Lazarus Addezio {d2 .:. fin}

He was born with the knowledge that he was destined for greatness. But pure unadulterated ambition can only get you so far.

A childhood spent fishing for clinking marbles, watching them spread and spiral out. Burdened with a disappointing father with no wealth, no title, no lineage to his name - and a vain mother, longing forever for Capitolite fame; in turn destined to be spend eternity falling short. He favoured schoolyard shadows over schoolyard brawls, and made up for his statuesque shortcomings with an intense cunning and cruelty. A measured boy, a tempered man - calm, deviant, smart. He gravitates towards the Crocetti family - a powerful force within the District, said to have their hands buried deep in all sorts of political pockets. Cesare became his life force, his raison d'être, embellished with all the wealth and family standing that had always evaded the Adezzio family.

He shrouds himself in darkness and night, a silent but watchful guardian. He remains protective of the entire Crocetti clan, loyal to a fault, willing to commit crimes with no hesitation. Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir. Will be dealt with. Of course, Sir.

No longer a boy, no longer fishing for cut glass, no longer storing marbles behind swollen cheeks to keep them from the snatching hands of other children. No longer embarrassed by his father's lack of whatever, his mother's desperate grasping for straws.

A graduate of boyhood; keeper of scandals; torturer; assassin; skilled flatterer.

The forever enigma.

A p p e a r a n c e ;

Lazarus fits the box for conventionally attractive. Growing up he always felt that he was a little "too" pretty. Though toned, his appearance never reflected his strength and in childhood he was quickly labelled as weak; an easy target for bullies. After months the ridicule and abuse felt during school hours began to roll off him -- and when their jeers were ignored and their punches failed to faze, the kids would find a new target. He grew from skinny and lanky twelve-year old to a well-formed and attractive teenager. Still tall, at 6'1" but no longer all odd angles and dangly limbs, he grew into himself well and began to hone his skills.

He could have had relationships. With girls, with boys, he's really not that particular, but Lazarus is far too focused on other things. Relationships, in his opinion, only weaken and distract - they're far too dangerous, far too fleeting to engage in. His training as a career and then training for his job with the Crocetti family has left Lazarus with skills that could have easily turned him from bullied to bully. Most other children recognised this and knew to avoid him. He is not without fault, battle scarred from training and from encounters on the job. His hands and arms are especially cut up, raw white lines showcasing the extent of his injuries.

P e r s o n a l i t y ;

Though part of him wishes so much that he were Crocetti, like the family he's sworn to protect, his personality doesn't fit the part. Where some of the Crocetti clan are hot blooded and quick to anger, Lazarus is even tempered and composed. At a party he can be found leaning against a wall in the corner, just observing and stubbornly refusing to socialise. It's what made him an outcast at school and particularly tricky to get to know. He seldom opens up about his past and personal life, changing the topic when conversations grow too emotional. Rage seldom comes into play, his personality mostly governed by his ambition.

Lazarus is no sadist. He takes no enjoyment out of inflicting pain, no pleasure out of torture and mutilation. He deals with the more precarious situations in which he's been hired as a hit man methodically and without emotion. A job is a job is a job. He's very strict with himself and even in childhood led a self-enforced regimented lifestyle. He's tactical and mostly rational in his approach to assignments. On occasion his temper may boil to the surface, though this is a rarely seen event - and something he would only share with his closest allies.

During his school years he was very studious, both academically and during career training hours. This willingness to please and loyalty to a cause has filtered through to his adult life. As for love, as for a family of his "own", it does not even feature on his list of things to do. For Lazarus, personal feelings and relationships absolutely cannot compromise a mission. He would view this as one of his greatest failures and a mark of his incompetence.

H i s t o r y ;

Lazarus grew up in a small terraced house on the edge of District Two, in a despondent neighbourhood of scattered means. He grew up with a sense of disappointment and disdain for his parents, who always struck him as vain and unambitious. Zaida, his mother, dreamt of life in the lap of luxury like in the Capitol. She was always glued to the television during the Hunger Games and reaping, not out of interest for the games, but out of an intensive desire for the opulent lifestyle of the Capitol. Worse yet, Ferdinand, his father, lacked any interest in the games at all. He never outright refused to watch them - being far too anxious to ever display a rebellious nature. No, Ferdinand just stared dully at the television screens and refused to engage in any discussion. He didn't disagree with them, he just felt a profound disinterest. For Lazarus this was a further ground for embarrassment. Where other children were encouraged to participate in career training, and had the enthusiastic support of their family members, his parents were too self-involved to encourage their son in anything. His good grades in school were acknowledged with no comment, his career training was glossed over, and his immense loneliness barely registered.

He was, by all accounts, an incredibly lonely child. With no siblings to distract and no friendships to nurture, Lazarus was left entirely to his own means. He still participated in career training, gradually building muscles and learning new skills. Most of his skills were acquired by his own studious attempts to progress further in life. To his immense disappointment he never made it into the games. He watched with envy as some of his classmates disappeared, never to return to their home town. Luckily for him none of his training would be wasted - on the contrary; his training would become the basis for his career.

Lazarus met Cesare in school. They weren't immediate friends, and there was no kindling of instantaneous kinship. But there was something he found special and intriguing about the boy from the influential family. There were other Crocetti family members he felt protective of as well, Belladonna in particular. As he grew older, so too grew his relationship with Cesare. If people insulted or threatened him, or spoke badly of the Crocettis, Lazarus knew ways to make them pay. With blood, with tears, most often with both. If people picked on Belladonna he was equally vengeful. He became more entwined in the tumultuous lives of the Crocetti clan. Though he would never be a fully-fledged member, by lack of blood relation, he did grow to feel more comfortable in the company of his "adopted" family than in that of his own.

Having left school, Lazarus was employed as a full-time bodyguard, as well as potential assassin for the Crocetti family and their allies. With renewed vigour he has embraced this new life as his calling and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty in the process. Quite on the contrary.