Ava

**Ava** is a vampire from Clan Samedi.

## Biography

Ever since you can remember, you've been around cats. The first picture ever taken of you still hangs in your living room. There you are, three years old, dressed in a pretty pink smock, smiling and holding a tiny black Persian kitten. Your love of animals in general and felines in particular led you to a job at the local SPCA. You devoted many hours to the care and handling of society's unwanted pets. Your soft spot for kitties meant that several of the animals slated for euthanasia ended up as cherished members of your household. You developed displays on the importance of having your pet inoculated for rabies, and lectured at schools on pet care. You devoted weekends to manning a booth at shopping malls, handing out literature on spaying or neutering your pet, and knocked on many doors fund-raising for the Society. Eventually, you started to join the night patrol. You answered many calls requesting removal of stray dogs and cats from private property. You even were involved in the rescue of several animals from dangerous situations such as fires and car accidents. You even got Fluffy down from a huge willow tree for old Mrs. McTavish over on 4th Street. Occasionally while on patrol alone, you'd get the feeling that someone was watching you. You never saw anything, but at times, it felt like someone was just out of sight in the shadows, keeping an eye on your business. The feeling manifested itself especially strong one night when you were checking on the warehouse district. You had gotten a report of a mother cat with kittens that had to be removed from a storage unit. There was little light in the building you were directed to. You entered cautiously, not wanting to terrify the animals. Then you saw it. A gruesome display was illuminated by a moonlit window. A decrepit, skinny figure appeared to be sucking the blood out of a cat! Revulsion quickly turned to fury as you charged in and jumped the cat killer. But this guy was fast -- as fast as a cat it seemed. He had you pinned before you knew what was going on. Then he began a strange chant. From out of nowhere, cats began pouring into the room. There were cats everywhere, and they all seemed eager for the kill. The last thing you remember before you blacked out was a stench of death and decay, and the hissing and meowing of the cats. You awoke to the realization that things would never be the same. Your progenitor embraced you out of hunger and self preservation, and he had little time for a pathetic neonate. The only thing you had in common was your interest in cats. But now, you could blood bind the cats, make them part of you forever, like children that will never grow old and never grow up. You loved cats when you were mortal, and now you've got forever to look after them. You live in a small cottage on the outskirts of town, and the place is full of cats. Some of them are your ghouls, but many are just in need of food and shelter. You keep to yourself mostly. The cats are your friends. You talk to them, and maybe they even understand you sometimes. Any money you make goes into the care and feeding of your cats. Your cats are your life. You're always talking to them, stroking them and feeding them. You've developed a cat's lightning reflexes and keen eyesight from living with them for so long. If you see anyone abusing a cat, you will frenzy. If one of your cats goes missing, you will search high and low for it, maybe for days or even weeks, depending on whether or not it's a favorite.

**Equipment:** Can opener, lots of cat food, heavy purse, cane.