Name: Lauren Pauling

Gender: Female, Straight

Age/DOB: 35ish / unknown DOB, arrived RY+6, shortly before others

Origin: ... That's complicated. As many members of the Rookery, multiple dimensions have had versions of her; this one is technically from Aperturth, but has also discovered that there might be a living version on Rookery earth as well

Family: brother Joe (not Boxcar Joe) still residing on her home dimension, former boyfriend Barney Calhoun who she's caught up with and realizes early on is not the same as 'her' Barney at all, and thus she has been a bit conflicted about what to do with this one as it's clear he still has feelings - and he also has kids O.O; other relatives missing or deceased on any given Earth

Other: She sure does bear a striking resemblance to a certain F. Pauling in a small town in New Mexico.

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 140, curvy in all the right places

Hair: medium brown, though it's possible that it's slightly bleached, as her brother (and F.) have much darker brown hair; cut short, fluffy, she really likes the styles available from those Rapture salons

Eyes: brightly green, does require glasses for distance and prefers silver half-frames, usually quite cheery looking but with a sly wink

Appearance: peaches and cream complexion with a lovely blush and likes to have a good strong red-pink lipstick, snub nose, will exaggerate her motion and pose for cameras. She does tend to like the red-and-grey motif, most of her outfits are of similar color schemes in varying intensities of red. She has a pleasant voice, quite expressive, tends to whisper to herself as though 'off screen', and it's easy to see when she's considering multiple options, because she'll discuss it with herself in that same half-voiced whisper

Genetic Abilities: unknown, though she seems able to read people's body language and has a good ability to judge character; also she seems to be tremendously resistant to disease, and heals from injuries reasonably fast - this may mean that whatever killed her on Repurposed Earth was quite dire indeed

Icarus Processing: none, wouldn't benefit but does not show negative markers

Image Credits: Azaleas Dolls / Pinup Princess

Skills or Profession: While it's unclear exactly what this Lauren did for a living before moving to the Rookery, Barney seems to think she used to be a delivery-girl. He's not wrong, though her professional skills go much deeper than that. On Aperturth anyway, she was not just delivering packages or critical information, she also assassinated people and did clean-up work for other people's messes. Now, Repurposed Barney does not know this, and she's not likely to tell him. Lane, on the other hand - Local Lane - does know because he's hired her in the past... Which version? Who knows. But this one recognizes him - and can tell the difference between Local and Repurposed Lanes with ease. Her eye for detail is quite refined, she could tell individual clones apart in a lineup of them, and can spot tiny leftover forensics mistakes, like that single drop of blood next to a carpet on the doorframe, or the smell of a specific kind of cologne that only one guy wears. She also has an incredibly good grasp on how to remove those mistakes. Those delicate little hands have probably strangled thirty men or more, or gracefully passed a clipboard to collect three hundred signatures on deliveries. She can absolutely handle herself in combat, thrilling to it at times, but she's no fool: she uses little bitty guns and subterfuge and surprise. If she's spotted in a Combine base, she gets out as fast as she possibly can because they will definitely kill her. These days, however, she does concentrate more on getting packages and letters to people and making sure that those in the field have what they need. Her unerring ability to locate specific people might be Vortal in nature, but it's unconscious and not a truly controlled skill.
Personality: Perky, sounds sweet, could almost be considered a bit of a dumb blonde - but don't make the mistake of thinking she's anything less than deviously clever. She always seems to have everyone's best interests in mind. And honestly, in the Rookery, she actually does. People are already stressed out and there's a clear enemy, so she wants to combat that enemy as best she can, and doing her deliveries and enabling the front-line fighters as well as the sneaky explorers to do their jobs is much more important than getting her hands any bloodier than they have been in the past. If she's directly asked 'hey did you kill people for a living' she will nod and cheerfully say yes. No one, thankfully, has ever asked. Maybe Lane. Certainly not Barney. In other words, Lauren of this imported dimension is absolutely not what she appears, but she's actively trying to be that sweet perky delivery girl that everyone believes her to be.

Events or History: Her personal history is muddled, and she will not speak of it unless she's sure that the person involved knows of it already. Obviously, Local Lane has utilized this one on numerous occasions, likely to discover what happened to his counterpart on Aperturth before their Resonance Cascade, among other things. Lauren definitely knows much more than she lets on, even about that event. But it's irrelevant now! She has a gorgeous dragon, and she's not afraid to fly!

Currently centered in Lane Mansion, but she and Loveletter travel very widely. She has a small nook attached to one of the storage rooms in the Mansion, and would kind of like to set up in the postal office nearby when it's safer. (She loves the little brick-fronted building, it's nearly unscathed from the invasions!)

Dragon

Name: Loveletter
Gender: Female
Size/Shoulder/Length: Medium-Small 8'9" s / 52' l / 82' ws
Colors: belly from chin to tail tip and behind legs medium matte red; face, main neck, body, limbs, wing arms, tail stronger red with paler heart markings; face, dorsal armor, limb armor matte crimson; border scales, horns, claws, dorsal ridge glossy black; wingsails grade from nearly black crimson at elbow to bright red at edges, also with very strong light red heart markings; eyes crimson-violet
Features: Skywing with a strong side of Nightwing (likely a grandparent)
Powers: Winged Flight, Loveletter is sturdy in the air, and can be quite speedy if needed. She darts over clear airways with purpose, if they don't have to stop she won't stop. She does surprisingly little gliding or soaring, if she's in the air, her wings are beating and she's heading to a destination. She can hover with precision, and move between very narrow structures or obstacles even with her wide wings. She's not so huge that she would clip her claws on them, but if she's fully engaged in dodging, she can even go through interiors of large buildings without trouble. She can carry a reasonable amount of weight, about 4 human-size volume, though she prefers only her rider and something in her chest harness, as that can be easily balanced. More than that, and she must slow down and moves sluggishly.
Communication, she has a strangely tight Vortal bond with Lauren, though no other telepathic communication. She otherwise uses Draconic, English, French, Spanish, and a very small amount of Vort around the Rookery. Actually a lot of French. It is the language of love, right? She has a musical voice, though it can become screeching if she's angry. You do not want to see her angry.
Because Fire, That's Why; she is a Skywing. She's small, and hardly a fighter, but she can give a burst of flames that engulfs a Strider or Gunship with one sweep, and it will drop to the ground almost like a cartoon, now a pile of ash. She uses this flame very rarely, mostly because she's good for maybe two bursts like that at close range (under 50 meters) and that's all she's got. She does not punctuate statements with it like some, and she cannot sustain a burn. She does give off a warmth, not hot enough to ignite or endanger any packages or letters, so Lauren is always comfortable even on those high-altitude flyovers.
Parentage: unknown, however is the mother of Forge and Blaze of Glory with Harrier
Origin: Adopted from Guildknight on Deviantart, egg lines by Vixenkiba, Wings of Fire by Tui Sutherland
Other Info: Can a more perfect pair be found? Nope! Not according to either of these two. Loveletter does know of Lauren's shady past, says nothing, and seals it with a kiss.