#tf!cassidy

[cassidythemirror]

*Several knocks can be heard from outside the wooden door. Each strike is louder than the one previous to it until it all stops and a voice rises from the force responsible for the noises.*

Hello, is anyone in?

-doblesoul

’alright, alright, i’m coming-‘ the door opens to reveal a slightly annoyed-looking cassidy, buttoning up her coat. ‘hullo. theres really no need to knock so loud. who are you?’

[therealmoonagedaydream]

tf!cassidy ref sheet! uh actually idk if this counts as a ref sheet….. i forgot to put her height on there she’s like 5’2”

@cassidythemirror <- rp blog:)

closeups + no backgrounds

and full backstory under cut:) it’s long so be warned

cassidy was born to a group of nomads in a travelling troupe of illusionists. no one there was actually related to each other, but they formed a huge family and travelled the lands in colourful carriages and hot air balloons, touching down and setting up at random villages to put on shows of light and smoke and mirrors, dazzling the common folk with illusions and beautiful displays of light and colour. cassidy was the first child born to the group (not just taken in as they travelled) and her and her parents were deeply adored by the family. unfortunately, after touching down in an area that had been showing the early signs of corruption, almost the entire troupe was infected by a kind of plague caused by the corruption. those not killed by the illness fled from the area, and the troupe withered away. cassidy was only three when she was orphaned. an orphanage a few miles away from the village took her in, where she grew up raised by nuns (whom she only ever refers to as ‘the sisters’), living out her childhood on the very edge of corruption. growing up, she was incredibly, insatiably curious, much to the exasperation of the sisters. she was constantly wandering the countryside on breaks, always asking questions, and spending all her time (when she wasn’t in lessons or outside) in the library, reading the orphanage’s meagre collection of books over and over again. none of the sisters liked her very much — she was constantly breaking rules and dreaming her time away in class — and she didn’t have many friends because she was so ‘weird’. because of this lack of social interaction, she grew up to be very blunt and socially unaware, as well as constantly doubtful that people actually want to hang out with her. the only way the sisters were able to get her to follow rules or act even slightly ‘respectable’ was to scare her with threats of getting sick if she didn’t behave; “cassidy, don’t run off, the corruption will get you!” “cassidy, if you don’t go to bed on time, you’ll catch the same plague as your parents!” “cassidy, pay attention! lessons sharpen the mind, and a dull mind means you’ll let the sickness in!” “cassidy, eat what you’re given! an apple a day keeps the sickness away!” although these pieces of ‘advice’ did very little to restrict her curious nature, that last one, for no particular reason, stuck in twelve-year-old cassidy’s mind. she grew to be quite obsessive over the action, making sure to eat exactly one apple per day for the rest of her days. the sickness terrified her.

upon turning eighteen, cassidy left the orphanage, waving loving farewell to people who were glad to see her go. she didn’t know where she was going, just that she had a whole world to explore now! she stayed away from the corruption on her travels — although she is incredibly curious about it and how it works, it unnerves her for reasons she can’t explain. she travelled by herself for a while. shelter wasn’t a problem, and neither was food- as long as she had her apples she’d be fine winging everything else, and the tiny forestry book she had stolen from the orphanage taught her all she needed to know about foraging food and making shelter for herself. after about seven months, she happened upon a travelling circus. they seemed amateur and clumsy compared to the murky memories of her family’s troupe, but they were more interesting than solo travel and were looking for new members. she joined the circus as an illusionist, picking up the trade of smoke and mirrors and tricks of light as easy as breathing. despite her skills, the accepting nature of the performers, and the fact that she travelled with the circus for well over a year, she never felt as if she truly belonged in that place. the colours were too dull, the performances seemed to be lacking in something, and she was constantly aching for the wind in her hair and the feeling of watching the ground spiral away beneath a basket. after seeing guards and recruitment officers one day in one of the villages they stopped to perform at, cassidy packed her things and ran from the caravans at night, leaving only a note to her friends and the ringmaster thanking them for teaching and taking care of her.

