Shay Nightingale

## Life Events

### Early Life

She was a Drakonian. That’s what they told her. She was from a tight knit community. Everyone supported each other, everyone knew each other, overall very close. However, in a community where everyone relied on each other, they didn’t.

“But mother everyone else talks like that, why can’t I?”

“Because, you aren’t like the rest of those hot headed reptiles, you're different my dear, so different.”

As any mother would, they would consider their child to be different (she really wasn’t though.) Her mother owned her own store, filled with many trinkets and items that one could buy. Shay was on her way to inherit her mother’s shop. Her mother gave her many expensive gifts that made her different from the other middle class Drakonians; not knowing the eyes that were laid upon her because of ‘being different.’

“Mother, their eyes are filled with something, I can’t quite describe it.”

“Get used to it and ignore them, they don’t matter dear. Just focus on improving.”

With many calm phrases, she didn’t know would be deep in her heart till the day she died, she paid little mind to them. Learning to be like her mother, she gained the side skill to be very greedy. Anything she deemed to be cool, she wanted. Her mother did not hold back on her stern teachings but she also did not let her child face any lack of necessities. She did this because she didn’t want her child to feel that she was neglecting her when she left for business. These little items that she gave her child; made her hope that she wouldn’t feel any less love from another parent.

“Mother, I want the best gifts when you come. As usual you must get them from me.”

“Of course, I shall get them for you, anything for you my dear.”

She was content with what she had. She had a strong willpower. But she wanted more. She wanted to lead, wanted to soar. She wanted better Drakonians around her. Wanted to gain the respect and honor she deserved, like other Drakonians.  Shay wanted to meet new people. As her fondness for new things grew, her distaste for old things grew as well. She left her community for a short while and went with her mother on one of her short business trips to another village to learn about the family business. While she was there she met some ‘good’ friends who were very enthusiastic about meeting her and knowing her; but more importantly what she has to offer.

“Dear, where are you going?”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

She didn’t know that the first day she acted ‘different’ to her Mother. Was the last day she would ever see her alive. She ran to meet with her friends. Of course, her mother knew where she was going. She was overprotective, stern, and generous all at the same time. She had high hopes for her child. But she was late to realize something.

“Mother, where are you…”

Her friend’s village was not far from her hometown which was the only reason her mother let her even go on the trip with her. It was a walking distance. However, she didn’t realize that every time her daughter left, a little piece of who she knew as her daughter would be gone. Her pride, her stance, her smile, the glint in her eyes. It seemed that something was wrong. However, everytime she asked her daughter, she kept saying, “Leave me alone, I’m fine.” Her mother assumed that it was just her growing up and finding herself took a little bit of changing, but she couldn’t ignore that voice in her head that told her something was wrong. So one day she followed her daughter without her knowing.

She was desperate. Shay wanted revenge on those kids. Continuously telling her that she was lower than them, because of her accent, her heritage, and her scales. The village that Shay always went to was far richer than her own. It was why she liked it. Why would she continuously go despite the hate she would get for even breathing. She needed to be accepted and for that she needed to be better.

Her mother followed her but couldn’t exactly see what was going on. The village was a rich place of town filled with many people. She had high expectations for this town, her husband was originally from this town. They had left for a new village to settle in a town more welcoming for their daughter. She knew about the people here that could be pretentious but just once let that idea slip when she saw her child getting along and smiling with them.

She wanted to run, escape, and turn the other way. She didn’t realize her thoughts started to make her distance herself from the only person who truly didn’t judge her.

“Mother, please..”

Her mother saw her daughter experimenting with new things from shopping stalls. The shopkeepers seem to give her things that were half broken for her to fix. When her mother saw this, she thought that at least her daughter could learn something in this town. She also saw her daughter read plenty of books during her stay. After reading her books, occasionally she would go to an abandoned graveyard and practice her skills. The one she seemed to practice today was her hand to hand combat. However even a blind dragon could tell that she wasn’t very good. Her stamina wasn’t very high. Her mother was thinking of ways to possibly help her daughter gain that stamina. When her daughter left the graveyard, she had left her book. Her mother went to pick it up, however on her way, it seemed a trap was laying on the floor for her.

Shay realized she had left her book back at the graveyard and went to go pick it up. However, instead of seeing a lonesome book, she saw a sight she wouldn’t forget. It was her mother, caught in a trap that was way too small for her. You could see her head caught in the strings of the trap with her body in the air. The blood is still dripping. One could tell she was far too gone.

