Priscilla Hawthorn

Swan maids are meant to embody dreams of romance and true love. A truly lofty and idealistic notion, but a common and prevalent dream nonetheless. Their identities are so deeply intertwined with love that it is difficult to distance themselves from their "role" as the lovers of the changeling world. And all too often, much like humans, they suffer the greatest tragedies as a result of love. Having grown up in a home where the very word love had been forged into a knife and twisted into the wounds it had inflicted, Priscilla knew this well from an early age. The ideal of love is soft and paradisical, but the reality is so very often hard, cold, and downright dangerous. And so, Priscilla grew cynical of love's very idea, and the irony was not lost on her when her chrysalis revealed her to be a swan maid. By then, young Pris and her mother were living at a women's shelter and suffering the incessant hounding of her father who had grown quite distraught at the loss of his precious victim. Even as a blossoming swan maid learning the ways of her kith, Pris could not help but express doubt and cynicism, even as she wanted to believe in the power of love and all that rot.

Ever a realist, the now Unseelie Priscilla found herself gravitating towards social work, wishing to take part in the work that had once been critical to the survival of herself and her mother. After college, she came upon a women's shelter in Los Angeles that was run by others of her kind: fellow swan maids and princes both Seelie and Unseelie who understood the tragedies of love turned poisonous. Most focused only on protecting those who sought refuge at the shelter and getting them back on their feet. But the few Unseelie like Priscilla, incensed by the abuse they saw day-in and day-out, sought more concrete measures. And so, knowing the interest of werewolves in the spirits that swirled around the banality brought forth by suffering and abuse, they sought out the Black Furies. For if anyone were to sympathize with women's plight, it would surely be them. They were put into contact with Bloodhound Pack and soon the shelter steadily found itself with fewer hostile visits from bitter ex-partners. And should a member of staff such as Priscilla go off with Bloodhound Pack angry, it's more than likely they had a hand in ensuring certain someones would not darken their doorstep again.

Now the leader of the flock at the shelter, Priscilla takes her job seriously, and even has a crossbow at the ready should an unwanted visitor grow bold. That her duties and connections with the Furies allow her to make a broader impact both in regards to her work and slowly but surely weakening the presence of spirits and banality, is not lost on the local changeling community. For all that the swan maids represent the dream of love, Priscilla is determined to prove that they are not a kith to trifle with, and that there are consequences for those who abuse love's gifts.