Shaelrion "Shayla" Hawking

**Shaelrion "Shayla" Hawking** is an Elisian chef who is currently living in Pheodai. Her Favored Forme is that of a Shiraellian Tundra Beast.

## Profile

### Appearance

An Elisian woman with long, unkempt curly red hair, albeit marked with the white locks of a heretic. She has maize colored yellow eyes with a tinge of orange. Her pupils are circled by a lighter ring of yellow. She stands at an average height of 5'4, and has a slender, pear-shaped build. She has two dark green striped tattoos on either side of her jawline, as well as a tattoo of the same color encircling her throat. A black symbolic tattoo also marks her left shoulder. She often wears red eye makeup. Her clothing varies between styles that appeal to her, but she adores the color green and tends to buy attire of that color.

### Personality

Shayla is a social butterfly, being boisterous and very easy to talk to. She's stubborn to a fault, and has a penchant for leaping before she looks. This tends to put her in very precarious situations. Despite this, she's incredibly loyal to those she has developed any attachment to. If someone were to call on Shayla in their direst of times, she'd grab a gun, load it, and be out the door at the speed of light.

## Background

Shaelrion Hawking, alias Shayla, was born to Alenziel Hawking and Elziam Hawking.

### Gotumonx Era

Shayla was born in the city of Pheodai on the planet Elisia. At this time, Elisia was undergoing the Third Hyralisian War with Hyra. As such, many High Council families sent their children off to ally planets to keep them safe. The Hyran were specifically targeting the High Council families, and thus Shayla was one of the babies sent off.

She was raised on Gotumonx, one of Elisia's greatest intergalactic allies. During her youngest years, she became close friends with a Gotumonian child named Ryuwn. The two spent most of their time together, and often caused a lot of havoc wherever they went. Some time after Shayla hit 12 years old, her foster mother fell ill and died. The foster father got remarried almost instantly to maintain face, to which Shayla didn't react too kindly to. She attacked the new mother during a verbal altercation, which was a final straw in a lot of troublemaking Shayla had done over the years.

She was sent away to Gao.

### Gao Era

Shayla was "adopted" by a Gaoian mage by the name of Oli, who took her under his wing and educated her. The two remained with one another for three solid years, living in the Gaoian male's magical lighthouse by the ocean. It was during this time that Shayla discovered a keen love and talent for cooking. She could find any ingredient and nearly immediately figure out if she could make new recipes with it. Oli encouraged this hobby, as he saw it as a fantastic way for her to stay out of trouble.

Unfortunately, this happiness didn't last long before a Warlord from Oli's past appeared, and they proceeded to destroy the lighthouse without ceremony. Oli, in a last ditch effort to protect Shayla, pushed her into the sea below, knowing she would have a higher chance of survival that way. Shayla did, in fact, survive, but Oli was nowhere to be found once she got back to shore. The lighthouse was nothing but rubble, and she was unable to locate any remains of her teacher. To this day, she still doesn't know if he is truly dead, or if he's still alive somewhere.

Shayla made her way to the closest town to look for help, and with the generous culture of the Gaoian people, she was taken in by an elderly mated pair. With their kindness, Shayla slowly began to heal both emotionally and physically. Being around 16 at the time, she decided to get a job to help with finances, wanting to give whatever back she could to the couple.

She took up a job as a cook in one of the small family owned restaurants in town, and took to it like a fish in water. One of the other employees, a female Gaoian named Mis, took a shine to Shayla and brought her home to her family. With this, Shayla was juggled between the elderly couple and this new family.

### Homecoming

About the age of 18, Shayla was suddenly approached by a man claiming to be her father. She'd always known that she was adopted, obviously, as she never looked anything like anyone she ever stayed with. The man, Alenziel, explained who she was and what she was, and where she was really from. Shayla was incredulous at first, but she was curious enough to hesitantly accompany him back to Elisia, regardless. Alen taught her her first shapeshifting form shortly after arrival, something that gave her undeniable proof as to what she was and where she came from. She felt was finally home.

