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last online Oct 5, 2023 2:09:17 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
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Feb 18, 2022 6:07:57 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Feb 18, 2022 6:07:57 GMT -7
Everybody had a role to play, some small part in the greater dance that kept their world together – able to survive hardship and time and the promise of change. For purebloods, they were born with it and faced the expectation of performing the right steps every day. They were the next generation, and the pressure of keeping their traditions alive and their family names strong…it was always there. There’d been a time when Cas had thought he could escape it, some naïve part of him that thought it could all end once he’d left Durmstrang. But that had been a ridiculous thought, and a selfish one, and he’d since been punished for it by being forced to accept that he had to carry the responsibilities of the Karkaroff family and ensure his siblings did the same. He was a good son, he told himself he was a good son. It didn’t mean being the kind of man his father had wanted, or his mother – no, they were only pieces in the chessboard too. And the minute they began to drag the family down? Then they had to be taken care of too. Each of the Karkaroffs had their job too, and Cas shot Ana a warning look as she questioned his decision to keep the truth about their father from their other siblings. Damian was a wild card, he’d always been unpredictable and more willing to defy the family to get what he wanted. And this obsession of his with the truth…Cas knew it was his form of rebellion. His way of distinguishing himself from his older brothers and their tendency to keep secrets. As for Alek… “What good would that do?” he asked, his tone detached and empty. Cas was analytical, always the planner of the family, and he knew each of his siblings well. “Alek doesn’t have the nerve to keep a secret. He plays the role he was given…and doesn’t need to know more.” It had become obvious to Cas early on that marriage didn’t interest him, and arranged marriages even more so. Inviting an unknown woman into his family and their secrets? Cas was too private for that – so Alek had taken on the responsibility and that was all he needed to do. Add another branch to the family tree and keep an eye on the problematic Karkaroffs back home. Alek was reliable, but Cas had always leaned more on Ana when a difficult decision needed to be made. She had an iron spine, and didn’t need her brother’s constant supervision in order to excel. But she had a tendency to be more emotional, and she certainly seemed to attract her fair share of feuds. Her particular distaste (even hatred?) for their mother was a weakness, and Cas could hear the frustration and bitterness in her voice. At least Alek’s letters were particularly informative in this arena. “She’s in pain every day,” Cas responded, his voice somewhat sharp as his disapproval bled through at Ana’s train of thought. There was no logic to it, only emotion – and she should know better than that. “But,” Cas continued as he sat back and folded his hands contemplatively over his wand, “I’ve taken care of it. Sent a house-elf to keep an eye on her. That’s the end of that story.” His tone was decisive, and he wasn’t in the mood to debate with Ana. Not in the middle of his crisis – not when there were much bigger problems to handle to Ana’s personal grudges. He sighed shakily at her final observation. She was unfortunately right – every Karkaroff had their style, and Cas had radically diverged from his. He was always cool and calculating, but it had all disappeared when being faced with their father and the memories of what he’d done to his sons. Then there had only been rage, and a cold desire to end it forever on his own terms. Ana’s tone was almost patronizing as she refilled her glass, and Cas’s lips flattened in disapproval at the thought that he had acted without thinking and created a persistent problem for himself. “Maybe it’s time to let this secret come into the light. Or a version of it,” he admitted begrudgingly, tapping his fingers anxiously against his empty glass as he considered it. “He was on the run from the Ministry. He had enemies. Perhaps with Damian’s help, we can…create our own reality of what happened.” Cas had gotten so used to acting alone, carrying the weight of the family’s responsibilities on his own shoulders…but he didn’t trust himself with this. He usually felt so solid, so collected, but now he could feel the slight tremble in his hands. He needed his siblings – Ana’s decisiveness, Damian’s creativity, and Alek’s support. anastasia marie karkaroff
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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
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last online Mar 26, 2024 12:38:47 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
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Feb 24, 2022 23:24:14 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on Feb 24, 2022 23:24:14 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love Cas responded quickly—Ana didn’t see why the rest of the family couldn’t know. Their father was an escaped inmate and a terrible man. The four of them were working hard to remove themselves from the legacy their father and his family had left them. Plus, Ana thought of the Interpol resources wasted on searching for him. When the breakout had occurred, she’d been brought in by senior leadership to ask the routine questions. After she’d answered them, Ana reminded them of her work and her consistency and that any question of her integrity was not warranted or welcome.
