|
anastasia marie karkaroff
DURMSTRANG ALUM DUELING MASTERY MAGICAL INTERPOL OCCLUMENCY
161 posts
played by vanessa
fire in my lungs, can't bite the devil on my tongue
|
|
last online Apr 18, 2024 18:34:32 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
|
|
|
May 29, 2021 22:43:47 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on May 29, 2021 22:43:47 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love Ana drummed her fingers on the armrest of her living room chair while her hand held a glass of wine, there was, but a sip left. She had agreed to meet with her brother, but she’d wanted to talk in private rather than the shop this time, and while she knew he was incredibly busy, she insisted a bit more than she was used to. It had been about a week and a half since she’d spoken with Harry about the Order business at hand, and it was odd that she would be informing Cas rather than the outer way around for once. And really, she almost would have preferred he be left in the dark—she would more than capable of taking care of herself. While her brothers were hardly the type to jump in front of another to block a hex, an operation of this magnitude might elicit some reaction.
But, the more she had thought about this, the more it made more and more sense. Plus, with her information and connections with her work, she had a few ideas about making some friends. Glancing at the clock on the side table, she let out a sigh and drank the remaining contents of her glass before standing up and walking into the kitchen to place it in the sink. Her brother should be arriving at any moment. Again, she went over the details in her mind and how she would tell him. Still, there was a small part of her that was still a bit upset that he hadn’t told her about the plans to resurrect the Order and dismantle Ouroboros and Heliopath. She might have been more prepared for all the faces she had seen that day, including those she worked with at the Ministry. But then again, there were equally surprised faces looking at her across the pub.
There was a knock at the door and Ana walked to open it, her dominant hand near her wand as a force of habit before she opened it. But, she relaxed when she realized it was her eldest brother. ”Cas.” She simply greeted, moving out of the way so he could enter.
template by vee
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 19, 2024 9:09:00 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Jun 25, 2021 7:13:04 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Jun 25, 2021 7:13:04 GMT -7
23 February 2026 Cas had his good days and his bad days – this was undoubtedly a bad day. He sat on the couch in his sparsely decorated flat, head in his hands. The newspaper he had been reading when the letter had arrived had been carelessly tossed aside, still displaying the article he had been perusing about pirates raiding cursebreaker sites to steal the artifacts they had carefully excavated. The letter in question, the one he simultaneously expected and dreaded every week in equal measure, was crumpled in his hands from anger. He had read every carefully inked word a dozen times, studying his brother’s neat but cramped handwriting. It was full of the usual: their mother’s loosening grip on reality, a complaint (or two or twelve) about Cas’s absence, and that fatal burning question – have you heard any news of our father?
He felt so alone. So alone. He had been carrying too many secrets for too long, maintaining the delicate balance of handling the family’s affairs while keeping it separate from his own endeavors. Growing up, his siblings had never been permitted to know how far the family had slipped into misfortune, how terrible it had gotten before Cas had graduated and started working – even as they coordinated their efforts to reverse this unfortunate trend. Pureblood society, the circles of socialites and black market contacts he kept such careful company with, could never know the full extent of his underground activities, particularly with the Order. And absolutely nobody in his life could know everything, or they would see the monster he was, the monster he had become trying to keep everything together while he felt himself falling apart. The deep circles under his eyes and frantic pace of his thoughts was indication enough that Cas hadn’t been sleeping. The usual nightmares had come back, dark memories of his father from childhood and the recent reminder of everything that had happened on Halloween. Cas stared blankly at Alek’s letter in his hands, the letter from his blind, ungrateful, ever critical brother. A brief glance at the Dial Back, which functioned not only as a Dark magic detector but also as a watch, told him he was almost late for meeting his sister. That wouldn’t do – she would ask questions if he was late. Cas discarded the letter in disgust and stood quickly, pausing a moment to neatly arrange the newspaper on the table before leaving his flat and Apparating to meet Ana at hers. “Anya,” he said tersely in greeting as she opened the door. Cas was unused to this dynamic – in most scenarios, he summoned her and not the opposite way around. But she had made this sound urgent, and he trusted her enough to give her the benefit of the doubt. He could feel his head swirling with everything unspoken between the two of them – his efforts towards the revival of the Order, the curious disappearance of their father from newspaper headlines or Ministry notices about the escaped inmates, news from home about their mother and the family finances that Ana was undoubtedly uninterested in. “I’m very busy,” he said shortly, skipping past any small talk they might have engaged in to inform her that he was in a bad mood today. anastasia marie karkaroff
|
|
|
|
|
anastasia marie karkaroff
DURMSTRANG ALUM DUELING MASTERY MAGICAL INTERPOL OCCLUMENCY
161 posts
played by vanessa
fire in my lungs, can't bite the devil on my tongue
|
|
last online Apr 18, 2024 18:34:32 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
|
|
|
Jul 6, 2021 2:12:45 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on Jul 6, 2021 2:12:45 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love Ana visually inspected her brother. He looked tired—more than usual. And that familiar stance he took, standing tall but with a heavy weight on his shoulders. If Cas carried anymore, he might actually slouch, and that would have stood out immediately to Ana. The past few weeks had been busy, very busy. While she’d managed to avoid another lengthy visit to the island—the perimeter was secure, and she could resume her work with Interpol. She’d even found time to socialize, which she’d found had actually relaxed her enough to take on the new stresses in her life. The conversation with Harry still felt fresh despite the time that had passed, and she’d spent the last two weeks planning her next steps very carefully. It was dangerous, incredibly dangerous, but her only doubt was the final step before she began—she needed to tell her brother.
