Born to human parents, raised in a human house, and living around humans all her life, Casey thought that she was human. What else could she be?
Casey grew up in northern Michigan, and as the only child to two parents who were desperate for a kid, it was easy to say that she was spoiled. She got what she wanted, she had much more than she needed, and she was greedy. But her parents gave in to her every demand without a second thought. She wanted a computer--she got a computer. She wanted a new doll--she got a new doll. She wanted more ice cream for dessert--well, her parents did put up some guidelines. Her room was full of toys and games, stuffed animals and coloring books. Though Casey was clearly privileged and spoiled, her parents loved her, and she loved them more than anything else.
In school, Casey had several friends who she would hang out with, many of them staying her friends well into high school. Parties, dances, sleep overs--it was everything Casey had hoped for and more. Considered one of the "popular girls," Casey spent a lot of time hanging out and having fun, enjoying all the attention she was getting. She couldn't have been happier with how her life was going.
A few weeks after her seventeenth birthday, Casey woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. Every bone in her body felt like it was breaking, her muscles felt like they were being ripped apart fiber by fiber. When she screamed in pain, desperate for help, the sound that came out of her mouth was an animalistic shriek. She screamed again, and the same sound came out. Her parents rushed into her room moments later, her father holding a bat. Her mother screamed, her father just stood there and stared.
That's when she finally noticed it--looking down at herself to try and see where the pain was coming from, Casey saw red and white fur, followed by a dark snout. Further down her body she saw whiskers and canine legs and a long, bushy tail. She wasn't...she wasn't human anymore. She was...a fox.
Casey can't remember anything after that, she must have passed out. When she woke up again, it was light out, probably midday, and she felt absolutely famished. Her mouth was dry as she sat up in her bed, a raging headache pounding at the back of her skull. Her pajamas must have been somewhere under her covers, because she wasn't wearing them anymore, but she didn't notice. Getting out of bed proved to be more difficult than she had intended--everything was spinning, every part of her was sore--but she managed to get to the door on wobbly legs eventually. Her hand rested in the cool metal of the doorknob and gave it a sharp twist--only for it not to budge. Frowning, she tried it again, but it still seemed stuck. So she tried it again, gripping it tightly, and twisted. There was a popping sound, and then the door opened.
Still groggy and in pain, and so very hungry, Casey went to the kitchen, not noticing that the house looked ransacked on her way there. She consumed nearly everything in the fridge--left overs, fruit, a jar of peanut butter. She also downed half a gallon of milk, followed by three cans of pop. Finally, her hunger and thirst had been quenched, and she could--Wait, why was the house a mess? Had someone broken in?
"Mom? Dad?"
No answer. Casey ran to their bedroom--they weren't there. Their closets and dresser were wide open and empty, as was the safe in the wall where they kept most of their savings. All important documents were gone. All of the pictures on the walls--gone. Out the front door, their cars were gone. In the back yard, there was a smoking pile of ash in their firepit, which Casey ran to to investigate. Tiny bits of blackened or browned paper remained, along with metal pegs that were...from a photo album? Casey picked up one of the singed pieces of paper to examine it closer in her hands.
'Certification of live bir...'
The paper slipped from between her fingers, back into the firepit. Her birth certificate. Her parents had burned her birth certificate, likely along with any other sort of legal documents pertaining to her. They had locked her in her room, grabbed their things, and abandoned her. The memories from the previous night came rushing back to her in a painful flood--screaming, pain, fur, tail, legs, fox--
Casey wasn't human anymore. She was something else.
An abomination.
Casey kind of just...sat outside, naked, by the firepit, for hours. Her whole life was turned upside down in the worst way possible. Her parents had abandoned her, she could turn into a fox, she had no record of who she was. Of course, her town still knew about her, she still had friends, there was no way her parents had erased records of her digitally, but could she stay? Was she safe to be around? Would she turn into a beast at any moment?
That night, after sitting outside well after it had gotten dark, Casey made up her mind.
Casey went inside, ate the rest of the food in the fridge, then packed her bags. She stuffed a duffel bag with as much clothing as she could, dug through her sock drawer until she found an old leather wallet full of cash--containing her birthday and Christmas money, along with some that she might have stolen from her parents, which she in no way regretted now--and filled a backpack with boxes and cans of food from the cupboards. Putting on a baggy outfit, raincoat, and sneakers, Casey walked out of the front door of her childhood home, and never looked back.
