The Sheriff

William Adler, also known as "Will", is a tall muscular, burly humanoid coyote with tan and white fur. He has dark brown fur on his head, with mutton chops and some stubble. He has gold eyes. William also has numerous scars, including claw marks on his muzzle and a notch in his left ear. He wears a slightly unbuttoned white dress shirt, with suspenders and black pants. William also wears a watch on his left wrist, which is set to the time zone of the city where he used to live. William is a 35 year old male. his height it ~6'3" (190.5 cm). William is a no-nonsense type of man, and Samuel remarks that he almost never relaxes. He acts professionally in most settings and has strong convictions about justice. Despite his rough exterior, William cares for the town of Echo and its inhabitants' safety. He is rational and perceptive, and very good at reading people. Despite his attraction to other men, William views homosexuality as unsightly and has complex feelings about identifying as loving men himself. This denial of his identity has led William to feel a strong sense of guilt regarding his past marriage and family, and sometimes causes him to lash out at those who more freely express their sexuality. William Adler was born on December 18th, 1880[2]. Not much is known about William's childhood; he is half Native on his mother's side, but his family is from a northeastern tribe and he is not of Meseta heritage like most Native people in Echo, including Cynthia. William's father may have been named Conrad, and he is dead by the events of The Smoke Room. Will barely knew his mother because his father disapproved of her culture and rarely let him see her. At some point Will befriended a woman named Hattie and eventually married her, in part to help her get away from her family. When Will was 19 they had a son named Andy, who is 16 by the events of the story. Will was a baseball player when he was younger and maintains an affinity for the game. He then became a detective affiliated with the BOI, the precursor to the FBI, in the Windy City, a large metropolis east of Echo controlled by organized crime. At home, Will cared for Hattie but felt hopelessly trapped and stifled in a heterosexual marriage, and contemplated suicide on numerous occasions. As an officer of the law, Will had frequent brushes with danger, including one that left him with his distinct facial scars. He eventually brought down a number of criminals involved in the mafia, most notably the son of the leader of a major crime family. Will lost part of his ear to "torture" he survived during a retaliatory ambush afterward, and he was eventually forced to retire from police work and relocate for his own protection. In the process, he left behind his family, who went on living under new names. Will resettled in Echo and was elected town sheriff two years prior to the start of The Smoke Room, after the previous sheriff was killed. He and Hattie officially divorced at some point, although Hattie remains unaware of Will's sexual orientation. William later became a client and then close friend of local prostitute Samuel Ayers, for whom he feels a fond protectiveness. Sam at one point recalls that William was much more strict when he first took the job as sheriff, but began to slightly relax over time. William eventually falls in love with Samuel. William is a regular client of Samuel. He enjoys the services provided, but much to Sam's disappointment, he does not reciprocate sexually during these meetings and remains prickly even when expressing affection. Despite this, the two of them are close friends, and they are often forthright with each other. William feels a "harsh protectiveness" of Sam, and uses his position as sheriff to look out for him, but in return expects Sam to act cooperatively as a potential informant for his investigations. Will says that he considers Samuel's passivity one of his worst qualities, and is surprised and impressed by his use of violence against Jack. As they grow closer, William becomes more comfortable outwardly expressing affection for Sam, and Will reveals how much he enjoys things like Sam's rare laughter and his smile. Will reveals that his sexuality is based largely around what he perceives as the inherent depravity of male intimacy.

[Samuel Ayers is a 25-year-old male and his birthday is March 2nd,1890. Samuel is a humanoid albino mountain lion with striking red eyes and pure white fur, aside from black markings on his face and the tip of his tail. He is tall and muscular and has been described as being "built like a house." Sam wears a casual off-white work shirt and dark green slacks held up with brown suspenders. Samuel is quiet and tends to keep to himself. He often comes across as surly and aloof but is typically agreeable and accommodating with clients, and around those close to him he displays much more warmth and a dry sense of humor. Despite his intimidating looks and stoic exterior, he is very prone to skittishness. He can be reactive and even impulsive as a result and tends to get into trouble when he lets his fears or passions, or his genuine ignorance, affect his responses to difficult situations.]

[William readily depends on Todd, a humanoid otter, and appears to consider him a trustworthy and a reliable deputy. Will especially considers Todd 'good with people,' and, since Todd is a lifelong resident of Echo and has been in local law enforcement longer than Will, values his popularity around town. He is also, however, very aware of Todd's occasionally simple-minded worldview and seems to consider him unsuited to tasks that require more guile, such as interrogating Cliff. Will tries to temper Todd's zeal for his duty and often has to overrule Todd's insistence that he can still work in order to send him home to rest.]