She could have easily left him out of the loop, but she wouldn’t. If there was one person who could help her if she got in trouble, it was her oldest brother. Plus, optics were essential for them to and their work in the Order, for the family, and on opposites sides of the law all served a purpose: optics. Still, she almost didn’t tell him if only because she still held a slight grudge at his secrets regarding the Order. That only confirmed that Cas would always have his secrets, even from her, and even if she didn’t care for that type of arrangement. His tone was short with her, but she was unaffected—they weren’t your typical siblings, after all. ”Of course you are.” His reminder would be met with sarcasm, which was expected.
”I’ll get to the point, then.” Ana walked over to the whiskey she kept for guests and decided she would speak and pour at the same time. Grabbing two spotless glasses, she poured a small amount in each and turned to hand Cas one while she began. ”I had a meeting with Harry recently.” She paused to sip from her own glass. ”You see, brother, I know you like to hold on to your secrets. But, I felt this was too important to keep from you.” The bitterness was less this many weeks later but still ever-present. ”And before I explain and you protest, I’ve already agreed to this.” Maybe her brothers would continue to see her as that teenage girl always fighting at school or trying to tag along with them, but she wasn’t and hadn’t been for some time.
template by vee
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 19, 2024 9:09:00 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Jul 10, 2021 3:39:42 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Jul 10, 2021 3:39:42 GMT -7
Ana appeared unaffected by his curt words, and Cas’s expression didn’t change at her dry sarcasm. The Karkaroffs were similar to most pureblood families in that care and affection didn’t characterize their relationships. Pureblood families weren’t warm, or trusting, and they tended to view each other the way they viewed other families. Like chess pieces. Like players in a complicated game, sometimes working with you and sometimes against you. But the Karkaroffs were different in that they had long ago united in support of a common cause – restoring their family’s reputation and status in the pureblood community – and that kept them tied to a shared fate. Cas and Ana were unusual in that they were bound together by a number of dangerous secrets as well, and that meant they had both the closest relationship in the family but also the most to lose. Cas’s face was never particularly expressive, but he felt himself close off immediately as Ana explained why she had called him here. His expression was guarded, and he accepted the glass silently as he studied his younger sister. A meeting between Ana and Harry, one not attended or arranged by Cas in any way, put him on-edge. It was also a potent reminder that despite how harmless Harry could seem at times – his desire for a quiet life, surrounded by his bar and his family – he was still a shrewd player. He had studied under Dumbledore, defeated one of the greatest Dark wizards of all time, and kept the Order of the Phoenix together in peacetime and wartime. And his sister – she had many talents in dueling and at the Ministry, but Cas had never viewed her as a distinct player. She was his little sister, a useful asset, and a reliable piece that would move where it was directed. But if there was anything he was learning now, it was that Ana was her own player. And she was making her first move. Cas glanced at his glass disinterestedly before taking a small sip. “Sounds like you have it all figured out. Your generosity is appreciated.” His tone was neutral, but there was a biting undertone to the comment. “I suppose you had better tell me about it, then,” he continued detachedly, turning without invitation to take a seat at Ana’s couch. He didn’t like the sound of what Ana was hinting at – no doubt some reckless plan cooked up in the eagerness to bypass Cas’s cautious nature and advance the Order’s goals. He would withhold full judgment until the end, but also his approval. Because as set in stone as Ana made it sound, Cas knew better. Plans changed all the time, and despite Ana fancying the thought that she could do things alone – it wasn’t true. No Karkaroff could. He would likely do what he could to support his sister in the end, as they always did, but with his own conditions. Ana was bright and talented, but Cas had been doing this for a long time. He didn’t allow himself to be used by anyone, least of all his little sister. anastasia marie karkaroff
|
|
|
|
|
anastasia marie karkaroff
DURMSTRANG ALUM DUELING MASTERY MAGICAL INTERPOL OCCLUMENCY
161 posts
played by vanessa
fire in my lungs, can't bite the devil on my tongue
|
|
last online Apr 18, 2024 18:34:32 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
|
|
|
Jul 19, 2021 1:48:14 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on Jul 19, 2021 1:48:14 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love Ana knew her brother was meticulous and organized. Meetings taking place without his knowledge would disrupt that Order and was also not something she made a habit of. Despite the things they disagreed on and how much she valued her independence in her life, they were a team with a goal. That goal was for the family and against the things they didn’t stand for. For now, she had to shove down that grudge she was still holding onto, if only so he might be less guarded with her. It was a critical assignment, and if she was being honest—she couldn’t do it with complete confidence in herself if he wasn’t on board. But she’d never admitted that out loud. She needed that external image of the unwavering Karkaroff confidence, or people would walk all over her if they saw the opening.
