Aliases/Nicknames: Cuskie [from classmates as a teen]
Age: 23
Birthday: April 6th
Sexuality: UTP
Species: Shape-shifter [White-tailed deer]
Occupation: Assistant Town Groundskeeper
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Affiliation/s: Her shifter family
BIOGRAPHY
Kyla has always had a bit of a baby face which, coupled with the fact that she is the youngest of three in her family, did not help when trying to get people to stop hovering over her. She compensated for this by being the most outgoing of her siblings once she began her public education. The first nine years gained her friends and new experiences, but it was high school that marked the start of the personal freedom she sought. Spirit Club, student council, the school newspaper -- Kyla gained agency and confidence through her involvement in extracurriculars. Special responsibilities were placed on her shoulders, and Kyla was grateful that her club supervisors trusted she could get the work done on her own without excessive monitoring. She took such a liking to journalism that she thought she might consider it for a career after graduation, but then Kyla got the chance to speak to someone who used to write professionally for the Brookhaven Gazette. When Kyla asked why the former journalist quit, the woman heavily implied that strict censorship from The Council stifled her ability to report. Kyla heeded that veiled warning and did not apply at the Gazette, but the conversation did set gears whirring in her mind about what those in power might have to hide.
PRESENT
Kyla’s uncle worked out a job for her as his assistant tending the grounds of Brookhaven’s public lawns and greenspaces. Since she was feeling a bit unmoored after her first dream fell through, Kyla accepted the opportunity. What she soon discovered was that this often put her in close proximity to Council members, and sometimes they passed near her in unguarded moments without even realizing it. Kyla began to overhear fragments of generally undisclosed information. It was rarely enough to make her feel like she was getting real answers, but she could tell from what little reached her ears that this was the sort of talk The Council did not want spreading to the public at large. The question now became: If Kyla couldn’t publish what she’d learned without it being altered or outright confiscated, how could she safely convey to the people of Brookhaven that all is not as they’ve been told? One afternoon, when she visited the Brookhaven Public Library, she got an idea. Some student who previously checked out the book in her hand had scribbled notes in the margins while they prepared for an exam and forgot to erase them. What if she could leave similar logical breadcrumbs, but with purpose? After all, Kyla was the right age to be a college student and, in the eyes of some people, her face made her look even younger. As long as she didn’t check them out with her card, there’d be no record of her picking up the specific titles she intended to use for her purpose. Under the guise of self-guided study, she began secretly defacing works that could hypothetically find their way into the right hands. What she left behind was something akin to blackout poetry, just a few thought-provoking lines on a page that could get the next reader to start asking the right questions, at least within the privacy of their own thoughts. It’s a frustratingly small drop in the ocean, trying to preserve secrets out of the reach of those who would obscure the truth, but Kyla keeps up her little personal rebellion. She hopes someday it can prove to be more than just a dangerous hobby and actually help undermine the authority figures who’ve been feeding the town their own version of reality.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Kyla has the same watchful, rich brown eyes as her siblings, but there’s a piercing intensity to her stare that she’s learned to conceal when necessary so as not to put anyone she questions on-edge. She perfected a seemingly innocent, deliberately disarming smile for when she’s aiming to be persuasive (It should be noted that her elder sister is one of the few not fooled by this, since Tegan accurately deduced it only appears on Kyla’s face when she wants something). A small snort tends to come from her nose when she’s feeling especially indignant, and occasionally when she laughs.
CHARACTERISTICS
+ Assertive, Investigative, Self-reliant
- Risk-taking, Suspicious, Intractable
STATS
Charisma: +3
Intelligence: +3
Athleticism: +2
Power: +2
CONNECTIONS
Lee McCusker: Older brother - Kyla idolizes Lee. She’s aware that his clumsiness makes others view him as a bit awkward, and most of the time his head is in the clouds, but what matters to her is that he’s the only man she’s ever truly relied on out of any in her family. She knows her mother was a good parent who wasn’t lost without the help of her father, especially since both aunts were always there if another adult was needed, but Kyla still couldn’t help resenting her father’s absence sometimes. It seemed to her that the cabin where he lived with her uncles might as well be its own little world, almost completely separate from her own, given how infrequently they spent time together. Not so with Lee; he was always just a room away. Lee made her imaginative toys and playsets as a child, and he was always willing to join in her games of pretend. Now that they’re adults, she sometimes can’t make it to shows at the theatre where he works, but Kyla tries to at least visit during the weeks prior to opening night so she can see how his sets are coming along. The two meet occasionally for dinner or drinks, and Lee can be found waiting for her with a hug and a grin the moment she walks through the door.
Tegan McCusker: Older sister - Tegan wasn’t involved in Kyla’s youth in the same way that Lee was, despite the fact that she’s technically closer in age to her than their brother is. Kyla wouldn’t go so far as to say that her sister was cold as a kid. In fact, she has numerous memories of cuddling on the sofa and sharing the two-seater swing in their yard. Tegan was simply more introverted, and she had the tendency to keep to herself while everyone else did their own thing. She didn’t worriedly circle around the way their mother and aunts did, but she was a constant presence in the background. Kyla tries to channel that uncanny ability to blend into any given setting when she’s at work. The two don’t generally confide in each other, but Kyla can tell that her sister cares from afar. Sometimes she’s surprised by the details about herself that Tegan seems to have gleaned just from observation alone.
Beatrice Collins: Former classmate - Betty and Kyla had a few classes together in high school, but they didn’t sit near each other and they weren’t part of the same social circles. Kyla didn’t pay her much attention for the first three years, but their paths started to cross a little more when they were seniors. She was part of the newspaper staff and - given how distractingly loud her house could be - Kyla was in search of a quiet place to write her articles. The school library provided exactly that and, senior year, Betty was the student assistant there who helped her whenever she needed it. Their relationship in early adulthood is actually quite similar; Betty works at the Brookhaven Public Library, and Kyla seeks her out specifically if she needs to ask a staff member a question. She finds her approachable because Betty reminds Kyla of her sister in a way, although she gets the sense the librarian feels less content on her own than Tegan generally is.