Zoey Hawthorne

A lover of books who prides herself on being a 'proper' Gilnean, Zoey is the owner of Darel'horth in Southern Gilneas though she lives with her children, Julia and Liam, in Karnsburg, Gilneas.

Appearance
With her long, auburn hair swept neatly to the left in a side-braid, Zoey is likely to be found with her nose in a book. If her heart-shaped face happens to be unhidden, it is her bright and alluring green eyes that catch the attention of those around her. She has a fair complexion with a few light freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose. Her thin lips often curl upward in a polite smile as she offers a nod to those who address her. If she chooses to speak, her voice is surprisingly rough, in contrast with her otherwise delicate appearance.

When she stands, she is of average height with a toned body. She walks in a way that exudes confidence, one foot firmly placed in front of the other. She is proud of her appearance and the way she keeps herself well-groomed makes that evident. The way she turns her nose up in disgust at those who don't do the same makes it even more obvious.

Always wearing a dress, her clothing choices are never too revealing and like the rest of her, her entire wardrobe is kept neat and tidy. She keeps her jewelry simple, an stud earring in each ear and a stunning engagement ring upon the ring finger of her left hand.

In the off-chance she's seen in her Worgen form, she could be mistaken for any average Worgen - the usual fur, teeth, claws, etc. She is covered in gray fur with white markings around her face, outlining her aforementioned intense, green eyes.

Childhood
Born firmly in the middle-class of Gilneas City, Zoey was the daughter of a shopkeeper and his wife. It was her mother's opinion that an education was a passport to advancement and respectability and Zoey was enrolled in school immediately upon reaching the appropriate age. With near perfect attendance, she eagerly learned all that was taught to her and developed a love of literature.

When she wasn't in school, she could be found browsing the shelves of her father's bookshop for something new and exciting to read. A cubby under the staircase had become her hideaway as a child and once the perfect book was found, she hid in there to read without being disturbed, only coming out when she heard a knock and her mother's voice proclaiming that it was time for supper. Even after being told it was time for bed, Zoey would often stay up to read by candlelight, snuffing it out and hiding the book under her pillow the moment she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her door.

Sometime after her schooling commenced, Zoey's parents heard word from her schoolmistress that she had been showing a bit of magic potential. While they tried to ignore it at first, their minds changed the night they saw her light a candle with flame from the tips of her fingers. Knowing their daughter's hunger for learning, they knew she would secretly teach herself the ways of magic using merely books. They decided it best that she used magic with proper guidance. While she left her regular school to attend a specialized school for magic, her mother continued to teach her the basics at home. Though she would rather have read books about romance and adventure, her mother required her to read books on household management and etiquette as well. It was important, she was told, to have the proper skills to be a good mother and wife in the future.

When her father's shop assistant didn't shown up for work a few mornings in a row, it was assumed he had become ill and Zoey was rushed off to his home to check on him. Her mother, of course, sent a bit of food along with her just in case. Though she had knocked on the door numerous times, no one answered and she left the food at the door. Returning home, she informed her father and he immediately put her to work. Between school, helping her father in the shop, and her mother's required studies, Zoey had little time to escape into a fantasy world of adventure and romance anymore.

Worgen in Gilneas City
As talk of illness and sightings of bloodthirsty beasts spread rapidly throughout Gilneas City, Zoey's father grew anxious and before long, decided to board up most of their home's windows and doors, leaving only a backdoor unbarred. After days of searching for her small feline companion, Zoey grew concerned and snuck out using the door her parents had forbid her from opening. Gilneas City had become overrun with Worgen and an evacuation was underway. In the alley, she searched for the small cat unaware of the beast that had appeared behind her. It was almost too late when she finally turned to see it, a scream erupted as she took off running out of the alley. She barely made it to the main street ahead, the beast able to scratch her upper right arm just before she escaped to the crowd. The beast was quickly taken down and she was shuffled in with the crowd and evacuated from Gilneas City without her parents.

Eventually following with the rest of the refugees to Darnassus, Zoey searched frantically for her parents. They were never to be found, though she convinced herself that they must be alive somewhere. Not knowing what else to do, she used a bit of the coin she had with her to buy a sparce set of books and sat in the Howling Oak prepared to escape into a world that wasn't the one she was in. She spent most of her days reading quietly near the waters of Darnassus, waiting to hear word from her parents or word of returning home to Gilneas.

Love and Marriage
Having reached Darnassus with the rest of the Gilnean refugees, Zoey was determined to find her parents once more. Assuming that if she kept herself out in the open they would surely find her, she spent most of her days sitting upon the edge of a bridge in the middle of the elven capital with a book. It was on one of these days that a very large Worgen lept through the air and landed at her side, slightly cracking the stone bridge. Annoyed with him immediately, she only spoke to him briefly before leaving the area.



Ryshken, the overly confident Worgen, seemed to find her everyday and had a habit of causing her to accidentally toss the book she had been reading into the water. Though he frustrated her to no end, she grew to enjoy his company and looked forward to him finding her each day. They quickly began to spend every day together and were soon inseperable. They might seem like an odd pair to anyone, but in fact they balanced and complimented each other.

It wasn't long before she knew she loved him and he must have felt the same for one evening, he proposed to her. They shared a desire to return to their home of Gilneas and to begin a life and family for themselves. Knowing that there was nowhere to be married but their home, they began to look for a way to return. Upon settling in Darel'horth, Gilneas with a group they discovered in Darnassus led by Ferenold Stormshend, the pair was married.

The Hawthorne Family
A few months after her marriage, Zoey found herself with child. Between the stress that the small town was causing for her and her desire to avoid being seen in her Worgen form, Ryshken and she left Darel'horth. After a bit of a difficult pregnancy and birth, Julia Hawthorne came into the world as a small ball of fur. Much to Zoey's dismay, the child was a Worgen - claws, teeth, and all.

Knowing it was time to return home, the trio traveled back to Darel'horth so that Julia could be raised in Gilneas as her parents had been. With a love of pie that matches her father's, Julia is a fiesty little thing who can find trouble anywhere. While her immediate love and adoration for her father was no surprise to Zoey, it was her concern that she would never have the relationship with her daughter that she'd like.

Almost a year after Julia was born, Zoey gave birth to a second child - a boy they named Liam Hawthorne. He is the exact copy of his father in terms of his appearance - red eyes and dark fur. It wasn't long after Liam's birth that Zoey became pregnant once more and this time to twins. With just a few months left in her pregnancy she anxiously awaits the arrival of Charlotte and Thomas Hawthorne.