#raye carter

Raye grew up on a farm in a small town in Tennessee before she even came to New York City, and it was there that she learned about what she might become one day. You see, Akira Nakai sensed something in her young daughter and although she was unsure what would come of it, she knew Raye would eventually grow into greatness.

Unfortunately for Raye, Akira never lived to see her daughter become a Celestial. She died of Cystic Fibrosis before Raye became aware of her reincarnated self. It was a slow, sad death, with Akira choking on her own lungs in the last hours of her life. Raye was understandably traumatized. Her father never quite recovered from the death of his wife, and as soon as possible whisked a thirteen year old Raye Carter to the mean, hard streets of New York City.

Leaving behind the gentle life in Tennessee was hard for her... she missed the farm, missed the animals, and most of all, missed her mother. It’s no surprise that she grew up a little harder than most girls, having had to be shaped by such a tragedy. But still, despite that hard shell... Raye always managed to maintain a true knowledge of what was right and wrong. Her American Indian roots are something she held to strongly, mainly because they were all she really had left of her mother. She had no real relationship with her father anymore... he had fallen too far into depression. He drank too much and spoke too little. Raye found herself yearning for guidance that he couldn’t provide.

Luckily, she met her watcher Darien Shields, exactly the kind of guardian she needed. He was strict and stern, exactly the things her actual father wasn’t. They developed a very close relationship, but ultimately a lot of things went wrong. Raye developed feelings that weren’t exactly reciprocated. This sent Raye careening for someone else to give her the love that she needed. Unfortunately, she found it in a strange source: a chalice-created demon that had been exiled from the underworld for the crime of ‘not being evil enough’.

Raye had always been very black and very white in her knowledge of good and evil, but meeting Aiden Masters seemed to change everything for her. He was a demon, and yet he wasn’t bad. In fact, he was able to heal the hole in her heart in a way that no one else could. For a while, she was even able to be happy. But that was before everything went quite literally to hell. Another demon was attempting to turn her new boyfriend into an evil, soulless, killing machine, and she pretty much succeeded. Raye herself had to deal with both an attempted sexual assault by a frost demon and being held captive and burned by a telekinetic demon.

Then she had to watch the only person who ever loved her back go from good to bad... then good once more only seconds before dying. 

It was quite a sight to behold, Lita Thompson murdering Aiden by decapitating him with her feet. Lita may have been under the impression that Aiden was still evil, but Raye did try to warn her... to stop her. But ultimately, she failed. While the other Celestials joined hands to defeat Morgan and stop the rock from killing everyone, Raye stayed behind. All of the celestials united, using each of their individual powers to focus on helping Serena.

Raye, the one who was always so focused and so dedicated, didn’t help save the world.

Instead, she sat cradling the severed head of the last thing she believed to be wholly good in the world, reflecting on the events that lead her to that point. As Raye held the disembodied head in her lap, a feeling of helplessness overcame her, rendering her unable to move. How she had even escaped the gym was beyond her; she had become hollow. Numb. Empty.

In the course of a year, her world had been shaken to its core. Everything she knew and believed in had been turned on end, until she could no longer tell which way was up. Faced with something like that, anyone would alienate themselves. Anyone would forget their purpose in life. Anyone would traverse closer to the edge of darkness, any maybe anyone could topple over the brink of evil entirely. Anyone would expect it from Raye after all she had been dragged through in her time as a Celestial.

But Raye’s faith surprisingly ran deeper than that. Her belief--in her purpose, in the other Celestials, in the gods and goddesses that had blessed them--ran deeper than any sort of psychologically achieved darkness. She didn’t run away from her responsibilities, she didn’t quit her ability. Instead, she did just the opposite; she dedicated herself to them entirely.

Instead of returning to Jefferson High after the reconstruction, Raye dropped out of high school, emptied her college fund, and threw herself into repairing her spiritual energy. She blocked out anything in her life that wasn’t her Celestial duty, including her family and friends outside the business. She quit her job at her dad’s autobody shop and even moved out of her dad’s apartment. After tying up loose ends and making sure everyone knew what her plans were, Raye settled in on a plane and headed back to her birthplace in Tennessee. After her mother had died, Raye was ripped out of Tennessee, away from her home and her Cherokee grandmother. Now, it was the only place she could think of to return.

