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 Posted: Thu May 01, 2025 9:47 pm
St Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. Saint Petersburg is the fourth-most populous city in Europe, the most populous city on the Baltic Sea, and the world's northernmost city of more than 1 million residents. As the former capital of the Russian Empire, and a historically strategic port, it is governed as a federal city. The city was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 on the site of a captured Swedish fortress, and was named after the apostle Saint Peter. In Russia, Saint Petersburg is historically and culturally associated with the birth of the Russian Empire and Russia's entry into modern history as a European great power. It served as a capital of the Tsardom of Russia, and the subsequent Russian Empire, from 1712 to 1918 (being replaced by Moscow for a short period of time between 1728 and 1730). After the October Revolution in 1917, the Bolsheviks moved their government to Moscow. The city was renamed Leningrad after Lenin's death in 1924. It was the site of the siege of Leningrad during World War II, the most lethal siege in history. In June 1991, only a few months before the Belovezha Accords and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, voters supported restoring the city's original appellation in a city-wide referendum.
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2025 4:18 pm
 Dymitri Alynn QuinlanGryffindor │ Third Year │ Thirteen Years Old │ Single
Ministry of Magic
“The Woods Out Back”
Chapter One: “The Travelers”
“Mama! Uncle Kasamir is here!” was what the high-pitched voice Alynn heard through the door call out, causing him to close his eyes and breathe a soft curse, as he glanced down at the time on his phone. ‘Would it kill you to be late for once?’ was the irritated thought that flitted through the incoming Third Year’s mind. He then heard his little sister add breathlessly, “ Dobroye utro, Dyadya Kasamir, cack della?”
“Your accent is getting better, Malenkaya Ptichka,” Alynn heard his cousin’s measured tones through the door, telling him that he was just on the other side of the door in the hallway, causing him to breathe another irritated curse. ‘Is it too much to ask for a little more time?’ was the next ill-tempered question floating to the fore of his thoughts. Alynn knew if Kas was here, then so was Aunt Faina, and the time was soon in coming for the family to make the journey to St. Petersburg for the long-planned gathering of the various branches of the Patrovna Clan.
Though the reunion was months in planning, Alynn didn’t learn of it until after his return to Hogwarts from the last school break. To say he was disappointed in having a good chunk of his well-deserved summer holiday planned out from under him would be an understatement. There were Quidditch matches to watch, and he was determined to go for the Seeker slot this coming season, so he planned to get in serious practice to contest for Moon’s slot and to be taken as a serious contender. More to the point, there was the big comic book convention coming to Glasgow, and he was hoping to score enough Muggle cash to put together an epic raid on the Dealers’ Room that would become the stuff of stories later.
‘Yeah, so much for my plans,’ thought the thirteen-year-old Gryffindor; it was hard for him not to be salty about what was done without his knowledge or input. Worse, Dad wasn’t coming to help make things a little more palatable for his elder son; nope, he was otherwise busy, while Mom took time away from St. Mungo’s. Oddly, while Mom normally looked forward to a visitation from Baba and Papa Patrovna, especially when it was around the holidays, this wasn’t the case as she got the family ready for the trip to the ‘Old Country’.
He heard some squeaking sounds and glanced over at Stewie who was sitting on top of the dresser he was standing in front of, exploring one of his school ties, that was to say, he was sniffing and nipping at it. Alynn sighed and hastily confiscated the item from his Blackfoot ferret friend. “Do you mind, Stewie?” he asked irritably. “Can’t keep asking Mom to fix my ties because you need to personalize them.”
It was one of the aggravating things about the prohibitions he and other students lived under over the summer. One spent all this time learning to cast magic, but when summer came all that schooling was allowed to atrophy. There were also times when casting a Charm was just too darn useful or practical, like being able to mend his own ties after his ferret nibbled holes in them. According to Kasamir, who was studying Wizard Law, the prohibitions were there with good reason, though Alynn managed to get him to admit that there were times the rules were just a pain in the butt.
Alynn grumbled once more about the trip under his breath in a patois of Scottish and partially remembered Russian, as he was required to get his school ties out after hoping they could remain in his trunk, right where he put them, to be forgotten about until the tail end of August, when they’d need laundering and a ruddy good ironing to be presentable again. However, he needed to look presentable for today’s (or this evening’s, with the time differential figured into the journey) trip. Otherwise, this was a weekend, time tailor-made to be without a tie.
He had to admit to himself he actually looked pretty good, as he checked himself over, if one didn’t mind the occasional stray bit of ferret-scented hair. Having hit a growth spurt, he was cutting a tall and thin figure these days and stood taller than Mom and was rivaling Dad for height. Black dress shoes and matching socks were paired with black dress slacks, and a paper-white dress shirt and completed with the Gryffindor tie he was knotting with a level of anger and aggravated efficiency. He added a knee-length blood red Kimono coat with long full-sleeves, decorated with lions embroidered with golden thread, and tied shut with a simple black sash.
Looking over, and seeing Stewie was occupied with gnawing on a treat stick in his nest, Alynn stepped over to open the door and emerged from his room. Not far from his door, the Third Year saw Kasamir standing in the hallway, with his little six-year-old sister, sitting on his arm, and otherwise draped over his shoulder. The Slytherin Prefect was wearing a hunter green military-style tunic which was more associated with Durmstrang than Hogwarts, with its cross belt and a wide black leather belt which looked as though it were meant to accommodate a sheath for a sword. His tunic was paired with a pair of black cavalry trousers with a green stripe down the leg, corresponding to the colour of his tunic and a pair of finely polished shinei boots. Finally, his uniform was completed with a long fur-trimmed cloak.
It was the latter that Alenka was currently rubbing the side of her apple cheeks against, giggling softly as she did. The littlest of the family resembled Mom when she was that age, with her long, floaty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing the long robin egg blue skirt and crisp white blouse she picked out the night before, along with black dress shoes, and a cream-coloured cardigan sweater. Her long hair, which was almost always a riotous tangle, was already brushed out, and a black plastic Alice band in place to complete her outfit. While she was clutching Kasamir’s shoulder with one outstretched hand, she had a toy in her other arm, one Alynn was pretty sure he hadn’t seen his sister with before.
The toy was a stuffed owlbear, at least he was pretty sure that’s what it was, having seen illustrations of them, with the plumage and fur pattern of a snowy owl, and the size of a largish Paddington Bear. Looking at the toy, Alynn saw it was moving its head around and looking about with its large bright green eyes as though it were a live creature and was making sounds somewhere between that of a raptor and a cat, cooing and rubbing Alenka’s hand, and fluttering one of its useless paddle-like wings.
‘Where the hell did he find that?’ wondered Alynn, scowling, annoyed and jealous all at once at the scene not more than a few feet from his door. The toy was cute and cuddly, so, of course, Alenka instantly fell in love with it, and enchanted, which only added to the level of its cool and cute factor. More to the point, he couldn’t recall the last time his sister wanted for him. to carry her around. ‘Of course, I also don’t wear a fur cloak for her to snuggle with either,’ he added to himself.
As he was about to say something, he saw Mom ascending the stairs of the house. The thirty-six-year-old Senior Healer looked a bit worn from a long shift in the Pediatrics Wing at St. Mungo’s, wearing her lime-green scrubs with her blonde hair pulled back and worn straight. It was already a long day, and it wasn’t going to get any shorter, not when there was a trip to the eastern end of Europe in the cards and meeting up with a large portion of her large extended family as part of an equally extended family reunion and convocation. The latter part of which was sniggeringly referenced by certain people not present as ‘Game of Crones.’ Admittedly, the description was likely as accurate as it was unflattering to all concerned. Cresting the top of the stairs, she glanced around at the three kids, noting the riot of colours, and commented, “My God, the three of you look like extras from the ‘Sergeant Pepper’ album cover.”
While Alynn chuckled softly, understanding the reference to a nearly century-old album cover from a rock band that still influenced musicians’ generations later, and Alenka laughed aloud just because she was six and it sounded funny. Kas lowered the child to the floor, and she rushed over to stand in front of her mother. “Momma, Kasamir helped me get ready. Look!” she said breathlessly, and she twirled about excitedly, causing her skirt to swirl about, along with her long blonde hair. Giggling, she added, “And, Kasamir brought me a new fur-friend to take to the reunion. Isn’t she cute? Now, I need to figure out a name for her.”
Kitty looked at the toy as her little daughter presented it, and it started chirping, hooting and flapping its wings as its eyes focused on her and then gave the dapper young man in the green tunic a look which was equal parts bemusement and exasperation. Shifting her attention back to her daughter, she said, “Well, you look beautiful, dear.” Alenka curtsied, and she said primly, “Baba says,’Devushka vsegda dolzhna voglyadet nailuchshim obrazom na vazhnykh meropriation, potomu chto ee budut otsenivat po vnesnomu vidou vse ostalnye prisutstvuyushchie.”
Alynn tried hard to hide his own reaction, as he knew the quotation was accurate and well-delivered … and sounded batter than whatever was going to come out his own mouth. It wasn’t like Kasamir hadn’t been tutoring him in Russian, among other subjects over the course of the school year, as they’d been possibly planning a trip to Russia at some point. However, both of them had their other studies requiring their time and focus, and their clubs, and Quidditch, and Kasamir had OWLs to prepare for, and he had Hesperia. In the end they simply ran out of time, and Russian wasn’t the easiest of languages to master.
Kitty smiled, and said, “Baba will very pleased when she hears you say that, dear. Oh, before I forget …” She fished a stack of cards from a pouch and handed them to Alynn. “I wrote these out for you when I had a break sometime last night, dear. I also wrote down names and relationships for you while I was at it …” Alynn accepted the cards and immediately tucked them into the pocket of his kimono, and said with a reassuring smile, “Mom, it’s okay. I wrote my own out last night, translated and everything. Mom, its okay, you can relax.”
She looked at Alynn with her blue eyes and gave him a fragile smile, and said, “Hang onto them anyway, just in case you get stuck. I know you and Kasamir worked hard on this, but…” Alynn hugged Mom, and told her, “It’s okay, Mom, I got this.cYa obeshchayu, chto sdelayu vse vozmozhnoye, chtoby ne opozorite tebya you papu.” Mom returned his hug; she needed to lean upwards to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Just do your best, don’t worry about shaming us, Alynn.”
The veteran Healer glanced about, and then asked, as a fresh shot of panic surged through her, “Where’s Aleksandr? He needs to be getting ready to go too.” In a calm tone, Kasamir said, “Aleksandr is already dressed and ready, Tetya Katya. I already asked him to start putting together some sort of a meal, as I knew you wouldn’t have had time to eat at work. While he has that task in hand, Tetya Faina, is collecting the Portkey, even as we speak.”
Not for the first time was Kitty glad of having her adopted nephew around, as when he was living in the household, he helped to keep things running, as she was always busy with things at St. Mungo’s and Cian was just plain busy, and not always there when she would have really appreciated it. It also wasn’t the first time she felt incredibly guilty for leaning on him like she sometimes did, knowing it was patently unfair to ask a fifteen, well, sixteen year old now, kid to be an adult. ‘Just like it was unfair for Faina to be ‘mamma-medveditsa’ for the two of us, and she was just ten when the house was torched.’ It wasn’t lost on her how she was Alenka’s age when all that happened … thirty years ago. There were times it felt like it was only yesterday, just as there were days it seemed like it was a part of another lifetime.
Closing her eyes, Kitty sighed, and she said softly, “Okay, right now, I need a hot shower, a warm meal, change of clothes and a nap. I feel disgusting, I smell worse, and I’m starving.” She refrained from admitting how she didn’t want to face her family, not without a bit of rest so she could decompress herself from the long shift she’d gone through at work. As much as she wanted to see family, she dreaded this reunion as much as she might the prospect of taking her NEWTs all over again.
Kasamir opened the watch he kept in a pocket, and ran a calculation, before saying, “Best I can do for you is three out of four, Tetya Katya. Once we have the Portkey, and activate it, we will be on a tight schedule.”
 Never made it as a wise man
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'
Tired of livin' like a blind man
I'm sick of sight without a sense of feelin'
And this is how you remind me
This is how you remind me of what I really am
This is how you remind me of what I really am
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2025 4:23 pm
 Faina Patrovna
Slytherin Alumnus │ Veteran Auror │ Thirty-Nine Years Old │ Single
Faina’s arrival at the Quinlan household was heralded by the excited barking of the massive Moscow Watchdog she brought along, whose deep-throated bark would travel through the house quicker than her voice might. Though he would never admit it, Kasamir would miss the company of his mighty sidekick, and there was nobody to otherwise care for the creature at their home. The Senior Auror in charge of the office in St. Petersburg was just south of forty (having marked her birthday not more than a week prior), but the set of her carnelian eyes were of somebody far older.
