Finally got a chance to sit down and work on my character. Sorry it took so long!

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[b]Aviel Cohen[/b]
[b]23 years old[/b]

[b][u]personality[/u][/b]
Aviel is, at first glance, quiet and reserved. She doesn't speak much, even when spoken to; when she does, she tends to use short sentences and gets straight to the point. She tries very hard not to show any outward emotions, and most of the time, she succeeds. She is very goal-oriented, especially when venturing to the surface, and gets visibly annoyed when others don't behave the same way.

Beneath the cold, rough exterior, however, is the same bright, free-spirited girl she has always been. She loves cooking for others, and she loves watching them enjoy what she has made for them... even if she doesn't always act like it. And despite the fact that she never seems to laugh, Aviel actually does have a sense of humour - and a dark one at that.

Sometimes she wishes she could show that softer side of herself more freely... but then again, an apocalyptic wasteland isn't exactly the place for that, is it?

[b][u]biography[/u][/b]
Aviel was the first daughter of two, born to her parents just six months before they immigrated from Israel to Brooklyn. She remembers her childhood fondly: her father and mother opened a modestly successful restaurant, where Aviel and her younger sister often helped both in the kitchen and in the dining room. Both girls attended the same private, all-girls school. The family lived a good, comfortable life.

Then came the bombs. Aviel remembers that day, much more clearly than she cares to admit: she had faked illness and skipped school. She remembers laying in bed, reading a book; suddenly hearing explosions, seeing flashes; she remembers her father, in a panic, grabbing her hair and dragging her down into the basement. Her mother sobbing on the other end of the phone because her sister was missing. Her father demanding that Aviel stay hidden before locking her in the basement with all the food and water he could find. She remembers waiting there, although for how long, she could never be sure. Running out of food first, and then water. She remembers breaking her way out of the basement with what little strength she had, because she knew none of them were coming back.

Aviel struggled to survive at first. She went from house to house, searching for families that she knew, hoping that one of them might have been better prepared. Eventually she found the adult brother of a classmate; he was the first to introduce her to the sewers, and brought her into his group, made up primarily of his own peers. Although they were reluctant to accept her at first, Aviel earned their acceptance by proving she was a capable cook. They taught her valuable skills needed in order to survive on the surface, and she kept them fed as best she could.

After eight years, and for reasons she refuses to talk about, Aviel willingly left this group and began bouncing between other pockets of survivors. She's recently stumbled upon a new group, and has decided to settle for the time being and see how things work out.

[b][u]relationships[/u][/b]
none yet

[b][u]what she originally brought[/u][/b]
- her semi-automatic pistol & ammo
- hand-drawn maps of the surface, written in Hebrew
- candles & matches

[b][u]skills/abilities[/u][/b] 
[b]cooking:[/b] thanks to her experience working in her parents' restaurant, as well as being the main chef for her previous group, Aviel is quite skilled at cooking edible meals from little resources.

[b]firearm proficiency:[/b] one of the first skills her first group taught her was how to properly use firearms to defend herself. She prefers pistols, and most of her knowledge and skill lays there; however she can still hold her own with larger guns if need be.

[b]physical strength:[/b] Aviel is no longer the frail child who had to struggle to free herself from the basement. While no where near the strongest person alive, she can lift and carry a considerable amount more than the average female survivor. She can also hold her own in a physical fight.

[b]good sense of direction:[/b] Aviel has always been good at not getting lost; learning to live in the labyrinth that is the sewers has only fine-tuned that skill.

[b]perceptive:[/b] Aviel is quick to notice when things are out of place, or if something seems to be lurking around the environment.

[b][u]weaknesses[/u][/b] 
[b]suspicious:[/b] Aviel has a hard time trusting new people. She regards them with suspicion, and often assumes anyone willing to help her has ulterior motives. Her trust must be earned, but sometimes even she isn't sure how that can be done.

[b]cold:[/b] Aviel's lack of trust tends to translate into an apparent lack of empathy for those around her. While this isn't always the case, she sees no reason why she should try to convince her companions otherwise.

[b]language barrier:[/b] because she spent so long speaking almost exclusively Hebrew, Aviel often struggles with speaking and understanding English.

[b][u]other[/u][/b]
Aviel can read English to a certain extent, but she cannot write it.
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By the way [@BubblegumQueen] I grew up just outside NYC, so if you need any help with locations, realism or anything like that, feel free to ask :)