NaNoWriMo 2017 prep – Day 7

Becca Reid backstory/notes

Rebecca Ariel Reid (RA Reid professionally, Becca to her friends) was born 12 January, 1984, in northern Michigan, the daughter of Michael Reid, a storied and heroic elder of the Midwestern enclaves of nahuali, and his human Amelia Patterson, a teacher and environmental activist.  Reid disappeared in 2000 and is presumed dead.  Amelia died in 2004, reportedly from cancer, though there are some that have long suspected some kind of foul play involved in her death at a relatively young age.  Becca was doing her undergraduate work at a public university in Michigan at the time.  During her time as an undergraduate, Becca formed a friendship with fellow anthropology student Cassidy Beckett, someone who would remain her lifelong friend despite future events that would threaten to destroy their friendship.  She graduated with her bachelor of arts in 2005 (anthropology) and then went on to study linguistics and liberal studies at the University of California, obtaining a Ph.D. in the latter and a master of arts in the former in May 2010.  She moved to New York City in the summer of 2010 and by September had opened up a New Age bookstore in the city, Ariel’s Grotto, with Cassidy as her partner in the business.  At the same time, while interviewing for various teaching jobs in the area, Becca got involved with the nahuali enclave in Central Park, then led by the enigmatic Lacey Talbertson, an elder nahuali of feline extraction, unlike many of her lupine allies in the city.  It was in New York that Becca reunited with Taylor Ross and Henry Kuhn, friends from Michigan and California respectively, and through them met Ioan Griffon, alpha of one of the enclave’s leading packs.  Becca ended up joining that pack, at first assisting as a researcher and later in the field when it became apparent that she wasn’t completely without supernatural gift—and that she was a better shot than anyone else in the pack.  Her intervention proved life-saving on more than a few occasions and within six weeks, she was generally—if sometimes grudgingly—an accepted member of the pack.  She was also becoming increasingly well-known in New York’s supernatural community through the shop and her involvement with not only the Central Park enclave, but also her close friendship with Cassidy, who had been brought across as a vampire by the almost-notorious Adrias Cross in 2005, shortly after both she and Becca graduated from their undergraduate program.

At the same time, her relationship with Ioan Griffon had begun to transform from one of grudging respect, to admiration, to affection and love.  Both had initially tried to deny any attraction, but by Christmas 2010, it was clear to anyone associated with the pair that they were a couple, and one that was growing increasingly serious about each other.  Both of them orphans from storied families, each had something to prove through their actions, legacies to live up to, albeit sometimes grudgingly.  Ioan was often concerned by Becca’s lack of concern for her own personal safety, which was mirrored in Becca’s worries for him—as a pack alpha, he was typically the first into nasty situations and the last out, often the one taking the brunt of any beatings—or worse—meted out.  Both took their responsibilities very seriously—Becca as one of the two healers for the pack and Ioan as its leader.  In July 2011, the pair agreed to marry, and on September 1, 2011, they were married in Spiritscrossing, Alberta, Canada, with licensing and paperwork to be filed in both Alberta and in New York City.

Becca was reported missing by Cassidy Beckett on 11 September 2011, when she didn’t come home or contact the store in the five days after she was supposed to return from Canada.  Her case was officially ruled a cold case a year later.

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