The next few months basically consisted of Casey walking, stealing, hiding, and discovering just what she was. A lot of the time she slept outside, even in the cold of winter, incase she changed into a fox in her sleep again. And, actually, she did. But she didn't just turn into a fox--she became a cat, a poodle, a hawk, a squirrel--all while she slept. It took her a while to figure out how she could change while she was awake, and the more she changed while she was awake, the less she did while she was sleeping. It was also far less painful than the first time she had changed. Now it was just uncomfortable, not scream-worthy agony.
Stealing was something she wasn't proud of, but Casey had to eat, and she had to eat a lot. Apparently after her first change, something about her physiology had changed internally as well. She could burn off food as fast as she could eat it. She stole food from convienient stores and clothes from thrift stores, just enough to keep herself reasonably clean and fed. Sometimes she would actually make a purchase, if there was something she wanted that was too difficult to steal, or she just felt too bad about being a theif. She was already a monster, she didn't want to be a major criminal, too. The cash that she had taken with her from her former home was tightly sealed away in a jar, being saved for the right time. And finally, finally that time came nearly two years after she had first turned into a fox.
{A couple of months before her nineteenth birthday, there was a used car place that she came across that was having a going-out-of-business sale, and Casey jumped on the chance to get a car. Her jar with nearly three thousand dollars in it--she kept a few hundred in her bag just in case--was handed over for any car of her choosing in the lot. There weren't that many, and even fewer that were actually worth the money she paid, but she found a simple sedan that was ass-ugly and rusty but drove well, had all its windows, and the doors could lock. She drove it off the lot before having the chance to do any paper work, but she didn't care. She finally didn't have to sleep outside anymore! She had a radio and air conditioner and heater that only partially worked but it was good enough for her.
Finally, one year after that, she found a job. At the age of twenty, Casey got hired as a busboy in a small-town bar that didn't ask for the papers she didn't have and only paid her in cash, but you bet your ass that she worked her ass off cleaning the place spotless every damn night. Her boss quickly stopped giving her free meals after seeing how much she ate, paid her cash at the end of each week, and eventually got her a uniform, too. Finally, she didn't have to steal anymore, she had a place to sleep away from the cold, and she knew how to control her abilities. Still, Casey had no idea what she was or where she had come from, and she missed her parents even after they abandoned her, but with a job and a running car, she felt...human again.}
EDITING
Current Life
{Now, at twenty-three years old, Casey still works at that same bar, in that same small town, with that same old car. Now as a bartender instead of a busboy, she made more money, money that she finally got as a paycheck with some...possibly forged documents that might have also been used to get her a bank account and an apartment. Her savings is going towards getting a newer car and paying rent, and she feels happy again. Of course, she didn't think anything would ever make her as happy as her childhood, but she tried not to think about that. Her parents left her, and she left that part of her life behind the day she turned into an animal in her bedroom. Done were the dreams of going to school and becoming a doctor, in were the dreams of being able to get enough groceries and afford rent at the same time.
Almost every night or early morning, Casey would run in the woods in one of her animal forms, allowing her to sleep more soundly at night so she wouldn't change. Because there was always the chance that she'd wake up as an animal, she never dated, not even a one night stand. It was far too risky. So she remains single, her only friends being her coworkers, who she never spent time with outside of work. It was easy to say that her life was lonely, because it was, but Casey would rather be alive and lonely than experimented on for what she was.}
EDITING
Other Information
Casey's favorite animal to become is still a fox. She had no idea why that was the first form she had turned into, or why she liked it so much--hell, she never really cared about foxes as a kid--but it's still her favorite. As far as she knows, Casey can turn into any animal she visually knows the body of well enough. She had just see a single image of an animal she's never heard of and suddenly become that animal, she usually has to see that animal in person. Mamals and birds are also the animals she can turn into. Reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects are a no-go, only giving her a headache whenever she tries. Because apparently when you're a shapeshifting abomination, you still have rules you need to follow.
||Still editing||
{Face Claim: Luca Hollestelle}
NOTICE: A lot of shit is going on, we all know this. I'm having trouble sticking to consistency at the moment but I do still want to write. I'm trying to get back to people timely but that's just not happening as often as I want it to. And I apologize for any inconvenience that caused.
Comments
[ Hey there. I know I already sent out a message to everyone (including you) but I wanted to say to you directly I'm very sorry for canceling our thread. I did not make this decision lightly, nor was it easy to make. This was a conclusion I reached after constant, frequent problems with motivation and creativity over the last several months. It's my hope that starting fresh with a brand new character will fix that issue. Even though we didn't finish the story with Casey and Brian, I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did.
