Kit Herondale

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Christopher "Kit" Herondale, also known as Kit Rook, is a Shadowhunter who was raised by a mundane, previously unaware of his heritage, descended from the notorious Tobias Herondale and his lost line. He is currently the only known descendant of the First Heir of the Seelie and the Unseelie Courts.
He currently resides at the New York Institute with Tessa, Jem, Ty, Mina, Cristina, Mark, the Herondales, and the Lightwoods. He is currently engaged to Ty Blackthorn. He, like the Herondales, Lightwoods, Jem, Mina, Tessa, Cristina, and Mark, split their time between LA and New York.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
Kit was raised by his father, a man who went by the name Johnny Rook. Unbeknownst to Kit, he came from a long line of Shadowhunters, descended from a secret Herondale line that has since been interbred with faerie blood of the First Heir.
Like most Nephilim, he was born with the Sight. When he was young and still going to a mundane school, he saw a pack of werewolves fighting and screamed until the police arrived and saw nothing. From then on, Johnny rarely allowed him out of the house, except to occasionally help out at their booth at the L.A. Shadow Market. Since then, Kit taught himself out of old books and spent his free time playing video games in the basement.
Johnny explained to Kit that they could see the Shadow World because they had the "Gift"—his term for the Sight. For good measure, he instilled in Kit a fear of Shadowhunters by telling him that they kidnapped any person with the Sight under the age of nineteen due to their shortage of warriors since the Dark War.
Growing up, whenever Johnny had to entertain clients in their home, Kit was forced to hide in the basement. Johnny did teach Kit tricks and skills related to their line of work: Kit grew up picking pockets, performing sleights of hand, tricks, and picking locks. Though Johnny did what he could to protect and raise Kit, they weren't too close or affectionate.
=== Discovery ===
Kit was at the Shadow Market one day in August 2012, in conversation with his friend Wren, when he first noticed Jem Carstairs and Tessa Gray, posing as casual customers but were in fact looking into the Rooks, though he paid them little notice. Just then, the Shadowhunters Emma Carstairs and Cameron Ashdown arrived to seek information from his father, making several people, including Wren, uneasy. Some fled the Market altogether. Kit curiously eavesdropped on the conversation, and Emma noticed him, to his father's dismay. Kit then got scared, remembering his father's exaggerated warnings about Shadowhunters recruiting young, Sighted mundanes.
Later, Emma and her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, came to their house to question Johnny. While Kit hid in the basement as always, Julian's brother, Ty, saw him. Thinking that Emma and Julian were in danger, Ty attacked Kit and held a knife to his throat, demanding answers. Kit was struck by Ty's beauty and Ty soon realized that he was Johnny's son. Julian, Emma, and Johnny came in shortly after, surprised by Ty's presence. Fearing for Kit's safety, Johnny hastily gave Emma more information and established that he would never help them again.
When Emma killed Malcolm, the wards surrounding the Rook house were destroyed. Mantid demons attacked the house and killed Johnny in the process. Terrified, Kit called Emma for help, and she, along with Jem and Tessa—two people personally invested in the Herondales and who had been searching for his line for years—soon arrived to rescue him. Kit was then taken to the Los Angeles Institute; on the way, they revealed to him his Shadowhunter lineage. Kit was disbelieving throughout until he was able to confirm it when he was able to open the doors of the Institute—a feat only possible if Shadowhunter blood ran through the person's veins. In shock about everything that just happened, Kit demanded to be left alone in his room, while Ty sat outside the door of his room. For a while even after this, Ty continued sleeping in front of Kit's room.
=== Acceptance ===
Kit eventually left the room, with thoughts of stealing valuables from the Institute and running away, but never actually went through with any of his attempts. At one point, the famous Jace Herondale came to the Institute, wanting to meet the newly-discovered Herondale, and convinced Kit to try being a Shadowhunter for a week before deciding he didn't want it. Before Jace and his girlfriend Clary left, they spent some time in the Institute training room. Clary then gave Kit a Herondale ring.
Under their tutor Diana's orders, Julian and Kit went to the Shadow Market to find a warlock who could make medicine for Arthur Blackthorn. Initially excited to return somewhere he was comfortable, he was upset to learn that he was no longer welcome there, sent away by the Market's landlord Barnabas Hale. In frustration and anger at Malcolm, Kit punched a Followers of the Guardian sign at the Market, causing his knuckles to bleed. Though he refused Julian's offer to give him a healing rune—his first rune ever—he accepted Ty's offer to Mark him.
