Name:  Ryker Graham Miles

Age: 22
Family: Deceased (don’t ask)

Species: Therian - Stag

Faceclaim: Drew Roy

Hundreds of children every year get put into the system, abandoned by parents who either never cared for them, didn’t want them to begin with, or didn’t have the means to support them. Most of those children never see a loving home, they spend years bouncing from foster home to foster home weaving through the system until they become old enough to be cast out on their own. Some end up in juvenile detention, thinking life on the streets is better than taking a chance on a home. Every once in awhile though, there is a happy story. A tale of good fortune that sparks hope in the hearts of all those who have yet to find their place in the world.

“What do you mean the bed’s empty?”

“I mean just that doctor. She’s gone.”

“That’s impossible, the woman just gave birth less than an hour ago. Find her.”

3 hours later Charlene stood staring at the empty bed, the sheets still ruffled and soiled from the birth. Several nurses and a couple of the security staff had scoured all 14 levels of St. Anthony’s Hospital only to find that the woman had disappeared without a trace. Jack, the head of security, checked the video feeds and together they had watched as the woman slipped from the bed and avoided the nursing staff all the way out the door. She’d left no personal effects and they weren’t even sure if the name she had given upon check in had been her real name. Filling out the paperwork for the police officers hadn’t taken as long as she’d expected, and with a little help from her nurses on staff they had come up with a sketch of the woman.

Before she knew where she was going Charlene found herself in the maternity ward, holding the squirming baby boy in her arms. He was strong, his little fists waving in the air as if he were fighting an invisible foe while his legs kicked almost constantly. Against protocol the doctor leaned over and scooped up the infant, holding him closely to her chest. He was so tiny, so innocent and helpless even more so than the dozen or so other babies sitting in the room. Over her 10 year career as the Chief of the ER she’d delivered a number of babies, even watched a good number of them given away to other families and yet this one instance broke her heart. He’d been abandoned, deserted without a second thought and would never know the loving embrace of his birth mother. What was more, she’d left him blind and nameless.

A solitary tear worked its way down her cheek as she watched the little one fall asleep in her arms, completely oblivious to his predicament and the precarious state of his young life. Something about the infant kept her coming back to the Ward, breaching protocol to hold him and finding any excuse to spend time with him. In the end Charlene and Tyler Miles took him home, providing him with a stable home in which he flourished. Despite his lack of sight he grew and learned exponentially, bonding with both adults with no problems. Within a matter of months they were in line to adopt him when the mother was found, picked up several states away in a vehicle stolen right out of the hospital parking lot.

Charlene was called to the precinct, identifying the mother as she sat in an interrogation room. With two cops present the doctor listened as the harried woman tried to explain her actions, insisting that it was dangerous for anyone to be around the infant. Incensed and angry beyond compare she burst into the room and raked the woman over the coals for abandoning her child, for leaving him without a second thought.

“You don’t understand! He will be the death of you and everyone close to you! It’s his destiny to destroy everyone that loves him.”

Disgusted, Charlene couldn’t look at the woman as she was taken away though she could see the desperation the was written on her face. Not one to hold a grudge she managed to work out a deal, in exchange for the mother signing away her rights Charlene would drop the charges of child endangerment and abandonment. With the documents signed Charlene and her husband were able to fully adopt the baby boy, making him officially Ryker Graham Miles.

All Ryker had ever known was darkness, not a single face or color, not a sunrise or sunset, not even the soft glow of moonlight had ever been experienced by his useless eyes. Still he never wasted a moment of his time on self pity or anger for his lack of sight, after all how could you miss something you’d never experienced. In the absence of his eyes the other senses heightened, filling in the gaps and giving him plenty of freedom to grow and thrive like any other child.

With a doctor for a mother and a lawyer for a father it was no surprise that Ryker became a scholar, eagerly learning about anything and everything he could get his hands on. Advancing past those of his age he surpassed everyone in his studies from kindergarten through senior year, graduating at the top of his class a full 3 years ahead of schedule. He had multiple offers from several universities including a few that would cater to his needs as a blind student, though he didn’t even give those options a second glance. Instead he had his sights set much higher, enrolling in Yale’s criminal justice program.

