Caius Hewitt

Caius grew up in a fairly strict household in Willow Creek, ruled by his father. It wasn't...so bad, for most of his life. He was a smart kid and naturally got good grades. His father, having gotten injured back in the day, was unable to pursue his own dreams of being a football star, so he had drilled into Caius at a young age the importance of getting a football scholarship. If he couldn't be a professional football player himself, William would live vicariously through his son. As he grew older, Caius proved to have the athletic ability to play the sport. He made it onto his highschool team with ease, and was on fast tracks to scholarships and a career with it, but a chance discussion with a substitute teacher in grade 12 made Caius realize that he didn't want a career in football. He loved the sport, and loved playing it, but he didn't want to make a living off of it. His true passion was photography, and the sub, Mrs. Welco, could see that. She worked with Caius while she was at his school to help him gather resources and such that would allow him to flourish in that field, including giving him one of her old cameras. He would keep in touch with her throughout the years, as she was one of the few positive influences in his life. He remained on the football team until the end of highschool, as even though he didn't plan to have a career in the sport, it didn't mean that he was going to leave his teammates high and dry. 

His father, however, was not pleased to hear that Caius was planning to go to college for photography. The decision formed an irreparable rift between the two, and William turned his attention to Caius' younger brother Cory instead. In fact, his father's disappointment was so deep, that it didn't end there. As soon as he was finished high school, Caius found himself kicked out of his house by his dad. He had to pack his things and leave, finding a friend's house to crash at while he got his feet back under him. The sudden disruption to his life and the incredible shame he felt caused him to spiral into depression, and though Caius tried not to let it completely overwhelm him, it was a hard battle. He spent a few months drifting between the houses of some friends while hunting for a job, not disclosing why he was crashing at their places beyond having had a fight with his parents and needing space, though eventually word of what his father had done got out to the rest of his family. It had come out when, after a bout of severe depression and a string of continued failures at finding a job and wearing out his welcome in many places, Caius had made a decision while in a dark place to end his life. He'd been found with his wrists slashed, and was brought to a hospital in time to save his life. But when his extended family found out that his emergency contacts were them and not his parents, they began asking questions and subsequently discovered what had happened to him. When asked why he hadn't reached out to them, it was just a bad combination of shock, shame, and fear for what his father would do if Caius told them. The incident remained between the family, and has not yet gotten out to the rest of the town about what his father had done to him. His cousin, Elissa, in Crawford City invited Caius to stay with her, and he agreed to move out with her. It was around this time when his abilities as a Dreamer awoke, but he just attributed his dreams to the stress and pain he was in and has never thought more on them.

Having a more stable environment in a fresh city, away from his father, allowed him to get a handle on his depression and he soon found a job. He worked hard to save his money for college, and with financial help from his cousin and aunt he was able to get into college to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice when he was just about 20. He would also take courses for photography and forensic photography in his spare time after classes. While in school, he met a girl named Jasmine Spurr. They became close friends, and even dated for a couple months. But it didn't work out so they eventually agreed to just be friends. Later he met a woman named Sophia Garlind. They dated for a time, before it was discovered that Sophia was pregnant. Pressured by her family, Caius and Sophia got married and moved into a house bought by Sophia's parents. He was 21 when his son Theron was born. 

Married life was not a happy time for Caius. Sophia was bossy and cold, and a drama queen with some narcissistic tendencies. She got much worse and showed her true colors after the wedding and birth of their son. The stress of home life was spiking his depression again, and it was only through his contact with Jasmine and his cousin, and needing to be there for Theron, that Caius didn't spiral again. He did his best to put up with Sophia, but one day as he watched her have a complete meltdown over something trivial, Caius realized he didn't love her. And as he thought longer, he came to the realization that he had never been into girls. He'd been lying to himself his whole life because he hadn't wanted to admit the truth, having a deep rooted fear of rejection by everyone around him. It was like a breath of fresh air to realize that a chunk of his depression was due to subconsciously grieving over hiding who he was, and when he could finally admit to himself that he was gay, he discovered he could begin to heal. He came out to Jasmine first, who told him she had always kind of figured he was. Her acceptance made it easier for him to tell his cousin and aunt, though he didn't want to come out to the family he has in Willow Creek just yet. Altough he hadn't spoken to his parents in years, he knew his father would disown him the moment he found out Caius was homosexual. He realized that...a lot of things made sense now, including a lot of his interests and things that caught his attention.

His son was 4 when Caius finally could not stand Sophia anymore. Being with her was beginning to impact his budding career, and her spending habits were dragging them into debt faster than he could pay it off. He spent a year carefully squirreling away money in a private, separate account and began taking his name off joint accounts. Once he had enough saved to afford an apartment and Sophia would have no access to any of his accounts, Caius served her divorce papers. It was a messy divorce but Sophia wasn't able to wring much out of Caius due to his careful preparation and the fantastic lawyer Jasmine had helped him find. He felt awful for what Theron had to go through because of the divorce, and still feels sick for doing that. But Caius would do it again if it meant getting away from the creature. In then end, the divorce was finalized and Caius was granted primary custody of Theron. He spends every other weekend at his mom's, but Caius can tell he doesn't enjoy his visits with her. 

It's been two years since that, and Caius has been navigating life as a single dad as best as he can. Jasmine, Elissa, and his aunt help him out as they are able, including watching Theron if Caius gets called to to a scene in the middle of the night or any other time that's off work hours. He loves being a dad and loves his son so much, and he enjoys watching him grow and helping Theron pursue whatever his current passions are, some of which include football and art. Caius has also begun seeing a therapist for the first time in his life to help with his depression. He's made some progress over the past year, but there's still times when he has a breakdown while Theron is at his mom's and Caius doesn't need to try and hide it from him. Caius is also beginning to tentatively explore his romantic interests, though he is still very shy about coming out and hesitates going to clubs. He has recently begun thinking about getting tattoos on his arms to cover up the scars from his attempt on his life in his teens.

Caius usually presents as a somewhat shy individual, at first. He tends to have a difficult time trusting the intentions of others who show romantic interest in him, after what he's been through, and the length of time it takes for him to warm up to an individual depends on how they treat him. He tends to gets very flustered and bashful when people are flirting with him, especially men. Once he has grown comfortable enough around someone to start expressing himself more truly, he shows himself to be an intelligent man who holds a deep passion for his hobbies and things he loves, a passion he gets immediately embarrassed about when showing because he's grown up having to hide much of his true self. He is very caring and protective of the ones he holds dear, and will be loyal to those who have gained his hard earned trust. Due to his ex-wife, Caius doesn't handle emotional abuse well, the kind that is meant to belittle and demean you, and experiencing such abuse can cause him to shut down and pull away. Even if you're just "joking around". 

Caius is growing more confident in going for what he wants, even if he comes across as being flustered or abashed after. He's willing to try new things, as he feels like he can't really know what he truly likes unless he does things he's never done before, even if they are a touch scary and he does require outside coaxing to do it. Though, there are some things he adamantly refuses to approach. Because of his experiences at the hands of his dad and ex-wife, he does still have moments of panic attacks if something triggers a bad memory, as he still carries trauma from that time period of his life. When this happens, he can go through a period of being withdrawn from those around him as he works through the attack. Caius feels ashamed at having this, blaming himself even though he knows he shouldn't. He has a bit of a stammer that usually presents itself when he's nervous, anxious, or upset (or just meeting new people), but it will usually disappear once he's relaxed or otherwise comfortable around others.