Sofia Plushenko

Sofia forced a smile and nodded at his reply, the tone of his voice somewhat putting her at ease, although not completely. “You’re lucky, believe me... if ever given the opportunity to visit, I think you’d be better off running the opposite way.” The gentleman’s relaxed nature and friendly smile prompted a grin from Sofia, shaking off her previous comment as her attention was drawn back to him. “I am - have you been here long? I’ll be honest, I haven’t decided whether or not I’m fond of it yet or not - I’m cautiously optimistic, though.”

Sofia’s smile was genuine as she listened to the brunette, her affinity for the homeland more than evident in her expression as she spoke. “It’s a beautiful place indeed - I lived in Vladivostok for my high school years, and I’ve spent some time in St. Petersburg as well.” Sofia couldn’t contain the visible flinch as the slightly older woman asked about her family, although she forced a smile to cover her slip up. 

“My father was Anatoly Kurylenko,” she noted quietly, gauging the reaction she got as she recalled that it wasn’t something that she enjoyed telling people. “I’m not sure if you know the Vorshevsky’s, but Anatoly was Elizabeth’s brother.”

She listened carefully as she explained her reasons as to being in London, career moves seemed to be the main reasons other came, that and to care for their families or those they classed as family. For a moment she came distracted, wondering if it was just going to be her and her Uncle living in London or if any other of the Hathaway’s would soon be joining them - she knew there has been talks about it, yet nothing had been confirmed. 

“Wow, that’s amazing. I’m so glad that all that hard work is finally paying off. Aaron and yourself must be so proud, well done Sofia” she congratulated, “from what I remember you really did work hard for it.”

Sofia smiled as she listened to Honor talk about the store - it was clearly something that she was passionate about, and the Russian had seen firsthand the talent that Honor had. “I’m so looking forward to it Honor - it’s going to be marvelous, I’m sure.”

The brunette chuckled lightly and shook her head, a light smile spreading across her features. “You’re so sweet, I appreciate that - I’d never be able to do what you do though - it’s taken me years to understand what’s flattering on me, but you’re designing clothes for all sorts of people, and you’re fabulous at it.”

“Honestly, I’ve lost track of how long it’s been. Over a month anyway, but prior to that I was coming back most weekends trying to get the stall ready, that got all a bit too much so I decided to move here. Launceston pretty much manages to take care of itself right now.”

“How about you? What’s brought you here?” she asked. 

Sofia listened intently as Honor spoke, her words bringing to light what she’d already known when Konstantin had approached her about London - there was more than just her family here... the stage was certainly being set for it to turn into Launceston... Honor, however, didn’t seem as uneasy about it as Sofia felt.

“That’s great, I’m sure it will do well here, from what I’ve heard it’s a big fashion town. Although, I’ll admit... I don’t know much about fashion, or about London, so I’m definitely not the person that would know,” the brunette mused, realizing how ridiculous the statement sounded once she’d said it.

Sofia smiled at the woman when she spoke, but her sentiment about Moscow caused the fellow Russian to stop in her tracks. She couldn’t hide her confusion, but as she searched the woman’s face for something familiar, but she continued to come up short. “You’re from Moscow?” she questioned gently, trying not to come off as overly eager, but failing miserably. 

It was remarkably ironic, as the universe tended to be, that just as he was pondering this thought he heard someone mention that town name that he so closely related with the scars and missing appendages or limbs on his friends’ bodies. And that was just the physical damage that came out of Launceston, nothing to say of the emotional or mental damage. “Hello, I’m so sorry,” Olivier said, voice low and gentle in his approach before it returned to a bolder, friendlier tone. “Are you from Launceston?”

The voice that stopped her was quiet and possessed a gentle-ness about it, although there was no familiarity that she could point to it. She made eye contact with the handsome stranger and smiled politely, although it was clear that she was slightly unnerved at his familiarity with the place that Sofia wished she could deny.

“Unfortunately,” she mused quietly as she smiled politely, hesitant to share too much information. “I take it you are, as well?”

“It certainly is” Honor replied. “However, if we carry on like this we’ll be turning London into Launceston.”

A light smile spread across Sofia’s face when she heard Honor’s familiar voice; it had truly been years since the last time they’d seen one another, and Sofia had always enjoyed the her company. Her features softened instantly and she grinned lightly, her being relaxing in the slightest.

“You know, considering the last time I saw you I was sewing your bloody head back together so that you didn’t end up with a gnarly scar on your face... I don’t think it’s asking too much for a little more friendly greeting.”

BASIC INFORMATION:

NAME: Sofia Kurylenko-Plushenko.   AGE: 29. PLACE OF BIRTH: Launceston, Massachusetts, United States. AFFILIATION: The Russian Mob. OCCUPATION: Medical Resident (Emergency Medicine) FACE CLAIM: Nina Dobrev. AVAILABILITY: TAKEN.

BIOGRAPHY:

The nine years spent in Vladivostok had been all but rewritten when Sofia Kurylenko moved back to Launceston, yet, although she was the only daughter of a once-prominent Russian patriarch, her time away had hardly been enough to erase her father’s sins from the minds of his enemies. 

The horrors of the city had been previously unknown to the ‘Russian Princess’ before her return, but even in the first weeks following her arrival, it was more than evident that her life here would be full of more challenges than that of the average young woman. The target that had been painted on her back long ago threatened her existence daily, and although she’d been brought to the brink of death more than a single time, Sofia Kurylenko had proven to the city that she was not willing to abandon the place that she’d always considered her home.

The feeling that Launceston was, indeed, her home, was solidified not only by the memories that it held of her dearly departed father, but of the family that she’d seemingly been re-introduced to in young adulthood; her memories of her aunts, uncles, and cousins were far different than the reality of knowing them. It was more difficult now: being faced with the horrors they masked as their ‘businesses’ directly compromised the things she believed so deeply in, although Sofia continued to love them from arm’s length, the only way she knew how. This knowledge, however, eventually became a driving factor in her decision to fulfill her lifelong dream: becoming a doctor.

There had been more to her life in Launceston that had convinced the Russian to remain in a city filled with such evil. The friendships she’d formed had quickly blossomed into relationships that were far more reminiscent of blood relatives than individuals from opposing sides of the war they were all caught in. Aside from friendships, the relationship that had developed between herself and her assigned bodyguard, Aaron Plushenko, was something that everyone had become envious of. The love that the two shared for one another was something to be rivaled only by tales in a storybook, although the journey to the altar was far from a fairytale. Despite their eventual separation, they welcomed a son that proved the end of their time apart; Andrew was the next era of Kurylenko blood, and both his parents were more than aware of what that would mean for his life in the future.

The most notable threat to the Russian’s little family had always been Alessia Auditore, who had long proven that the vendetta she’d had with Anatoly had not been settled after his death. Sofia had been the object of her fury more than once, yet following the Russian’s attack on the Auditore family that Easter afternoon, it became overwhelmingly clear that the stakes were higher than she’d previously imagined. There was an unspoken bounty on the heads of all Kurylenko family members, and they were picked off, one by one.

The wisest decision that Sofia could’ve made was to leave with her family under the cover of night. With no warning and very few goodbyes, Sofia, Aaron, and Andrew disappeared into the night, forever leaving Launceston, families, and friends behind.

The Russian was thankful that they hadn’t remained in Launceston longer than they had; the demise of the Russians wasn’t something she wanted to witness, let alone become caught up in. It took her small family quite a long time to become relaxed in their new home, far away from the violence and constant threats they’d sadly grown accustomed to. Their new home, nestled quietly in the Western Colorado mountains, was reminiscent of a postcard, and above all else, it was something that Launceston had never been: peaceful.

The new environment provided room for Sofia and Aaron to flourish in their professional lives, in their relationship, and as parents to their son. She continued the path that she’d started at a new university: now in her third year of medical school, she’d finally decided upon her specialty: emergency medicine. It was competitive, without a doubt, but the Russian found it endlessly fascinating. The fast-paced, high-pressure situations were ones that she was determined to feel comfortable in, to thrive in. Aaron, on the other hand, has taken their new environment as an invitation to change directions completely: he built, owns, and manages a restaurant in the town nearest their home. Andrew happily accompanies him after his days of first grade, and the restaurant staff has all but adopted the bouncy six-year-old as their own, much to the approval of his doting mother.