In the beginning he had every intention of following in his father’s footsteps, given his lack of sight being a doctor was out of the question and there wasn’t much else that interested him enough to hold his attention for long. During his first year he became entranced in psychology, all aspects of the human mind and the different motivations the lead a person to behaving the way they do. The subject sparked such passion within the young man that he changed his major from criminal law to criminal psychology. From that point on he had a renewed dedication to his studies that he carried through till his graduation.

Joining a fraternity his freshman year, Ryker was as involved in extracurriculars as he was in his classes. Cycling through girlfriends though never finding the right one he cultivated a reputation as a ladies man as well as the life of the party. Always willing to lend a helping hand he traveled through his college years with a pack of loyal friends, fostering a sense of team spirit to help one another out both in and out of the classroom. However, as sometimes does happen tragedy struck in the height of his life, when all things seemed to be going his way.

The call came in while he was in class, the vibration breaking his train of thought as he was typing notes and very nearly decided to ignore it. Something though told him to answer, slipping out of his seat to find his way to the hallway. The voice on the other end of the line was authoritative yet gentle as he delivered the news, asking if Ryker would be able to come down to the station in order to answer some questions as well as take possession of the bodies. He had no idea how long he sat in the hallway, staring into the blackness in a numb sort of trance.

His parents had been out on date night, dinner and a movie most likely as was their custom. Following the movie the happy couple were walking across the parking lot to their car when gunshots started going off. They scrambled for cover but not soon enough, both were hit multiple times as the cars went tearing by. The police were ruling it a side effect of gang violence, a turf war that spilled onto the streets and claimed the lives of several innocents including Charlene and Tyler Miles. The only explanation for the dark act that could be provided to the grieving son was wrong place, wrong time, and yet Ryker couldn’t help but feel like this was only the beginning.

Something within him had been building, some unexplained force that had him waking up at night in a cold sweat. Oddly enough the death of his parents alleviated some of the pressure, like the senseless killing of those he loved the most had somehow brought a little balance to an invisible scale that he could sense but not see. Shrugging the feelings off Ryker struggled through the burial of his parents and went back to school to finish his degree. Though he seemed a little somber his friends did what they could to cheer him up and continue on as usual. Eventually the young scholar pulled himself up and completed his degree, graduating with all honors and once more at the top of his class.

The night after graduation was a big celebration, the whole street of Fraternity Row was packed with partying graduates as well as undergrads taking the opportunity to join in the fun. People moved from house to house, drinks flowed freely, and those who had reached the end of a very long period of study let loose to their hearts content. Ryker had consumed one too many jager bombs, excusing himself to the deck outside in order to get some air and keep himself from puking on someone.

As he stood inhaling the cool night air a smile came to his face as he listened to his best friends. They joked and teased one another while a few flirted while the music thumped loud enough to send vibrations through the stone beneath his feet. Satisfied that his stomach wasn’t going to rebel against him Ryker took a single step back towards the party when everything exploded. He was hit with a shockwave of glass and fire, blown clean off his feet to fly through the air until his body hit water. Sputtering and in a complete panic Ryker clawed his way to the surface as a second explosion rocked the ground, heaving him bodily onto the ground some feet from the pool. As he was struggling to rise, his ears ringing both from the explosions and from the screaming that seemed to be coming from everywhere something struck him in the back of the head, thrusting him into unconsciousness.

Ryker woke up in a daze, a steady beeping and a quiet whoosh were loudest over the low murmur of voices that he assumed were people out in a hallway somewhere. The sharp smell of antiseptic and lemongrass further confused him as his head pounded and his stomach rolled. The material beneath his fingers was coarse but clean as a door opened close by and a person stepped in. From the smell he could tell it was a guy, his cologne distinct but not overpowering as he came up beside the bed.

