Full Name:
Charlotte Ann Hargrove
Nicknames:
While she always introduces herself as Charlotte Ann, she happily answers to Hargrove, Doc, and any variations of Charlotte Ann that people throw at her.
Age:
26
Gender:
Female
Bonded or Outsider? Role?:
Bonded, medical professional.
Thoughts on the Other Group?:
While the fate of the Outsiders is unfortunate, and she truly pities the hardships they endure without the protection of Altaraz's walls, their condition presents a risk to everyone in the city. Perhaps in some distant future, with study and maybe even careful cooperation, a solution can be found that protects the Outsiders without endangering everyone else. But until then, the division is necessary for everyone's protection and must be maintained. And if there could be any doubt whether someone might be infected, well, better safe than sorry.
Appearance:
Charlotte Ann is approximately 5'5" and built like a brick. She's got broad shoulders, arms, thighs, just generally the appearance of someone who could crush a watermelon with one bicep. While her physique originally came from all the haybales she had to toss when she was younger, it now serves to manhandle any particularly belligerent - or unresponsive - patients.
Her skin is heavily sun-tanned from years outside, particularly her face, and she's got no shortage of freckles on her face, arms, and back. Her eyes are hazel, with deep crow's feet in the corners from how much she smiles and laughs. Her hair, once a dark blonde, is fairly sun-bleached at this point, and where she previously had perfect ringlets now it's more of an unruly frizz. She generally ties it back into a ponytail or bun, keeping the underside shaved so she has less hair to manage, and often uses a brightly coloured bandana to help keep it out of her face. She has a permanent slight smile, always looking open and approachable.
She tends to wear heavy-duty cargo pants, sleeveless shirts, a rotating collection of flannels, usually with the sleeves rolled up, and her trusty steel-toed farm boots. She considers it a blessing she can still fit in all the old clothes she was able to bring with her.
Personality:
Outside of any medical setting, she's an absolute sweetheart who can be found sharing a laugh with anyone in the city, exchanging cheery greetings while hauling supplies, or lending a listening ear to anyone in need. As far as she's concerned, looking after the city medically also means preserving morale, and that requires friendliness and comradery. She also tends to be competitive, in a good-natured way. She's not shy about physical contact, often giving people pats on the shoulder that are really quite a bit harder than they look, giving people a hearty shove as a form of endearment, and suffocating innocent victims in truly impressive bear hugs.
Inside a medical setting, though, Charlotte Ann is a different beast. Pratically a tyrant. She'll manhandle people who show the slightest hint of being uncooperative, has no compunctions about lecturing people for pretending to be fine, and generally tolerates no nonsense or deviation from her standards. She definitely takes the tough love approach to those in her care, though the love part is somewhat lacking when it comes to anyone who doesn't follow her instructions. She keeps a colour-coded list of people who try to leave before she thinks they're ready, try to hide their problems from her, or fail to follow her instructions about getting enough rest.
While she tends to be loud and boisterous a lot of the time, she almost never raises her voice in anger. In fact, she's largely perfected the "I'm not mad, just really disappointed" spiel at this point, which seems to work better for getting people in line. Of course, the aggressive use of pet names certainly adds to the impression of a particularly disappointed mother, which only makes it more effective.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Charlotte Ann's got no compunctions about blood or injury or disease - she's seen it all before. She remains seemingly unfazed in even the most stressful of situations, able to remain outwardly steady and calm even when her heart is racing with adrenaline. She's remarkably adept when it comes to practical medicine, if not the theoretical aspects, and equally adroit with all manner of medical tools. And she's quite the people-person most of the time, which is always helpful for a medical professional.
However, she's no fighter. She may be strong, especially for her size, but unless the foe can be downed in a bare-knuckle brawl, she won't have much luck. And despite her frequent lectures to people about how they shouldn't hide injury or illness, she's prone to overworking and undersleeping without intervention. While she's happy to take and follow orders, she has a tendency to become prickly and defensive if she perceives any disrespect from authority, particularly in regards to her knowledge or skills, whether there is any disrespect meant or not.
