Adrianne Rayner

“Honestly? Not a lot. With all the other Lanterns based off-world except Uncle Hal, all my patrols are here. Which.. is both good and bad. Bad because I miss space, and I miss home, but..” She pauses, a slight smile curling the corners of her lips, her voice softening a little. “It’s nice to be able to spend time with people I don’t really see when I’m out there.”

“I - I know, it’s -” Adrianne pauses for a moment, biting her lip as she tries to find the words. Put a brush in her hand and some paint by her side and she can express herself so well in beautiful colours and amazing patterns, but words.. words are different. “It’s.. amazing. I don’t know what it is or what you wanna call it, but it’s really amazing.”

“You fishing for something, Kane? About to ask me for a favour or something?” Adrianne jokes, a bright smile on her face as she takes Rose out of Kane’s arms. She has no idea where this instinct came from but she just loves children - something she hopes.. some day, she’ll be able to put to use with her own. “Aw c’mon, it bothers her too. You must be exhausted, huh? Aren’t you?” Her voice turns all mushy and baby-like towards the end as she bounces Rose carefully on her hip. “You know, if you need some rest I’d be happy to babysit.”

“Oh come on, I didn’t have to twist your arm all that much.” Adrianne signs with a bright smile, thrilled to know that Dot’s going to get a pet to keep her company. With how much Adri’s sure she’ll be around, it’s going to be fun with a cat here too for both of them to dote all over. “Well now there’s no getting rid of me, I’ll be here all the time. It’ll be nice - it’s always nicer being with family, anyway.”

Adrianne lets out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes. “Born on Oa, grew up on Oa and Mogo, you’re not the only one who classifies as a ‘space baby’.” Not that you’d remember it - most people tend not to, really. It’s easy to be forgotten when most of your family are off-world all the time. “Yeah but if I take you out on a patrol and something happens it’s - kind of on me, so maybe not.”

“Great! It’s going to be so much fun. We’ll find you the perfect cat-best friend. It’s going to be great. And for the record, eight cats is not a bad thing.” Adrianne insists with a bright smile on her face, already excited at the prospect of helping Dot find her new pet. It’s not like she can have one in her dorm, so - why not live vicariously though Dot instead? “You’re welcome, Dot. Anytime, okay? I really mean that.”

“I’m just good with kids, I dunno. They always seem to like me. It could be the ears.” Adrianne says with a soft laugh as she reaches to brush her finger against Rosie’s cheek gently. “She’s going to be fine, Kane. Do you want me to hold her for a little while? Give you a chance to relax too, you seem like you need it.”

Adri never had any siblings growing up so she’s always seen the other Lantern kids as her siblings - and Dot’s something of an older sister to her, really. Adrianne will always want to hang out from her and learn from her, she’ll always look up to her so it’s always nice to spend time with her like this. “Okay, okay. I promise not to nag you about it - but if you do decide to get a cat can I come with you when you pick one?” She smiles and nods her head quickly, not even pausing to think about the offer. “Of course I would, Dot. you’re family, I’ll always do what I can to help you.”

“Oh of course, it would put you right at home right?” Adrianne says with an amused chuckle. “You can definitely be my cheerleader! I’d love that, the encouragement is always welcome. Though - maybe we should think of something else. I don’t want your mom to get mad at me if something goes wrong while we’re out there.”

It’s not easy being at Paragon without her family - she knows her father has work to do and he can’t be around all the time, especially now that she’s a little older, but it doesn’t stop her from missing him. So having Dot and others around who she considers family anyway makes a big difference, and knowing Dot doesn’t mind having her around more often is definitely nice to hear. “That would be - amazing, honestly. I’ll come keep you company whenever I can.” Which would probably be a lot, if Adrianne’s being honest. “Dot, you would be the best cat mum. You should definitely get one.” She widens her eyes for a moment, nodding her head quickly. “You definitely could! I can always take care of them if you have any inspections or anything, just so you don’t get caught with them.”

“I love this time of year. It’s always fun to see everyone at New Years, don’t you think?” Adrianne asks with a smile as she looks up at Zatanna. “I’m okay, I think. There’s just so much going on, I’ve got no idea where to start. Do you know what you’re going to do?”

“It’s amazing, I love it. Earth has some really pretty stuff when people really try.” Adrianne says in an offhanded sort of way - it’s hard to compare to some of the incredible things you see out there in the galaxy really, but Adri still sees things on Earth she’s never seen before. “What did you want to do first?”

“I know. We’ll figure something out.” Adrianne assures her father, though truth be told she’s a little concerned about just what she’s going to get him for Christmas too. She just hopes she has that moment too, where she finds just the right thing. For now though, her attention is on spending time with her father. “I think it’s a great idea, I bet he’d love that!”

“You’re kidding, right? Of course this is alright.” Adrianne insists, her voice turning a little gooey as she turns his attention to Rosie, a wide smile spreading across her face as the child giggles in response. “Hey don’t worry about it! We can go ice skating another time, this thing isn’t going away for a little while.”

They might not strictly be family, but Dot is so much like a sister to her. For Adri who grew up with the entire Corps around to help raise her, anyone who is part of the Corps in any way is family to her - and there’s just something about Dot that makes her happy, makes her feel like this is a sort of home for her, with someone she views as her big sister. “Oh you don’t have to do something like that - I mean, unless you want to? That would be wonderful, I’d love to come over and spend time with you.” Adrianne can’t help but smile as she follows Dot back to the lounge room. “There’s no harm in asking, right? See what they say, I’m sure an innocent little kitten would be no problem at all.”

“Soon! Really soon. I miss it, I’ve spent way too much time on Earth lately.” Adrianne responds immediately, her eyes widening in excitement. She hasn’t been getting anywhere near enough time out there lately and she’s determined to change that. “I have a patrol in a couple of days, did you want to come with me? It shouldn’t be too busy but I can handle any surprises that come out way.”

“Really? You mean that?” Adrianne asks with a wide smile, thrilled at the thought of visiting her practically-sister. She and Dot might not actually be related but Adri certainly feels like they’re family anyway. Coming over to Dot’s new place wouldn’t just serve as a chance to hang out in a nice home, but also a chance to spend time with Dot herself, which is a definite bonus. “I’ll have to come over more and make sure you’re not lonely too often. Maybe you could get a dog or a cat to keep you company?”