Adjustment was difficult for Shayla, as she had been raised in two different cultures during her childhood and adolescence. The Elisian way, especially in that of nobility or Council families, was so much more strict than what she was used to. Having to learn a new language, cultural do's and don't's, etiquette, and many other lessons was a lot to place on the young Elisian's shoulders. She met the challenges head-on, but she did find herself missing the more simple lifestyles of her previous homes.

### The Essestryian Laboratories

Two years after settling into her new position as a High Councilman's daughter, Shayla was kidnapped by Snatchers to be used as scientific experimental fodder by the Hyran.

She spent six months on the planet Hyra, within their Essestryian Laboratories. She lived under a Hyran scientist by the name of Yormungarde. She endured many different types of experiments, a great deal of which could be considered torture. Having one of her two stomachs removed without any anesthetic or anesthesia was the biggest one. Even to this day she gets flashbacks if her scar is touched. She also suffers from an invasive fear of water deeper than her waist as a result of one of these experiments, as well.

However, after befriending two of the scientists working for Yormungarde, Shayla managed to convince them to stage a test subject escape, something they had already been considering to begin with. Successfully being set free, Shayla snuck onto a Snatcher ship to get back home to Elisia.

Because Shayla returned alive, she was interviewed by the High Council like every other Hyra survivor. One of the High Councilmen, Elessar, took a shine to her while she was in for questioning. He started smitten with her, albeit his ambitions were anything but honorable. He only sought Shayla as a way to get access to the Hawking bloodline, something that would have been a horrible insult to Alen. Shayla, having just returned from a traumatic experience, refused each and every one of Elessar's advances.

### Reunification

Months went by, and Shayla visited Gao during a festival called the Equinox. She stumbled across Ryuwn, whom she hadn't seen since they were still children. Finding he had nowhere to really go, she took him back to Elisia with her. Despite the long stretch of time of being apart, the two picked up right where they seemed to leave off. The two trauma bonded hard, given their experiences over the past several years, and became all the closer than they ever were before. Eventually, they got married.

Only a month later, Shayla came home to discover that Ryuwn had ended his life by his own hand. No note was left, and Shayla never found out how or why it happened. Even to this day, she just hopes that the Gotumonian god of death, Ph'morhet, has taken Ryuwn in and gave him a better time in his respective afterlife.

### Retribution

Some weeks later, Shayla discovered she was pregnant with Ryuwn's child. Once the child was born, she named him Sethos, the name that Ryuwn always playfully said he wanted to name their first kid. By this time, Shayla had started to crack emotionally and mentally, even being needlessly overprotective of Sethos. Unfortunately, the one night she had to work late, she came home to Sethos being missing. Efrin, who had been staying with the Hawking household, was unconscious on the floor. It had been his job to watch over Sethos while Shayla was gone.

Furious, Shayla sought out Elessar in the Council headquarters. She found him and demanded her son, and naturally he played dumb. Getting nowhere, Shayla attempted to attack the Councilman, but she was subdued and reinforcements were called. She managed to flee before she could be arrested, realizing she would get nowhere. Shayla, in absolute hysteria, blamed the Goddess for all her misfortunes, and by now she had completely snapped beneath her emotions. She then made her way to the most historical temple in the city and set fire to it. Hours later, she fled Pheodai, realizing what she'd done.

A Psionicist bounty hunter named Leshrac tracked Shayla down and brought her back to Pheodai to be put on trial. Originally she was going to be put to death, but her father managed to gather enough votes to prevent it. Instead, she was to be sentenced by the clergy, as it was them she had wronged. They had her branded as a heretic, forever marking part of her red hair a foreboding stark white. Even now she suffers the cruel stares and disdain of the average Elisian. While she hadn't been put to death, for Shayla to be reviled by all, it could easily be a fate worse than such.

### So The Story Continues...

As of now, Shayla mostly spends her time working at Batra's Bistro as a chef or world hopping. She still holds onto the hope that her son is still alive, and that she'll find him. She jumps worlds to learn more cultures and to escape the life her father had dragged her into. Folks on other planets are ever blissfully unaware of her past and her heresy, and she likes it that way.

## Formes

 Raccoon
 Barn Owl

## Trivia

* Shayla's favorite food is beef stew with all the fixings.