Cara Lorenzo - 20 - Junior Dragonologist

[Cara Lorenzo]

how can it be she has it all
→ b a s i c s t a t i s t i c s

Full Name: Clarisse Vanessa Lorenzo.
Known As: Cara Lorenzo, fiesty minx.
Nicknames: Cara, Rissie, Santa, The Dragon Lady.

Current Age: Twenty years.
Date of Birth: 2nd of February, 1977.
Place of Birth: Craiova, Romania.
Place of Residence: Westminster London, England.

Race: Witch.
Blood Line: Pure-blooded.
Ethnicity: Eurasian - a mix of English, Romanian, Russian, Filipino, and Spanish.
Citizenship: Dual-citizenship - UK and Romania.
Financial Status: Upper class.
Medical History: Right hipbone fracture from Quidditch mishap in 1994, misc. little mishaps in the kitchen.

Profession: Junior dragonologist.
Employer: Snowdonia Dragon Reserve, Welsh Institute of Dragon Protection.
Experience: 19 months of internship at the British MoM.
Former Professions:
▶ Summer 1992: Junior Counselor of Camp Wandsworth.
▶ August 1994 - March 1996: Intern of British MoM Dept. of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau - Resigned.

Education: Hogwarts' Class of 1994, Gryffindor alumna, former Prefect and House Quidditch Keeper.
N.E.W.T.s Qualifications: Ancient Runes (E), Arithmancy (E), Care of Magical Creatures (O), Charms (O), Defence Against the Dark Arts (O), Duelling (O), Herbology (E), History of Magic (O), Potions (O), Transfiguration (O).

Wand Hand: Right.
Wand: Ollivanders'; 10 1/2 inches, blue spruce wood, Fwooper feather and Phoenix tail feather, inflexible.

Pet: Viata, a Northern White-Faced Owl.
Patronus: Eurasian Wolf - Canis lupus lupus.
Boggart: A gravestone with the inscripted words, 'beloved'.
Amortentia: The smell of old books, coffee, baking goods, rainforest, and Ralph's shirts.
Mirror of Erised: Sitting around the fireplace playing Exploding Snap with her parents and brother.

her pride is headed for a fall
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Father: Keith Dimitru Lorenzo [RIP]; pureblood English/Romanian - former Dragon Researcher.
Mother: Vanessa Alys Lorenzo née Isherwood [RIP]; pureblood Spanish/Filipino - former Dragon Tamer.
Brother: Dameon Andrei Lorenzo [22]; pureblood Eurasian - Dragonologist, Pecineagu Dragon Reserve.

Paternal Cousins: Cristian Reid Villiers [20], Tristan Keith Villiers [14].
Maternal Cousins: Lilac Cherele Katherine-Grace Miniwater [18]; Eamonn Michael Miniwater [17]; KayDee Melissa Miniwater [14].

Godfather: Benjamin J. Strong [43]; half-blood wizard - Hogwarts CoMC Professor.
Godsons: Judas "Jude" V. Strong [11] & Marian A. Vassiliev [8 months].

Boyfriend/Best Friend: Ralph A. R. A. Twisleton [20]; pureblood English - university student at RADA.
Ex-Boyfriend: Austen M. James [20]; halfblood English - Professional Chaser for the Toyohashi Tengus.
Best Friend: Katja A. Vassiliev [21]; pureblood Russian - Gringotts' Employee.
Colocataires/Close Friends: Bree S. Fallon [21] & Lucille A. Sinclair [21].
Neighbours: Arizona Del Ray, Raphael D. Holloway.
Close Friends: Alec A. Orchardwine, Cole D. Barron, Gemma C. Parsons, Jack S. Rumsworth.
Friends: Brooklyn Stone, Deimos E. Macavoy, Enrico V. Sykora, Jett S. Holloway, Ringo B. O. Dibernardo, Sven M. Valquist.
Undesirables: Aidan Rogan, Eva P. Rogan, Nola A. Fitzralph, Romilda I. Vane, Shady Le Sietta.

