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Handler

Name: Lara
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Rank: Wherhandler

History:
Lara comes from a long line of Wherhandlers. Her grandfather trained her father, who married a woman who was also a wherhandler. Lara, the youngest of five and the only girl, was brought up with her parent's whers and learned at an early age the level of respect that the creatures required. Her father was bonded to a gold, and the family was quite well off, as selling wher eggs was a fairly profitable business. She watched as, one by one, her brothers were deemed old enough to bond and, one by one, they bowed to their father's queen and selected their eggs. Being the youngest, Lara was always jealous of her brother's successes and anxious to bond to a wher of her own. She knew that any wher of hers would be absolutely exceptional.

As her parents grew older, more and more of the family responsibilities fell to her older brothers. They were a hot-headed bunch in general, but they doted on their little sister and encouraged her in her apprenticeship. Overall, Lara had a very supportive and positive family and a happy childhood. She bonded to green Lask on the eve of her eighteenth Turn and the two of them were an unstoppable duo. Everything changed with the first threadfall, though. While the dragons and their riders were busy playing at politics, Thread came unexpectedly. Lara and Lask were too far from the hold, and by the time the girl made her way back she was deeply changed. Lask was dead and Lara was injured. She never spoke to anyone of what, exactly, had happened. But she retreated deeply inside of herself, and she focused all the blame for what had happened on the dragonriders. Those arrogant riders who were so wrapped up in themselves that they couldn't be bothered to protect Pern. Her hatred began to fester, and her family felt at a loss - they didn't know what to do with the woman Lara had become.

Her oldest brother had an idea, though it was a risky one. Taking an egg from their most recent clutch, they set it in a basket of hot sand near Lara's bed. When the little brown hatched, Lara fed him automatically. She didn't even pause to think about what she was doing, whers were such a part of her life. The bond with Larask was immediate and strong for a wher and a handler. Lara started to feel the ebb of her traumatic loss. But her resentment of the dragonriders did not cease, and as rumblings of discontent rose elsewhere in Pern Lara and Larask went to Malvern to seek their fortunes. The pair found themselves caught up in whispers of the revolution and placed themselves firmly in Keller's camp. When the ambush came, Lara and Larask were fighting in the tunnels of Malvern, reigning hell on as many dragonriders as they could.

Description: Lara is of average height, but is muscular for a woman. Her gender is clear from the silhouette of her body, but her strength is also obvious. Her hair is a pale shade of blonde that is bleached by the sun, the roots grow in darker than the rest of it. Her skin is tanned and freckled, her eyes are a warm shade of reddish brown and her hands are work-worn and calloused. This is not a woman who shirks her duty. Not a vain woman, she dresses practically and takes little concern regarding her appearance, aside from making sure that she is presentable.

Personality:
When she was younger, Lara was a focused, eager girl who looked upon the world as her oyster. She was loved and secure, which gave her confidence in herself. Her bond with her first wher, Lask, brought out a wild and unpredictable side to Lara that often ended in scrapes and trouble. But she always got back up, brushed herself off, and smiled.

When Lask died, Lara found her confidence shattered. She was full of bitterness and loss and she focused those negative feelings on the most convenient outward source available - the dragonriders. For awhile, Lara lost her will to participate in life. Something that had happened out there, something about the day that she refused to talk about, had broken something inside her and she didn't know how to repair it. There was a lot of confusion roiling around in the young woman's heart and she wasn't certain where or on what to focus.

But Lara is and always will be a remarkably resilient woman. Once she was jarred out of her shock and self-pity by the hatching of Larask, she found herself with a purpose again. She had another wher to care for, and he needed her. And she hadn't realized how badly she needed it either. As she raised Larask and as their bond grew stronger and stronger through their training together she began to move beyond what had happened, the past was put behind her, but she couldn't shake the grudge she held against the dragonriders. Though she had shoved the bad memories down deep and was replacing them with happier ones, there was still an element of anger to her that needed an outlet.

Lara is a woman who has grown to be mature and focused, she knows what she wants and she knows what she believes in and she will fight for her causes. While it was her grudge and bitterness towards the dragonriders that originally drew her to Keller's cause, it didn't take her long to realize that this revolution had been a long time coming, and that it was far more than a group of disgruntled people. She got behind the sense of justice and righteousness that she felt when discussing the revolution with others and became very vocal about not only the rights of wherhandlers, but the rights of those dragonriders who were also left out in the cold. Her blanket hatred absolved, she now burns with the passionate fire of a zealot.

Lara has come nearly full circle since the loss of Lask. She is devoted to Larask and they are an even more dangerous and formidable team than Lara could have ever imagined. But she still has her moments of weakness. She is occasionally plagued by nightmares, and there are times when she is swamped with confusion, a sense of loss and depression and even, sometimes, fear. She works hard to hide these times from others, and leans heavily on Larask.


Other:
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Wher

Name: Larask
Age: 2 (I think? He would have hatched soon after the first Threadfall)
Colour: Brown

Personality:
Larask could best be described as a grumpy old man. The kind that would stand there shaking a fist shouting "get off my lawn!" at stupid kids. He is very short on patience and he tends to be rather petty. He wants the things he wants when he wants them and when he doesn't get them he becomes sulky and querelous. If he still doesn't get his way he becomes snappy, irritable and sometimes violent.

Larask's preference runs towards laziness. He is fierce in battle and in duty, but in his off time he prefers to lounge and complain idly about everything and everyone. Larask is not overly hostile to people, provided that he is not in a bad mood and that Lara introduces them. If a person should dare to approach who is not his bonded or someone she has previously introduced him to, you can expect trouble.

Larask dotes on Lara, and is very protective of her. When people, whers, or dragons that they do not know approach the pair, Larask always physically puts himself between his bonded and who or whatever is approaching. When he is with her, he's rather like a kitten and it can be strange to see the usually grouchy brown wher cavorting playfully. Those who Lara is close to Larask will also protect, though more because Lara would want him to rather than because he has any real fondness for them.

Other: