i wont back down | claire

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

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you can sound the alarm

you can call out your guards

November 30, 2025
Claire Evangeline Slater

The end of the year was always a hectic time, trying to finish up reports and paperwork and the leadership wanted all of the updates that they had been trying to brief them on for the past eleven months. This meant digging up rolls upon rolls of parchment and scurrying off to meetings, Ana hated the administrative part of her job. She wanted to be out in the field, wand ready and the thrill of a good chase. The quarantine had made it difficult to travel, but she hadn’t been necessarily blocked plus she had plenty to do here in the UK. Still, she was itching for some kind of fight. One wasn’t regarded as a near expert duelist without the urge to fight. The benefit of her current position, however, was not only the respect she’d earned these past seven years but also…interns. Some poor fresh out of school Wizard, in training for her line of work carrying a small mount of scrolls while Ana made her way through the busy office.

”Put those on my desk and you can leave for the day. But I expect you back early.” She told the trainee and he scurried into the office and almost tripped, but thankfully didn’t. She didn’t want to deal with the form or process for dealing with an injured trainee. It reminded her of the all the grunt work she’d been given as a trainee. Partly because she was new, partly because she was a woman and lastly because of her name. The trainee, whatever his name was, bid his goodbyes and Ana let out a frustrated sigh. It would be easier to it all herself, but she couldn’t think of anything else more dull. At least she couldn’t, until she turned around and headed to where the coffee was and spotted a familiar blonde. Well now she certainly wished she was back with the rolls of parchment, but she didn’t have anywhere to be now. ”Oh, I thought Border Patrol was on a different floor…or different building?” Ana mused out loud, crossing her arms.

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

n e v e r   e n o u g h

CLAIRE SIMPLY COULDN'T BELIEVE SHE HAD spent her 24th birthday working in Border Patrol. If there was a Greater God, Claire thought he had to have a cruel sense of humour. The monotonous slog of paperwork and lack of excitement. She was vegetating behind a desk, her fingers itching for a purpose beyond chasing magical creatures and bail hoppers from crossing magical borders. All the border cases that had potential for actual thrill had to be handed over to Interpol, which was an incredibly painful task for Claire.

She gripped the file in hand, her fingertips white against the brown casing. 'Interpol' was stamped across the front in red, taunting Claire as she carried it to the department. She could have sent it over with the flying network, but had simply used it as an excuse to stretch her legs. If she had to listen to Finn's obnoxious chatter for another second she was going to be on the next convoy to Azkaban. 

The sound of a deceivingly sweet voice stopped Claire dead in her tracks. It was a voice she recognised - one didn't forget hatred easily. Or, maybe that was too strong of a word. Spinning on her heels, Claire was disgraced with the sight of Anastasia Karkaroff, Casimir's sister and Interpol's biggest, most irritating dog. The mention of border patrol cinched it for Claire. Hatred definitely wasn't too strong of a word.

"And I thought all the Karkaroff's were in Azkaban." Claire replied immediately, approaching the woman with arrogant intent. "Guess we were both wrong." She shrugged, her eyes narrowed but mouth smiling. It made for a menacing expression. Slapping the file on to Anastasia's crossed arms, Claire let go of it as if it were on fire. "This is for you." She said reluctantly, mostly because it stopped her from actually entering the department beyond its beginning. She was beginning to resent the entire Ministry. 

anastasia marie karkaroff

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

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you can sound the alarm

you can call out your guards

November 30, 2025
Claire Evangeline Slater

Ana’s gaze didn’t shift from the Auror even as she handed the file to her, which she grabbed quickly. The red ‘Interpol’ stamp easily recognizable to her as all of her files had this across them. A quip about her familial name, not uncommon to Ana and especially not from her. Her brother had told her about Claire as they had once worked together, though how was beyond her understanding considering how her brother could be and how stiff this one could be. ”And here I thought all the interns had been sent home for the day.” She shifted so the file was held to her side, her non-wand arm of course as a habit of hers since she was young. ”Not that I would accept an anyone as an intern who was so tactless with information.” The events of what had occurred were not unknown to Ana and really there was nothing more delightful than bringing it up now while she had the open opportunity.