Cas took a seat, and Ana sat down in a nearby armchair so she could look at him. She took a sip of her drink, place the glass down gently on a coaster. ”Harry believes that our only chance at getting ahead—getting an angle on the Purifiers is through infiltration.” She paused. While not many words had been spoken, they were heavy. ”Our social circles would likely provide the right connections for that.” The implication should have been clear—although, with that description, many in the Order could have been recruited for this particular job and spared the risk she was taking on. ”Harry can’t do it himself, obviously.” And neither could Potter junior—James. ”Yaxley is needed at the school, and Lestrange is our connection to St. Mungo’s.” The list grew shorter and shorter. ”Plus, none of them can match me in dueling.” Not even her older brother. The main risk was her secret keeper status, but she was relying on her extensive occlumency training.
template by vee
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 19, 2024 9:09:00 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Aug 31, 2021 10:57:18 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Aug 31, 2021 10:57:18 GMT -7
From an outside perspective, the scene didn’t look much like a family reunion. Cas sat back on the couch, barely registering the glass in his hand as he studied his sister. There was no warmth in his eyes – instead, he had assumed the flinty look of a businessman in the middle of evaluating an asset. Determining its value to him, and whether it was worth the continued investment. After his invitation to Ana to explain whatever she had discussed with Harry, tinged with a heavy undertone of sarcasm, Cas didn’t speak again and instead adjusted the cuff of his jacket. He was cautious, unwilling to move forward without as much information as possible, and the more he spoke – the more he gave his true thoughts away. So he kept quiet, suppressing the urge to nervously twist his fingers or his wand. It was a bad habit, too revealing, and nobody would notice more quickly than Ana. He wouldn’t have to wait long anyway for her explanation. As Ana sat down nearby, taking a measured sip of her drink as they’d been rigidly taught to do in polite society, he could see a stubborn expression settling on her face. It was familiar – the steely glint in her eyes, the defiant set of her jaw. She was expecting immediate resistance to whatever was going to come next, like all those times she’d demanded to join her older brothers whenever they were allowed outside. But Cas had to stop himself there – this was not his six-year-old sister facing off against her mother because she only wanted to climb trees with her brothers. He’d become stuck in time at some point, too invested in seeing his siblings through school and guiding them to maximize their value to the family that he had missed them growing up. This meeting with Harry, this secret meeting she had gone to without informing him, was evidence enough of that. He needed to reevaluate his judgment. Ana’s logic was well-reasoned, more than he’d been expecting from his impulsive sister. She was intelligent – all the Karkaroffs were, in their own way – but she tended to blast first and look later. She counted off the prominent purebloods in the Order – Jasper’s presence at the school, Ariadne’s connections at the hospital. It was always a short list, but she tore through the names quickly until truly there was only one family that could feasibly carry out a mission of this magnitude. Harry and Cas had debated the Order’s options repeatedly when it came to ending the Purifiers, although many of their arguments had turned circular once it became clear that the men held radically different positions. Harry had hinted at something like this before, planting an agent to get a clearer idea of the Purifiers’ member base, but Cas had dismissed the idea. It was too bold a move, one that had the potential to both take down the agent and any other Order members they were forced to give up. It clearly hadn’t ended the discussion, only shifted it to a new audience. As Ana wrapped up, Cas leaned forward on the couch, idly twisting the glass in his hands. “Plan to do much dueling while infiltrating the Purifiers?” he asked dryly, disapproval already apparent in his words. “I would think Occlumency training would be more important. Unless that detail slipped your mind when you were offering our family to Harry like a sacrificial lamb.” The statement was devoid of his usual subtlety, tone frigid as he moved straight to the heart of the matter. Cas's life may have seemed full of contradictions, but ultimately his position never changed. He worked for the Order as long as their interests aligned with his own. If asked to choose... anastasia marie karkaroff
|
|
|
|
|
anastasia marie karkaroff
DURMSTRANG ALUM DUELING MASTERY MAGICAL INTERPOL OCCLUMENCY
161 posts
played by vanessa
fire in my lungs, can't bite the devil on my tongue
|
|
last online Apr 18, 2024 18:34:32 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
|
|
|
Sept 16, 2021 23:20:57 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on Sept 16, 2021 23:20:57 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love Her brother opted to fiddle with his sleeve, and she merely made a note of it—for now. Ana had always been an observant child, but also, it had been pushed on her. Watch for their reaction. What are they saying, and what does their body language say instead? This is how connections were made or how you knew someone was lying. It had translated well during her time in Interpol, and of course, the past few years working with Cas had helped.
