NAME: Harleen Nightingale
FACE CLAIM: Katharine Isabelle
[ + ] witty, clever, brave
[ - ] sarcastic, blunt, foul-mouthed
Originally from New York, Harleen was born into an achieved American Dream. Her parents had gone from zero to Wall Street heroes, but heroism came with a price. And that price was their daughter. Her mother worked days, her father nights. When Harleen returned from school, her father was resting, and when her mother came home, her father left, and she took his place on the colder side of their bed. Neither had much time for her, and though they showered her with all of the money they made, they were ghosts more than they were parents. When she reached school age, she stayed away from most of those around her, even the ones who wanted to play with her. After all, keeping distance was all she knew. She grew up with a lack of attention, blaming herself, and eventually all of her behaviour was conducted inwards. She became largely antisocial, believing herself unworthy of anyone’s time. That was, until her mother became pregnant with her younger brother, Neal. Harleen was 12 when Neal was born, and her mother took 6 months away from Wall Street to care for the baby. Instantly, Harleen couldn’t help but dislike him. Why was he so special? Why did he get the attention she never could? Eventually, jealousy bubbled up within her until it split her open, violently. She began to despise her parents, and became hostile towards almost anyone within her general vicinity. Including, and especially, her brother.
Suspended from school at 13 for pupil assault, her parents decided to intervene in her antics. While she viewed her actions as a mere branch of acting out due to her parents’ lack of parental capabilities, her parents saw her as out of control. At 14, Harleen was sent to an all-girls military school in order to learn more about the act of discipline. It was there that Harleen met her first girlfriend, Gwen Cunningham. Gwen brought out a side of Harleen that she was unaware even existed, a kinder side, a human side. Love bloomed Harleen, and she finally found herself able to trust someone, open up to someone. Her hostile exterior smashed, Harleen eventually grew to become rather social, able to bond with others over humour, TV shows, anything and everything she could think of. Though her anger never left, and her temper remained short, Harleen was able to expand her horizons. She still, however, refused to thank her family for their intervention, but realised her mistake in not keeping in contact with her brother. Though she never did return home, Harleen kept in frequent contact with her brother, until the very day they could no longer contact one another.
Once she moved to Florida, Harleen aimed to make a life for herself. She took several night classes, eventually leading to a full-time educational degree in investigative journalism. Between articles, she would often visit her brother, who now lived on the coast of Miami, where she helped him work at his boatyard, repairing old and tainted ships.
Harleen often believed that how one acts in a crisis reveals their true nature, and the same could be said of how she spent the first 24 hours after the storm hit. Safe in her home, and unaware of the dangers to come, Harleen tried desperately to contact everyone, anyone she could. Her first call was to her brother, begging him to pick up under her breath, though all connection was blown. Anyone, could she call anyone? Hysterical when no one was able to keep up with her, Harleen turned to her TV, but that was a lost hope, it too had nothing but buzzing blurs to portray. In an original fit of rage, she picked the television from its position on the coffee table, and threw it against the wall.
For weeks she wandered from home to home, surviving on the knowledge she gained at Military school, with a mere kitchen knife and a shotgun she stole from the neighbourhood bigot, her sole companion being her Jack Russel, Bandit. Eventually, he learned to adapt to the life they now lead. However, soon they came to trouble, and Bandit’s cut foot – received from stepping on a forest bear trap – turned from bad to worse, as it became infected. In desperation, Harleen began searching for somewhere, anywhere, she could find help.