after arriving late and performing.. mediocrely in the trials, cassidy is sorted into the tigris dorm. at the academy, she finds the kitchens (‘oh my god, how much food do they have?? we were starving back home!’), the classrooms (‘alchemy? combat? rituals?? oh my gods-‘), and the library (‘look- oh my- look at all these BOOKS- all the space- oh, i’m gonna pass out…‘). it’s a haven for her mind; having access to so much knowledge, so many things to explore, and so many different people to talk to fuels her curiosity like gasoline on a fire previously fed only by green twigs. however, being surrounded by all the talk of the corruption (and how bad it is), she becomes even more obsessive about the apples and being clean and free from sickness. she unlocks the magic of illusions — she no longer needs her satchel of mirrors and lamps to cast her tricks, she can simply conjure up a smokescreen and disappear, or toss kaleidoscopic light from her palms and blind her classmates with fantastical shapes and colours, or create a circle of mirrors and duplicate the image of herself to confuse opponents. her dragon, prism, is a strange, bird-like wyvern covered in pale blue scales that shine with iridescence. prism sports the same patterns across his body and under his eyes as cassidy has tattooed under hers, but his are pale and barely visible. his eyes are silver and glassy, and the scales on the underside of his wings are like tiny mirrors, casting reflections of light on the ground when he scampers around. they’ll be beautiful to see once he’s big enough to fly properly.

[therealmoonagedaydream]

tf!cassidy! she’s so freaking cute

[cassidythemirror]

Lore drop!

when cassidy was part of the travelling circus after she left her orphanage, she wasn’t incredibly close with the other performers; the puppeteer who performed to the children in the villages before the big shows and the acrobats, a pair of twin sisters, were probably the closest to her out of all the people she performed with, and even they did not know her too well. cassidy’s best friend, the girl whom she shared a caravan with, was a seamstress. she patched the curtains, fixed any damage to the tent, and made and repaired the performers’ costumes. she taught cassidy how to darn her sweater and patch her coat, and gifted her a small sewing kit to carry around with her. she was the first person cassidy felt truly safe around, and the first person to honestly understand her; a kindred spirit. one of the small things she did for cassidy was gift her a new sweater to replace the worn, ratty one she had been wearing on her travels before the circus. she embroidered the sleeves with arched patterns like the tattoos on cassidy’s cheeks.

when cassidy ran to join the academy, the guilt and grief at leaving her closest friend with only a note saying goodbye weighed on her heavily. now, with the discovery of new friends and understanding companions, the heavy loneliness has settled into a sort of deep, bittersweet longing. she hopes desperately that her friend is safe from the corruption. perhaps one day she can visit her again and show the seamstress her magic. she misses her dearly.

[therealmoonagedaydream]

updated cassidy reference sheet:) she will be on my artfight if anyone wants to attack my darling…

[cassidythemirror]

Hello Cassidy, just checking in to see how you're settling in

Sun Guard @sun-guard-and-guard-guard

‘oh! hello sun guard,’ cassidy smiles politely and shuts the book she’s reading. ‘i’m settling in well! although, i was wondering if you knew where i could possibly find maps of the countryside or the capital? the library is so big, i’m not sure which level they could be on, let alone which section or shelf…’

[cassidythemirror]

The Hatching

it’s been almost a week since cassidy’s second run-in with the doppelgänger, and the subsequent awakening of her magic. she hasn’t activated her powers since then- not consciously, at least. she did wake up to a crowd of her own eyes staring down at her the other night… she didn’t get to sleep so easily after that.

it’s early morning as she trudges through the hallways of the academy, cracked egg hugged safely to her chest and backpack stuffed with amethyst shards and lavender repurposed from the hatching campfire. it’s time to catch up with the rest of the academy. 

the ritual room is dim and devoid of students when she peers through the door. the teacher of this class isn’t here yet either, but that’s barely inconvenient. she just has to follow the instructions of the book the feles students gave her, right..? 

she sets the egg down carefully on the table in the centre of the room and begins preparing the ritual circle.

once every candle is flickering bravely and the amethyst, hay, and meat are arranged neatly, she takes a breath and places the egg down in the centre of the arrangement. it’s hard to pull back from it- since awakening, the cracks in the egg seem to pull at her fingertips like there are magnets beneath her skin. she tugs her hands away and the tingling sensation fades. she blows out a breath and strikes the flint and steel, stepping back as the sparks scatter onto the quartz altar and the room erupts in light.

when she lowers her arms from shielding her face, sitting on the altar table is… well, she supposes it could be called a dragon. it has scales, and lizard-y wings, and it certainly feels magical— but really, it looks more like a bird. she takes a cautious step closer and the bird-dragon (wyvern?) makes a distressed little chirrup noise that makes cassidy’s chest tighten. she rushes over and gathers it into her arms without thinking. a tingling sensation builds up under her skin—similar to how she felt before awakening, but warmer and more comfortable—and bubbles over into a feeling of safety as the wyvern tucks its beak into the hollow of her shoulder and chirps softly. home, her bones sing. this is what home feels like. 

she can’t tell if the thought is her own.

[ability awakened: Kaleidoscope]

[therealmoonagedaydream]

tiniest doodle of cassidy….. she’s so cutie