This generation of Karkaroffs were incredibly similar in many ways, and yet they weren’t. Life had still dealt them all a slightly different hand, and this was where Ana had forged her own path. When Harry had approached her, she’d had reservations on why the meeting was a one-on-one situation, but then she’d thought it through. Cas would have never gone for such a plan. It was what Heliopath would have done if they’d gotten themselves organized enough to do so. Ana was not opposed to bold actions but as thought out as they could be. In her line of work, one needed to react quickly while a Cursebreaker could stroll for as long as they wanted before needing to act.
”Obviously.” She simply spoke, pausing at his words. ”There’s no need to patronize me, Cas. Besides, since you’re the head of the family, I’m but a fringe member.” Much like the hierarchies of most Pureblood families. She was supposed to marry the heir of another family and continue the bloodline while her brothers passed on the name. ”Besides, it's not anything I wouldn’t do at work.” Interpol handled the international cases after the Aurors received them. Infiltration was part of that. ”Interpol has information that might link that illegal dueling ring and the Purifiers.” It was a start, it might turn out to be absolutely nothing, but it would’ve been her job to investigate at any rate.
Ana paused, opting not to explain herself further—for now. Instead, she looked at her brother again. He looked more tired than usual. ”When you’re done fidgeting with the glass, you want to tell me why you look like you haven’t slept?” Not that either of them looked particularly rested on a good day. But there was something ghoulish looking, and she knew her brother well enough by now though perhaps he had his own work with the Order that she was unaware of. It wouldn’t have been the first time, after all.
template by vee
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 19, 2024 9:09:00 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Nov 6, 2021 5:35:38 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Nov 6, 2021 5:35:38 GMT -7
Cas’s expression was guarded throughout the discussion, but he clenched his jaw to keep back the retort that wanted to escape at Ana’s dismissive tone. Yes, he was the head of the family, a responsibility he’d been managing for years and which so neatly held the rest of his life captive. He’d been a good son all through his school years at Durmstrang, never involved in anything that would have shamed the family or sent their reputation crashing to the ground like after their uncle’s betrayal or father’s arrest. No, he'd been a model pureblood at Durmstrang and that had paved the way for his younger siblings to just follow his example and keep it together for the sake of the family. Then he’d been free for nearly a decade in his cursebreaking, until that also had been taken away by the increasingly obvious fact that his mother couldn’t be trusted with the family’s well-being and the fact that neither of his brothers were clever enough to do the work themselves. And Ana? She never openly contradicted the Karkaroff bottom line, and she could be trusted to attend the right functions when Cas pointed out that her attendance would be necessary. But she was much less subtle than Cas when it came to pursuing her own interests, or the open way she showed her disdain for the pureblood world by making friends with Muggleborns and all sorts of unsavory types at the Ministry. Ana had been slowly washing her hands clean of the Karkaroffs for years, and it left Cas to handle all the ugly truths of what it meant to be the eldest of this generation. “Even fringe members have responsibilities,” he finally said through gritted teeth, not contradicting her claim, “And you’ve been neglecting yours, Anya. What happens when you finally cross the line, be too bold, and someone begins to suspect?” Cas grew restless at the thought, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had already reviewed all these potential scenarios when considering his own involvement in the Order, but Cas knew his experience in the black market had given him a decent grasp of subtlety and discretion. He wasn’t sure his sister could be so unnoticeable. “Everything else that’s happened has only been a setback. We’ve made so much progress in undoing the damage after…our father, and Uncle Igor…but this? Having our involvement with the other side be openly revealed? That would end us, Anya. Blood traitor is a title you can’t come back from.” It was an open warning, so much less veiled than he had ever been in the past. But out of anything Alek or Damian might have done, he’d never had to warn them away from an action as irreversible as this. Cas had wanted to recruit Ana for the Order – he knew her abilities surpassed any of the other Karkaroffs, and she had valuable connections that even he couldn’t access. But now he dreaded what kind of power he might have given her to do to their family. She was observant, and Cas exhaled shakily as she asked why he hadn’t been sleeping. Merlin, there were so many things he’d never told her. Cas had always justified it in the past, that there were things she just didn’t need to know. He was the oldest, and he would handle the dirty work -- whatever it took to keep their family name clean. But it was becoming harder to convince himself that he could do it alone as the time went by and the secrets grew heavier. He released an angry exhale as he thought of their brother and withdrew the damn letter from his pocket as he got up angrily to pace the room, unable to contain himself any longer. He tossed it at Ana so she could pursue the latest evidence of Alek’s endless persistence in getting answers – what should he do to restrain their mother? Why wasn’t Cas home to do it himself? And where was their father? “Alek’s been relentless, more than usual lately. He sends me letters constantly asking what he should do. As if having a single independent thought’s never occurred to him in his life.” Cas paced furiously, unable to keep all the stress and worry inside any longer. His voice grew higher in volume and frustration. “Always with the questions. Where’s our father? Have you heard any news? Who can we ask that might know more? Merlin, when will he realize the man’s never coming home!”anastasia marie karkaroff
|
|
|
|
|
anastasia marie karkaroff
DURMSTRANG ALUM DUELING MASTERY MAGICAL INTERPOL OCCLUMENCY
161 posts
played by vanessa
fire in my lungs, can't bite the devil on my tongue
|
|
last online Apr 18, 2024 18:34:32 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
|
|
|
Nov 12, 2021 3:14:35 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on Nov 12, 2021 3:14:35 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love This was a bit harsher than their typical polite conversation. But they weren’t the type to hold back with one another either. There would always be that bit of resentment in Ana’s existence for her world and her role in it. She had worked hard to be where she was, with her name only serving as a ball and chain, but she climbed the hill nonetheless. Casimir had chosen a different life despite his responsibilities, and while they had a similar goal and purpose, their methods varied greatly and personal agendas. Ana supported her brother, and she certainly had his back when it came down to it, but she wasn’t keen on having a part in the Pureblood world that her middle brothers had so readily accepted.