now everyday a new joy brings
→ a p p e a r a n c e

As per a family inheritance, she stands at a considerable height of 5 feet and 8 inches and is fairly proportional in weight. Having been born with a head of vividly golden hair, she now sports dark brown hair that she usually wears wavy and long down her back, the result of a professional hairdye from the Shaving Grace and a fine contrast against her porcelain fair skin. Her eyes are a confusing mixture of light greenish-blue that is too light to be teal and neither bright enough to be actually turquoise. She adopts a quite stylish sense of fashion, although dresses understated and casual most of the time, and has a certain knack for any heeled footwear. In all, she is considered quite pretty, albeit with a few scars or birthmarks here and there.

my butterfly grew golden wings
→ p e r s o n a l i t y

There are the kind of persons in this world who appear to have everything they could possibly ever want. Cara Lorenzo is one of these people. Commonly stereotyped as 'beautiful, smart, rich', she has the Galleons to go with the looks and the brains to go with a kind heart. She has been brought up in a way that emphasized respectable behaviours, hence herself portraying impeccable manners at all times. Or at least most times. She appears to be just about the boring high society lady really. However, it takes patience to crack past her well-mannered, aloof character, and just like everybody else, she has a much more colourful personality on the inside, and is far from perfect.

Neither particularly reserved or outgoing, Cara has a tendency of appearing civil to the point of aloof upon first few meetings. She has a calm, steady way of handling all things around her, is familiar with authority and often capable of standing on her own feet; overall reliable as an employee or a friend. Always the diligent, driven person, she relies not solely on the intelligence she had been blessed with, but also on her own efforts to get on with life, though she is far from ambitious. In all sense, she is not hard to please. In fact, she is easily content with things. She demands little from life and people around her, instead would push herself onwards in most things she does. Either way, she does not ask for much. She rarely takes issue with others' business, too, again contributing to her aloofness, although could be quite judgmental of people as per their presentation. First impressions are important for her.

A quality definitely prominent about her is her absolute stubbornness. Determined and persistent, once she sets her attention upon something or someone, it is near impossible to persuade her against. The lucky thing is that she doesn't have many aims, or targets, or desires. Nevertheless, it is as rare as a blue moon to have her stepping down from such obstinacy, although it is not unheard of for her to relent for the sake someone exceptionally close to her. She has not much patience, and would resort to neutrality when her patience is tested repeatedly. Very much able of lying, acting, persuading, Cara adapts to situations with ease, displaying skills as a social chameleon. However, at times, what she portrays could vary from her thoughts. She could be very two-faced.

What most people does not realize about her is the streak of mischief within her. She enjoys experimenting as much as she does experiencing. She has always been curious, and has never really been able to curb what that could be a disastrous weakness. With a quick-silver tongue, a sharp wit and an edge of playful sarcasm, she dishes out verbal jabs that could either be harmless or out for blood, depending on the situation. She's always enjoyed pulling legs of her friends. Accustomed to being unconditionally adored by her family, especially her brother, she does tend to take certain things and people for granted, albeit would unconditionally devote to them in her own way, too. She has her strange moments. Nevertheless, she would tend to bully her friends around a bit, if anything simply because she can. Somewhat spoiled and just slightly sadistic of her really, but she has always been pampered by these very selected few, exclusive people.

However, there are not many people who's been privileged enough to view her as her mischievous nature. It isn't that she has any issue with trusting people, but simply a cautious, skeptical nature that enables her to choose her friends wisely. As per her sorted house in her schooling years, she is loyal to a fault. Having suffered loss, she fears the notion of losing those closest to her, and would give anything to maintain her relationships and friendships consistently. This include allowing much purpose of her life to mold accordingly to the people she cares about, basically constructing her life upon relationships. In this arena, failure becomes an absolute crime and betrayal does not even exist in her world. Cara would involuntarily take most every little mistake in a relationship or a friendship upon herself. She carries guilt easily enough.

Like any other girl, she is susceptible to mood swings and fickleness. And like any other girl, she is susceptible to the occasional dramaticism. Whilst not completely a Nazi with organization, she does tend to arrange things and could be just a bit of an OCPD about neatness. Still, what draws the line between her and a Nazi of Neatness is her utterly unpredictable streak of laziness. She tries very, very hard to keep the laziness at bay, but it sticks within her veins there somewhere, all the time. Almost uncharacteristic of a Gryffindor alumnus, Cara can be a bit of a coward, and has the tendency to choose flight over fight when faced with sticky situations. She suffers great difficulty with making important decisions, perhaps something further troubled by her fickle, indecisive persona. Nevertheless, with an irrational fear of loss, relationships dominate her pathway in life, and despite that she would still be an absolute witch - pun intended - every now and then, there is always something about her core. She cares, perhaps a bit too much for her own good.

it seems we find as we grow old
→ m i s c e l l a n e o u s f a c t s

Positive Traits: Thoughtfulness, diplomat, diligence, humility, independence, persistence, reliability, loyalty, emotional resilience.
Negative Traits: Obstinacy, slyness, two-facedness, perfectionism, indecisiveness, overly prideful, self-blame, vanity, emotional cowardliness.
Mastered Languages: English, Romanian, understanding of Filipino, and mere bits and pieces of Russian.
Talents: Wandless magic, magical creature empathy, acute memory, cookery skills, giving the opposite gender a minor disorder.
Interests: Cookery, world cuisines, magical creatures' studies, beasts and creatures' rights, music, muggle movies, literature, Quidditch, travels.

Favourite Quidditch Team: Holyhead Harpies, Kenmare Kestrels.
Favourite Foods: Caviar, cheeses, pastries, Russian and Italian cuisines, dumplings, bacon.
Favourite Drinks: Vanilla latte, vanilla milkshake.
Favourite Ice-cream Flavour: Vanilla, praline.

in spite of all that we've been told
→ h i s t o r y

The Lorenzo clan's history dated back centuries ago, when one of their ancestors migrated to Romania from England simply just for the specific purpose of studying magical beasts, namely the dragons. Throughout decades and centuries, their family members made countless contribution in the field of magical beasts and creatures. They built up their reputation and fame in Romania, bringing the name of Lorenzo to be as honourable as it is now in the Romanian magical society. Having founded the Federaţia Internaţională Creatură, which plays a gigantic role in regulating various creatures' breed clubs and hosts the World Creature Show, their wealth grew over decades, leading to their current fortune to be passed down from heir to heir.

On the 4th of March, 1971, Keith Lorenzo married an Eurasian-descent witch, Vanessa Alys Isherwood. Their marriage was blessed with the birth of two children, respectively Dameon Andrei and Clarrise Vanessa, two years apart from each other. Even as children, Dameon and Clarisse bonded well as siblings. As she grew up, however, little Clarisse's nickname quickly became more popular, which eventually developed to the point of that she was much more known as Cara. The Lorenzo household was a very much happy and loving one, though the luck lasted not for long.

25th of August, 1980, news were spread like wildfire through the Romanian magical community, news of the death of Keith and Vanessa, two greatest magical beast researchers of the moment. Dameon was 6, and Cara 3. In spite of the cruel fact that a Norwegian Ridgeback had murdered them, this only seemed to have enhance the two children's interest in dragons. As a child, the sudden loss befuddled Cara to no end. As both her grandparents elasped into long periods of mourning, Dameon and Cara were brought back to Liverpool, England by their paternal aunt, Katherine Villiers née Lorenzo.

The tremendous loss of her parents not only rendered Dameon and Cara orphans, but also permanently made its mark upon the young girl as she experienced first-hand how easily came loss. The first wizarding war was raging in England during then, though Katherine and Leonard Villiers kept the children safe in their magically internally-expanded residence. Cara grew up alongside her cousins as any other normal child, and was home-schooled throughout her childhood. She grew accustomed to looking towards Katherine and Leonard as parental figures, though more than often, she wondered how different things would be should her parents be alive.

