i talk to the trees [alyona]

Stepping out of the Rybinsk portkey office Linnet took a deep breath and mentally went over what she knew about this assignment. Not a lot, she mused as she checked the directions she had been given and started to walk. Ms Robbins had told her that one of the well-known artistic flyers was having problems with a stalker and they wanted to find his or her identity. More to the point, they needed someone who could be discreet and act as a secondary bodyguard. At first glance, Linnet wasn't an obvious choice for either. She hadn't been with the agency for long and was fairly untried in terms of track record. The agency was currently busy though, despite having recently taken on both Linnet and another young woman around her age, and there was nobody else more suitable. Besides, Linnet thought to herself, she was particularly well-suited to surveillance work.

Show, don't tell, Ms Robbins had advised when Linnet had asked how best to explain her abilities. Fair enough. She could do that. Of course, there was the fact that she was in Russia, a country in which she spoke precisely fourteen words of the language, all learned last night after when she had been given this assignment, but she had been assured that her prospective employer spoke both French and English. She turned a corner and continued down a different street.

Surprisingly, Linnet wasn't nervous. That particular emotion (along with many others) didn't seem to have returned since her time spent at the Madin shrine and she didn't question it. Not being nervous or anxious was useful, especially now she was walking into a completely unknown environment in a foreign country. Crossing a road, remembering to check for muggle traffic by force of habit, she mentally went over her appearance. A short young woman, her blonde hair currently coiled into a bun at the nape of her neck, dressed in a cream tailored shirt and ankle-length green skirt that covered her boots. She'd cleaned the mud from them last night, against her personal preference and subconsciously walked through every bit of dirt she could find. As a concession to first impressions she had applied a little brown eye makeup and carried a bag containing nothing more than a few coins the novel she was currently reading.

Her cloak hung open; unless it was particularly warm or cold she tended not to notice the weather, and overall she simply blended into her environment. Nobody's head turned as she passed; she was entirely unremarkable. Just as she'd intended. Another quick glance at the directions confirmed she'd reached her destination. The house was pretty much what she'd expected but impressive nonetheless. Attractive yet understated, with several evergreen trees that were clearly grown to provide a convenient cover for apparation. Linnet ignored them as she walked up to the front door and knocked. As it opened, she kept her face impassive. A grinning detective would not make an acceptable first impression.

@Alyona Tikhomirova

April 2004

The past months had passed in a haze. Alyona could barely believe that it was April already, that the new season in the artistic flying scene was starting again and that the person who had tried to kill her daughter was still out there. The concerned mother had taken precautions, of course. The security at the artistic flying school had been increased; she had hired bodyguards that Aglaya reluctantly accepted to some degree.

Alyona had given her best to investigate what had happened but she felt that she was missing pieces of information. She had tried to find out which poison had been used, hoping that this would allow her to find a suspect but so far she was no closer to revealing Aglaya’s stalker’s identity than she had been half a year ago.

She had hired a private detective from Moscow who had done such a poor job that she had fired him again. Truth be told, the man had achieved less than Alyona herself and she had been very reluctant to pay his bill. In the end she had done it not because she thought the investigator deserved a single knut but because she wanted to spare herself the trouble of having to talk to him ever again.

At some point, when she had searched for someone to replace the man, she had heard of an all female detective agency based in London that operated internationally and had a good reputation. Maybe she was wasting time and money again here but she had contacted Charlotte Robbins and had asked for help in a sensitive and secret matter. The Englishwoman had written a nice letter back and they had met. Alyona rather liked Ms Robbins, and thought that it was definitely worth a try to let one of her private detectives investigate the case.

On the day the private investigator came to introduce herself to Alyona, the healer was nervous. It never felt good to confide in people and she tried to calm her nerves by having a glass of vodka. One single vodka shot was absolutely fine, she thought. These days she never knew if she was making the right decisions, doing the right things. She just felt that she had to do something. She couldn’t stop investigating, making sure that Aglaya was safe. Stopping this meant to give up, to stop fighting, and she definitely couldn’t do that, no matter how much time, money, and energy she wasted on it.

She was almost glad that Anton had completely moved to his workshop by now. That way she didn’t have to justify her actions to him. As she heard a knock on the door the woman eyed the vodka bottle again, briefly considering having another drink but deciding against it in the end. She approached the door, took a deep breath and opened it, offering a welcoming little smile that faded when she saw the young woman on her doorstep.

“Hello,” she said, narrowing her eyes a little as she took in the young blonde’s appearance. She looked like a nice girl, but somehow was not at all what Alyona had imagined. “Did Ms Robbins send you?” She asked in Russian before repeating the question in accented English. She wondered if that was really the private detective or if someone else had chosen this particular time to randomly kock on her door.

Linnet hadn't been expecting a warm welcome. She was well aware that she didn't look like anyone's conventional view of a private detective, nor in truth did she really feel like one. She was far too young for a start, and besides she didn't have much experience, though she knew better than to admit that to a client. So far though, she had a 100% success rate and while that was only for two cases, it meant she had a quite air of confidence. 

That wavered slightly when the middle-aged woman who she assumed was Alyona Tikhomirova greeted her initially in Russian, but then switched to English, Linnet tok a deep breath and this time offered a slight smile. "Good morning, my name is Linnet Willowsong, I am from Ms Robbins' detective agency" she said in careful Russian, employing all but two of the words she had learned the previous evening (the other two being 'thank you' and 'bathroom'). There. Hopefully a favourable first impression. She switched to English. "My apologies, I don't speak Russian but I understand you speak both English and French, as I do. I attended both Hogwarts and Beauxbatons" she continued, without bothering to explain further. Ms Robbins had said that mentioning both schools would automatically make people think that Linnet was somehow special.

