Stories and Substance (Dmitri)

[Deleted]

It was strange to lead the way in a city she wasn't really all that familiar in yet. After she'd started to open her big mouth to blabber to her coworker during a project he had figured a dinner break was required. While her body definitively didn't complain about the nutrients that it would be receiving soon she did feel some form of an objection towards the idea that he was going to pay for everything. Sure, it was a kind gesture but it made her want to suggest just going to a cheap place for fast food. It meant less strain on his wallet. Maybe she just had to make a point of paying her own food? Or was that rude? She twitched her nose in slight annoyance at herself as she led the way to the elevators at work to get outside for the food.

Of course he had suggested going to a place she hadn't been yet. That meant sushi and well, it was one of her weak spots when it came to food. She cursed herself in her mind even as she led the way outside. Why on earth did she talk so much? There was a singular advantage about leaving work though. It meant that she took on her customary silence. She didn't speak because she noticed people always wanted to overhear. Curiosity, she figured. It probably didn't help that most her coworkers rarely spoke out of the workplace from what she'd noticed. Introvert central, just downstairs though the doors where the magical experiments go boom!

She led him outside and as they stepped out she smiled at him. "Sorry, I don't like talking between work and the exit. People always want to overhear I noticed. Curious, I suppose. Not that I can blame them." She said with a slight shrug as she looked around, orienting herself on where to go. "The sushi joint I had in mind is that way," she said, motioning further down a somewhat larger street, "but if you want pizza there's a good one off in that alley." She pointed to an obscure little alley close by. "I know you invited me and all, but I'm going to feel far too guilty if I just pick a place on your budget unless we get hamburgers or something. So if you'd prefer pizza or sushi, do me a favour and look at the price before you take on the bill. I have no issues with splitting." She said, just wanting to make sure he had it very clear in his mind she wasn't trying to take advantage of his suggestion. Maybe she wouldn't have pushed so much on the matter if it had been a date or something but now she had no indication that it was, meaning she wanted to keep things as fair as possible.

There was just one disadvantage. Even with the fresh breeze out here there was still that insane attractive quality about him. Either the potion had slipped into her mind and gotten her drunk of the idea or she was in for far more trouble than she could handle. Uh Oh.

@dmitri

[Deleted]

Dmitri had met Heleen at work. The two of them worked in the department of mysteries, and they had been teamed together to create a devise of Heleen's imagination. After working some time on the idea of the project, Dmitri had decided it was time for a break. He offered to pay for their meal, it only seemed right. He allowed the girl to choose the location and she lead the way from their department floor, one that was restricted to all other ministry workers. They entered the elevator, that was defiantly not Dmitri's favorite part of work, but he was with a beautiful girl, and going out to eat, now wasn't the time to show weakness.

The two didn't talk much as they left. That was for the best. It was about time for everyone to be leaving work, and the elevator was far from vacant. The entire nature of the job of an Unmentionable was to never speak about their work with outsiders. This meant that as soon as the elevator arrived for them, they could no longer talk about their work. As the two stood in the elevator, Dmitri stood quite close to the girl, with the number of people in it, there wasn't much of a choice.

She apologized for the silence and Dmitri couldn't help but smile. "I'm sure that anyone would love to hear what we are up to down there" Not even the Minister of Magic could get that information. They were finally out of the building, which was a nice refreshing feeling. They stood outside for a moment longer, then Heleen motioned the direction of the restaurant that she was thinking about. As they moved, she mentioned the pizza and the potential sushi bill. "No need to worry. I obtained a good sum of money before moving here." The money converted, ans while Dmitri wasn't rich, he could afford to splurge a little. "I foresee us spending quite some time together on this project, might as well get to know each other." Plus, the girl had sparked Dmitri's interest, and it would be inappropriate to explore the potential of whatever this was, during work.

@seph

[Deleted]

((sorry sorry! Health problems kill muse. I think I'm eating sushi tomorrow for muse. I'm sure that works.))

Heleen completely loved this new project and she was quite relieved and glad to have found a connection between herself and her coworker and partner for this project. They were both the type of spirits that loved to think and theorize and putting their ideas to the test was a natural consequence of that. Naturally there were flipsides to that coin and for Heleen they usually meant over analysing every single little detail once her mind got a tiny bit too riled up. It was probably for the best that they were getting some food and taking a break. It would help her mind settle down and they would hopefully get to know each other better. If they were going to work together closely on a project that had anything to do with love potions it was good to build up communication and clarity and where possible a minimal trust threshold. Heleen was far too good natured and at times naive to take a distrust towards people. She tended to presume or at least hope for the best intentions even if and when she knew better than to think those were possible. It was that sense of hope that kept her spark alive. Despair and desperation due to a vigorous distrust towards everything in the world would drain her joys and passions and thus, kill her spark.

She couldn't help but giggle slightly as she thought of one of the pranks she pulled one a random official that had bothered her a little too much with questions at some point. "Well I know at least a few are courageous enough to ask. I once had a gentleman ask me questions and despite telling him that I couldn't tell him anything he kept pushing. At some point I just gave him a conspiracy type smile, felt the material of his robes, told him it was an interesting choice and then pulled a rather suggestive face before walking out the elevator to go home. He never asked anything again and I never saw him in the same material or colour as that day again. He sometimes just shoots furtive glances as if he worries I'll open my mouth again." She rolled her eyes. "It's his own fault for not taking no for an answer, really." She said, attempting to seem casual but a part of her was nervous he'd disapprove of her story. Not everybody considered that type of thing to be good or appropriate. Still, she had long since been justifying it to herself by reminding herself he'd practically been harassing her on information that he had no right or place to know. Still, there was always that little voice in her mind that tried to convince her that just about anything she did, especially standing up for herself in any way at all, was wrong. She wanted it to shut up.