After showing her magical abilities at the age of 4, her identity as a witch proven, Cara Lorenzo boarded Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 3/4 at the age of 11, following her brother's footsteps to be sorted into the house of lions. The early years were not without difficulties. Having led a sheltered life previously, the sudden change of surroundings took the girl off guard. In the Villiers houshold, everyone took care to avoid the topic of her parents. In Hogwarts, she was surrounded by children of her age, each less tactful than the other, and she found herself growing more conscious of her lack of parents during certain holidays, like Christmas. Dameon, being a 3rd year when she was a 1st, tried everything he could to make her life more comfortable, but having his own social life to lead, it was up to Cara to sort out her problems.

People soon found newer things to ogle over. As years passed, Cara Lorenzo grew accustomed to putting her orphaned status at the back of her mind. There were times she would still have nightmares, but these nights were getting lesser. She gathered and made friends. Her performance exceeded excellence, and by her sixth year, she was appointed as Prefect of Gryffindor house. It was also in her sixth year that the witch found an official relationship together with a fellow student of her house and year, with whom she'd always held a love-hate relationship with. The relationship lasted only for 9 months; Austen James broke up with her by November, 1993.

Being a seventh year by then, things spiralled out of control for the of-age witch. Cara fought to determine the course of her own life in between a tangling web made up of academics, friendships, relationships. It was a year full of dilemmas for her, and many a times she was featured in the Niffler's Gossip Column. She also had future to think about, and the stress put a strain on her health. She eventually graduated Hogwarts with impressive NEWTs, receiving several job offers in various fields, including Quidditch offers from the Toyohashi Tengu and Puddlemere United, internship offers from the Welsh Institute of Dragon Protection and the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, and internship in the British Ministry of Magic.

Between August of 1994 and March of 1996, she settled for an internship with the British Ministry of Magic's Bureau of Dragon Restraint and Research, briefly re-dated her ex-boyfriend for a few months before breaking up on strained terms, and moved into an apartment which she shared with two other girls in Westminster, London. Whilst life was significantly more tumultuous in 1994, things turned for the better for her in 1995 in several ways, albeit with a less fortunate interlude where she becomes godmother to the son of her close friend, Katja. As of current, Cara's relationship with her best friend, Ralph, has hit the one-year milestone, and she has resigned from the Ministry to embark instead on a career pathway that brings her a step closer to her dream.

some things that glitter may be gold
→ c r e d i t s

Face claim is the American actress, Olivia Wilde.
Signature banner is the work of Mel from Vault 713.
Sub-headers are lyrics excerpted from Some Things That Glitter by Queen.

[Cara Lorenzo]

Vault 713 In-Character Tidbits

Christmas, 1992: From Shannon Wright
Christmas, 1992: From Jasper Dawson
Hogwarts, 1993: Prefect Appointment
Valentine, 1993: From A Secret Admirer
Valentine, 1993: From Austen James
Christmas, 1993: From the Miniwaters
Christmas, 1993: From Austen James
Christmas, 1993: From Ralph Twisleton
Post-graduation, 1994: Career Acceptance Letter
Christmas, 1994: From Ralph Twisleton

Vault 713 Trinkets

Vault 713 Badges

[Cara Lorenzo]

we've known everything and forgotten
→ b a s i c s t a t i s t i c s

Full Name: Clarisse Vanessa Twisleton née Lorenzo.
Known As: Cara Lorenzo.
Nicknames: Cara, Rissie, Santa, The Dragon Lady.

Current Age: Forty years.
Date of Birth: 2nd of February, 1977.
Place of Birth: Craiova, Romania.
Place of Residence: England.

Race: Witch.
Blood Line: Pure-blooded.
Ethnicity: Eurasian - a mix of English, Romanian, Russian, Filipino, and Spanish.
Citizenship: Tri-citizenship - UK, Romania, and Russia.
Financial Status: Upper class.
Marital Status: Recently married.
Medical History: Right hipbone fracture from Quidditch mishap in 1994, misc. little mishaps in the kitchen, various mishaps throughout her career.

