Cadence "Piper" Howell | Criminal ●

[Piper Howell]

Name: Cadence Marie “Piper” Howell Age: 17 Gender: Female Sexuality: Bisexual Faction: Criminal Occupation: Pick Pocket for the Circus Playby: PANDORA HEARTS, Alice Baskerville Traits Positive Actress Quick Thinking Assertive Incredibly Resilient Playful Brave Extrovert Negative Superficial Rough Flippant Restless Immoral Overconfidence Gluttonous -The girl does what she wants. History The eighth daughter of a Wales pastor and his wife, Cadence was born second to her twin sister, Harmony. The large family welcomed new members as they had the children before, but the familial hierarchy had long since been established, and by default Cadence and her sister were at the bottom of the totem pole. From Cadence’s earliest memories, she recanted how her elder siblings often either picked on or ignored her and her sister for being the babies, and while their mother tried to defend and care for the girls, more often than not, she was busy trying to manage the household as a whole. Her father was just as busy trying to balance a family and a congregation. Cadence learned from an early age that she was expected to care for herself, and chores were assigned from the moment she could walk. Despite this, it would instill a mature mindset in her and acknowledgment of hard work relatively early on in comparison to the rest of her peers. She would even treat it as a game and would quickly grow into a competitive feisty child. Despite Christianity being practically pounded into every aspect of her life, little Cadence didn’t connect to it in the way some children did. She felt almost ostracized by it at times when her father used it to validate his own decisions and words, and as she grew, the girl grew a natural contempt for it as well. Public school gave her a weapon against theology early on, and she found that if nothing else would get her any attention, she could win it by starting an argument over the dinner table. It would be a family controversy for years how the little girl naturally played devil’s advocate, and none of her father’s rebukes ever stuck in the girl. She’d just come up with something else to say back. Her naturally imaginative personality also turned into a weapon this way as she asked outlandish questions in order to undermine her father’s words and comments. To say the least, she wasn’t his favorite daughter, and that was clear even to his congregation. On Sundays, Cadence was often asked to sit in the nursery than attend the actual service, and as she grew, what was initially an annoyance became a minor haven. Meanwhile, Harmony was much like their sisters before her or so Cadence felt. She was quiet, sympathetic, sweet, and otherwise without fault in the eyes of a lot of people, and to say the least, the younger of the sisters was jealous. Her sister could do no wrong, and in time it felt like Cadence could do no right. What had started as her way to get attention had ostracized her from the family, and as years passed, Cadence only continued to feel different from them all. She was not lady like but wasn’t accepted by her brothers when she wanted to play with them. Most of the church took her at face value and always called her a child, and it frustrated the girl. Even among other peers at school, she just didn’t feel like she ever really fit in like everyone else. In response, Cadence rebelled and became even more foreign to her family and perhaps herself. Despite this, or possibly because of it, Cadence did relatively well in school. While she couldn’t match her peers in socialness, she could outdo them in learning capacity. She was not just a fast learner but someone with a goal of outdoing and outwitting everyone she met, and despite being so young, she grasped the idea that information was power rather early on. She loved practical things and developed logician understanding rather soundly, much to the frustration of those she used it again. To most, she was a brat with a toy that she used to smack others in the face with— and she did do that too. Just because she was pretty bright didn’t mean she focused solely on the books. She still liked trying to ‘kick arse’ in whatever sports and games were put to her. To everyone who knew her, she was a brash, rough around the edges girl with a mouth of a sailor and a kick that smarted when she didn’t get her way. However, in fourth grade, Cadence would make her first actual friend. His name was Revis (and she teased him incessantly over that name until he insisted on the nickname Revy), and he was a transfer student from America. Perhaps because he didn’t know her history, perhaps because he didn’t really know Wales at all, they got along surprisingly well. He was fun, a bit of a dork, but a good person. While he didn’t rise to her fighty personality, he tolerated her, and that was good enough for her. She dragged him everywhere around the town having some great fun in those years. Cadence brightened quite a lot, but her attachment to her family waned. She no longer argued with their father just to get him to acknowledge her and slipped out of the eyes of the congregation for the most part. She had other places to be on a bright Sunday. Growing up was difficult for Cadence. She was the least developed of all of her class more often than not, and for some damn reason this incited teasing. Her peers should have known she wouldn’t hold back or cry for them, but when she jumped a boy and broke his nose and jaw, it became clear she wasn’t going to tolerate it. From there, Cadence amassed a strange following of …perhaps bully wasn’t the exact term but the general idea for such a girl as her. She dragged Revy along