"I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself." - D. H. Lawrence
General
Name: Riley Sager (Say – grr)
Gender: Female
Birth Date: June 18th 1982
Age: 34
Family: Bernard Sager (Father/deceased), Caroline Sager (Mother/deceased), Conner Sager (brother), Adeline Jaxon (grandmother/deceased), Peter Jaxon (grandfather/deceased)
Former Home: Jackson, Georgia
Appearance
Eye color: Dark nut brown
Hair color: Medium chocolate brown and curly
Height: 5'5
Weight: 125
Build: Lean, long limbs, athletic, toned muscles
Extra Anatomy: Long narrow feet, long toes and fingers, average bust, square shaped face, prominent jawline, deep set eyes, straight nose,
Scars/Birthmarks: Usual childhood scars on hands and knees from rough play, scar on her right temple extending almost to the corner of her eye from a fist fight, burn scars on her left hand and wrist, laceration scars on left leg from a car accident
Tattoos/Piercings: Wings tattooed across her upper back, U.S. marines tattoo on her left shoulder, skull tattoo on the inside of her right arm, snake wrapped around a sword on her foot
Preferred Clothing: Tank tops, t-shirts, cargo pants, boots, comfy and loose clothing, dark neutral colors
Personality
Strengths: Determined, curious, adaptable, ability to learn quickly, energetic, clever, imaginative, witty
Weaknesses: Nervous, inconsistent, indecisive, superficial, impulsive, restless, devious
Fears: Abandonment, trapped, giving up
Talents: Mechanical skills, gun skills, basic hand to hand combat, resourceful
Hobbies: Cars, movies, music, books, researching about random things, learning everything that she can
Addictions: Adrenaline junkie
Pre-Apocalypse
Riley was a premature baby born 25 weeks into her mother's pregnancy. Because certain medical advances had not come around yet, ventilating was the only thing they could do and hope she pulled through on her own, which eventually she did. There were many worries that her birth would result in lingering health problems throughout her life. However Riley was one of the lucky ones. Her only downfall was she smaller than the kids her age and physically weaker. Despite their fears her parents avoided sheltering her from anything. They let her run and play just as hard as the other kids. Although trying to hold her back would have been impossible. Riley was determined to not let her size hold her back. With weak scrawny legs she ran after the other kids, always trailing behind. It didn't help that she always hung out with her brother and his friends who were older. Conner watched over her fiercely. At times he was overprotective but with her sharp tongue Riley put him in his place. For a long time they lived happily until at age six her father a EOD technician in the Marines was killed in combat. After his death their mother began to fall apart, unable to handle the loss and raise two kids. After a year of constant struggle both economically and mentally their mother drove them down to her hometown in Jackson, Georgia. She left them wither their grandmother and never turned back. Despite the disappointment in her daughter and the struggle of raising two kids their grandmother never gave in. She worked tirelessly to make sure they had happy, healthy lives. Riley was generally a good kid, she followed the rules, behaved herself for the most part, and did ok in school. But unlike her calm easy going brother she was a hell raiser. Her small size gave her a big attitude and she lashed out at anyone who pushed her around. There were many fist fights she started but very few that she ever finished. Conner was the outgoing one of the two. Everyone seemed to flock to his smooth easy going nature while Riley hung back choosing to distance herself from people. She could be social when she wanted to but most of the time she didn't. Most of her friends she got from her brother and only a few were ones she acquired herself. The summer between her freshman and sophomore year of high school she hit a growth spurt. Just like her father did at her age she grew several inches not just up but out. Her lanky, and knobby limbs grew thicker and stronger, and of course she developed some curves. When school started many people couldn't believe what they were seeing. All those years of trailing after the other kids and now she was out running them. Riley joined the JROTC program with her brother (who was a senior at the time) and the soccer and weightlifting teams. She worked hard everyday, training along side her brother who was getting ready for the