Profession: Magizoologist, textbook author, Federaţia Internaţională Creatură British branch's monthly newsletter editor.
Employer: British Magical Wildlife Reserve, Obscuro Books.
Relevant Experience:
▶ Aug '94 - Mar '96: Intern, British MoM Dept. of Regulation & Control of Magical Creatures, Dragon Research & Restraint Bureau - Resigned.
▶ Apr '96 - May '98: Jr. Dragonologist, Snowdonia Dragon Reserve, Welsh Institute of Dragon Protection - Resigned.
▶ Oct '98 - Jan '01: Jr. Magizoologist, Russian Imperial Magical Creature Sanctuary - Completed Training.
▶ Feb '01 - Feb '02: Jr. Dragonologist, Romanian Dragon Sanctuary - Completed Training.
▶ Mar '02 - Dec '02: Magizoologist, Russian Imperial Magical Creature Sanctuary - Completed Apprenticeship.
▶ Jan '03 - Dec '09: Magizoologist, Personal Assistant to the Head Magizoologist, Russian Imperial Magical Creature Sanctuary - Resigned.

Education: Hogwarts' Class of 1994, Gryffindor alumna, former Prefect and House Quidditch Keeper.
N.E.W.T.s Qualifications: Ancient Runes (E), Arithmancy (E), Care of Magical Creatures (O), Charms (O), Defence Against the Dark Arts (O), Duelling (E), Herbology (E), History of Magic (O), Potions (O), Transfiguration (O).
Career Qualifications: Certified Magizoologist and Dragonologist.

Wand Hand: Right.
Wands:
▶ Ollivanders'; 10 1/2 inches, fwooper feather and phoenix tail feather, blue spruce wood, inflexible.
▶ Russian-made; 13 1/2 inches, crup tail, hemlock and hornbeam woods, inflexible.

Patronus: Eurasian Wolf - Canis lupus lupus.
Animagus: Arctic fox - Vulpes lagopus.
Boggart: A gravestone with the inscripted words, 'beloved'.
Amortentia: The smell of old books, coffee, baking goods, rainforest, and Ralph's shirts.
Mirror of Erised: Her father walking her down the wedding aisle, her mother close at hand.

we've accepted and we've laid blame
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Father: Keith Dimitru Lorenzo [RIP]; pureblood English/Romanian - former Dragon Researcher.
Mother: Vanessa Alys Lorenzo née Isherwood [RIP]; pureblood Spanish/Filipino - former Dragon Tamer.
Brother: Dameon Andrei Lorenzo [41]; pureblood Eurasian - Senior Dragonologist, Romanian Dragon Sanctuary.

Husband: Ralph Amon Ranulph Alberic Twisleton [41]; pureblood English - professional actor.
Step-daughter: Daphne Ariel Twisleton [11]; mixed-blood English - Gryffindor First Year.

Godfather: Benjamin Juris Strong [63]; half-blood wizard - Hogwarts CoMC Professor.
Godsons: Judas "Jude" Valdis Strong [31], Marian Alexeievitch Vassiliev [20], & Ilya Kazimirevitch Ivanov [17].

Paternal Cousins: Cristian Reid Villiers [40], Tristan Keith Villiers [RIP].
Maternal Cousins: Lilac Cherele Katherine-Grace Miniwater [38]; Eamonn Michael Miniwater [37]; KayDee Melissa Miniwater [34].

Ex-Boyfriends: Austen Michael James [40] lost contact, Ştefan Gheorghe Ionescu [39] lost contact, Alexei Luka Serov [42] good friends, Filipp Anton Kazakov [41] lost contact.
Best Friend: Katja A. Vassiliev [41]; pureblood Russian - employed witch.
Close Friends: Alec A. Orchardwine, Enrico V. Sykora, Jack S. Rumsworth, Kazimir D. Ivanov, Lucille A. Sinclair, Selene R. Ivanova, Sven M. Valquist.