He said he obtained a good sum of money, which sparked her curiosity a little bit. Did he win the lottery or something? Still, it sounded like a far more solid way of doing it than the sort of run for her money she'd given herself. She got by but her budget wasn't exactly very big. She didn't get to eat sushi a lot because splurging money ran a risk of being sent home to beg for money with her parents. Even though it wasn't sure to mean she'd have to move back she really wanted to make it on her own. She wanted to feel independent and strong, even though that wasn't the most common feeling she had. He gave a decent enough reasoning behind not asking her to pay her part of the bill but she still felt a bit awkward about it. "Yeah, I agree. It's good to get to know one another. I just don't want to be a burden is all. I can pay my own bill if needed, you know." She stated a bit awkwardly. She was rattling on far too much about that. "But whatever you prefer." She ended up saying a bit lamely, if only to shut herself up. Accepting gifts of any kind was a little bit of a challenge since there was an expectation that had gotten built into her system by her ex. Whenever he gave a gift of significant value he was sure to remind her of that endlessly in a way that was usually designed to instill either guilt or a sense of owed favour or emotional debt. It hadn't been too pretty. It wasn't that she objected to owing people stuff, she just preferred to know ahead of time so she could decline if she so desired. Gifts with underlying strings attached made her nervous, even more so if she didn't know if she was falling into such a trap.

It wasn't that she thought he planned to do anything of the sorts, it was merely an automatic response to gifts of nearly any kind. She didn't want to be a burden and things like this remained a bit of a weak spot for her. She hoped that he either wouldn't notice it or just ignore it so she could pretend like it was perfectly normal or something. She started leading the way to the sushi joint at that point, her smile giddy with excitement. It had been quite a while since she last treated herself to something like this and she was beyond ready for good food in good company. At least so far Dmitri had proven himself to be excellent company. His brilliant mind had her fascinated like a moth drawn to light. Even knowing that she might well burn herself on this she couldn't help wanting to take the risk. She was intrigued by him almost as if she were lost in the depths of the ocean and even though she was aware his light might just be that of the angler fish waiting to consume her. She lacked some of those warning bells in her mind.

Besides, so far he'd been kind to her and more than a little patient in allowing her to ramble on her various thought trains. It only made her want him to like her more, as she hoped that they could be friends as well as coworkers. She was not going to touch the bag of bees in her mind that had other suggestions waiting though. That was far too dangerous to even consider, especially since she'd only met him today. He just had that sort of a pull, she figured. A brilliant mind, an attractive physique and the unfair advantage of working in a room that produces the perfect perfume for any living being without having to worry what scents they like. She instantly wondered if it was possible to create a perfume with the same effect. Just something to smell good to anybody. She slowed in her tracks instantly as she quickly grabbed a piece of paper from her bag and a ball point pen to scribble it down at the back of a supermarket receipt. She'd save the idea for later.

((Okay, my muse is back! Sorry it took like forever. This post rings in my return. Maybe I'll have time for a spree tomorrow after work xD Hope you like it! <3))

@dmitri

[Deleted]

One thing that Dmitri liked about spending time with his coworker was the fact that both of them were thinkers. The down side of Dmitri's intellect seemd to be the fact that getting close to people became immensely harder. Especially after he had deduced that he used more of his brain then they did. But Heleen was different. The two seemed to be on the same intellectual level. This was a rare occurrence for him. While this girl was smart, she did seem very kind. It wouldn't be hard for Dmitri to take advantage of this. Unless the girl was playing a part, thought he hadn't seen any signs of that. Dmitri had promised to behave, and he expected the girl he was with to do likewise. But she did mention her family and friends, and the way that she spoke of it didn't lead him to believe that her past experiences were nothing like his.

Dmitri's previous thought was proven when the girl gave a small laugh at some mysterious thought. He listened to her story about people asking about their job. He wasn't surprised that people would pester an unspeakable. and couldn't help but let out a small laugh when she told him what she had done. He hadn't had quite a good experience. Perhaps that was because he knew how to intimidate people. "Serves him right." He was sure it was common knowledge that not even the minister of magic could make an unspeakable talk about their project. He gave her a smile. "Why not have fun with it, if they walk right into it." Maybe people figured that the could get it out of a cute girl if they played their cards right.

The more time he spent with Heleen, the more he began to feel like she was genuine. "No bother at all. And if you feel bad, you can pay the next time. That is, if you want." He gave her an enchanting smile. It was nice to think that she was so concerned, but honestly, it made him want to treat her more. He didn't feel like he usually came across genuinely good people. "I have no doubt about that." After all that, she started to lead the way. He couldn't help but smile at her excitement. As much as she seemed concerned that she was being bothersome, Heleen really did seem excited to be going.

The two walked in silence for a time, and ask they did, Dmitri moved through their interactions, starting with her knocking on the love room door, to now. He carefully analysed every moment that he remembered, devising weather or not she was using him. If she really was a brilliant grifter, he knew he wouldn't be able to tell, but all signs pointed to that not being the case. There was always a chance that she was using him, much like he had used many others back in Russia. But he calculated the odds, and they seemed to point towards her being reasonably normal. He did notice that she slowed to scribble on what looked like a receipt. Perhaps she had thought of something she didn't wish to forget, so he slowed to accommodate this.

((Don't worry to much about taking time to wright this, as I mentioned on Discord, I'm taking some classes, and they are fairly intense, so my posting is slow right now anyway.))
*seph

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Dmitri was so kind to her that Heleen made up her mind to take him out to dinner in return for his kindness as soon as she got her savings back on track. Right now she was still building up extra money to ensure she had two months worth of rent on her bank account before paying her dues for the month. Not to mention her savings for things such as buying a house or furniture, paying of student loans and many other things that had intruded upon the savings she'd once been so busy building as a teen. Getting her drivers license (her grandparents had insisted) had been a bit of a disaster and she'd almost given up on it all together. Her grandparents had ended up paying most of her many re-examinations to make sure she'd at least walk out with a license. She could drive and rather well but every single time she'd been obligated to prove it her nerves had caused her brain to shut down completely. Usually it was either that or them going into hyper speed up to the point her own thoughts pulled her so far away from the world it was difficult to come back to it.

