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Cassie Graves

23

female

Cassie is 5'5 with an average build; not skinny but not fat either. She has wavy light brown hair that reaches just below her shoulders. That hair is usually either in a low ponytail or living free and in the wild because Cassie couldn't care less as long as she looks decent. She does, however, like any type of braid, she's just too lazy to actually braid her hair. For her eyes, she has slightly large, almond shaped, greenish hazel eyes.

Cassie is definitely on the shy side when it comes to personality. But that shyness is stemmed from her insecurities, so who can blame her for not wanting to talk to others? Why make an effort if you're just going to second guess every word you say, every action you do? Despite this mentality of thinking, Cassie longs for connection and happiness. And if you manage to break through her walls? You'll see a joyful and playful soul whose ready to joke around and be silly just because you can.

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Cassie is also kind, caring and patient(for the most part). If she isn't too scared to do so, she'll always make sure to help out where she can. Need a meal to eat or a place to sleep? If Cassie trusts you, she'll give you those things in a heartbeat without wanting anything in return. Afterall, that's what she would want someone to do for her.

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Now onto her downsides - As I said before, Cassie overthinks. Alot. But that's not all. Cassie tends to lack any motivation at all, especially ever since her brother died. There's so many things she wants to do, but she just can't seem to ever actually do it. She's usually either too tired or just too... unmotivated. She only works because, well, she rather not starve to death, thank you.

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Oh, and she also happens to be a sucker for funny people ;)

Cassie doesn't really remember her parents. They died when she was only five. But that was okay, because she had a big brother to give her the love she deserved, even when the pair had nothing in terms of money and possessions. Adam, her big brother, was all she needed to be happy. They were five years apart, but they were inseparable. That's why when her brother died at the age of twenty-four Cassie lost alot of self. Now she needs someone who will remind her what it's like to truly live

Cassie adores almost every animal on this planet. As long as it won't bite her, she'll love it to death.

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The item that gave Cassie shifter abilities is a cute little cat necklace. You guessed it, because of the item, she can have cat ears and a tail. Later, she finds out she can shift into a full blown cat if she really wants to.

https://postimg.cc/mtRqfky4

The crackle of the radio startled the young man awake, his eyes fluttering as he sat up with a stifled yawn. Most had a blaring alarm for their morning routine, but the crackle of the radio telling him what the weather was going to be like was his alarm. It was good enough and routine enough that he always woke up for the noise.

As he shuffled around his room, throwing on clothes that he had picked out the day before, Nolian glanced toward the window of his apartment. The sky was clear and blue, light fluffy clouds dotting the distant horizon tinged with faint orange and lingering yellow from the early sunrise.

Nolian stifled a yawn, rubbing his face as he made his way into the bathroom, combing through his hair to help achieve his signature look. It wouldn't stay like that for long but it was there while he had it. His eyes flicked over his reflection, adjusting the collar on his shirt, fixing his belt to be centered and then made his way back out.

As the noise of the radio shifted into a song, Nolian's whistle echoed through the different rooms as he prepared a quick breakfast for himself. A bagel. A bagel. He had forgotten to grab anything else the day prior and figured he'd have time after work to stop by the grocery store and pick something else up.

His foot caught the pantry door, swinging it closed as he bounced with the music. His footsteps were light and loose as he skipped into his room, turned the radio off and headed outside. Lucky enough for him, the thrift store wasn't too far away from the apartment and walking there was not a big deal.

He had finished the bagel by the time Nolian pushed the door open, jingling the bell hanging just over the doorway. The front cashier looked up, prepared to tell someone else that they weren't open yet but gave Nolian a lopsided smile. "Early today?"

"Guess so," Nolian chirped, a giddy smile on his face as he made his through the store and into the back.

Cassie grumbled as her alarm clock, which had no business being so loud, started yelling at her. Was it really eight thirty already? With a dramatic grunt, she pushed herself up into a sitting position before groggily turning off the alarm. Let's see... today was, Tuesday, right? Well, it didn't matter, because whatever day it was, the fact that Cassie had to get up didn't change.

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After throwing on a random but baggy blouse and jeans, brushing her hair and eating breakfast, Cassie was more or less ready for the day. But that didn't stop her from yawning sleepily and wanting to crawl back into bed. Unfortunately, she had already dragged her feet so much so that she had to get going or she would be late for work.

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With one last longing look at her comfy bed, Cassie stepped out of her small, one bedroom apartment and into the fresh air. It was a relatively nice day, which made the young woman feel a little bit better about leaving her safe haven. She still wasn't thrilled about work, mind you. The nice weather just let her enjoy her morning a tiny bit.

