𝒾 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓇𝓉 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉

vampireapologist

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hey

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𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬

❝ 𝒲𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝒻𝑒𝓇𝓃𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝒻𝑒𝓇𝓃𝑜 𝓌𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃. ❞

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𝐵𝒜𝒞𝒦𝒢𝑅𝒪𝒰𝒩𝒟

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𝑭𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆 — Catriona Lilit Arevik Sofi Hades
𝑵𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 — Though her parents intended to have her go by her full name always, her sweet little sister called her Cat when they were young. That turned into Kitty. Delphine is the only one allowed to refer to her as that, but a few in the castle did catch on to saying Cat. However, when she was twelve and went through some crisis of identity in her near-teenage angst, she opted for everyone to call her Rio instead. Even now, she prefers it shortened for most occasions. Formally, she knows she must go by Catriona, but having a name that means pure will always bother her

𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 — Hades
𝑻𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔 — First Born of House Hades, Lady of Ronioduba, Future High Lady of Ansis

𝑨𝒈𝒆 — Twenty-Three
𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒅𝒂𝒚 — June 19th
𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒏 — Gemini
𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 — In a tent in the middle of nowhere in the Styx Desert of Ansis

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𝒟𝐸𝒱𝐸𝐿𝒪𝒫𝑀𝐸𝒩𝒯

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𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 — Cisgender female
𝑺𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 — On the long, terrible road to realizing she might be pansexual, though she has never heard such a term and would not care what it means if she heard it. To her, attraction is more of an undefinable feeling that cannot be pinned down by science nor poetry. It simply is

𝑶𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 — Outside of her title, Rio has no work
𝑬𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 — After the birth of Delphine nearly killing their mother, it became evident that there would be no male heir. Her father was a bit reluctant at first, wondering if he should bestow his titles to his nephew, but he at least allowed Rio the chance to be educated as the next in line for the province. When she far exceeded her cousin in lessons, she became the official successor for House Hades. She has had private tutors in lessons from statecraft to geography to mathematics and all the other necessary subjects necessary to rule. There were many Rio found useless, but as she grows up, she is more and more grateful for the diverse skills and knowledge she has acquired

𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 — Memorization, as she nearly has a photogenic memory. It has saved her life more than once | Seduction, though she uses it more as a tease to get what she wants than anything else | Archery, only because her father refuses to let her learn hand-to-hand combat | Hiding her dagger { esp from said father, who would deplore her use of it } and using it when necessary | Debating and arguing | Playing the harp | Some healing and medicine work, out of necessity in caring for her mother and sister
𝑾𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 — Pushes herself to rash and terrible limits that no sane person should | Trusts no one, hates everyone | Sometimes gets so focused on the big picture that she can miss the little details | A bit "lurky" | Not very loyal, except to her sister and mother | Absolutely in denial that her own health might be at stake | Power-hungry fatalist
𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 — None that she has discovered yet, but that doesn’t seem to stop her from trying

𝑮𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔 — Heal her mother and sister (and herself, although she won’t admit she’s even sick yet), take the throne for herself, and find the magic she very well believes is in her somewhere

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𝑅𝐸𝐿𝒜𝒯𝐼𝒪𝒩𝒮 𝒜𝒩𝒟 𝒫𝐸𝑅𝒮𝒫𝐸𝒞𝒯𝐼𝒱𝐸

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𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 — She cares only for her mother and sister. Although her public persona seems like the most devout follower to her house and their god, it is all a façade
𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒔 — Her parents recently brokered for her engagement to Lars of House Persephone. It has not been announced publicly yet, as per his house’s request. But Rio would prefer for it to be known soon, as she is tired of suitors knocking on her door and her uncle breathing down her neck

𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒁𝒆𝒖𝒔 — A well-deserved defeat that could only be karma for their centuries-long existence as useless, betraying scum
𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 — She knows House Hades could never win. It doesn’t matter what anyone says. Her name will always be a curse, a mark against her. She is not foolish enough to be optimistic. But with a wealthy Witten husband from a well-respected, non-threatening family...perhaps they have a chance. Then there’s the matter of him being king and her being his queen, a second place prize she is not too fond of. But that can be dealt with once the throne is theirs
𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄 — Rio refuses to believe that she does not have magic. She is quite jealous of anyone who does, and she cannot seem to give up the very reckless and masochistic behavior of trying to "trigger" her magic into showing itself. On a dignitary trip to Feld, she jumped off the highest cliff she could find in hopes her instincts would somehow take over in the fall. Of course, hitting the water like a brick wall did not do anything except leave her bruised and battered. When she was not the most elegant dancer that night, her father berated her after. But still, she keeps trying to push herself to unlock it. She can't give up because how else will she be able to save her mother and sister?

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𝒫𝐸𝑅𝒮𝒪𝒩𝒜𝐿𝐼𝒯𝒴

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𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 — There is only one place Catriona has ever felt at home. She knows she should hate Feld; she hates Poseidon, at least. But her father hates them even more than she does, so it is often his eldest daughter that gets sent there for any dignitary matter. Once their stupid, useless heir promised to take her out on a boat ride. But even a small storm was no match for his skills at the helm. The pair ended up washed ashore of a wild, uninhabited island. The jungle trees cooed with a thousand strange echos, alive and bustling and ready to take on the human threat. There was a reason that no one lived there, but that hadn’t meant no one had tried.

Hours passed, with the boy’s crying and helpless complaints lashing against more relentlessly than a wave ever could. She kept composed and silent until, finally, he lulled himself into a hapless whisper. There was no sign of food on the beach, and Rio could tell the jungle was practically dripping with poison. They would find no reprieve within.

“Is this how we die then?”

