have you ever seen the rain | cas

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

Cas felt like he had been injected with adrenaline, although it was difficult to determine the cause. It was only their first meeting, but Merlin – he had already decided that he hated Claire Slater. He was in control, he always had to be in control. It was the foundation needed to survive in pureblood society, lessons that had been drilled into his head by his parents since as long as he could remember. Stay in control. That was how he survived in this world, and how he would someday come to dominate it. But damn it, she had such a talent for getting under his skin, peeling back the cool and confident composure to reveal his simmering temper underneath. He shivered slightly at the surge of emotion that coursed through his veins, a hot flush that started in his face and neck and traveled downwards. Oh, he’d show her exactly what he was made of. She fancied herself a hurricane, but he was an immovable mountain and nothing would tear straight through him.

The other potential cause for the jittery feeling in his hands and fingers was a more exciting notion – because Cas missed cursebreaking. Most days, he settled into a routine that felt comfortable to him. But then there were some days where he could feel the absence of his old life like a palpable thing gone, a piece of his soul that had been torn out. That was what the Order had come to mean to him, a sense of freedom from the many responsibilities that came with being from a well-known pureblood house. With having this family name attached to him like an anchor. Cas quickly dispelled the weak preservation charms that lingered over the doorway – they’d long since lost their power, but some part of the enchantment still remembered its original purpose and was tied to the stone by a thin thread. After he was sure the magic had dissipated, Cas ran his hands carefully over the runes etched into the wall, lightly tracing the thin scratches with his fingers.

Claire’s sudden outburst shocked him, if only because she’d switched from veiled insults to full-blown curses. Cas gave a low chuckle, unable to keep the amusement to himself. “Yes, I am,” he agreed, still smirking to himself as he removed a thin notebook from his robes to start copying the symbols down. He had always kept something similar close during his time working for Gringotts, so that he’d be able to research the runes more carefully at a later date. “A pompous piece of shit who knows how to navigate cursed ruins and keep Aurors still in diapers alive.” It was refreshing to speak so bluntly – working at Borgin and Burke’s required subtlety, and in all honesty a little groveling too. But cursebreakers weren’t afraid to share their opinions, and he’d given and gotten much worse in the past. But Merlin, he couldn’t understand why Harry had assigned this mission to him and Claire. He must have a twisted sense of humor.

This hidden passageway was their ticket to discovering the reason for all these protective enchantments, Cas was sure of it. Somebody had hidden something worth protecting, and his curiosity threatened to consume him. “Well now, where were these manners at the beginning?” Cas asked, unable to keep the sarcastic edge out of his voice as Claire whipped her arms around grandiosely. He cast his eyes over her, gaze catching on her flushed face – there was something striking about her when she was passionate and angry. But he quickly turned his back to let that thought escape before it could develop any further. Instead, he pocketed his notebook and examined the thin opening. “Moved on to pet names already, have we?” he murmured idly at her repeated mention of royalty, although he didn’t look back as he plunged into the corridor. It was a tight fit for his frame, but he turned sideways so he could keep his wand extended and shuffle along the passage. He walked for a minute in darkness before stopping suddenly, his wand indicating there was an unsprung trap ahead.

Claire Evangeline Slater

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

JULY, 2023

WITH A BITTER CURIOSITY, CLAIRE WATCHED Casimir produce a very small, neat notebook from within his robes. The casualness of it breaking her tense immersion, her brows pulling together as she attempted to appear unbothered, but to also squint her eyes to read what it was he was writing. Deciphering the ruins, perhaps, but she hated that he didn't even offer to include her in the routine of it. As if she were there for inconvenience only. She wouldn't have spoken at all if he had not.

"Uh-!" Claire choked on her own defence, drawing a sobering breath in as she stopped herself from slinging a barrage of insults back at him. "You know what... never mind." She pursed her lips, shaking her head as she quickly decided to let her response die on her tongue. Claire had realised that it wouldn't matter, he had already made up his mind on her character and her capabilities. She felt it was entirely unfair and unfounded, as if he had come in to the job expecting her to be completely incompetent - the reality of it stung smartly.

Claire swept him forward theatrically, but he didn't react as she expected. His sarcastic retort stuttering her snide expression as she blinked at him, her arm dropping. "Suppose I forgot them at the door," She snapped back, her eyes squinting shut as she shot him an exaggerated, thin smile in response. Claire was tired of the entire mission and it wasn't even over. She followed him closely, her anger not allowing her to hang back, despite her obvious dislike of Casimir. He could think whatever he liked, what mattered was the end goal - the mission at hand.

