Laurelle

[Yolanda Riona]

Name: Laurelle

Age: 20

Alignment: Neutral

Species: Bush baby.

• Two silver daggers
• Blue potion
• Colourless potion
• Intermediate use of daggers
• Beginner magic use, (earth for healing touch)
• Master healer

Appearance and equipment: Laurelle stands 7 inches tall, about average for a bush baby, but has 10 inch long tail, giving her a little more substance and reach. Like all of the Australian species she has large dark eyes, and oversized ears. Her fur is a chocolate brown colour, softening to a white underbelly and darkening to an almost black tail-tip and paws. Around her snout and eyes the fur becomes finer and lighter, but does not fade to white as in most members of her species.
Obviously, as a quadruped Laurelle does not wear a large amount of clothing, in fact she only wears a pendant. Her fur is thick and luxurious and, aided by her bushy tail, keeps her warm and helps to camouflage her in times of danger in her native bushland. She thinks clothing would be restrictive in her agile movements; also she dislikes garish colours and drawing attention to herself. The pendant is simple and inexpensive; it is a badge of office rather than a decoration. Most will be familiar with the symbol, a green cross on a circular white enameled background, hung on a simple silver chain around her neck, it shows those she interacts with that she is a trained medic.
She carries a simple, plain black bag with her at all times, and in a custom pocket on the side nearest her body a small silver dagger is concealed. It�s easily available, yet concealed from prying eyes. The body of the bag is filled with her medical equipment, and she only has normal items, painkillers, bandages, plasters, creams, a syringe and needles, a portable sterilization kit, splints and a spare dagger. Anything you might need in a minor emergency you will find, but something more specialist Laurelle will need to find or improvise. She also carries two tiny bottles of liquids, one a vivid blue and the other totally colorless. She will not tell you what they are, or what is in these bottles, merely wraps them safely and separately from the rest of her equipment, hidden deep inside her fur.

Personality: Laurelle is a complex person. Her childhood was timid and overcrowded, fed alarmist tales of the evil Dr Robotnik, yet interspersed with the joy of near flight, and her growing confidence in her abilities as an acrobat. This confidence saved her while she endured the homesickness of schooling, and then pushed her to reach for the stars and dare to live her dream of helping others. Her mother would have been proud of her, and as her mother means so much to Laurelle surely she must try? Her medical training has taught her that every single being has their own problems, dilemmas, needs and even hopes and dreams, she finds it impossible to pass a person in need or pain. Her heart is as big as her huge, liquid, dark eyes.
Contrasting with this soft nature and endless capacity for others, there is a core of steel, subconsciously raging at her parents for sending her away at the age of 15 and leaving her brothers and sisters in the heart of the family she feels a huge need to prove herself, yet chokes that impulse with loyalty to her family. She will never admit to feeling unwanted, but the wound is deep. She also channels all hatred against Robotnik, refusing to speak of him, flying into anger and then a cold icy rage if he is mentioned.
All she wants out of the world is a place to call home, some acceptance, and an end to the reign of terror imposed by Robotnik. She would do anything to save another person, and on top of her painstakingly taught magical healing, by diligent study she is very good at her job, switching off all outer influences to be at one with her patient. She has grown and bloomed emotionally, but there are a few scars and fears which will let her down, she falls easily into a state of insecurity and apathy, and then only the sight of another�s need will rouse her.
She worries about killing another being, she has never let a patient fail, but then she�s never been alone before. Laurelle doesn�t know if she can kill, but she shudders away from the thought. The only thing she cares about it that it must be a painless quick death, and being the medic she is, can make that so. This thought of combat preys on her mind, and while she yearns to prove herself she shies away from pain and causing others pain.

