heart with hands of fire

born to a witch and warlock, sarah was unusually powerful. not in the way that meant she could control minds or level cities, but her magic was more than just brewing potions and chanting spells. even as a toddler, she was moving things with nothing but a hand wave, causing fire to tremble in a dance and people to feel odd, invisible forces hit them. this caused fear in her uncle, who had already not wanted the child... but now she was a magical child. his wife, mary, was a witch herself ( being the sister of sarah's mother ), but not near so skilled. yet, with urging, robert convinced the woman to find and execute a curse.
it was draining and dangerous, but successful. sarah's powers were smothered, but would only be so until sarah's fifteenth birthday ( as the spell was based off how many of certain ingredients mary added, and she lacked the necessities to do much longer than twelve years ). the child, however, had no idea that she was magical. her aunt wasn't practicing except for a few devious plans invented by robert, and no one ever told the child. so sarah's life up until that specific age would follow its usual role.
then hackett happened. while her powers had come back some time before, they were nestled deep in her chest. sarah, who was now going by cat, had nothing to inform her that she was capable of so much more until that horrid night. a night that would turn out differently than her usual path. for in her fear and anger, cat murdered hackett. threw him against a wall with her mind, still tied in bed. shocked, she looked to the rope on her wrists, but focused enough to release herself. as she was charged by the man, her knives, bundled with her clothes nearby, would take to the air, impaling him... but not yet killing. so even as his eyes looked to hers, she wanted him to burn.
and so he did.
realizing the truth of what she had just done, she fled, leaving no traces of what had happened, trying to get back to the reality she knew... a criminal, a street rat... but now a witch. unlocking her abilities, she used them to her advantage. she's gotten to the point she has a run down apartment, access to food, water... clothes... all through illegal but magical means. finding out she's a witch has just made being a criminal all that easier. and it's unlocked a part of her smothered away. a dangerous, deadly part. witch cat holds no morals. she craves her sense of control, and she will not shy away from torture and death if the situation calls on it.

• since the attack with hackett, cat's gained far more control over her nonverbal abilities. it's rare for her these days to have a fluke event occur, but it can happen if she really loses attention

• cat is more prone to murdering in this and tends to have a darker tone to her, ready to take out anyone who gets in her way the same way she took out hackett