Name: Bakar ('alone', Basque)

Gender: Male

Age/DOB: ~250, unknown DOB

Origin: Born on Rookery's Xen, moved to Earth during first main invasion, arrived in Europe with original construction of Cities

Family: None known

Other: Serves with other Vorts as a scout, hunting for Combine Advisor pods and outposts, has rescued a good number of refugees

Height: 5'9", can stand fully to nearly 7', quite tall for a Vort

Weight: 180, strongly muscled and heavy boned, used to foot travel and suited to roughing it

Hair: none

Eyes: more yellow-orange than most Vorts, the darkest his eyes get is a rich fire-orange, and the pupil is intensely white-yellow

Appearance: though most of his skin is typically Vort grey-green, it's somewhat shinier than most, and turns a warm grey toward his fingers, feet, and neck. The grey then also has darker orange-toned stripes, including around his ears, neck, wrists (and 3rd wrist) and ankles; hooves are brighter red-orange than most matching the stripes

Icarus Processing: none of course

Image Credits: Valve

Genetic Abilities: As all Vorts, Bakar is one with the hive-mind of the Vortessence, and is especially tuned to sense enemy presences. This was likely trained into him as a soldier on Xen, though he's taken it into his own direction (sensing 'enemy' as Combine, and not humans, obviously). He has a bright Vortal aura, yellow like his eyes, and those who need to communicate with him can do so easily if they know him at all: his presence simply listens for any call for help from him. (Vahh's clan has a version of this, "call to Vahh", it seems Bakar is the focal point of the Vorts emergency services network.) In addition to the underlying Vortal communication he can do, Bakar is very strong in terms of attacks and protective Vortessence use. His electrical attacks are enough to kill small prey outright, but also to stun or frighten much larger ones such as Hunters, Guardians, and the spare moose. (Yes, he's encountered a moose. He didn't quite know what to think...) He tries to reserve all attacks for when there are others to back him up, because together they can link Vortessence and be considerably stronger than solo. Also as a group, he tends to lead healing or exploration - he can keep an injured Vort or Human alive and stable, without aid, for hours without interruption. He's also keenly able to sense Antlion nests, both physically by sniffing (... they DO have noses... somewhere) and Vortally. His use of the Extract is well known, he directs groups using it with a clear mind and heart.
Skills or Profession: scout and protector, Bakar had been trained to hunt and locate incursions on Xenian soil, but then after Nihilanth's demise has eagerly tuned in to the Combine's presence to make sure that this new world is eventually free of them. He has strong survival skills, can find food and water easily, and creates quick, small shelters for himself or refugees along the way. He has good animal recognition skills, more extensive knowledge of Xenian or off-Earth creatures, but that's more because there aren't all that many native Earth animals left. He knows how to spot a weak point in an enemy, be it a single Guardian or a troop of Combine soldiers. Also he has extensive knowledge of Human transportation, weapons, and locations - familiarizing himself with those was the first thing he did once he left City 14 behind.
Personality: Bakar lives up to his designation as "the Lone Vort". Though he is very interested in making sure that everyone on a team is doing their best, and enhancing those results himself, he works best on his own, traveling quickly and confidently around any wilderness he finds himself in. He is friendly and kind, though often enough a little bit snide in commentary. He calls things like he sees them - if a situation is dire, he will say so, but often in a way that seems... pleasant? Ironic? It isn't that he doesn't understand 'suicide before headcrabs get me', it's that he sees it as a valid response to a terrible situation on the way. He is remarkably protective of any in his care, and will drain himself before allowing harm to come to them. He's no fool though, he will run away the moment he can, and will direct others to do so repeatedly if they cannot help defend or attack.
Events or History: Born on Xen and enlisted only after decades of survival on a distant floating island. He was put in shackles traditional to the soldiers of Nihilanth, but never quite cared for what he was doing in them. He avoided actively killing anyone in the initial days of Black Mesa's incursion into Xen, but he knows that numerous scientists met their demise because of information he passed along to his companions. When the actual Xenian invasion of Black Mesa happened, however, he lingered behind as much as he could, having recognized that the blood lust in some of his companions were only because their keepers and controllers demanded it. He was among the first to break his shackles and howl for joy at the end of Nihilanth's reign. Always looking out for people, he was hesitant to leave the side of a small family he'd befriended early in the Portal Storm era, and they traveled to Europe together. When the Combine came, however, they were split up, and he fled - never seeing them again, and holding out little hope for their return. He hooked up with the resistance around City 17, knowing that the Citadel there was home to some of the masterminds of the invasion, and if he could keep them to a minimum the resistance could stand more of a chance. Though he wasn't actually part of the Shorepoint group per-se, he was among those who were picked up nearby after that location was lost. His skills in recognizing and even taking down Combine activity is well known among the rebels.

He resides with others at Lane Mansion, but is frequently found miles and miles away, as he patrols on foot. This location allows him to coordinate rescues more easily, since there are hundreds of small communities that the Combine are still hunting down in the area.

Dragon

Name: Stripe
Gender: Male
Size/Shoulder/Length: Small (long) 6' s / 44' l / 50' ws
Colors: mainly caramel tan, from neck to tail belly is buff peach-pink, light brown skirt marking on back over hips and top of tail, tail has even wide brown stripe markings, stripe marks in white and light brown on horns; wingsails charcoal grey, eyes lime green
Features: Whiptail dragon, very long build, with 4 sturdy pawed legs; hide is very fine, soft and smooth scales in a dull finish; two wings with single visible fingers, nearly transparent wingsails; boxy face with prominent muzzle, horns split in the center; remarkably long tail which can be used as an attack cushioned by padding on hips. Wingsails can be easily torn and not so easily repaired. Omnivorous, meat for flight, and plant when flying is not needed.
Powers: Winged Flight, Stripe is a quick flier, equally fast on the ground and remarkably stealthy when needed. The most you'll usually see of him any time he's in motion is the dust cloud or puff of leaves left behind him. He tends not to fly very high, except when he's doing specific scouting to relay any danger to his Vortigaunt friend.
Bakar has trained Stripe to recognize specific Combine creatures and give different distinct chirps or cries when he sees them.
Parentage: Unknown, wild
Origin: adopted from Dragonsandvideogames on Deviantart
Other Info: Stripe is a remarkably calm scout, and seems very intelligent to anyone that watches him behave. Utterly loyal to Bakar, and clearly interested in keeping his Vortigaunt friend safe, he will fiercely defend an area if Bakar is resting or treating refugees, patrolling with keen eyes and vigilance.