In the four years since the Rock’s Explosion, Rayelyn Carter found her way back to the very core of who she is, having stripped herself of the smoking city girl she had once been and returned to the spiritual, dedicated, and peaceful individual she knew was her birthright. Rayelyn Carter now holds a better understanding of herself and her purpose, a new appreciation for what’s right and wrong. And when Trista’s death summons her back to New York, she realizes that her recuperation period is over and she’s ready to return to her life.

But the city, with all it’s toxins.... will it get to her again? She was completely hollowed out by the loss of Aiden and the betrayal of Darien. She placed new people and new feelings into the spaces left, but facing reminders of who she once was isn’t exactly going to be easy. It’s hard for people to change who they are, but it’s even harder to stay that way. Can she hold on to her newfound peace and serenity? Or will the world kill her soul all over again? 

CONNECTIONS

1. GREGORY WILLIAMS: 

Raye never really knew Gregory Williams before he was a demon, and she didn’t know him when he dated Amy Davidson. She didn’t know him when he was going through the worst bit of his transitions, and because of this, Raye Carter meets Gregory Williams with a fresh and unbiased opinion of him. This came at a time in her life where she needed someone like Greg, and it’s very likely that he needed someone like her too. He’s struggling with his life and everything in it, which is something Raye is very familiar with. She went through the same thing four years ago when she lost all hope of goodness in the world. She’s been struggling ever since, and now that she’s starting to find stable footing, her heart appeals to Greg to help him find the same. She didn’t expect to have actual feelings for anyone since Aiden, but she can’t help but feel for Gregory... the man with the great heart and just way too much to deal with. She’s not sure where their relationship might be going, but she’s certainly eager to find out. 

2. DARIEN SHIELDS: 

Darien was a lot of things to Raye that he shouldn’t have been. He was the father she needed after her real father checked out. He was the brother that supported her and threatened the boys she dated if they weren’t good enough. He was the friend that helped her deal with high school dramas and childish insecurities. He was the Watcher to train her into the perfect Celestial, the perfect Charge. He was also a man that she had serious feelings for, but when it became apparent that Darien did not return those feelings... well, Raye was devastated. It’s always dangerous to cross a line between lover and friends... but crossing the line between lover and Watcher? It’s almost impossible to recover from. Raye kept in touch with Darien during her time in Tennessee, but it was very brief and very impersonal... enough to stave off those niggling crazies that came from a charge neglecting her watcher. Now that she’s back, she understands that he’s duty bound to work with her again... but she’s not sure if she’ll be able to handle that. After all, Darien let her down in a pretty big way. Not only did he reject her, but he also left her alone to get attacked by an Ice Demon... an Ice Demon he’s still calling his best friend. Not to mention the fact that he’s obviously in love with Serena. Old jealousies die hard, and its not going to be easy for a recovering Raye to handle these things. But she’s going to try. She has to try... for the sake of everything and everyone in the world, Raye Carter has to make this right. 

3. ASHER WOODS: 

Asher Woods is actually someone very important to Raye Carter... he’s the man that she found in Tennessee who was willing to reconnect her to nature and the world around her while she stumbled down the road to recovery. Though she doesn’t know his true nature, she knows that he was around when Darien couldn’t be, and she’s practically replaced him as her Watcher because of it. Asher is able to train her and get her to think about the world as a living, breathing thing... something that goes far beyond the training Darien was able to give her. The more connected she is with the earth, the stronger her own magic is because of it, and she has Asher to thank for that realization. He was even the one who got her to quit smoking. Needless to say, Asher Woods quickly became Raye’s best friend... but she left him behind in Tennessee when her duties called her back to New York. She has no idea that Asher is now in New York too, with a duty very different to her own. All she knows is that Asher Woods saved her soul, and she’s incredibly indebted to him.