But Cas was not wrong. None of them would respond the same to the news. Ana was by far the most detached from that, considering she’d never spent time with her father. Seeing Cas so shaken made her wonder if Alek would respond similarly. Damian was barely older than Ana. He’d be more concerned about how their mother was doing. It took everything not to seem cheerful, knowing their mother was in pain. Karma was a wonderful thing at times.
Revenge was typically a tactic in Ana’s toolbox, whereas Cas would warn her not to walk down that path—or if she did to ask her if the risk was worth it. There was so much anger in this family, and the manifestation in each of them seemed to define who they were individual. Cas used his to anchor himself and lead as the calm one. Alek crumbled under the weight. Damian’s search for truth brought down walls of lies as if his words were a battering ram. Ana let her anger fuel her fiery nature. The actions that Cas had taken were far from the norm for him. The risk must have been worth it.
Turning around, she gave Cas a curious look, letting the thought linger in her mind for a moment. ”How does that help us?” Ana didn’t yet see the angle or the benefit. What was she missing? But she paused. Names came to mind that she could influence. ”I may be able to…guide the investigation from afar.” She sipped more whiskey. She hadn’t intended to go near that file—but it would be easy enough to push the right agent in the right direction without notice. ”Although…a misplaced document might provide an interesting story for the paper.” If there was ever a way to light a fire in Law Enforcement, it was unintended front-page news. Ana’s integrity only stretched so far as the gray areas of her moral compass let it. Letting confidential information on her father leak was for a good cause—according to her brother anyway.
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last online Oct 5, 2023 2:09:17 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
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Apr 8, 2022 16:33:31 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Apr 8, 2022 16:33:31 GMT -7
Cas was used to taking care of problems. It came naturally to him, a byproduct of being the oldest and most responsible. It was a burden he’d accepted from the minute his mother had shoved his father’s old wand into his hands and sent him off to Durmstrang to present the new generation of the Karkaroffs to the pureblood world. Since then, it had become a second instinct, one that came as easily as breathing. If there were money problems, it could be easily swept under the table and dealt with discreetly. If there was a potential scandal in the making (thank you Damian), then Cas always knew exactly which strings to pull to make it go away. He didn’t need other people, didn’t want to be forced into spending time in the presence of others. But Ana had a point – there might be a different way to handle this mess. Cas operated best in the shadows, and burying secrets until there was no chance they’d ever see the light of day. That was the way of Knockturn Alley, after all, and the best way to avoid leaving evidence behind. Evidence that someone might dangle over him one day. Their father, and his escape from Azkaban, was bad news for the Karkaroffs. It brought back the family’s problematic legacy to the public’s attention, dredged up old ghosts and grudges from the past. A clean death was the best way to end that chapter and remove that wild card from an otherwise flawless and precisely calculated equation. But it hadn’t been dealt with cleanly, not in the haze of Cas’s anger and fear. Still, he made a ‘tsk’ sound and shook his head as Ana brought up the Alek question. No, Alek could obey an order but there were parts of his life that he chose to hide from his siblings. Cas didn’t trust him not to slip details about their father to someone Cas didn’t know. “You don’t have to see,” Cas snapped at Ana’s muttered comments about spilling the news to their mother, “You only have to obey. I said not yet.” There was no doubt that Ana was calculated and cunning, and that made her a formidable opponent. But she could never see the wider chessboard the way he could – her strength came from grounding herself in the moment. Flattening the obstacle, disarming her opponent and bringing them to their knees with one powerful curse. Ana didn’t have the patience required for a longer, more complicated game – but that didn’t matter, because Cas was the one who provided a vision and he could trust his sister to always carry it out skillfully. He knew he shouldn’t snap at her, not from the vulnerable position he found himself in. It would be so easy for Ana to walk away and leave him deep in his own mess…in theory. But even she was dedicated to the family and would find it painful to turn her back. The pureblood blessing, and curse. Cas sighed and brought his hand to the bridge of his nose, pinching his eyes shut to ward off a headache. He didn’t move as he finally murmured, “I want this to be over.” Ana wouldn’t receive that sort of relief from their mother in the near future – one of them would have to die first to end that feud. But their father had been an open question for too long, draining the Karkaroffs’ social capital and constantly hanging over the family’s reputation like a dark shadow. Cas raised his head. “If we can push Interpol to find the body and close the case…if we can shape media coverage to put the matter to rest…it might be enough,” Cas muttered, eyes drilling a hole into the coffee table as his mind raced to keep track of all the different moving pieces that would be required. For the first time in a while, when it came to their father – he felt like he had options. anastasia marie karkaroff
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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
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last online Mar 26, 2024 12:38:47 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
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May 1, 2022 1:37:02 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on May 1, 2022 1:37:02 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love For now, Ana dropped the suggestion of letting their mother suffer from the news. But she simmered for a few moments in her own anger. Why was Cas allowed to get his revenge on their father, but Ana was not allowed the same privilege as the one person who had made her childhood a living hell? This was where Occlumency and her own discipline came into play, controlling the urge she had to grab her wand and apparate as many times consecutively back to their family home and gleefully tell their mother the news. But on the same note, Ana knew when to stop pushing.
