Personality

Cait has many personality traits that are common among felines, and just like cats there's parts of his personality that seems to contradict itself. While he often acts on curiosity and whims, he goes about it in a fairly logical manner (or at least in a way that's logical to him). He likes to observe before acting, which often means following people/things around either veiled by invisibility or taking the shape of a creature/person that would otherwise go unnoticed. Around people he is used to and comfortable with, he comes across as pretty cheerful and downright playful. He tends to work well with others, quickly adapting to the tactics of those about him. He acts in the interests of others for the most part, though sometimes the actions he takes might not be very popular. He is slow to trust others, and tends to be aloof when it comes to matters of his background.

Abilities

• Veils: Cait is able to create illusions, an inherent ability shared by all of his kind. He can use these illusions to become invisible to the naked eye, to conjure the image of people/objects/creatures, or to alter the area about him. Handy for concealing his presence/the presence of others, or for causing a chaotic distraction.

• Shapeshifting: Cait's natural from is that of a black and violet striped Cheshire cat, but his shapeshifting ability allows him to change his appearance to whatever he chooses, including the cat boy form he uses for hero work. Human, animal, mineral, it doesn't matter so long as he knows what it looks like. The more intimate he is with the subject he's changing into, the more accurate the shapeshift. He's capable of taking on any gender he chooses, but more often than not he tends to stick to male gender.

• Feline Agility: True to his cat heritage, Cait is very nimble no matter what form he's in. His movements are fluid, graceful, and quick. This comes in handy when he needs to dodge incoming attacks. He's also very flexible, able to twist about in midair and -- you guessed it -- land on his feet.

• Feline Senses: Cait has the senses of a cat, though some of those may be dulled depending on what shape he's in. His sense of hearing is greater than that of a dog's or a human's if he's in a form where he can have his cat ears, allowing him to hear up to ultrasonic sounds. His heightened sense of smell is unchanged no matter what form he's in. His sense of touch really only applies if he's in feline form, since like any other cat, he uses his whiskers to navigate in cramped, enclosed spaces. His vision is definitely greater than that of a humans, no matter the from he's in. By dilating his pupils, he's able to get an almost panoramic view, giving him unfairly heightened peripheral vision. He also has superior night vision. About the only advantages he doesn't have comes in the form of a terrible sense of taste (he has far fewer taste buds than humans do) and the fact that he has a blind spot about 4-5 inches in front of him (so he may miss things that are right under his nose).

• Spellcasting: Cait has an inherent talent for spellcasting. He has offensive, defensive, and healing spells in his arsenal, allowing him to adapt to the needs of any given situation. Smaller scale spells take little time to cast, and can be done with simple gestures. Large and more potent spells take time, focus and preparation in order to cast them successfully.

• Portals: Cait wears an azeztulite pendant on a thin chain around his neck, which allows him to travel between Faerie and other dimensions as needed by creating small portals. Without the pendant, he's pretty much stuck.

Weaknesses

• Iron: This metal is poisonous to most if not all fae, and certainly something that is harmful to Cait Sith. While much older cheshire cats eventually develop a bit of a resistance to iron, Cait is young and thus has not built up those resistances. Symptoms of iron poisoning include: general weakness, confusion, erratic behavior, excessive sleepiness, shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, coma, and seizures. The severity really depends on the point of exposure and the length of exposure. A nick from an iron nail will likely induce the milder symptoms, whereas being impaled by an iron spike or chained in iron for a long time would probably induce the more severe symptoms. Removing the source of iron will allow him to recover on his own.

• True Name: Common of most magical creatures. Knowledge of a cheshire cat's True Name means having a measure of power over them. Such knowledge in the hands of a magic practitioner means that the person can evoke the cheshire cat's name and basically compel him into obedience. For this reason, Cait is not so quick to provide people with his True Name. The only way out of service under these conditions is for the practitioner to not only release Cait from service, but to swear a Binding Oath that they will never evoke his True Name again. Breaking a Binding Oath can lead to harmful backlash, so generally it wouldn't be something willing broken.

• Oaths: Oaths are pretty serious business among the Fae. As such, breaking oaths is not something taken lightly. For this reason, you can pretty much guarantee that if Cait takes an oath, he will follow it to the letter, not so much out of a sense of honor and more to do with being sound business practice. While Cait has not taken any oaths, his family has. Since he is a prince of cats, he is duty bound to make good an oaths his father has made. Anybody smell a plot device here? I hope so!

• Cat: As much as being a cat is a strength, it is also a weakness. He's prone to the same sorts of things that would affect a cat, especially if he's in his true from. Can anybody say catnip?

• Jack of All Trades, Master of None: While Cait can cast a variety of offensive, defensive and healing spells, he's really about on average in terms of power and potency. Against folks that have full focus in those areas, he ranks as just about average.

Equipment

• Azeztulite Pendant: This pendant doesn't look out of the ordinary, able to be passed off as just a piece of ordinary jewelry. The magic within the crystal, however, allows him to pass between dimensions. This is his only means of going to and from Faerie. The pendant and chain it is attached to adjust in size when he shapeshifts.

• Communicator: Cait was given a communicator when he joined the Progeny. When he shapeshifts, he uses magical means to ensure that the device is secured on his person. In fact, when in cat form, he tends to make it take on the shape of a collar.

