Nicola's fully written biography is currently AVAILABLE
The instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation. Google ‘fight or flight,’ and that’s what you’ll find, and you’ll never find it depicted better than the form of Nicola Wilson. A lifelong struggle with anxiety (which, for a long time, was undiagnosed) is what carried Nic from straight A’s in high school classes to panic attacks in toilets; from Newark city to the other side of the globe and back again.
You see, in high school, Nic was the kind of girl that worked hard for her grades, always seemed on top of it all, but beneath the surface, she was kicking and screaming. The fear of failure was the only thing keeping her afloat and it wasn’t until around the time she graduated that she realized just how mentally and emotionally drained she was. It was a split-second decision – she’d seen a booth at the college fair a few months before and stored the thought in the very back of her mind; had thought she wasn’t interested until, suddenly she’d sent her application and she’d been accepted and, bam, just like that, she was preparing to join the Military.
Sometimes when her fear kicked in, Nic would just run on autopilot. That’s also why she did so well when she was away. It took her parents by surprise just as much as it did herself, but Nic faced constant praise from her superiors during her time in the Military: she was given tasks that others would fight for and complete them to a T. Nic let her instincts lead her on the battlefield and in the base and even at the most terrifying of times, her fight or flight never failed her – well, for a while, at least.
Nic’s mother passed away unexpectedly during her fourth year of active duty. It was an aneurism of the brain that caused her untimely death and brought Nicola back to her hometown in Newark. After the funeral she tried to spend as much time as she could with her father before she was recalled back to duty, being his only child. When she did return to the Military, however, it was short-lived. Something in her changed: the teenager that would hyperventilate between classes and shake during tests had been buried for so long but had now returned. For some weeks she hid the way her nerves got the better of her, but it was just one night where it all came crashing down that her superiors decided her declining mental health was undeniable.
The first twelve months back at home with her father were rough. She felt ashamed and exhausted – a mixture of wanting to stay hidden away and wanting to get back on her feet and prove to herself that she could go on. For a while, she worked with her dad at the family-run florist, until she eventually began to feel emotionally stronger and decided she wasn’t ready to be the fragile girl her high school self seemed destined to be. She began to rent a space at a gym in the city where she'd commute to teach military-standard fitness and self defence. When she’s not helping with the family business, she has a handful of classes for different ages, genders and abilities and is beginning to feel herself again.
Missing pieces
Faceclaim options: Nesta Cooper, Jessica Henwick, Lindsey Morgan, Phoebe Tonkin, up to player
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Relationships:
Hunter - The two occasionally exchange idle chitchat when they run into each other at the gym, but they’re nothing more than a familiar face to one another. A few times, Hunter has passed Nic’s class and has found himself beyond impressed by her stamina, but is just a little too proud to ask for tips. Shame Nic's having the same issue, because these two could be great for each other if not for their own egos.
