[Rybinsk] Это судьба (Dema)

6th December 2003

Since August Aglaya’s life had been turned upside down and while she felt depressed and was almost willing to surrender most of the time, giving in to despair and self-destructive thoughts, she also had these rare moments when she wanted to fight and give her best to get back to where she had once been. She still was, at this point, the most successful athlete in the history of artistic flying, after all. To beat her to that title another athlete would need quite a few immensely successful years. Besides, she had won her last international title only two weeks before she had almost died and reached the lowest point in her life.

It was crazy how quickly things could change. Aglaya had been a praised star only months ago and now felt like the most pathetic person on earth. The poisoning had done more than just physical damage. The young witch was still struggling to accept that there was someone out there who seriously wanted to see her dead. And, if that wasn’t enough, she could tell by the behaviour of her close family that this was nothing the world ought to know. She felt as though she was blamed for it, as though it was disgraceful and her own fault. Furthermore she thought that she was locked away because she wasn’t on top right now, because she was somewhat damaged goods. However, not only her family treated her like this. Truth be told, after her stalker Aglaya probably was her own biggest enemy at this point. She had had some low points over the past weeks that even shocked her herself when she had one of her better moments.

The media still hadn’t got any official information. All that was out in the open were some unconfirmed rumours that had even died down a little as weeks passed with no new information. Only the announcement of the annual gala at the end of the year had let her name appear in the papers again - as the name of someone who wasn’t performing. It was hurtful to know that the large artistic flying family had replaced her with her younger sister without even having the decency to tell her in advance. However, Aglaya could not deny that she was unable to perform at this point.

She wanted to come back, though. Seeing pictures of Nastya and Tolya everywhere across wizarding Rybinsk, and at the flying school in particular, was horrible and reminded the multiple time champion that she was not ready to retire yet. She felt that she needed to give a press statement sooner or later, too. The rumours were pretty much true, but she did not want to be seen as the victim of an assassination attempt. Aglaya felt that she could not deal with the pitiful looks and the role of a victim. She was a winner, a champion, a legend. She did not want to appear weak and vulnerable in public. Over many years she had proven that she was better than that. Aglaya Antonovna Tikhomirova did not fear anything and would not let herself be defeated by some stalker who obsessed over her for the lack of an own proper life.

Unfortunately Aglaya’s first attempt at training had ended with a shattered clavicle that even her mother who was an experienced healer had not been able to fix so easily. Alyona had claimed to have given her best but Aglaya had had her arm immobilised for days and then she had slowly started with physiotherapy which was a lot harder than she had anticipated. While she knew better, she still blamed her mother for not fixing her properly. The physiotherapy with Alyona felt like torture and even after three weeks of it Aglaya could not move her arm properly over shoulder height. Her mother had forbidden her to carry things or walk her dog and had basically told her to wear her arm in a sling for most of the time until they’d make more progress. It was frustrating but as the gala wasn’t her next goal anymore anyway, she tried to be patient. The season would not begin until spring time, she could still be there for the first competitions, after all.

Since Bronislav had needed to get out and nobody had stopped by to take him for a walk, Aglaya had reluctantly decided to take him herself. She disguised herself by hiding her red mane below a green woolen hat and obscuring most of her face with a matching huge scarf. Since wearing a sling might attract unwanted attention, the witch just put her right hand into the pocket of her black coat while she held the lead in her left hand. The young excitable dog was not making it an easy task to take him for a walk though. He pulled on the lead quite heavily. “Stop!” Aglaya whined as Bronislav pulled her around a corner. Even holding the lead with her left hand was resulting in pain in her right shoulder and she wished that Valera or Nastya had shown up to take the dog out earlier.

They were somewhere between the artistic flying school and Aglaya’s home when Bronislav suddenly decided that it was fun to break into a run. The lead slid out of Aglaya’s fingers and instead of following the dog, the young witch just stayed where she was. “Bronislav! Heel!” she called out feebly but the German Shepherd was already making friends with someone again and did not listen to her command. Aglaya did not enjoy being out these days, always fearing that her stalker might surprise her or that a press representative spotted her. As long as she had Bronislav by her side it was not too bad. While the dog was friendly rather than threatening she still felt more comfortable when he was with her. She found herself breathing heavily and feeling rather shaky now that she’d have to follow the dog and approach the man that Bronislav had just met.

As she walked over and recognised her mother’s old friend, her eyes widened in surprise. “Aldemar?” she asked as she tried to figure out how to reach for the lead without making it obvious that she could not quite move as she pleased. “What are you doing here? Did you visit my mother?” She had not seen him since the European Championships in Leknes and was strangely pleased to run into him now. She had always liked the man and he felt a little like family without being part of the tight knit Tikhomirov family with all its rules and obligations. However, she did not dare to look him into the face, fearing that, even though there was little visible of hers, he might realise how much she had changed since they had last seen each other.