History: Laurelle always worried about her large family of brothers and sisters, and was the stay at home out of a group of tearaways. Spending so much time with her mother, she developed a strong maternal instinct that will cause her to be very loyal and to always do her very best for a close friend or family member. Laurelle chose to learn to be graceful and agile, spending time playing in the trees around her family home rather than wandering off into the bush to play practice war games within the family. She became the best in her group at jumping and leaping, and became adept at using her tail for balance and to wrap around tree trunks for support. Her mother saw that she was different to the others and wanted all of her family to have some sort of defence against the ever-growing menace of Robotnik. She made the difficult decision that this child, with her soulful eyes and acrobatic grace, should be sent away from the group to toughen up.
So it is that the 15 year old Laurelle finds herself relocated into Sydney, into the equivalent of a boarding school, and after a year of non-specific training, where her athletic prowess stands her in good stead, but her hopeless emotional vulnerability means that she suffers terrible homesickness. Her mother�s worries about Robotnik are more real to her than the rest of the family as she spent far more time with her mother, and less with her father, and night after night she is wracked with nightmares of her family and social group being ambushed, waged war upon, murdered by Dr Robotnik.
After completing her first year of schooling, and graduating with high honours in gymnastics and a scrape scholastically, she had to choose her path for the next three years. After wondering long and hard, she decided she wanted to become a healer, guessing that the daily struggle against death would help her to return home and help her family.
For three years Laurelle studied hard, and with her soulful dark eyes and gentle touch she became a model student. Scholastically she was still finding these tough, but achievement of her goal to become a person strong enough to stand and aid her family in the fight gave her the strength to carry on. She picked up physical and social skills quickly; learning how to address those in pain, patience, gentleness, how to soothe and heal. Having a new obsession calmed her nightmares and her fears, helping people provided the vent she needed to know that she was making a difference, and she settled down to study hard and effectively.
Finally, at age 19 Laurelle leaves Sydney and her school, and journeys back to her family, who greet her with open arms. Much celebrating ensues, as each of her brothers and sisters have become experts in melee fighting, and Laurelle has become a healer, the most demanding yet rewarding of professions. Her mother can hardly believe the change in her daughter, the timid, fearful, shy child has been replaced by an articulate, sensible, skilled woman. Yet, internally, the childhood fears of Robotnik have hardened and cooled into an icy hatred. Her family has been safe up until now, but will they always be safe? Especially now that they are all heading off to defend their land against the ever present threat of warfare.
The inner woman faces a dilemma, to go with one of her family, and know that she did the best she could for them, or to stay by her mother�s side and defend the woman who saw her potential and gave her a life over than the fighter she would have had to become? In the end it was Laurelle�s father who gave her advice, strong and silent, the archetypal warrior, he was distant through her youth, but never uncaring. He told her that she had been trained to be a medic, and she must go and use her talents. Having to chose between her family members would render her incapable of living out her own ambitions and dreams, and her mother would be protected by him, her husband. Problem solved, Laurelle listens to an inner voice, stifled through childhood, yet whispering through her medical training, and agrees. She must leave her home; she must stand on her own two feet. She must live, for herself and by herself. A stupefying, scary thought for the girl, but what she knew she had been prepared for all of her life.
This is where we find Laurelle now, leaving home journeying towards her next huge adventure, with no training except in the art of healing and cures. Of course her training covered poisons and all manner of illnesses, and so she secretly brews a potent poison, knowing that undefended she will surely not last long in the world, and not realized her ideals and dreams of helping the forces battling the evil that has overshadowed the world for so long.
After a battle with her conscience, she mixes the antidote, and knows that she will lack the impetuous to kill, she is by nature a healer, and the concept of causing harm is abhorrent to her, yet her heart is filled with hatred for Robotnik, and if the worst should befall her she will be ready.

Weapon: A dagger is the only weapon that Laurelle will carry. It is silver plated for use as a medical tool when sterilized, yet has been reinforced by a much stronger alloy underneath, making the small weapon an impediment to any enemy. Especially so when Laurelle is feeling very threatened or has concrete evidence that her foes are agents of Dr Robotnik, whom she was taught to hate from an early age. Then she will take a tiny bottle of liquid from her bag, dip the point of her dagger, and the victim, upon the liquid entering his bloodstream through whatever scratch or cut she administers, will become paralyzed for about a radius of two feet from the wound. Here there are two choices; either she can administer the antidote after extracting information, or leave the victim to die the death that they so richly deserve for allying themselves with the evil doctor. Of course, the dagger will be sterilized and cleansed ready for its next medical or defensive usage.

Moves and Abilities: Laurelle is foremostly a medic, and as such has no offensive moves as such. She does however have a skill in massaging muscles and releasing tension, which relieves the pain of others, without the use of any medical equipment, only her paws and a great deal of concentration and attunement, this is counted as an earth elemental magic skill. She must be calm and blocking out all other distractions for this to work. Secondly, she retains most of her acrobatic ability and with her long tail and lithe body she has a great skill in jumping and climbing. She will have advantages in fights for the increased mobility because she is able to dodge more easily. Laurelle does not run fast, but she can evade easily because of her small size and natural species skills with trees and forest habitats.

Strengths:
Concentrates well
Calm under stresses
Use of daggers
Healing touch
Jumping
Climbing
Camoflage

Weaknesses:
Her size
Strength
Lack of offensive attacks
Lack of experience

[Slots Section removed 4/2/2009.]