Dressed in a surplus dark gray Russian officer’s greatcoat, a black band around one sleeve, black leather gloves, trousers, a pair of well-worn and utilized shinei boots, and a blue fur-trimmed ushanka whose insignia was Charmed so that anyone looking at her would see her as being from an organization they least wished to meet an emissary of, Faina cut an imposing figure. Her white hair was bound in a business-like bun, and her arrow-straight posture, all contributing to the austere, severe look she cultivated. She was a veteran Dark Wizard catcher and Witch Hunter, and if folk were just a little bit scared of her when she approached then this worked to her advantage.
“Well, go say ‘hi’ to him,” she told the dog, as she let him off his leash, allowing herself a private smile as Medved bounded off in search of his young master. Standing in the foyer, she’d swept her materialization point with her senses, as complacency could get one killed. After a moment, she knew all was well, if a bit harried in the household, as she heard the normal sounds of a home with children and smelled the aroma of a freshly cooked meal. The latter reminded her there was to be a fine meal in the offing to be anticipated. Normally, if Kasamir wasn’t home to do the cooking, meals were whatever daily special she got at the local hole-in-the-wall diner not far from the office that she frequented, even on holidays, when she bothered to eat at all.
It wasn’t long after releasing the St. Bernard-sized dog, she heard a deep-voiced ‘woof, woof’, followed by Alenka’s excited squeals, and soon she was hearing the footfalls of somebody approaching the foyer. Faina looked up from her thoughts and saw her sister walk into the room. Kitty was wearing a long, pretty dress and a pair of high-heeled shoes, the latter to compensate for her short stature. The metaphysical mask Faina always wore for the rest of the world to see slipped away, and for a moment she had a hopeful look in her red eyes and a fragile smile tugged at her lips.
“Faina,” said Kitty, as she stepped in close and gave her older sister a long and fierce hug. Faina could feel her sister’s arms pull in around her, and she said, after a moment, “I know what you’re doing, Kotenok. I’m not exactly fading away.” Kitty gave her sister an unrepentant look, and then replied in a soft voice, “Mom worries about you; and so, do I.” Faina said in reply, “I always send her a note when I send her money.”
Kitty sighed softly, unsurprised by her sister’s response. It had been many years since Mom and Uncle Sergei were strapped for money, not since when they were attending Hogwarts, and Faina faithfully sent them money every month to help them out. The Healer knew Mom took the money her daughter gave her, and it sat in a Gringotts account, accumulating interest in case it was Faina who needed it. “A letter and a pouch of Galleons qualifies as being ‘proof of life’, Faina; that hardly counts. She’d like to see you.”
Faina shrugged, and answered logically, “And we will see her today at the reunion, so her wish will be granted. I don’t wish to put her and Papa Sergei at risk by seeing them more. It isn’t safe.” As Kitty stepped back, Faina saw the nimbus of light hovering above one of her hands, and she could see within the pool of light was an image of what she assumed was her body, minus the padding the coat offered.
“And what of these injuries, Faina? You were hit by Dark Magic, and not that long ago. These should have been treated immediately, and they weren’t,” Kitty said worriedly, knowing her sister was likely in constant pain, whether she chose to acknowledge it or not. Faina drew a deep, pained breath, and answered dismissively, “A trifling, Kotenok, all things considered I am fortunate.”
Kitty countered with, “You call this, ‘fortunate’?” It was then she saw the haunted, pained look in her sister’s eyes, not the physical pain she knew her to be enduring with her usual level of stoicism, but something deeper no amount of magic could heal. “I visited the home of one of my Aurors the other night, Kotenok,” she said in a quiet voice, as her gaze was focused on somewhere other than where she was, “and had to explain to his wife and young children, the oldest wasn’t any older than Alenka, as to why he wouldn’t be coming home, now or ever, and why they shouldn’t see what was left of him. A bit of pain is fair trade for remaining on this side of the Veil, I think.”
As she looked at her sister, it registered in Kitty’s mind there was a black armband around one of the coat sleeves, and that it wasn’t an affectation, and she asked, “I thought with you taking over the office you wouldn’t be out in the field like you used to. What happened?” Faina drew another deep breath and was instantly rewarded with a fresh stab of pain, and as was her usual she didn’t allow her discomfort to register on her face or in her voice. “We are shorthanded, there’s never enough of us to do what must be done, and I won’t send anyone to do a job I wouldn’t do myself,” she said, as a wave of fatigue washed over her.
Even as children, Kitty always thought her sister was brave enough to walk up to Baba Yaga’s chicken hut and ask her for barbeque sauce. However, Kitty wasn’t done, and she said softly, “You’ve been losing weight again, Faina. When was the last time you ate, or maybe the better question should be when was the last time Kasamir made you a supper that you actually ate?” Faina thought about it a moment, and her stomach rumbled angrily reminded her it was still there and needed attention. “Well, let’s see, the Daily Special was the chili, so that would have been …”
“Yeah, that’s about what I was figuring you would say,” said Kitty, gentle reproof in her voice, as she wouldn’t scold her sister. “All right, as attending Healer, my prescription is for you to take off that coat, sit down in my kitchen with the kids, and eat. Aleksandr made breakfast, and there’s plenty extra. While you eat, I’ll do my work.” Faina replied, “We are on a schedule, Kotenok, and I wouldn’t wish to impose, and besides, there will be a meal at the reunion. Anyways, are you sure you can do that? You’re a pediatrician, and I’m not exactly a tiny tot.”
Kitty gave her sister a determined look, and said, “And I’m still a fully vetted Healer, so the answer is ‘yes’ We’re on a schedule, but we still have time for you to have a meal with your niece and nephews. Kasamir came over last night to help out with our preparations, and you are here early with the Portkey. I just hope Alynn’s able to do well enough to not get laughed at.” Faina nodded her head, as the two sisters started toward the kitchen. “Were some faux pas to be committed by Alynn, I promise you, Kasamir will fall on his sword.” Kitty sighed, and she said, “He shouldn’t be doing that for Alynn. It’s his responsibility to prepare for this reunion, not Kasamir’s.”
Faina offered a wintry smile, as she doffed her hat and shrugged out of her heavy greatcoat, revealing the starched sea gray dress blouse she wore underneath, and passed them to her sister. Katya tossed them in the general direction of the coat hooks mounted on the wall, and they floated onto the available empty hooks. Faina said, “For Alynn, I think not. For his ‘Tetya Katya’ on the other hand …” Kitty closed her eyes and shook her head in dismay. “Kasamir’s a good kid, you don’t know how much I appreciate it when he’s here. It’s like having an extra adult in the house.”
“He is, and he and the dog are good company,” agreed Faina, before speaking again in a sober tone. “Kasamir deserves better than having me around trying to play parent or guardian. Do me a favour, promise me this: if something should happen to me, something … permanent, whatever you need to do, don’t let him become an Auror.”
 "You told me something that scared me to death
Don't take me home, I can't face that yet
I'm ashamed that I'm barely human
And I'm ashamed that I don't have a heart you can break
I'm just action, and other times reaction
All I own, all I own, are the strides I spend to the finish line.
All I own, all I own, are the strides I spend to the finish line
And I'll give you those, just don't make me go home."
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2025 4:28 pm
 Kasamir Aloysius Patrovna
Slytherin │ Sixth Year │ Sixteen Years Old │ Single │ Chess Grandmaster │ Slytherin Prefect │ Adventurer's Guild & Chess Club Captain
Kasamir was feeling a measure of depression as he was making final preparations for the departure. As much as he liked being in Glasgow, he rather preferred St. Petersburg, which had become more of a home to him since leaving Arkhangelsk. The trip to the reunion wasn’t as much of a large effort for him as it was for his Tetya Katya and her family because for him he was just going home, and would be able to sleep in his own bed, or rather the bed he slept in when staying with the Patrovnas, not when staying with Aunt Faina, the bed which had been his own since he was released from the hospital nearly six years ago.
While he looked forward to the reunion, his anticipation was leavened with the knowledge of who wasn’t going to be there. When he found out about the family event, Kasamir immediately invited Hes to accompany him. He knew there were other cousins coming who would have their Significant Others with them, and he wanted to arrive with his ‘beautiful Evening Star’ on his arm. He offered to buy her a beautiful dress for the occasion and was willing to assure her family to the point of swearing an oath that she would be well looked after by his family, and nothing untoward would take place.
However, for Hes to travel with him it likely would require for her grandparents to travel with her as well, causing the family hardship, and they would be without her services in the family business and as a babysitter. Hes was a big sister now, and as her mother was irresponsible to the point of being incompetent (at least in Kasamir’s estimation), it meant Hes had to help her grandparents handle matters at home. While visiting her, and maybe a night out wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, a trip out of the country, be it a family gathering or taking her to the formal dinner at a chess tournament, was out of the question.
Hesperia, his ‘krasivaya Zvezda Vechernyaya’ wasn’t there, and her absence weighed on him like a millstone around his neck.
The incoming Sixth Year Slytherin arrived at the house in Glasgow shortly before Tetya Katya was set to leave for work, not because the kids needed a babysitter, as the only one who really needed that was Alenka and she had two older brothers there to do the job, but to help them finish up getting ready to depart after his aunt arrived with the Portkey. As it was, Alenka and Aleksandr greeted him warmly, especially the littlest of the Quinlan Clan, who wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug.
He made dinner that night, one of his nameless concoctions with chunks of beef, bacon, noodles and vegetables in a sort of stroganoff sauce which he served with fresh biscuits and butter. It wasn’t exactly dietary, but as it was a rather damp and raw night in Glasgow it seemed like the sort of comfort food everyone would appreciate. The only no-show, aside from Uncle Cian, who was on a business trip, was Alynn, which hardly surprised Kasamir. He could hear music coming from the other side of the door, none of which Kasamir could make out what it was, or even the language.
Dinner would have been more fun with Hes present; it certainly would have done much for his overall mood. Ever since he professed his love for her in the blood-spattered aftermath of that awful match against the Badgers, and having it reciprocated, the idea of not seeing her over the summer pained him. Still, he was of a mind to continue onward, knowing their reunion would be all the sweeter for the time spent apart. Over dinner he was quizzing Alenka and Aleksandr in Russian, which there was fun and laughs all around as they played their little game.
Medved’s arrival at breakfast was welcomed by Alenka squealing with the delight only a six-year-old could muster, and Kasamir was relieved when Aunt Faina arrived a moment later. Living at home with his aunt, he didn’t fully relax until he heard her hang up her coat, as it meant she made it home in one piece, and they never said ‘good-bye’, it was always ‘I’ll see you later’, as the former always sounded so final. He stood up and hugged her before helping her to a seat beside him, so she could have breakfast. As Aleksandr loaded up a plate for Aunt Faina, Tetya Katya was checking her over and gesturing with her wand.
Not for the first time did Kasamir envy the adults for the freedom they enjoyed in casting their magic, while he was required to allow his hard-won skills to go fallow over the summer. Seeing her in the warm, inviting light of the kitchen nook, he suddenly realized how pale Aunt Faina looked. Granted, she wasn’t as scary pale as Hes was when she had her transformation and the Beast had free reign, or pale as she was after the loss of all that blood caught up to her, but it was worrying, nonetheless.
At the breakfast table, the kids saw a battle take place between Healer and hurt, as Tetya Katya dealt with magical injuries she almost never saw in the pediatric wing of St. Mungo’s. Faina dug her fingernails into the surface of the table, and a barely audible whimper was dragged out of her, as the residual Dark Magic fought to keep its claim on her while the Healer worked her own magic. At some point, Faina shuddered and then sat back in the chair with a dazed expression in her eyes, and Aleksandr rushed over to Kitty, who looked as though she might pass out right there on the kitchen floor.
“I’m okay, Alek,” said Kitty, as she waved off her son’s assistance, and leaned heavily against the chair Faina was seated in. “That just took more out of me than I was expecting. Oh, look, you’re bleeding, and you scratched up my kitchen table.” The last bit she directed at Faina, as she saw that her sister’s fingernails were now cracked and bleeding, and there were furrows gouged into the surface of her kitchen table. With a couple of quick Charms, her sister’s fingers were healed and the table restored.
“Spasibo, Kotenok,” said Faina in a voice sounding as though the cure had taken as much from her as it had from the Healer casting the curative magic. Katya smiled, and she said, “Te dolzhna byla istelitis eto do togo, cack priekhala siuda, Faina. Eto medlenno ubivalo tebya. A teper cack naschet togo, chtoby poluchit chto-to vieu zheludok, chtoby ne upast vieu obmorok prie activation Portkluca?”
As Kitty settled in her chair at the head of the table, she saw Alynn wander in, and she sighed, and said, “ Rebenok, sidi, esch. Nam nuzno scoro otsyuda uyezgat. A chto vy delali proshloy nociu? Vas nikto ne videl.” Alynn sat down in his usual chair, and glanced over at Kasamir before answering, “Studying, Mom, my way.” The Third Year Gryffindor was studying Russian the same way he learned Japanese, reading online Russian comic books and listening to R-Pop, as it felt more natural to him than any of the tutoring he did with Kasamir while they were at school.