If you still want to write together in the future, please let me know. I would be more than happy to save a spot for you. Hope you're doing well! ]
(Well, I don't have much for Eivor at the moment besides what is currently on the profile. Besides her SW background, her job is unknown and she goes missing for long periods of time for siad unknown job. I'm thinking a UC for the New York detectives but I haven't quite gotten there yet. She does however live on an acutal ship, think pirate wise but every upgraded and reinforced to outlive a lot of things..)
(Good very early morning, lol, no problem and I would love to write :) )
[ Great! I didn't have anything specific I'm afraid, but I have often written plots where Rey comes to Earth either by trying to escape the First Order or her ship has a crash-landing. We could have her land suddenly in a forest somewhere, and maybe Casey is there as a Fox or one of her other animal forms and we can maybe go from there? Feel free to add any ideas you might have! It's not set in stone :) ]
(Hello! Thank you for the invite.)
[ Hello there! Very neat profile and character. I was wondering if you would be interested in plotting sometime? ]
Needless to say, Brian was very surprised when Doctor Morris saw him again so quickly. Surprised, but also very relieved that he could see Casey again so soon.
Brian immediately stood up from his seat and followed Morris back to Casey's room. He wondered if Casey was all right. Why was she asking for him? Had something happened? He supposed he would know soon enough.
It was a relief to see that Casey appeared to be okay and was just being checked on. Brian wished he could say something that would comfort her, but with the nurse and the doctor right there in the same room, there really wasn't much he could do. In fact, he actually found himself looking away from Casey, especially when the doctor started asking her questions. He didn't want to distract Casey in any way, so he would stay silent for now, unless he felt the need to say something. Which he eventually did when he noticed how nervous she was becoming. He heard the rapid beeping of the heart monitor and suddenly felt the need to speak up in her defense.
"Uh...doctor? She's been through a pretty bad shock....could you maybe...go a little easy on her? With the questions, I mean?" Brian asked in concern, as politely as he could. Perhaps it was not the wisest thing to say, but Brian feared that if Morris continued pressing these questions on Casey, she would panic and become even more uneasy than she already was.
And if she panicked, she might make a mistake....or say the wrong thing.
Brian nodded, turning to give Casey one last reassuring look before he shifted towards the door and then opened it quietly, slipping out discreetly so that he didn't bring too much attention to himself.
He hoped that he would be allowed to visit Casey again soon. It was hard to leave her knowing how panicked and afraid she was, but Brian didn't have much of a choice. He didn't even consider the state of mind she was in, or that she had even thought about "repaying" him in such a way. Such an offer would be flatly refused by Brian or any form of currency for that matter.
He had helped Casey because he cared about her. Because she was one of the few people in this world that he could genuinely call a friend. There was no need for her to pay him back in any way.
Not knowing what else to do or where else to go, Brian returned to the waiting area and sat down. He sighed heavily, running his hands nervously through his hair. He was relieved to finally see Casey, but he knew this place wasn't good for her.
The sooner the two of them could get out of here, the better. But for now, all he could really do was wait. Wait and hope that Casey would be discharged soon so they could finally leave this place behind.
"Mmm for whenever it is your birthday. You adorable Vulpine"
At first, Brian couldn't understand why Casey didn't recognize him right away. He briefly wondered if maybe she had suffered some kind of amnesia due to what she had been through. But it soon became clear that she was still in panic mode and therefore didn't understand what was going on. At least not yet. But he could see now as her eyes adjusted to the room and to his face, she was beginning to calm down a bit.
Brian sighed in relief. "Yes...that's...that's good enough. Just say exactly that and you'll be fine." He said with a faint smile.
"Casey, I promise you...we'll leave as soon as we can. You just have to stay for a little bit longer...and then we can go." Brian promised firmly but gently. It was all too clear that hospitals made Casey uncomfortable, but they didn't have much of a choice right now. If they didn't stay and cooperate, for just a little bit longer...they would be under a lot of suspicion and would then be in even more trouble than they already were.
However, Brian was beginning to form a back-up plan in his mind. If everything failed, if everything went to shit...he had a plan. He knew of a safe place they could both go until this all blew over. But for now, he kept this to himself. He would tell Casey eventually but now was not the time. He had to get back to the waiting room before anyone realized he was missing.
"I have to go back now...I'm sorry. Just...tell them what I said and everything will be okay. You'll be okay, Casey..." He assured again in a gentle voice as he slowly let go of her hand and turned back towards the door.