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Ten minutes later, Cassie arrived at her destination. However, just as she was about to walk in, she heard a faint cry of some kind. Too intrigued not to look, Cassie made a detour to the alleyway beside the thrift shop. After a quick inspection, Cassie found the source of the sound. A mother cat and some kittens were hanging around the dumpsters. Cassie's expression immediately softened as she watched the group.

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Who knows how long later, Cassie finally forced herself to head back to where she was supposed to be. But as soon as she stepped into the thrift store, her boss was there, frowning at her. "Where were you? You're five minutes late." Oops. Apparently she had lost track of time watching the cats. "Sorry." Cassie mumbled, averting her gaze so she didn't have to face the glare her boss was giving her.

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With a sigh and a wave of a hand, Cassie was silently told to get to work. With no reason to do otherwise, she went to the back of the store. There, Cassie was met with a big smile. How Nolian could be so happy at work was beyond Cassie. That was partly why she did her best to just... avoid him. If she wasn't careful, she knew Nolian would probably be happy to talk her ear off. Atleast, that was the vibe Cassie had gotten from watching Nolian from afar.

Nolian had donned a pair of gloves already and hefted a bag onto the table he was going to be sorting on. The pile of clothing was well folded already and a part of him felt bad for having to take everything out just to inspect it and put it in another bag or a cart or whatnot... but he really didn't have much of a choice. Everything needed to be sorted through.

Some of it was fantastic, in mint condition. Some of the pieces had small holes or little stains--things that disqualified it from being sold in that tiny store. They had bags that would go out to different charities with those items. Things that could still be worn, be used, but not sold.

He glanced back toward the doorway, spotting Cassie and flashed her a brighter smile.

"Got quite a bit of work for us today," Nolian chirped and gestured to the room with a sweep of his head. That was, surprisingly, all he said for the time being.

He hummed along to the radio occasionally, lightweight, bouncing on his feet and seeming to enjoy himself. Bags upon bags of clothing were sorted. It was a mix between summer and spring clothing that he was setting in carts to go out to the front. Winter and fall clothing--which wasn't in high demand--was put in boxes to store along the back wall.

He shook his head, a warm smile etched in his expression. He didn't seem to care too much about a lot of things, just happy to be there at all. Which was understandable considering his background that he really didn't talk about.

Sure he could chatter about a lot of things but his background? Not one of them.

He kept an eye on the clock however, mostly to make sure that they had time to eat lunch. A good proper meal was always important to keeping oneself happy and healthy.

But it wasn't quite that time yet. Close, but not quite.

Cassie gave a half-hearted nod in response to Nolian. He was right. They had alot to do. Which was unfortunate when all the young woman could think about was the cats she had seen earlier. They had been so skinny... they needed food. She would just have to deal with them later, she guessed. Because right now, she had to work.

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Surprised but satisfied when Nolian didn't say anything more, Cassie went over to help sort the clothes. She didn't mind the music, and she found herself relaxing just a tiny bit. Nevertheless, her mind was still clouded with thoughts. Mostly about the cats, but also warnings to not mess up so she didn't look like a fool. Though... in reality, there was very little she could do to mess up.

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Once there was a decent pile of sorted clothes, Cassie took the one of the carts to the front so she could work on that side of things. Plus, it got her away from the possible threat of the chatterbox.

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During her work, a few customers came in. To Cassie's dismay, she had to talk to one of them because the man had asked for help finding something specific. Ugh, maybe it was better to be back there with the sunshine boy. Or even better, Nolian should have been out here and she should have been in the back.

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Anyways, in the end, Cassie was able to help the man and then get back to her job. When she went to get her third cart of clothes, she happened to glance at the clock just as it struck twelve. "Lunch time..." She murmured, pausing in her work. That's right... she could feed the cats now.

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Cassie hesitated as she glanced at Nolian. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but her throat was as dry as a desert. It was just a simple question. Why did her mind insist upon running through the worst case scenarios everytime she wished to speak? "Hey... Nolian? After lunch break, can we switch places? You can be out front and I be back here?"

Nolian glanced over, a touch confused at the question. His confusion wasn't directed at her more just himself as he thought over the current layout. After a moment, he finally turned his faded blue eyes back to his coworker with a gentle smile. His chin tipped downward as he spoke too. "... Cassie, we have others up front, you don't have to be out front at all," he wasn't unkind just mostly confused. "Bonnie and Alma are up front and they can handle the customers. I can run the carts up front, if that's what you're asking, but there really just isn't a need for three of us up front," he chuckled loosely as he settled down in the small kitchen-like break room.

