mari

She was brought up in a run-down trailer park by an alcoholic mother and an absent father. As the eldest of eleven children, she spent much of her adolescence cooking meals, settling arguments, changing diapers, and shielding her siblings from problems they were too young to understand.

Jane remains estranged from her mother, but still checks in on several of her siblings whenever she can. Years of separation have complicated those relationships; some resent her for escaping, some were raised by different fathers, and the youngest barely remember living with her at all.

She genuinely loves her family, though she's quietly relieved by the distance between them. Life on the road is isolating, but it's the first place she's ever felt like she could simply exist without someone depending on her.

Jane's naturally suspicious of strangers and slow to trust, but she hides a surprisingly delicate core beneath a sarcastic exterior. Growing up surrounded by abuse and blurred boundaries left her with an unreliable sense of what healthy relationships are supposed to look like. When confronted with familiar patterns of control, she often slips into quiet resignation rather than resistance, though certain phrases or behaviors can provoke a defensive reaction.

As a teenager, she loved painting and making things with her hands. Adulthood slowly crowded those interests out until they became little more than things she used to do.

Jane enrolled in college to study nursing, hoping for a stable career and a chance to build a different life. After struggling through her first year and losing her entrance scholarship, she couldn't afford to continue and quietly dropped out.

Her grandfather was the closest thing she ever had to a dependable parent. He offered patience without expecting perfection, and although she carries guilt over harsh words she threw at him during difficult periods of her life, those memories remain among the few she looks back on with genuine warmth.

Years of raising other people's children left Jane fiercely independent and deeply uncomfortable asking for help. She’s far more accustomed to carrying burdens than sharing them.

Despite her rough edges, she's watchful and quietly compassionate, instinctively noticing when someone is tired or hungry long before they'll admit it.