Alynn drew a deep breath, and he added in Russian, “Ne volnuysya, Mamma, ya boudou gotov.”
OOC:Taken by Hesperia Sophia Argyris
 I, I'm a one-way motorway; I'm a road that drives away, then follows you back home
I, I'm a streetlight shining; I'm a wild light, blinding bright, burnin' off and on
It's times like these you learn to live again; It's times like these you give and give agan
It's times like these you learn to love again; It's times like these time and time again
I, I'm a new day rising; I'm a brand-new sky to hang the stars upon tonight
I, I'm a little divided; Do I stay or run away and leave it all behind?
It's times like these you learn to live again; It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again; It's times like these time and time again
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2025 4:32 pm
Faina Patrovna Slytherin Alumnus │ Veteran Auror │ Thirty-Nine Years Old │ Single
Faina was still feeling a bit woozy as the time drew near for the family to depart for St. Petersburg. She kept glancing at her watch as she and the rest of the gathered family finished up with their meal. It was an odd sensation she was feeling, as though either she shrank a bit or her clothes gained a size, and she needed to confirm for herself that neither had occurred, and it was simply a side-effect of the magic she’d been the focus of. The veteran Auror didn’t decline her nephew’s unspoken offer to help her to feet, though she forced herself to show no sign of the slight bout of dizziness she was experiencing.
“All right, everybody to the foyer,” she said, as she took her dishes to the sink. “We are on a schedule, and we need to depart on time. When we get to the estate, we will have exactly two minutes, and not a moment longer, to step away from the arrival point to make room for the next group who will be showing up. We have five minutes to gather luggage and any other last-minute items, starting right now.”
Kasamir escourted his aunt to the foyer, and he asked her, “Are you feeling well enough to do this, Tetya Faina?” Faina shrugged, and answered, “Nichevo, Kas, and I will manage fine. Besides, you will have another task once you get to the house. Alynn … if things with him don’t …” Kasamir nodded and said, “Don’t worry, should it happen, I’ll take care of matters.” Faina chuckled softly, and she told him, “You haven’t known me long enough to know me so well.” Kasamir collected his aunt’s greatcoat and hat and helped her put them on, before getting his own coat and the fur cloak from his uniform.
Faina and Kasamir stood in the middle of the foyer, the big Moscow Watchdog was sitting, pressed up against his young master’s leg. It wasn’t long before the others gathered, with Alenka showing up first with her suitcase. The six-year-old promptly took her place beside the dog who started licking the side of her face while she petted him. Aleksandr appeared shortly thereafter, and he and Kasamir exchanged fierce hugs and slapped hands, grinning as he stood beside the cousin he looked upon as an extra elder brother.
It wasn’t long afterwards that Kitty showed up with her own luggage, and she took her place at her sister’s side, ready to grab her if she started feeling woozy again. “Alynn, hurry up. We need to go!” she shouted, and she was immediately rewarded by hearing her eldest child pounding down the stairs, dragging a suitcase behind him. “Prosti, Mamma, Mne nuzno bylo koe-chto sdelat,” he said breathlessly, as he patted the pocket of his kimono, and joined his family gathered in the center of the entry hall.
Faina sighed softly, grateful it didn’t hurt to breathe anymore, and she opened the ancient-looking battered leather purse slung over one shoulder and she drew out the four-foot-tall metal-bound staff contained therein. The golden metal bands looked ancient, as a fine patina of verdigris coated the metal, while the wood looked almost as though it might be petrified, and the staff was topped by an icon of an ancient Rus warrior holding a spear and bearing the crest of the Patrovna Clan upon his shield.
Glancing about to double-check all was in readiness, and then at her watch to check the time. As the hands on her pocket watch ticked over to the appointed time, she stated in a clear tone, “The Patrovna Estate in St. Petersburg!” before banging the metal-capped staff on the wooden floor of the foyer. Sparks spat from the tip of the staff, as she struck the floor three times. As the tip hit the floor on the third stroke, arcs of blue lightning skated over the floor under the feet of the grouping gathered there, making a circle around them before rising and forming a coruscating cerulean curtain which rose above their heads and then created a ceiling of flickering energy.
In an instant the cylindrical column of energy vanished, a miniature clap of thunder rattling the windows in its wake.
******************************************************************
Inside the cylinder defined by the arcs of lightning from the Portkey it was as calm as the eye of a hurricane, though one could get the impression they were traveling at immense speed. Images of the city, then the surrounding countryside appeared at the ‘front’ of the bubble and then stretched as though it were seen through a funhouse mirror, before vanishing behind the travelers. Mountains and fields were replaced by sea and skies, and the sun seemed to be moving backwards as the cylinder moved eastward.
As quickly as they were out over the sea they crossed back over land, and miles upon miles of dark forests and steppes stretched before them. Then the bubble abruptly descended and passed through the roof and walls of a structure as though they weren’t solid, before coming to a halt. As quickly as the cylinder of electrical force formed in Scotland, it dissolved at its destination, falling like phantasmagoric rain and crackling as it retreated into the staff. When its job was done, Faina slid the staff back into the leather case, and she passed it off to a man wearing a greatcoat like hers who was waiting to collect it.
The family arrived in a grand foyer, where other members of the extended family were gathered to greet them. Alenka looked around in wonder at the grandeur around them, and her eyes lit up as she saw two people she instantly recognized. “Baba! Papa!” she cried as she rushed forward with her arms outstretched.
"You told me something that scared me to death
Don't take me home, I can't face that yet
I'm ashamed that I'm barely human
And I'm ashamed that I don't have a heart you can break
I'm just action, and other times reaction
All I own, all I own, are the strides I spend to the finish line.
All I own, all I own, are the strides I spend to the finish line
And I'll give you those, just don't make me go home."
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2025 4:37 pm
Dymitri Alynn Quinlan
Gryffindor │ Third Year │ Thirteen Years Old │ Single
‘Oh, thank God,’ Alynn thought, as he slipped out of the main house, not that he was particularly religious, but because he was glad of a chance to duck out what was going on in the study. While Baba Patrovna was listening to Kasamir tell her, and the rest of the family present, of what he was doing and the results of his OWLs, and his exploits on the pitch, and how he was dating one of the girls on his Quidditch team and what the Hogwarts Chess Association was doing, Alynn made quiet apologies about needing use of the facilities and took his chance to escape.
He heard some familiar squeaking from one of his pockets, and he looked down to see a tiny furry bandit-masked ferret head emerging. Alynn chuckled, and he said, “If you’re asking ‘is it safe to come out?’, the answer’s a big, fat maybe, ol’ buddy. I hope Mom told Her Ladyship about you, so the staff doesn’t think I brought a rodent infestation along from Scotland.” The incoming Third Year Gryffindor stroked the fur atop Stewie’s head, while the ferret nuzzled him and gave his fingers a playful n**. Having his little companion with him made Alynn feel a little bit better about this trip to visit family in ‘The Old Country’.
Deciding it was the wiser course of action, Alynn started walking away from the house, well, that and he wanted to put as much distance as he could between the audience with the matriarch and himself. She reminded him too much of the scary old ladies in the comic books, the elderly spymistress who could wheedle your most closely guarded secrets from you over a simple cup of tea, assuming she didn’t put some sodium pentothal in your drink to speed things along. Right then, she was happily pulling what interested her from Kas, and hopefully she’d not noticed his absence.
Alynn knew Mom was upset with him already, so his escape from the inquisition, er, ‘the audience’, errr, no, really the ‘tea with Baba’, wouldn’t score him points with her, though hopefully she might, at least, understand his urgent desire to ‘go over the wall’. No question about it, he’d bodged up the greeting he was supposed to give Baba when they met her. He had to have his greeting written out for him phonetically, since he still wasn’t fully fluent with Cyrillic script, and while he did his best to get it right …
Kasamir winced ever so slightly, though he maintained that poker .. er, ‘chess’ face otherwise. Mom looked like she wanted to cry, Aleksandr sniggered, and his baby sister had to hide her face in Mom’s dress so she wouldn’t start laughing aloud at his expense. He knew part of it was entirely his fault, as he hadn’t put an emphasis on studying the Russian language, so he would have an easier time of it on their trip. He knew Dad never put in the effort to learn Scottish, let alone Russian, and they lived in Glasgow, so Alynn hadn’t worried about it so much either.
At one point last year, Kasamir suggested he might consider joining the Language Club, as there was a chance he could pick up Russian there, though Alynn noted his older cousin hadn’t volunteered to tutor him, at least not until later in the term. Part of him assumed this was because Kasamir had a lot more to deal with this term than in others, being a Prefect, having a second club to run in addition to the Chess Association, as well as career determining OWLs, but part of him also told him what Kasamir wanted was for him (Alynn) to come to him (Kasamir) and ask for help. The Gryffindor wasn’t terribly sure how much of this was projection was on his part, and how many legitimate grievances there were.
When it got right down to it there were so many other things vying for his attention at school, and studying a language whose lettering looked like something from a Martian comic book got pushed down his list of priorities. Top of the list was classes, of course; he was at Hogwarts to study magic, not to live in a castle and occupy space, but there was also Quidditch, Literary Club, and Astronomy Club and Culinary Club. He’d considered getting into the Magical Creature Appreciation Club too, but he figured on waiting until he took the class to decide if he wanted to spend more of his copious free time to indulge in it. And then there were the girls at school; suddenly, they stopped being an annoyance and an irritant and started being … a distraction, though one he didn’t complain about.
There was one girl in particular who he thought was pretty cute, and that was Ella Grey-Cavendish, the co-lead of the Literary Society, and she was in the Culinary Club as well. He wasn’t sure why she garnered his interest, she just did, although it was possible it was because of her pretty smile and how she was so shy and retiring. Alynn wasn’t sure what to do about it, especially considering she was a Fifth Year and would have no reason to look at him, and the last thing he wanted to do was go to Kasamir with questions and seek out his advice.
It was then the young man chided himself, allowing more pleasant …distractions to draw him away from the guilt settling over him like a heavy cloak. He’d disappointed Mom, and knew he would really feel worse about things if he caused her to cry. ‘Dang it, I screwed everything up. Wish I stayed home; they could have come with an excuse for my absence. Dragon Pox, Monkey Pox, Cholera, or Dengue Fever, I guess. Something nasty and contagious, so I couldn’t travel. It’s not like I can’t cook for myself; maybe I’m not as good a cook as Ella, or … Kasamir, but I can make my own Korean-style noodles. I need to apologize to Mom, and …Baba, you know, assuming I can find a better translation service on my phone.’
As he walked along, he started hearing … well, it took Alynn a moment to figure out what he was hearing, as he wasn’t used to hearing such things living in a city. Curiosity drew the Gryffindor off in the direction of the sounds, and as he turned a corner, he spotted the railing of a paddock. “Oh, wow…” he breathed, as he walked away from the house and towards the fenced-in field, where he was seeing several horses. Aside from a field trip when he was still in primary school, Alynn couldn’t say he ever got to see horses in person.
Safely away from the house, Stewie took his opportunity to scurry out of the pocket he was concealed in, and climbed up onto his usual perch, which was atop Alynn’s shoulders. Absentmindedly, the young Lion fished some treats from another pocket and passed them up to his diminutive friend, and he started petting him. The little ferret closed his eyes and smiled as his fur was stroked. Alynn walked along in the grass unmindful of the fact he was wearing dress shoes and likely shouldn’t be risking them getting soiled or wet.
Reaching the fence, Alynn leaned against it, and rested his chin upon his folded arms, as he looked at the horses. A couple of the horses, a larger and a much smaller one, were running around, and it was the sound of their hooves pounding the earth as they galloped which drew the young man there. Standing there, watching the horses as they ran from one side of the enclosed field to the other, Alynn drew a deep, relaxing breath, and felt his concerns melting away. For the moment, worries about what was taking place at the house seemed as though they were somebody else’s problems.
“Oy, dorogoy, te popal vieu bedu,” he heard a girl’s voice say from behind him in an almost sing-song fashion. Alynn turned to see a girl, maybe a year or so younger than he, though he wasn’t all that sure. Standing barely more than four-foot eight, she was a small and slender girl with a round face, expressive brown eyes, and long wavy hair which depending on the light could appear nearly blonde or she could almost be mistaken for a natural redhead.
She was dressed in a full-length green and white floral-patterned skirt, a white dress shirt with full, puffed sleeves, and a cream-coloured sweater vest with dark green piping, while her feet were in a pair of leather loafers and a pair of frilly little white ankle-length socks. She was walking up with a bit of a skip in her step, causing her long skirt to twirl a bit about her ankles. The girl looked up at Alynn, expecting for him to say something, in return he gave her a clueless look.
