Catalina Martinez

Semi-Professional thief

About

Growing up in Spain was difficult for her. She was born into a world full of alcoholism and abuse and she never really knew any different considering she didn’t have any friends. Let alone friends with a normal ‘household’.
Her parents rarely showed her any kind of affection or paid her attention and when they did it was always negative. Always telling her that she wasn’t supposed to waste her time studying when she wouldn’t be successful anyways.
On her ninth birthday they had enough of her after a specific occurrence. Catalina was aware that they didn’t care about her birthday and just brushed it aside but in the evening she asked if she could go to the nearest bakery and buy a muffin for herself. Blueberry muffins, her favorite. It’s safe to safe that they didn’t like that idea and the day ended with the Spanish girl in her room, bleeding nose and more injuries than she could count.
After a few days, when all the injuries were healed, she was put up for adoption with the reasoning that she was a wild child that no one could deal with. The scars stayed nonetheless. Physical and mental.
Nine years later she finally turned eighteen and could start her own life. She was never adopted but she didn’t mind. Instead of being sad and wasting her time, she acquired a new set of skills. Pickpocketing. It was like an art for her and when she noticed how good she was at it because of her long and slim fingers, she liked it even more. At first the things she stole were little things like a pen or a piece of paper. But after a while she switched to wallets and IDs and after a while she could get things out of wallets without having to remove it from the victims body.
Body language always interested her and the way some people could just read others based on how they bit the inside of their cheek. The thief read many books about that topic and taught herself some of the basics, thought that it might help her in the future.
Leaving her life behind wasn’t difficult and she started to travel as soon as she turned eighteen. Rome, Madrid, Washington, Rio and a lot more. These were all cities she visited. Cities she perfected her skills in.
Settling down in America wasn’t an easy decision because she loved Spain and the language more than anything. But the people were rich and stupid which was an easy target.
After some time she noticed that she couldn’t earn all her money by stealing and came to the conclusion that she needed a job. Catalina started looking for one and ended up in a little café right around her apartment. It was easy and honest money for once.

Personality

The most important thing about her personality is that she doesn’t trust everyone immediately. Her trust can only be earned and even then she is reluctant to talk about her past.
Even though she’s been through a lot of bad things, she hasn’t lost her humor and wit. No matter where or with who she is speaking, she always uses it to break the ice.
Catalina is a flirty person. She likes teasing people, making them a compliment and seeing them blush. But love doesn’t sound like something she could imagine herself being part of. Her parents had made sure that she thinks that she is unloveable and it’s deeply settled into her mind. She thinks that no one could ever love her for the person she is. That’s why she always pushes people away as soon as it gets more serious.
The thief doesn’t react well to fast motions, violence or loud sounds. It happens that she will get flashbacks from what happened during her childhood and she tries to avoid that.
If someone is able to gain her trust they will have it forever. Catalina is loyal and would rather die than betray or hurt her loved ones no matter if that would be physically or emotionally.
Even though her dad was an alcoholic and she despises what the liquor made out of him, she uses it as a coping mechanism. It helps her forget and Catalina knows that it isn’t healthy but she can’t help it.

Skills

Catalina is confident in her skills as a thief. Even though she knows she isn’t able to rob a bank, she doesn’t feel the need to. Her fingers are delicate enough and her mind is fast, knowing exactly when to strike or retreat.
There are a lot of thieves in New York but Catalina had been doing it almost all her life now.
Reading peoples body language is a skill she acquired but isn’t confident in. Most of the time she gets it right, especially when it comes in handy for pickpocketing. But she often finds herself making mistakes when analyzing people just out of boredom. It’s one of the reasons she never mentions she learned it.
Besides that, picking locks is also something she had taught herself back then. It’s not often needed because she doesn’t break into houses but it’s an useful skill to have.

Shipping

Due to the fact that Catalina is convinced that it isn’t possible to love her due to her past, she doesn’t really do relationships. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t catch feelings. Most of the time she just wants it to be a one night stand or she friendzones people even if both parties know that there is more.
The thief is convinced that everyone who even hints at loving her is trying to humiliate her by letting her believe that she is loved just to break her heart and leave. Just like her ‘parents’ left.

If you want to ship your character with Catalina, please know that they won’t just fall in love after two interactions. I am a sucker for slow burns and considering Catalinas character, that type of love story makes the most sense.