She couldn’t help but smirk, this intense feeling of animosity for someone only compared to her loathing for some certain close family members. Cas knew of her feelings toward his former associate, though he didn’t do anything to dissuade her of her opinions. Though the thought of such a fall from grace from where she stood in Interpol was an uneasy thought, not that she gave her any sympathy. She had done it to herself. ”Though you must be working hard if they trust you to handle the paperwork now.” It was a shame it was the end of the day, though on this floor it was always long hours for their work. Though with Aurors of this caliber it was no wonder their files were stacked high and their workload never ending even with the Americans here. Though Ana enjoyed the challenge and the chase at the end of the day.

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

n e v e r   e n o u g h

THERE WAS SOMETHING INCREDIBLY SWEET about Ana's face. As if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. With her soft complexion a pair of deceptively kind brown eyes. Claire had almost admired her from afar when she had first seen the foreign Ministry liaison. Had she refrained from ever talking, they might have gotten on perfectly fine. Alas, their competing personalities were like oil and flame. An incendiary pair. They'd yet to achieve a pleasant conversation.

"Thank you..." Claire preened, as if Ana had complimented her. "I've always been told I looked younger than I am." She reached out and patted Ana's arm as if they were old friends. Claire followed the files trip from Ana's hand down to her side, where she kept it close to her. As if Claire might reach and steal it back. She certainly thought about it. 

"Oh..." Claire's head tilted back slightly as she laughed, her mouth stretching and teeth showing. "You think I'd ever intern with Interpol?" She was furious, knowing it was Ana's intent to bully her with her own mistake. She should have expected nothing less, but she still sobered up quickly, stepping in to the remaining slither of space between them so that they were almost toe-to-toe.

"If I didn't have so much respect for your brother..." Claire reached up and plucked a little piece lint from Ana's blouse. "I'd raze you to the ground and make it look like an accident." Her smile small and almost flirtatious, had it not been for her cold, fury blind stare. They shared breathing space for just a moment before Claire leaned back slightly. If someone were to see them, they might assume they were two friends having a pleasant conversation. "I won't be there for long." She said assuredly. "So, you better enjoy me while it lasts." 

anastasia marie karkaroff

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

template by punki of adoxography

you can sound the alarm

you can call out your guards

November 30, 2025
Claire Evangeline Slater

Claire found a way to make her comment into a compliment, no matter. Whatever she felt she needed in this situation she supposed. Compliments were never actual compliments to one another, maybe she looked young and that was a good thing but not necessarily in their fields where men were typically in charge. Still, Ana resisted slapping that pale and perfectly manicured hand after it had touched her, as if she had earned the right. But they were in public after all and Ana had an image in the office she needed to keep after all the works he had done to rise as she had done. ”I expect not from someone who would prefer the easier route. Border Patrols suits you. I think Interpol might be a bit much.” Ana said with a clear contempt in her voice. It was intended to push a button but also because Ana personally thought it was true. As long as she was in this department with her seniority Claire would never do anything but bring tea to them and perhaps shuffle some papers around.

Suddenly the blonde was nose to nose with Ana and this only angered her, the woman didn’t deserve to breath the same air as her let alone be in this close proximity. And course…there it was. The mention of her brother. Ana could never understand how her brother, the eldest Karkaroff could ever stand to be in the same room as such a woman, but there was something of a respect between then and Ana knew it had to do with some of their side affiliations, but she still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Then again, he was a more patient person than she was. Her hand once again touched her, to remove something from her blouse but Ana didn’t flinch not even as her own brown eyes locked with her green ones. ”Well then leave him out of it, I’d be happy to see you try.” Oh, the thought of that challenge only excited Ana because she liked to win and not only win but nothing would give her greater satisfaction than being able make sure that Claire knew she had lost. Ana’s eyes bore into the woman, she was itching for a fight but she knew how to keep a cool head.

Now it was Ana’s turn to laugh and really it hadn’t been intention, it had just happened as she spoke. ”Sorry.” Ana managed a fake apology for her laughter, ”I just can’t seem to think that you’ll find something else to mismanage. Even there.” She shift her weight to her other foot and cross her arms again, the file still in her hand. ”Because as long as I’m around you aren’t going anywhere.” Different departments handled different jurisdictions and different tasks, but Ana had friends in various parts of Law Enforcement and influence through them.