"Pet names are supposed to be flattering," Claire muttered back, her eyes pinned to the stretching dark beyond Casimir's wand light. "You give them to people you like - they're affectionate." She explained to him as if he were an idiot. "And let me stress upon this," Her eyes cut to his face as he moved sideways down the cold, stone passageway in front of them, waiting to catch his eye. "I have no affection for you and I do not like you." Her voice cool with anger, tense at the corners of her sneering mouth. She turned her face away, but continued to speak.

"And you don't like me," She added astutely, pretending that it didn't bother her. "You never even gave me a chance, you just decided I was too young, too incompetent, too inconvenient for you." Each criticism came more strained than the last as she spoke, her wand twisted painfully in her furiously gripped fingers. "But, we have a job to do, so let's just get it over with." She reasoned bitterly, sniffing sharply just as Casimir slowed and her eyes cut to his face. The passageway had narrowed dramatically, and Casimir indicated brusquely with his hands that there was a trap ahead. Claire's breath froze in her chest, a cold dripping heard somewhere in the dark.

The hairs on the back of Claire's neck rose all at once, and her head spun as she was overwhelmed by the feeling that she was being watched. Her wand was lit as she pointed it to the passage they had come from, illuminating the wider stone corridor just as a figure stepped out of the shadows at the bottom of the opening they had come from. Claire had only moments to consider that they were not alone before a flash of light shot through the tunnel and Claire fired a stunning spell in return.

Meanwhile her free arm shot back and she grabbed a handful of Casimir's collar and yanked him down to the ground with her as the opposing hex flew over their heads, and triggered the trap in front of them. Claire felt her skin prickle, her body thrown over Casimir, back pressed against those 'royal' robes as she fired another defensive spell that resulted in a hard yelp, just in time for their adversary to turn his wand to the tunnel itself and Claire felt sure she saw a twisted face split open with a cruel, pained smirk as the stone surrounding the entrance collapsed in a great crash of crumbling limestone and dust, trapping them inside. 

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

Contrary to popular expectation, cursebreaking wasn’t a solitary activity. Yes, you spent most of your time away from the bulk of civilization and all its perks – indoor plumbing, food that didn’t come from a can, and so on. And yes, it required a certain type of personality that could be rough around the edges to cope with the danger. But you were never alone, and that had the potential either to bond a cursebreaking pair together or drive each other up the wall. Cas had met his fair share of annoying trainees – overly chatty, or thick-headed and always rushing into danger. He thought, after nearly a decade in cursebreaking, that he knew how to hold his tongue and his patience. But as Claire chattered on behind him, condescendingly explaining to him what a pet name was and how it should be used, Cas took advantage of his turned head to roll his eyes and purse his lips.

“Why do you believe you’re entitled to anything?” Cas finally retorted back, turning his head to narrow his eyes at Claire as she listed off all the assumptions he’d made about her in a rising pitch. He stopped shuffling along the passageway, instead redirecting his attention from the narrow walls and musty air to glare at Claire. “In my world,” Cas began in a dangerous tone, toeing the line between a lecture and a growl, “Everybody is locked in a game, all the time. Make a wrong move, and you can ruin yourself. Or worse, your family. The strong have a chance to prove themselves. The weak fall behind.” He could feel himself losing control of his temper, that careful control that had been drilled into all the Karkaroffs from a young age. But Claire had never been exposed to any of it – she wasn’t pureblood, didn’t carry a heavy legacy attached to her family name. She stood for herself, and while it could be dangerous footing, it was a kind of freedom most purebloods would never know.

His breathing steadied, and Cas felt the impatience trickle away. It was easier to think of Claire as an unruly trainee, one who hadn’t proven herself, instead of as a partner. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to see her as an equal, this outsider who’d come crashing into his mission and his world. He felt like he was repeating himself, which irritated the man to no end, but this would likely be their first and only interaction. And that was what was carrying him through this. “I don’t like you,” he confirmed the words in a low tone, eyes locked on hers, “But if you really care so much, then prove me wrong.” But the sound of footsteps stopped them both in their tracks, a chill running through Cas as he and Claire realized simultaneously that the footfalls didn’t belong to either of them.

This wasn’t the first time Cas had run into an adversary while on a cursebreaking mission. Sometimes other wizards were in competition for the same prize – pirates looking to take advantage of a cursebreaker doing all the hard work, or Dark wizards looking to finance their enterprises. Once upon a time, Cas knew how to fight them off. He and Jasper had seen their fair share of grave robbers, and he had helped his old mentor defend a druid village from an attack while still in his trainee years. But…that had all been a long time ago, and Cas had since gotten comfortable in his Knockturn Alley stronghold. And Claire, as a fresh Auror with plenty of crimefighting experience – well, her instincts were better. She shoved him down and began to fire off spells at the shadowy figure, and Cas growled in frustration as he freed his wand from his robes. She was fast, and shot her spells with power, but was she an idiot? She’d bring the whole passage down on top of their heads! He had barely gotten to his feet and raised his wand as he watched in horror as the stone crashed and fell around them.