Never made it as a wise man
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'
Tired of livin' like a blind man
I'm sick of sight without a sense of feelin'
And this is how you remind me
This is how you remind me of what I really am
This is how you remind me of what I really am
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2025 4:40 pm
 Natalya 'Talya' Stepanovich Patrovna
Unsorted │ First Year │ Eleven Years Old │ Single
“Te znayesh, chto oney pridut iskat tebya, da?” she said to him, looking upwards at Alynn. The Gryffindor gave her a helpless look, and said, “Um, sorry?” The girl sighed, and lowered her head when she got his answer, and she said in heavily Russian-accented English, “It would seem you have much work in front of you. A few of the staff can understand English, but most of them speak Russian and German, and not much else. What I said to you originally was that you seem to be in trouble.”
With a sardonic laugh, Alynn confessed, “I’m doing well to get by with English, some Japanese, some Scottish, and my Russian is …” The girl remarked, “Atrocious. You sound like a drunken five-year-old, and your accent isn’t helping you.” Alynn sighed, and said, “Gee, thanks. So, did they send you to look for me?” The girl chuckled, and answered, “Nobody sent me anywhere. I got bored and came out here to be among friends.”
“So, you’re not the trouble you mentioned,” said Alynn, as he relaxed a bit. The reddish-blonde haired girl gave him a sour look, and she asked, “Do I look like trouble to you?” She paused a moment, and then added, “Hmmm, don’t answer that question. I’m not anyone for you to be concerned about, not that important. You were meeting other members of the family, some of whom are quite important; I’m just not so important, and they all know me, so yet another reason to be somewhere else.”
Alynn sighed, as he was reminded again how much he blew it with his extended family and embarrassed Mom. “And you are?” his voice trailing off as he was fishing for information. The girl gave him a polite nod, and she said, “Natalya Stepanovich Patrovna, daughter of Artemyi and Evelenya,” She finished with a little bow, and then laughed in a good-natured fashion as she twirled about, causing the hem of her long skirt to flutter about as she moved. “And you are Dymitri Alynn Quinlan. I’m one of your cousins, through the St. Petersburg part of the line, and surely you know all this yourself, da?”
The name was familiar to Alynn, though this was only because of the collection of old family photographs Mom kept on a shelf in the living room, next to the antique Anniversary clock, and Natalya looked very little like her baby pictures. “I usually go by Alynn, and nyet. I put down names and the like on notecards before leaving for here …” Natalya sighed, and said, with a note of disapproval, “Again with the notecards, and you used one for your introduction to the rest of the family as well.”
Feeling a real need to defend his actions, including the shortcuts he took, Alynn countered with, “I wrote the whole thing myself, without help, and then ran everything through Google Translate on the computer, and then copied the results phonetically. I did the best I could.” Natalya shook her head, and said, “You should have done all the work yourself. That was worse than packet soup and instant noodles.” Annoyed, Alynn replied with, “And, what’s wrong with instant noodles?” This earned him a hostile look from the girl, and he was almost sure he saw flames behind those warm brown eyes. In an effort to placate his cousin, he hastily added, “Okay, I can and do make my own noodles, but there’s times when instant’s just fine.”
The explanation did little to soothe the little eleven-year-old’s sensibilities; it was a point of pride for her that she had standards when it came to her own cooking, and instant noodles she wouldn’t feed to her horses, but she wasn’t of a mind to press the issue with her newly met cousin. She sighed, and said, “When I took my leave, your mother looked like she needed a shot of vodka; too bad the ladies only drink sherry. Your …cousin, Kasamir, made apologies for your shaky performance.” At this, Alynn swore an oath in Scottish, one that would have had Mom demanding to know where he’d heard such language, and then added in a more civil tongue, “Oh, of course, he did.”
Natalya could feel the heat which came with Alynn’s outburst, and she might have considered asking about the source of tension, until she saw the fur trim on Alynn’s shoulders develop a pair of eyes, a pink nose and it yawned. Sucking in her breath, the girl cooed, “Who’s your friend?” Glad of a chance to change subjects, Alynn smiled, and said, “That’s Stewie. I’m pretty sure Mom doesn’t know he came along for the ride. It’s okay to pet him, he nips at people, but that’s normal for ferrets.”
With wondering eyes, the Russian girl held out her hand so the ferret could get her scent, and know she was harmless. Stewie sniffed at her hand, and then in a flash of movement he stood up, scurried along her arm and was up on Natalya’s shoulder, sniffing and biting at her hair before he started nuzzling her ear. She scrunched her shoulders inwards, giggling aloud as the ferret was checking her out. “I think he likes you,” Alynn said, as he too was laughing softly. “Stewie doesn’t normally do that with people he only just met.”
“What’s he doing now?” she asked, as he started sniffing at her hands, and she squeaked in surprise when he gently nipped at the tips of her fingers and started climbing down her sweater. Alynn laughed, and as he reached over and collected the weasel, he answered, “Probably looking for treats.” Natalya said with a sigh, “He’s out of luck on that one, I’m afraid. I didn’t even bring anything for the horses, and I’m pretty sure they would have had a fit if I grabbed the veggie tray on my way out the door.”
Alynn chuckled at the vision of having a tray of veggies taken off the table with all the rest of the food for the whatever-they-were-calling-this-whole-shindig inside and brought out to feed these magnificent creatures he was watching. As he grew silent, the girl stood beside him and was watching the horses as well. She sucked in her breath, and she said softly, “You feel it too, don’t you?” The Gryffindor glanced over towards her, and he asked with a confused tone, “Err, feel what?”
“The pounding of their hooves, the thunder of their passage,” said the eleven-year-old, with a long, slow sigh, and a seraphic smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “It stirs the blood, doesn’t it? You feel it in your veins, in your heart, to the depths of your soul.” Alynn nodded, and confessed, “Um, a little bit, I guess.” Natalya was smiling, and she added, “I dreamt of riding across the Caucuses last night, not sure if it was a dream or actual memories, sometimes it’s hard to tell. I remember the echoing of thundering hooves, fires and the velvet darkness, the cascading of stars on slumbering hills. I feel them, I hear them, just on the edge of consciousness, it’s our ancestors calling out to us.”
Alynn gave the girl a sidelong look, unsure how to respond to such things. He wasn’t sure if he ever had dreams that vivid before, at least not unless it was from an anime he’d watched. “Can’t say I’ve ever felt those things.” Natalya shrugged, and she said, “You just need to wait until your mind, you know, is not so busy, and there aren’t bunches of people just on top of you and wanting things, and they will speak to you, if you want to hear them. Now, I’ve met your furry little friend, care to meet my friends?” Alynn glanced down at his dress shoes, which thus far escaped being messed up, he wasn’t sure he could keep them clean if they went over the fence and into the pasture.
“Really?” sighed Natalya, and she whistled a few bars of a tune aloud. Almost immediately, there was a chorus of whinnying, and Alynn watched as the five horses stopped what they were doing and were galloping to where he and Natalya were standing...
 "Precious and fragile things, need special handling
My God what have we done to you?
We always try to share, the tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through
Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken
Left us so brittle, there was so little left to give "
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 4:12 pm
Natalya 'Talya' Stepanovich PatrovnaUnsorted │ First Year │ Eleven Years Old │ Single
Chapter Two: “The Dreamer”
‘Couldn’t ask for a much nicer day,’ observed Natalya, as she walked along the stables. While it was a bit blustery, the warm sun was out, and the skies were barely dotted with clouds. ‘Perfect day to go looking for plants,’ she added, as she went inside the main stables building and immediately went towards the back area. All around she heard horses milling about in their enclosures, and at least a couple heads poked their noses out to see who was there with them. However, there was a certain four-legged friend the eleven-year-old was there to see.
Natalya was dressed for her midsummer expedition, wearing a pair of faded jeans, trainers, an oatmeal-coloured turtleneck Thinsulate sweater under a sturdy Hunter green plaid flannel shirt, and a windbreaker, while she wore a Marakov Preparatory School Bergmutze cap on her head. As she rounded a corner, Natalya started whistling a certain tune, and she grinned as she got a response.
A big stallion immediately stuck his head out into the corridor and when he saw the slender girl he nickered and started bouncing up and down on his front hooves happily. She went up to the front of his enclosure, and she smiled as she looked at her powerful friend. “Nochnoy Ogon,” she said to him, as he lowered his head so as to be on a level with hers. “Of course, I came to see you.” Bred from old heavy cavalry stock, family legend had it his many-times-over-grandfather stood against the British at Sevastopol nearly two centuries before, and Dad joked there were pure-blooded Wizarding families who couldn’t claim a stronger pedigree.
None of this mattered to Natalya; she’d known him since he was a foal, and she would run around the paddock and play with him when he was little more than a head, mane, tail and four spindly legs. Now, he was a big powerful show jumper, and when Natalya rode him, she knew he was as sure-footed as a mountain goat, nimble as a Bolshoi dancer, could clear any obstacle with ease and nary a break in his stride, and she was sure he could even outrun the winds on the steppes. She hugged him, leaning her head against his, and looked over as she was eye-to-eye with the mighty stallion. He nickered softly, almost as though he were asking a question of her.
“No, not today,” lamented the eleven-year-old, as she cuddled with the horse. “Mom would ground me for the rest of the summer if I took you out by myself, and then I’d never have a chance to ride you.” It was then her eyes took on the faraway look they got as she started envisioning things, and she said in a conspiratory tone, “But, that’s okay, tomorrow will be different, I promise. Andrej will be here, Nochnoy Ogon. We’ll show Mom and Dad and Coach that we’re ready.” As she stood against the enclosure and plotted, her friend started sniffing loudly and nuzzling her windbreaker.
Natalya laughed softly as she quickly realized what he was doing, and she quickly got the food storage bag of Honey Nut Cheerios from the cargo pocket. “Yes, yes, I brought your favourites. Just don’t have too much, or it’ll spoil your lunch.” Opening the bag, she fished a handful out and held the cereal out for him to take from her. She giggled softly as she felt him eating; big as he was, he’d always been gentle with her when it came to feeding him treats.
As she passed handfuls of cereal to the stallion, she told him in a quiet tone, “Okay, tomorrow, I’ll get one of the hands to help me saddle you, and we’ll be out there at the obstacle course when Coach shows up with Mom. And then …” as she was about to elaborate her plan further to her partner, she heard her name being called from the general vicinity of the front of the stabling building. Both she and the stallion looked up, as though they’d been caught in planning something nefarious, and the horse’s ears flicked forward. “I’m back here, Rissa,’ Natalya called out in reply.
By the time her best friend came around the corner, Natalya was leaning nonchalantly against the door to the enclosure, with the big charger having draped himself over her shoulder, so he could delicately take the Cheerios she proffered him with from her hand. The blonde girl gave her friend an appraising look, and she said with a little laugh, “Why am I not surprised to find you all the way back here with him?”
Larissa Moryakova was younger than Natalya only by a few months, and she had long, straight blonde hair which fell to the middle of her slim back. Her neatly brushed out bangs helped frame a longish oval face with high cheekbones and a long-tapered nose and bright green eyes. Her appearance reminded Natalya of the princesses she read about in Baba’s books; it wasn’t hard to imagine seeing her wearing the long, frilly dresses in those old illustrations of a time, many centuries in the past, when the Tsars ruled over the lands.
Unlike those fabled princesses and tzarinas, Larissa was dressed for the weather and for their grand adventure. She wore a pair dark blue jeans and hiking boots with a Pepto Bismal pink hooded sweatshirt, and a school hat matching her best friend’s. She chuckled seeing her friend leaning cross-legged against the door, looking as though she’d been doing it for a while, knowing full well it was staged for her amusement.
“How could I come out to the stables and not visit my favourite boy?” asked Natalya rhetorically. Larissa chuckled softly as she shook her head wonderingly. She sighed, and asked, “You aren’t still planning to ride him tomorrow, are you?” Tipping her head to one side, Natalya said airily, “Well, as a matter of fact, I was just going through the plan with my partner here.” Hearing himself being referenced, the horse raised his head from the serious matter of taking snacks from Natalya’s hand, looked up at Larissa and nickered softly.
The little blonde chuckled softly, and teased, “Oh, a real meeting of the minds here, I’m certain.” Natalya gave her friend a knowing look, and countered, “Never underestimate the bond between a horse and his rider, Rissa. It’s that bond of mutual trust and camaraderie that makes champions and Olympians.” Larissa reached out and doffed her friend’s school hat from her head before mussing her long sandy-brown hair playfully. “You know, I like having your brains right where they are, Nat; inside your head, not splattered all over the paddock?”
