[i](I kinda changed the order of the CS around just a teeeeny bit. I dont mean to be difficult, sorry! :x)[/i]

[img]http://menshairstyles.blog.com/files/2013/07/long-hair-men-super-length.jpg[/img]
[i]A lean young man ambles along on long legs and cuts a crooked silhouette across a dilapidated rooftop. He wears a tattered navy jacket over a stained gray wife-beater and rough dark jeans. A white hat shields his face from the sun. With a surprisingly graceful leap he continues in a run to whatever his destination. A black pack thumps against his back; a long tress of hair flies out behind him as he crumples in a roll after a decent descent. He pops up without hesitation, and the dead just watch him go with vacant eyes, almost knowing that they could not catch him.[/I]

[u][b]Name:[/b][/u] Alexander Renold 
[u][b]Age:[/b][/u] 23 
[u][b]Gender:[/b][/u] Male
[u][b]Previous Occupation:[/b][/u] Run Away / Drug Dealer / General Delinquent

[u][b]Family:[/b][/u] [list]
[*] Mona Brown - A close friend since childhood, deceased in the initial outbreak
[*] Thomas Retcher - Another close friend from Xander's youth, she disappeared from the group a few months ago.
[*] [s]Miranda Renold[/s] - Mother
[*] [s]Jack Renold[/s] - Father
[*] [s]Richard Renold[/s] - Xander's little brother, who in reality was a victim but Xander never felt especially close to him. [/list]
[u][b]Education:[/b][/u] Xander dropped out of high school early and never returned. However, he's been taught things outside of formal instruction and he is far from stupid. He has great common sense after holding down so many diverse jobs. 
[u][b]Skills:[/b][/u] [list][*]Unobtrusive: Xander doesn't draw much attention to himself, from walkers or other people. He's usually left in the background, where he feels the most comfortable.
[*]Stamina: He can keep on his feet for hours, and can catch his breath quickly.
[*]Fit: As someone who does a lot of running, Xander is pretty fit. He isn't exceptionally strong but has more core strength than he lets on.
[*]Climb: Scrounging in urban areas has put him in tight situations. He can find vertical escape routes. 
[*]Quick Mind: Xander is smart and can learn things quickly and easily. He can commit things to memory much faster than others.
[*]Liar: He can keep a straight face and spin a story, some more successful than others. He doesn't typically feel bad about it if he feels he's helping that particular person by doing so.[/list][u][b]Disadvantages:[/b][/u][list][*]Wan: He has a penchant for getting sick. Xander has a weak immune system.
[*]Inebriated: Xander likes pot. He looks for it in urban and suburban areas. At times he's found high when he shouldn't be, and it definitely isn't a good habit for a straggler who stays on the move.[/list]
[u][b]Main weapon:[/b][/u] [url=http://www.survival-gear-guide.com/image-files/gerber-gator-machete-3-large.jpg]A serrated-back machete[/url] If he isn't holding his machete, it's strapped to his belt on his left side.
[u][b]Secondary weapon:[/b][/u][list][*][url=http://cdn2.armslist.com/sites/armslist/uploads/posts/2010/12/24/79687_01_ruger_10_22_ss_w_folding_stock_640.jpg]A small .22 rifle with a collapsible stock.[/url] He keeps the rifle strapped to his back under his jacket. He doesn't like to make it obvious he has a gun, and doesn't like to use it because it attracts the dead. He can use it and will, it's just usually not the most practical thing. [*][url=http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/axe.jpg]A hand axe.[/URL] He keeps the axe on his belt on the right. [/list][u][b]Equipment:[/b][/u] Xander has a black hunting backpack including: [list] [*] A crowbar. Heavy, but it has gotten Xander more than a few bobbles and snacks. It can be used as a weapon in a desperate situation. 
[*]1 liter canteen, three quarters of the way full
[*]2 cans of fruit, dry soup mix
[*]A change of clothes
[*]A flashlight
[*]13 .22 rounds, kept in a secure box 
[*]Binoculars
[*]A toilet paper roll
[*]3 moderately full lighters, which he collects
[*]Approximately 10.9 grams of marijuana, collected from various scavenging jaunts
[*]A metal pipe with a lid, for aforementioned drugs[/list]
 