“No!” he growled, slamming his fist against the solid wall separating the pair from the wizard who’d intruded on their exploration. Cas spun in a quick circle to take in his surroundings before lowering his wand. He knew what her first impulse would be, and turned to glare at her as he raised a finger in anger. “Don’t you dare fire off another spell until we’ve assessed the situation,” he warned, Claire’s face only barely illuminated with the light from his wand. He’d never gotten trapped in a cave-in before, although he knew it happened to the occasional cursebreaker. But he’d never been so foolish – although he chose to ignore his slower instincts that had led to Claire taking the lead. He didn’t like any sign of being out-of-practice, and it was already a tough pill to swallow. But as he looked at the solid stone wall in front of him…he was out of ideas, and he sighed heavily at the predicament they found themselves in now.

Claire Evangeline Slater

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

JULY, 2023

CLAIRE WAS ANGRY SHE HAD BEEN LUMBERED with Casimir, and she thought he was just as angry to be left with her. However, she was coming to realise that Casimir's anger was a far deeper well than she had given him credit for. It wobbled in the corners of his terse reply, seething as he spat his vitriol without hesitation. Her head reared back as if slapped, eyes narrowing to pinpoints. She may have underestimated his anger, but that did not mean she would not meet it.

Claire leaned forward where he head turned towards her, perhaps a little close for comfort. Considering her twisted expression, one might have expected her retort to be razor sharp, but it was not. Silken smooth, she replied, "It sounds like you're projecting, Casimir." Almost lyrical in its delivery as she averted her gaze immediately, choosing to ignore him in the aftermath. Thinking rather destructively that it would be far more satisfying if he thought he had lost her anger in favour of dismissal.

It did not surprise her that he echoed his dislike for her. Claire had deduced that loud and clear, but her head whipped around at his following statement. Gone was that cool mask she had erected, her eyes flaming as she tutted into the charged space between them, a cruel smile on her face. "I owe you nothing." She told him with a sharp shake of her head. "Don't ask me for proof you haven't earned." She told him through her teeth, her eyes roving from his head to his toes before she turned away, her attention drawn behind them, back where they had come from - instincts prickling.

In the ensuing chaos, Claire's ears were ringing. The crash of stone coating them both in a fine layer of mortar dust, her head aching where she had knocked it against the wall while pulling Casimir out of the firing line. She dusted it off herself hopelessly, adrenaline pumping her heart so viciously she felt her blood pulsing in her ears. She flinched when Casimir lashed out, his fist colliding against the stone. She was frozen in place, watching him with a mixture of concern and judgement - did he think he could knock the collapse down by sheer force of will?

"I-" She moved without realising, stalking towards him in the cramped space, air thick with rubble and tension. "I know you think I'm stupid, but I know when to put my wand down." She turned her head to take a sobering breath before turning back, "It wasn't me that collapsed the tunnel." She spat at him, gesturing towards the tower of stones angrily. "But, by all means, get us out with your fists of Merlin's fury!" She scoffed at him, turning around with a wave of her arms. She couldn't even look at him, her fury so shrill she felt the unhinged urge to scream at him. Even in the face of danger, he still regarded her as the biggest threat in the room.

Turning back on a whim, Claire felt herself seize with every bit of fury inside of her as she pushed at his chest. Her frustration combined with the heady mixture of adrenaline. She shoved him again, palms flat against his dusted chest. "You know- what..." She punctuated her words with shoves, his wand light illuminating her face starkly. "You're the liability, not me!" She panted, pointing a shaking finger at him as she ceased her pushing, her wand still gripped between her fingers. "You're the one that's going to get us killed if you keep looking at me like that!" Her voice shook with the effort to contain the full range of her screaming, "You're welcome for saving your ungrateful arse, by the way." And then she shook her uneven hair from her face and let out a gusty yell of frustration before she turned away from the cave in and stalked in the opposite direction. 

