Camille St. James (Adopted DeGraff)

[Camille St. James]

You would have to be a damn good liar
To fake emotions like that, yeah
You, I guess you're just a damn good liar
And you lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie

Face Claim: Kaylee Bryant
OOC Name: Cassiopeia

CHARACTER NAME: Camille St. James

AGE: 21

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Teronna

APPEARANCE: Despite having extremely similar facial features, it is not terribly difficult to tell the twins Camille and Lillia apart. Camille, the older twin, is visibly softer than her sister, both in figure and demeanor. She typically wears her hair down in its natural waves, prefers styles that include lace and softer silhouettes, and even speaks more softly than her twin. She also smiles more often, not that she's entirely aware of this fact.

Around people she is comfortable with, her face is quite expressive, and when she is excited about a topic she also illustrates with her hands. Among socialites or strangers, she is more reserved, and what she thinks of as her 'courtier' smile is usually the most she gives to anyone.

MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried

FAMILY MEMBERS: Adoptive Father - Jareth DeGraff Adoptive Mother - Maeve DeGraff Twin Sister - Lillia St. James

POSITION/OCCUPATION: Noblewoman and Con-Artist

GRAMARYE GIFT: none?

PERSONALITY: Camille is a thoughtful and attentive young woman who listens carefully to those around her and will seek all details about an issue before making a decision. While this sometimes comes off as her being indecisive, it is more that she is constantly analyzing the situation to find the most beneficial outcome for herself and her sister. She is not unkind--in fact, she is helpful to others whenever she can be--but her sister will always, always come before anything else.

Camille has an interesting relationship with the truth. She does her best to never tell outright lies unless absolutely necessary--she is much happier to simply twist or obscure the reality. When she must lie, she infuses as much of the truth as possible anyway. She finds that this makes it easier to hold onto a lie, and also makes her easier to believe. She gets irritated when others lie to her, despite being a frequent liar herself--she feels that it should only be done when necessary and dislikes people whose reasons don't meet her expectations.

Camille works hard to be a pragmatic and accomplished adult, but beneath her forceful attempts at maturity, she is still a 21-year-old young woman. She's jaded in many ways, thanks to her history, but also remarkably naive when it comes to her own emotions and relationships. She has never had many true friends outside her twin, and certainly not any romantic relationships. She has a tendency to develop crushes quickly, and let them go just as quickly when someone disappoints her. Often she is more infatuated with the idea of someone than the reality.

She enjoys both scholarly conversations and witty banter. She’s also a talented singer. While she is not a loud or rambunctious woman, her calm presence and a quick wit make her a welcome guest in the homes of many.

I won't pretend anymore
The bad can discover the goodness that hovers
Over you

LIKES: thunderstorms, the ocean, dark blue, the night sky, romantic stories
DISLIKES: being treated like a child, being ignored, last-minute plans, surprises
HABITS: doesn't make eye contact when she is embarrassed, bites her nails when she is nervous, wears citrus and daisy-scented perfume at all times
SELF IMAGE: Camille sees herself as part of a whole: she and Lillia are inseparable. She is the more social half, the one who can manage pretty words and upper-level society without flinching. She's proud of her ability to blend into almost any group as if she belongs there, although some of her true personality will always slip through.
REPUTATION: Camille and her twin may have kept their family name from birth, but they have been legally adopted by the DeGraff family--a prominent family of nobles in Teronna. There have been a few rumors of them having a troubled past, but their adoptive parents have calmly stated that both girls are more than adapted to their new lives and their early life was tragic but not something that needed to be aired for everyone to gossip about.

HISTORY:

Camille and Lillia were born to less than average commoner parents in the countryside of Teronna. The twins have been close friends since birth. As young children, they were often mistaken for one another, although they have developed into different, but complementary, personalities as they matured. They lived on a farm during their early childhood, before the threat of rogue mystic attacks began to rise. Their farm was raided and burned, and the girls were hidden in the root cellar while their parents were killed in the house above. They hid there for ages before finally emerging to find nothing but rubble remained of their lives.

The two moved into the city in hopes of finding a new life for themselves, but they soon discovered that there was no welcoming place for a pair of near-children with only the basic farm skills to offer. With no other prospects, the two turned to thievery and lies to survive. Lillia became the defender (which she had always been, really, defending Camille from threats as small as spiders and as big as men). Camille rose up as the shining distraction, a smooth liar, and a charming damsel in distress. It was easier for her to find people that were willing to give her what she needed, or to convince them that she was just picking up an order for her parents, or even just to keep their attention occupied while Lillia took what they needed.

When they were 14, the twins picked the wrong (or perhaps the right) pair to pick-pocket--Maeve and Jareth DeGraff. The DeGraffs knew right away what was happening and captured the girls. When they found out why the young women had been stealing, they quickly decided that was the end of that. Before they knew it the girls were promising to behave; so long as they treated the DeGraffs as their family, they would be treated as family too. 

It took time for the twins to understand that it was real. They pushed and tested their boundaries, acted out, fought with their 'parents,' and were general terrors for the first month or so. But once they realized that there wasn't a catch, that they truly were wanted there, they began to relax into their new lives. As honorary DeGraffs the girls had all their needs more than met, and their loyalty to their adoptive parents is unwavering.

Now, the only time they try to steal from anyone is when they have orders...

[ Soleil ; Lunari ]