She smiled a bit shyly at his suggestion to have fun with people that figured she was an easy target. "I did feel a little guilty about it for a while." She admitted. "It kind of goes against how I was raised for the most part. My parents were up for jokes and all but it was not ever supposed to hurt people. It didn't matter if they hurt me or in any other way made my life worse. I was raised to be the better person." She shrugged then, carelessly and giggled. "Mother said be good, father said be nice, that was always their advice." She did have a small habit of shamelessly quoting songs whenever she saw a window. Usually she just sung them but she still cared about making a good impression here so for now singing was completely off the table if she knew her was around. He'd eventually end up catching her in the act anyway. She wasn't able to keep her mouth shut on singing for a full day, not even when in public. The amount of times she'd sung at the top of her lungs while on the bike to her friends during summer holidays were countless. Sometimes she even did so walking down the street or in the quiet halls in the ministry when she figured nobody was around to hear her.

She vaguely registered that he matched his pace to her own as she took notes in the errand papers in her purse. It was a chaotic mess filled with many different ideas, much like her own brain. The only advantage was that her purse was a lot easier to clear out. Finding time or will to do so was a different matter all together. Heleen could be meticulous in her organisation but more often was not. It took quite a bit of time that she rather spent on working on her ideas than organising them. It was obviously one of her more fatal flaws. She smiled, a bit too awkward to thank him for accommodating her. It seemed a bit odd to do so. "I think I will actually return the favour and buy us dinner next time we decide to go for food after work. That way I can ease my sense of guilt for currently making an invited intrusion on my wallet. At least I know I can return the favour at a later date. Considering the nature of the average project I wouldn't be surprised if we end up working late several times in the future. It's good to know we can depend on one another in such times, if you ask me." She said with a bright smile. He was good company to keep and she enjoyed being around him. It was just nice to be with somebody that seemed to enjoy her brain and see her as somewhat smart at least. It was too often that people presumed her slow or dumb simply because her brain didn't function in a typical fashion. It annoyed her when they didn't give her a chance to prove she had a functioning brain. Dmitri seemed far more likely to test exactly how clever she really was than make presumptions on her wits based on her looks are slightly erratic behaviour. At least so far he'd respected her so much more than she was used to. It was really nice to have somebody like that around.

@dmitri

[Deleted]

Dmitri couldn't help the small laugh that came out when Heleen mentioned what she did was contrary to how she was raised. She stated that she was raised to not hurt people. It was the exact opposite of how he was raised. He could relate to being the better person. But he was sure that the context was meant to be different. From what he had observed, and just heard, the girl that he was with was raised to take the high rode, and to always be nice to people. He was had to be the better person, and take from others. "Mother said be good, father said be nice, that was always their advice." she had stated with a giggle. Dmitri laughed again. It was short, but only solidified what he thought. "It sounds like you had good parents." As a young boy, he wondered what his life would have been like it to have grown up with a mother and a father who only wanted the best for their children. He had very few memories of his mother, she had died when he was years old, the circumstances were quire suspicious, but it was ruled as an accident.

This girl was quite interesting. She defiantly didn't seem to be afraid to be herself, though there were times that he had noticed that she was self conscious about things. Something about this girl, made Dmitri want to open up. The likelihood of him fully opening up to her was still quite small though. He was sure that she wouldn't never be able to unheard all the things that he had done. They had started on a good note, and he really didn't want to ruin that. He slowed as she scribbled down some idea that must have come to her in the moment. Afterword she smiled at him and he gave a small, polite smile back. "If there are no late nights on this project, I will be surprised." Though he did hope that all the nights weren't long. He did have a sister back at home. She also mentioned that it was good to have people to depend on. At this, Dmitri felt a little guilty, but tried not to show this. "Yes, we can defiantly depend on each other." He had already agreed to be good, and he would stick to that, and keep things professional. Though this girl had no reason to trust him, she did.

@seph

[Deleted]

He deducted that she probably had good parents and she couldn't help but smile slightly and nod. "They do their very best to be there. It's not always easy, especially when juggling different lifestyles. One of my parents is from the city, the other from the countryside. Then there is the whole thing with wizarding family versus muggle family and if that all isn't enough then I'm sure we as children added plenty of drama into the entire thing. Still they were never cruel or unkind, although they were stern plenty of times. They've always been there trying to support us. They didn't really like that I decided to live in a different country too much but they do what they can to support me. Helped me find my apartment and everything. Even if nothing here works out I'll always have a place to go back to. It's the biggest blessing that I could have gotten in life. They don't always understand but at the very least they always try to." She shrugged and her voice was calm and filled with love as she spoke of her parents. They were good people and even though it had taken her a while to realise it they had been patient enough to wait out her vague rebellion. It had improved their relationship a lot and Heleen was still thankful that she'd been that lucky in the parents lottery. The heavens knew not everybody was blessed enough to say that.

"I know not everybody is as lucky as I am on the point of parents. Maybe that is a part of why I always try to make sure people feel welcome and safe. When those of the same blood are not a good family I guess I try to make sure they can build a chosen family. I've seen too many friends mistreated in some degree, although usually quite small. I feel everybody deserves a place to call home and a group of people to support them in the way a family should. I was lucky enough to get it so I want others to know it's possible, I guess." She sighed then and shook her head. "I guess on that point I'll fight to remain a bit of an idealist. I can't accept the idea that humanity as a whole is bad, no matter how much evidence points towards that. I always try to see the good. If I don't I fear I won't really like what I see." She scrunched up her nose. "The idea alone is far too depressing. I'm quite content in my little bubble." She said with half a smile as she glanced at him, quite clearly judging herself for her own view of the world, although it was playful.

