Kendall and Brynn had stayed close in Gateway, opting to share a home together as platonic roommates in the Loft, leaning on each other to cope with the loss. Early on, Kendall had decided to help boost morale with his illusions, putting on shows, and as a result became a bit of a celebrity.
The catastrophic events that happened in the late 2020s devastated the population, although living in the upper levels, they weren't affected as much. In June of 2028, they sat down to have a serious conversation about it, and decided that it was their responsibility to help contribute to the dwindling gene pool. With mutual agreement, the next year, Rowena Ferguson-Cunningham was born.
Everyone tried their best to make life as normal as possible, aided by the fact that Kendall could use his illusions to give them a semblance of comfort, and Brynn amused Rowena by changing the colors of things, particularly their hair; Kendall didn't escape this, to Rowena's doubled amusement at his heavily over-exaggerated protests. Due to her mother's deafness, Rowena grew up fluent in ASL, along with the Lighthouse Cant, though the latter saw little use. In addition, due to Kendall's long time friendship with Brennan and his family, she picked up French easily as well.
Sadly, when Rowena was six years old, Brynn passed from a sudden illness, leaving Kendall to struggle with raising a child on his own. And to make matters worse, the trauma triggered her manifestation of avian telepathy. Fortunately for both, Brennan's negation ability to keep an eye on her in case of any negative effects came in very handy. As a result, she became very close with all of them, and they often took her in for an occasional night or weekend when Kendall needed a break. Due to the shock of losing her mother, Rowena found herself drawn to her 'friends' in the gardens, spending hours there supervised by either Kendall or Brennan, with them making sure to cultivate a positive reaction to her ability, rather than associating it with her mother's death.
Her frequent trips there caused her to develop a deep affinity for all the growing things present, a great contrast to the rest of her small world, and she pestered the ones tending them with endless questions. With equal fervor, she often begged her father to show her what the world used to look like, and rather than mourn its loss she became determined to do what she could with what they had. She also became deeply invested in making life better for everyone, including her friends, and so she decided to learn everything she could about the plants and animals of Gateway.
It came as no surprise to anyone that she decided to pursue a career into research and development for optimizing and developing the plant life available in Gateway under Namiko’s supervision, though as of yet she hadn't contributed much to it. Also, starting in her teens, she started dying her hair in a tribute to when her mother used to do it for her, since that was one of the few treasured memories she had of her.