Name:
Cat
Age:
20
Gender/Pronouns:
She/Her
Sexuality:
Pansexual
Species:
Animal familiar (in the shape of a big and fluffy black cat)
Occupation:
Barista at Black Forest Bakery
Workplace:
Situated in the centre of Little Mere, right across the Mereian Park, sits a little place, a fusion between a bistro and a bakery, that goes by the name of Black Forest. It has a lovely view of the surrounding shops, as well as the park and its ancient tree.
Black Forest is primarily a bakery that serves a huge assortment pastries and cakes, but you can also order something savory to snack on while you sit down and enjoy a hot drink. The main attraction of Black Forest is most certainly its novelty coffee brews, prepared personally by Cat. It’s considered kind of a hipster place, but it’s also popular among people who’re hustling and bustling about on their way to work in the centre of the city.
The inside of Black Forest is cosy but not cramped, with a style that merges modern with elegant rustic. The scenery changes with the seasons and on special holidays with the use of a little magic. As of now, you’ll find that Black Forest is delightfully Christmas-themed, but not overwhelmingly so… A handmade holly wreath hangs above the fireplace, and you’ll find splashes of red and green all around, on tablecloths, decorations, menus and even the uniforms of the employees.
Appearance:
Cat is often referred to as a tall (and chubby) drink of water. She has an aptly latte-colored skin with freckles along her cheeks and long, shiny black curls that fluff up in every direction, especially on humid days. She keeps it in a ponytail that often comes undone on its own around the end of her work day.
She wears a leather collar around her neck, which some people theorize may be a kink-related thing... The collar, though, once had a symbol of devotion to the witch she formerly served hanging from it like a bell, but now that space is blank as she's not made a contract with any magical entity since. Once someone employs Cat as their familiar once again, a special symbol will reappear to symbolize the particular bond between them.
For her uniform, her work clothes are tidy, yet stylish and casual. She wears an apron over a buttoned shirt that changes colors accordingly with the seasons and holidays, accompanied by a matching pencil-skirt and whatever flavor of wedged boots she decided on that day. It should be noted that Cat walks much more gracefully on her toes than she does on her heels, so she’s never seen in any type of flat shoe.
Her casual attire consists of soft sweaters and scarves, skirts and heeled boots. Occasionally, she'll subtly work a catlike theme into her outfit, like a cat-eared headband, or a t-shirt just covered in cutesy prints of kittycats. She’s seen very often in an over-sized t-shirt with a print of an Animal Crossing character on the front (it’s Punchy). She truly owns the half-cat part of her identity unabashedly, despite not being named by anyone at the time.
As a cat, Cat resembles a large and chubby black mainecoon with blue eyes and long fluffy fur. Like her ponytail, the fur on her tail puffs up in every direction and defies all laws of gravity.
Backstory:
When we die, our spirits return to their true form - glimmering spheres of light without any memories of their past selves... Some choose to be reborn here or elsewhere, some move on and become one with the great unknown, and some become trapped in-between that somewhere and nowhere, unable to pass between realms, purposelessly floating, trapped and alone…
That was all Cat was when her witch found her and gave her a name. Once given a name, one is able to shape a spirit into their familiar - a conduit for their magic to strengthen it and to filter out any impurities in their casting. Familiars are pure spirits, and easily able to dispel anything unwanted out of any caster’s magic. In return, the familiar is loved, taken care of and given a home and a purpose. This symbiotic bond is a close one, and it hurts to break from both sides, but it can be done...
After many years in service of her patroness, the bond between Cat and her witch was suddenly cut and, the witch just disappeared from Cat's life never to be seen again. Cat waited and waited, but as time passed on and months became years, she finally gave up and accepted that she'd been abandoned. Ever since then, Cat's been more introverted and slower to open up to others. Cat no longer remembers the name she was given, or even the time shared between her and her patroness, but she carries a loneliness inside her that she can’t explain, and she does her best to isolate herself from that feeling with little escapisms.
Other:
*Cat lives on the 9th floor of an apartment building on the outer-ring of the city. It has a single bedroom connected to a small en-suite bathroom, a snug living room area with a fireplace and an open-plan kitchen. The walls are lined with shelves filled with books on magica that she’s read back to front, as well as racks for drying herbs and displays for knickknacks. She has a wall-mounted tv with a case full of video games and vinyl remakes of modern CD’s, even though she doesn’t own a vinyl player.
*Cat enjoys catnip, even in her human form, and a whiff of the stuff is a good cure for when she feels anxious. There’s a wreath of catnip that hangs above the door of her apartment. She also crafts her own catnip incense-sticks, soaps and bath-bombs.
*Cat’s able to read tarot, tea leaves and palms, and she has an unnecessarily extensive knowledge of the zodiac. Her star-sign, by the way, is Taurus.