“Come quickly there has been a murder.” A young male Drakonian yelled.

Suddenly in the blink of an eye, it seemed that millions of dragons had surrounded her. She was still trying to process the sight of her mother. The village people kept on questioning her, but she had no clue what to say. They later found a book that Shay borrowed covered in red blood on the floor.

There was a reason why the graveyard was abandoned and so far from the town. It was filled with traps. The traps were old and worn out and only something with heavy weight could truly set them up. It was why Shay never alarmed the traps, she didn’t weigh much compared to her fully grown mother. In fact, neither Shay nor her mother knew that this graveyard was abandoned for this reason. The gates and old bushes seemed to block the entrance, so Shay never saw the warning signs, or the do not enter signs. She assumed that the graveyard was worn out and that the door was only opened because the guard was too forgetful. Even now the Drakonians that surrounded the area were outside of the graveyard not wanting to come in. But to Shay, it seemed that they surrounded her. When Shay went to the Drakonians they seemed to look at her rough, tired appearance and not recognize her. Shay didn’t want to look at those eyes. She didn’t want to face the looks. She was scared. She could barely speak with all the questions and accusations.

“The thief, it was you wasn’t it that killed her. You must have lured her here to kill her”

“She looks very young, no?”

“I didn’t-”

Despite her poor attempts at protesting, no one listened to her. Her eyes widened with fear, anger, disbelief, shock, and most of all grief. She knew it was an accident, but she can’t help but think what would happen if she didn’t come here, if she talked to her mother, if she never left her home. What could have happened?

She ran away from them and their yells calling her a killer. She ran all the way to her hometown and to her house when she saw the Drakonians surrounding her house. The Drakonians were all concerned as news travels really fast. They knew what happened to the mother and were concerned about what happened to her daughter.

But that’s not what Shay heard, she assumed she had heard their mockings, disgust, and contempt. And despite not seeing her, their eyes seemed to loom over her, haunting her in every way she hated. Shay seemed to have had enough and ran from her hometown. She ran far, far, away. And it seems she had no desire to come back.

### Recent Life

She felt guilty, thinking that she had caused her mothers death. She left her village, afraid of the looks she would get when she returned, she swore to herself to never go back. She had no thoughts of coming back to inherit her mother’s business, instead decided to make own, to forget her late mother’s death. But also to remember to continue her mothers legacy.

Although she started from scratch, with her mother’s teachings, she had ideas to build a little shop where one could buy items and get them fixed as well.

### Present Life

Currently Shay is trying to build a shop, trying to grow and let people know about her shop to make it grow to an underground warehouse for various things she finds and builds. Similar to mother, she wants to be rich and knowledgeable. She has many plans to build a shop, and is only looking for an opportunity to do so. Her mothers teaching will definitely not go to waste.

## Personality/Quotes

“It concerns you so much!”

Shay seems to be a quiet, laid back Drakonian, but also asks anyone or anything if they want something found or created. She is exceptionally good at being calm and most things can’t disturb her. But if she feels awkward, it seems, she isn’t able to hide it as well as her other emotions.

“Wait I’m sorry, what did I say?”

She is very dense. Very. It seems that her mother did a number on her and made her really ignore stares and faces.

“Oh, I know that”

She likes to act like she knows everything, in reality she doesn’t know much and is quite wrong about her assumptions. She likes it when people compliment her. She likes being on top and is VERY competitive. Knowing more makes her feel superior. Her favorite thing to do is go on roofs during the day and stare at people and hear their conversation.

1. She LOVES to look at people from above. She liked to see them look up at her.
2. She wants to hear more people talk to see what they like. When faces don’t work, words will!

Because she cannot see faces, she listens carefully at the tone of people's voices to understand their needs and wants. She gets really quiet when she does this.

## FUN FACT

* Shay can’t see faces, she relies on your voice to actually know who you are. She has face blindness.
* Shay is a hoarder. She absolutely loves collecting things. And while she does love collecting things she loves selling and creating things more.
* She likes looking at clouds to collect her thoughts and memories, hoping to see a female shaped cloud among them, one can only guess why.
* She gets quiet, when she thinks deeply, sometimes it's hard to know what she's truly thinking or feeling.
* Can easily throw someone under the bus. She doesn’t have many close friends, (she probably does but is too embarrassed to say so)
* She daydreams a lot.
* She loves being organized, and tries too. But many times, you can see her lacking.
* Although she doesn’t want to be narcissistic, she cannot hide a habit that she has had since she was young.
* Starting a business is the first step of overcoming her past.