forcefully as well, and it seemed he was changing along with her growing from blind apathetic to bold. They were ‘tolerable hooligans’ as their teachers called them, and most expected they’d eventually grow out of it all or something similar. Cadence was fourteen when the circus came into town, and like many children, she wanted to go. Her parents, however, didn’t have money to be spending on everyone going to see the show. She was irritated and huffy about being in such a large family when Revy her to go with him and his family. Apparently they had an extra ticket because his mom was having to work the day they were going to see the show, and she was his good friend after all. Cadence pounced on the opportunity faster than a jack rabbit on a date. Before she knew it, they were off and having a lot of fun. However, at some point, she would be separated from the group and find herself wandering the area uncertainly. She didn’t have money for any booths, having relied on Revis’s parents to pay for things at the circus, and when cotton candy caught her eye, she tried to flitch one. She’d end up in a running chase between herself and the cotton candy person and end up going tripping into one of the tents. There, she’d meet a man who seemed to know exactly what she was doing, and no amount of excuses she tried to come up with on the spot didn’t change the situation. Cadence huffingly “apologized” that the food prices were so high and that she had no job with which to pay for such rates…. And actually earned a laugh. It surprised her, really. She wasn’t expecting someone to be humored by her— nor was she expecting the comment that came after that made her laugh in response. Eventually both were just laughing, and she found she could appreciate such a whacky adult— kinda, sorta, maybe. Hell, he even let her keep the cotton candy she’d swiped saying it was a prize for her speed in running. Cadence couldn’t remember the last time an adult had ever complimented her, and she liked it way too much— though her way of showing appreciation was to try and swipe something, anything, off of him. Perhaps she was trying to prove she was worth the compliment, perhaps she did it just for a thrill, Cadence doesn’t know now, but when the man successfully stopped her and instead swiped her cotton candy, she was made to jump for it before it was finally handed back to her. The man asked if she had fun, and on second thought, Cadence had to admit… it was pretty fun. He asked a bit about her, and more due to her comfort level with him than anything else, she admitted quite a bit more than she probably should have. What she didn’t expect was that he’d offer her a chance to come along. If she didn’t feel like she belonged at home living a boring life, maybe her talents of sorts could be used elsewhere. He said she didn’t have to and made it very clear it was her choice before explaining the circus was leaving in about a week and shooing her on. She eventually found and left with Revy though even he noticed she was thinking about something quite a lot. When he asked her what was wrong, however, she waved him off saying it was nothing. Cadence thought a lot about the proposition. She didn’t want to be stuck in Wales forever or in a family that she still couldn’t fit in to. Sure she had friends of sorts there, the hooligan group she’d amassed and Revy, of course. However, what would that mean years later? She’d still be stuck at Wales presumably living at home. She’d probably be put to work doing some menial job to support her elder siblings in college, and at the end of the day, she’d just be a face in the crowd. That was how she felt, anyways. Maybe if she went with them, someday she’d be a well-known face, a well-known name. Maybe somehow she’d be more important, more distinct from anyone else, if somehow she got to center stage— or ya know, she could just leave the circus while traveling and find somewhere new to live, somewhere more exciting than Wales. Either way, the more she thought on it, the more she wanted it. It took a couple days for Cadence to slowly get her things together. She was more terrified than she would admit to being in running away, but it was also exciting. She relished the idea of being gone form their lives, of being perhaps even missed. It made her feel powerful, and she wanted it. Her sister noticed she was acting weird but didn’t say anything from what Cadence could tell. It was only the night Cadence was about to leave that her sister came in unexpectedly. They exchanged quiet words, quieter promises, and Harmony turned out to be the one to see her sister off, giving her a pocket watch Harmony had received from their father the year before to ‘remember her by’. The last words spoken were a simple “you can always come home” before both girls parted ways. That night, Cadence left a letter to Revis in a hiding place they both knew about and left for the circus. They welcomed her more than she had ever felt before. Cadence cut and dyed her hair and started dressing masculine. It was supposedly the easiest way to insure those who came looking for a girl would be thrown off. One of the circus folk started introducing her as their son Peyton when someone asked questions. She worked in second string, mostly helping set up and take down, yet accompanied by this, the girl learned the various acts of the circus. Her favorites were the high wire and acrobatic acts, and though she was somewhat scared to try initially, she eventually did surprisingly well. Her sense of balance had always been pretty strong, and it allowed Cadence to learn quickly. While she was never put into the acts of first string, she enjoyed downtime “play” such as that. The circus became a stronger family to her than she had ever felt before, and the “games” they played to earn a bit more cash would soon become her art. As a year passed and people stopped looking directly for a girl, Cadence allowed her hair to grow out again and began to dress more femininely again. She’d never been comfortable as ‘Peyton’, and it was mentioned girls could get away with things easier than boys anyways. She still dyed her hair and went by the name Piper rather than her given name. A “cute” act would develop as she grew more manipulative in situations where she couldn’t just get away with pickpocketing, and she did what she could to look younger and thus more innocent quite often. At fifteen, she looked easily thirteen, and thankfully she didn’t grow too tall. Her ‘act’ of sorts got stronger as she aged, and Piper didn’t even realize at some point she didn’t even regard what she was doing as stealing. It was just a way of life in order to see the world around her. It was a way to maintain her freedom and do what she wanted. That was it. She’d never felt so liberated and wouldn’t glance back. Ever still, each month, Piper would find a town phone to call in to her sister at their specified date and time. They kept in touch, exchanged happenings, but their conversations were never over five minutes in time. By way of ear Piper learned that Revis had disappeared from home and that no one knew where he was going or why. She’d also learn their parents were pretty sure she was dead. Piper never knew how to feel about that but said it was ‘good’ each time her sister asked if she was ok about it. It was better for them not to search for her; that was what she had wanted. She wanted them to mourn. Her sister wanted to tell their parents time and time again, but Piper threatened to cut ties with her each time, and eventually she stopped asking altogether. If it was one thing Harmony had going for her, it was that she could keep promises kept, or so Piper felt. They continued traveling, and the circus eventually changed hands. Piper was a little upset the former owner was gone from their lives, but at the very least she sorta respected the new one. He was not an outsider or anything, after all. She followed on with the circus without doubt as before though as they left for America, she became aware it would be more difficult to keep in touch outside of Europe. She made a few arrangements before they left across seas. Just as they were about to leave again, however, a certain Revis showed up again. Piper was startled to see him and even more so how quickly he recognized her. He said he’d been trying to track her down for a while to say the least… and had his own dark adventures along the way. They swapped stories, and eventually he decided to come with taking on a job as a second string after her recommendation and such. Leaving thereafter, they wound up in Georgia. Piper had fun with Revis around, and she realized how much she missed him. However, the day before they were supposed to continue their travels, the event occurred. Piper nearly lost it at being possibly ‘trapped’ and screeched at the god when he approached and started offering her stuff. She was… afraid, much more than she ever realized she was. She wished to be free, but what that actually amounted to was a small boost in her evasive power / agility that she wouldn’t even notice. She would, however, noticed the insignia on her palms and the passive that would take the form of a stuffed rabbit thereafter. Insignia Level 1 The insignia mark is in the form of a circle tattoo on both of her palms. Piper wears gloves more often than not to keep them hidden. Force Field Miming- level 1 - By acting out the motions and movements that a mime would when doing a show, Piper is capable of creating invisible walls up to fifty feet around herself. These walls have the consistency and the visibility of plexiglass. For this reason, it’s easy to not see one and walk right into it if one isn’t looking for it. By manipulating her hand movements to depict the size and shape of a wall, Piper is capable of making them surprisingly small or about as tall as herself (about five foot). While she can make a number of these at a time, her time limit is shorter than most insignias at only five minute intervals. After that, they will disappear. They will also dissipate also if she’s out of range of them. She may use her power up to three times a day and not in succession. Being like plexiglass, the walls are capable of being broken, but if they are shattered, she has a high probability of fainting. Her passive takes the form of a stuffed rabbit that is to a certain extent sentient. They have a metal link to the point if she sets him down somewhere, closes her eyes, and thinks about where he’s at, she can see through his ‘eyes’ for short intervals of time. He also sometimes makes very quiet comments in her head. He is otherwise not mobile or anything more than pretty sturdy being able to put up with wear and tear. Extra Partially because Piper is a real name, she uses it both inside and outside of the circus. She also responds to Peyton a bit if said in the right voice. Calling her Cadence or Caddie will get someone hit. She can be bribed with food or sweets. Her favorite food is meat. She’s been kissed before but has also broken several bones for it. She enjoys a good prank. She knows swear words in numerous languages but otherwise she only speaks English. OOC OOC Name: Nai How did you find us?: the force Other Characters: ---

[Neko]

Accepted!! Great job, put your profile link in your mini profile and put your claims in the Face Claims and the Directory!