Over the next few days, Kit found himself tagging along with and growing close to the twins Ty and Livvy, who casually included him in everything they did, making them somewhat of a team. With their help, and due to his natural inclination for Shadowhunter work, Kit gradually became more comfortable with the idea of becoming a Shadowhunter. At one point, Livvy asked him to kiss her, just to finally be able to experience it; Livvy later clarified, and Kit silently agreed, that the kiss meant nothing and they were no more than friends. Meanwhile, Ty asked him to become the Watson to his Sherlock.
During their own investigations while the older Shadowhunters were working on their own missions, Kit, Ty, and Livvy discovered that Zara Dearborn, one of the visiting Centurions, was plotting to help her father take over the Institute from the Blackthorns. He joined them in attempting to alert Arthur to this fact, only to be told by Arthur himself that Julian had been running the Institute all along.
Kit also experienced his first real battle, after the first one at his old house with Johnny, when the Institute was attacked by Malcolm. Kit Portaled to London with the Blackthorns to stay in the Institute there. Kit continued his bonding with Ty and Livvy, and even received a Voyance rune from Ty, which allowed him to see the ghost of Jessamine Lovelace, who told them where Malcolm used to live.
Kit later visited Blackthorn Hall with Ty and Livvy and found an aletheia crystal. He suggested traveling to the local Shadow Market for help, though their trip ended in disaster when the trio was attacked by the denizens of the Market and had to be saved by Magnus Bane after Livvy got hurt.
After the binding between Cristina Rosales and Mark was discovered, Kit went to fetch ingredients with Ty and Livvy, unaware that the Seven Riders had been sent after them. They were attacked by three of the Riders, but Gwyn ap Nudd and Diana Wrayburn intervened. Kit fought the Riders at the London Institute when they attacked it. During the scuffle, Kit was recognized by Eochaid, claiming to know his face.[6] Unbeknownst to him, this is because of being descended from the First Heir.
At the Council meeting for Annabel Blackthorn and Kieran's testimonies, Kit and the others witnessed Annabel's madness—as reaction to the Cohort's words—and when she used the Mortal Sword to kill Robert Lightwood and Livvy.
=== Heritage ===
While Kit mourned Livvy's sudden death, he remained by Ty's side, hoping to be there in the trying time, so Kit was surprised to see Ty not reacting to Livvy's death in the way they expected. Kit soon learned that this was because he did not accept Livvy's death and planned to bring her back with necromancy through a spell from the Black Volume of the Dead. Though he was reluctant, Kit supported him, not wanting to lose Ty.
The warlock Shade, who was sent by Hypatia Vex to help Ty in her stead, sensed Kit's reluctance and hoped that Kit would be able to talk Ty out of the dark magic. At one point, when Kit wandered by the beach where Shade stayed, Shade hinted at Kit to look into his mother's heritage. Kit was relieved when Shade refused to actually help Ty perform the ritual but was horrified when Ty revealed that he had a backup plan and retrieved a catalyst on his own.
The night before the battle against the Cohort, Ty performed the ritual by Lake Lyn. Just before the ritual, Kit tried to stop him, tried to get him to come to terms with Livvy's death, but failed. During this, Kit told Ty that he loved him, but Ty ignored the words in his desperation for Livvy's return. Ty proceeded with the ritual despite Kit's attempts to stop him but, because the catalyst he'd retrieved was corrupted, the spell only partially succeeded and Livvy was only brought back in the form of a ghost, whom Kit also saw.
The next day, Ty and Kit were magically tied to a tree by Magnus to keep them from joining the battle. Kit tried to ignore Ty, angry that he'd gone through with it, who in turn also felt betrayed that Kit had lied to him about supporting him. Livvy's ghost then appeared and set them free, telling them to get to Emma and the Blackthorns on the battlefield.
Once there, Emma found Kit and tried to keep him away from the battle, following Tessa's request. They were found by the Riders of Mannan, who revealed that Kit was part-faerie and was even a descendant of the First Heir. They also told Kit that they'd killed his mother, infuriating Kit and triggering his powers. Kit unleashed his anger and his magic, making the fleeing Riders' steeds disappear out of thin air. Kit lost consciousness after the act.
Kit was kept in the Silent City for days after the battle, to help him recover and to protect him while Tessa and Jem asked around to make sure that no one witnessed Kit's outburst of magic. Tessa then came to him soon after and asked him to come to live with her and Jem and the child they were expecting. Kit did not hesitate and agreed, not wanting to face Ty after their last encounter, and feeling that he had no true place among the Blackthorns outside of the bond he'd formed with Ty and Livvy. Kit left with them to Devon without saying goodbye to the others. But while the others were celebrating Alec's and Magnus's wedding, Kit, Tessa and Jem watched them for short while. Kit wanted to see Ty one last time and remember him this way. Afterwards, they traveled back to Devon via Portal, without anyone noticing them.