As she glanced to the side curiosity won from her manners. "What about you? Do you get along with your family? I mean, you don't have to answer of course. I'm just being curious and overstepping boundaries so if I need to hush, just let me know." She wanted him to know it was fine if he didn't feel like sharing things. Sometimes it was too painful, too complicated or simply a subject people had no interest in sharing. While she tried to respect that she always wanted to make sure there was an interest from both sides. That she wasn't forever rambling on about herself while he wanted to share or something. She at the very least wanted to make sure he knew she was interested and more than willing to listen.

He mentioned the late nights and she threw her head back and rolled her eyes. "Late nights seem to be the default for me. I have trouble going home if I'm all up in the moment of a project. I once worked for like ten hours before realising that I was already two hours later than I was supposed to be. Either that or I end up working on stuff that is time sensitive and I'd have wasted a full day if I stop at the end of the work day and just dismiss it." In the end it did help that nobody expected her anywhere and nobody would worry if she got home late. She had very little to lose if she came home late and did nothing but sleep the entire evening. It might have seemed sad to others at times but she was quite content living a life where she wasn't bound and constantly in a position where she made others worry. Even if the more domestic life her parents had appealed to her a lot, she was fine going through the different phases in her own life to see where she'd end up.

She was happy to know that he too thought they could depend on one another. She knew she couldn't possibly do this project on her own and so far their cooperation had been very nice. She was looking forward to working with him a lot more. To letting their minds join to achieve things never attempted before. While she'd be incredibly apprehensive about this entire thing at first she was starting to get more confident that this would all be for the better. After all, with such a good cooperation, what could possibly go wrong?

@dmitri

[Deleted]

Dmitri mimicked Heleen's smile as she spoke about her family. He couldn't help but wonder how different would his life had been, if his father was half way as decent as her parents. "They sound like really good people. Parenting can be tough, and some just cant seem to get it right." He didn't have too much to say past that. He and his older sister almost single handedly raised their youngest sibling, even now, he was still helping to raise her. Their father was absent, and quite abusive.

She then started to talk about how she understood that people didn't always have it as good as she had. "That's a realization that not many people have. It's a good ideal to follow." This girl really was something else. Dmitri just couldn't seem to figure her out. Unlike the girl talking, Dmitri was more inclined to suspect the bad always, until proven otherwise. "Keeping that life philosophy is a good idea, just don't give anything away just because they ask for it." It was a lot more complex than that, but he didn't want to dive too deep into it. The girl did have quite a nice "bubble" as she called it. If she knew about his past, her bubble would be gone, and she would probably never talk to him again. She smiled at this, but Dmitri had to look away. Not wanting to loose face though, he looked back at her and gave the girl a slight smile "Hold fast to your beliefs, and I don't think you will go wrong."

It didn't take long for the anticipated question to come up. "What about you? Do you get along with your family?" She said that he didn't have to answer, but he did feel comfortable with her, he would give her a vague idea. "My mother died when I was young, and my father is away, and quite unreachable at the moment. I have been close to my sisters, but I've lost touch with one of them." He didn't really want to explain that he suspected his father for his mothers death, or that he was the one that put his father in prison, and his sister was now living as a prostitute, and that he was the legal guardian for his youngest sister. He also didn't want to bring up the fact that he came here to get away from his past and how as much temptation to return as possible.

"I've done the same thing. That's the problem for working in a room with no windows." Though, Dmitri did try to limit this and keep an eye on the time, seeing as he had some responsibility back at the house, and while he could get away with some late nights occasionally, his sister would really notice if it was regular.

@seph

[Deleted]

Heleen had to agree with Dmitri on that point. Her parents were simply good people. At times of conflict she'd found it difficult to admit in her anger and frustration. Mistakes didn't make people bad but bad people simply were a lot easier when it came to feeling like anger was justified. Older and wiser by now, Heleen was more than aware she'd been a bit childish in her anger in the past. Parenting was bound to be hard but Heleen also believed it could be very rewarding. Messing it up was something that was always on the front of her mind when she played with the idea of having kids of her own one day. It just seemed far too far fetched. The idea that she might mess up a life far beyond repair terrified her and was easily enough to keep her from having any sort of reason to want to try. Not to mention there wasn't really a person in her life she could raise a child with currently. Sure, there were attractive people and Dmitri certainly fit into that catagory but that alone would never be enough.

Heleen smiled slightly as Dmitri seemed to approve of her awareness of her own situation. It was something she tried to keep in mind in every interaction. Not everybody had an easy life behind them and it wasn't her job to make their lives harder or more painful. If anything she wished to do the opposite but such a thing did require that she understand the differences and the luck she'd had in life. If she couldn't do that it was impossible to understand what it could do to people to not have it quite as easy. She nodded slightly. "People might take advantage. I'll not hesitate to give what is free. Kindness, hugs, that sort of thing. If I am not free with things that cost me nothing to give it would seem cruel to me. I've been blessed to have been surrounded by kind and caring people and I wish to provide such surrounding for those that never got it where they should have." She was too distracted to notice the subtle changes as she spoke. "From those I met it's most often those with the most trouble that need the kindness most but they also tend to be denied it for the sake of being different or refusing to conform to what others see as right. It's all rather dumb and unfair, really." She said with a shrug. People could never be the best version of themselves if they never received any sort of positive feedback. If kindness was returned with cruelty there was no reason to be kind.

Heleen chuckled as he said she wouldn't go wrong. "I might. I could fall on my face and trust the wrong people. I could end up in some weird scheme and not be aware of it soon enough. In the end I'd rather make those mistakes than become as cruel as those that would only see me as somebody to take advantage of. Maybe that's dumb but they do say ignorance is bliss." She said, mocking herself mercilessly near the end to take the more serious edge off. She then looked to the floor, somewhat doubtful and insecure by her own opening up. Her ex had always thought she was dumb for her view on the world. If she opened up to him he'd been sure to shut her down without mercy. Being herself would never truly be good enough as it would doubtlessly bring him misery. In the end she guessed he'd been right. Maybe that was why she had left, to spare both of them the misery that would have followed in staying together. She just hadn't really had the heart to properly round things off. So when he put all the blame on her she'd simply accepted it. She'd never argued to defend herself, maybe because she simply didn't know how.

