CARROW, patience lakota

[Patience Carrow]

Name: Patience Lakota 'Kota' Carrow

Age: Nineteen

Gender: Female

Heritage: Half Lakota

Job Position: Serving Girl

Physical Description: Kota is considered, by all means, improper. At the first, she simply dresses unorthodoxly. Her natural, or chosen attire, consists of button down shirts and denims. Her boots are well worn, attesting to their constant, and evident, use. Now, once shock has been driven out, since it is not virtuous to wear such clothing, you can take note of her appearance. Her skin is too dark to hint at any sort of a virtuous upbringing. Her hair, a mixture of deep browns and caramel, attests to the mixed genes. She is tall, you may notice. She stands at 5'9.

Her eyes are a deep brown, seeming almost black but for the almond speckles that line the iris. Her brows are pert, thin, and angled. Her hair, that mass of brown and caramel that we spoke of? It is an unruly mess of curls, that she usually wears pinned up, as is custom in these times. Though, at times, since being a half-breed allows her some leeway, she will wear her curls done. While this does normally cause a round of gasps, she is never confronted for it, as she is a half-breed and most do not expect much of her.

Since she is used to working with horses, primarily mustangs, her walk does not hold the natural prance of most women in their prime. Her voice, though quiet, speaks of her modest, southern routes. By all means, she is a child of the west, in both appearance and attire.

Though her work would call for dress attire only, Kota is known to wear dresses grudgingly, often being embarrassed if or when someone ogles her. Men. Simple enough.

Personality: Kato is, by all means, unapproachable. Since she is used to be treated as either witless, or beneath others, she holds a bitter reserve for most. When approached, her natural inclination is to take to the aggression that her Lakota mother raised her with. Most of the men see her as a Prairie Dove, and expect her to willingly give herself over to their use. Since, as duly noted, she was raised with Lakota standards, she is very proud and does not, in anyway condone it. Thus, this normally causes unrest. She has been faulted for the actions of men for so long, that a time or two, she has been thrown in jail 'for her own safety'. Why? Because when the dog barks, the cat sets loose her claws. And the white man doesn't like to be wrong, so the cat takes the blame. At-least, that is the way her mother dubs it.

Since she is normally met with such disrespect, or bitterness from most in town, Kota dubs no one her friend. She sets out to work each morning, to the Salloon. Her days, as obvious, consist of work. She takes only one fifteen minute break to eat lunch, and heads back to work. She is primarily embarassed and angry at her job, but the money is what matters. At the end of each day, she sets out, on horseback, for her parent's cabin, that lies just on the outskirts of town.

She has no social life, and is rumored to have no heart or sense of humor. Her hobbies include painting, and horseback riding. Her family own one horse. An old paint, given to her by her mother's father the last time she visited her mother's old tribe. The paint has aged well, pulling the same weight he has always pulled, even as he turned sixteen. At night it is said that Kota rides out, and skirts the town. She is always cautious to avoid drunken Ranch Hands, as, true to their nature, and her breeding, they feel they have some right to her.

She is scornful of men, swearing that even unto her death bed, she will not marry. She believes all men are vipers, deep down, save her father. Thus, it is believed, that she would sooner bite a man, than hold civil conversation with him. That does not mean she is any kinder to the women. She is quick to return any insult she receives from the women of the town. She strives to prove to everyone in town, that she is every bit just as good as those ladies of breeding, or even self-made aristocrats that she hears so much about through gossip. Perhaps it is time that she learned to mellow out, and, perhaps, to give people a chance to show that not everyone is prejudiced.

Past: Born into a Lakota tribe, Patience Lakota, believed she was named thusly to prevent herself from forgetting her ancestors. She was raised solely by her mother, for the first year of her life. Her father, being an outsider, had to use that year to prove himself worthy of marrying her mother and taking soul custody of her and his child. At the age of two, on her birthday, Kota moved to Colorado with her mother and her father. They built a small cabin on the outskirts of a prosperous town, and lived a humble life. Her childhood was full of playing with the mules that her father used for his meager crop fields, and painting on deer skins that her father saved after a decent hunt each year.

At the age of fifteen, Kota was faced with her first trip into town. Once in town, she was overcome with excitement. She had heard of bustling cities, but this one was her firs, so ever the large festivity. She enjoyed her trip, and the small pastry her father afforded her, until they passed the saloon. That was when she heard it. 'That must be that half-blood Jebb dun got himself stuck with.' 'Yup. I reckon the missus is at home, scrubbin' the floors. Only thing one uh them's good 'nuff to do.' 'Likely that brat 'll be causin' her own share uh trouble here 'bouts soon enough.' 'She's purdy fer uh witluss half-breed.' 'Nah. I'll take me a southern bred ladeh any day.'

Her parents had never told her of the prejudice people had against her. They had never so much as mentioned that there was a reason her papa always went to town alone. There was a reason there was a gun by the door when he left. She'd never known anyone to come around their property. She'd only known her parents, and the tribe members she rarely saw. This began the change her happy-go-lucky life.

When she turned nineteen her father was ailed by a stroke. No longer able to work on the crops, that barely grew in the Colorado heat anyway, he sold the mules to keep food on the table. Her mother, Wind, as she was dubbed, took the duty of trips into town. After a while it was evident that someone would have to provide for them. So, early one morning, Kota saddled up Croatan, and rode into town. Her mother had forbid her to do it, but she knew that she would be the only prospective applicable one. Her mother, bless her soul, was not as skilled with riding, and she figured no decent shop or store would even think of hiring an half-breed, much less an Native. So, her only shot was the one job she feared she would loath. Working as serving girl at the towns Salloon.

At first glance the owner was reluctant. Obviously it would take alot of guts to hire a halfbreed. It was always preferable to have a white woman, but if a halfbreed was goodlooking enough, it was worth a shot. As soon as he noticed the way she attended to her customer, pushing aside all bitterness to do her job and earn her money honestly, he went a limb and gave her a trial limb. Or at-least, that was what he said he was doing.

After a month it became more permanent. She worked there for a few months, peacefully, before the trouble started. She was an unwed halfbreed, so, naturally, that was going to cause a stir. The women stopped seeing her as a child, and grew to gasp at her attire of denims and a button down. Her boots caused enough of a stir as it was. The male customers looking at her with a different look in their eyes. It didn't mean that she was so beautiful that she caused heads to turn. No. She knew better than that. It simply meant that she was prime meat for any man who wanted a 'roll in the hay' without the 'vows the next day' kind of thing. She was a halfbreed, so no one would be expected to take her seriously as a person, much less a woman. So, no. Their thoughts were not on marriage. Simply put? She wasn't marriage material.

[Sojourner]

Accepted!

I love the detail and complexity in your charrie. Very nice. Of course, she will be expected to wear 'appropriate' attire when working. I think you've already aknowledged that though.