Felyn
Rurik Volkov was a criminal by circumstance but for the most part rather oblivious to the inner working of the family business. He had never felt the need to inject himself further into the immoral cesspit in which he was born and which granted his title, but sometimes he felt like he was drowning in it. He was the Prince of the land of Filth wearing a crown forged in misplaced trust and betrayal; a mob born brat who had inherited the sins of his father and his mother. He was bad in the blood and now he risked tainting Zoe by extension.
Nikolas and Valissa had both become scarce as of late. In their absence the young couple had spent a lot of time together but in truth Ryan had found it difficult to fully turn off. There were things going on behind closed doors and he was unsure if not knowing was really worse than being clued in. For once in his life there was a risk, he had something to lose and he was unsure how to deal with it.
He flicked his cigarette before he brought the stick to his mouth once more, blowing the smoke from his lungs like his thoughts may disperse into the air along with it. This royally sucked.
Rurik tried to never wallow in self pity but sometimes he could not help but be dissatisfied with the hand he had been dealt. If it was up to him he would be back home in America, living a carefree life with no ropes attached. He was not built for the drama or complex social undercurrents or that undermined everything he did. He did not want to ask himself philosophical questions about who he was or what role he was meant to play. He just wanted to live a good life - to be a good husband, a good father, a good son.
His head hurt and the ash tasted like venom in his mouth, flicking the stub onto the road he rubbed his gloved hands together, his cheeks slightly red from the bitter bite of cold despite the fact he was wrapped up warm in his trench and scarf. The climate was as unforgiving as he remembered, he hated the cold.
It was then that he saw something strange. A flash of teal a chime of gold, a strange girl in strange attire turning a dark corner before being consumed by shadows. He paused for a moment. Sights like that were common in Destiny City, but in Moscow? There was something all too familiar and all too frightening about the thought.
The Russian did not head out tonight looking for trouble but decided it would be irresponsible not to investigate. He turned the corner nearest to him, knowing that if the other character stayed on foot they should meet somewhere near the dumpsters at the back of the industrial buildings. The financial crisis had left large derelict areas all over the capital and in these areas the Volkov’s set up shop. It was why he could walk around safely in a place no normal person would ever venture.
So he turned again, eyes scanning the area to find the figure he may have very well imagined. It would just be like him to chase a ghost.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Rurik grew more and more restless, so too did Zoe. It was impossible not to notice the way her fiance carried more tension in his typically fluid motions than he ever had, even when they had fought. There was always a tinge of worry behind his eyes and a frown too easily summoned. Worst of all was that there was absolutely nothing Zoe could do but distract him for a breath of time and in the end he always remembered his stress and sorrow, perhaps made worse for the stark contrast to the happiness she could give him so fleetingly here in Russia.
It made her antsy, too.
There had been a rumor once that had drifted to her - a claim that every senshi in Europe had melt an ill fate unless they escaped to another continent. Being unable to help the situation at hand was difficult, but there were other things to do whenever Ryan needed peace to himself. It wasn’t the first time she had taken Midas’ guise and fled to the streets searching for any kind of energy signature that might say there was life like hers in this place. It was barren - and not just of people, but of the magic hum she found in Destiny City when she was surrounded by a web of auras.
The orange-haired woman had nearly been ready to go back when she slipped around a corner and her footsteps following her. There was a frown on her lips and she turned, tucking herself into the shadow, until she saw her pursuer round the corner with little care - closer and closer he got, until she was sure she was going to have to knock him out with the garbage lid sprawled against the wall next to her.
Then he stepped into a flicker of light and she exhaled, drawing attention to herself but unconcerned. It was just Ry.
“You shouldn’t follow strange people into the shadows,” she chimed as she stepped forward, considering the look on his face as their eyes met. He didn’t see Zoe when he looked at her and she knew that, but the lack of recognition was still surprising. It made her want to smile, though she contained it with a purse of her lips. No reason to make this meeting any crazier than it really was.
“Sometimes they aren’t as harmless as they look.”
The voice was very American - not Russian, would should have been immediately alarming.
The way the girl emerged from the darkness and delivered her line was reminiscent of a femme fatal in an old french film; though in looks she was very different to the black haired, red lipped ladies that often graced the silver screens. This girl was very tanned with a figure that was more athletic than curvaceous. Though when breaking down her features and traits she shared a lot in common with his fiancee the connection was never made, he looked at her like he would any strange girl lurking around a back alley. The butterflies he got when he looked at Zoe, the way his heart fluttered - all were absent from his gaze.