[u][b]Personality:[/b][/u] Xander is a pretty mellow individual, in that he doesn't like conflict and would prefer that people just shut up and not be assholes in the apocalypse. He finds that he lacks patience for human behavior issues now, and usually ends up seeing anyone who uselessly causes strife are ignorant, although he neither has nor shows any hostility for it, just mild annoyance. Despite that, he is cooperative and not afraid to respectfully share his opinion. He is not stupid but he does lack an education in any specific field. He's isn't necessarily curt, but he is not a specifically cheerful individual. When he's high, he tends to laugh and engage a bit more. 
[u][b]Morals/religion:[/b][/u] As someone who was homeless a few different times in a few bad places, Xander is far from saintly. He's never killed anyone living, although its doubtful he'd feel much remorse over it. He does feel that humanity's best chance is to work together, however, and does believe in good will and treating others with respect, kindness, and dignity. 
[u][b]Fears:[/b][/u] His most honest fear is getting eaten alive, after having watched it close hand. He fears being alone for extended periods of time. 

[u][b]Bio:[/b][/u] Alexander Renold was born a girl of 17, Miranda Rush, in the backwoods of Florida. She was young, stupid, going nowhere, and now dependent on a 19 year old, Jack Renold, who had dropped out of high school. As an infant, Xander was often left in his crib for hours while his father worked all day and his mother either drank or gulped pills by the handful. Coming home to a screaming baby and an incoherent wife in the backyard every night drove his father mad, and he eventually devolved to slapping her around and drinking himself. Miranda hated the child and viewed him as a burden, and often relied on her mother to take care of him when she got "too exhausted" and need to "relax," which was code for going on a binge with her friends and coming home almost comatose. However, her mother soon died and Miranda had no one to care for the child, and they didn't have enough money to pay for a sitter, so she was stuck at home with 3 year old Xander. 

Neglect and abuse was a theme in their household. Xander was blamed for everything. His mother often screamed at him that he was the cause of their money problems, despite the fact that she spent most of their food budget on alcohol. She blamed him for being married to an abusive man, and told the boy whenever his father hit her that it was the child's fault she was stuck with him. He spent a lot of time outside to get away from her, and luckily she didn't care enough about him to keep him inside. His father basically ignored him, or told him that his mother was just going through a rough time. He was doing chores and feeding himself by the age of six, while his mother blankly stared at a TV for most of the day. Whenever he asked for things, like food or clothes or school supplies, he was berated for being a burden. 

Around that time Alexander, his mother gave birth to his younger brother, Richard. Miranda LOVED her new baby boy - enough so that she called him a blessing from good. It did not take long for Xander to realize how much more his mother cared for his brother than for him. He confronted her about it at age ten, and that was when his life at home really went to hell. His mother screamed in his face for being ungrateful and unloving, and Xander has never really forgiven her for exploding to him merely pointing out his obvious abuse. Constant yelling and many, many physical altercations erupted between the two, and more than once Xander's father would beat the boy at her request. The young teen grew to resent his mother, and worked tirelessly to get a job, license, and car just to be free. 

Disorder at home kept the boy from focusing on school work which eventually led to him dropping out at 15. He passed the tests with flying colors, but never finished important projects, homework, or essay because he could get no work done with his mother raging at him over his every action. His parents didn't react except to say that now that he wasn't going to school he had to pay rent.  However, by then he had saved enough to accept a life sleeping in his car. He left that same day, to the shock of his parents. The threatened him should he ever go back, not that he ever did. His disowned them from his family in his mind at that point. 

A lack of interaction with his parents meant Xander sought support and approval through his social life. He had always had friends, but didn't fall into the best crowd. He never broke the law in a major way; never stole, never drove under the influence, he just smoked a lot of pot. He and his friends had little ambition, several of them didn't finish high school, but they all had the idea to save money and just travel across the states. He couched hopped for a while after he left home, at the same time their little group did everything from mowing lawns, selling pot, and working at a few different fast food joints to raise money for their ultimate road trip. 

A few years of debauchery and inebriation later, Xander and a group of four other people where in a van headed up the east coast. The group made it to Georgie before the outbreak. They were headed to Atlanta, but one night Xander left the car to piss and was jumped by a group of walkers. They kept moving, eventually running out of gas and started to just hike. He got separated from the group in a bigger city and came across this group. 
[u][b]Addition info:[/b][/u] Not much