A small pang of guilt crept into her spine as he told her about his family situation. A very broken home, by the sound of it. It seemed so unfair that she'd had so much luck while others didn't. "I'm sorry." She said, genuine and softly. "It can't have been easy." She wasn't quite sure what else to say, if anything, so she kept quiet at that point. It made her wonder how different life would have been if her own mother had passed. Would her dad still have been there for her and her siblings? Would she still be in touch with her own sister? She found it hard to imagine that her dad or sister would have gotten estranged, even with all the fights she'd had with her sister. Her dad had simply been too fond of his family to seem the type to shut out everything he cared about for pain. She figured it would have impacted her brother most, as he was relatively carefree most of the time. Perhaps he would have been more serious. Still, she couldn't imagine that her family would fall apart. She guessed they'd just gotten too close to fear such a thing might happen.

She nodded in agreement as the conversation went back to work again. "Do you ever miss the windows? I mean, I got distracted far too easily at school and I fear that sometimes had me spending more attention on the outside world than the classroom. It sort of helps that there is nothing to see at work, you know? Helps me to keep my concentration. I mostly miss the idea of sunlight. The rooms are usually bright enough but I'd still love some actual sunlight." She mused, mostly considering the time in winter when all her daylight hours tended to be spent in the artificially lit rooms. It was dark when she got there and dark on the way back home. She only saw the sun on weekends and half mused sometimes if the sun was even there if she never actually saw it. She knew better but the philosophy of the idea still had an appeal.

@dmitri

[Deleted]

Dmitri stopped. Who was this girl? How was it possible that she could have such an affect on him. This was the second time that she had stopped his thoughts. This wasn't normal. Though, this time, he felt a twinge of regret to her words. Maybe that was because, he was the exact person who would and very well could take advantage of her kindness. The two of them were very different. She was open and kind and loving, and she seemed to have been brought up well. And while she had her faults and flaws, nothing seemed to compete with the guarded, being that could so easily manipulate what he wanted out of her that Dmitri was. He blinked to bring start things back up again. "That is admirable. You are defiantly something else" He tried to give her a smile, but there was defiantly guilt that he couldn't completely hide. Had it been years ago, and they had met, he wouldn't have hesitated to take everything she had, and quite possibly turned into an encounter that she would have regretted, and would have scarred her for the rest of her days. "You should still be careful. Some people have ways of pulling more than kindness or an innocent hug out, and you should guard yourself from them." Speaking from experience.

"Your not wrong." He admired "Be yourself, but be smart about it. Ignorance can get you in to trouble. It doesn't hurt to be nice, just know when is the right time to stop" He have a slight chuckle, trying to help relive the tension, as she seemed to mock herself. But then she asked about his family and he felt bad, watching her expression as he told her. "It can't have been easy." she stated, and he shrugged. He looked up to the black sky, unable to see any stars, due to the street lights. "I learned to survive and adapt to my surroundings." He would leave out the countless time the man who should have been raising three kids, verbally and physically assaulted them, and always expected them to make him more money than it was possible. His past was how he became who he was today. Sure his home could be classified as "broken" but it was doomed from the start. The man who he shared genes with, would never have been a kind and loving father. He looked at her face and smiled sweetly at her. "Don't worry yourself about it. Bad things happen, and there was nothing that wouldn't have changed it."

Relief filled Dmitri was they moved from his family life, back to work. Missing windows? That wasn't something that he had thought about. "I spent most of my time when I was younger outside, but I don't think I miss not seeing the outdoors. While at work, I'm the same, not having any windows allows me to focus on my work." Plus, being outside almost all the time in Russia, is different than any places further south. He would admit the floor where they both worked was unspeakably better than where he would go after he got into the underground fighting circuit.

@seph

[Deleted]

As he said she was something else there was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite read. She gave him a coy smile at that and chuckled. "You can just say that it's stupid, you know? I've heard it plenty of times." She smiled wider and struck half a damsel in distress pose. "I'm just so helpless to the thralls of my emotions." She said, clearly very amused by making herself look as stupid as most people thought that she was. It was a defence mechanism, no doubt but it still entertain her quite a lot. The exasperation she managed to get out of people by being outrageous in her criticism of herself was funny to her, as she had once been serious about the words she now owned as though they were her property to use. She'd taking the power the words had once had away from them. It was easier to make fun of yourself than to bear it when others did. In her experience the reaction people gave told a lot about their character. If they started insisting in a very serious and reprimanding way that she was talking down to herself and that she shouldn't be doing that they obviously failed to see the joke in a little self depricating humour. If they just rolled their eyes they knew why she did it. Once upon a blue moon people disagreed with her jokes with a kindness that made her look mean. Those people scared her, as she was always worried that they would care about her. It wasn't all that easy to be careless if people didn't want you to accidentally hurt yourself. They saw through the jokes and knew she was still hurting and terrified of opening up again. Terrified of being hurt again. Desperate to be able to open up like that again nonetheless.

She'd known he was smart in the sense of being able to learn and theorize. The fact he was smart enough to also understand social dynamics was intriguing, fascinating, terrifying and so extremely alluring to her that it almost felt like she'd falling face first into the bloody love fountain. What was it about him? Well, obviously he made her feel calm and balanced and smart. He was nice to her and patient. He had that air of mystery that she knew was too dangerous too touch but if her job told anything about her it was that she completely couldn't resist that kind of temptation. She felt like snow white and he was the poisonous apple. Certainly too good to be true and if she'd dare take a bite it would not end well for her. Still, the apple was far more interesting and alluring than a boring prince charming prancing through on his pony at the suspiciously perfect time to save the day. Therein was her weakness. She was far too interested and attracted to things that looked like they were... interesting. Healthy? It wasn't exactly like her self esteem was high enough to believe she was worth enough to preserve herself. Her ex had only reinforced it and while she fought such temptations at every turn of the road it was clear she was like the moth drawn to the flame.