“Mr. Miles, do you mind if I call you Ryker?” When he got a head shake in response the male pushed on, the sound of metal scraping across tile told him that a chair had been pulled up beside the bed. Rustling as he sat down and then a brief silence, “How are you feeling?” The question was so mundane and yet the tone that ran through the voice told him more than he needed to know. “I’m fine. Head hurts and my body aches. Where am I?”

“You are at Baptist East Medical Center. You’ve been unconscious for 2 weeks after suffering several contusions and a concussion. You also have several 3rd degree burns along your arms and upper body that are healing nicely.”

Silence reigned as the Doctor gave him time to process everything he’d just been told, his mind trying to fill in the gaps desperately in order to bring some sense to what had happened. Wincing as his head pounded protesting against functioning so quickly and rapidly, Ryker collapsed back against the bed. The Doctor rose from his seat walking around the bed and from the slight off key beeps fiddled with something off to his right. Within a few moments his body became numb, a thick fog bank descending into cushion his brain. Heaving an exhausted sigh he turned his head back toward where he could sense the Doctor had taken a seat once more.

“What happened?”

The silence seemed to stretch out for eternity once more, filling up the room like a heavy cloud and all Ryker could do was lay there with a sense of dread sitting in the pit of his stomach. Finally the Doctor seemed to come to some decision in his mind, the creak of the chair and the smell of his aftershave becoming strong as he leaned closer to the young male. “There was an explosion in one of the frat houses that started off a chain reaction. From what the authorities can tell there was a gas line that had come loose and once the gas hit some of the candles that were burning, well that was the start of it. Alcohol plus fire and it took over from there.”

His voice was once more gentle, professional but carried the right amount of gravity given what he wasn’t saying. It was shortly after that Ryker slipped back into unconsciousness, the news and his injuries dragging him back into the black, numb abyss. 2 weeks later he was released from the hospital, the full weight of his losses realized as he stood in with one of the crowd at the vigil held for all those young lives that had been lost in the tragedy. All of those he’d held dear, everyone he’d ever come to love was lost to him and he was well and truly alone.

The weight of his heart warred with the weight of whatever was within him, that unseen balance of scales that he could feel had been satisfied. As he slowly walked back to his apartment that night, numb and anguished all at the same time he felt a curious shifting within his body, the power that had been dormant within came alive. His body shifted, bone and sinew stretching to accommodate the new shape as the moon looked on in mute testament. Where once a young man had stood a huge white stag shook his head, the rack of antlers standing tall and proud as a crown on his head. Scenting the air the supernatural animal caught the scent and took off at a graceful gallop.

Running with preternatural speed the creature subversed thousands of miles in a single night, finding the right location on instinct alone. Sniffing the air the stag could sense where he was supposed to be but not who he was meant to find. The male was here, in the city of Evermore, but had yet to take his true place. Walking through the woods the stag found where the true alpha lived, bedding down just outside the perimeter of trees and let the young man take back possession of his body. Ryker slumped over, exhausted and shaking, cold all over and confused as hell. Unable to pick his head up the male slumped over in the grass, curling in on himself in order to conserve body heat. What was happening to him?

His mind drifted in and out of consciousness, a sensation he was becoming accustomed to as he lay on the ground, scared out of his mind. A voice came to him from out of the dark and then a hand smoothed the hair out of his eyes, “What the hell man? First shift and you have to end up on my doorstep?” Ryker blinked up towards the voice, a small laugh escaping through his chattering teeth, “What’s the matter? You don’t get naked guys ending up in your backyard everyday?”

Together the pair of them chuckled over the joke, as the male who introduced himself as Orion helped heave him up off the ground. After some awkward maneuvering Orion welcomed Ryker into his house, giving him a place to live while he figured out why he was here. As far as the pair of them could tell he was what Orion called a Therian, a shifter of some kind though neither of them knew what. Somehow the male knew he belonged here but why he couldn’t fathom.

So he decided to stay, to figure out the mystery of why he had ended up in Evermore. He found a job as a criminal psychologist at the local police department and stayed with Orion while they tried to find out exactly what he was.