~ Charlie Moriarty-Malvolio ~
Charlie is a gang member who is on the search for her father: upon being separated from him and her, now deceased, mother in her childhood, Charlie was rescued by a man named William "Bill" Ford, who brought her to the gang that she has now been fully integrated into. She remains on the hunt now, enjoying her time losing herself in whatever antics the members get into while still hoping for the day she can find and reunite with the her father.
Charlie was born to Penelope Moriarity and Machiavelli Malvolio in the town of Paradeisos. From a young age, it was no secret to her that their family was poor: it was obvious from the way her father was working constantly and from the way they lived. Charlie grew up with the burden of this knowledge, leading to her often trying to find small ways she could "help"- aka making little bracelets and trinkets and trying to get Machiavelli to sell them. He never did, obviously, but always appreciated the sentiment.
Charlie had a very good relationship with both of her parents, actually: despite Vel working often, he was very affectionate with Charlie and would let her tug him into whatever storyline or pretend she was concocting. Penelope also treated her well- though their relationship was a bit different than her and Vel's. In that, Charlie, for as long as she could remember, knew one thing for certain: her mother was... sad, for reasons she did not quite understand. That, and her mother was unhealthy. Unwell. Penelope always had this air of depression to her, and even in moments where they were goofing off, Charlie could tell her mother was struggling. She watched her mother zone out, watched her stare off into the space when her interests were mentioned, and even was sat down and explained to by Vel that her mother's health wasn't doing well- and, sometimes when she was awake late, late into the night, she would hear the sound of Penelope also awake, crying to herself.
Charlie spent a lot of time trying to find ways to make her mother happy. She was a kid after all, so all she understood is that when she herself was sad, Vel would cheer her up, so she would try to do the same for Penelope. It was a nice thought at least... though it never did much in the long run.
Alongside her family, Charlie also has one other friend in this time: a boy named Syceus. He is the son of Penelope and Vel's friend, Ctimene. Ctimene and Penelope took turns watching the kids, and in return, Charlie and Syceus grew up close with one another. Charlie would tug him into her shennanigans, since she had a tendency to get into trouble. Charlie also had a deep respect for "Miss Ctimene", and along with that, femininity. Her mother and Ctimene were very feminine, so Charlie grew up wanting to do things like paint her nails and mess around with makeup, though she obviously wasn't great at it yet. She used to practice on Vel actually, who would give her tips. She also subjected Syceus to it occasionally.
She grows accustomed to this life. Though... things begins to change when Charlie turns eight.
There's an evening where Charlie is making Penelope a bracelet. She makes one for herself and for Vel as well- a white beaded one for Vel, a black one for Penelope, and a black and white one for herself. She gives Vel's to him before he leaves for work that day, but hadn't given Penelope's hers yet since she had wanted to finish it; she took it to Ctimene's place with her, where she had finished it up then insisted on going home to give it to her mother. Ctimene had no reason to object, so she lets her go, wishing her well- Penelope and Vel lived somewhat close anyways.
Charlie returns home and gifts Penelope the bracelet, who agrees that its lovely, but... as the sun begins to fall, the girls hear people approaching the house. Penelope seems to recognize them and immediately goes to hide Charlie- and Charlie watches as men enter the house and begin acting aggressive towards Penelope. These were debt collectors: Vel had made deals with people in order to gather enough money to both support the family and try to help Penelope's deteriorating health issues. Charlie was not aware of that at the time, though, and only saw them as aggressors: she watched as Penelope was beat and knocked out of the way as they began stealing things from the house. The men took anything of value... Charlie remained hiding while Penelope told them they could have whatever, just not to hurt the two of them. Once the men finished, the two girls watched with horror as the men began lighting what they weren't taking on... on fire. Charlie, strong-willed, finally stepped out of the hiding spot to try and defend her mother ("That was my job after all, wasn't it? To protect Mama?"); however, it only resulted in her being knocked to the ground by one of the men holding a flaming torch. To knock her away, he had hit her with the torch, and...
It is a blur after that. She remembers her face burning, her nostrils filling with the scent of burning flesh, and her mother screaming. She had fallen in one of the parts already burning, and combined with where the man hit her with the torch- her face- it resulted in the side of her face burning. Despite the injury though, these men see a younger girl- and know that they can make a profit off of her somehow. They came here for valuables, after all. So, they elect to take her with them.
Penelope fights back, but she is weak: they knock her out entirely and drag Charlie away with them, leaving the house behind and her mother. By this point, the pain is too much, and Charlie finally fully passes out. Her last sight of her childhood home is the sight of it smoking, the fire finally taking root.
Charlie awakes with the group of debt collectors. She is... obviously scared and confused, her mother and father gone and surrounded by creeps who know what value they can get out of her. She fears for her safety- but shortly after traveling with them, she is discovered by a man named William, or "Bill". He sees a young girl with a group of scum and decides pretty quickly to rescue her. Bill saves Charlie from this group- and Charlie, bless her, is traumatized from everything that has gone on. Her face isn't in the best of shape either... Bill gets her some stuff and doctors her up the best he can.
William, at the time, is apart of a gang of people. They aren't actively harmful or evil- they're just a bundle of misfits who happen to travel together. Bill takes her into the gang for now, promising to return Charlie home. But... when the gang does eventually find their way to Paradeisos, they do not find Charlie's house: where the house should be is an ash pile with two graves nearby, one for her, and... one for her mother.
Charlie knows she herself isn't dead, but... But Penelope has to be. It devestates her. The good news, however, is that someone had to have made the graves: her Papa has to be alive still, right? So, Charlie grows determined to find him. She wants to enlist Ctimene and Syceus to help her- but when she goes to their house, it appears that they too moved from Paradeisos and are no longer in their own home. She really doesn't have anyone...except this gang.
Bill, who is looking for his own daughter right now, agrees to help Charlie try and find her dad. Charlie fully joins the gang then, sticking with them from here on out to help her find her father, and to offer her some semblence of a home after she lost hers.
Charlie spends the rest of her childhood and all the way into her adulthood with Bill and this gang. They become her family; she is very close with all of them and acts simliar to them, though she tends to be the more "logical" one in the group when it comes to most situations. They teach her how to shoot, how to properly defend herself in a way she couldn't before, and most of all- they help distract her from the grief of losing Penelope. Through her teenage years, she had a streak where she tried to become someone else to run from that grief- even shaving her head to affirm that- but now that she is an adult, she is just... trying to live and find some happiness in the life that she finds herself in (just like Penelope), though she still harbors dreams of reuniting with her father one day.