[center][img]http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x425/XSilentWingsX/Max_1.jpg[/img][/center]
[h3]Name/Nicknames:[/h3]Maxine Lewis. These days she prefers to go by Max.
[h3]Race:[/h3]Vampire
[h3]Age:[/h3]119
[h3]Appearance:[/h3]Max stands at an average 5’7” and is somewhat thin, with modest curves. Her wavy, dark brown hair falls to the middle of her back, but it is usually kept tied back in a ponytail, if somewhat messily. Her pale green eyes are framed by long, dark lashes. She has fair skin, and is as pale as one might expect from someone who hasn’t seen direct sunlight in almost a century. Despite her age, Maxine still looks like the 26 year old woman she was when she became a vampire. 

Maxine prefers to dress casually, and often wears little to no makeup. Despite the frilly lace dresses she wore when she was growing up, she now easily chooses jeans and a loose shirt, often paired with a leather jacket or long coat, and sturdy leather boots. The only hint to her upbringing can be seen in the cameo necklace she wears on a long golden chain. Given to her by her mother when she was just a child, Maxine almost always wears this trinket, though it is often hidden beneath her clothing. Also hidden beneath her clothing is a pistol, most often a glock, and one she can use quite well.
[h3]Personality:[/h3]Max was never good at pretending to be a proper young lady when she was younger, and stopped bothering to try a long time ago. She is very logical and intelligent, and extremely independent. Max has a dark sense of humor and is extremely prone to dry sarcasm. She’s not one to put up with fools or needless bullshit, and though she isn’t quick to start fights, she is willing to finish them. Max tries to stay calm in all situations and while she is very good at keeping a cool head at stressful or dangerous moments, she can be rather easily angered and annoyed under the right circumstances. Max does not particularly like playing games.

Maxine is no stranger to violence and crime, and isn’t very bothered by most of the happenings in Santa Sombrada. The years have given her a rather detached view of violence, and it no longer fazes her in the slightest. While she tends to be a bit of a loner when not working, she is  loyal to those closest to her, and can be rather protective of those she cares about. As someone who owns a bar, she’s also a very good listener.
[h3]Bio:[/h3]Born in 1896 towards the end of the victorian era, Maxine Lewis was the only child of an upper middle class family living in upstate New York. She had a rather happy childhood, all in all. Maxine was always a bit of a rebellious child, tending to run from the ideals of class and propriety held by her mother and father. Max was one to scuff her new shoes playing with the boys and rip her dresses while climbing trees. Maxine always endured her mother’s scoldings about scraped knees and lost jewelry, giving the expected apologies only to do the same things the next day. Maxine lived with her family until age 22, still unmarried despite her mother’s not so subtle hinting and even less subtle attempts at arranging matches for her. In 1918, sudden tragedy struck as both of Maxine’s parents fell victim to the influenza epidemic that was sweeping the world. Maxine had loved her family dearly despite their constant squabbling, and could not stand to be in their home by herself.

Grief-stricken, Maxine sold the family home and accepted an offer to stay with her father’s brother in New York City. Life in the city gave her the new start she needed, and she was suddenly introduced to a life with far less restrictions. Maxine began to end her time of mourning, and instead embraced the busy city life and her newfound independence as New York made its way into the 20s. Her uncle gave little value to things like propriety and often ran somewhat less than legal operations. The space beneath his store often housed gambling, and as prohibition began the next year, drinking. The speakeasy was quite popular among those who knew it was there, and Maxine was there to help him run things, be it serving drinks or handling the finances. Max quickly became accustomed to the drinking, gambling, and violence that seemed to be commonplace in the city.

Maxine had been living in New York City for just over three years when one of the stranger patrons of her uncle’s speakeasy took a liking to her, and approached her as she was heading home one night. Maxine soon discovered that the slightly deranged man was not even fully human, and before she knew what was happening she suddenly found herself waking up on the city streets, running for cover as the sun rose and having to come to terms with her new life, if you could call it that, as a vampire. The stranger, for she had never learned his name, was gone, and Maxine spent her first few nights terrified and confused by the sudden changes, with no one to help ease the transformation.

She didn’t stay with her uncle for very long after that, and soon left to live on her own, to protect her new secret. It was too difficult to stay under her uncle’s roof at this point, and Maxine was adamant that he never find out she was no longer human. She saw him infrequently after that, eventually stopping when too many years had passed to explain her unchanging appearance. She did return one final time to attend his funeral. She’s spent her years flitting from one city to the nex. She ran with the occasional group of vampires here and there, and slowly became more involved in the night life and underworld crime that could be found in every city. She became a bit of a drifter, never staying in one place for too long, and leaving when things became too intense. By the 50s she had amassed a rather large group of contacts from every place imaginable, and began fencing stolen goods to those who would better appreciate them.

Max moved to Santa Sombrada seven years ago, and has been the owner of a bar called the Steel Thorn for the last five. The Steel Thorn, or Max’s Place as it is occasionally referred to by some of her regulars, may be in one of the more crime-ridden districts of the city, but it isn’t as if there are really any crime-free districts to begin with. Max doesn’t discriminate, and all manner of people, human or otherwise, are often seen in her establishment, though she does try to stay away from gang business as much as is possible when one lives in Santa Sombrada. She’s no newcomer to running bars, and the room in the back provides the perfect place for her to work at her somewhat less legal job. Max has a good reputation among certain crowds for being an excellent fence. While those closest to Max as well as many of her connections are fully aware of her less than human status, she does not openly advertise this fact, knowing that it’s smarter to keep it to herself. 
[h3]Other:[/h3][list]
[*] Max runs her somewhat small bar with the help of her two employees, a young, petite human girl named Emily and the much, much larger yet still human Isaac. One of them is always there to take over when Max needs to deal with her second business.
[*] Maxine lives in a small apartment less than a block away from her bar, though she often ends up staying the day in her office instead of heading home.
[*] Max first learned to shoot in the 20s and has developed a rather spot on aim in the decades since then. In addition to always having one gun on her, she has several others she keeps in her apartment. She likes her guns.
[*] Being a fence and having traveled extensively throughout her life, Max has many connections to people from all walks of life. 
[/list]