Name: Octavia Hawthorne
Age:  Physically, she appears to be in her mid to late twenties, give or take a few years. In reality, Octavia is much, much older than that.

Member of House Ashby: No, she has never been a member of Archer’s house, but she has been a long-time. . .associate. . .of his and his family.

How long has the character known Archer/been a member of his family: 200 years, give or take a few decades.

Supernatural Abnormality/Weaknesses: Immortal,

Immortality: Hundreds of years ago, Octavia was the victim of a botched spell for immortality. While she did gain eternal life, it came at a cost. She must consume the blood of others to continue living. While she does not have to drink it directly from the source like vampires, the fresher it is, the better.

Power Absorption: If the blood she drinks is from another witch, she can harness their powers for a few hours. It also helps her better grasp their abilities, even before they know the full extent themselves. This only lasts for a few hours before it fades, and she is left with her abilities again.

Knowledge of the Dark Arts: Octavia is who Archer Ashby calls if he needs to glean information/knowledge at the darker parts of their world. She has spent much of her time and energy as an immortal being diving into the parts of their world that many others avoid. Archer also calls her when he needs more information on books that possess magical qualities, especially if they have a darker aura to them.  This has come with a price that her psyche has paid. You cannot dabble in the things she does, and it not have a lasting effect.

Sigil Magic/Tattoo Magic: Other than her vast knowledge of the darker side of the arts, Octavia is well-known for her ability to incorporate magic into sigils, runes, and tattoos, which is an extremely rare ability, even in their world. Because of this, she is often called upon by different supernatural beings, including the Hunters, but this particular work she can do comes at a hefty price, and she doesn’t grant it to anyone.

Theme song: Good People Do Bad Things
Faceclaim:  Aubrey Plaza
Physical Description: Initially, Octavia Hawthorne is not an imposing individual.  She is small in stature, standing a few inches over 5 feet, but she makes up for it in the power that radiates from her. Some would consider her beautiful, with a lovely olive-colored complexation and dark, hooded eyes framed by long, thick black lashes.  Her eyes show little emotion. Her face is an emotionless mask.

She is always seen with thick, dark liner around her sharp eyes, and a smokey look. Some say this is all permanent makeup, while others believe she applies it daily. The fact that it always looks perfect leans more towards the former being true.  Her lips are permanently stained red. Initially, it looks like something has been applied, but once people realize her diet, they know it is more than just regular makeup.   Her dark brown, almost black, locks are always kept shorter, and she rarely lets them get past her shoulders. She leaves them down, so they always frame her oval face.

Her clothing choices are always simple and solid, dark colors. Rarely is she seen in jewelry because little excites her or sparks joy. There are two exceptions – gold Victorian-era rings with bloodred rubies set in them, one on the middle fingers of each hand, and they have been known to emit a faint glow when her magic is at its strongest. Even though she is known for her engraving magic, she has no marks on her smooth, flawless skin.

Smiling is not something she is known for, but it is not friendly or welcoming when she does. On the contrary, it often makes her look inhuman and maybe a little psychotic.

Personality Description: If morally grey was a person, it would be Octavia Hawthorne. No one easily persuades her. If she does something, it is because she wants to, and her motivations are usually more complex, which has led to many people not necessarily being fond of her because it can be difficult to trust her motives, especially if they are not familiar with her or have a lot of experience with her person.

She is also known for being impassive, apathetic, and brazen. Octavia has been around too long to care about people’s opinions of her or whether they like her (she’d rather they don’t, actually).  She doesn’t go out of her way to be unpleasant to others, but she tends to ruffle a lot of feathers because if she deems something worth saying, she will say it, even if it is difficult for the other person to hear. Many believe the dark arts she has spent so much of her life learning have dampened her empathy towards others.

The small woman is full of wisdom and knowledge due to the years she has spent studying and learning and her longevity in this world, but she doesn't exactly have a 'teaching' spirit because she lacks grace in her presentation and has little compassion for failure - mistakes can be permanent, something she is familiar with.

With all that being said, if Octavia considers someone a ‘friend’ (well, her idea of one, anyway), then she is a loyal individual and will go out of her way and use every resource available to help them, still with a price, but usually one with lesser impact (nothing is free, after all).

