Anastasia " Anya " Yulinka Volkov (20) is a paternal cousin of Kiki, Avra, and Tavi. She’s pretty close to her cousins, though she lost contact with Tavi when she cut contact with the rest of her family. Anya, who always looked up to Tavi, has harboured some resentment for that, although she hides it behind a smile. She knows she doesn’t have a right to feel this upset by Tavi ghosting her, as Tavi must’ve had her reasons, but Anya always hoped that she would get a reason.
Anya is the middle child of three daughters, and often resents her position as such. Growing up, she was often overlooked because she didn’t have any overt problems— her older sister was running with the wrong crowd and her younger sister was plagued with medical issues that weren’t her fault. Anya was the easy child, which meant that her problems weren’t as pressing as her sisters’. As such, Anya isn’t as close with them as normal sisters are, preferring to call her small circle of friends her “true sisters”. This has further ostracised her from her siblings, but Anya refuses to back down.
Even though Anya was just a kid when Tavi and Keke were good friends, and even though she hasn’t seen them since, the pair always reminded Anya of what was important— friendship. She learned, though them, that family didn’t have to be by blood and that even her closest friends could be family— which is a lesson she’s lived by to this day.
Anya is a criminal justice and biology double major and plans on becoming part of the CSI. With her one of her close friends studying to become a lawyer and her roommate (and close friend) studying to become a forensic scientist, the three have called themselves The Justice Squad, a nickname borne out of a night of drunken fun. The name was so silly that they had to go along with it, and Anya knows that these girls are, in fact, her true family.
Outside of school, Anya volunteers at an animal shelter near her university. She shares her shifts with a woman that Anya’s 100% sure she’s caught feelings for, but she’d rather die than admit that.