Backstory

Cait Sith was born under the glassy dome of Faerie. The 13th of the King of Cats, one would think he was born to the trappings that come from being born to royalty. Truth be told though, King Irusan, one of the oldest Cheshire cats in existence, is a self-proclaimed king. Under his rule, the Cheshire cats became organized (or as organized as a collective of cats are going to get) as a group. Upon building his base of power in the beached wreckage of a ship along the shore, he single-handedly managed to negotiate an accord with the various factions of Faerie. Thanks to Irusan, the Cheshire cats gained the reputation as heralds. Unfortunately, to attain such status, many deals had to be made. Cait Sith and his 12 siblings are bound by the oaths made by their father. And Cait would not be alone among his siblings who felt that this was a raw deal. It was the feeling of being bound by something that was done long before he was born that led Cait to wander. His older brother Pangur, sensing perhaps the same restlessness that he once felt, gifted him a pendant made of azeztulite, which would allow him to travel between Faerie and the mortal world whenever he wished, without the need of finding a nexus. The young Cheshire, eager to explore, eager to be free, accepted the gift and took his first foray in the human world.

Cait emerged into the modern world in Millennium City. For a few years, he haunted the streets, masking himself as just a regular cat. While it would be a stretch to say he became savvy to human ways, he did learn enough that he was able to navigate through the city. He observed, and eventually he went on to interact with the people he came across. Sometimes he played the part of stray cat, other times he tried (and failed) at passing himself off as human. He had (and still has) issues in hiding all of his feline features, so at best he was able to fit in with groups of cosplayers and a few clubs that overlooked that sort of thing. Considering how many heroes worked in and around Millennium City, he came across caped heroes on occasion. He didn’t really feel the push to join the ranks of heroes until one fateful night at Swing, a new teen club in the city. He and other superpower teens worked together to thwart the assassination of an alien princess. Cait found that there was this…sense of satisfaction that came from using his abilities to help others, to render aid with no strings attached. And he found that he really liked it.

Cait went on to join the teen heroes he encountered at the club in forming The Progeny. While the group is in its infancy, this young Cheshire cat feels that he has found a place among them. He is continuing to use his abilities to help his teammates, and to help the people of Westside. Time will tell if he will continue on this path, or if his whims will lead him elsewhere.

Affiliations

• The Progeny: Cait Sith joined the Progeny in July 2015. The group was formed after a night at a teen club turned violent. Several heroic teens, including Cait, rose to the occasion to put a stop to an alien assassination attempt. He's not sure what the future holds for himself within the group, but he's awfully curious to find out!

Friends

• Pangur: Pangur is one of Cait's many older siblings, and certainly the one he is closest to. Like Cait, Pangur also has a fondness for mortals. He is quite old, and possibly was the cat that inspired the Irish poem "The scholar and his cat, Pangur Bán." He checks in with Cait now and again to see how he's doing.

Foes

• Taghairm: Taghairm is the eldest of Irusan's sons, and is likely the source of most, if not all, stories of cats being associated with demons. This Cheshire cat seems to feed on chaos and destruction, and those who deal with Taghairm generally meet an untimely demise. The ancient Scottish method of calling upon the dead is named for this gruesome cat. He misled many a mortal into roasting cats alive as part of one version of the ritual, with the hopes of being granted whatever they desired. Irusan has banned him from his kingdom, and it is believed that he has made his home somewhere in the Astral Realm. When little Cheshire kittens misbehave, it is Taghairm's name that is brought up in stories to make them behave. While is oldest brother isn't specifically a foe of his, it is no secret that Taghairm would like to get back at his father. What better way than through his heirs.

Soundtrack

"The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland Soundtrack)" by Danny Elfman

Gallery

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  References for Cait Sith's cat boy look

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  Group shot of the Progeny (Cait seen lower right). Art by Zearny

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  Art by Marlidona

RP Hooks

• Do you come from Faerie or are familiar with the denizens of that realm? Chances are you know about the King of Cats, Cait's father!

• Cheshire cats are essentially magical faerie cats, so if you have a background in magic you probably would recognize what Cait is.

• Does the King of Cats owe you a favor? Then it's possible that Cait might have to fulfill the obligations of his father's oath! (Please message me on the CORP forums if interested.)

Miscellaneous

• Cait Sith's face claim is Jake Abel.

Comments

Have you worked with Cait Sith before? Leave a comment below!

"How cool is it that cats are my favorite animals and we have one on the team? He's like all mystical and stuff though but oddly TOTALLY down to earth. I'm thinking about setting him up on a date with Miss Pussycakes, their babies would be A-DOR-A-BLE!!!" - Lash

"I don't like cats. And I hate magic. But this particular furball's alright. He gets me. Don't ask me how or why." - Kid Ballistic

"Miao." - Miss Pussycakes

"Would've been good if someone had given me a head's up about the talkin' cat in our base. I'm still not quite convinced that Cait Sith and Miss Pussycakes aren't in league with eachother." - Black Ice

"He's a cat. Like, a talking cat that does magic. I guess stranger things have happened? I'll let you know when I figure one out." - Maverick

"I cannot put my finger on it, but I like him. He worked well under pressure the first time I met him, first impressions and all. Dresses a bit gaudy for my taste but hey, I'm not a catman." - Cobalt Crush

"He is soooo awesome! A cat guy! I thought there were only catgirls? But he's totally cool knows magic." - Heartbeat