- » VERONICA "NIKA" TENJI apples and ban
gender | female
age | 14
height | 5'3"
weight | 109 lbs
sexuality | bi-curious
birthdate | November 14th
hometown | Veilston City, Near Valor Lakefront
ethnicity | 3/4 English, 1/4 Russian
academy | Dante Academy
rank | D
dorm room | Swablu Dorm Room 200
» PERSONALITY apples and banooos
There is a hard edge to Nika, a determination to do what has to be done. But Nika has also decided to believe in the good in humanity, and chooses every day to keep moving forward with head up and eyes bright on the horizon. Though she wants to believe in others, she has to battle with a bitterness towards them that comes out the most when faced with people that remind her of the looters that came to her house.
Though she is hard-working, Nika refused to abandon traits she had before Arcana: she enjoys meeting and learning about new people, can be petulant when she wants to do something and is being kept from it, and has a propensity for mischievousness, especially given the right influence. She was almost drawn to choose Earl Grey Academy to keep people cheered in these dark times, but more than that she wanted to be able to fight.
likes
- ➳ Pranks, Physical Activities, Encyclopedias, Blankets
dislikes
- ➳ Schoolwork, People who drag others down, Wearing shoes, Heavy Rain
talents
- ➳ Black Belt in Taekwondo, Good Spatial Awareness
flaws
- ➳ Can be impatient, Prone to tunnel vision, Overconfident, Scared of thunder
» BACKGROUND apples and banooos
Nika's parents owned a large, comfortable house in the woods near Lake Valor in Sinnoh. Her mother believed an empty house was a lonely house, and they often accepted anyone in the area who was traveling in for the night or invited others from Veilstone City to come out and visit. Nika's mother believed in the joy of others' company and believed firmly in the inherent goodness of others. Nika's father, more practical, enjoyed the sentiment but taught Nika that even if you lived giving people the benefit of the doubt, you should always be able to handle yourself should someone betray that trust.
Nika's father began to teach her the basics of martial arts at a young age, and eventually she began taking trips to the city twice a week to practice in a real Taekwondo school. Maylene was a big inspiration for her, and she often went to watch gym battles if there was a challenger while she was in the city.
There was fear at the invasions of Kalos and Unova, but no one in Sinnoh truly believed it could happen to them. When Arcana attacked, it was not them that shattered Nika's life, but the terrified rich people fleeing from Hotel Grand Lake, to the south, where Arcana had sent a small force to beat back the hapless vacationers. The careless people, having just lost everything after being used to getting everything, attacked Nika's house when they found it, rabid in their desire to steal clothes and food. Nika and her mother hid while her father fought as best he could to keep the looters back.
In the attack, her father was injured. He walked with a limp as they fled through the woods deeper and deeper into the mountains and the wild, knowing that Arcana would do to Sinnoh what they had done to the other regions. Their route would put them in Veilstone City and from there, her parents hoped, they could find some aid and provide their own help against the invaders. The mountains surrounding the city limited the routes to get there, however, and they found impassable fighting or enemy troops at every one.
Their pace slowed, Nika's father limping slower and slower as dread swallowed Nika. She didn't care about if anyone else was okay, or what was happening to the region, she just wanted her dad to be okay. When they finally found a route through the mountains they were elated and joined a long line of refugees leading down to the water. Veilstone was already evacuating.
The boats traveled up the shore, starting those without homes on a long journey to some semblance of safety. When they finally reached Eterna city and received a bit of rest, Nika's mother collapsed. Her constant coughing and protruding bones had gone unnoticed until it was far too late, if there had even been a chance. Half the refugees on their boat out of Veilstone died from the same disease. The other half were forced to move quickly on to prevent further spread. Nika, despite being devastated at her loss, was seized by an unshakable determination: she and her father were going to make it.
Nika was little, but she didn't let him give up and begged and wheedled and squirmed every last ounce of sympathy and help she could get from everyone they met. Finally, they boarded a boat bound for Lilycove City, Hoenn. When they reached the city, Nika's father had to have his leg amputated to save him from the sickness that was spreading from the bottom up.
It took a long time for her father to regain himself after the ordeal. Nika threw herself into Taekwondo, training harder than ever both to forget and to prepare for some future she'd begun envisioning for herself. Nika wanted to fight back, to reclaim the world that her mother had loved so much. She started with her father, determinedly beating his grief and depression out of him until the light was back in his eyes. He began plans to build a new house, and Nika had her own path to follow now: Starlight Academy.
