Verina/Backstory

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Profile Reveal: Nature Calling — Verina

Introduction

With an extensive knowledge of botany, Verina is always solicitous, always smiling, and always wishing for every flower to be blessed with the miracle of life.

About Verina

Anecdote from the Mountains

A sense of unease gripped a certain village as strange sounds echoed from the mountain at night, accompanied by peculiar markings left on the ground.

Fearing an imminent Tacet Discord attack or other unknown anomalies, the villagers grew anxious. One moonlit evening, the bravest among them assembled, armed and ready, and ventured towards the mountain to uncover the source of the disturbances. There, they discovered a girl muttering and digging holes in the ground to plant some Dim Orchids.

Startled by the armed villagers, the young girl stammered, "H-hello? What brings you here? Oh, did I disturb you with my transplanting?"

As the misunderstanding cleared, it became apparent that the girl had come to find a suitable "home" for the seedlings she had rescued.

"The flowers told me they want to settle on a slope with moonlight and moist winds," she explained. The villagers chuckled at what they deemed childish talk, urging her to return home and rest.

Weeks later, the mountain slope glowed with brightly blossoming Dim Orchids, prompting the villagers to wonder: How did that girl know?

Floral Nap

Plants thrive on suitable soil. Verina, on the other hand, thrives on whatever soil where there is plant growing. After tending to the plants, sometimes, she chooses to lie down among them instead of leaving straight away. She nestles herself among the grass, flower house blooms, or tree branches, choosing her resting place based on the plants' presence and rhythms. The fragrant aroma and soothing whispers lull her into an herbal-scented dream. To her, such a nap proves more invigorating than resting upon the most luxurious of velvet beds.

A Long Wait

When the seeds they planted together finally blossomed into fruit, Verina quickly informed her friend, who harbored a keen interest in cooking. However, as the days drew nearer to the highly-awaited harvest, the anticipation became almost unbearable. Verina's friend eagerly eyed the fruit with her little companions Cosmos and Cloudy, urging, "Can we pick them now? They must be ready, right?" Verina, chin resting on her hands, observed the fruits and gently shook her head. "We must wait a little longer until the fruit is perfectly ripe, until it willingly detaches from the branch. That's when they taste the best." Nurturing plants takes time and patience, as they transform from flourishing foliage to shrivelled leaves, then into juicy fruit. It takes a dedicated gardener, willing to be patient.

Shy Caretaker

Verina goes on expeditions with the Pioneer Association teams from time to time and, while not a skilled fighter, she excels in caring for her team. Drawing on her experience nurturing plants, she takes note of each member's unique traits and prepares accordingly. "That tall big guy needs a lot of water like Coral Oats," Verina noted, "I should ensure he has an ample supply of fresh water." "That light-skinned lady, like Waterlamps, is prone to attracting mosquitoes... I need to get her a bundle of fresh Noctemints to ward them off..." Verina ended up memorizing every teammate by plant names. One day, she actually called one of them by their "plant name", prompting laughter from the group. Blushing in embarrassment, she wished she could disappear like a burrowing root. But her friends insist on more "plant nicknames", each wanting their own.

Character Stories

Mushrooms 101

Required: Unlocks at Intimacy Lv. 1

"If you're asking about Verina. Boy, you're in for a story," When asked about Verina, Riggs, leader of one of the Pioneer exploration teams, always begins with these words, "When she first came aboard our team, she was always by herself and didn't really talk to people. We were all worried that she's just not used to having her parents around anymore." "It really had us worried, after all, we knew a few things about her. The girl had a hard life, and she was just too shy. Exploration sounds romantic, but it's full of hard work. Verina on the other hand, has never had a word of complaint. She always did the mountain climbing and water fetching alone. She even goes scavenging for the likes of firewood, berries, and mushrooms without being told to. She sure was of great help to us, we were just worried what if something happened to her for holding it in like that for too long..." "Until one day, that something really did happen. And it was interesting, to say the least. One of the lads on the team really liked mushrooms and went out to pick a few for the soup he made. Verina held on to that pot and wouldn't let it go as if her life depended on it. By the time we got over to them, they were already in a shouting match." "The lad was bragging to Verina about his wildlife experiences. Hell, don't know what'd gotten into his head, thinkin' he could out-talk our little botanist! Verina had all the mushrooms spread out and started naming out all the rings, caps, and butts of each and every one of them. Being out exploring for so long, we all caught on that she was telling us the mushrooms were poisonous. She's got more knowledge of them than any of us, even gave us a lecture on the spot, teaching us how to tell them apart one by one. Now that was a lesson." "After she was done, she even tapped on a piece of wood she found somewhere like an instructor, and asked if we understood it all. We looked at each other from one to the other, and ended up with everyone laughing our heads off, which got her really losing it." "'W-why are you all laughing... Did I get something wrong? Awww...'" She was so panicked, that she started picking out the mushrooms still in the pot and went over them again one by one, but our applause was already ringing in her ears, and I yelled out, "Bravo! That's our little botanist, folks!" Ever since then, Verina would still think of that day and place a pot lid over her head. Whenever they would have anything to do with plants, she would still offer her opinions carefully and patiently.