With a look of false reproof, Natalya replied, “You’re not suggesting Nochnoy Ogon would throw me, are you? How could you look at those beautiful brown eyes and say such a thing?” The horse made a soft sound, and then laid his head gently atop of Natalya’s, without putting any of his weight on the much smaller girl. She reached up and gently stroked his deep dark red coat, as she looked over at her friend. Larissa tried hard not to start giggling, but she sniggered softly anyways, and she said, “His or yours’? I’m not suggesting he’d throw you, I’m suggesting you’ll fall off the back of him when he clears one of those obstacles. Cross Country isn’t for novice riders, Nat.”
Natalya sighed, and bolstered her point, “I’m not a novice, I’ve got some shows and the ribbons to prove that, and I need to prove to Mom and Dad and Coach that I can do things the same as Raisa does. I just need to have the chance to prove it. Besides, Dad’s always said that if you want something badly enough, you go out and earn it.” Larissa pointed out, “Okay, Raisa is like what, seventeen?” Natalya answered, “Almost, her birthday’s next month, but so what? She started doing Cross Country right about when she was eleven.”
Larissa sighed and added, “And, I believe Raisa was already taller than you are now.” Natalya gave her best friend a helpless look, and grumbled, “Raisa’s always been taller than me, and it’s not my fault I haven’t gotten a growth spurt. Wouldn’t surprise me if Zoya hexed us both; she’s like over a meter and a half tall already. She stole our growth spurts.” Larissa gave a sputtering laugh, and she replied, “I’m pretty sure she didn’t. Besides, its not like she’s going to Durmstrang or anything.”
“Wanna bet, Rissa?” countered Natalya. “She got her acceptance letter according to Baba; her baba was talking about it when she and others were having sherries the other night at The Club.” Larissa sighed in dismay, thinking about how everything seemed to go their schoolmate’s way. Zoya Bagrovna was taller and prettier than most of the other girls in their class, always seemed to make the school’s competition equestrian team, edging out her or Nat just about every time. Now, she was going to Durmstrang. ‘Just isn’t fair,’ thought the little blonde with a resigned sigh.
Pushing thoughts of their schoolgirl rival out, Larissa said, “Okay, we need to get back to you, Nat. Raisa’s a stronger rider than you, and she’s almost six years older; that’s not a bad thing. You’ve done pretty well at dressage, you don’t need to be your sister, and I’m pretty sure your dad did not intend for you to try riding a horse who’s too big for you and try to do what Raisa ,,, and Zoya are doing. Besides, how are you going to pull this off? He’s too big for you to saddle yourself.”
Natalya smiled, feeling as though now she was on more solid footing, after all she it all figured out. “I’ll have one of the hands help me in the morning,” she replied. Larissa then countered with, “And your mom won’t let you ride him without supervision; you’ve told me that.” Tipping her head to one side, Natalya said primly, “And, I’ll have supervision. Mom and maybe Dad will be there with Coach, and you’ll be there too.”
At the last bit, Larissa blinked a couple times as she took it in. ‘At what point did I get roped into this?’ The little blonde asked, “I am?” Natalya grinned, and she said, “Well, yeah, of course. The plan’s still for you to sleepover tonight, right?” Larissa nodded silently, wondering where this was leading to, and her friend didn’t disappoint. “So, you’ll be here when Coach comes over for my lessons, and you know he doesn’t mind giving you pointers too, so it’s all good.”
Larissa was warmed to the thought of being there to see Coach Dayon and get a bit of training in, and she knew how much Nat looked up to him, literally and metaphorically. He was part of the Russian Federation’s Olympic team a few years back, and she admired his skill on the back of a horse, and that he was strong enough to pluck a rider from the back of a horse if they were in danger of being thrown.
“And, once they watch us run the course, they’ll have to admit that I was right all along and I’m ready, and then I can ride Nochnoy Ogon at the school competition next month, and then Zoya better watch out, because I’m going to be right there, contesting her for a position on the squad. I promise, she won’t be laughing at us then, not when you grab her spot in the dressage competition,” concluded Natalya looking at, and maybe through, her best friend with that focused stare she always got when she was on a roll and was laying out one of her plans.
Larissa smiled, and she reached into the food storage bag and scooped out a handful of the Honey Nut Cheerios, and she started popping the cereal into her mouth, earning a sort of grumbling sound from the big cavalry mount. “You can share,” she told the big horse reprovingly. Natalya passed a handful up to him and then dug out a handful of cereal for herself. “Wow, you don’t dream small, do you, Nat?” The little brunette chuckled and replied, “Why not? If you’re going to dream, dream big; but, if you don’t put in the work to make it happen, you might as well not dream at all. It’s a waste, otherwise.”
After munching on some Cheerios before passing a handful back up to her massive sidekick, Natalya smiled and said, “[Okay, well now we’ve got things straight for tomorrow, are you ready for today?” Larissa gave her friend a wide-eyed look, wondering again what she might have missed in the back-and-forth, and replied, “Uh, we’re riding out into the woods out back, like we usually do?” Natalya looked at her friend with a bit of excitement, and said, “Oh, better than that, there’s a reason why I suggested you might need your boots, we’re looking for water plants with magical qualities.”
“Okay, sounds interesting, but why today?’ said Larissa, her now curiosity awakened. Natalya smiled and she said, as she rocked her shoulders back and forth, while her horse shifted his head, so it was draped over her shoulder once more, “Well, it’s a little favour for Baba, and a Herbology lesson to go along with it. So, we go where we need to go, and do a little exploring, and if we find what she wants and bring it back to her, then its late afternoon tea with Baba, and she promised to pay us for our efforts.”
“Ooooh, I can always do with some spending money, and then there’s afternoon tea with your Baba, that’ll be cool,” cooed Larissa. She enjoyed having tea with Nat’s grandmother, as she always made the girls feel like such a big deal when they came to the house. However, the little blonde saw a flaw in the plan: “Er, is she going to be okay with us showing up after digging about?” The idea of arriving for tea with the matriarch of the whole Patrovna family looking like somebody who just got done harvesting cranberries in a bog bothered her greatly. Natalya shrugged and she said, “Okay, one: there are cleaning Charms, and two: there’s spare dresses at the house, and you wear the same sizes I do, so that’s already covered.”
"Precious and fragile things, need special handling
My God what have we done to you?
We always try to share, the tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through
Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken
Left us so brittle, there was so little left to give "
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 4:14 pm
Natalya 'Talya' Stepanovich Patrovna
Unsorted │ First Year │ Eleven Years Old │ Single
“Sounds like you’ve got everything already figured out,” said Larissa, already feeling much better about their planned tea with Baba Patrovna. Natalya smiled, and she said, “I just hope we find something she’s been looking for; that, and I hope she drops some hints about me possibly going to Durmstrang with Raisa. I overheard Baba talking to my parents last night about the subject.”
Larissa chuckled, and she countered teasingly, “Oh, were we eavesdropping again, Nat?” The eleven-year-old gave a dignified sniff, and she said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Rissa. I can assure you that at no point was any portion of the roof of my home in any danger whatsoever of succumbing to the forces of gravity. However, copious use of an Extendable Ear did take place, at least when the cat didn’t decide it was fun to bat it around on the floor.” At the last bit, Natalya ley out a sigh of lament, earning a bit of a laugh from her best friend.
“Well, how else am I to find out what’s going on in the house?” protested Natalya, causing her friend to laugh a bit louder. “They tell me nothing, and when I press for information, they tell me even less. It’s like they’re up to no good or something.” Larissa continued to laugh a bit longer, and then she said, “So, Zoya’s going to Durmstrang, and you might be as well, Nat?” Natalya shrugged and answered, “That was the gist of what I heard, at least before Serebro knocked the Extendable Ear out of position and down the hall. At least he didn’t try to eat it … this time.”
The slim blonde girl sighed, and she said with a slight sob,“If you go off to magic school, who am I going to have lunch with at Marakov?” Standing fully upright, and taking the bag of Cheerios with her, much to the horse’s dismay, Natalya took her friend by the shoulders and looked at her with deep brown eyes. “Rissa, it’s going to be okay, you’re going to come into your magic too, I can just feel it. Heck, you know me; I didn’t start having magical things happening to me almost until my eleventh birthday, and yours is coming soon. Trust me, we’ve got all summer, and come fall, we’ll both be wearing our uniform tunics and fur cloaks and looking almost as cool as Raisa.”
‘Almost,” repeated Larissa with a fragile smile, taking strength in her friend’s confidence. “Yeah, almost,” repeated Natalya wistfully, knowing how hard she needed to work to be as cool as her older sister was, and earn the standing she had in the eyes of their parents and the rest of the family. Larissa scrunched up her nose, and asked, “So, I’ve heard of the place, duh, but that’s about it. What do you know about it, Nat? Surely Raisa’s told you some stuff, right?”
“A little bit,” confessed Natalya, and then added, “Well, I know there’s four Houses at Durmstrang: Keltainen is for the creative, industrious, and ambitious students. Vihreä is where the authoritarian, charismatic, and calculating belong. You know, Ministry types, and scary people like my cousin Faina. Students in Punainen are fearless, adventurous, and morally strong. Then there’s Musta, and that’s for the more self-serving and impartial sorts. House Keltainen is where Raisa is, so that’s the House I need to be in too.”
Larissa nodded along, and she said, “Wow. So how do they figure out which House one goes to? Did Raisa tell you that much?” Natalya shook her head and answered, “Not a lick, she’s been about as communicative as my parents, but since it’s a magic school, it’s got to be something really cool.” Thinking about it for a moment, she started talking as the ideas formed in her mind, and her brown eyes seemed to glow with an inner fire. “Ooooh, imagine this, Rissa: before the Feast, all the students and the teachers head out into the forest, all of us in long hooded robes and carrying torches in a procession, while the older students chant, you know, like monks at a monastery. We are led to an ancient circle of standing stones, where the Maester Zelyevareniya stands at a cauldron, the contents of which have been steeping since the first light of dawn, and its smoke now swirls about the circle, causing the runes set in the stones to glow with eldritch power. When all the new students are gathered within the circle, he invokes the names of the Old Gods, Chislobog and Rodomisl, seeking their council.”
The little blonde was enthralled by the imagery her friend was invoking and felt more than a little chill going down her back as the story went on. “And then, one by one, each of us is brought forward, where we state our names and our lineage, before we open a cut in our hands with a silver dagger and cast drops of our blood into the cauldron, where it is divined which House we are to dwell in. When all the new members are decided, there is a ceremony where we swear oaths of fealty to the school, and then four bowls are presented where we all contribute blood, and it is mixed with heated mulled wine, and steam rises from each in turn. After the Velickly Maestre has dipped a heated sword into each of the bowls, we pledge our loyalty to our Houses and drink of the contents of the bowl belonging to our House. At the end of the ceremony, we return to the school for the Feast, singing the school’s anthem and hymn,” Natalya got out, the imagery building upon itself in her mind.
Hoping to dial things down a notch or three, Larissa said softly, “Well, that’s all fine for you, Nat, but I doubt I have that much of a lineage to recite, and nobody anyone’s really heard of probably.” Natalya put her arm around her friend, and said softly, “Don’t worry about it, Rissa. There’s the whole of summer between now and then. If nothing else, I’m sure Baba will coach us on what to say and do when the time comes; after all, you’ll only get one chance to get it right, and you don’t want to embarrass yourself and your family in front of all the students and the Velickly Maestre, all on your first day.”
“Well, that’s a pleasant thought, Nat,” said Larissa dolefully. Totally missing the point, Natalya answered back with, as they walked away from Nochnoy Ogon’s enclosure. “Oh, I think so, we’ve got all of today to enjoy before anything else happens, and we’re going to have fun.” Larissa asked, “Do you know where we need to go to find whatever it is your Baba is wanting?” Natalya nodded and said, “Da, it is a bit of a way from here, but I’ve been there before, and we should nae trouble getting there an’ be back in time for afternoon tea. All we’re doing right now is burning daylight.”
“Sounds like we need to get ready said Larissa, cheered by the prospect of another adventure with her best friend, and perhaps scoring a bit of spending money into the bargain. As they walked out of the main stables, Natalya had one arm around Larissa and she was holding open the plastic bag of Honey Nut Cheerios, the contents of which were lessened considerably from giving much of the cereal to the horse, so they could share in the snack. “One step ahead of you, Moi Tovarishch. I’ve already saddled two of the ponies for our use, and loaded the saddlebags with what we’ll need, including a book showing what we’re looking for. I also packed something special for lunch, Thermoses of tea, and snacks.”
The slim blonde girl sighed, and laid her head against her best friend’s, and she commented, “Went a bit overboard, did we, Nat?” Natalya flashed Larissa a grin, and said, “Ispadvol’ i al’khu sagnyosh. Rissa, I’ve been planning for this sleepover for nearly two weeks, it’s time to make things happen. Now, our mounts and the woods out back await us.”
"Precious and fragile things, need special handling
My God what have we done to you?