we've felt separate and felt the same
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Age has been kind to Cara though arguably it isn't without meticulous care and tending to with a carefully selected range of beauty products. As a result of her line of career, her skin is a shade or two tanner than it had once been in her younger days and beneath the ever so stylish, classy dressing are scars that haven't used to be present. Still one shall effortlessly recognize the strangely greenish-blue eyes beneath her sweeping lashes and the rich, dark brown tresses which she has worn since she was seventeen. She now wears her hair more than often in a professional yet effortlessly chic chignon most of the time, occasionally in a ponytail. Her fashion preferences have since evolved to a more matured, classic style. Whilst she remains ever so fond of all shapes and forms of high heels, Cara also makes an exception for flat-heeled footwear during work at the reserve.

we've shared guilt and we've shared shame
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Beautiful, accomplished, efficient, and impeccably polite sum her up nicely. Nitpicking on flaws doesn't seem to much work when it comes to Cara Lorenzo. She juggles balance between the cornerstones of her life like no one else does. Granted despite the seemingly boring exterior, some would recognize her to be the witty, occasionally devious creature she is; and then the rare few would see right through the confidence and know instead a woman who simply just cares too much for her own good. Experience taught her resilience and valuation, certainly. There is no denying that she is of a stronger stock than her younger self, more decisive, more focused, more determined. Yet perhaps the greater part of Cara will still always construct and live her life with relationships as its ultimate foundation. Nothing else suffices, everything else comes second.

we've freed each other and we laid claim
→ m i s c e l l a n e o u s f a c t s

Positive Traits: Thoughtfulness, emotional resilience, loyalty, reliability, humility, diplomat, well-balanced.
Negative Traits: Obstinacy, guilt-bearing, hesitation, perfectionism, vanity, slyness, cares too much.
Mastered Languages: English, Romanian, Russian, understanding of Filipino.
Talents: Wandless magic, magical creature empathy, acute memory, cookery skills.
Interests: World cuisines, magizoology, beasts and creatures' rights, muggle movies, classics, theatre, travels, yoga, prevention of dragon poaching.

Favourite Food: Caviar, cheeses, Mediterranean salads, Russian and Italian cuisines, dumplings.
Favourite Drinks: Russian coffee, Pinot noir, dragon milk.

oh yes, the butterflies are still there
→ h i s t o r y

Distant might be memories of the Second Wizarding War, yet most would never ever forget the dark times that had changed the face of Great Britain forever. Cara certainly had not. The Villiers-Lorenzo's were privileged. In spite of their quiet defiance against assenting to the Death Eaters' regime, their blood purity had been the key factor to their survival. They might've even been lucky enough to get through it all in one piece. Ironically, it was the final day of war when Cara lost her little cousin.

May 2nd, 1998. As soon as the family caught wind of the inevitable battle at Hogwarts, all of them had fanned out on a mission to retrieve sixteen-year-old Tristan Villiers. Till today, she'd remembered her Aunt's instructions: Find Tristan and send him away from Hogwarts immediately. Nothing more. Cara found him before the rest. Her cousin's pleas to be allowed to stay and fight chipped away her obstinacy. She had been so confident, so certain of her duelling skills that she thought she was capable of fending for Tristan, too. She gave in.

It was the worst decision she'd ever made.

Cara hadn't been able to look at her Aunt and Uncle in the eye after that, not even after Voldemort died and the battle was won. She had lost her Aunt's family their youngest son. He was sixteen. He hadn't even gotten the chance to graduate from school. He hadn't joined the English National as a Professional Seeker like he'd always wanted. Even though Katherine and Leonard Villiers chose to remain silent on the subject, even though they'd never outwardly verbalized their resentment, their demeanours and their gazes had made their accuses evident. After they'd treated her practically as their direct family instead of an orphaned niece, her foolish ego had caused the death of their teenage son. Her bond with the Villiers, after all those years that they'd raised her, supported her, educated her, and cared for her, was severed.

Running away was the coward's way out, but Cara, then 21 years old, took it like the coward she was. She resigned from the Welsh Institute of Dragon Protection, packed and left England a fortnight after Tristan's funeral, leaving only four brief letters informing of her leave and an apology to add. There had been no explanation - she could conjure none - and no information to her whereabouts. Rather note than letter, if one had to be specific. One for the Villiers, one for her godfather, Benjamin, another for Lucy Sinclair (and Cole Barron and Jack Rumsworth), and the last for Ralph Twisleton. That became the final direct contact she'd had with either of those people for the next eleven years.