Ana glared at him. She could never be as calm and collected as he was, but she certainly knew more patience than most. Then again, he was hardly calm and collected sitting here now in front of her, something was going on with him, and she was determined to find out. The urge to roll her eyes was hard to ignore. There was much she could say in return. The fact of the matter was she had the ability and connections to help this cause, and isn’t it what they were in Order for? Besides, it was clear that they didn’t have everybody’s trust—it didn’t matter if they earned an Order of Merlin, First Class for something selfless and worthy. They would still be guilty in the eyes of many.
She shook her head. ”You overestimate the bureaucracy of the Ministry.” She spoke flatly. These types of operations were hardly public. It wasn’t something that she’d understood why until her Interpol training. It was dangerous in either scenario. Either the good guys mistook her for a mole and acted, or whomever she infiltrated sought revenge. It was that simple, and fortunately, Ana wasn’t doing this for the glory. But fortunately, the topic changed, though as much as she didn’t want her brother’s approval, it would have been nice to have it rather than his reluctant support.
Cas stood up, very restless. This was unlike him. But he threw a letter at her, and she unfurled the paper that had clearly been opened and folded up many times to read it. Ana read the letter but stopped at Cas’ ranting. Had she heard him correctly? Her eyes slowly moved from the letter to her brother who was furiously pacing in her living room. He was going to wear a hole in her floor. ”What are you talking about?” There was no love lost between Ana and her father. She had no memory of the man as he’d been carted off to prison before she turned three. But it didn’t stop her from having a vested interest in where he was now after the prison fell. ”Cas—what do you know?” What did he mean that their father was never coming home?
template by vee
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 19, 2024 9:09:00 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Nov 19, 2021 5:21:13 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Nov 19, 2021 5:21:13 GMT -7
The Karkaroffs were a team, and the family loyalty was there in every sibling – even if it manifested itself in very different ways. But there were some things that went unspoken even between them, and as the years went by it became harder to confront the truth. Their mother’s slipping grasp of reality was one of them, and they found ways to cope with it without ever actually acknowledging the problem. Ana’s relationship with their mother was different than his, if only because of the outdated ways that the pureblood community handled gender roles and their expectations for young purebloods. And their father…he was another forbidden subject, for much the same reason. He’d shamed the family, sent their reputation plummeting to the ground…and he’d mistreated his sons terribly. Ana wouldn’t have any memory of the man, having been so young when he’d been arrested, and for that – Cas envied her for it. Her questions were sharp, and pointed, and suspicious. She knew about Cas’s business in the black market, his extensive involvement with all sorts of underground dealers. Smugglers, fences, common thieves even…his hands had never really been truly clean. But admitting what he had done? That was a new low, and it felt like an irreversible decision to tell her. She’d never see him the same way again. Cas’s nerves grew, and he shoved himself back onto the couch to anxiously jiggle his leg and consider the crossroad he had reached. He didn’t answer immediately, all his usual cool confidence leaving him drained and empty and uncertain of himself. He turned his wand over in his hands, studying it with disgust. It was his wand, in every sense of the word. It had been his father’s once, but then it had sat in a display case collecting dust until his mother had shoved it into his hands shortly before he had left for Durmstrang. There had been no ceremony to it, no promise to uphold the wand’s legacy or break it completely. He had fought the crippling fear for years that it would always be his father’s wand, never his…but he had won its allegiance. He had broken its previous owner. The wand was unequivocally his. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to admit what he had done out-loud, to finalize what had happened in such an irreversible way. Instead, he discarded his wand on the coffee table and dropped his head into his hands. The time after Azkaban’s fall had been chaotic, and even for months afterwards Ouroboros had struggled to understand what had happened. Cas had operated on his own, always much more effective that way, to use his unique connections and see what he could find. And ultimately, he had found him. Even the mere thought of their father was enough to terrify Cas, to remind him of what it’d been like to be a small boy and completely at his mercy. He felt so much younger, more vulnerable, more scared, as he admitted to Ana in a cracked voice, “I…I did something. Something I can’t just walk away from.” Cas couldn’t bear to look at his sister, so he kept his eyes fixed on his shoes. Everyone knew Ana as the most impulsive of the Karkaroffs, more willing to act boldly than her cautious brothers. But Cas was a hypocrite, because he had done much darker things. More irreversible, things that couldn’t simply be washed away or ignored. And in the back of his mind, he wondered what Ana would do if he confessed. Be the good and proper Ministry agent? Be a Karkaroff, putting the family before everything else? He didn’t know. anastasia marie karkaroff