=== Fresh Start ===
At some point after Kit had moved into Cirenworth Hall with Tessa and Jem, they noticed some signs that he may have been thinking of running away as he had often tried at the Institute. That evening they gathered up all their prized possessions and other valuables and put them in his room. When Kit went into his room and discovered them, he was stunned into silence; and when Jem and Tessa came into the room to check on him, he expressed his confusion by asking if this meant they thought he'd steal them. They explained the gesture was to show him that there was nothing in the house more precious to them than him, and that the choice to stay was entirely up to him. Kit stayed.
In March 2013, while Tessa was in labor, Kit sat in their kitchen playing solitaire and drinking something (supposedly) alcoholic when Livvy's ghost showed up. Startled, Kit spilled his drink all over himself. Livvy told him she was here to speak with Magnus and Kit sent her to the conservatory. After an incident, Magnus sent her back to wait with Kit while he helped Tessa with her delivery. Kit and Livvy made conversation till Kit reluctantly asked how Ty was doing. She told him that he was doing well but missed him; then she realized something was wrong with her connection to Ty and asked Kit to tell Magnus to come find her at the Scholomance when he was done and left.
After Magnus received Kit's message, he began trying to find a way to alleviate some of the weight of their necromantic bond. When Kit discovered what he was doing, Kit offered Magnus to use the Heron necklace that had belonged to his mother, and which Livvy had noticed and liked. Magnus then worked some new enchantments into the metal and tweaked the previous and passed it on to Ty as a gift to be used to summon him if needed as well as to help lessen some of the effects of the twins' bond.
Several months later, Kit seemed fully adjusted to life among the Carstairs: he helped take care of Mina when she woke up crying in the middle of the night, he accompanied Jem on his trip to the New York Shadow Market to collect medicine for her, and he had developed a casual back-and-forth between Tessa, Jem, and himself. He had even begun training in the yard in a space Tessa had cleared for him. One afternoon, Jem had decided to watch Kit as he practiced, after noticing him Kit came over and, after some teasing, Kit asked if Jem would help him train. Jem agreed.
One evening, Tessa, having changed into his mother in the past, offered him some stories of his childhood and her life, as well as the song she used to sing to him that he remembered only bits of. Kit later confided into Jem that he appreciated this but didn't believe his mom could truly love him as she didn't know him. He went on to say that his father didn't and no one else had either; and how he was trying his best to be enough for people, but he kept falling short. Jem comforted him by telling him that all he has to be is himself. Kit broke down crying saying that he was thankful to Jem and Tessa but he knew they only took him in because of Will Herondale and so he was trying to be like him but Jem just hugged him and told him that gratitude was not necessary because they loved him for him. Jem continued to hold Kit for a little while longer before they went inside to be with the rest of their family.
=== Returning to Los Angeles ===
A few years later, the family moved back to Los Angeles, where Kit and Ty became reacquainted. The two soon began dating, and Ty would later propose to Kit. Kit would accept.
== Personality ==
Like many Herondales before him, Kit is sharp-witted and tends to be sarcastic, especially when he gets uncomfortable or anxious. He can also be quite confident, particularly in circumstances where he is comfortable, such as the Shadow Market.
Kit also gets some traits that he learned from his dad. He is persuasive, able to convince others to get his way. As taught by his father to be watchful and to study people so that he can figure out whether they can be tricked, what they are about, and what makes the person tick, Kit became very observant, picking out details easily.
Kit is unconsciously eager to please. He attempts to live up to his father's ideals despite the fact that his father is not around to praise him anymore. He also tries hard to please Ty and Livvy, such as getting a permanent rune when Ty asked him to and trying to show both of the twins his skills in the London Shadow Market.
Kit also has some traits of kleptomania, attempting to steal from the Los Angeles Institute and thinking of stealing from the London Institute. Despite this, he is usually trying to steal in order to pursue his goals of running away. He is also quite restless, not liking the feeling of being trapped.
Initially, he resented his Shadowhunter bloodline and tried to push it away, but he eventually came to accept it and became proud of his lineage.
== Physical Appearance ==
Kit has blond hair and blue eyes, traits typical among Herondales. He strongly resembles his distant relative Jace, with their blond, curling hair and face structure, specifically their similarly angular cheekbones. He also resembled his ancestor Auraline and his mother Rosemary, enough that he was recognized by the Riders of Mannan.
== Trivia ==
* When Arthur Blackthorn first saw him, he mistook Kit for Stephen Herondale I, a Herondale he went to the Shadowhunter Academy with.
* He is referred to as the Lost Herondale.
* Kit's favorite ice cream flavor is Rocky Road.
* Kit and Ty are set to be married in this story.