Still, it didn’t stop her from letting her gaze linger on her oldest brother—a glare. It wasn’t lost on her that she was still seen as the baby of the family, the youngest and the only woman. Perhaps it was just all-natural fuel for her tendency to steamroll and overpower. Still, she’d never quite mastered overpowering someone as gracefully as Damian did with his charm. In that sense he had somehow become the perfect daughter or child for their mother, able to use his charisma to talk to anyone. Cas was the chess master, Ana was doomed to simply be the muscle, and Alek the pawn. But most days, she realized that having the firepower was a much better feeling than nobody knowing what you were capable of.
She crossed her arms and thought about the tools at her disposal that could help them. She had access to files, to people. It wasn’t that long ago she’d utilized one of the trainees in their plan to steal the magical item from the evidence locker. While Ana did not have an answer right away, she wasn’t terribly concerned about it. ”Consider it handled.” She spoke casually, letting her arms drop so she could pick up her glass of whiskey again. Ana paused, standing in her usual stance as if to brace herself. ”Won’t this simply bring more attention to the family?” Ana wondered. There were clearly pieces he was withholding from her. And it wasn’t herself she was worried about. Cas worked in Knockturn Alley, which wasn’t a great look, and who knew what Damian was up to on a good day. And Alek, oh sweet Alek, and his lack of subtlety in his social life. ”If that’s the intent, you need to speak to Alek.” Ana also worked in the Ministry of Magic, and the things that her brother, the Unspeakable, were up to were no mystery. The thought made Ana want to roll her eyes. Even Damian knew subtlety.
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last online Oct 5, 2023 2:09:17 GMT -7
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May 13, 2022 7:08:39 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on May 13, 2022 7:08:39 GMT -7
The silence coming from Ana was unusual, and Cas was almost tempted to take out his wand and double-check it was actually his sister. It would be the cautious thing to do, but pulling a wand on Ana was a one-way ticket to St. Mungo’s and the possibility of someone switching out the youngest Karkaroff for an imposter was low. Low enough that Cas was willing to risk it, rather than the alternative of finding out the hard way that his little sister could beat him in a duel. Either way, he could still feel the frustration radiating off her and he knew he’d be met with a glare if he glanced over at her. That was enough to reassure him that she would respect his decision, even if she desperately disagreed with it. You didn’t need to be a Legilimens to know how much Ana wanted to share the news (and maybe leak some secrets about Damian’s indiscretions) to their disgraced mother. Still, her clipped words that she’d handle it from her end were enough for Cas to let the issue go. For now, at least – until she brought it up again or he thought she might need the reminder. Damian would be tricky to convince, although in a different way. There would be no question of keeping the issue away from the attention of their mother, but Damian was almost a slave to the truth. He might be hard-pressed to accept a plan that required so much subterfuge. But his attention was torn away from the troublesome thought by Ana’s question, and he considered it for a moment. “It might be in the news for a while,” he conceded, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve as he thought. Then he shrugged. “But there will always be another story. When it comes, it will be better for us not to have the Karkaroff name attached to it…especially in regards to the Purifiers.”Cas was silent for a moment as he considered it. Their father had been famously involved with Lord Voldemort, although he had no obvious ties to the Purifiers except taking advantage of their plans for his own escape. As members of the Order, Cas and Ana had more access to information than the general public and he knew it would only be so long until they moved against the Purifiers to create that next big story. Harry was impatient, and Cas hadn’t successfully managed to convince him of the need to move carefully. Their leader probably already had some plan in motion. So Oskar Karkaroff’s death might garner some attention for a while, but in a year? It would be forgotten completely. Ana repeated the need to speak to Alek, so Cas pinched his lips and rethought his answer. “Soon enough,” he finally answered – not a complete change of opinion but hopefully a good enough compromise. “But he isn’t ready now.” Cas shook his head slightly and added in a mutter, “It’s almost like there’s a voice in his head telling him to make these bad choices. But if that voice was different, if there could be a change, then…maybe.”anastasia marie karkaroff
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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
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last online Mar 26, 2024 12:38:47 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
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May 27, 2022 20:35:12 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on May 27, 2022 20:35:12 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love There was always a point Ana could reach where her anger and resentment grew too high to speak. While it was professional to keep quiet in such situations, it was also the largest flag she could wave to her brothers. Their little sister was never usually speechless—her opinion was often delivered in a few words. This was one of those moments. The anger she felt lingering felt…unchecked. Juvenile. The animosity toward their mother was not your typical child’s grudge of a few bad childhood memories. And yet—Cas was allowed to have his revenge. Why couldn’t she? But, it was clear Ana was not going to win this argument. At least not today.