|
|
|
|
|
anastasia marie karkaroff
DURMSTRANG ALUM DUELING MASTERY MAGICAL INTERPOL OCCLUMENCY
161 posts
played by vanessa
fire in my lungs, can't bite the devil on my tongue
|
|
last online Apr 18, 2024 18:34:32 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
|
|
|
Nov 20, 2021 1:17:59 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on Nov 20, 2021 1:17:59 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love Ana was concerned. This was very unlike her very calm and composed brother. Cas was the eldest, the one running the family, and always with a cool head. Ana hadn’t quite learned how to be that composed though she did well enough when she needed to. Her role was vastly different than his, and so were the expectations against her. She could get away with a bit more impulsivity, and she certainly did when she could. So much of her life had been controlled when she was younger, and she vowed never to be under the same invisible chains again. But, this was different. It bothered her because she wasn’t used to how unsettled he was.
She watched as Cas inspected his wand. As many Pureblood families did, their wands were inherited. Cas had their father’s wand. As she understood it, it wasn’t something an Azkaban inmate would need. But again, to her, their father was but a name and a face in a moving photograph. Their experiences were not shared when it came to the man—though Ana held very little love for their mother and what she’d been put through. Her eyes didn’t leave him as he paused for an extended period. Cas finally spoke but didn’t look at her. ”Cas.” She spoke, narrowing her eyes at him. The letter she’d been handed was now discarded onto the table next to her, where she also left her drink.
The pieces were all there, but a part of her refused to believe it. Much like a verbal confession of an inmate, she needed to hear it out loud. ‘The man’s never coming home.’ He had said, and his confession that he had done something. Ana looked down for a moment before looking back at him. She wasn’t in a hurry to know where their father was. She wanted to know what had so shaken up the man that was the rock in their family. ”I don’t need to remind you that I never had a relationship with him.” The story with her other brothers was different, they had grown up with him, and the stories she’d heard were not kind ones. Her eyes didn’t leave him. His body language told her that he was carrying something heavy and his frame couldn’t handle the pressure. ”Do you know where he is?”
template by vee
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 19, 2024 9:09:00 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Nov 26, 2021 9:34:00 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Nov 26, 2021 9:34:00 GMT -7
Cas sat heavily on the couch, unwilling to look at his sister – no, not unwilling, simply completely unable to look at her. He had been carrying so many secrets for so long that the thought of sharing one, just one, was completely unthinkable to him. He had been told so many times by his mother that he was responsible for his siblings, for carrying the honor and legacy of the family name, and for doing everything he could to protect it and the family. That, to him, had always seemed best done by handling everything himself. Cas was capable, he knew he was capable, and secrets had always come naturally to him. He shared only when it was in his best interest to do so, and that transactional way of being had been ingrained in him since the moment his mother had informed him that he was head of the family now. He'd never questioned the impulse before, because it worked, didn't it? The Karkaroffs weren't in the same standing now that they'd been ten years ago. They were beginning to earn back their legitimacy, both in the pureblood circles Cas ran in and in the Ministry where Ana showed exactly what a Karkaroff was capable of. And he'd guided them there, hadn't he? So he was doing fine, just fine... Her questions were direct, and Merlin that was so like her. The Ministry suited her, if only because she’d already learned how to wear authority and assurance around her like a cloak since she'd been very young. Durmstrang had been difficult for her, especially with her older brother’s unwillingness to intervene on her behalf, but Ana had grown all the stronger for it. And now Cas couldn’t bear it and the way her questions sliced through the air and