Characters Name: Charity Standing
Gender: Female
Race: Caucasian
Age: 24

Physical Description:
Charity is a passable looking lady. Though, for many years, her family despaired about her looks. Until her late teens, Charity was an awkward looking girl, skinny as a bean pole as he grandmother put it. And her hair was a disturbing shade of red, not sophisticated like the desired rich dark auburn that is more brown than red. She has grown into womanhood and looks graceful, her body willowy and womanly. Her hair, however, is still the vivid shade of red her mother had hated so, though luckily isn't as carroty as it had once been. Charity, on the other hand, has come to terms with it. Her skin is fair, with only a slight dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She wears wire rimmed glasses, though not because she needs them, but because they seem to deter gentleman from unwanted advances. Weaknesses:
- Her kind heart, which many take advantage of.
- Her red headed temper, though rare, is stunningly vulgar.
- Her curious nature, which always lands her into trouble.
- Her hair, or so she is told.

Strengths:
- Her independent nature, which keeps her out of the hands of fortune hunters.
- Her optimism, which makes difficult situations easy to handle.
- Her intelligence, which gets her out of the trouble her curiousity lands her in.
- Her fierce loyalness, which makes her weaknesses much more forgivable.

Gear & Weapons:
Charity travels light, but she has enough to get her by. Her belongings include: A few dresses, a pair of men's clothing that fits her, sundries (soap, brush, ect.), a derringer that had belonged to her grandmother, and a locket that was given to her by her mother before her journey.

What Type of Character: A Lady

Assets: Average -- She has enough to keep her afloat, but not enough to be considered wealthy.

Background:
Charity was born in Virginia to a somewhat wealthy family. Both her mother and father were silly, or as her grandmother, Helen, puts it, idiots. Many of their children take after their airy ways, except for Charity. She was very close to her grandmother, who had the cleverness of a fox and a sharp tongue. Thus, Charity resembles her grandmother more in temperment than she does her parents, though she could be foolish at times.

The war was hard on the family, especially when they lost Charity's brother Richard in battle. Still, the family soldiered on. Though they were all very dramatic and idiotic, they were very close and loved on another dearly. That love helped them through the loss of their son/brother and through the loss of their lands to the North. They moved to town, rather than their estate house, on what little money they have, somehow managing to make things work.

After the war, Charity's grandmother took off without a word to anyone. Many feared that the woman had lost her mind. It wasn't until a year later that they got word from her. She had went West, ending up in the town of Risen, to find out what happened to her scoundrel of a husband, and did. The man had owned a rundown ranch and, although he died dead, the ranch went to Helen. Through many letters that stretched over several months, they tried to convince the old woman to come home. Unfortunately, she could not be convinced. It was her last adventure, Charity figured. Not that the woman was at death's door, however.

After long hours of debating, it was decided that Charity would go to collect her grandmother. She was the only one Helen would listen to, since she thought the others didn't have a lick of sense. So, after saving some money up, they purchases a train ticket and gave Charity the rest with strict instruction to come back if Helen refused to leave. No sense in having their precious daughter dying along side her crazy grandmother in such a savage land.

Write a short scenario:
As the train moved into motion, Charity watched out her window at her family. They looked so forlorn, she thought with a sad smile. She, too, was sad at having to leave them. Many times, she hoped this day would come after having to deal with their irritating ways, but it was much sadder now that it had. She waved, then pressed her gloved hand to the window, though she knew they probably couldn't see her any longer.

As the train left her hometown, Charity settled back in her seat and pulled out a book. She pushed the glasses up her nose, looking through the clear glass at the words on the pages. She was shocked to find they were blurred by the hot tears in her eyes. She had never left her family before. Blinking rapidly, wishing the salty show of emotion away, she felt a hand pat her knee. Looking up, she saw the kind look of an old woman.

"It is always hard to leave home." The lady said, and Charity gave her a small smile but no reply. She did not trust her voice to stay strong. As it was, her lower lip trembled and she quickly glanced down to her book to hide it. The lady, nor Charity, said more and the rest of the journey was made in quiet.