The cliche was almost enough to have him reaching for another cigarette.
There was truth in her words but it was hard to see her as anything other than harmless, or in the very least soft in the head. Maybe he should be afraid, anyone brave enough to face the Russian winter in little more than sandals and a sarong must be tough as nails. He could be in real trouble here. He smirked, amused with his own thought processes - it was just like Rurik to laugh at his own internal banter.
He stepped closer to the strangely clad woman and stopped within arms reach of her. The Russian rested his hands on his hips and leaned down to look at her, his stance resembling a school teacher who was scolding a child. Rurik was unafraid and attracted to the bizarreness of the entire situation like a moth to a flame. “Are you really dumb?” He asked her, the surprise in his eyes melting away into something more playful. Despite his words his face was soft, his face reflecting his teasing nature. Rurik was a brat. Everyone who knew him knew that much,
"I do not care how sexy your tutu is, people do die from the cold at night." He stated, repeating a word he had heard long ago. These strange magical creatures called their outfits tutu’s, right? What was one doing out here though? He had heard no reports of them being anywhere but Destiny City.
Was she just some strange looking prostitute?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A suspicious smile tugged at her lips as she watched him assess her.
Her head tilted back as he loomed over her, getting into her space without the faintest clue of what she could really do to him. She wanted to laugh but she simply tilted her head, letting the veil and orange locks sway sideways while he spoke. The suspicious smile faded to humor at tutu - really, Rurik?
“I’m not dumb,” she offered, widening fuchsia eyes and leering up into his golden ones. The gold-tipped heels dared a step or two closer before a hand came between them, planted against his chest. She shoved. The effort for her was minimal but he would at least stumble back, there was no way to keep solid footing with even that applied force. “Are you?”
The look on her face wasn’t angry or threatening, she wasn’t even attempting to follow up. Now a small, playful laugh did escape her and she took a few careful steps to the side, giving him his distance.
Her poor uninformed fiance. She hoped he never held this against her if he found out but she couldn’t risk exposing herself to him - what if it put him in danger, or what if he was a negaverse agent? There were too many unknown factors to this equation, especially here, in this dead zone. The Russian mob did seem like a likely candidate for Negaverse involvement, too, if she were being fair.
“Also, I don’t feel this cold, even in such a little fuku.”
Rurik was pushed back but despite his surprise his expression hardly changed. He put one foot behind the other and remained upright due solely to his numerous years of acrobatics and balancing exercises. He could feel a small twinge in his chest and knew already that the area she had touched was going to flare, after all he was pale and bruised like a precious peach. There was a moment of silence - He was stunned, that one so small could be so strong. However he felt no intimidation on discovering her power, if anything else it only served to fuel his curiosity.
"Depends who you ask." Was the retort to her question; he was sure many people saw him to be nothing more than a fool and he would have to agree with them. Only a fool would follow a stranger into the dark. Only a fool would remain when faced with the unknown.
Little gears started to tick inside his mind - He had heard a lot of rumors over the years but never thought he would ever have the opportunity to ask if any held value. Then again he never thought he would be able to remain civilised after having lost so much in the shadow of a war that he played no part in. "So you're strong and don’t feel the cold, you are aliens then? Cyborgs? I have heard a lot of different stories about your kind." He did not really believe any of them but who was to say? He sure as hell could not explain what was going on in Destiny City.
It could very well be magic for all he knew.
The Russian reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigarette, knowing that he had disregarded his last one all too hastily. What was a solitary walk to clear his head had resulted in a rather odd but welcome distraction. "Does that mean the people in military uniforms are here too?" He asked, placing the stick between his lips before the soft glow of his lighter cast his face in orange light.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the Russian-American held his balance so easily, she smiled, pleased. She knew the body beneath his clothing and what it could do - she had seen his grace and fluidity, his sense of balance, but it still didn’t stop her from admiring it this time all the same. He was smooth.