demanded answers. She'd always demanded answers from him. Instead he deflected, and asked in a low voice, “Did I ever tell you about our father?” He knew the answer already. Of course he hadn’t. Cas couldn’t bear to invoke the man’s presence, or the influence he still had on his sons after so many years spent rotting in a cell in Azkaban. And after so many years of silence, Cas didn’t even know where to start. He'd buried those memories deep, and couldn't ever recall a time where he'd spoken freely about them. “He always had his lessons for us. His twisted little lessons.” He deepened his voice slightly, and Cas hated how easily he could match the timbre of his father’s tone. “It’s every man for himself. You can never count on anyone else. And if you’re not the one moving the pawns, then it means you’re one of them.”He shook his head in disgust and slumped back into the chair. It felt like everything that had always held him up inside was gone now, and he felt empty in a way he hadn’t since his childhood. “It’s a terrible lesson to teach a boy,” he murmured, still unwilling to look at his sister even as he admitted these pitiful truths that he had never said aloud. Cas and Alek had always had more to speak about than the others, being the two oldest and therefore most influential in handling the family’s future in the pureblood community. Cas giving the orders and Alek dutifully following them. His younger brother agreeing to an arranged marriage because it was right for the family, while Cas had traveled far to put their reputation back together in the same place it had fallen apart. But they had never spoken about what their earliest years had been like. Never been willing to acknowledge it out-loud. “Forcing him to choose between himself and his brothers…” He couldn’t follow any coherent stream of thought as he finally trailed into nothing, his voice disappearing completely. The world was messy, and sometimes it couldn’t be wrapped into the neat little packages Cas worked so hard to create. There was certainly nothing clean or simple about this. After a moment of contemplation, Cas glanced up at Ana with haunted eyes. “He’s probably exactly where I left him,” he finally whispered. anastasia marie karkaroff
|
|
|
|
|
anastasia marie karkaroff
DURMSTRANG ALUM DUELING MASTERY MAGICAL INTERPOL OCCLUMENCY
161 posts
played by vanessa
fire in my lungs, can't bite the devil on my tongue
|
|
last online Apr 18, 2024 18:34:32 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
|
|
|
Jan 9, 2022 1:53:30 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on Jan 9, 2022 1:53:30 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love The pressure her brother carried was more visible now than ever. Ana knew it was there. Any pureblood was aware of what pressures existed but seeing it like this was something different—new. But, her mother had drilled into Ana that it was never supposed to be seen or one would appear weak. So what had pushed her brother to this point? She knew very well that his youngest sibling was the last person he’d want to see. Cas didn’t answer her, however. That was typical of him, and she listened instead. Much like sitting in interrogations, their suspects never knew that every word they spoke was said purposefully, whether it was intentional or not.
Ana didn’t respond, but the lessons she had learned were modified versions of what her brothers had apparently been taught. But just like Cas, her other older brothers hardly spoke of their father. There wasn’t much love lost on the man. Ana managed to look away a moment, thinking through what her brother might be insinuating. What had their father made him do? Made Alek do? And Damian? He was the youngest boy, the closest in age to Ana. How much of their father had he suffered? Their mother was hardly tolerable, let alone wondering what both parents would have been like. With Cas’ words, Ana didn’t want to think about what lessons her father might have taught her. Surely something meant to break her spirit and transform her into the good little Pureblood daughter her mother had tried so hard to create.
Her eyes moved back to her brother, however, and the look in his eyes wasn’t something she had seen before. There wasn’t that well-trained wall, that mask and shield he was so comfortable wearing. No, this was different, and she let out a heavy sigh through her nose. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t have any strong feelings on the matter. She’d never spoken to the man, had any kind of relationship with him. ”I see.” She spoke simply. Is this the part where she was supposed to empathize and show support? Her mind went back to her final few years at Durmstrang and feeling alone despite her brothers in attendance and that feeling persisting even after they’d left. It had been a lesson—pureblood families were never short of them. ”I’m assuming that means Mother doesn’t know yet?” Ana asked for clarification, drinking more whiskey and wondering if she should volunteer to tell their mother the news if only to see the look on her face.