We always try to share, the tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through
Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken
Left us so brittle, there was so little left to give "
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 4:20 pm
Kasamir Aloysius Patrovna
Slytherin │ Sixth Year │ Sixteen Years Old │ Single │ Chess Grandmaster │ Slytherin Prefect │ Adventurer's Guild & Chess Club Captain
The household library was quiet, save the scratching of the pen Kasamir was using to copy a map he found in one of the antique leather-bound books he was exploring. The incoming Sixth Year was working at a table which was sturdy enough to accommodate one of the horses, built as it was from mahogany wood, and the sides and legs were ornately carved, as was the chair he was sitting in. Parked on the floor beside him was Medved, who was content to stretch out beside Kas and get the occasional scritch behind the ears, while Kas was perfectly fine with the Moscow Watchdog’s quiet companionship.
With all the major formal activities done, at least for the time being, Kas set aside his school uniform for more comfortable clothes. A loose-fitting pair of black trousers and a simple Tee shirt over which he wore a largish bright blue sweatshirt advertising the ‘Hogwarts Chess Association’ in block-style Cyrillic lettering, with the sleeves having been rolled up to his elbows, and finishing up with gym socks and a pair of soft-soled moccasins, so as not to mark up the wooden floors in the house. On a small side table, well away from his work or the valuable books he was consulting, was a stainless-steel spill-proof sealed mug filled with pumpkin juice.
Focused as he was, Kasamir was unaware anyone else entered the library, although Medved looked up as a familiar scent walked into the library.
Alynn took the opportunity presented by a quiet day after all the events that came with Arrival Day to start exploring the household he found himself in. At some point in his expedition, he came upon a room fronted by a pair of curtained French windows, and discovering they weren’t locked, he slid inside and started looking around. Despite the large windows looking upon the exterior of the house, heavy curtains ensured the large room stayed virtually pitch-dark. Despite all the activity in and around the house, Alynn was struck by how quiet it was inside this room; it was almost as though it were Charmed to remain a cool, dark and quiet oasis while the rest of the household was abuzz with activity.
It quickly became obvious this was a library and study, as there were shelves mounted on every available square foot of wall, and they stretched to the ceiling. There were also stacks in the room, very much like the ones he saw at Hogwarts, though, of course, this was a private library and nowhere near so extensive in its size and content. As Alynn walked along, he caught sight of warm illumination at the back of the room, at the back of the stacks, and curiosity drew him to investigate the source.
The Third Year Gryffindor blinked a couple times when he saw his cousin sitting at a table, with the lamp on the desk being the sole source of light in the entire library. “All right, Kas, I know OWLs are finished, and NEWTs are like two years away, and its summer, and here you are studying. What the heck?” Alynn exclaimed, though his tone was muted, as though the room’s supposed Charm for peace and quiet affected its living occupants as well.
Kas turned and looked up from his work, the table lamp casting its light so that his shadow loomed large than he was along the wall and regarded his younger cousin. Alynn was wearing a loose knee-length gray kimono over a pair of baggy black trousers which gathered at his ankles, and a white turtleneck sweater, while his feet were shod in a pair of soft-soled loafers. It was a comfortable look complementing his cousin’s long, lean form, and suited his comic book and anime-obsessed nature.
Gesturing towards his work, he said, “I’ve already done a bit of studying this morning, did a couple hours of preparations for the upcoming Madrid tournament. All of this is part of my campaign preparations for this upcoming year for the Adventurer’s Guild. I have my own campaign world to run.” Having taken over the Captaincy of the Guild after the Levy sisters graduated, Kasamir decided to have several members run campaigns instead of him doing all the heavy lifting, allowing others to let their creative impulses flow and introduce other genres beyond traditional fantasy settings.
“Wait a minute, this is your game prep? It looks you’re studying for a History of Magic exam,” said Alynn incredulously, as he took in the sight of the texts arrayed about the Sixth Year Slytherin. Kasamir patted a notebook which was three inches thick and filled with papers. “’The Chronicles of the Rus’ is based in Russian history and mythology, among other sources. It has taken me years of research and writing to get what I have, and I’ve been cleaning up my earlier efforts as I’ve gone along. Found a map and a story recently I thought would make a fun adventure for a small part of adventurers, so I’m copying the map, and making notes.”
Alynn blinked as he took all that in, shook his head, and commented, “Well, I hope you don’t do all this for Quidditch. You don’t, right? Right?” Kas chuckled softly, and replied, “Actually, I keep detailed notes on all the teams, observations I make, habits of various Keepers, events during the games, observed strategies, and that sort of thing. The Spring Scrimmage was quite illuminating, even if those combinations of players will never see action during the regular season otherwise.”
The younger cousin’s eyes narrowed, and he asked, “And you’re not Captain or a VC because …” Kas sighed softly, and answered blandly, “Because Quinn-Smith selected her best friend for the one, and Csuri, in turn, did the same. There’s no dark mystery to be solved. As it is, aside from Hes being Csuri’s best friend, there would have been the matter of our organizational and leadership styles which would have not meshed well and led to dysfunction. She is also rather more optimistic about our chances, certainly more so than Csuri, and a better communicator. They complement each other and make an effective leadership team whereas I work out permutations of the strategy based on the mathematics and analytics and voice my judgement accordingly. The results to date should quash any further argument on the subject.”
Alynn kept quiet, as Gryffindor’s surprise win in their third and final match of the season caused the Snakes to wind up DFL in the Cup standings when they had been in the hunt all season. “Notes on all the teams, huh?” repeated Alynn. “I suppose that means you have notes on me as well?” Kasamir shrugged and said with equanimity, “Of course. Fear not, my notes are held in confidence, though Hes and Csuri have access, of course, should they wish to see them.” Alynn pressed, and asked suspiciously, “So, do I want to know what you’ve written about me?” Kasamir said quietly, “I would offer a piece of advice. I know you’ve wanted to take over as Seeker of the Lions given the issues your team has had getting wins; however, I would tell you this: do yourself and your Housemates a favour, and drop it, entirely and without delay and nary a word on the subject said.”
The Third Year felt a surge of anger rise in him, and he started balling his fists up as he fought the urge to take a swing at his cousin, as he’d already had to stop his impulses many times in the last few years. His older cousin angered him seemingly without knowing it, and Alynn wanted desperately to just hit him and release some of the anger. Hearing Mom tell Aunt Faina how having Kasamir around was like ‘having another adult in the house’ was particularly galling, given there were only two freakin’ years between them. “And you know this because …?” said Alynn in a brittle tone.
Kasamir calmly reached out and took a sip from his cup, as though unaware of the effect his words had on his younger cousin. “I read, I drink pumpkin juice, and I know things. One thing I do know is your Housemates have enough to deal with, without having you agitating to take Moon’s slot from him. He earned his place, like everybody else, and if there’s another student in the school who takes each and every loss as a personal failing as he does, I’ve yet to meet them. He has demonstrated that he is as good a Seeker as any in the school but cannot seemingly catch the Snitch when it matters; you haven’t demonstrated you can catch itat all. Now, as I see it, you have two options: stay on Reserves this coming season, and next year you will likely be able to contest successfully for Roxie’s position, since she is graduating; or, you can convert to Seeker, and likely be on Reserves for the entirety of your career, as there will be others better able to do the job, starting with that little First Year, Blackthorne, I believe their name is. Play the hand you’re dealt, and you have the makings of being a bloody good Chaser, maybe good enough to impress the pro scouts who attend the matches.”
It took a moment for Alynn to parse out what was said, as his annoyance with his cousin had reached the point where the temptation to hit him was about to overwhelm his sense of prudence, and then … “Wait, you think I could maybe go pro?” he asked, as nearly fell over at the last bit his cousin was telling him, mentally speaking. Kasamir shrugged once more, and replied with his usual calm, “As with all things, that would depend on how badly you want it, and how willing you are to put in the effort to make it happen. Short term, I would suggest you be the supportive teammate you wish you had in your corner; Roxie will need all the help she can get, and time won’t be on her side. In the immediate, I would be interested in listening to that R-Pop you were playing last night. Who are they, and what do you know about these bands?”
Alynn smiled, grabbed a nearby chair, and sat opposite of his cousin by the table, before fishing his phone out …
OOC:Taken by Hesperia Sophia Argyris
I, I'm a one-way motorway; I'm a road that drives away, then follows you back home
I, I'm a streetlight shining; I'm a wild light, blinding bright, burnin' off and on
It's times like these you learn to live again; It's times like these you give and give agan
It's times like these you learn to love again; It's times like these time and time again
I, I'm a new day rising; I'm a brand-new sky to hang the stars upon tonight
I, I'm a little divided; Do I stay or run away and leave it all behind?
It's times like these you learn to live again; It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again; It's times like these time and time again
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 4:24 pm
Natalya 'Talya' Stepanovich Patrovna
Unsorted │ First Year │ Eleven Years Old │ Single
“Oh, wow,” was what Larissa exclaimed as they crested a ridge and looked down into the river valley laid out before them. Calling what they ventured into as ‘woods’, as Natalya generally did, was a vast understatement. Though it didn’t look like much on the maps Larissa viewed, the forest covered many square miles of land, and was large enough the girls would have needed days to traverse it even with their mounts. As it was, it took a goodly chunk of the morning to reach the valley once the sturdy little ponies settled into their traveling gait, and at this point the blonde-haired girl questioned if they really could explore the valley sufficiently to find what Nat’s Baba was interesting in acquiring and return to the Patrovna Estate in time for their appointed teatime.
“Yeah, I felt the same way the first time I came here,” said Natalya, a grin on her face. The river cut through the miles-wide valley like a silver ribbon in the bright light of the day, and the thick canopy of trees concealed the true width of the river, as the shallows extended a considerable distance from the center one could see immediately. Where they were, the river at its deepest point was too shallow to handle anything with a greater draft than a little bass boat, not that the girls were interested in such things. “I told you it was worth the time and effort to get out here.”
Natalya was just glad she hadn’t taken a wrong turn, or got them lost in the forest, as they traveled nearly as far as she ever dared to venture from the estate on horseback. She knew there was a bridge several miles down from here, but if they got there, they would be sharing a two-way paved road with cars and trucks, and it led to a small city she’d only ever visited when somebody drove her there. While she was confident enough in her riding skills to make such a journey on her own, she didn’t trust the Magla drivers to share the road with her fairly, and she doubted she could return to the estate before anyone noticed she was overdue.
As she was running through all the negatives of such a trip, Natalya couldn’t help thinking about riding into that small city, parking her horse outside the brightly decorated candy store in that strip mall Papa would take her to on occasions, and dropping a Galleon on a supply of Mishka Kosolapy and Krasnaya Shapochka bars of her own, and smiling. ‘Have to pick up Koravka while I’m there. Rissa loves those as much as I do.’
“Come on, Rissa, adventure awaits,” said Natalya cheerfully. “Just follow the trail and let me do the navigation. The ride down can be a little treacherous; all the more reason we want to be about our business and not be here when it starts getting dark,” she said confidently, while omitting how she wasn’t entirely sure she could find their way back to the Patrovna Estate from here in the dark; but, Natalya was firmly convinced everything would be fine, and they’d be having tea and collecting their reward for work well-done soon enough.
Natalya’s sturdy, surefooted little pony picked her way down the narrow, muddy path with all the surety of a mountain goat, with Larissa following right behind in her hoof-prints, and it wasn’t long before the girls were riding along the course of the river. ‘Don’t remember the shallows coming this far out,’ mused the little eleven-year-old witch. ‘All the rain we’ve had lately must have flooded the valley. Hope that isn’t a bad sign; hate to return to Baba with nothing to show for our efforts. That would suck.’
It wasn’t too long before Natalya spotted the campsite she used previously, and was relieved to see it wasn’t underwater. In fact, it was quite dry, and ready for use. She never used it for actual camping, but it was a place where they could stop and have their lunch if they wished, and there was grass for the ponies to munch on. Other folk in the area used the spot as well, as there was a low wooden table and a repurposed telephone pole which had been cut up and resized to be used as seating, as well as a stone-lined firepit, although the latter was likely filled with water, and any leftover kindling still wet as well.
As if on a cue, Larissa asked with a hopeful tone, “Any chance you’re planning on stopping, Nat? We’ve been riding for a while now.” Natalya answered, “Actually, this is where I stopped last time I was here. We can explore dismounted from here. Don’t tell me you’re tired already? We’ve barely started this expedition, and the river’s mysteries await us.” Not for the first time was Larissa reminded of the seemingly boundless energy her best friend had, and it was sometimes exhausting just being with her. “Who, me? Tired? Nyet, tovarischii, just want to stretch my legs, that’s all.”
Reining her mount to a halt, Natalya slid down from the saddle and attached a tether to the hitching post made from the same blackened wood as the other recycled items in the camp, and she did the same for Larissa when she brought her pony to stand beside her friend’s. Natalya opened one of the saddle bags, and then opened another bag within, and passed an icy cold bottle of fruit punch over to her friend.
