Caden Rhee

❝He lay back, put his arm over his eyes, and tried to hold onto the anger, because the anger made him feel brave. A brave man could think. A coward couldn't.❞ ― Stephen King, Misery
Caden was always a quiet sort, but where before his silence was a peaceful thing during his time as a vampire it has taken on a cold maliciousness. Cade doesn't want friendships anymore; his mind is consumed with rage over the life that was taken from him. He feels hopeless and his slowly dwindling humanity is not lost on him.

Caden is much more interested in non-fiction than fiction; he loves discussing facts with other people. The few times he becomes genuinely comfortable in his own skin and passionate anymore is when he begins to discuss science and how he feels it mixes with magic.

While he'll never admit it, Caden has always been a tad shy. When he was human and with his gang, he put on an act of bravado and false confidence; wore a swagger that only someone with deeply rooted insecurity could carry. Now, Cade doesn't see the point.

His shyness can come off like rudeness or grumpiness, as he's likely to not reply to someone or not meet people's eyes. One might say his shyness is crippling social anxiety.

When not talking about or interacting with Gal, Caden is a pretty sweet, chill guy. When it comes to his old friend, however, his vindictive and, frankly, monstrous side comes out.

Passives

Blood Consumption: Cade must drink at least two pints of blood to feel sated (though he'd be happy to gorge on more). He is comfortable when he drinks one to two pints of blood every two days, but if he goes hungry for three days, people will take notice.

Blood is the very thing that keeps Caden appearing normal. Without consuming it frequently, his eyes glow, his teeth and nails sharpen, and his skin and scent take on qualities of the dead. Caden cannot live off the blood of animals.

Caden can only bleed when he is fed. Otherwise, he doesn't bleed, but he also doesn't heal. Cade can only taste when he's well fed. When hungry, everything is bland to him. He is cold to the touch, and he can't feel warmth or other humanly comforts. Blood from packs will sate him, as does cold blood, but warm and fresh from the human body is better. Drinking it is an addiction that's near impossible to overcome.

Enhanced Immunity: Cade cannot be poisoned, contaminated, or diseased in any naturally occurring way. His body doesn't function normally, and so each of these things is ineffective against him unless they're magical and meant specifically to harm the undead. Alcohol does not work on him nor does any drugs.

Regenerative Healing: Caden wounds don't close immediately (or at all when in a state of intense hunger), but they heal rapidly enough that a bruise would heal in fifteen minutes. A non-lethal would take twenty minutes, and a lethal wound would heal (assuming Cade had a chance to rest) within a day or so, depending on severity. If he's moving too frequently, these wounds will reopen before they have a chance to heal.

When drinking fresh blood, or large quantities of pre-packaged blood, Caden's body mends itself remarkably rapid. Bruises will be fixed in five minutes, non-lethal wounds in fifteen, and critical in half a day. He can't do this in a fight, as he's required to rest and not move his body excessively for his wounds to close and remain so.

He can regrow limbs, but this takes at least a week of him lying in complete darkness in a comatose state.

Self-Sustenance: Caden doesn't need to sleep or breathe. As a flipside to this ability, any human food he does eat or drink needs to be regurgitated up as he has no digestive system. Caden is now undead, and no longer ages and thus cannot die of old age.

Supernatural Condition: Caden has physical capabilities surpassing what a human could ever hope to achieve. He can punch through brick walls or take a steel beam to the body without being put out. His durability is best against bludgeoning or slicing damage but not direct stabbing damage.

Caden's stamina is neverending, and he runs with a speed that rivals a race car. At short distances, it can even look like he's teleporting.

His hearing is adept at picking out whispering, even in a crowded room and his nose is better than most animals, keying particularly in on blood. This means perfume hurts his nose and loud music is unpleasant for him.

He has perfect eyesight even in pitch darkness. His sense of taste can be somewhat wonky as it is dependent on his level of hunger.

Caden's grace and agility strengthened when he was turned Undead, though his agility is nothing superhuman. His grace is too smooth for humans. Too smooth, like a painting come to life, or like he isn't lifting his feet at all when he moves.

Weaknesses

Anathema:Caden cannot walk on holy ground (no matter the religion), go to holy places, or touch holy objects. Being in the mere presence of holy things (statues, crosses, rosaries, etc.) is enough to make him extremely uncomfortable and anxious. To touch them hurts and it wards Cade off. Burying him on holy ground is one of the best ways of eliminating or trap him.

Bloodlust: Even when he's full, the threat of hunger is always looming. When around people for any prolonged period, his throat itches with the need to feed. It's nearly impossible for him to control herself when blood is spilled. He's still young for a vampire and his control is finicky.

Dead Man's Blood: If Caden is to drink the blood of a dead man, he will go into a century-long coma. It won't matter how newly dead the person is, just that they are dead. This makes drinking from blood bags or any source but directly from a person a dangerous affair.

Private Property: Caden cannot enter private property without first being invited by someone who lives inside. Once invited in, he may use that same entrance as often as he likes, but must be invited into any other entrance he hasn't used before.

If he attempts to enter without invitation, he will feel intense pain and begin to bleed from every pore of his body. This can and will lead to his destruction in a matter of fifteen minutes.

Sunlight: Caden's eyes are sensitive to the sun's light, and his skin reacts to it like someone with an allergy. Prolonged exposure to the sun gives him headaches and rashes.

When his body has gone unfed to the point of his skin graying, this effect is much more hazardous. He is unable to step into the sun without intense burning. It doesn't light him ablaze, but it is excruciating, like standing in the center of a fire pit. He will get third-degree burns.

Youth: Youth makes Cade prone to subtle, but unnerving mistakes in his interactions with people and body language. He tends to stop breathing when he's not talking, or move too quickly, putting things down too hard. He doesn't know the limits of his strength and speed yet, which means he isn't good with fragile things or people until he has better control over himself.

► Caden was born and raised in the UK. He had a relatively impoverished family and grew up with a love for science, particularly biology and chemistry. By the time he was in upper secondary school, Caden was introduced to a gang. Because of his skill in chemistry, he jumped from drug mule to chemist in no time at all. He used the majority of his profits to help benefit his family.

► Things were mostly quiet for years, and Caden managed to get a scholarship at a local university. He remained working for the gang, also peddling drugs to university kids on the side. About a year and a half to two years into his university life, Caden met Galvao. They quickly hit it off and began dating in secret.

○ Later, a failed frat prank and Caden's involvement with Gal would get him tortured by his former gang members and left for dead when Gal pinned the whole thing on him.

○ Was saved by one of his teachers who turned him into a vampire and sent him off to Manta Carlos.

○ Caden has been on Manta Carlos a few years now. He's spent his time here in therapy for his resentment and finishing up his degree in neuroscience.

Caden works at the general hospital as Cognitive Neuroscientist and is paid pretty well. While he's not rich by any means, he is on the higher end of living. Considering he doesn't need to buy groceries and Caden is somewhat of a minimalist in his living style. Lives in a decent apartment within the city.

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