The only person outside random family members that Sofia really kept in touch with from Launceston was Veronika, her occasional visits and consistent Skype calls the only real connection she held with the people that had inhabited her former life. Upon hearing of Marcello’s death, however, their contact ceased for months, the worried Russian placing hundreds of phone calls that all went unreturned. Until, one day, the Italian called. And with the call came a request that Sofia simply couldn’t refuse. Porto Velho was never planned, but Ronnie asking Sofia to assist her in caring for her children after losing Marcello wasn’t something she was at liberty to decline. The year that they spent in Porto brought with it a range of emotions and changes between factions, however, when Ronnie decided it was best for her family to leave the city, Sofia was more than ready to return back to her family in Colorado.

Sofia had settled back into her quiet life quickly; it wasn’t long after her return that she graduated medical school and began her residency in emergency medicine – the area of study that she’d always felt the most drawn to. There had been no interruptions, no threats from her previous life, nothing that indicated that anyone knew of her existence deep in the mountains… until one day, he arrived.

Konstantin Vorshevsky and the small army of Russians that he’d brought with him had welcomed her home from an overnight shift one morning, sitting at the kitchen table with her husband and son as if he’d belonged there. His visit, however unwelcomed, was something she couldn’t protest, and the words that he spoke chilled every part of her being.

“You’ll come to London and work for me. If you choose to forego this, your son will come in your place. This family has sacrificed so much for you, Sofia. It’s time to repay your debt.”

The Plushenkos sat around their kitchen table long after the Russian mob boss had left, turning over possibilities and trying to find a way out of the position they’d now been thrust into. They thought about leaving their home, disappearing into the night once again, starting over somewhere else… but the inevitability remained that they’d be located again, quite possibly by someone that wasn’t willing to extend them any sort of courtesy.

It wasn’t long afterward that Sofia’s bags were packed, she’d said her goodbyes to her family, and left them with the few members of the new Russian mob, much to her own dismay. As the car drove her to the airport, the Russian couldn’t quiet her beating heart, truly wondering if she’d ever go back to her quiet life in the mountains, or if she was destined to always be tied to the family she’d tried so desperately to forget.

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS:

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Aaron Plushenko (husband, unplayable) FAMILY: Anatoly Kurylenko (father, deceased), Andrew Kurylenko-Plushenko (son, unplayable), Aleksandr, Elizabeth Vorshevsky (aunt and uncle, deceased), Konstantin Vorshevsky (cousin), Mila Korshunova (cousin-in-law), Larissa Vorshevsky (cousin, deceased), Yuliya, Katarina Vorshevsky (cousins, unplayable), Arkady Kurylenko (uncle), Maksim, Viktoriya Kurylenko (cousins), Pyotr, Dmitri, Vladimir Kurylenko (uncles, deceased), Sasha Kurylenko (cousin, deceased), Nina Kurylenko (cousin, unplayable) CONNECTIONS:

Veronika Auditore: Best friend. Sofia and Ronnie’s friendship seemed to have been inevitable from the first instance in which they happened upon one another. Coming from families that had been taught to hate each other, nothing about their friendship should’ve survived the stress that it had been put through, yet Sofia had followed her to Porto Velho without question to help take care of Ronnie’s children. Although they’ve both settled back into their own lives since, Sofia and Ronnie have always maintained their tight-knit friendship, even despite the miles that separate them.

Mikhail Vorshevsky: Cousin/good friend. Mikhail and Sofia had shared a bond for as long as Sofia could remember; when they were children, they played together most often, and upon her return to Launceston, Mikhail was one of the only members of the Vorshevsky family that Sofia truly trusted. She hadn’t seen her cousin since her departure from Launceston, but her expectation is that they’ll be able to pick up where they left off, as she’ll surely need the support “rejoining” the ranks of the family she’s tried so desperately to distance herself from.