Backstory:
Charlotte Ann Hargrove grew up in rural North Carolina as the only child to two large animal veterinarians. Ever since she was able to follow instructions, she's been slinging haybales, vaccinating cows, suturing goats and helping mares foal. Though she had no formal veterinary education, she had plenty of practical experience.
When the virus swept through their area, her parents survived for a while. The three of them helped provide shelter and medical assistance to their community to the best of their ability. But that didn't last forever, and after a supposedly uninfected person brought the virus inside the gates, her parents succumbed to the disease shortly thereafter. With that, Charlotte Ann was on her own, foraging and trading medical assistance for food and shelter along the way.
When she raided an abandoned zoo one day, searching for any dried foods, stored water, durable fabrics or, if she was particularly lucky, medicines to trade, she was surprised by a long, furry creature that burst out of a hole and scurried into her clothes, seeking warmth. Though their initial meeting was chaotic, Charlotte Ann and the genet, Kip, Bonded.
The two made their way to Altaraz, where Charlotte Ann's dependable, easygoing nature and medical knowledge quickly endeared her to the population, eventually becoming the city's medical professional.
Affiliations:
Bonded to Kip.
No familial affiliations.
Friends: Open!
Crush: Open, PM me.
Significant Other: N/A
Unlikely to have rivals, but feel free to PM me and discuss.
Other:
I know.
Name:
Kip
Age:
7
Species:
Rusty-Spotted Genet
Thoughts on the Other Group?:
Anyone who poses a risk to his life of comfort in Altaraz should be avoided at all costs. If that means those people have to suffer out in the wildnerness, then that's unfortunate. For them, not him. He's where he belongs, safely within civilised lands, with all the warmth and food he requires.
Appearance:
Like all genets, Kip is ridiculously long, like the offspring of a cat and a particularly belligerent spaghetti noodle. As is typical for the species, he's a light greyish-brown, with darker brown spotted stripes and a crest of elongated, upright fur along his spine. He's remarkably well groomed, with a glossy coat, and clearly well-fed.
Personality:
An utter menace of a creature, Kip can be found clinging to the back of Charlotte Ann's flannels and chittering angrily at passers-by, popping out of ducts at inopportune moments with the sole intent of surprising his victim into dropping their food, and eating a truly astonishing variety of insects within view of whoever he thinks would be made most uncomfortable by his choice of lunch. However, at his core, Kip is a deeply vain and lazy creature who wishes for nothing more than complete comfort for himself. And Charlotte Ann, but she's the second priority. His own comfort is more important. A good sunbeam, a safe place to nap, more food than he knows what to do with - that's the dream.
Mutations:
Enhanced smell, which he mostly uses to track down errant bugs for his next snack, but which Charlotte Ann insists on pestering him into using to identify infected wounds, illnesses, and all manner of other things she claims are important, and hearing, which is primarily used to avoid the people most likely to scold him for being a menace to the public.
Enhanced speed, which is highly necessary for removing himself from situations he started. There's no shame in running from a fight you can't finish, even if its entirely your fault.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
He's long, he's agile, he's quick, he's got keen senses and a good instinctual sense of danger. He has, at most, one brain cell. He's completely unmotivated by anything except his own comfort or entertainment, and has incredibly limited survival instincts thanks to being raised in captivity.
Backstory:
Kip was born and raised in a zoo, living in domesticated bliss, with food, fresh water and shelter provided to him and his every whim catered to. Needless to say, he did not take it well when the zoo was abandoned. Luckily for him, Charlotte Ann's arrival meant not only a source of warmth, but also a servant who would provide him with all the food and companionship he could desire.
Affiliations:
Bonded to Charlotte Ann Hargrove.
Familial Relations: presumed deceased.
Crush/Mate: N/A, he could never love anything as much as he loves himself.
Friends: Open. PM me.
Rivals: Absolutely open, he is an unapologetic problem. PM me.
Other:
I know. Charlotte Ann often subjects people to "Kip Sniff Tests" wherein an uncomfortably long creature is dangled in front of your face, staring into your eyes with clear malicious intent for far too long while sniffing exaggeratedly. Apparently this has a purpose.