"I'll keep that in mind." She said, her tone soft and her smile gentle as she realised her own stupidity was once again starting to act up. Hearing him talk about survial and adaptation didn't exactly sit well with her. A part of her got angry at injustice done to anybody but herself. She was too blind to realise when people didn't treat her as she deserved. Those words had an undertone of abuse far more than neglect and she could feel herself plunging down further into the rabbit hole. Everybody deserved to be loved, until proven otherwise. After everything he had done for her at work already the least she could do was ensure he knew he could count on her. She was willing to help out, even if she had no idea how to communicate something like that. It was a little awkward to mention something like that. Still, she always felt protective of those that had not had the proper treatment from parents in life. Her parents had done well enough in making her realise the things that were not good. Abuse certainly was not good and never the fault of the victim (except of course, if she herself would be the victim but that was easy to ignore). She nodded as he told her not to worry and she looked him straight in the eyes with her best and kindest smile. "I don't care about the past. Bad things happen, but if you ever need somebody to talk to I'll be here. You may not have gotten what you deserved in the past but if you wish I'll try to make up for that in the present. We choose our family if the ones we are born into don't treat us well." She then smiled at winked, trying to relieve the tension a little. "Just something to keep in mind of course. It's an open offer, not an obligation." She stated, wanting to make sure her tone was light and that she was speaking more as a disclaimer than from any sense of expectation. It was best to move on to the next topic though. It always was when things got heavy and either one wasn't quite ready to talk. If he wanted to keep talking he could, but she had a feeling that this was already a little bit much. Most people didn't exactly like sharing the personal experiences all that fast. She just opened up far too quickly. Another one of the flaws on her massive list of character defects.

So he didn't miss the windows, although more because it helped him keep his mind on his work. That much was true. She had the same. Still she missed the feeling of sunlight from time to time. Mostly in the darker parts of the winter. "I was always the girl with the books. I did play outside regularly but it never was quite the same as in the stories, you know? No dragons or swordfights or anything that my childhood brain considered more interesting than my books." She smiled at that and let out a small clear laugh, like a brook dancing over rocks on it's way down. "I think that is why I ended up at the department of mysteries though. There is always more left to discover. I couldn't pick one room only because everything catches my eye." She looked at him, a twinkle in her eye. "The only room down there to scare me is the one you work in." She said, in a way that made doubt possible between it being fully true and half a joke. It was more than true, as that room terrified her. She just was starting to get to the point where she trusted him enough to tell him that information. Naturally there was the fear she'd regret it instantly and that he'd make fun of her but she pushed it down. If he did, she'd deal with it then. For now she first wanted his reaction before she started freaking out.

@dmitri

[Deleted]

"You can just say that it's stupid, you know? I've heard it plenty of times." She really was something else. "It's not stupid, but there are plenty that would happily target you to take all that you have away form you. Just because you wanted to be nice" He hated to think that not to long ago, he would have done just that. And for what? To make sure his sisters didn't get abused by their drunk father. But a smile came to his face as she posed, and he chuckled. She really was special. He did notice that she often seemed to joke about herself. Perhaps it was a way to cope with criticism, though he wouldn't dream of attacking her self confidence. Unless he was conning her...and he wasn't going to do that!

She was so intriguing to him. It seemed like she was little red riding hood, innocence in a red cape. She was simply trying to do some good by bringing food to her grandmothers, perhaps gathering flowers on the way. And Dmitri was the wolf. It was a carnal sin to be so close to someone so pure, but it felt so good. But there was also danger being so close. He was, after all, a wolf. He would never be the hero of the story, he had proven that time and time again. He didn't need to be a hero, he was strong, and smart.

"I'll keep that in mind." she said somberly. Dmitri hated to bring the mood down. Was it even possible to talk about his past and not though? The answer was no. His life was anything but happy. They spent most of their days out in cold Moscow streets, and if they didn't bring enough money back, which they rarely did, they were beaten. It was worse when the man was drunk. As they grew older, Dmitri started to try to fight back, and ended up taking more beatings, so his sisters wouldn't. But it didn't stop there, he started to fight anyone who came after the girls. That was what led him to the underground fighting scene. Plus, it paid better. If he won. Dmitri then tried to comfort her. It was his past, and she ha no reason to feel sad about it. She had some fairly profound words. They seemed to come directly from her heart. It was sweet of her. He couldn't help but smile sweetly at her. "Thank you" He wouldn't tell her though. He didn't want to ruin how she looked at him. He liked talking to her and spending time with her, even though they had only met a few hours ago. There was no way that he was going to ruin that by telling her that he was the wolf.

He chuckled as she talked more about her child hood. It was nice to hear. And there was something about her that just wanted Dmitri to keep that smile on her face. She also confessed to only being scared of the Love room. "I don't blame you. Some say that is one of the more dangerous rooms to be in" He naturally switched to vague language about their work as he heard someone approaching from behind. They were still far away that they wouldn't have caught what she had said, but they were gaining on them. It was probably someone who was running late for something. They would simply pass and they could continue their conversation about work. Right?

@seph
OOC: I left a good cliff hanger to implement what we talked about

[Deleted]

Heleen smiled at his words. "Most people forget there are always things people can't take from you unless you let them. Your spirit, your heart. Even if they take all your things and your job and all the things people put so much value in you still have things left they can't steal. I'm not saying life would be easy but they didn't take your identity as a person. Just stuff. It can be replaced eventually. If you let them change who you are rather than what you have, you've lost a lot more." She said. Making ends meet wasn't always easy on her and she realised life would be extremely difficult without any money. Still, she refused to allow anybody to change parts of who she was without her permission. They could never make her morally bankrupt. She could be very strong when it came to resisting for things that mattered more, such as compassion and love. Not for a million galleons would she knowingly cause somebody a world of pain. Money was an empty promise passing from hand to hand. It could sustain life and bring comfort with material delights or purchased company but friendship did a lot more than money. While definitively a dreamer, Heleen would rather lose all her money than all her friends.