“I guess alien is.. close, but not really? I was born on Earth, it’s just all very complicated.” Zoe stopped moving once he began to pull out his cigarette. She thought she knew him well enough as his lover that she could assume he wasn’t the type to push Midas’ buttons or try to be violent toward her. He was simply content to ask her questions and she was content to answer them. Maybe if she could interact with him as Rurik enough, one day she might be confident in what he felt toward her to show him the truth. Living the double life, up until now, had been complicated with him. She wanted to confide in him and yet - it was a hard jump for anyone, she thought. He could have been the negaverse, no matter how oddly he phrased things, and too, he could simply be upset at her being involved in something that had likely cost him so much already.
Maybe especially if it meant it could one day cost him more, through her, she thought.
“No, I don’t think that they are. That was what I was checking.” Bright, fuschia eyes slid away from the glowing tip of his cigarette with a lingering want and raised up to the empty space just above their heads. From the look on her face and the way her eyes stared at nothing at all, it was clear that she was using some other sense. Her head tilted sideways just a fraction before she shook it and dropped her gaze back to him. “I haven’t felt any of them at all, not even a..”
The ginger paused just as she was about to say the word youma. How safe was it to tell him all of these things? She found herself suddenly unsure of what was better for him and covered it with a small smile as she considered him and the trail of smoke dancing in front of his face.
“There’s just nothing here. It’s a deadzone, except for me. You seem to know a lot, though, which really makes me wonder what other rumors you’ve heard.” The smile was playful suddenly, teasing.
Rurik raised an eyebrow at her response, honestly not knowing how to react. I mean, how can you almost be an alien? He brought his cigarette to his lips once more and exhaled with a confused sigh. He was hoping this meeting would shine some light on the strange going-ons that plagued his home, not raise more questions. He wondered why they were all so cryptic, why they spoke in riddles and rhymes, why if they were so innocent they were not honest with the general populace about their goals and undertakings? He of all people knew you could not be deserving of trust whilst you hid in the shadows - you could not be a hero if you wore a mask.
He laughed at her statement; it seemed like he knew a lot? He did not think so.
At one point Valissa had been pouring as many resources as she could justify into uncovering any information about the Senshi and the Negaverse threat. Reflecting on the numerous man hours and amount of money they had sacrificed to forward the investigation they actually knew shamefully little. It had been disappointing, especially because whenever they felt like they were making ground something conflicted reached their desks. They had run in circles for months and all it resulting in was intensifying their grief. Then all of a sudden there was radio silence and the case went cold.
“I have heard a lot of half truths and hit dead end after dead end. For a long time I had an unhealthy obsession, I wanted to drag you all into the light, look at you in the daytime. See what you were - understand what was worth the body count. I thought that I could find peace if I understood or at the very least knew.” It was the not knowing that hurt, not knowing why so many people around him were suffering so tremendously. He wanted to rationalise it. He wanted to give them closure. He wanted them all to be able to move on.
“I am not an idiot though and I know when I am beat. You guys are good at keeping secrets - a damn site more than I am at uncovering them.” He had given up on finding his answers a long time ago, sometimes you just needed to accept things how they are, accept that sometimes things did not make sense and there was nothing you could do about it. Not knowing was hard, but luckily he did not lose sleep over it anymore. Maybe Zow had helped him with that, maybe he had just grown as a person. Maybe you could only hurt so much before you stopped caring.
“Just tell me, if it all worth it?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suddenly, the conversation went from playful to serious and Midas found herself staring into the eyes of a man that was very, very hurt. As the words turned tense on the night air and as he continued to let them spill from his lips, the smile on her own faded. She was watching Ryan tell his dark secrets to someone in a way she knew he’d never speak to her. It took everything not to look away from him, uncomfortable suddenly, knowing that this was something she was not meant to hear. She had only kept the secret from him because it was better for him, and dangerous for her, but now it felt as if he’d very much hold her destiny against her.
Destiny. What a stupid thing to discover.
“We keep secrets because if we spoke them, they could kill us, and all of the people we love. Secrets keep my kind safe.”
Unconsciously, one of her hands had curled into a fist, and she fought very hard not to let the tension tensing her muscles show to him. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t understand this, or that he had been affected by a war that she did believe was pointless. The way he still hurt over the other girl, it made her ache, both with jealousy and with sympathy. She could begrudge the hold the phantom had over him but she couldn’t look at his pain and deny him.
There was a click on the pavement as she took a few steps towards him.
“In the daylight we look just like you. I have parents, a sister and even a fiance. I could be your next door neighbor or your mail carrier and you’d never even know it.”