@Aldemar Delchev

Aldemar had a full docket today, lots of errands to run, and most significantly, he was in Russia to check in on Alyona and maybe even the young Aglaya if he could manage it. He had already checked off seven things from his list, gotten some snacks for Yana, and a new recipe for yogurt from the local grocer he couldn't wait to use when he got home. He'd stopped in to see Alyona, dropped off some snacks for her too, including some of the homemade candies he'd been making since they were back in Durmstrang, and after a bit of a chat, decided to make his exit. He had hoped to run into Aglaya at the academy but assumed she must have been out for the day. Oh well, just another reason for another visit, he thought with a smile as he reached for his jacket from the back of the door.

Buttoned up tightly in his peacoat, scarf, and hide gloves, the old wizard looked a lot like Frosty the Snowman might have if he was too worried about staying warm when it wasn't all that cold, to begin with. His scarf was wrapped around his neck and creeping up his chin, and his jacket was buttoned up to the nape. It was good to be prepared, one never knew when the weather in Russia would turn, or at least, Aldemar had convinced himself of this as he prepped for the trip. Aldemar left the flying school and made the hasty decision to walk the rest of the way to the next shop he needed to visit. The wizard loved Rybinsk; it had everything.

He had been consulting his list when the patter of four feet running toward him broke his focus. Always on the alert, Aldemar reached for his wand before realizing who it was running toward him, and a smile washed over his features. "Bronislav! Now, what are you doing out here?" He asked, kneeling on the ground to give the fluffy German Shepherd a good scratch behind the ears as another set of feet approached him. Aldemar noticed the boots first, indeed a witch, and the smile on his face grew as he looked up. "I did indeed," He admitted as Bronislav rolled over on the cold sidewalk and put his belly conveniently in Aldemar's range.

"Must smell Yana on me, I've just come from the mountains as well," Aldemar most of the time away from Durmstrang in his home in the Rhodope mountains, with Venera (when school was out), and the family cow, Yana, who he considered to be excellent company. And yogurt made from her milk was an excellent source of good bacteria, protein, and calcium but low in sugar, which of course, Aldemar found quite important. His gut needed all the good bacteria it could get, the way he drank. "I was hoping to run into you," He said with an honest smile as he dipped a hand into his pocket for some of the biscuits he'd picked up for Yana and offered one to Bronislav with a chuckle,"

"It is good to see you, miss Aglaya, it's been a long time," Aldemar tried to keep any worry or seriousness out of his voice for as long as possible. He was sure she was sick of people asking her how she was or wanting to hear the story from her, and Dema was wise enough not to ask any of those sorts of questions. He stood up slowly, brushing his hands on the backside of his jacket and smiling at the young witch honestly. "I am starving. Have you eaten? My treat?"

It was always interesting to see how Bronislav reacted to people and how people reacted to Bronislav. The dog seemed eager to see people that weren’t Aglaya and most people probably preferred the dog’s company as well. Aglaya couldn’t blame any of them. If she could leave her current self behind for a while at least, she’d gladly do that, too.

As Aldemar said that he had been hoping to run into her, Aglaya already opened to ask ‘why’ before reconsidering and offering something similar to a smile. It was odd to hear these words and she just hoped that Aldemar wouldn’t choose to talk to her about the things that happened.

“Yes,” Aglaya said and then, realising that a monosyllabic response was never a good thing if one didn’t want to prematurely end a conversation, she added, “it’s been a while. I believe I last saw you in Leknes in August.” She was actually certain that that had been the last time she had seen Aldemar because shortly after that there had been the open day and since then she had only seen very few people.

Aldemar pulled himself up to his full height after he had dealt with Bronislav and stated that he was hungry. Aglaya’s gaze rested on the dog as several things came to her mind. She wasn’t particularly hungry. Her stomach was still sensitive and she couldn’t eat everything yet. She was not going to go to a public restaurant where people could see and identify her. She still struggled with her shoulder injury, so eating with cutlery as though everything was fine was not easy. And there was, of course, Bronislav. She couldn't take the dog into a restaurant. That was, in fact, her best excuse.

“Well, I have Bronislav,” she said, renewing her faint smile. “Maybe…” her voice trailed off as she briefly considered what she wanted to offer. She did like Dema and in fact, she felt that she might enjoy his company now. “There’s this small restaurant not far from my place.” She paused. She felt she needed to say ‘we’ when really she meant ‘you’. “We could grab a take-away meal there and eat it at my house.”