Bouquet Breeding

Required: Unlocks at Intimacy Lv. 2

The people of Jinzhou love flowers. When battles were tense on the front lines, there was always a desire for supply teams to put a few bouquets inside the supplies. As these orders bounced back and forth, they would always end up in Verina's hands. Which felt strange to her at first. The bouquets bloomed for only a short time. Those picked today would wilt tomorrow. A bouquet that blooms in a greenhouse may have withered petals by the time it makes it to its recipient. At this point, the flowers would have already lost most of their beauty in people's hands, so why the need for them? It wasn't until she read the wishes attached to one of the orders, "In honor of my comrade in arms. He gave his life for the peace of Jinzhou, yet his name is not known to many. Yet I still remember his heartfelt smile when he received an Iris from a friend long ago. If one's name cannot be remembered, let the meanings of these flowers honor him forever." That night, Verina locked herself in the greenhouse. People love flowers not because of the arrangement of veins on their leaves, it could just be a story, or perhaps some momentary emotions. To memorize those emotions, Verina picked out the best seeds she could find and began breeding them over and over again. She wanted to remember the stories, she wanted to remember those emotions, and she wanted the bouquets to last longer and longer so that when people receive them, they would see them at their best, and in that way they would be able to feel the best of the emotions hidden in the flowers. It was at these times that Verena wished she could work a little harder and a little longer.

Noting the Differences

Required: Unlocks at Intimacy Lv. 3

People always ask Verina why she loves plants so much. It's a question that Verina has answered countless times, but she knows that people will always start off the conversations with question after question, so each time she would give out a well-thought-out answer: "When I was little, my mom would place two pieces of leaves in my hand and ask me what the differences were between them. I would reply, 'Aren't they exactly the same? They came from the same tree.' And Mom would shake her head, 'Look closely, Verina.' So I gave them a closer look, and then I realized that even though they looked the same on the outside, their veins spread out in varying directions. They drew completely different patterns." This changed Verina's perspective entirely, the differences which she had never noticed nor cared about in the past were now displaying right before her eyes. Some flowers may look similar but grow in completely different environments. Some trees or plants may grow in near identical environments but end up taking on various shapes. These marvelously similar yet different characteristics fascinated Verina. As a result, she began to study botany and began to look for commonalities and differences between plants, to help them adapt to the local conditions, and to cultivate the most beautiful flowers. And that's how she grew to notice how different everyone was around her. Every leaf of a plant is different, and everyone and everything in life does not overlap. She observes meticulously, taking note of her friends' preferences and sadnesses. "For example, some people like to eat clear lemon grass and some people don't. It must be nice if someone remembers these little things about themselves." With this sentiment in mind, Verina carefully and conscientiously jotted down every little thing about her friends.

Moments of Woe

Required: Unlocks at Intimacy Lv. 4

Being an ordinary girl, Verina also has her moments of woe. Flower selection doesn't always go smoothly, and she would often wake up in the morning and see dry seedpods in a petri dish after a good night's sleep. And after working most of the day, more often than not she would end up forgetting to have lunch again. Verina would miss her mom and dad every time this happened. "If only Mom and Dad were around, I wouldn't have to worry about all this, right?" Verina always thought. A hot, hearty lunch would be right there waiting for her as she walked in the door, and she would get all the help she needed in time whenever she wanted to figure something out. But all of that had long since become a memory, left in the notes that she had lost when she departed the New Federation a long time ago. Now she would have to live on her own, pull herself together. She also wonders: Is there any meaning to all the work she's done? Is there any meaning in the life she's living? Yet the plants growing strong give her the answers. After enduring failures too many, the dry seedpods struggled to produce new offspring, and the voices of the plants' growth shared with her joys in the name of "life." As Verina laid herself in this greenery, voices filled her ears, the plants shared with her their stories of the pain of growth and the joys of blooming. Perhaps this was the meaning of her endeavors. Verina thought as she stood up and put on her gardening gloves. Even if her parents aren't by her side, she still has to keep working hard and show them how much she's grown. After her short moment of woe, Verina picked up the spray can and continued her work for the day.

Some Time off

Required: Unlocks at Intimacy Lv. 5

Verina would give herself some time off from time to time. She set the temperature of the flower room to the right level and programmed the watering schedule. After doing these things, Verina would always breathe a long sigh of relief. After days of labor, she always needed a break, and knowing how important it was to give herself and her plants a little vacation, she emptied her mind and took her adventure notes to roam Jinzhou. The city of Jinzhou was a place completely different from her hometown of New Federation, there were no traders who jacked up the price of flowers, and no competitions with elaborate rules. Walking through every alley in the city of Jinzhou, looking at the vapor rising in front of the stalls and the people who were bustling with activity and buying, Verina felt a genuine sense of relief. This is good, this is good. As she walked along the road, Verina thought to herself. She thought of the time long ago when she and her parents studied plants together and also thought of those lonely and isolated days when she couldn't see her parents. She felt like she had been walking alone for a long, long time, but now, she could take care of herself and even take a little vacation for herself. And what's more, her friends were waving to her, and Chixia and Yangyang were walking towards her with freshly purchased Salted Milk Tea in their hands, so it looked like the Midnight Rangers just happened to be taking a little vacation as well. Verina hurriedly rummaged through her satchel, pulling out a few bouquets of tiny, star-like flowers from it. This was the most precious gift Verina would ever give her friends. The selection had taken far, far too long, and while the star flowers had waited for the best of times and sunshine, she had also waited for sunshine that would make her feel warm. Now that she saw it, Verina ran free from her heart toward her friend. There was a long road ahead, and it would take some time for the flowers to bloom. And for now, enjoy the vacation.