Strange as it might be for one who couldn't speak more than a handful of basic Russian vocabulary to somewhat 'migrate' over to Ekaterinburg, it was where Cara had ended up. It was far enough from England. It was where her best girl friend, Katja Vassiliev, resided together with Katja's son and Cara's godson, Marian. For nearly an entire month, staying home was all she did, not out of her own will but rather because communication was impossible. Katja refused to interact in anything but Russian. Conversations turned out more or less of the same form: "Katja, seriously, give me a hand?", "Nyet., "Oh, for Merlin's sake. I shall just starve." The language had been a nightmare to learn, but immersion methods proved to be effective, as she came to master the language after much slavery over books and much chagrin over Katja's stubborn defiance.

Her resume was neat, but perhaps what had been the stepping stone to her luck was her surname. The Lorenzos had always been famed for their contribution to creature research and rights. Cara hadn't stop there, though. She cracked down on her own research and wrote her own thesis on the rate of extinction of each species of dragons across the globe, and its consequences unto the magical wildlife. By late autumn of 1998, she had a chance encounter with a very famous Magizoologist during one of Katja's mother's galas, where Vitali Serov expressed interest in her research. Vitali worked as Chief Magizoologist beneath the Russian Imperial Magical Sanctuary. He'd had a small team of his own, and it was from the very bottom of the totem pole where Cara started off.

It took just over 2 years to complete her professional training in Magizoology with RIMS. With well-meaning advice from Vitali, Cara then took another year after that to complete her further training in Dragonology at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, an affiliate institute of the RIMS's; and after that, 10 months of apprenticeship on Vitali's team. It was also in 2002 that Katja and she bought their own place to live in Ekaterinburg. By January 2003, Cara was a fully-licensed Magizoologist with an extra qualification in Dragonology, and assumed position as a member on Vitali Serov's team.

The work warranted many travels. They'd venture to all sorts of place in their work, ranging from mountainous areas to forests and jungles. One was never certain where she was in the world given the nature of her occupation. The only person she kept in sporadic contact with was her brother, Dameon. Vitali was frequently impressed by her performance, over the years coming to trust her. There had been rumours. Some of her peers were convinced that Vitali favoured her and intended to train her to be his successor, and when she started dating Vitali's only son, Alexei, in 2002, the rumours only worsened. Naturally, all ceased when she eventually broke up with Alexei in 2005 yet still Vitali trusted her as much as he did prior to the relationship. She wasn't just his assistant; she was his confidant, his protege and his friend.

Life had its ironic ways. Having left England in the past with the death of a loved one, it again took the death of another loved one to bring Cara home in November 2009. This time, she didn't leave again.

Once the funeral proceedings for her late uncle, Leonard Villiers, was done with, Cara moved back to London permanently. Vitali wrote for her a beautiful recommendation letter upon her resignation from RIMS. No doubt it, alongside her being named as #2 on Magical Geographic's list of rising Magizoologists of the 21st century, played a part in landing her a coveted position with the British Magical Wildlife Reserve. However, the hardest part was putting back together all the bridges that she had burnt in her younger years. There were too many.

It took months, even years, for Cara to find her footing with everything that she'd missed out on. It was no easy task. But of course, Cara Lorenzo was nothing if not stubborn. She still made regular visits to Ekaterinburg, maintaining ties with the friends she'd made there. The older Cara knew better.

For some, it may be some kind of curious circumstance that Cara would eventually come a huge, winding circle and start dating her former flame again. For a long time, Ralph and she tiptoed around officially labelling their relationship, but he would eventually ask for her hand in marriage in October 2016. They were married in small ceremony in late December, 2016, during Ralph's daughter's winter break from school.

because we came from the same cocoon
→ c r e d i t s

Face claim is the American actress, Olivia Wilde.
Signature banner is the work of Mel from Vault 713.
Sub-headers are lyrics excerpted from Butterflies by Sia Furler.