If she intended to wait outside, she’d need to take Bronislav’s lead again so she could claim that she could not enter with the dog. She bent down, holding her breath as she tried to reach for the lead with her left hand. As she finally managed to grab it, she straightened up again slowly. She wondered how much her mother had told Aldemar about everything - the poisoning, her shoulder injury.

“They have the menu displayed outside,” Aglaya went on, carefully preparing Aldemar that he’d have to go inside alone. “Shall I lead the way?” She hoped that Bronislav would behave himself well for the way and not run free himself again.

"Yes, please do," Aldemar said softly, holding his gloved hand out toward the space in front of them as he waited for Aglaya to lead the way. The young witch had tactfully managed to both decline and accepted his offer in one swift motion, and at that moment, he could see her mother in her more than ever. Still, even though his invitation to lunch had been skirted, he was glad she had offered an alternative that always let them eat together. Aldemar was getting hungry, and the cranky older man did not do well on an empty stomach. He claimed that it was a blood sugar thing, but in reality, it was more of an 'I'm old and have no time to waste being hungry' sort of thing.

Walking along the path, Aldemar was careful not to step on Bronislav's lead even as the dog attempted to crisscross between the two of them and wrap the leash around his legs. "That was quite a skillful dodge, by the way," Aldemar remarked, a cunning smile on his face as he turned to catch Aglaya's eyes for a breath. "Declining my invitation while offering a consolation. And yet making me feel like it was my idea all along," There was something special about Tikhomirova women, Aldemar had known this going on forty years, and he was glad to see that the brilliance carried on in Aglaya as well.

"Exactly the sort of thing your mother would do when we were back in Durmstrang," Talking about the glory days was quite possibly one of Aldemar's favorite things. Especially on days like today when his mind was clear, and the memories were so vibrant. "Come to think of it, she did it to me last week," The wizard admitted with a chuckle, his hand falling onto his pudgy stomach as his chest rose and fell.

"So this restaurant, do you think they've got Syrniki still?" It might not have been first thing in the morning anymore, but to Aldemar, any time of the day was the perfect time for a bit of breakfast deliciousness.

For a brief moment a relieved smile appeared on Aglaya’s face but it faded again soon as she tried to encourage Bronislav to take the way towards the restaurant. While she really liked the dog that her sister had given to her not too long ago, she found it rather straining to deal with him sometimes. Bronislav was still pretty young and while he knew some commands the dog was not always doing as he should.

Aglaya glanced at Aldemar, trying to hide how his comment surprised her. She tried to smile but somehow it wasn’t easy. She was used to offering a polite smile to the press and fans but somehow she could tell that right now the attempted expression had turned out more like a grimace.

Staring down at Bronislav, Aglaya listened to the man’s explanation and it almost amused her to hear how he saw her. His interpretation of the situation made her seem to be in charge when, really, she felt quite helpless. It was nice, though, to be seen like this. It reminded herself more of the person she used to be and wanted to get back to being.

“Really?” she asked as the older wizard said that this was the sort of thing her mother would have done and apparently still did. She wasn’t sure if she liked to be compared to Alyona. She often felt that for her mother she didn’t count as a person. She was just the successful athlete, the public face of the family, whereas her sister was the real daughter who was loved.

“We’ll find out,” Aglaya said in response to Aldemar’s question. She really had no idea and actually didn’t care either. However, it was not nice to say so and so she kept this thought to herself. Aldemar would certainly find something tasty to eat at the place whether or not they still had Syrniki.

As they arrived, the artistic flying champion stopped in front of the menu. “I think I’d like pelmeni,” she said after skimming the list. She wasn’t particularly hungry, but she knew that the pelmeni from this place were quite tasty. “Bronislav won’t behave if I tie him to the lamppost, so I better wait here with him.” She glanced around, hoping that nobody would recognise her now. Talking to Aldemar was one thing but being confronted with strangers was definitely not what she wanted.

"Indeed, but don't tell her I told you that," Dema wiggled his eyebrows at Aglaya, a bright smile flashing over his face. It was all in good fun, Alyona was one of his favorite people, but there was no question about who was in charge. And Aldemar had always been more than willing to let her take the lead. Though, he did like being able to help her on the few and far between occasions when she asked for it.

Walking along, Aldemar mused about what he might order and settled on breakfast with another smile. He removed his gloves, tucking them neatly into the pockets of his jacket as they arrived at the restaurant. He buttoned the flaps closed on the pockets, to be sure he wouldn't lose his gloves, and turned back to Aglaya.

"Pelmeni, and anything else? Perhaps I can get them to give me a cup of whipping cream for the pup."