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

Cas had found himself in dangerous situations before. He’d navigated the endless shifting sands of the Afghanistan desert, and hacked through the thick vines of Indian jungles to track down long-forgotten temples. He’d gotten sick in Rio from unnamable magical diseases, been chased down by tomb robbers in Syria when he’d gotten to the prize first, and gone head-to-head with dangerous magical creatures in China and Russia that looked like they came from fairytale books. And he would much rather be in any of those situations, staring down a manticore again with golden idol in hand and unable to Disapparate, than be stuck with Claire Slater in a blocked-off corridor. Because she seemed unable to just stop talking and he was consistently reminded of the mess she’d made as he stared down the wall of stone in front of him. As if he could force it to break apart by sheer force of will.

But it was impossible to focus on the problem, and more importantly on finding a solution, when Cas could feel his temper simmering just under the surface. He wheeled around at the words ‘fists of Merlin’s fury’ to promptly tell her off for coming up with combo moves instead of actual ideas – but he couldn’t quite find the words to convey the hurricane of emotions in his chest. Claire looked defiant as she defended her hasty actions against the intruder, and even in the darkness he could see the already familiar stubborn expression settling on her face. So instead, Cas just growled and gripped his wand tightly in his hands, refusing to let himself be pushed back as he felt the weight of Claire’s hands on his chest. “Looking at you like what?” he shot back, his voice coming out much louder than he’d intended as he felt the echo bounce around the narrow corridor. Cas found himself returning her insults at shouting level as he took a step forward to force her to step back. “And you’re welcome for catching your rookie mistake and cleaning up your mess when I should have just let that wall swallow you up!” He scoffed as he observed, “Would have saved me a lot of trouble” before turning away again.

He needed to focus. His mind was everywhere, focusing on the dust particles swirling in the dimly lit space or coming up with more insults to fling at Claire about her inability to duel a puffskein, much less an actual Dark wizard. But that wasn’t where his mind should be, not lingering on the flush of red in her cheeks or the brief points of contact between them as she’d pushed him back. No, deep breaths. Focused train of thought. Everything his mentor had shown him about cursebreaking back when he really had been a trainee who didn’t know any better. This wasn’t an impossible situation, and Cas found himself studying the way the stone had fallen in chunks between the pair and the wizard that had caused the cave-in. He'd never caused a cave-in on one of his missions before (cue another eye roll for Claire) but Cas had come across seemingly unsolvable riddles before. It just required some careful logic to undo -- there was nothing that was truly off-limits for the clever observer. He could hear her quick intake of breath that suggested Claire was going to speak again, so Cas gave a huff and waved his hand idly. “No, shut up, I’ve got something.” He kneeled to examine the base of the new wall. “These ones are bearing the weight,” he said as he traced his hand over the offending stones, “But these aren’t.” And so he brought his wand up to carefully begin to carve a way through the stone – surgical and precise cuts. It would be a narrow fit for his frame, but the motivation of escaping from Claire’s sharp tongue was stronger than the fear of causing another avalanche of rocks or getting stuck. He stayed focused on the careful movements of his wand.

Claire Evangeline Slater

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

JULY, 2023

THE MOST FRUSTRATING PART OF BEING STUCK with Casimir and his terrible temper was that, sometimes, he was right. Claire yelled at him, screaming her frustration into the dusty air between them, but he had ammo of his own. The shorn chunk of her hair still visible where it flicked into her face with every shake of her head. And he was right, he could have left her, but that didn't change the fact that she had also displayed perfect competence... most of the time.

However much she despised Cas, it stung to hear him wish her safety away. A part of her agreed, wished he hadn't bothered to help her at all, especially if he was going to throw it in her face in such a cruel way. Sniffing haughtily, she moved to her own portion of the cold stone wall. Wand outstretched, she cast a sheen in front of her, scanning for any new or old curses in her path. Silence had never been her strong point, though, and his words played on a mean loop in her head. She drew in a breath to tell him off, but his voice cut sharply across the space between them. Claire flinched with a sneer, but her curiosity overwhelmed her first. "What..?" She carefully crossed the small space to where Cas had been keeping himself busy, crouching beside him with wand outstretched.

"Don't tell me to shut up," She muttered beside him, mouth pursed unhappily as she squinted through the watery lumos. Once she realised what he was doing, Claire felt a new excitement seize her. "Let me help," She said in a hush, shaking the hair from her face as she mirrored his stance and carefully used her wand to carve the underside of the fissure Cas was creating in the stone, careful to avoid the weight bearing stones he had pointed out. "It'll be very tight..." She commented, ceasing her movements when it became to finnicky and risked intersecting Cas's individual spell. "Not a chance your shoulders are fitting in there," She commented snootily. "You'll have to let me go first," She demanded with a firm squaring of her shoulders. 