She didn’t want to scare him though - that wasn’t what this was about. It killed her not to say the words and it killed her to be so vague in her hints. Anyone could have been watching or listening to them or he could have been the most clever Negaverse agent of all time. Even Val could have been a General mastermind. She did drop her eyes, finally, as she felt the struggle raging within her. It wasn’t even like she was that active as Midas, because her family mattered so much more. The bright, fuschia gaze narrowed at her feet. He mattered so much more.
“Just know,” she brought her eyes up with a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. It was a defensive motion meant to be casual. “My kind don’t kill people. Whoever wronged you, whoever you’re looking for. It’s the guys that look like a rejected military unit. They steal..”
There was a pause, as she tried to think of how to explain a starseed to someone who didn’t even know they had one. It made her bite down into her lip, turning her mind over and again for some generic sci-fi term.
“They steal life forces.” The bright eyes searched his pale ones, drinking in the color of the moon as it stared back at her. She couldn’t wait to be in the hotel room after this meeting, so she could just kiss him and feel his warmth around her. There was an ache in her chest at the sight of him as he was now - not her loving boyfriend, but the man who had lost so much and knew so little - and she was the one person he knew that could tell him anything he wanted to know, even the most likely fate of his long lost lover. It made her hate herself, just a little.
“We’re meant to stop them, but even if we do, another five spring up in their place.”
She sighed, weary suddenly. Had she failed people like Ryan all this time? Would she have made a difference if she’d spent less of her life partying and studying? Maybe not for him, but for someone. There was guilt on her face that she couldn’t hide, even though none of this was her fault or even in her control.
Rurik could not help but smile at her words, the pitch sounded familiar, like something his mother had told him long ago. It felt like a dream to him and the feeling of nostalgia was enough to set him back a little, making his mind wander to another time. We keep secrets because if we spoke them, they could kill us. His fingers fidgeted unintentionally as he brought his hand to his mouth to cough lightly, smoke and condensation raising from his lips. And all the people we love.
A strange empathy came over him as he thought of the girl waiting for him back in the hotel room, a girl he should have been with instead of moping around the streets like a child. Maybe he could relate to these creatures more than he thought, maybe the woman who stood before him was not his enemy? Maybe she just had something to lose, like he did.
“So what you are saying is that anyone could be living a double life? That our enemies walk amongst us, hidden in plain sight.” He looked to the sky and thought for a moment, before a small laugh escaped his lips, his hand raising from his mouth to stroke back his white locks and push them from his face. “That is nothing new.” But that explained why it was so damn difficult to track them - what chance did anyone have when the person you were following could change into another? Someone completely mundane and unsuspecting? Someone who had no connection whatsoever with the other life they lead?
He almost wanted to ask her how they did it, but knew he should not, Boris would kill for information like that. He wanted to keep his uncle as far from these shenanigans as he could and the last thing he wanted was to attract his interest.
“Life forces?”He muttered to himself. Rurik did not like thinking back to that day but in this situation he had no choice, images where washing through his head like a flood and His face visibly tensed as they did so. One of those officers, he did take something from her that day, but he had no idea what it was or what was happening. He just remembered chasing them, losing them in the dark, then- he couldn’t remember. He had tried so many times, but there was nothing there.
“So they are some kind of legion of the damned? Vampires? Witches?” He raised an eyebrow; he might have been simplifying things but he did not know what other terms to use. He had no point of reference to go by.
“They sound like a virus.” He mused, though honestly maybe the fact her kind did not kill was the problem, the only way to destroy a disease was to erase every trace of it - leave nothing behind in which it can reproduce from. The Russian paused for a moment, knowing it was probably best if he kept that opinion to himself. He was still too clueless to the situation to lecture anyone. ”What do they want?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Legion of the damned is close,” despite herself, his words made her smile. Just like Ryan always did. “They don’t think of themselves that way, though.”
She was glad he seemed to be thinking things through, maybe even believing her, and some of the tension she had felt building in the air between them dissipated. Just a little.
“I wish I could tell you what they wanted. The only excuse I’ve ever heard is that they want us gone from this Earth. I don’t know for sure who came first - are they recruiting because we are awakening? Or are we awakening because they are recruiting?”
The Senshi of Greed raised her hands to her sides and splayed her fingers in unison with a small shrug. It made the sashes of her bow sway in an arc, connected to her wrists by the cuffs. She was the picture of uncertainty. If she’d had answers for him, she would have told him. When she had more time in her life, she had wanted to seek those answers out. Before she and Cass were none-too-kindly reminded of their duties as the Katsaros daughters, Midas and Pythia had meant to do grand things.