4. ANDREW REED: 

Andrew Reed is single-handedly the scariest creature that Raye has ever had the displeasure of knowing. He’s the only demon that her fire couldn’t affect... didn’t affect. When he approached her in Der Waffle Haus that day four years ago, Raye had been completely unaware that the dorky and slightly awkward arcade owner had become a demon. When he tried to kiss her, she couldn’t have predicted that he’d retaliate by using her ice to freeze her to the spot. For the first time in her life, Raye had become completely and entirely helpless, and no one was around to save her. Not Aiden. Not Darien. No one. Andrew was too strong to defeat. Raye suddenly found herself certain that she was going to die. Luckily, her instincts eventually kicked in and Raye was able to run to freedom... but the incident haunts her even to this day. It’s especially sickening to think that the other celestials, Serena included, are now willingly working with Andrew and treating him as a Watcher. He is not a Watcher. Raye may have become more accepting of demons in the past five years, but she knows that a demon who’s murdered before willingly and with joy is not someone who could be trusted to be a Watcher. She wishes she could convince Amy not to trust him, or Serena to burn him to ashes... but then again, maybe Raye could just do it herself? After all, her fire is now stronger than ever, and there’s no doubt in her mind that Andrew is guilty for his crimes. He deserves to pay for everything he’s done, and Raye is eager to be the one collecting the fees. 

5. SERENA BLACKWELL: 

Both Serena and Raye are well aware of the fact that if not for their shared Celestial duties, they would never have been friends in the first place. Raye is very aware of this herself, but when she was drowning in guilt over her lack of action at the Battle of the Rock, Serena was the only one who kept in touch. The only Celestial who seemed to care that Raye had fallen off the deep end and was rapidly losing control. Serena’s emails, though Raye would never admit it, kept her going. They kept her motivated. Eventually, after Raye was able to grow up and become accountable for her own actions, she even started emailing Serena back. The endless emoticons Serena used annoyed her to bits, but even Raye had to admit that she left each email session feeling somehow lighter. But that’s how it’s always been... Serena is a source of light and good feelings in the world. It’s no wonder Darien fell in love with her, even if he’s not admitting it. It’s hard to hate Serena for being nothing other than ‘good’. Raye decides to use her resentment towards Serena as a fuel for her own betterment... maybe one day if she can make people feel as good as Serena does, she can finally atone for her own sins? Though if that ditsy klutz starts crying at the sight of a demon one more time... Raye will calmly try to take a deep breath and refrain from tearing her head off. Tearing heads off, after all, is Old Raye. She’s trying to be new Raye. But the occasional fight is obviously inevitable, and who ever said a little healthy rivalry was ever a bad thing? 

6. LITA THOMPSON: 

Raye still sees it every time she closes her eyes, even four years later. The moment when Aiden went from being alive to dead... from being evil to good again. The moment when Lita Thompson ripped his head from his shoulders using her feet. It was almost too bizarre to be true, but the fact that Raye is constantly replaying it over and over again in her head means it has to be real. She’d be able to forget it if it weren’t real. She’d be able to stop it from repeating itself constantly like a scratched CD replaying the same verse. Mediating with Asher was able to erase some of the memory’s power, but seeing Lita again only brings it back to the surface. She can’t look at Lita without seeing Aiden. She can’t talk to Lita without hearing Aiden’s voice. She can’t work alongside Lita without remembering how Aiden once swore to protect her no matter what. Raye has finally started to feel secure in her own body again, and she doesn’t need the constant reminder of Aiden haunting her. She’s got a good thing going with Greg and doesn’t want to lose that... but seeing Lita constantly serves as a reminder of everything that she once had. A friendship with Lita is so far beyond the realm of possibility that Raye can’t even think about the concept. Lita killed the man she loved. She was the direct reason that Raye failed in her duties to protect the Celestial Crystal. And no matter how nice Lita is to her, Raye won’t be able to forget that. Ever. 

7. AMY DAVIDSON: