Blue Cowles

Bounty Hunter

Male

Long-Term Relationship

31

Long blonde-light brown hair, clean shaven (when in town), and blue eyes. He is of an average height, coming in at 5' 11'' and medium build.

Blue lost his father during the Civil War. His mother now lives out in California, cared for by his younger sister, Josephine.

Collierville, Tennessee

Blue was given his name by his very shocked father after finding his baby boy had blue eyes. The name was a reminder to Blue's mother that he believed she had an affair. His birth signified a long period of brutality from his father on Blue and his mother.

Blue's childhood was tainted by his father's distance, and occasional rage towards him, something that the young boy could never understand... how could his father not be his father? As he grew into a man, the knowledge came to him, and made relations with his mother very frigid. He blamed her for turning his father to the way he had become, and yet was constantly angry at his father for his treatment of them both.

Blue worked with his father in the family hardware store from age 13 until age 15 when work was interrupted by a terrifying raid by Union irregulars, that left his father killed. Blue spent the following months gathering the best descriptions and sketches of the band, consolidating his memories as the store was sold to fund his mother's trip westwards, planned in the final months of the Civil War. At 17, Blue watched his mother and 8 year old sister take off on the wagon trail to California, the sadness wouldn't come until the late nights, his days were taken up with the thoughts of revenge.

Blue and his father may have not have been close, but the man had provided for Blue and the family for years, a twisted sense of loyalty and shaky beliefs led him to believe that the only way he could lay his own demons to rest was to lay his father to rest, and to remove all thoughts of revenge in doing so. The boy wandered the state, getting advice and a little bit of training as he went, honing his skills each day. Eventually he travelled the surrounding states, but not until he reached the heart of Kentucky did he get what he desired. The man who had been the officer of the partisan group was now a man with nothing. With pity, he threw the man his own revolver... "Pick it up," he had urged, with a rifle pointed at the veteran. Moments passed, but after the loud crack of a weapon's report, only Blue walked away.

He couldn't understand why, but for many months he despaired. In time he realised that it was the mourning and regret for his father. But it was a reflection that was long in the making. His depression was made worse by his very negative cashflow, and in a circular jest of fate, he was unable to get work because of his state of mind.

After finding his vocation, Blue travelled extensively, running the same routine: months with little contact with towns, then bringing in a bounty and staying in an inn for a week or two while he picked up the trail of someone else, sated his sex drive, and socialised. It was to be on one of those rest periods that he was to meet the woman he would come to love, an Irish girl named Caitlyn O'Rourke. They met in 1873, in Kansas, and then subsequently happened upon each other many times in that year. Their relationship for much of the time was founded on sex for money, but it wasn't until Blue got her hurt through his detached nature that things changed. Swiping her from the man who hit her, Blue cared for her, developing the talents he had already spotted in her and making her his partner.

Over time, their relationship moved from business partners with desirable benefits, with the help of trust, to blossom into a fully-fledged relationship, and whats more, equal partnership. They were the perfect partners for each other, but each had a malicious side that the other relished, bringing dark romance into their midsts.

During his depression, a woman in a bar, whose name and face was lost in the haze of selfishness, was to reflect on all the skills he had picked up while tracking his father's killer. She pointed him in the direction of a man who would fix him up with a list of state and county bounties. This list was to be Blue's ticket back to normality: he was to kill for money, or end his miserable life trying.

He spent months out in the rough before returning with two corpses, towed on a rope behind his horse, both dropped with rifle shots to the chest. They were his first bounties, and the reward money and its perks brought Blue out of his depression.

He was to spend most months in the following years out in the dust, moving from Kentucky to Illinois, through Montana and Kansas, picking up whatever bounty tips he could find, dead or alive, yet preferably the former... they were easier to handle.

Blue has been forged into a man who is determined, stubborn and self-deprecating. His confidence and esteem are both high, but suffer from strong and sometimes prolonged bouts of doubt. He can sometimes be detached, separating emotions from actions with few short-term consequences, but in his private time with Cait, he can sometimes allow everything to get on top of him. He's a man who cares with a violent passion, a passion that can so easily turn into blood lust.

Due to his long days in the wilderness, Blue has little suited solely for townwear in his travelling wardrobe. He will often be found in his hat and long, tan duster, simply wearing a shirt and trousers with a few other necessities. He has few belongings, and travels on what his horse can carry, his prized possession being Danube, his horse, and his '73 Winchester rifle.

Blue is a highly accomplished rifleman, and has many years of experience in tracking his marks, following tips, hunting them, and capturing them. He likes to take interest in the problems of the towns he visits, looking to receive favours in return for anything good he does.