template by vee
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 19, 2024 9:09:00 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Jan 14, 2022 9:32:19 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Jan 14, 2022 9:32:19 GMT -7
Cas was terrified of their father. Even in death, the man loomed large over him, commanding his fear and obedience with an iron spine. There were very few things Cas had ever flinched away from – he had been a cursebreaker, after all, and had worked in the shadows of Knockturn Alley for just as long. He had seen so many forgotten corners of the world, and the terrible secrets and truths that they hid. No, there was very little that he was afraid of, but even the thought of Oskar Karkaroff was enough to pale his face with fear. To force him into remembering what it felt like to be a small boy with nowhere to go, and no one who cared for him. He had never been scared of their mother in the same way. For so many years, there had been a power struggle between them until Cas had wrestled control of the family away from her and left her to slowly descend into madness. He had argued with her, berated her for her irrational choices, and eventually won what he wanted. He knew it hadn’t been that way for Ana, but the cold and calculating way that she dissected the situation with their missing father now unnerved Cas. She had been a baby, and a girl, so she’d escaped the worst of his attention. But it still seemed impossible to him that she could have no fear for the man. Cas sighed slightly as he slumped back into the couch, his body limp with the exertion of admitting all those terrible truths to Ana. He wouldn’t have dared with Alek or Damian. He and Alek were close, always having split responsibilities between them, but they never spoke frankly. And he and Damian could be unnervingly similar at times – they both had the tendency to run away from their problems, even if Cas always came back. Always let his duty drive him in a way that had never been demanded of his youngest brother. But with Ana – well, she was his favorite. They all knew that. He’d invested the most in her upbringing, showing her what it meant to be a Karkaroff. Her perceptive nature, her ability to assess a situation and identify weaknesses and opportunities like a chess board – he took credit for it. And her involvement in the Order too. But she wasn’t the right person to talk to about their father. Alek would have understood better, and the desperate letters that Cas had been receiving was only one more piece of evidence in how much distance had grown between them. But he’d been the only one to stay behind in Prague, and he’d taken some of the burdens of the family so that Cas wouldn’t have to focus on marriage or little well-behaved pureblood children. He scoffed slightly at Ana’s question. Even if he hadn’t been exposed to the same level of torment as Ana had, Cas had no love for their mother. She’d been the weak link in the family, a complicated tangle that had needed to be sorted out before he could advance the siblings’ shared goal of restoring the family status. “Of course not,” he responded, his voice back to some semblance of its usual dismissive derision. He gazed at Ana sharply as she innocently sipped her drink, and he sternly continued, “And it’s going to stay that way. She can’t be trusted with anything so sensitive. Neither can Damian. You know how he is.” Damian’s obsession with exposing the truth and avoiding family obligations whenever possible showed how he and Cas had developed in totally opposite directions – but he supposed it was one of the ways that younger brothers sought to distinguish themselves. It also hadn’t escaped his notice that Damian had decided not to go into cursebreaking, despite how well the career would have suited him. But right now, securing Ana’s silence was key and Cas gave her a pointed look as he regained some of his usual bearing. Being the overbearing brother that knew best – Cas knew how to play that role. anastasia marie karkaroff
|
|
|
|
|
anastasia marie karkaroff
DURMSTRANG ALUM DUELING MASTERY MAGICAL INTERPOL OCCLUMENCY
161 posts
played by vanessa
fire in my lungs, can't bite the devil on my tongue
|
|
last online Apr 18, 2024 18:34:32 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
|
|
|
Jan 22, 2022 2:33:33 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on Jan 22, 2022 2:33:33 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love Nobody wanted to admit they feared anything. Nobody ever wanted to appear weak. Sometimes with enough introspection, one might consider that bottled-up anger, resentment, bitterness, and all those feelings were just manifestations of fear. And for others, that journey only convinced them that they were strong for it—they’d survived and were somehow above it all. Ana would only ever tell herself that she was above what she’d been put through, and any action she could take that upset the norm her mother so desperately desired in her insanity was a show of personal strength and nothing more. But, her brothers—especially Cas, she was used to seeing in the particular light they carried themselves in. Not what she saw before her now.
Ana had always known better than to ask, plus she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of some stinging snippy comment as his walls remained up even from her. Plus, their mother had alluded to…things. But it wasn’t a story that Ana knew. At least now, she had just a few more details to work with. More details than she ever thought he would share with her. Ana looked away from Cas for a moment, focusing on the coffee table in front of them instead. She tried to think back through what vivid memories she had retained—had her mother ever really mentioned her father? Of course, she had, but if only to suggest that he might get out of Azkaban one day, and what would he think of the lack of compliance from his only daughter. Nothing more than that, at least from her recollection.
Her eyes went back to Cas as he scoffed, that bitter tone returning as he answered. But she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. ”And Alek?” If they were comparing strength of personalities, Damian was leaps ahead of her second eldest brother. Sometimes she wondered if a strong gust of wind would take Alek’s spine or a used sticky note first. Returning her face to a neutral expression, she frowned slightly at the thought of sticky notes. One of the muggle-born Interpol trainees had brought them, and she had grown frustrated with their uselessness without an almost permanent sticky charm. But back to the subject, Ana paused and looked away again. Why did she get to know this and not her brothers? Would the death of their father really hurt the family if that formally put Cas at the head of the Karkaroff line?
As she thought through the situation, Ana couldn’t help but scoff slightly. ”I don’t see why we can’t tell her—let her experience pain for once…” It was hard to hold back the bitterness she still felt. It was no secret amongst them that their mother was slowly descending into some kind of madness—maybe Ana could tell her and convince her it was some kind of delusion. But then that would require visiting home. Alek would also do what he was told easily. While Ana typically obeyed begrudgingly and Damian would conveniently lose his hearing when Cas was around. ”More secrets…” Ana muttered to herself, sipping more of her whiskey. ”I never picked you as the vengeful type, Cas.” Ana finally spoke, getting up from her seat to refill her glass. As she faced the half-empty glass bottle, she paused before refilling. ”But I have no doubt our father got what he deserved.” It was never an easy choice to take a life. It wasn’t something even Ana craved, but it was necessary at times, she supposed. If her brother had something of that magnitude, she trusted him enough to know he had his reasons—aside from what few details he had just shared with her.
template by vee
|
|
|
|