Her voice was cold; it always is. Her father used to joke that it was the only frost that could survive the Styx. Looking at the broken, hapless hunk of wood that once ventured across the sea, Rio could not contain a bitter laugh from rising. Perhaps it was fitting to meet her end alongside a useless Poseidon boy, parched and broken like in her desert despite the endless water surrounding them. The remaining clouds hovered on the horizon, cutting off any view that might allow them to orient themselves.

“CATRI-“

His useless cry was caught off as panic overtook him. Rio can’t remember when the jungle fell equally as silent. Her ears rang, desperate to detect a noise beyond the now-calm lapping of the ocean. But there was nothing. The world was still.

A giant black paw extended from the wild tangle. The useless Poseidon cowered behind her, but Rio remained resolute. It was and always would be her duty to show no fear.

𝒫𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇.

Her mind flipped to the page of some book she had to read long ago. She taunted her tutor, saying how useless it was to know about animals that didn’t exist in Olympiad anymore. But there, against all logic, it prowled across the sand towards them. The shadowy feline was clearly used to being the only predator in its habitat. It showed no fear, only haunting calculation.

Catriona’s breath was even, but she knew the panther could sense the fear in her heartbeat. Her panic screamed at her to run. She wanted to. But heirs to Hades? They don’t run. Her pride and instincts locked her in place. Resolute. She would always choose fight over flight.

Rio looked the panther straight in its glassy emerald eyes. She would not flinch at the sight of death. But it was not mindless destruction meeting her gaze; it was like her own soul reflecting back. The majestic beast crossed the final distance between them. Almost as if pulled forward against her will, Rio’s arm reached out to greet it. Slowly, its nose nuzzled into her palm.

And there it was. The world melted away.

Home.

A wild, untamed nature held together in a composed and hauntingly beautiful package. A creature one with the shadows. A ruthless core. A stalking prowl. Elegant. But always ready to strike.

Rio felt an insatiable, indescribable pull to rip off her stupid corset and run wild into the jungle behind the only creature who ever understood her.

“Th-they’re coming.”

The idiot broke the spell. The feline disappeared back into its jungle — back into her shadows — as another ship bellowed an arrival horn. It was almost like it was never there at all.

“Do they always follow you?” Rio snarled. Of course they did. They can’t leave a fool on his own. It only made sense that they would be found within a matter of hours. “Every heir has guards for s-safety,” he murmured back. The coward couldn’t look her in the eye anymore, too confused and terrified by the strange connection he had just witnessed.

She took her fingers off the hilt of her hidden dagger, the one she had grabbed all too instinctively when the boy talked again. There was no point in killing him; he wouldn’t discuss what he’d seen.

“Not every heir,” Rio hissed. “Not when one is capable of protecting themselves.”

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•• I wanted to try to infer that Rio is like a panther without saying that exact phrase, so here we are with that little story or whatever instead. I suppose saying it outright felt dull, but it’s funny because I did that exact thing down here anyway. Well. C’est la vie
•• Rio is a bit of an enigma. Although she has impressed her father enough to be the heir, many remain confused as to why she is worthy. After all, very few know her or what she is capable of. She is a very quiet individual. She feels like she can gain more from listening in her current state, whether that be from learning something new or simply studying someone enough to know their weaknesses. Reports have commented on her unnerving stare. Anyone who assumes her silence as stupidity often comes to regret it
•• She is graceful but cold. Her words often come out in a deadpan, and she cares very little if the person on the receiving end gets their feelings hurt
•• It takes a long time for people to notice what color her eyes are, brown flecked with shades of simmering charcoal and framed with long lashes. She doesn't really let people get close enough to see. It helps that they're also often too focused on what she is wearing. It is the decorum she cares little for. If she likes it, she puts it on, even if she perhaps should cover up a bit more
•• Rio has a soft spot for her mother and her sister. She would do anything for them and often goes out of her way to find them every comfort

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𝐵𝐼𝒪𝒢𝑅𝒜𝒫𝐻𝒴

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An insult to her namesake, Catriona is certainly not pure. She is only ever seen among the shadows. She embodies the night and rarely speaks to the others of her house. Heir to the House of Hades, Catriona did not inherit her mother’s sickness like her sister. They say she takes after her father in body and personality, but she cares little for what others whisper. She despises the other houses and how Hades own the least fertile land. Her younger sister, Delphine, is the only one she truly holds the company of. Yet even their interactions are numbered few. Some days Delphine cannot even bear the weight of her own body and must be confined to her bed. Catriona curses Hades for the suffering her family endures. She feels as if the healers know what would cure them and are deliberately hiding it. Catriona is determined to find her own solution, now more than ever. She might not be able to keep those growing symptoms hidden. Her own sickness might be settling in after all. Catriona keeps an image that she serves her god without question. It has gotten to the point where — since some of the house prophets predict his return is near — she might become Hades' human consort. She is the apple of her father’s eye and a shadow in the back of her mother’s mind. Lady Morana has a suspicious feeling about the future of her daughter. While they say Catriona is destined for great things, Morana herself knows the true consequences of being the god of the underworld's consort. Because while they think Catriona takes after her father, in all truth she is her mother's daughter.

{ I intend to write an extended biography during the intro period. }

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𝒮𝒰𝒫𝒫𝐿𝐸𝑀𝐸𝒩𝒯𝒜𝐿

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𝑻𝒐𝒑 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 — Maddox of House Iris, Lars of House Persephone, or Alastair of House Nemesis
𝑴𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍 — Rubina Dyan

𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 — I wrote something short and silly here somewhat recently, but this is a longer example as well

⤠ 𝒪𝓁𝓎𝓂𝓅𝒾𝒶𝒹 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝐹𝒶𝓁𝓁: 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝓁𝑒𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎 ⤟

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