Cressida Aveyard

 ''“The first track is the end of a string. At the far end, a being is moving; a mystery, dropping a hint about itself every so many feet, telling you more about itself until you can almost see it, even before you come to it. The mystery reveals itself slowly, track by track, giving its genealogy early to coax you in. Further on, it will tell you the intimate details of its life and work, until you know the maker of the track like a lifelong friend.”'' — Tom Brown Jr., The Tracker Name: Cressida "Cress" Aveyard

Clan: Gangrel

Generation: 11

Court Position: Sheriff

Status Traits: Acknowledged

Appearance
A tall young woman of average build, with lightly freckled skin and short, dark hair. She dresses in an amalgamation of styles, equal parts goth, grunge and militaristic, reflective of both her relative youth and survivalist instincts. Her heavy boots are often caked with mud, pants fraying at the knees. It's not unusual to see her don some kind of face-paint while tracking, though it's more out of habit than necessity—since the change, nobody sees her coming.

Personality
Quiet and stoic, Cress is a textbook loner who is deeply mistrustful of others, for reasons she refuses to disclose to anybody. She is always on guard, in a perpetual state of vigilance, as if she expects to be stolen away at any given moment. What little rest she takes is fraught with nightmares, and it is not uncommon to see her up at odd hours of the day, cleaning her weapons, body tense like a bowstring pulled taut. In the rare moment that she forgets herself, something softer can be glimpsed, suggesting she might not have always been this way.

Mortal World
Cress made a brief but long-standing impression on the mortal world when she was five years old, vanishing from her family's farmhouse in Riverina, in what authorities believed to be a botched child abduction. The Aveyard's mounted a search party that scoured the surrounding forests for several days, ultimately coming up empty. The event was covered by national news stations, thankfully with a happy ending, for at dawn on the fourth day, Cress reappeared of her own volition—dirty, dehydrated and starving, but alive.

She was taken to see a child psychologist to discuss what happened to her during the seventy-two hours she was missing, but remained strangely mute on the subject, seemingly compartmentalizing the entire event.

Timeline

 * 1990 - Born in Riverina, New South Wales to Victoria and Geoffrey Aveyard.
 * 1995 - Cress vanishes from the Aveyard farm. She reappears four days later, severely shaken but unharmed.
 * 2008 - Leaves home to study a Bachelor of Science (Geology) at the University of Wollongong.
 * October, 2010 - Embraced in Wollongong by her boyfriend, Adrien Coates.
 * January, 2011 - After studying full-time for two-and-a-half years, Cress drops out of University—to the dismay of her professors and classmates—and moves in with Adrien and his family in their remote home.

Recent History
2016
 * June - Adrien and his men are ambushed and killed by vampires unknown. Cress, the only eye-witness, flees.
 * July - Retreats in isolation to Katoomba, where she lives draining hitchhikers with nefarious intent.
 * September - Arrives in Sydney. Sets up shop online as a one-man risk management service, specializing in repossessions, process serving and skip tracing.

2017
 * August - Named Sheriff by the Price and Primogen Council.

Known Sire

 * Adrien Coates. Deceased, 2016.

Quotes By

 * Tracking: "Everything that moves tells a story, and those stories can be followed. It's what I do—read a story, and follow it. The more I read, the more I know, the easier it becomes."
 * Politics: "I am so not here for this bullshit."

Rumours

 * Was blood-bonded to her sire to ensure her compliance.
 * 'I heard she killed him herself?'
 *  'Impossible. It cannot be done.'
 * 'Why, then, did she run? Surely if she were innocent...'

Inspirations and Soundtrack

 * She's like a swallow, possessed of her own, barbaric song, strange, dark. +
 * You didn't break me. I'm stronger and tougher because of you. And sometimes I wish I wasn't that strong. Because now I'm heartless, and that's just dangerous. +
 * I forgot I had fists today. My heart decided to be a vicious warrior, punch after punch, does it seek a glory? I'm washing my hands, they shine like red sunsets when I first found paradise. Am I a murderer? Or did I kill all my thoughts in self-defense? +

Inspirations
TV & Film Books Podcasts
 * Jessica Jones, Marvel's Jessica Jones
 * Riley Blue, Sense8
 * Edith Cushing, Crimson Peak
 * Amanda Brotzman, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
 * Inej Ghafa, Six of Crows
 * Captain Isabelle Lovelace, Wolf 359
 * Alessandra Strong, The Penumbra Podcast
 * Lup, The Adventure Zone

Soundtrack
2016 2017
 * Stronger by H. Drummond — Nobody can save us now; the gates are open and the truth is flooding out
 * Howl by Florence + The Machine — I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hollow'd ground
 * Song of the Caged Bird by L. Stirling
 * Darkness by P. Gabriel — When I allow it to be, there's no control over me; I own my fear so it doesn't own me
 * Wake (E-Bow) by Crywolf — Won't you throw me on the ground, drag me by my heels and pull me down
 * Under Your Spell by Birthday Massacre — You're the promise that degraded every hope and dream; you're the whisper at the end of every hopeless scream
 * Monster by Starset — You're the pulse in my veins, you're the war that I wage; can you change me?
 * Liar by Emilie Autumn — Are you suffering? I want your suffering; I want to see your pain
 * Gone by M83