CISFEMALE, SHE/HER. Hey, is that MEAGHAN RATH? No, that is just AURORA LARK around Cypress Cove. I heard they are 37 years old, and their birthday is APRIL 15, 1988. They rests their head on the COAST, but can mainly be found as OWNER and STYLIST at ROLLING WAVES HAIR SALON. Some say they are RESILIENT, CHARMING, PROTECTIVE and can be GUARDED, MYSTERIOUS, OVERCAUTIOUS. If they had a theme song it would be ELASTIC HEART by SIA. I hear they are a NEWCOMER, either way Cypress Cove is starting to feel like home.
BASICS
full name: Aurora Lark
nicknames: Rory
age: 37
dob: April 15, 1988
hometown: Tempe, Arizona (though she rarely admits it and often gives different answers)
current location: Cypress Cove, Georgia
neighborhood: Coast
occupation: Owner & stylist at Rolling Waves Hair Salon
gender: Female
pronouns: She/Her
sexuality: Bisexual
relationship status: Single
positive traits: Resilient, Charming, Protective
negative traits: Guarded, Mysterious, Overcautious
theme song: Elastic Heart by Sia
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
face claim: Meaghan Rath
hair color: Dark brown
eye color: Hazel
height: 5'5
weight: 125 lbs
build: Slim but curvy
tattoos: Small blackbird on her ribcage
piercings: Ears (double lobe), small cartilage stud
FAMILY
mother: Jean Higgins
father: Daniel Higgins (stepfather, the only father she ever knew)
siblings: None
children: None
pet(s): Velvet – a long-haired black cat
BIOGRAPHY
Aurora Lark was born Theresa Higgins and grew up in Tempe, Arizona. Her childhood home was not a place of comfort but one of constant tension. Her stepfather’s temper ruled the house, and her mother’s indifference left Aurora without anyone to turn to. Every slammed door and raised voice reminded her that no one was coming to save her. By the time she turned sixteen, Aurora stopped waiting for rescue. With a few dollars and a backpack, she boarded a Greyhound bus before sunrise and left Arizona behind. Somewhere along that ride she made a decision: Theresa Higgins would not survive the world she came from, but Aurora Lark might.
She found work wherever she could. Sweeping hair in small salons, folding towels in back rooms, learning from anyone willing to teach her. Between long shifts she studied for her GED and eventually enrolled in a low-cost cosmetology program. Once she had her license in hand, Aurora drifted from city to city—Phoenix, Denver, Nashville, New Orleans—never staying long enough for anyone to ask too many questions. She became known for her precision cuts, steady hands, and the quiet confidence she carried behind the chair.
Aurora arrived in Cypress Cove intending to stay only briefly, another stop on the way to somewhere else. But something about the town slowed her down. The salt air, the rhythm of the harbor, and the sense that people actually looked out for one another made it feel different from anywhere she’d been before.
Not long after arriving, she crossed paths with Colm O’Reilly. Colm noticed the things most people missed, the way Aurora always chose seats facing the door, how she instinctively mapped exits in any room she entered. Instead of questioning her past, he offered something else, protection and a quiet arrangement. With Colm’s help, Aurora was able to open Rolling Waves Hair Salon. In return, Aurora occasionally uses her skills for more discreet work. Sometimes that means altering someone’s appearance quickly and quietly, changing hair color, reshaping facial hair, adjusting makeup to make someone look older or younger. She isn’t told the full story and doesn’t ask for it. What she does know is that she’s helping people who need a chance to start fresh or slip away from something chasing them. The secrecy doesn’t bother her. In many ways, she understands it better than most.
Aurora lives in a small apartment above the salon, a quiet space with tall windows overlooking the harbor. It allows her to stay close to the one place in town she fully controls. When the lights downstairs go dark at night, she can still hear the distant sounds of the marina and the soft hum of Cypress Cove settling into the evening.
To most people, Rolling Waves is exactly what it appears to be: a bright, friendly salon where brides prepare for weddings, students come in for prom hair, and regulars stop by for trims and conversation. But for those who need it, the chair in Aurora Lark’s salon can also be the beginning of a new life.