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

n e v e r   e n o u g h

THE REALITY WAS THAT ANA WAS HITTING AT Claire's weakest points - her pride and her work ethic. Claire knew this, deep down, and yet it still curled her lip back dangerously. Her smile turning from sharp to sneer in moments. "Well, perhaps one day you'll dare come down to the training floor." She said with a sharpened calm, her eyes narrowed to fine, glaring slits. Eye teeth winking as she grinned. "We can spar and then decide which is the easiest." Claire imagined throwing Ana to the ground and it sang in her spine, metallic like blood in her mouth.

"Gladly," Claire replied, her voice low and dangerous. The tension of a fight simmering in the air around them. Even the papers, flying overhead, seemed to shiver from the chill of it. Flapping restlessly in Claire's peripheral. "Name the time and the place, I'd be happy for a friendly one to one." There was nothing friendly about the two, nothing but sheer force of will keeping them from taking out their wands and laying down battlements. Claire respected her job too much to risk it, she couldn't afford to be disciplined once again. But the temptation existed, nonetheless.

Rearing her head back at the sound of her laughter, tinkling and appalling, Claire was incensed. She had only just pulled the same power move and yet it bothered her. The imbalance in power was disquieting. "You can try." Claire retorted, quick and without that veneer of smiling camaraderie now. Her eyes were alight, her cheeks flushed as she stuck her face in to Ana's until they were nose to nose. "But, I guarantee you, you will regret the very day you say you're happy to see me on this floor."

Pulling back, Claire repainted her smiling face, blinking innocently as she waved at a passing colleague. They looked visibly uncomfortable, slowing with interest. The tension was hard not to note, even at a distance. "Do come down to the duelling floor, Karkaroff." She said with unnatural friendliness. "That is, if you have time between all your important Interpol work and repainting your father's stellar image." Patting her arm in good taste. "Have fun with my file!" She said as she turned away with a wave. "I do love to give you the dirty work." And that was it, for the moment. 

anastasia marie karkaroff

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

template by punki of adoxography

you can sound the alarm

you can call out your guards

November 30, 2025
Claire Evangeline Slater

Ana's eyes narrowed as her stare bore into Claire, her constant presence was enough to annoy her, but the feeling was quickly overridden after the challenge was issued. Oh, did Ana enjoy a challenge. It fueled her as she had an innate need to be the best and let everybody know that she was. They could say what they wanted about her name and that she was small or a woman, but that never stopped her from a fight before. A slight smirk appeared on her face. Backing down was never an option if she could help it. "I'd be happy to, maybe you can take some notes and learn something." Naturally, Ana was a better duelist than she was with physical fighting, but that had been part of her training while being bullied during her academic years and having three older brothers.

If she wasn't throwing her name around, she was more than happy to bring up her eldest brother. How a man such as Casimir ever could stand to be in the same room as this bothersome motormouth for more than two minutes only meant he had more patience than Ana could ever muster in her entire life. Still, she knew her brother and his standards for people, and in her mind, Claire hardly fit the bill. If the animosity between them could have been a visible force, then the entire floor might have cleared in fear of these two strong-willed women going head to head. "Oh, I promise you there will be nothing friendly about it." She scoffed with another thought. "Remind me to talk to my dear elder brother about some of his...choices." Neither were empty threats. If Claire wanted to challenge her, then Ana would gladly step up. Nothing would make her happier than being able to stare down at Claire, with a smile, as she lay on the floor--defeated.

Ana was used to standing her ground. Though she never wanted to be in this close proximity to Claire, she would never take a step back when proving a point. Slater didn't scare her or even get close to intimidating her. She was merely an easy target. Having a bad day? She'd go run into Claire and feel better about herself and that she wasn't stupid enough to end up on Border Patrol. Ana's gaze intensified, as much as she hated her father being brought up as a constant point, it did make her feel slightly better than it was all that Claire had to throw at her--though soon Ana would only have more to throw back at her. "Try not to get lost, Slater." Ana responded with an equally fake tone, "We all know how you are with directions."