Shay Lund

Background

Fae

This isn’t your usual Little Red Riding Hood story. I was born to a litter of six in the dark allies of Falias. It was there that a Red Hood took me from my mother, wanting me as her own. Her name was Missy An, and she became my mother, my sister, my best friend, and my partner. We were rampant on the streets, deceiving and tricking those we could steal from. There were enough people to be fooled by her Innocent face that Missy An was the one in the spotlight. She lured them in, making them drop their guard, and then I would step from the shadows. They would either be frozen in fear while Missy An picked their pockets, or they would die by my fangs. Either way, we took what we wanted and stayed close together. We weren’t the only scoundrels on the streets and we had to keep our wits about ourselves.
But it wasn’t a knife in the dark that ended our partnership. The Endless War leaves no one untouched and one day the siege weapons propelled boulders across the walls, collapsing buildings. We were caught in the crossfire, separated by rubble and crushed beneath the falling structures. When I awoke at dawn, I braved the sun to try to find my Little Red. My nose led me to a scrap, a torn piece of her red scarf. That was all I could find. And so I waited as I had Promised. For one hundred years, leaving only to eat, I waited in the spot where I last saw her. I waited.
And she never returned to me.
It was heartbreaking, but also sobering. Either she was gone forever, or she had come back as someone else and was no longer my Little Red. Whatever had caused her to not return to me, I had no control over.
So I left and made my way to Earth.

Human

My childhood wasn’t that special, and maybe that was my downfall. I tried to make it special and did whatever rebel children did. I made a name for myself as “that kid”. I regret it, now, not appreciating what I had. Because I was too blind to see how strange it was for a man twice my age to be interested in me. Edward Price saw potential in me, made me feel that kind of special that all girls wanted. He swept me off my feet and took me into a world I only dreamed about. The training was hard, the hours were long, and I soon became someone who didn’t exist anymore. No matter what the movies tell you, there’s only so much glamour being a contract killer could give you. Sure, I got to travel, see the sights, learn languages, try the food, but I was a ghost in a world that didn’t care that I existed. I killed for money, skirted the law for a living, and only had a few people I could considered good acquaintances, and only one person I could even consider a friend. Price was my mentor, my father, my best friend. He was my everything. Our signature was placing chess pieces in places the police would find and be able to connect to the act. It was our own flair of the dramatic. The more high profile the target, the stronger the chess piece.
But the dream had to end. As good as it was, I grew up. I finally matured enough to realize that our relationship was lopsided. He owned me in a way I couldn’t stand. We were only ever professional to each other, nothing ever more emotional than that, but he had taken me when I was a teenager and groomed me to be a killer. And I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave his side until I was dead, or he was. It was toxic, because that kind of life was. So I needed to leave, I needed to get out. But I couldn’t bring myself to kill him.
As much as I hated him, he was still well known enough that if I did any physical harm to him, I would be the one hunted next. The betrayal had to quick. I had to become another ghost. So when we parted so he could be the face and I would be his eyes in the sky, I didn’t go to my roost to prepare to snipe our target, I headed back to the hotel, packed my bags, called in a favor and disappeared.
I jumped around, trying to shake off any trails, before my contact got me a place and a job in Chatham, MA. It was weird being in the states again, so close to my home. I hadn’t checked on my family in a long time, I don’t know if they think I’m dead or just missing. Maybe one day I’ll know.
But, for now, I’m working two jobs and staying as low profile as possible. It’s meager pay for two jobs, but it’s what my contact was able to get me. One I can’t work much for because of budget, and the other because they don’t need that much help. Being a groundskeeper keeps me preoccupied, but being a DJ ended up being my passion.

Fatebound

12:01 am, October 19, 2018.
I wasn’t expecting to see those eyes in the darkness when I was about to go on my break. It was terrifying. But the beast spoke to me and I spoke to her. And then, as if we were made for each other, we Fatebound, somehow. Thankfully, I knew I wasn’t the only weird one in town. Dr. Bellmont was this kind of weird and I knew she would have answers.

And answers she did.