marines. She graduated high school and three days after her grandmother passed away leaving her and her brother with everything she had. Riley and Conner agreed that they couldn't keep up the house and the land so they sold it. Riley used the money for rent for a small apartment and got a job at automotive shop. A year later and she was doing the same thing and not going anywhere with her life. Conner was gone overseas serving his country and she was alone. Over the years their mother had sent letters just to keep in touch but that was all they had herd from her. Having no one else to go to Riley dug up an old letter and followed the address to Macon. There she found a nice house in a high dollar community. Pulling into the drive she saw a handsome stranger getting ready to leave for work, kiss her mother on the cheek. Enraged, Riley jumped from her car and attacked the man driving her fist into his face repeatedly. Eventually her mother pulled her off only to receive the brunt of Riley's anger in the form of words. She was furious that her mother abandoned them and her father's memory to live the high life with another man. Her mother managed to talk her new husband down from having Riley arrested as long as she never showed up here again. Still angry Riley drove home and ended up totaling her 1969 Camaro that she bought and restored herself. Conner came home to take care of her after the accident. After seeing the shape she was in he practically dragged her kicking and screaming to the marine recruiting office. Joining the marines saved Riley. She didn't just do good, she thrived.. She started out as a mechanic working on helicopters while going to school to get a degree. Once that was done she became and officer and eventually a helicopter pilot. It was a hard road but she managed. She didn't get to see Conner much, despite being in the same service their jobs were very different. One day they got a call from a person in Atlanta. Their mother who was now divorced and living alone in the city had passed. Riley and Conner returned stateside for the funeral when the shit hit the fan and the dead began to rise.
Level of Education: Bachelor Degree
Former Job: Marine helicopter pilot, flew the Bell UH-1Y Venom
Gear
Riley's main weapons are a standard issued Beretta 92fs, black, military pistol and a Glock 19 Gen 4 black pistol that she bought before joining the military for concealed carry and self defense given that she lived alone. The Beretta rest on her left hip, very noticeable, and easy to get to. The Glock sits on her rib cage under her left arm in a concealed holster, harder to get to but great in a last resort situation. On her right hip is a black combat knife. Along with that she has a boot knife in her left boot and a machete strapped to her backpack. Her usual attire is her standard issued combat boots, cargo pants, t-shirts, tank tops, and her BDU blouse. She carries warm clothes for winter in her pack, a Swiss army knife, lighter, and basic survival gear. Her most prized possession is her dog tags and on the chain with them is her grandmother's engagement ring that had been passed onto her mother.
Miscellaneous/Trivia
• Riley name meaning: An Irish surname it is a variant of REILLY. As an English surname it is derived from a place name meaning "rye clearing" in Old English.
• Sager Name Meaning English: Variant of Seager. Dutch (de Sager), and North German: occupational name from Dutch, Low German sager 'sawyer'. French: from the Germanic personal name Sagher, composed of the elements sag- (an element related to Gothic and Old High German words meaning 'quarrel', 'law-suit') + hari, heri 'army'. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from an agent derivative of German sagen 'to say'.
• Favorite color is blue followed closely by green
• Likes all kinds of music but she loves rock especially 80's
• Her character is loosely based off of Angelina Jolie's Lara Croft from "Tomb Raider" and Lyndsy Fonseca's Alexandra Udinov from "Nikita"
• Her "theme song" is "In Chains" by Shamans Harvest
• She is a movie nerd
• She loves to read especially non fiction books but fiction is great when she wants to escape reality
• Has a slight obsession with cars
• Her zodiac sign is a Gemini
• Her dog tags read:
SAGER
RILEY D.
940 – 66 – 1519
O NEGATIVE
NO PREFERENCE
• Her father's name Bernard and mother's maiden name Jaxon is in reference to the characters Bernard Kittridge and Peter Jaxon from Justin Cronin's amazing book "The Passage"
• Her middle name is Danielle