They could all view things on a big picture level for the most part. But Ana had never quite understood how her brother saw the world. Perhaps some complicated Wizard Chess game and they were all the various pawns beating each other until there were just bits of rubble left. Damian, she always figured, saw an open book where all the pages had yet to reveal themselves, and he saw it as his solemn duty to do so. Ana wondered what threat was around the corner in front of her while wondering who was coming up from behind, her wand ready should she need it. Life was a maze with many twists and turns, after all. But she was struggling to see what vision he had for putting their father’s name in the papers once more.
Still, he had a point. Ana crossed her arms and turned, and leaned against the desk. ”So, you’re simply getting the story over with?” That’s what it sounded like to her. Push it out in the forefront before it was the only story. These were things they could control, to a point. And Merlin knew that a Karkaroff loved nothing more than to grasp control within their fingers. Or when it came to their brother Alek—the illusion of control. Despite being the second eldest, Ana never had an issue pushing him around a little bit. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and turned back around for her glass. ”He likes to bring attention to himself.” She remarked before returning to her seat, looking at Cas as she waited for the rest of the plan.
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last online Oct 5, 2023 2:09:17 GMT -7
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Jun 4, 2022 8:44:21 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Jun 4, 2022 8:44:21 GMT -7
Every pureblood family had been caught by surprise at the end of the first wizarding war, and it had been the clever ones that had gotten themselves out of trouble for a decade or two of quiet. The Karkaroffs hadn’t been – not under the careless management of their father and uncle, anyway – and that had left them in a bad position for Voldemort’s return. Hunted down by the Death Eaters, distrusted by the Ministry, and making every possible bad decision until it had almost looked like the family would completely capsize. Cas had spent his entire life trying to correct those mistakes, and he had come too far now to be lulled into a sense of false security. Many pureblood families, including some of Cas’s business partners, had simply returned to their status quo and the same tendencies that their parents and grandparents had gotten into trouble for. But he intended to be more clever than them, and his mind was already plotting several moves ahead. How to protect the Karkaroff name from being caught up with the Purifiers, how to prevent history from being repeated a third time. Being recruited into the Order had given Cas, and Ana, a rare window of opportunity to see what was coming. There would be no excuse if they failed to protect the family from the backlash of that, whether or not the victory went to the Order or to Elaine Dupree. Cas gave a silent nod of acknowledgment as Ana summarized his plan – get the story out there now while nothing too terrible had happened yet. “I…wasn’t careful enough,” Cas admitted, the words tasting like acid as they left his mouth. He’d lost all sense of logic or rationality when faced with their father, and he’d left a mess behind. His mouth twisted into a grimace as he continued, “Something will be written about it. At least we can decide when and how.”It was only a pale shadow of the control Cas liked to have, but it would have to do. He was used to cleaning up his siblings’ messes, mostly Damian’s, and he’d been doing it for as long as he could remember. But it was his turn now, he supposed. Cas didn’t expect Ana to understand, because she’d never known their father. Damian might be a touch more understanding, if only because this would finally be something he could throw into Cas’s face later, but Alek would remember everything their father had done to them. Cas grunted at Ana’s observation about their brother but didn’t comment. Instead he moved to pour another glass for himself. “We should all be doing our best to avoid attention,” Cas finally responded, sitting down again to avoid the temptation of pacing. He continued in a mutter, “A position at the Ministry won’t save you if they start a pureblood witch hunt.”anastasia marie karkaroff
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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
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last online Mar 26, 2024 12:38:47 GMT -7
STUDYING ABROAD
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Jul 21, 2022 19:41:54 GMT -7
Post by anastasia marie karkaroff on Jul 21, 2022 19:41:54 GMT -7
we're killing strangers so we don't kill the ones we love In this generation, they were Karkaroff by name. Still, fortunately, it didn’t appear they inherited their father’s family’s ability to act like a simple fool and a coward all at the same time. Ana had always wondered if her role would have been different had she been born the oldest. Would she have come across the opportunity to enact revenge on their father? There wasn’t a word that came to mind when she tried to describe or picture him, but anyone that brought down Cas’ usually unshakeable demeanor was quite the foe. Much like their mother was the one person who could easily crawl under Ana’s skin.
