendered coloration features, as well as be both scaled and hided in texture, and will definitely have strong elemental power
Powers: Winged Flight, Vask has always been a powerful flier, his control over the elements of heat and air probably having to do with that, but also a lot of practice: he spends most of his time flying around the Den, and now the Rookery, which keeps him in sleek condition to say the least. He doesn't seem to tire unless there's no updraft or the air is particularly cold, though he does tend to remain in a reasonably small area when he patrols rather than going very long distances. He can lift a lot of weight, though not for more than a mile or two, but he can take whole tour groups around a smaller spot, to make sure that they're each in their right scouting nook.
Teleportation, having spent so much time at the Healing Den means he is well suited to movement between dimensions. Nexus teleportation is almost as simple as walking and talking for Vask, and he has taken it upon himself to perform travel duties for those in need, while he and Victory aren't needed for other jobs.
Verbal and Telepathic Communication, Vask has always spoken verbally, though he knows much more English and some other Humanoid languages than he does of Draconic speech, and this whole 'Vortigese' thing has got him baffled for the time being. He will likely learn bits and pieces of any given language that he hears, it's so much different here at the Rookery than it was in the Den. His telepathy is closer range than he'd like, also due to living in the Den and having a very limited space with which to practice. He can, however, connect with Drew at any distance to keep informed.
Weather Control / Attacks (shape/sense ice, heat, overall weather), as he is the offspring of a true elementalist, Vask is able to sense and manipulate quite a volume of air to an extent, meaning he can feel things passing through it from nearly half a mile away, though cannot affect it until it's within a few hundred meters at most. He can warm the air below his large fan-like wings, giving him an advantage for both maneuverability as well as lift, but he can also do this around himself in a 25-meter sphere so others benefit. Vask can also chill the air into a deep freeze state, or suddenly change the humidity in the air - often causing rain or static electricity. Most of these powers he's been able to practice on a smaller scale due to the size of the Healing Den's interior, but now that he's out in an actual planet for the first time in ages, he's able to let loose. He has heard that the inhabitants of the Ranch need the Combine gone before they can put up their big windmills, but the existing one that's been fixed can be powered by his air currents - and the hydroelectric dam and reservoir are ideal places for him to stir up cloud and fog materials for irrigation. He's actually quite good with understanding all these little Human things, a bit weird if you ask some dragons! Finally he can produce either frost or fire breath, neither of them are remarkably powerful nor go much farther than 50 meters before being ineffectual, but they're usually good enough to fry or freeze Combine scanners or headcrabs, or scare Antlions into their pens.
Parentage: Mother Gold-Green Kazulieth (of Talisman, Talor Genetic Clutch), Sire Gold Fire Ref's Glimmer (of Taiji Takin, Glenn Sparks+Marad)
Origin: Healing Den Cross Gender Frenzy, never bonded before now; he is truly attached to both Drew and Victory, highly protective.
Other Info: Because he's considerably older than many dragons around the Rookery, Vask considers himself a bit more wise, a bit more knowledgeable than most. He wouldn't really be wrong, either, though he's still a bit out of his league with a few of the even larger dragons around. However, he came from the Healing Den with it in his head to actually defend a place from invasions, rather than his prior job of defending the Den when it invaded places... He has flown mating flights, though few if any of his direct offspring are still around. Also, he is quite enamored of Victory - her kin might not like it, but she belongs with him...

Dragon

Name: Victory
Gender: Female
Size/Shoulder/Length: Medium 9'4" s / 48' l / 88' ws
Colors: from nose and neck, and then tail, is sandy-speckled buff beige, neck and top of tail armor unspeckled, belly armor is lighter off-white beige; body is mainly gritty-speckled medium orange with graphite grey markings including on belly armor; wingsails are brighter unspeckled orange and graphite; middle and dorsal trim graphite; face armor and stripe, and spinal ridges strong orange except where graphite marks cross them; horns on head all graphite, all claws brilliantly copper metallic; eyes very pale yellow-sand
Features: pure Skywing, four strong muscular long legs with 5 and 4 sharp curved claws; two leathery wings with 4 visible fingers, elbow strut, and strong wrist thumb all with very large slightly curved claws; body is scaled with mostly fine scales along head, neck, body, and tail, but also with large plated softer armor under belly and neck, heavier plating on entire back; face is angular and narrow with sharp beak horn, prominent armor strip over eyes, jaw horns, external ears, and two elegant spiraled back-pointing horns; entire spine has short triangular ridges
Powers: Winged Flight, Victory is as elegant in the air as she is on the ground, and on the ground she's like the gazelle her face strongly resembles. So light on her feet, it's often surprising to people who associate that distinctive 'orange and graphite' color scheme with the bulky and definitely-not-elegant HEV suit. (Even Gordon Freeman has commented on this.) In the air, she's determined and strong, more flexible and slightly faster than her copper companion, but she isn't as durable as he, and cannot lift as much though she certainly can carry a few people at a time.
Verbal Communication, Victory speaks in a clear but quiet voice, enunciating perfectly but not pretentiously. Though she probably could, she doesn't use 'the big words' that Vask often does, preferring to get to her point and then go silent for a while again. She can speak English and understand Vort to an extent, and is able to help Vask learn a bit here and there too - teaching him the basics of her own homeworld's Draconic.
Fire Breath, where Victory really shines - though not 'firescales' shiny - is her ability to burn things at range and to a complete crisp. To say that she's 'decisive' for a fight is an understatement, when she shows up it's because the fight needs finishing. Her fire burns with a yellow-white heat, melting through even thick Combine metals almost like plasma, and absolutely incinerating everything else in its path. She has learned how to fire off extremely accurate but very quick bursts of this energetic fire, in order to blast numerous enemies, or to cast groups into confusion. She can do this from a whopping 500 meters away, her vision is quite good and she's never really 'missed' her targets. These bursts can cover anywhere from a 2-meter wide spot, to a 10 meter broad arc with slightly less temperature on the bigger of the bolts. But she can also do long swaths of flame, around 50 meters accurately while flying, and keep this up for nearly half a kilometer before needing to pull in a breath. She could do this for miles, but there's no need. Once she's done, the enemy is melted into small puddles and ash on the wind anyway.
Parentage: Unknown, and though she's got a similar color scheme to many of the brightly marked orange Skywings in the Rookery she isn't directly related to any of them. That's fine, because she doesn't even really care: she has eyes for Vask.
Origin: Adopted from Furrygamer2003 (base by ??) with some slight color modifications; Wings of Fire by Tui Sutherland
Other Info: Victory was young, perhaps only 5 or 6 years old, when she came to the Rookery. She happened upon one of the opening-and-closing portals and took a chance, avoiding being drafted into a war - fighting against other Dragons? That's absurd, they should all be serving one purpose! Thus determined, she had no trouble fitting right in with the Rookery assortment, and then... she laid eyes on this mature copper who was speaking quietly in a deep voice, to some scientist or other. She crept up to Vask, she wasn't her full size or strength at that time, but she would never be as big as he is overall (save for those huge wings of hers). He took a shining to her almost immediately as well - and when the two of them came across the Vortally powerful Drew, they both made the decision to bond to him. Their purpose clear, this pair will likely produce unusual hybrids, they take orders from Drew but are also more than capable of making decisions without him about non-combat activities.