Larissa was standing on the ground and walking about gingerly as she collected the bottle and thanked her friend. Peering into the saddlebag before Natalya flipped it shut, she saw there was what amounted to a soft-sided ice chest therein. Looking up, she saw Natalya was already opening another bag, turning up pieces of equipment, and a ring binder. Next thing she knew, a pair of tall rubber boots were being pressed into her hands.
“Here, you’ll need these,” said Natalya in a tone suggesting that her mind was already running through a mental checklist. “Brought hip-waders while I was at it, but as high as the river is right now, if we need those, the flood current might sweep us both downstream.”
Larissa gave her friend a sidelong glance, and said, “Wait a minute, you knew the river was flooded and dangerous, and we still came out here anyway?” Natalya shrugged, and replied, “I knew that it rained a fair bit in the last couple of days, so I guessed the water might be a little elevated, just not like this. Don’t worry, Rissa. If we stick to the shallows, we will be just fine, and if you’re really all that worried, you stay on dry land, and I’ll brave the depths.”
The girls settled onto the seats by the table, where Natalya put her rubber boots on, and then she flipped open the notebook. Larissa looked on as the pages were turned, seeing illustrations and columns of neat handwriting she knew belonged to Natalya. When she settled on a particular page, she set a small metal horse figure down to hold it in place against the slight breeze. “The object of our quest, Rissa,” said Natalya, pointing at the hand-drawn picture on the page with a slim finger. “I know they grow in this area; I’ve seen them previously, and they’re useful in the making of certain potions. We need to collect the flower, and as much of the root and river silt as we can, along with enough water to keep the flower afloat.”
As she said this, Natalya produced a couple of cloth bags with partitions in them, holding six Mason jars, along with Playtex gloves, and trowels. Larissa slid the Wellies on over her hiking boots, as Natalya explained what they were looking for and how to find it. She still wasn’t sure of the wisdom of their expedition, but she also wasn’t going to let her best friend assume all the risk alone either. ‘Besides, as long as we don’t venture too far into the water we’ll be just fine,’ she assured herself.
Next to the book another large gallon-sized plastic bag appeared, and Larissa’s eyes brightened at the contents. They started out as the homemade trail mix bars Natalya made for when they went on their rides, but inevitably they would break apart and become these clusters of nuts, rolled oats and assorted sweets that were perfect finger food. Larissa smiled as she reached into the bag and got a handful of the treat. Natalya laughed aloud and smiled along with her friend. “Just relax, Rissa. This is going to be fun.”
"Precious and fragile things, need special handling
My God what have we done to you?
We always try to share, the tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through
Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken
Left us so brittle, there was so little left to give "
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 4:25 pm
Natalya 'Talya' Stepanovich Patrovna
Unsorted │ First Year │ Eleven Years Old │ Single
Natalya was in a happy mood as they returned to the campsite where they left the horses, along with the rest of their stuff. Though it took a bit of searching, as the area changed a bit since the waters rose, she found the area where she was certain she saw her flowers on her last visit. Wading into the river she quickly discovered how cold the water was, despite wearing a pair of thick socks to insulate her feet. The eleven-year-old quickly figured out she should neither go out far nor stay too long in the water.
It took several trips into the murky waters, but her persistence was rewarded with a collection bag containing several of the plants safely ensconced within the mason jars with their roots, and some soil, and enough water to make sure the flowers remain floating as they were when they were in the river. Her toes were feeling numb; however, Natalya didn’t mind the bit of discomfort, not when she looked at what they found.
Larissa was walking along with her, trying to peer into the bag to get a better look at the plants they found. “Well, that’s one bag filled,” she said optimistically, as they returned to where the horses were. “Think we got some good specimens for your Baba?” she added. Natalya replied, “Oh, I should think so. Even if we didn’t get the entire root ball, the plants should be able to continue to live. Baba wanted us to bring back live specimens, and I’ve been wanting to start my own water garden in one of the greenhouses. We’ll go back out after lunch and see if we can’t fill up the other bag.”
The younger girl had rather hoped they could have lunch and maybe head back a bit earlier, as the water was higher than she cared for, and it was cold, even if she was prepared for it. She went wading gingerly into the shallows, half-expecting her foot to find a deep hole at any given step, and while the water was as clear as could be, silt and mud was stirred up with every step taken. Like Good King Wenceslas before her, Natalya advised that she mind her steps and step where she did, as she tested the ground in front of them with a collapsible metal walking stick, as they ventured further out than she would have cared to.
As she was thinking about lunch, Natalya turned up a container of wipes from the saddlebags, and then an insulated container. Larissa popped open the tub and started cleaning her hands and face, while looking at what was coming out of the bag. ‘I’ve been planning this sleepover for a couple weeks’ thought Larissa. ‘Isn’t that what Nat said?’ Larissa had expected maybe sandwiches and chips, instead she saw a casserole dish in an insulated wicker-sided carrier emerge, along with a basket with fresh-baked bread with a crock of butter, a sealed tub with the makings of a salad inside, and bottles of cold juice came from the saddlebag Natalya was using as a cooler.
“Wow, Nat” she said, clearly impressed. When Natalya opened the casserole dish, a simple farm dish was revealed, and steam rose off of the contents. The older girl smiled, and said, “Thanks. Figured as cold as the water might have been, a nice hot lunch was in order.” Larissa shook her head, and said, “It smells wonderful. You must have been cooking all this early this morning.” Natalya nodded, and confirmed, “Da, but today is a special day, so why not be a little extravagant?” Musingly, Larissa asked, “Don’t suppose you made a dessert too?”
With a grin, Natalya said, “As a matter of fact, I made a blueberry crumble. It’s still hot, and there’s whipped cream in the cooler with the juices.” Larissa sputtered and then laughed aloud. “Nat, I was joking. You didn’t need to do all this for a day-ride.” Tipping her head to one side, and smiling, Natalya was about to say something, when the girls heard an unexpected voice behind them.
“Goodness, girls, that’s quite a feast the two of you have,” they heard, and both preteens looked over to see an older woman standing on the path. She was perhaps in her late forties or early fifties, with long graying hair, she was slim and stood about five feet eight inches tall and possessed a pair of blue eyes which seemed to look at and through the girls at once. She was wearing a simple long skirt, long-sleeved blouse and a crocheted shawl around her shoulders to ward against the cool breeze coming off the river, and a pair of boots.
“Zdravstvuyte,” said Natalya politely, causing the newcomer to smile gently. It wasn’t often she was addressed by others in such a formal fashion, and certainly not by children of Natalya’s apparent age. “A pleasure to meet you as well. I am Olesya.” The newcomer looked closely at Natalya with an appraising eye, and she asked, “You’re not Narya’s grandchild are you?” Natalya curtsied a little, her hands going towards the lines of a skirt she wasn’t wearing, and said, “Da, I am. How do you know Baba?”
Olesya said, “Oh, we have been friends since we were girls at school, and I see you both go to the school we did, but that was so many years ago. I’m certain none of the teachers we knew are still there.” Larissa smiled, and commented, “Oh, I don’t about that; some of our teachers have been there for a long time. Our gym teacher has been at the school for ten years.” With a bemused smile, Olesya replied in assenting fashion, “Very impressive. Well, I do not wish to intrude upon your meal, so perhaps I should continue on my way …”
With a bright light in her eyes and a warm smile, Natalya then suggested, “ Pozhaluysta, Gospoja Olesya, why don’t you stay and join us for lunch? Maybe you could tell us some stories about what you and Baba did at school.” The older lady smiled, and said, “Well, now how could I possibly turn down such a lovely invitation …
"Precious and fragile things, need special handling
My God what have we done to you?
We always try to share, the tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through
Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken
Left us so brittle, there was so little left to give "
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2025 12:55 pm
Dymitri Alynn QuinlanGryffindor │ Third Year │ Thirteen Years Old │ Single
Chapter Three: “The Search”
The strains of music worked their way through the still air of the library and would have been all but inaudible to somebody standing in the entrance. Alynn was fully in his element, introducing his older cousin to the world of modern Russian pop music. Kasamir was keenly interested, as this was something he really wasn’t ever exposed to. At this point, his work was set aside, so he could focus on the music and discuss the relative merits of the bands Alynn was introducing him to.
As the two of them were listening to the music, another visitor seemed to appear from the relative darkness, as though she’d Apparated into their presence. With her long sandy-blonde hair and eyes the colour of emeraulds, the young woman immediately drew their attention, though for different reasons. Alynn couldn’t help but stare for a moment, arrested as he was by her appearance, as even wearing a simple pair of designer jeans and a blouse, to him, she looked like she could be a fashion model, while Kas immediately saw the worried look in her eyes.
“Something going on, Raisa?” he said, as he glanced over at his younger cousin, and elbowed him to get his attention focused on what was going on. It took Alynn a moment to go through the long list of names and relations he’d memorized and figured out this was Raisa, Natalya’s older sister. The seventeen-year-old Durmstrang student focused her attention upon Kasamir, and she nodded before saying, “Father needs you …both of you, urgently, in the foyer.” It was only when she said ‘both of you’, did the older girl bother to acknowledge Alynn’s presence.
With a nod, Kasamir said, “All right, let’s go,” and immediately got to his feet. Raisa then added, “You might want to bring Medved too.” The incoming Sixth Year gave a sharp whistle causing the big watchdog to look up and get to his feet, and rush to his master’s side as he followed Raisa from the library. Alynn blinked a couple times, as Raisa and Kasamir were leaving the library, with the dog padding along beside them, leaving him to follow along in their wake.
By the time they arrived in the entry hall, where the initial gathering of the extended family took place the day previous, at least in stages, when the groupings PortKeyed into the estate, Alynn saw there were already several members of the family there. Again, the incoming Third Year was strapped to figure out who he was looking at, and how he was related to all these people, and he hated the idea of getting out the index cards he prepared, as it just seemed so lame now. This time, at least, he knew the man at the front of this gathering was Artemyi, but that was because Raisa told them he was calling together this urgent meeting.
Seeing his daughter arrive with Kasamir, Artemyi gave her a nod, and Raisa moved to join her younger brother. He looked about at the gathering, and he said in a serious tone, “Thank you, everybody for coming so quickly. Natalya and her friend, Larissa, are overdue from their ride. They were going towards the river to gather plants, and they were supposed to return for tea with Baba. They never got there, nobody has seen them since earlier this morning, and the horses haven’t been returned to their stables.”
Alynn heard somebody make the comment of ‘Again?’, which caused a bit of consternation and a bit of ironic laughter, and with a resigned shake of his head, Natalya’s father replied, “I know, we’ve had to deal with this before. It’s likely my middle daughter has simply lost track of time, and nothing more than that. It is also possible they got turned around in the forest and got lost. Either way, it is getting later than inexperienced riders have any business being in those woods, and nobody wants them to try to find their way after dark. I also do not wish to cause Larissa’s family to be concerned over something that is likely to be nothing.”
The thirteen-year-old Gryffindor glanced over at his cousin, and saw that Kas had a serious look on his face, and a set to his jaw. Artemyi then added, “All right, usual rules apply. Nobody goes out there by themselves, and we go in groups of three. Raisa, take your brother and one of the hands, and mount up ...” As the senior family member started organizing search parties, Alynn leaned in and whispered, “Kas, where’s Aunt Faina?” Kas replied soto voce,”She was called back to the office to handle some official matters and promised to be back later today. Hopefully, we’ll have this handled before she comes back.”
It wasn’t the first time Kas was recruited for a search party like this. As often as not, Natalya would wander back to the estate just as the night was descending and the searchers were fanning out. Sometimes they encountered her riding back after having made a wrong turn in the forest. She was always apologetic and embarrassed for having caused her family so much worry, and Kas had no reason to suppose this was simply a repeat of past behavior. While he couldn’t fault her wanting to get away from the adults, it was a behavior he hoped wouldn’t transfer when she started at Durmstrang, as he knew they weren’t forgiving of rules-breaking or lapses in timekeeping.
Alynn kept listening for their grouping, and looked around in dismay, as things went on. Finally, Artemyi said, “Kasamir, you take Dymitri with you and Medved.” Kas nodded, and said, “Da, Artemyi. We will need a few minutes to change into warmer clothes and boots.” The older cousin nodded, and answered, “Hurry, daylight will become precious soon enough.”
Kas patted his cousin on the shoulder, and told him, “Let’s get moving, Alynn.” Without another word, Kas started walking purposefully in the direction of where his guest room was, the dog at his side, and Alynn rushing to keep up. Once out of the foyer, and away from Artemyi, Alynn protested, “Hang on, Kas. How come we’re going out by ourselves? Everybody else is going in groupings of three, and almost everybody else has somebody with them allowed to cast magic.” Kas merely shrugged a shoulder, and countered, “We have Medved, and he was trained to scent-track last summer. Should things go on late enough, I’m certain Aunt Faina will be sent to join us, and she is more versed in her Spellcraft than either of us.”