He thanked her, which was more than she'd expected and she smiled, feeling bubbly but a little shy about the response. On average most people were more likely to shrug off her offer to help to prove their independance so it was nice to get something different for a change. Not that she had expected him to launch into a monologue either, but the thanks was already very nice to hear. It made her feel heard, as if her offer didn't fall on deaf ears as it most often did do.

His words got vaguer and Heleen became vaguely aware that somebody else was around. The route they were taking was perhaps a little more quiet but she rarely considered those things until she had reason to. Situations like this tended to get her paranoia flying and she didn't want to look stupid in front of Dmitri. For starters, she liked him and even if that hadn't been the case they were coworkers so giving off the idea you're paranoid wasn't exactly on the to do list. It most likely wasn't actually anything problematic, although she felt a bit nervous about it. She did pick up on the diversion from the more clear language to the more muddled type. "I fully agree with their wisdom. I think the others are far less dangerous. That one sneaks up on you when you least expect it. The rest is more likely to kind of happen to you naturally, as long as you don't try to meddle with them." Well, perhaps the one exception was the hall of prophecies, although that particular one also had an element of unavoidable to it. It didn't exactly sneak up though, as it clearly announced itself long before it took place. If it was trouble, you'd most likely know long before it actually hit. Love didn't give warnings, snuck up on people and then put them into tiny little cages from which only heartbreak could truly save them. It was terrifying, kind of cruel and definitively scary.

As she pondered that the footsteps got closer. She glanced at Dmitri but his face was near impossible to read most of the time. "I think we're nearly there." She said and then smiled cheerfully with the idea of sushi on her mind. "I think I'm starting off with some nigiri. It's usually pretty good. I wonder if they have sashimi though." She mused, the idea of food very strongly on her mind as she tried to distract herself from the footsteps that were very close now. They had almost passed them and kept a steady pace. It was all going to be perfectly fine. Besides, they were almost back at the regular street so the odds somebody would try something now were sure to be small. Not that she had any idea what criminals did or how they would operate based on anything other than movies. As a general rule series and movies were not exactly accurate to begin with. Even though she knew it was easy enough to presume safety even while the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. Nothing but nerves.

She was about to say something to Dmitri as the figure caught up, seemingly intending to pass them. He didn't exactly pass though. As soon as he was at the same level with them he put something to her back that she guessed wasn't friendly as grabbed one of her arms, stopping her in her tracks. A surge of panic flooded her systems as she did her best to remain calm. Magic could fix most injuries relatively easily but she didn't exactly want to test the limitations of either of their skills in that specific location. Not much could fix a bullet that killed in one shot, right? She looked at Dmitri, her eyes pleading for help as a small voice escaped her lips. "I'm guessing that is a gun?" It was barely a whisper but audible enough in the silence of the alleyway they had been passing through. The criminal forced her to take a few steps back, deeper into the shadows. Then she felt the gun moving as he made sure she could feel it wasn't giving up the threat. The grip on her arm was painful, biting into her skin, as the man brought the gun into view for Dmitri to see. "Give me your valuables or your girlfriend dies." He said in an almost calm tone, but Heleen noticed the slight tremble of nerves as the deafening noise of the street filled her head. This wasn't exactly the time to make mistakes. She didn't exactly own a lot of things, least of all any she brought to and from work. The little money she had wouldn't appease a criminal and her smartphone rarely left the house as the ministry tended to completely fry the circuits of any phone she'd owned. At home it wasn't too dramatic and it allowed her grandparents to keep in touch from time to time.

Yet in this time of stress the only thing holding her tongue back from correcting the man on the relationship between herself and Dmitri was the gun. She probably had to sort out her priorities on that one, as it didn't seem to be too important what those details were. Still, she was just his coworker and he could probably get away with some nasty things in this situation considering they had magic on their side. Still, if she had to take sick leave for a few days due to a bullet that would be bad. Then again, better than any confidential information falling into the wrong hands. Not that this guy seemed able to be robbing in name of some magical criminal but well, she didn't really have much to do other than think on the various options as it was Dmitri's move in this little game of chess now. The main question was: Was she a piece of value to his side of the board?

@dmitri

[Deleted]

Dmitri was astounded by the way Heleen spoke about how people could only take things. It wasn't necessarily the case. They could take your identity, and do some major emotion damage to you. These were things that he didn't like to think about. He would let her continue to maintain her positivity. It was nice to know that some people still had faith in humanity. Maybe he could learn a thing or two about that.

When he thanked the woman, he had full intentions not to actually accept the offer. He just knew that people liked to be appreciated, and feel like they were contributing to something. Dmitri knew that if he wanted anything out of this interaction, he had better not let anything out about his past. Heleen did look happy though with his comment. He guessed that perhaps she wasn't listened to very often. Whether that was from a friend or a lover, it had affected her deeply.

As he started to notice someone coming up from behind, his attention split. He didn't want to seem like he was ignoring Heleen, while speaking vaguely about their work, he figured she would understand that, but he didn't like the idea of another person behind him. He was one to expect the worse in people, but he tried to stop himself from hyper-focusing on the body behind them. To ignore a woman that he was spending time with was extremely rude. This became hard though, because the figure was coming closer, and he hardly caught what she had said. "Defiantly" he agreed, hoping that he hadn't messed up. He figured agreeing with what she said was a safe bet, even if he didn't quite catch what it was. He did appreciate the fact that it too was simplified, so that anyone around wouldn't catch on to what they were talking about.