Her humor leans more toward the dry, sarcastic, and dark side, often leaving people wondering if she was joking or serious.

History:  Her mother caught the eye of a nobleman, and she returned the affection he showed towards her, which was rare considering she was from a penniless home. She cared for him so deeply that she would do anything not to lose his love for her – including not telling him about the abilities the women in her family were born with and the connection to the occult that they had. A decision that would later come back to crumble the life she spent years building.

The couple had two children, and while she prayed earnestly for boys so that her secret wouldn’t be found out through her children, she was given two girls: Olivia and Octavia, twins. From the beginning, the girls were complete opposites. Everyone was drawn to Olivia’s outgoing personality. She was doted on by her mother, and her father went out of his way to ensure she was given everything she wanted. Even their friends seemed drawn to her like moths to a flame. While Octavia was quieter, kept to herself, and spent most of her time alone, she asked for little except books, parchment, and writing utensils. Her mother was concerned, knowing that sometimes twins can unsettle the balance, one pulling more of the light while the other is left with the dark, but she didn’t speak the words out loud, afraid it would cause a genuine manifestation.

Olivia was the first one to start showing signs that she was different, but their mother managed to hide it, not heeding warnings from her own mother that it could be detrimental to the health her daughters.  The confrontation between their mother and father would forever be ingrained in their young daughter’s minds, but he loved his daughters, especially Olivia. After the initial surprise wore off, he decided not to send them away or turn them in to be arrested and burned. Tensions remained high, and their father never fully forgave their mother for the lie, but his daughters grew and did their best to subdue their magic in the presence of others.  Olivia was on the path to be married to royalty. Octavia grew in knowledge and had caught the attention of a few noblemen herself. And they even had a brother join their family.

To this day, Octavia doesn’t know how their secret got out, but the repercussions will forever haunt her. The lives of her father and brother were both taken, and their home burnt to the ground, but she, along with her mother and sister, managed to escape with their lives.  Their possessions were gone. Their titles no longer held weight in the world. They were forced to travel far enough that the rumors of their sins didn’t reach them. It wasn’t easy for women to reestablish themselves then, and their mother stooped to lows to keep her daughters fed and clothed, but it still wasn’t enough.  Olivia mourned the most for their lost lives and clung to it as best she could. As Octavia got older, she began to help their mother keep them fed and clothed, not caring if her actions ‘spoiled’ her and kept her from finding a husband – survival at the time was more important.

When they could, the daughter practiced their magic, discovering new abilities and trying to figure out what they were capable of, and both girls grew into young women.  When their mother died of a sickness they couldn’t heal, Octavia (even though she was the youngest of the twins), took it upon herself to take care of her sister, trying to cater to the extravagant lifestyle she wanted while making sure they had the necessities. During this time, Olivia met a man and fell in love, but he was different. . a myth. . but he was wealthy and could give her the life she craved, the life she missed.  Eventually, he confessed to her that he would live forever, and even though he cared for her, he could not bring himself to doom her to the same curse. Olivia was distraught, borderline psychotic, as she poured through everything they knew in hopes of finding a spell that would help her situation, help her keep the man she had fallen in love with, and not grow old so she could live with him forever.

But immortality is unstable.

Octavia tried her best to talk her sister out of attempting the spell due the complicated nature of it, but she wouldn’t heed the warnings, so blinded by love that she would do anything to keep it.  She wasn’t strong enough, and the spell went wrong, but due to the thread between the twin siblings, it wasn’t just Olivia that was affected – Octavia was too. Before her eyes, Olivia aged, growing old in a matter of minutes, losing the beauty she had tried her hardest to cling to.  Octavia’s own fate was sealed that day – immortality possessed her. Since she wasn’t the one who performed the spell, she didn’t suffer from the brunt of it like her sister, but enough passed between the connection that she was altered.

Her sister eventually died, but Octavia remained.

After her sister's death, she found the man whom Olivia was in love with and spent many years with him, using his financial resources so she could devote herself to learning more about her abilities, their possibilities, and magic itself.  She learned that some of her abilities are rare, even for the supernatural community. Because of this, she has made a name for herself in the occult world, and her skills are often sought after. . . but each one comes with a price, and it isn’t always money.

It would be many years later before she met and tolerated Archer Ashby, who, to this day, she remains in loose contact with.