Residence: An apartment at the edge of town, close to the library
Time in Redwood: Joined January 2042
Headcanons:
Orion lives in a small but relatively cozy apartment towards the outer edge of Redwood, close to the library.
When he came to Redwood, he couldn't read as his parents never taught him. Over the course of his time in Redwood, he's learned however, and quickly become an avid reader. His writing is still a bit scratchy, though.
He likes animals and adopted a cat somewhere on his travels. He named it Cat, since it seemed to be fitting.
He has a pretty high pain tolerance and is used to stitching himself up
He has hardly ever been drunk, and it takes a lot of alcohol to get him inebriated
Biography:
Orion grew up pretty prepared for the apocalypse. As long as he could remember, he lived with his parents in the rural countryside, far away from any type of civilization or community. Most of their information about the outside came from an old radio, one of the very few communicative devices his family ever owned. The family was self-sustainable, his parents had grown up with the fear of nuclear conflict during the cold war, and that anxiety and trauma pushed them to go into a sort of prepping-mentality in case there was a form of nuclear fallout. Orion grew up learning everything he could about survival. His parents were never the best, neither to him nor to each other, and Orion grew up in a household where survival seemed to be the basic tenant, and anything else was not necessary.
But while his lifestyle left Orion scarred in many ways, it also was what allowed him to survive when the virus hit. His parents never lived to see the start of the apocalypse, both of them dying shortly before the first cases appeared. While his parents had prepped and Orion could have stayed hunkered down and survived, something inside of him drove him towards packing up as much food, water and medicine as he could carry and set out into the virus-infested world.
He doesn’t really talk much about the time he spent wandering after leaving his parent’s place and reaching Redwood (or generally about his past). His focus was on his own survival, so he never had much time or opportunity to really care about morality until he reached Redwood. He stumbled across the community with mild interest. So far, he hadn’t really been interested in the survivor communities he came across so far, mostly only forming temporary alliances and symbiotic relationships. He scoped out the settlement, and, eventually for his own personal reasons, decided to join in for the time being. Being in a proper community for the first time poses challenges that never really came up previously, things his parents never bothered to prepare him for.
It took him quite a while to properly settle down in Redwood, with the town offering many new experiences to a loner like Orion, who wasn't familiar with such a big, settled community. Although there were challenges he faced, he's become a member of Redwood, feeling comfortable within the town.
This does not mean that the easy times will continue. Nothing lasts forever.
I like photography because it helps me learn about the places and things I have not seen before. I did not have many pictures in the house where I grew up. I only knew the things that were near the farm. There are many things I did not know about that I can now see and read about. Like fungi or animals or plants or places or people. I like learning.
What do you think about your reputation in town for being the person who knows everything about the natural world? Does it make you uncomfortable to be treated like a walking encyclopedia?
I do not mind. I like sharing what I know. Some people like listening to me when I tell them. I have also been asked to not share information regarding certain topics with others.
Do you see any of your father's qualities in yourself? Or in anybody else in Redwood?
Yes. Sometimes. My father taught me a lot. Like how to survive or how to keep calm or what is important. I still use a lot what I learned. It is how I survived after I left the farm. There are some things that have changed. My father was very cautious of other people. He did not want them around. When I left, I stayed away from other people, unless it would give me an advantage. It changed when I decided to stay in Redwood.
Chicken in the Wood. Bright orange. Trees. Shorthand always was best for Lucy. They could repeat the phrases, memorize the words. "Spring to Fall, right" They tried to move as quiet as Orion did, but a sheet of bark sloughed off under one shoe. Landing on the trunk and then their butt, Lucy was back on their feet in seconds with wide, panicked eyes.
When nothing happened, they relaxed slowly. "Sorry," Lucy panted, smoothing blond hair a few times over. "No. Never foraged for them before. Dumpsters were usually more plentiful."
"I see." Orion couldn't help but notice the tension in Lucy's body an demeanor, and his brows furrowed slightly as he watched them get back to their feet and slowly relax again. A bit of fear was to be expected from someone who didn't normally head outside of Redwood, though anxiety was not a good state to be in. Fear poisons the mind. Makes you make mistakes.
