Character information
Name: Piper Whitley Age: 27 Gender: cis woman Pronouns: she/her Species: witch Face claim: Brittany O'Grady Character Occupation: Head of English at local high school Neighbourhood of residence: Golden Views Affiliation: Leader of Anam Coven / Whitley family Length of stay in Holloway: born and raised in Holloway until college and she returned when her father died
Character Summary:
Piper affectionately known as Pip by close family and friends is the second born child of William 'Bill' Whitley and the young witch is the current leader of the Anam Coven. Piper was born in Holloway and and grew up with the expectations and often the drama that came along with being the next daughter of the Whitley Bloodline.
The Whitley family have been in Holloway for three generations. Piper’s grandmother settled in Holloway in the 1960s and formed the Anam Coven. Piper like her grandmother, father and aunt before her has strong powers and she has never been afraid to experiment or to enjoy them. Their coven has a good relationship with the Holloway Coven sharing similar beliefs and old magic and until the last generation was led by women until Piper's aunt died, leaving Piper's father Bill to be head of Anam Coven. This was something that not all witches in Holloway supported. However, Bill's marriage to Piper's mother and her birth meant that Piper was destined to be the next coven leader from the day she was born.
However, Piper despite her destiny as a witch, had a loving and fulfilling childhood. She is close to her mother, who’s side of the family is from a small witch bloodline and owns an inn in Holloway and her father was a professor known for his writing and teaching at the local university as well as being coven leader. Though as much as Piper didn’t always see eye to eye with her father, she had a has always had a love for reading and writing. She has always had a creative side and loved both reading and telling stories, a trait Piper has gained from Whitley and a trait she also puts into her magic. She spends her time reading old spell books and messing around with her powers.
Piper was determined and full of life from a young age. She is confident, bubbly and she has always been creative. She would sit in the garden or around her family’s inn and read for hours, and scribble down ideas in her notebook that never left her side. Something that has followed her into her adulthood, she is always writing down words and phrases that pop into her head whether they be for a novel or ideas for a spell. When she was younger, writing gave her an escape from her home life. From the pressures she often felt about being a Whitley, to succeeding in both school and in her magic, to the arguments between her parents which she pretended not to hear.
Piper was born from her father’s first marriage, which even to his death was one of his longest relationships. Her half brother James is from Whitley’s brief first relationship and he is 7 years older than Piper. James lived with them throughout her childhood. Piper was close to James growing up, he was older and she depended on him a lot. She missed him when he moved away but she respected his decision, and Piper later followed in his footsteps when she also left for college despite how many people did not agree with the young witch leaving Holloway. Piper was upset when her dad cheated on her mom but part of her wasn’t surprised, it was just another story in his life, another piece of drama that followed Bill Whitley. She distanced herself from him in her teens, often having disagreements and moved into the inn with her mom.
Although she is pretty introverted by nature, she has always been bright and a little playful, and she has been known to play harmless pranks with her magic. Piper enjoyed school, even if she hated to admit it. But she thrived in the private schools that her dad sent her to. She loved the opportunities they gave her. She was artistic, passionate and smart. She won art competitions and writing competitions, took part in school performances and applying for university was something she knew she wanted. The young woman was excited to explore the adult world and all of her talents. She loved her magic more than anything but it wasn't all she wanted to be. Her strong education and extracurriculars secured her an ivy place and she moved to study English and creative writing at Yale. Although her dad had initially wanted her to stay at his university and to keep her close to the coven, he was not going to stop his daughter from that opportunity.
Piper fully embraced university life. Although she’d always been a little reserved, the new city brought her out of her shell. Both in her writing and magic. New experiences and friends encouraged her to become more confident and she found herself editing for the college paper, singing at karaoke nights, trying new foods and drinks, and falling in love for the first time.
While at Yale, the young man introduced her to a coven and she spent a lot of time with the group. She really explored her magic, becoming a rather competent witch and trying spells she never had before. She often pushes limits and she can be a little reckless due to her passion and love for her powers and her need to be the best at everything she does.
After university, Piper had no intention of moving back home, at least not while her father was leader. She enjoyed playing with her powers without his rules and she knew she was becoming a better witch for it. She spent some time working for a paper as an intern while studying her postgraduate degree at Yale. She found she enjoyed tutoring and eventually went on to do her teaching qualification. Though with the news of her father’s death last year, Piper knew she needed to return home. They’d had a lot of disagreements but he was her father. And even with all his flaws, his sudden death was a shock to her. But most of all, she knew what this meant for her. She was now leader of the Anam Coven. Putting on a brave face, she returned to Holloway and she jumped back into coven life and she had a lot to share. With her degrees and experience, she secured a role as head of English and arts at the local high school. She is now 27 and she is trying her best to live her life in Holloway once again, and she hopes she can make the coven her own.
