Layla Rivera is a factionless Tremere fledgling.
Biography[]
Layla Rivera was a college student, working weekends as a bartender to make extra money, when she was Embraced without the permission of the local Prince or Baron by a minor Tremere. She is not sure whether it was by accident or on purpose but it's clear he abandoned her immediately after. Everything she learned she had to figure out by herself, and it's still ongoing. She discovered her sire's position in the local Kindred community and learned she was a Tremere, although she didn't reveal to the clan.
She keeps away from her family because she can't bear the Hunger-filled thoughts she has around them. She drunk from one friend, an act she regrets because of how it made their relationship weird. The friend keeps texting her, suggesting they make something more of the "one night stand" they shared. She wants to check out her clan, and when the local Tremere hold a reception for the local Kindred, she seeks a date for moral support. Once she spots her sire among the local Tremere, she wants to disguise as a couple to stave off her sire's attentions.
Layla connects with her clan and surprisingly, they accept her, recognizing her talent for both thaumaturgy and the kind of bureaucratic organization helpful among the Tremere. She quickly becomes indispensable in the nightly running of operations led by more experienced Tremere. Because of this, Layla's position in the city goes from an outsider to a trusted insider. Layla may end relationships because she felt it was part of her introduction into Kindred society. After establishing herself, she seeks something else.
Eventually, Layla becomes one more morally corrupt vampire. She justifies acts that would have horrified her when she was a human, supporting the culling of illegally Embraced Kindred or playing power politics insider her clan resulting in the destruction of her rivals. She can even engage in romance just to spite an enemy, instead of even the aspiration of genuine intimacy.
Description[]
She is a twenty-something Latina college student, with trusting and open features, as if she was eager to believe the very best of everyone. Recently, she's tried to dress in street styles because she thinks it fits her new vampire persona. Initially, she was in denial about how much the Embrace changed her. She prefers not to think too much about when she has to hunt and focuses on strangers even if it's harder to devise ways to get their blood. She wants to be the good person she was raised to be. She's energetic, cheerful, kind and prone to thinking the best of people when there's clear evidence to the contrary. Still, she's not an idiot and will defend herself once things become threatening.
In her own way, Layla is ambitious, wanting to contribute concretely to the world around her. She used to think of careers in academia or perhaps in government but now that she's a vampire she's starting to realize there are hidden structures of power that can be leveraged to great effect. Despite her squeaky clean exterior, she is starting to realize that being a vampire opens up opportunities for all sorts of darker pleasures. As her sense of self changes to accommodate being a bloodsucker she will accept that it's okay to give into temptation. The idea that as a vampire herself, she can have a genuine super hot vampire lover is mind-blowing to her. She only needs to find a vampire that fits her fantasy.
She shares an apartment with three other young women. After becoming a vampire, she installed heavy drapes and currently sleeps under her bed to safeguard against accidents. She thinks she needs something better as a haven urgently but hasn't managed to arrange it yet. She told her roommates that she has a new job with very late hours and she needs to keep her room dark because she may be unable to sleep. She is embarrassed with her haven because she believes all other vampires have a dark mansion or a glamorous penthouse. If she sees other vampires with modest havens she relaxes but doesn't give up her goal. If she's deeply in love or lust with someone, she'll get over her embarrassment. If the haven is the only place available for a midnight tryst, her roommates have to bear with it.
Layla is both scared and intrigued by the world she suddenly finds herself in. She has a tendency to entertain romantic fantasies about the Kindred she meets, especially the first ones before she is introduced into the Elysium or the Anarchs. She imagines they're cool and sophisticated night creatures, in possession of all the answers she currently lacks. Her style of flirting is clumsy because she's not particularly good at hiding her interest in someone. When she has a crush, it's painfully obvious as she tries to get closer to the object of her interest, complimenting them awkwardly. Initially, the biggest obstacle to romance with her is that she believes she must make sense of her situation and find a stable status quo before she can date anyone. She doesn't want to be a liability to more experienced Kindred, or someone's project.
She wants to love as equals and that means she has to improve her situation, yet at the same time, the heart wants what it wants. She's receptive to a point and likes the feeling of security brought by her new vampiric abilities and the sense that she can take risks with people and fight her way out, if they turn out to be assholes. If the flirting becomes more serious, she initially pulls back. She is exploring her newfound feelings regarding the confluence of blood, desire and sex. It might be easier to do it with a no-strings-attached random lay than with someone who's serious about their feelings.
Lore sheet[]
Main Attributes: Physical 4, Social 5, Mental 4
Secondary Attributes: Health 5, Willpower 5,
Exceptional Attributes: Academics 5, Finance 5, Politics 5, Disciplines 4
Disciplines: Auspex 2 (Heightened Senses, Premonition), Dominate 1 (Cloud Memory)