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CASSIAN
NIGHTFALL
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BACKGROUND!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

BEFORE

Cassian Eron Nightfall was born of Rye and Laurel Nightfall on July 12 as the last of the Nightfall children. He grew up an orderly and compliant child, preferring to stay inside with books all day rather than play outside with his older sisters.

Cassian often found himself at odds with the eldest sibling, Hestia. At six years older than him, she poked fun at his introverted tendencies just as much as he joked about her obsession with boys. Ontari, the middle child, was the mediator between the two of them and stopped most of their arguments.

Outsiders would describe him as quiet, introverted, and studious. He was almost never seen without a book in his hands and spent most of his time doing schoolwork. Cassian was a relatively thin child who only became more awkward-looking once he began to grow. He never let his mother iron his clothes, causing him to constantly have a rumpled appearance.

The youngest Nightfall quickly soared to the top of his class and received excellent grades in school. He was preparing to start his apprenticeship with his father in the Peacekeeper uniform factory when Ontari was reaped for the 68th annual Hunger Games.

The family quickly became the center of attention because the middle child was constantly on television, and only grew in popularity when the other District 8 tribute died on the third day of the Games. Cassian shut himself in the house for the entirety of them.

After Ontari won, the family moved to the Victor's Village and into a much larger house. Cassian found it difficult to adjust to a whole new world where they were rich instead of an average-income family. He didn't have any friends, so the biggest change was having a bigger bookshelf and the ability to buy as many books as he wanted.

Cassian noticed an immediate change in his sister after she returned; it only set him more on edge. He would often slip notes under her bedroom door in hopes to make her smile or to let her know that he would always be there for her. He tended to adapt to her vast change in emotions more quickly than the rest of the family did.

Ontari cleared out a room on the upper level to use as a training room and began practicing her abilities with multiple weapons. She insisted on teaching Cassian a thing or two, though his interest mainly laid in knives. As it would turn out, his skills would end up saving his life in a matter of months.

DURING

The next year's reaping was rigged so Cassian was picked from the bowl of male tributes. His female counterpart was named Willow Crest, but they were both too shy to initiate much conversation. Even though Ontari was forbidden to mentor him, she joined them in the Capitol and he found comfort in knowing she was always nearby. He was instead mentored by now family friends Woof and Cecelia.

Cassian's ability to throw knives was kept secret until his private training. He ended up scoring a seven after purposely messing up to ensure he wouldn't end up at the top, knowing he would've been an even bigger target.

His Games were set in a Desert Arena similar to the past year's except with a thicket of dry woods and a single river included. He quickly made allies with Hue Grover, a boy from District 10. They helped each other survive throughout the short-lived competition.

As a victor's sibling, Cassian was targeted above anyone else even without a high score in training. He and Hue often had to avoid human traps and barely slept in fear of being killed in their sleep. The Careers frequently made songs about his death and sang them as they chased after him.

Because of his lanky stature from staying inside and not gaining proper muscles, Cassian was depicted as an easy kill. What they didn't expect was for him to be able to outsmart their traps and duck out of their weapons. His hidden talents wound up saving his life on multiple occasions, as well as his ability to throw knives.

The increasingly high temperatures in the arena caused a forest fire that completely leveled the woods and killed nearly half of the remaining tributes. It destroyed many of the resources, resulting in even more deaths shortly after.

In the end, Cassian and Hue were the only ones left after hiding in a hidden cave for a few days. They faced off on the final day. Neither of them wanted to hurt the other, but they battled and Cassian decapitated him quickly, making himself the victor of the 69th Hunger Games.

AFTER

Cassian's victory earned his family another house across the street from their current one in the Victor's Village. He and Ontari decided to move in together after he woke up the family with his screams from his nightmares.

He often sunk into deep spirals of sadness where he wouldn't leave his bed for days at a time. Because he was never good at expressing his feelings, he often let them bottle up until he would explode. His room would be destroyed after these episodes.

Cassian also suffered from claustrophobia as a result of the tube that sent him into the arena and the cave that he and Hue stayed in. Due to this fear, he never stayed in a locked room, though he would sometimes set the door to create the illusion that it was locked.

He and Ontari bonded even closer over the years as they both became each other's support system. Though his older sister tried to be strong for him, he could always see that she was suffering just as much as he was. Their shared trauma caused their relationship to grow even stronger.

As a service to the Capitol, Cassian filmed training videos with a tech crew in their home once a month. This was how they molded him into what they wanted the audience to see: a strong, mysterious, and serious victor who hardly smiled and never laughed. The constant threat of his family being in danger caused him to keep making these videos.

He befriended most of the same people that Ontari did over the years. This included Finnick Odair, his sister's fake suitor, Beetee, and Wiress. He also knew Johanna Mason, but didn't get along with her very well due to their clashing personalities. He remained mostly civil toward her because she and his sister were friends.

Cassian continued living like this for six years, occasionally spending time organizing rebellions in the district with his family or donating money to support the causes. His hatred toward the Capitol's cruelty only intensified with time and each annual Games.

Then he's reaped for the 3rd Quarter Quell, and the cycle starts all over again.