Anita Payne

Anita was born and raised in Memphis, daughter to a Mexican mother and an American father.
She wasn't born into wealth but she wasn't deprived of it either, her childhood was normal, ordinary enough to become something she would eventually resent.

Annie always thought there had to be something better out there waiting for her, the problem was... That she had no idea what that 'something' was.

Then, at just thirteen, her whole world disappeared in a single night. Her parents, killed in a car accident.

No dramatic final convo or chances to say goodbyes. One day they were there, the next day she was being passed between relatives, social workers and eventually the foster system.
It was the first time Anita learned the hard way that people can disappear from your life without asking for permission, and surely it wouldn't be the last.

A few years go by and the girl started hating the idea of spending her entire life working a dead end job, being miserable, paying bills, coming home tired and repeat the same cycle in the morning. Even as a kid, she had an inflated sense of self. She didn't think she was destined to be famous or powerful necessarily... No. Annie simply believed she was meant for more.

Annie didn't adjust well to the foster care system, she wasn't the quiet and grateful kid social workers wanted her to be. She was angry, and increasingly distrustful of adults who consistently promised things would get better.

She bounced between homes, some lasted weeks, others months... A few families did genuinely tried... it rarely mattered.
Annie stole things, skipped school, picked fights broke things when angry... often pushed others away deliberately before they could decide that they didn't want her around.

Eventually, every new home felt the same.

New rules, new adults, new bedroom, new promises... then another move elsewhere.
By her late teens she no longer expected things from people, she also stopped caring or being particularly interested in being a 'good kid'.
If people wanted to label her a problem then fuck it she might as well become one, give them something to complain about.

Annie developed a couple unhealthy and dark fascinations during these times.
Mostly a strange fascination with the unusual, the more eccentric corners of society, carnival folk, circus performers, clowns and juggalos, even true crime and particularly disturbing cases held her attention. Not to say she wanted to become one, she just couldn't understand how someone could cross certain lines and simply keep going, that was the fascinating part about people who completely abandoned rules others lived by.

Annie envied that freedom.

The Idea that someone could look at society's expectations and say 'nope' appealed to the part of her that had spent years being told what she had to be. Eventually, the fascination became less academic.

She wanted to feel something.

Anything.

At eighteen Annie was placed into group housing, another temporary solution for a permanent problem... But once again, another failed placement.
She found herself without much direction eventually crossing paths with a travelling circus that passed through the area, drawn to it's unusual collection of people, performers, drifters and misfits, she found herself taken in by someone within.

Life on the road wasn't glamorous, It was demanding and sometimes downright miserable but Annie enjoyed it.

Different towns, different faces, late nights and people who didn't seem particularly concerned about fitting into society, or perhaps seemed just as disconnected from ordinary life as she felt. She helped with whatever was needed, from selling tickets to handling supplies and odd jobs or setting up equipment or feeding the wild and exotic animals, even helped the artists carve decorations, her favorite being a lion.

It was around this time that she took more interest into becoming a performer herself, she enjoyed the company of all the folk and most of them were willing to teach her the ways!

Anita picked up something from nearly everyone around her over the years, trained alongside acrobats, learning flexibility and balance, better coordination and body control becoming stronger, fit and more nimble as she'd often spend hours practicing her contortion, climbing, tumbling and aerial kicks.

From the jugglers she learned how to handle all sorts of objects, mastering juggling and knife tricks plus other forms of showmanship.

From the sideshow performers, she picked up sleight of hand, misdirection, escape tricks and a taste for the unusual, she even learned axe throwing and shooting from some of the more adventurous performers. Eh... not her forté though.

From the animal handlers how to work around dangerous animals where patience and discipline and were most important, eventually she would be assisting with the big cats and learning the basics of lion taming under supervision. She also picked up plenty of smaller skills, card tricks, escapism, dancing, stage makeup, costume repairs fire performances and how to entertain a crowd! It was never something formal really, she just watched, practiced and often failed... and tried again, and again...until she got better at it. Little by little she collected a piece of everyone turning herself into someone more athletic capable and resourceful than the girl who just sold tickets.

Also during this period that her criminal tendencies began to show and develop into something more serious. Petty theft, shoplifting and vandalism casually grew and became a means of entertaining herself while making some extra money, she discovered she was good at getting away with things too, the thrill only pushing and encouraging her further.
Eventually those same criminal activities began extending beyond the circus. She became more independent taking opportunities wherever she found them.

By the summer of 2010, Anita was still travelling with the circus as the outbreak spread, however their routine began falling apart as performances were canceled, towns became hostile and the company eventually found itself back in Memphis. With the overall situation deteriorating the future of the circus, making it uncertain, Annie found herself more and more on her own.

When the ship arrived at the Port of Memphis in August, Anita saw an opportunity.

While the ship was being maintained and restocked amidst the confusion of soldiers, port workers and the growing panic, she managed to sneak aboard amongst the refugees. Of course she wasn't supposed to be there, had no ticket and certainly hadn't been invited. She was scared too so she found somewhere among the ship's supplies and equipment to hide, waiting until the vessel departed.

By the the time it did she realized just how far things are gone.

Now with the outside world seemingly in shambles, Anita finds herself aboard a ship full of strangers, refugees and military personal and whatever remained of ordinary society. She has no particular allegiance to anyone aboard, not intending to become anyone's responsibility, for now... Keeping a low profile, finding somewhere to sleep and figuring out how to make herself useful seem like the best options for her.

Anita of course, isn't one without morals, she simply made her own.

Being fiercely loyal to people she considers hers, but outside of that circle, her empathy is considerably more selective. Her principles are strong when they benefit her and conveniently flexible when they... do not.

She's charismatic, stubborn, confident and short-tempered. She knows she's attractive too so she isn't afraid to use that to her advantage. Beneath the arrogance, however, is someone deeply afraid of being left behind, she'd rather push someone away herself than wait for them to leave.

Anita still believes she's destined for something greater and bigger, she just hasn't figured out what that looks like yet and for now, she's stuck on a boat with nowhere particular to go... And something tells her life isn't going to get any more ordinary from here on out.