Lain Skenske is a xenobiologist living in a Victorian home on the hill near Allgheny Observatory in Pittsburgh. When Tinker and Oilcan were children she would care for them while their grandfather, Timothy Bell, had business on Earth. Despite her disability, she loves gardening and once had a thriving garden of Earth flowers. The elves replaced the garden with rare Elfhome plants after it was destroyed when she cared for Windwolf after he was mauled by foo dogs. She works closely with doctorate students living temporarily on Elfhome for research.
Physical Description[]
Lain walks with a limp and often uses a crutch since she was injured in a shuttle accident. She is quite a bit taller than Tinker.
Family[]
Lain is Tinker's aunt and sister to Esme Skenske, who was lost in an accident at first startup. Although she promised Timothy Bell to keep her family ties secret from Tinker, Lain knew that Esme was Tinker's mother. The dragon Providence has revealed that Esme and Lain are descendants of an Intanyai Seyosa, a caste of elves that has visions of possible futures. Lain and Esme's father was the astronaut Neil Shenske. Their mother, Anna Cohen, remarried after his death. Their stepfather, Edmond Desmarais, was a particularly old elf. Lain and Esme have two half brothers, Lucien Desmarais and Tristan Desmarais. After Tinker was born, Lain concealed that she was Tinker's aunt.
History[]
Lain said that her sister Esme Skenske made the family watch Wizard of Oz each year after Thanksgiving. This made their mother cry because Esme wanted to stay in Oz and gave Lain nightmares. Since Tooloo has also mentioned being forced to watch the movie every year for thirty years, this suggests that Tooloo lived in their home when they were growing up.
Lain is an xenobiologist. She has doctorates in biology and astrophysics and is astronaut trained and certified. Her love of knowledge extended beyond science, leaving her far more knowledgeable about history and legends than Tinker. "Insects specialize not humans," was her mantra.
Lain was crippled in a near-fatal shuttle accident just before she was scheduled to depart for Europa on a scientific mission and now walks with a limp. Initially after the accident, it was thought that she would be paralyzed but over the years she managed to recover sufficient mobility so that she is able to live on her own. Her intanyai seyosa heritage sometimes manifests itself in semi-prophetic dreams.
She is Jewish by blood, but she claims to not be religious, however, she does observe Hanukkah each year.