INTRODUCTION
Veronika Kovalevsky
Random Traits: Technophobe, Vegetarian, Charismatic, Mooch, Green Thumb
Lifetime Wish: Bottomless Nectar Cellar
Veronika
was born into a family of subsistence farmers in the far-off nation of
Soviet Brussia. When Veronika was but twelve, her father died in an
accident involving a llama-drawn cart and a steep cliff. Unable to
work the land on her own, Veronika's mother sold the farm, and
migrated the family to the United States of Omerika. Working as a
waitress was barely enough to support Veronika and her two younger
brothers. They lived in a dingy trailer home for some years, living
off canned tomato soup.
When
Veronika was sixteen, she ran away from home, and hitchhiked around
Omerika. She made a living from odd jobs and lived under a lean-to
made from scrap wood and a tarp. Hiking through the Omerikan
wilderness taught her a great deal about survival. She can find
edible berries in a pinch and knows how to distill a mean cactus
nectar.
Aimless
travel wore her down over the years. She lacked purpose, and it was
only a matter of time before she was killed by a pack of wolves in
the Omerikan hinterlands.
With
her last few crumpled dollar notes, she purchased a bus ticket to
Anne Arbor, Mishigan, and began squatting on a vacant lot near the
city center. She aims to make an honest living in food services.
However, perhaps a little moonlight nectar distilling could put some
extra dosh in her pocket.
There's
no one here on a Sunday morning. After browsing some of the tourist
guides, she tries to use one of the computers. Several excruciating
hours of locating the start button lately, she manages to set up a
messaging account. This seems a good way to meet the locals!
Browsing
through the list turns up a middle-aged conversationalist named
Michael, and a fairly dull man named Matthew. Oh, well. At least he's
a vegetarian, like Veronika! That should substitute for actually
having anything in common. After she's done trying to extract a food
wrapper from the CD-ROM drive with a screw driver, the computer emits
a few sparks and a plume of smoke. It's... probably time to meet some of the patrons
downstairs. The other patrons that drifted in during the afternoon were either bulky construction workers, or wailing children.
Veronika decides to head over to
the local pub for the remainder of the evening. She orders a drink
from the hip and considerably clumsy barista, and mingles with the
other townsfolk. A nice young man named Tanner Rice introduces
himself, and the pair are chuckling and swapping tales in no time!
This is a good start. He's clean shaven, wearing a pressed shirt, and
very polite. Veronika thinks she ought to purchase a new outfit for
social situations. A grease-stained singlet and a pair of grubby
shorts aren't going to do wonders for first impressions. At least
Tanner doesn't seem particularly judgmental As it turns out, he is
a moderately successful writer, unmarried, and around the same age as
Veronika. They become friends rather swiftly over some drinks and a
plate of onion rings.
All good things must come to an end. The pub finally closes in the wee hours, and Veronika heads out onto street. Tanner excuses himself and runs off to hail a cab, leaving Veronika in the pouring rain. Not wishing to travel all the way to the chilly canyon she calls home, Veronika heads to the alley behind the bar and sets up her bedroll. It's a long and uncomfortable night.
In the morning, she scavenges a soggy jam doughnut from a trash can, and heads over to the diner to work. It's a long and dreary day, but the more frugal business folk come in throngs to buy their burnt coffee and uneven raisin toast. At the end of the day, there's a nice wad of cash in Veronika's hand, and a pile of dishes she didn't have time to wash in the other. Without running water on her home lot, Veronika returns to the library to scrub the pots and pans as quietly as possible. She pondered hiring a contractor to dig out a little basement shelter for her. It would be necessary when the Winter season rolled in.
After
another uncomfortable sleep, Veronika repeats the last day. Discarded
breakfast. Scrounge around the local marshland. Today, she finds a
few sparkling quartz crystals. She once stayed in a naturalist
commune who favored this kind of stone. Something to do with
Feng-shoe-ee.
Veronika wanders around picking flowers for a couple of
hours. Whilst plundering the hospital gardens, she meets a
well-endowed woman from abroad. Anuba Rahotep notices Veronika's disheveled state, and offers a few words of encouragement before
leaving to catch her flight home. Veronika heads to her shift, and
exits the diner with another chunk of cash, and a shirt saturated
with fryer oil. It might be time to work on a side business.
In
the morning, Veronika decides to head out to the more rural part of
the city.
There's a Summer festival happening near the east
mountains, and a nice little cabin resort tucked away on a cliff
side. She 'borrows' the use of their bathroom facilities while the
cleaning maid is making her rounds.
Hey!
Maybe Tanner would like to come to the festival with her. She gives
him a ring on her brick-like mobile phone and heads over.They have a photo taken together in a tent, and then enter a hot dog eating competition with none other than middle-aged Michael! Veronika steals a sideways glance at him. He is prim, proper, and has an obscenely affluent look about him. Hopefully he doesn't recognise her from the message. Thankfully, he darts off to vomit out a pile of partially-digested bread as Veronika revels in her victory.
Tanner
and Veronika spend some time on the skating rink...
...predominantly on their posteriors.
Veronika
swallows her inhibitions, and strikes up a conversation with Michael.
He blathers on about a place in town that sells fine jewellery,
commenting that opals would suit her.
Fortunately, he is easily distracted by a few wayward celebrities, and Veronika wanders off to try the spray tanning machine. The results are mediocre at best.At the end of the night, it's time to go back to the city side of town, and hunker down in the library. Before she straggles up into the cold concrete stairwell, she notices the familiar face of Lola Belle. Veronika knows her from the billboards around town, though she's not quite sure what the well-dressed woman is famous for. Regardless, Lola is civil, and signs an autograph for Veronika. What a day!