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

There were a few moments of blessed silence where the pair worked side by side to shift stones – too concentrated on their mission and the possibility of escape to shoot clever insults at each other. But Cas barely stifled a sigh as Claire grumbled at him not to tell her to shut up – that had been a good moment, he’d remember it the next time he needed to cast a Patronus – and he rolled his eyes as he brought a hand to wipe away the settling dust on his face. The work was too precise to afford even a single mistake, and the while the thought of being buried alive had crossed his mind once or twice as a curse-breaker…he wasn’t eager to make it a reality. No, as the expert here, he needed to concentrate. So he managed to bite back a clever remark as he continued to identify and levitate the necessary stones to clear the way.

Cas felt a mounting excitement as a dim light penetrated the darkness of the corridor, although he didn’t allow himself to speed up. Finally, finally, their combined efforts were enough to provide a small opening for escape. Claire didn’t hesitate to speak first and define the game plan, and Cas couldn’t hold back the annoyed sigh at her endless chatter. “You can make anything sound like an insult,” he said flatly, the note of annoyance in his voice coming through strong. But after a moment’s reflection…Merlin, it was hard to admit it even in his own head. She had a point about her slimmer frame and the fact that she would have a better chance of getting through first. “Oh, I’ll have to, will I?” he demanded, unwilling to concede to her immediately and give her an opportunity to gloat. He crossed his arms, wand illuminated again now that they’d finished the careful work of shifting stones.

“And what stops you from leaving me here once you’re out?” That was the question he’d truly wanted to ask since her suggestion, and it hung heavily in the air between them. As did the heavily implied, if not still unspoken, assumption. He didn’t trust her – not to save him, not to go back for him, not to help him if there wasn’t something in it for her. Cas didn’t know who this Claire Slater was, except for the brief glimpses he’d caught today, and he couldn’t fathom what had caused Harry to send her on this mission with him. Cas didn’t trust most people, and he certainly didn’t trust strangers. So why would he ever trust her?

Claire Evangeline Slater

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

JULY, 2023

IT ALL SEEMED VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD FOR Claire. The small gap in the broken concrete letting in a dusty draught that was promising. She could fit if she took off her robes and shimmied on her belly. Just enough to let her wand arm through first. She felt a coil of claustrophobia tighten in her stomach, but she didn't flinch as she inched toward it enthusiastically. Cas was not quite so pleased to hear the truth, she turned her head at his dull, suspicious queries, but she only scoffed to begin with.

Putting her wand between her teeth, Claire pulled at the sleeves of her robes. Shedding it, she bundled it into a ball and pushed it into Cas's chest. Barely saving him a glance to check if he'd caught it, she took her wand from her mouth and muttered a quick spell that coiled her hair from her face hastily. The shorn chunk still hung around her cheekbone, but she barely gave it a thought as she began to crouch and examine the space briefly, having no intention of hesitating, in case Cas dragged her back bodily.

"Well, Cas." She stood once more, her nerves making her flushed under a fine layer of mortar dust. She placed both of her hands on his shoulders to steady him, the first intentional touch she'd laid upon him since they had been introduced. She leaned up until they were almost nose-to-nose, almost vibrating with anticipation. "I suppose you'll just have to trust me." She told him, before she turned and practically launched herself into the skinny gap. "Don't lose my robes," She called back to him, muffled in the gap as she used her knees and hands to pull herself through. "They're bespoke!"

The gap was very slim, slimmer even than it looked and her breath came in hard huffs that blew dust into her mouth. She did not complain, nary a groan to be heard lest Cas hear it and think she was afraid. Oh, but she was, her hands beginning to sweat as she grunted once in her effort to clear the gap. Her wand hand broke free first, wrist twisting as she whispered a quick lumos to light the room ahead of her. Eventually, she was birthed from the fissure with a scrape on her cheek and a heaviness in her chest. She fell into the atrium of stone and cold, damp ruin with a great gasp of relief. Her wand arm swinging desperately as she searched for their offender. He was, of course, gone from sight. She didn't relax, pulling herself to her feet to try and find the exit they had come through. She turned back almost immediately, her heart rattling in her chest.

"They've sealed it!" She crouched down by the gap and yelled through to Cas, hand fisted on the rough stone. "They've bloody locked us inside!" The stairs they'd descended were gone, but the room still leaked a promising draft. She stood with a huff, fighting the urge to knock her fist against the unsteady stone walls. "Ugh- would you just tell me how to get your big fat cursebreaker head through here so we can-" She felt something soft brush against the exposed skin of her ankle and she let out an ungodly scream. Kicking her leg out, she turned just in time to find a very sleek companion rodent scuttle around a fallen boulder in fear. 

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!