He was brought back as she spoke for a second time, looking at her. It was good that they were getting closer, he didn't like the feeling of being followed. "Great, it will be nice to get out of this weather" It was still during the chilly months, though, this weather was nothing to him, he felt that he should keep of some convention of conversion, as to seem less distracted.

As they continued, Dmitri could hear the figure draw closer, though he chose to move most of his attention from the person behind them, to the lovely girl he was with. Was that a mistake? Perhaps. As she was about to speak again, the man came up and grabbed her, stopping her in her tracks. Dmitri took another step before he reacted, spinning around to face them. He quickly analyzed the situation. The man had one hand holding her arm, quite tight, and the other was most likely holding a weapon to her back, by the look on her face. Dmitri looked into her scared doe eyes, but kept his expression neutral. This was not the time to show anger or disgust for the act that was happening. She managed a few words. Guess she was better under dress than he had pegged her to be. But the news of a gun wasn't helping. Most idiots chose to shoot first and ask questions later. If it was on her back, like he suspected it to be, it wouldn't necessarily be lethal, though there were a number of vital organs that if a bullet hit, wouldn't end well. The man forced her further. That was smart, Dmitri was much to close to them. It was better that they were apart, at least he wasn't a complete idiot. The two shuffled around so that the gun was in view of Dmitri now. That was a mistake. Finally the man spoke. He wan't sure. He could even spot the gun shaking slightly. This game was about confidence, and Dmitri knew that he would win. He just had to make sure that Heleen didn't get hurt in the process.

Now Dmitri did have some muggle cash on him, but he could tell that this man was desperate, and was certain that they had more than a few bills. He would demand more. This wasn't the time to give in. This was not the ideal situation, but still Dmitri smiled. This smile wasn't the same ones that he had given Heleen. They weren't sweet, nice, loving, or even happy. This smile was mischievous, and it felt so right. "This really isn't the way to get a good haul." His accent thick but understandable. "No my friend. You see, first you gain their trust. Then if you play your cards right, they give you what you want. And even thank you for it."

With one swift movement, he was within arms reach of the gun, clenching the weapon and the hand that held it, forcing them up. With a yell of pain, he knew that the man had released the girl. Calmly, he moved her out of his way, and behind him. It wasn't gentle, but he knew that it wouldn't have hurt her. He moved closer to the man, backing him into the wall. "It's obvious. You are simply not right for this line of work. I suggest you reconsider." He gave the man a dark look. One that made him happy that Heleen was behind him. After that, Dmitri took his other hand, clenched it into a fist, and hit the robber. The body instantly went limp. Dropping the hand, Dmitri took the gun, making sure the safety was one, and opened it up. Taking the bullets out and throwing them into the ally. After wiping down the gun, he tossed it in the opposite direction.

Now that the danger was over, he was afraid to face...her.

[Deleted]

The next moments all passed in the blink of an eye. Heleen vaguely heard the words but they barely registered as she was too busy attempting to keep her composure so the man wouldn't have a reason to riddle her body with bullets due to her own stupidity. So far there was nothing too bad. The words Dmitri said swam in her head and made her dizzy, even though they made no sense in the blur of panic on her mind. They had a strange sort of echo, as if they were empty to her ears. His entire tone and body language seemed to have changed and it was nothing like the man she'd been so enamoured with at first meeting. He even sounded different as his accent seemed thicker somehow.

Then suddenly her mind stopped as the world kept spinning. In an instant Dmitri was between her and the man. There was no pain in her system, just a sense of sickness. She found herself looking at Dmitri's back with a mixture of fear and admiration as he didn't seem concerned in the slightest. He even gave some advice before he punched the light switch off. For a moment Heleen stood absolutely stunned as her mind caught up to the many events in a span of seconds. He'd saved her, no doubt about that. It was hard for her to understand exactly what happened but she knew she was fine, except for the fright the entire thing had given her. Still somehow it made her feel as if she was forgetting something vitally important. Breathing, it seemed. With the first breath of fresh air into her lungs it seemed her senses returned to her. Dmitri wasn't looking at her. He'd just methodically removed the bullets from the gun and tossed it away from the guy. He didn't turn back to face her and terror struck directly at her heart.

She closed the small distance between them in a heartbeat and softly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dmitri, are you okay?" She instantly said, concern written all over her voice and face. "Did you get hit? Do you need medical attention? Should we go to the hospital?" Her grip on his shoulder got a little more firm as worry took hold, although she was also trying not to hurt him in case he'd gotten hurt somehow. She moved around to look at his face, searching for any sign he wasn't doing well or had gotten hurt somehow. Her eyes raced across his form, trying to detect any sign of injury. It was much easier to worry about him as it meant she didn't have to worry about everything that had just transpired. If she did she would probably freak out a little. Seeing how calm Dmitri had been and how he had handled it had made a thousand questions pop up in her head but they could wait until she was certain there was nothing wrong with him.

No part of her own training had prepared her for anything like this. Dmitri knew how to handle a gun so at the very least he had been to a shooting range before. It made no sense to know about how to open up guns and all that stuff without any training at all. Movies wouldn't be enough to handle one with such ease and confidence. Shew knew that much as her grandparents had insisted she was raised with minimal knowledge of the muggle world since they were muggles themselves. Apart from that it also didn't quite add up that he could knock the man out in a single punch or dared to attack while the other man held a weapon, unless he either cared nothing for her safety or knew exactly what he was doing. Somehow she wished it was the second option, no matter what that meant in the bigger picture. Somewhere in the back of her mind it itched that they had to do something about the criminal before he woke up again but her singular focus was Dmitri, until she was certain that he remained unharmed. If he'd gotten hurt it would all have been her fault. If only they'd gone to a different place or taken a better route. Maybe if she'd been more alert or just better prepared to deal with a situation like this. Maybe her babbling had distracted Dmitri or made them seem an easier target. Considering how he'd handled it all he probably wouldn't have had any problems at all if she hadn't been there. She silently wished and hoped he was fine. That was really all she wanted. He needed to be unharmed.

@dmitri