While society had ceased focusing on their differences over the years after the last war, a few souls still carried themselves higher than everybody else. But the wounds were still fresh. Her brother was right. Any renewed sense of justice toward those with pureblood ancestries would spiral quickly. The list was easily written. Names such as Karkaroff, Burke, and others existed at the top. She thought of others in the Order or at least the few she had encountered. Those like Potter were walking reminders of how ‘good’ had prevailed. While others such as herself, Cas, and even Greyback were clear reminders that all those wounds were still fresh.
”I’ll see to it that Damian happens across relevant information he can bring to the Prophet.” Naturally, her next eldest brother could not write the article himself, but he was clever enough to put it in the path of the proper journalist. And after that, it was out of Ana’s hands, not that she had much of a say in the matter. While she refused to play the part of a puppet on strings, she could still see how unplanned actions, such as dealing with her mother, could cause unintended consequences. And right now, she couldn’t afford any with her upcoming assignment. The irony that the papers would be talking about the Death Eaters of the past for at least a week after that article, and she was trying to find her way into essentially the Death Eaters of the future.
Ana finished her drink, placing the glass loudly back on the counter. After a moment, she spoke. ”I have to go. I have a meeting to attend.” Or rather, she had to prepare to duel in the underground rings that neither followed nor cared about the rules that the official Dueling Leagues abided by. Plus, she had to find her mask. She never revealed her face in the rings—many didn’t. A mask charmed to not block her vision nor handicap her in any way. Though she hated that it reminded her of her father’s Death Eater mask. ”You can sulk here as long as you like.” She offered, her thoughtful tone laced with sarcasm. While she couldn’t imagine what was going through her brother’s head, she reminded herself that Cas would have told them to stop moping around five minutes after arriving.
[ end ana ] template by vee
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last online Oct 5, 2023 2:09:17 GMT -7
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Jul 29, 2022 4:34:18 GMT -7
Post by Casimir Elias Karkaroff on Jul 29, 2022 4:34:18 GMT -7
Now that the instructions had been issued, Cas had no doubt that they would be carried out skillfully. None of his siblings were idiots, even if they insisted on acting that way sometimes, and they’d done well to follow his guidance and make themselves indispensable in their chosen fields. The fact that they’d all chosen such wildly different careers hadn’t been an accident, or coincidence – no, it had been strategic. They each had their given role to play, and Cas at least knew that he would play his faithfully. He'd tried to cut and run once, gone chasing after his freedom like it had ever actually been possible. He’d learned better, and now he kept his head down and played his role. The Order was the only way he ever felt alive anymore, because the rest of the time? The rest of the time, he’d become nothing more than a Karkaroff puppet that occasionally pulled the strings of others. He raised an eyebrow at Ana’s declaration that she had a meeting, and he could only conclude that it was nothing he wanted to know about. At this time of night, it was unlikely to be Ministry business – which meant it was one of Ana’s own rebellions against her family. One of the Muggleborns she insisted on surrounding herself with, maybe, or some toxic habit she’d picked up to feel a rush of something. Because emotion certainly didn’t exist in Karkaroff Manor. But he did shoot her a warning glance after her final sarcastic jab at him. “Don’t confuse thinking with sulking,” Cas criticized, rolling his eyes slightly as he finished the rest of his drink in one quick tip of the glass. Ana was constantly in motion, always ready to push forward and get the plan done. Only natural that she wouldn’t know what it looked like to sit and plan the next move. Still, he lingered even after she’d left him alone in her place. He was in no hurry to leave, not after the draining evening of remembering his sins and feeling the memory of their father come alive. Cas felt completely drained, like everything inside him had leaked out and left him feeling…empty. No secrets, no lies, no little plans swirling around his chest. Those had been temporarily banished to some other world for the night. Cas collapsed back into the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. This one little problem had been taken care of, but there would be others in the future. And Merlin, every year he felt a little less prepared to tackle them. He could feel his control slipping – Damian’s resentment at being told what to do, Ana going off and making her own plans that didn’t include him. Someday the careful balance he’d struck – it would collapse completely. And Cas dreaded what he would do the day his last few secrets found their way to the light. anastasia marie karkaroff [End post Cas!]
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