"You did not have a lot of food growing up, correct?" Orion asked. Isaac had talked about it as well, the lengths people went to to forage and secure food in the city. Dumpsters, begging, seeing if any stores offered leftovers - and other, darker things. It did not sound pleasant. Orion regarded Lucy quietly for a few heartbeats, before asking. "Are you scared of being out here?"
The cat's meow was a cute chime to the veternarian. She chuckled softly. She gave them both a wave, small smile still on her face. "Nice to meet you both." She listened closely to Orion about Cat's recent behavior. On a side note, she'd found it humorous when owners named their pets after their actual name or a different animal name altogether.
"Could be a few things but I'm sure it's nothing major," Aaliyah reassured. She walked towards the table and patted it softly. "You can place him here." She turned to sanitize her hands. "Has he been throwing up at all? Isolating more? Biting more?" She started. "Any different behavior?"
Orion nodded in acknowledgement, brow slightly creasing at Aaliyah's reassurance. Was it a genuine assessment, or simply kind words meant to comfort? Figuring out the meanings had become easier, but some things remained obscured. He didn't ask, and instead moved to put Cat down on the table. The black feline meowed, his tail flicking with irritation, clearly not comfortable in this strange environment he'd been forced into.
Orion gently ran his fingers below Cat's chin, watching his companion reluctantly lean against his fingers. "He reacts when I touch his sides and belly. He avoids being touched there." Orion's eyes stayed fixed on Cat as he spoke, not looking up. He had some experience taking care of animals. Vets were hard to come by in rural Kansas, miles off of other people, and so Orion had learned some about keeping his animals alive. Enough to make the call when to treat and when to put them down.
"Why did you choose to become a veterinarian?" Orion asked and raised his gaze again, hand remaining where it was, below Cat's chin, because the touch seemed to calm the feline.
It isn't too common to hear knocks coming from her door. Then again, Penny was rarely home besides the early morning and late evening ... unless she was entertaining someone's kid(s). Peeling herself from the couch, and away from the book she was reading, Penny shuffled to the door to find Orion. Despite knowing him since the creation of Redwood, his height still took her by surprise. "Oh, Orion," she spoke through a large grin. "You spoil me." Happily, the woman took the bag, opening it to peek inside. "Would you like to come in? I have some leftover cookies that Mayra and Flint had made. I don't mind sharing." She took a step back, opening her door wider for him should Orion agree.
"I don't believe I do." Orion tilted his head slightly, brows furrowed, but quickly shook off the minor confusion. Regardless of whether or not he spoiled her, she seemed to be satisfied with what he had brought, and Orion was certain she could make quite a lot with what he'd brought.
With a nod of satisfaction at a completed task, Orion was ready to head home, feed Cat and perhaps take a shower, when Penny invited him in. The raider tilted his head for a moment, thinking about the proposition, but he could feel the hunger tugging at his stomach and he was not one to turn down food if his body needed it. "Yes. Thank you." With that, Orion ducked through the doorframe and into Penny's house.
The insides were not unfamiliar to him. Orion had been here on several occasions, usually dropping things off or being invited in, but his gaze still trailed his surroundings, carefully considering furniture and pictures and decorations. It'd been a habit of his, one that he did not neglect even when stepping into Isaac's home, or his own, for that matter. "If you need anything else, let me know. I will let the other raiders know about the fabric store. Making clothes is useful." Orion glanced at her over his shoulder. "Do you need any help with making them?"
Do you still miss and love your father? How do you feel about your mother?
Yes. I miss my father. I am not sure if I love him. I used to, and I think I still do, but differently. I only loved him before. Now there are other people I love as well. It changes what I feel.
I do not feel much about my mother. We were not close. She did not talk with me much, so I did not talk much with her. Her and my father did not talk much as well, but I think that was because they knew each other. I did not know my mother very well. I did not feel much when she died.
