| Andrew Billings | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Portrayed By | Tyler Mane |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of Birth | November 22, 1861 |
| Age | 22 |
| Zodiac Sign | Virgo |
| Aliases | |
| Place of Birth | Oklahoma, USA |
| Occupation | Unknown |
| Known Relatives | Rose (Mother), Jonathan Billings (Father) |
| Significant Other | None |
History
Born November 22nd in 1861 to Jonathan and Rose Billings just when the Civil War was starting to get hot, one could say Andy was born into interesting times. His parents were nothing special, his father was a ranch hand in the Indian Territory that would become Oklahoma and his mother like most women took care of the household and tended to the livestock and garden. Being one of the few places where Native American's could freely own land, slaves, and make a legacy for themselves Andy grew up in a somewhat tolerant society, at least when it came between the Indians and the white man.
Unfortunately it wouldn't be exactly idyllic as with the war heating up between the Confederacy and the Union and the territory being in support of slavery and yet pro-Union, it was more than a little stressful. The worst would happen only a year after Andrews birth, Jonathan was killed but not in a skirmish with soldiers, but a skirmish over land. Being as he died in the service of his employer Rose and her newborn were allowed to stay on the land but the little farmstead was practically impossible for Rose to take care of herself while raising a newborn. So began the long train of would be 'Fathers' but none of them really lasted. Unfortunately that created tensions between Rose and the landowner who wished she would follow a 'traditional' mourning period but reality unfortunately had other idea's.
Andrew was a large child, bigger than all the other children his age like his grandfather Matthew was. Rose wasn't in the good graces of her parents however and couldn't call on them for aid nor move back there. So Rose did what she could to ensure her own survival and the survival of her child. It was the last straw however and when he was two years old Andrew ended up growing up in a whore house. Needless to say he didn't get the best education, but it was very worldly. He was taught the basics of math, so he could count money, and how to read if only a little bit but it was hard going as Andy wasn't the brightest of children.
At first it was nothing, just life, but as he got older his size mixed with his background ended up getting him in a lot of trouble with the other boys. Things like the War that was raging were lost on his young mind, he didn't really know what to make of it though he liked to think his father was a soldier who died serving his country. A child's fancy. As he got older though things got progressively worse, he got in fight after fight until he learned to bottle up his anger at the insults, inevitably that cork would pop however and he would explode into a rage against whomever was provoking him.
He wasn't the only child who had lost their father or a family member during the war, nor was he the only child born to a whore. He was however the biggest child in his age group, larger than boys older than him most of the time too. Still it took a while for him to learn the discipline to not get in fights whenever provoked. Other trouble started after the war ended however, there wasn't anywhere as much traffic through the town, no soldiers from either side to 'entertain' and Rose was getting older and not making as much. When she got sick, things went downhill from there.
The flu took her relatively quickly, leaving the boy alone and uncertain of whom his family was and due to the strain between his mother and his grandparents nobody even knew whom to try to send him to. It was the memory of his father that saved Andrew from who knows what life he would have ended up having, if any at all. Chaytan, the old Chickasaw who had cast them out after Jonathan's death took Andrew in, partially taking the blame for imposing his morals on Rose after Jonathan's death and because he truly did like the white man who worked for him, who had died defending his cattle. In essence, he was adopted into the tribe much in the same fashion the freed slaves they owned were.
He was still an outsider, though as most of the other adoptee's were black, but there was a fair amount of white servants and workers that were adopted into the nation that it wasn't as bad as before. Nobody bothered him about his heritage or his history and he was able to grow into a healthy young man. He worked for Chaytan, learning how to handle and deal with animals on the ranch. Growing up amongst such a mix in such a time and being so big made him a target of all the other boys his age. Something to prove, if they could beat him in a fight. It didn't really let up because of his size and strength he wasn't exactly -easy- to beat in a fight, especially not when Chaytan started to teach him how to defend himself.
Still, life wasn't easy. Not having a real father or a mother Chaytan became the closest thing to a father he had but even that was somewhat strained. As he grew he learned how to survive, treat basic injuries, what plants at least were poisonous to eat in the wild and the like. Still by the time he was fifteen he needed a change of pace. The only realistic thing to do in his mind was head out west. He knew enough about cattle and ranching to know he didn't want to be tied down to any particular piece of land. He knew how to fire a rifle and a pistol, but they were never a strong suit. Still the nature of the world being what it was he improved out of necessity.
Working as a cowboy was a good life, he learned the stars enough to know which one pointed north and a few constellations. People didn't mind that he was a little 'slow' as they put it since he knew how to handle cattle and horse so well. The nature of the business being what it was he saw much of the west, got used to different towns and cities, began to learn how they worked through (sometimes harsh) experience. Still a growing boy the work kept him in shape, kept him from going soft and he became immensely strong thanks to his huge size and the hard work. Keeping to himself mostly he stayed out of trouble, spent his money more often than saving it, until he found himself in Colorado after the last drive.
tNow he's looking for work, he's got enough money to see him through for a spell, but not enough to live pretty or live real well. What with it being mid-winter he figures he has to make it a couple months, or if this place turns out nice enough maybe find a place to settle down permanent like. He's been around enough to know the world isn't a nice place, smart enough to know he'll never be a gunslinger or a lawman, he's just prepared to do whatever it takes to get by.
Chronology
- Character's time line.
Quotes
- Memorable quotes go here.
Trivia
- Interesting tid-bits about you.