Well, "kitchen." The area had yellow and blue tiled floors in a checkered sort of pattern, a small white refrigerator and silver microwave. There was a sink as well nestled in the dark smoky grey counter with some brown oak-like wooden cupboards. There wasn't much of a kitchen but it felt right to Nolian to call it a kitchen. It really didn't look like much to begin with but it felt somewhat okay.

He waved one hand idly, leaning back for a moment or two before he stretched out. Alma was the first to enter the break room as well and glanced over the pair before she smiled. Alma was an older woman, nearing her fifties--if not already there--her skin was slightly leathery of days in the sun. Her thick dark hair was peppered with grey hairs and braided back along her shoulders.

"Anything interesting come in?" She prompted as she pulled her salad out from the refrigerator.

Nolian looked toward Cassie and shrugged. "Nothing out of the ordinary yet," he confirmed with a brief report. "Just clothing right now. The other antiques and Knick-knacks are kind of buried under clothes," his voice lifted in a warm laugh, eager to chatter now that someone else was there.

It was clear from Nolian's tone of voice that he wasn't upset or anything of the like. Yet his revelation pierced Cassie's heart nonetheless. He was right, of course, but her thoughts immediately hounded her for the mistake. How could she be so dumb? Swallowing down her emotions, Cassie gave a weak nod before following him into the break room.

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Making sure to stay a safe distance away from Nolian, Cassie got out her turkey sandwich and sat down at the table. As she worked to cut it into smaller pieces for the cats, Alma entered. Instinctively, Cassie looked up before quickly looking back down again once she had identified the person. Alma... she loved hearing the stories she would sometimes tell. But of course, the young woman would never actually ask for a stories outright.

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Though Cassie pretended not to be interested, she listened to Alma's and Nolian's chatter. Not that they were saying anything important, she just liked to know what was going on even if she wasn't necessarily involved in the conversation.

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A few minutes later, Bonnie entered, though this time Cassie didn't look up. But that was a mistake, because seconds later, the middle-aged woman was standing beside Cassie. "What are you doing?" Bonnie asked with a confused laugh. Not expecting attention, Cassie jumped, subconsciously yet protectively pulling her plate of turkey sandwich pieces closer to her.

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Absolutely embarrassed for getting caught doing something weird, Cassie looked away, wishing she could disappear. "I, uh... There's some stray cats outaide. I'm... feeding them." Cassie mumbled, fidgeting with the sleeve of her shirt. Bonnie chuckled good heartedly, yet Cassie couldn't help but feel ashamed. "That makes sense, I suppose." Bonnie said as she got out her own lunch.

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Cassie took a bite out of the half of the sandwich she had kept for herself. As she chewed, she finished breaking the other half into pieces. She then glanced up at Nolian, wondering if he would say anything. Something was bugging her, though. He hadn't said a word to her throughout work, but now that the other two employees were here, he turned back into a chatterbox. Does that mean he could sense how uneasy Cassie was? She could've sworn she did a good job of hiding her awkwardness...

Nolian's immediate reaction when Bonnie entered was to give her another bright smile. He wasn't terribly worried about being the only young man in the thrift store. After all, some of the things were rather heavy and he was used to heavy lifting. He paused briefly as the woman questioned what Cassie was doing. Nolian had noticed but she seemed focused on the task at hand, he hadn't wanted to bother her.

She seemed embarrassed despite the rest of them not worried about it. It was partially why Nolian hadn't said much. He could sense the unease, sense that something inside was uncomfortable. He figured it was himself, considering the fact that he was outnumbered by three. He hadn't figured that it was that big of a deal but at the same time, maybe it was. Whatever the reason, he was going to do his best to make sure that he didn't add to her unease. She seemed more uneasy when he was yapping--sometimes to her or to himself. While he kept it mostly to himself... when other chatterboxes were nearby... he couldn't help himself.

Which, unfortunately, Alma was also a chatterbox.

He shrugged his thoughts off and continued to eagerly chatter with Alma, piecing through his own sandwich and apple.

"You ought to eat more," Bonnie commented idly, poking his shoulder. "You're thin as a rail."

Nolian flashed her a sly grin. "It's genetic, ma'am. Look like a rail, lift a rail or two. But it's alright, I do my best, Bonnie. I know that school takes a lot of my paycheck but I really don't mind."

He chuckled and leaned back, looking toward the door for a brief moment or two while he gathered his thoughts.

"You'll be headed back to ranching, I suppose?" Alma chattered idly.

"That's the idea," Nolian answered and turned back with a lopsided grin. "It's where I belong, I s'pose. But I'll probably still stick around for a bit during the off-season. Can't leave y'all without some muscle, right?"

Bonnie shook her head, chuckling softly. She really didn't believe him but she wouldn't say anything against him either. Her eyes focused on the young woman, however, keeping an eye on her.