Never made it as a wise man
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'
Tired of livin' like a blind man
I'm sick of sight without a sense of feelin'
And this is how you remind me
This is how you remind me of what I really am
This is how you remind me of what I really am
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2025 12:57 pm
Kasamir Aloysius Patrovna
Slytherin │ Sixth Year │ Sixteen Years Old │ Single │ Chess Grandmaster │ Slytherin Prefect │ Adventurer's Guild & Chess Club Captain
The search party gathered at the edge of the Patrovna Estate as the sun crept lower to the horizon. It was everybody’s hope the objects of their search would emerge from the tree line before they needed to set out, but this didn’t pan out. One of the stable hands was passing out lanterns, and Kas recognized them as being of the sorts used at school on night patrols by the Prefects. Artemyi walked over to where the Hogwarts students were standing, and he said, “Sorry you two ended up being the leftovers. Evelenya knows to send your aunt to you when she gets back to the estate, and if the girls get back on their own, she will send out her Patronus to let everyone know. Since neither of you can use magic off school grounds, hang on to these flares. Pop green if you find the girls, red if you need help, and we’ll come running as soon as we can.”
Alynn took custody of the flares, placing them in a sling bag he had over his shoulder, where there were bottles of water, a Muggle first aid kit and a pair of rolled up Thinsulate blankets. Artemyi added, “Since Medved can track, I’ve got a pair of Natalya’s socks for him to use to get the scent.” Kas took the proffered socks and stuffed them in his coat for safekeeping. “Spasibo, Artemyi,” he said solemnly, as he was getting concerned for the continued absence of his younger cousin and her friend. Artemyi and Kas clasped each other’s forearms and then hugged each other, and Artemyi answered back with, “Khoroshaya okhota.”
The searchers started fanning out in what an older generation might have called a skirmish line, in an effort to cover as much of the forest as possible, but it was obvious there was no way they could cover all of it, and it wasn’t before long that the groupings spread out from each other sufficiently they could no longer see or hear each other as they probed the forest’s depths. The boys were soon following a track through the woods where obvious hoof-prints were visible, though neither of them could be sure how fresh they were, but it was good as any other direction to pursue.
Alynn was soon struck by how quiet the forest was, and how the trees seemed to absorb almost all the sound made. This was an old-growth hardwood forest, thick with undergrowth, which made traversing the ground away from the dirt paths a bit difficult and could hide a great many things from casual observation. The canopy above them was thick enough to block out all but direct sunlight, creating a green-hued perpetual twilight, though one could occasionally see patches of the sky directly above them. With nightfall approaching, the forest was already getting darker.
Kasamir moved along at a determined pace, studying his surroundings with the intensity of a Beater trying to pick out a Bludger to send spinning towards an opponent. He was looking for any clue he could work with, while his canine companion was casting about unsuccessfully for a scent. It was his hope they might catch sight of the girls riding back towards the estate, and it would have been a simple matter to escourt them the rest of the way. The longer the search continued and the deeper they went into the forest, the less likely he reckoned his hope would be realized.
“You think if somebody shoots off sparks with their wand, that we’ll even see it?” asked Alynn dubiously, finally breaking the silence between them. Kas sighed, and answered, “I was wondering the same myself. Maybe if we were in a clearing, perhaps. I’m also questioning the efficacy of firing off those flares if we need to; although, those are Charmed not to ignite the forest, and to stay aloft for a while above the trees. If it comes to it, I should expect somebody will think to send a Patronus to help us.”
The Third Year nodded along with Kas’ assessment of things, though he strongly suspected that were his cousin not with him they might not be so quick to send anyone for him. “What’s going on with them?” he asked, as he was feeling more than a little picked on. Kasamir asked, splitting his focus between his cousin and their surroundings as they continued to walk along the path. “Going on with whom, Alynn?” Alynn sputtered, “With whom? Merlin’s bloody beard, Kas, with all of them, the whole bloody family, the lot of them. Artemyi shaking hands, and the whole ‘khoroshaya okhota’ business with you. The rest of them act like … .”
“Like they’re disappointed in you?” suggested Kasamir diplomatically. “It’s because they are Alynn. You are Tetya Katya’s eldest child, they were expecting more from you.” Alynn sighed with exasperation, and said, “Just because I flubbed up at the meet n’ greet? Bunch o’ tadgers, Ah’ve made more apologies in two days than I can remember doin’ in a year, Kas.” Kas nodded, and said, “You’re also keeping track of names on cards; don’t think for a moment that hasn’t gone unnoticed. This is your family, Alynn, not a cricket club whose batting averages you need to keep straight. And your Russian ….”
“I know, I sound like a drunken five-year-old,” continued Alynn, peevishly repeating what Natalya told him. Kas shrugged, and said, “Rather harshly put, but not so far off the mark.” Alynn huffed loudly, and said, “Aleksandr doesn’t sound any better, and we won’t discuss Alenka.” Kasamir drew a long breath, and he countered, “Alenka sounds like she grew up here, and Aleksandr gets a pass because he is a child. You don’t get a pass, Alynn, you’re only a couple years or so behind me. They saw and heard you and assumed you couldn’t be bothered to put in the effort to do any better. Now, as far as Artemyi and I, this isn’t the first time I’ve helped with a search, and these lands are not to be trespassed lightly at night.”
As they continued deeper into the forest, the boys heard a chorus of howls, and they had no way of knowing from where they were coming or from how far away. Instantly, Medved was looking up and sniffing at the air, as he put himself against Kasamir’s leg. Alynn asked nervously, “Those are just wolves, right, Kas? Right?” Kasamir said with his usual calm, while continuing along the path they were following, “There’s no such thing as ‘just’ wolves, and you’d best hope so. If even half of Baba’s tales are accurate, there maybe far more dangerous things abroad tonight.”
At this point, the sun had passed below the horizon, and the skies looked as though they’d been lit ablaze in colors of red, oranges and purples, as the darkness rose to dismiss the light, the howls were heard once more. Kas lit the lantern, as the forest was getting murky enough for he and Alynn to have difficulties seeing where they were going. “Maybe we should try meeting up with one of the other groups. You know, strength in numbers,” Alynn suggested nervously. Kas grunted negatively, and said, “All of us accepted the risks of this task, and bunching up reduces our chances of finding the girls, or them finding us.”
Silvery moonlight worked its way through below the canopy and past the trunks of the trees, rendering the scene in shades of azure and black, with the warm glow of their lantern the only other source of light. While passing a particular clump of trees, Alynn turned and saw a face emerging from the bushes, and he let out a panicked scream that echoed hollowly, as he stumbled backward blindly. Medved let out a growl and Kasamir swung around, holding the lantern above his head. The Sixth Year was startled as he spotted the face as well, and he turned to look at it properly when nothing else happened.
Looking at it properly, there indeed was a face looming out of the bushes, and it was set taller than the height of any man they’d seen. It was part of a sculpture etched into one of the old hardwood trees, depicting a figure with a crown of antlers or maybe the antlers grew straight from his brow (it was rather hard to say), a long face, beard and a moustache whose hair and beard faded into the bark of the tree from whence it was carved. It was seen to be wearing a long robe, and Kas couldn’t make out much more. “What the—” began Alynn, and he was quickly cut off by Kasamir saying in a soft tone, “This is a depiction of Svyatibog, Lesnoi Dedushka, he is the guardian of the forest.”
As the pounding in his chest slowly abated, Alynn looked up at what was likely a centuries old carving in a tree which was older still, and muttered, “Gomen nasai, Kas.” Kasamir shrugged, and said, “Nichevo, Alynn,” before taking a pocketknife, making a cut in the side of a finger, allowing a droplet of blood to be spilled at the base of the carving, and muttering something in Russian. Alynn arched an eyebrow as he caught sight of what his cousin was doing and asked, “Do I want to know?” Kas shook his head, and said, “Nothing you need worry about, other than it never hurts to be polite.”
OOC:Taken by Hesperia Sophia Argyris
I, I'm a one-way motorway; I'm a road that drives away, then follows you back home
I, I'm a streetlight shining; I'm a wild light, blinding bright, burnin' off and on
It's times like these you learn to live again; It's times like these you give and give agan
It's times like these you learn to love again; It's times like these time and time again
I, I'm a new day rising; I'm a brand-new sky to hang the stars upon tonight
I, I'm a little divided; Do I stay or run away and leave it all behind?
It's times like these you learn to live again; It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again; It's times like these time and time again
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2025 1:00 pm
Natalya 'Talya' Stepanovich Patrovna
Unsorted │ First Year │ Eleven Years Old │ Single
Natalya laughed aloud as her hostess concluded the story she’d been telling about an escapade she had with her Baba decades in the past. She was seated in a chair in the warm and cozy sitting area of a simple house not so far from the river and within easy walking distance of the picnic area where they had lunch not long before. Even though the plan called for another trawl of the river for plants before riding back to have tea with Baba, there didn’t seem to be any harm in visiting with one of his Baba’s old friends, and it wouldn’t take that long to score enough additional plants to fill the other bag they brought with them.
‘Besides, the adventure just got a little more fun, and it seems like Olesya lives alone,’ thought Natalya, ‘and she seems to be having as much fun telling stories as we are listening to them.’ As the neophyte witch glanced around, she suddenly noticed Larissa wasn’t there in the room with her and Oleysa. Looking around, it didn’t appear as though Larissa was ever there, as there wasn’t a third teacup or saucer or plate to indicate the presence of another guest.
“Is something wrong, dear?” asked Olesya with a concerned tone, as she looked over at her young guest, who was looking about as though she were a hound casting about for a scent. Natalya nodded, and she asked, “Where’s Larissa? I know she came with us to listen to your stories, why isn’t she here now?” Gesturing with a hand, the older lady smiled, and said in a kindly fashion, “Don’t you remember, dear? Her parents came to collect her because she needed to go home and promised to get in touch with you later.”
Natalya blinked a couple times and peered at her hostess owlishly, before saying slowly, “Oh, yes, of course. How silly of me. She was planning to sleepover at the estate tonight; I wonder what’s going on that caused her parents to come out here to get her. Hope it’s nothing too serious.” Olesya continued to smile, and she rang a small bell that she picked up from the side table beside her. “Oh, I shouldn’t worry too much about that, nobody seemed all that upset, but you know how plans can change.”
When the older lady rang the bell, a rather wizened House Elf appeared, he bowed and said, “Yes, Milady?” Olesya said airily, “Freshen up our guest’s cup of tea, Malyshev, and bring a tin of biscuits.” The House Elf gave his mistress a smile, revealing what amounted to a shark’s grin with his double row of sharp, pointed teeth. With a bow, he said, “Of course, Milady. Fresh tea and biscuits for our guest.” Seemingly in a matter of an eyeblink, he appeared with a teapot, and a dark blue metal tin with a picture of the Winter Palace on the lid.
As the House Elf moved to put more tea in her cup, Natalya covered it with her hand, and she said graciously, “Oh, thank you, no. I really shouldn’t have any more. I have plants to deliver, and I’m having tea with Baba. You’ve been exceedingly generous, Gospoja Oleysa, and I loved the stories you’ve told, but I need to get home. There’s now a spare horse I must get back to the stables, and we have a long … ride in … front of ush …” As Natalya continued to make her apologies, her voice was slowing down and becoming slurred.
“You don’t sound well, dear. Perhaps you should have a bit of a rest,” offered Olesya. Natalya smiled, and she said, “I’ve imposed enough upon your hospitality. I really need to go. I’ll be in trouble if I don’t get the horses back before dark.” The eleven-year-old witch got to her feet, and immediately the room started to spin madly about her. She tried to take a step, and she flopped bonelessly back into the chair with her full weight, like a marionette whose strings had all been cut.
Oleysa sat in her chair regarding her guest languidly, setting her teacup down only when she finished draining it of the contents. The child’s limbs were splayed, as she half-lay and half-sat in the armchair by the fireplace, her arms slid over the sides of the chair to hang limp, while her head lolled to one side. Olesya stood up and walked over to check on Natalya, quickly determining she was, in fact, still breathing, and then cupped her chin in one hand as she looked at the sides of her face. Malyshev grabbed the girl’s wrist and started examining her arm with an appraising eye.
“Bony little thing,” commented the House Elf critically. “You’d think they’d have fed her more.” The gray-haired witch smiled, and said, “Oh, you worry too much, Malyshev.” She patted the girl’s cheek and got no response from her. The House Elf continued to grumble, saying, “You had the chance, Milady. You could have brought two home.” Oleysa shook her head, and said, “This one serves our needs well enough. I believe it is time to make our guest, a little more comfortable.”
"Precious and fragile things, need special handling
My God what have we done to you?
We always try to share, the tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through
Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken
Left us so brittle, there was so little left to give "
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