“All I know for sure is that I have no idea why they hurt civilians. I don’t know what purpose they have for stealing lives.”
Her lips pursed into a thin line, giving her an expression of annoyance. Not with him, certainly, but only at the fact that she was not a person accustomed to not knowing things. She liked knowledge - she liked to know and understand how everything in the world worked. She liked to know what drove people to do things, what made them who they were, and what their purpose for living was. With her enemies, she had no idea. Her social games? Those were easy games to play. Even understand Ryan had been simpler. There was no way Zoe could ever tell her fiance what lurked in the shadows, the things that were always in the back of her mind.
Midas could, though.
“I probably don’t have to warn you about how dangerous this situation is, but trust me when I say there are things you haven’t even seen. Terrible, wicked things that are far worse than death.”
It sounded cliche, like some grand speech, but her eyes were serious and the brief smile he had pulled from her had all but vanished. She was a woman telling someone she cared about that he was at a very real risk. Even if he lived with the consequences of losing his fiance, even if he knew more than she had ever expected as Zoe, he couldn’t possibly know the things she had seen. Some of it she still found hard to believe, herself.
“I can believe that, every sinner believes they have a good soul.” Rurik nodded, knowing full well that was usually the way it went. He had been raised by criminals and though he knew his family were the villains, he could not help but love them. Maybe they had tainted his view on the world, maybe he was the bad guy all along. He could not help but wonder if he was actually good for Zoe, but was now too invested and selfish to walk away from her.
“I do not think it matters too much - The origin of most conflict varies on who you ask. Though if they want you gone from the Earth, there must be a reason? Even if that reason is not justified. So they think you are some kind of invading force? That you are aliens, that are not aliens?” It made very little sense to him, but also knew that the fact mattered very little. It was what it was and if he understood it or not did not change the fact. The white haired man had never expected to get answers like this and now the truth had reached his ears it all seemed more bizarre than fiction.
There was no way he could pass this onto his mother, there was no peace in this truth. There was no tidy conclusion to these tragic events.
Ryan looked at the girl in front of him and nodded, he did not know why he believed her but he did. If she said that they did not harm humans, that she was clueless to why the enemy inflicted pain and death on civilians, then he had no reason to doubt her. He approached her slowly, his posture unthreatening as he knew the girl could quite easily break his arm if she wanted to.
Golden eyes flashed mischievously as she tried to warn him away, a smirk taking over his lips and betraying him. He was a fool, in his bones and in his blood he was a helpless fool. “Thank you for sharing this with me, it means more than you know.” The Russian reached over and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, a small gesture of gratitude.
He needed to get back home, back to the woman who was waiting for him. More than anything he needed time to digest what information he had been given. He closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly.
“And good luck, it sounds like you are going to need it for the struggle ahead.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There was no real answer in what she had given the man standing before her, but she hoped that she had imparted some peace with what little knowledge she felt that she could share. It wasn’t much, maybe only enough that he knew this was something complex.
Then, suddenly, that smirk she loved so well was there..
Midas couldn’t stop herself from smiling back at him. She had seen that smirk on dozens of occasions - usually right before he did or said something amazing and terrible. It was only as he spoke in so polite a tone that she managed to calm some of the affection in her face, remembering she was not Zoe, though she supposed she didn’t owe him any explanations even if he noticed. Her body leaned briefly into the hand on her shoulder before she turned, too, though she only moved deeper into the alley.
“I don’t really believe in luck, but thanks.”
When her whole life was decided for her the day she was born, as both Zoe and Midas, it was a bit difficult to think something could be luck. The only thing in her life that felt like luck was how much she actually cared about the man beginning to head back to their hotel room, unknowingly leaving her behind. He was all that she had of luck.
The woman took a last few running steps forward and then leaped up to the top of a squat two-story building - a bakery, she thought. The landing was flawless and Midas wished, for a moment, that she could always be so graceful. Honestly, sometimes it felt unfair how amazing Ryan could be when he performed. She stole one last look at her oblivious fiance over her shoulder, then moved on, dropping to the back alleys. If she was careful, she could slip unnoticed all the way to the back alley of the hotel.
FIN <3