This was the moment she would be invited inside, Linnet assumed. She didn't make any gesture that suggested she was in any hurry to enter the house, indeed, she appeared that she would be perfectly content to conduct the entire interview on the doorstep.

The truth was, Linnet would have been much happier if they were in a forest or anywhere open rather than indoors. She much preferred to be outside except in extreme cold, and from what little she knew of this assignment expected to spend a good deal of her time doing exactly that. She allowed the silence to continue for a moment longer before adding "I understand I may be able to assist with a delicate situation."

The girl said something in Russian but her pronunciation made it quite clear that she wasn’t fluent in the language and soon enough she confirmed Alyona’s suspicion by telling her that she didn’t actually speak Russian at all. That wasn’t ideal but probably not a big problem either. Sure, Alyona would have preferred a private investigator who could read the one threatening letter that she had read but she figured she could summarise the content for the girl.

To Alyona it was of little importance if Linnet had attended Hogwarts and Beauxbatons or Ilvermonry or another magical school. The only school that she would have considered interesting in this context was Durmstrang in case that the stalker knew Aglaya from school. Nonetheless the healer smiled at the girl, thinking that she had signed a contract and that it made little sense to discourage this young private investigator. There was a slight chance that the girl would find out something after all.

“Please come inside,” Alyona said, wanting to have a more private conversation with Linnet. She led her into the living room and, for a brief moment, felt embarrassed that she had the vodka bottle on the table. “Take a seat, please. Would you like something to drink?” she asked, not really referring to the alcoholic beverage. If the other witch wanted a glass of water, tea or coffee she’d gladly serve her something.

Linnet spoke of a delicate situation and Alyona wondered how much the British witch knew. Had Ms Robbins told her any details yet? Did she know everything that Alyona had told the head of the private investigation company?

“Yes,” she confirmed. “It's a delicate situation indeed.” Her English was accented but Alyona spoke fluently anyway, not hesitating or searching for words. “I have hired another investigator in the past who hasn’t been successful and it really is a matter of life and death.” She tried to sound casual and hoped that the girl would not pick up on how worried she really was or that she did not fully trust this young private investigator. “Before I fill you in. What did Ms Robbins already tell you?”

Good, she had passed the initial assessment. Oh, it wasn't anything formal or official, but Linnet knew that she had been sized up, the first impression taken and it was at this point the client decided whether to trust the assigned investigator, at least superficially. She took a deep breath before following the other woman into her house, immediately feeling slightly closed-in, claustrophobic. At least the house was quiet and welcoming, not cluttered, though she was a little disappointed that there weren't healthy houseplants on every surface. As she entered the living room she noted the vodka bottle and assumed not that the older woman had been drinking today, but that she hadn't returned it to the cupboard the previous evening. Clearly the woman was worried about her daughter, as well she might be.

"Water or herbal tea, please" she said, seating herself and now noticing the sickly-looking spider plant that was standing abandoned on the windowsill. From the three young plants that had hopefully grown out on stiff tendrils clearly it hadn't been cared for for quite some months. But that wasn't what she was supposed to be thinking of now. I'll help you later, little friend she thought to the plant, before appearing to turn all her attention to the woman who sat stiffly opposite her. She wondered briefly how to begin, how much of the situation she had really been told. Not the part about the previous investigator, which gave her a twinge of concern. It did explain why a Russian woman had hired someone from a British detective agency, though.

"Your daughter, Aglaya Antonovna Tikhomirova, is a famous flying artist and the current world champion. She has attracted the attention of a...an unbalanced individual who has been stalking her for some time. Last autumn the newspapers reported that she had been taken ill following the championship, but her illness was caused by this individual, who has also written to her claiming she belongs to him. So far, you have been unable to discover his identity and I presume that is where I come in." she paused, then continued in what she hoped was gentler tone "It must be very frightening for all of you, Mrs Tikhimorovna"

She relaxed slightly but remained sitting straight-backed, hands steepled in her lap. "Is there anything else you are able to tell me? even a small detail can be a useful starting point." 

Water or herbal tea. Alyona smiled politely. Talking to Linnet she wouldn’t get an excuse to pour herself another vodka. “I’ll be right back,” she announced and made her way into the kitchen. There she made tea for her guest, found another bottle of vodka and poured herself a shot before she returned with two cups of tea to the living room. She placed one cup in front of Linnet and took a seat with her cup at a little distance.

Linnet explained to her what she knew about the situation and Alyona tried to keep her gaze steadily on her. It was hard, though. Hearing a stranger talk about this very private situation was more than uncomfortable.

“You’re right,” Alyona said, her voice trembling a little. “That’s exactly where you come in.” She paused, looked at the tea cup in her hand and then put it down on the table. Another glass of vodka was what she wanted. A sip of hot tea had little appeal right now. However, she was determined not to drink in front of this young witch and not to break down in tears in front of her either. She knew she could do it. She could be detached… Well, usually she was good at it anyway.

“And yes, it is… unsettling. I’m naturally very worried.” She took a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts. “The attempt on her life was made with poisoned pralines,” she said, her voice sounding hollow as she recalled the situation on the open day when she had found Aglaya on the floor of the office. “It happened during the open day when countless people were around, strangers as well as people we know.”

She picked up the cup again and took a tentative sip. “I have hired bodyguards,” she explained, “I don’t need you to protect her in everyday life. I need a private investigator to look around, to try and find out who this person is. You can, of course, accompany her to events…” her voice trailed off. She had more to say but for now she wanted to see and hear the girl’s reaction.

When the older woman left the room Linnet's first instinct was to reach out to the spider plant, but logically she knew it wasn't the time. It was a selfish thought, but she would be glad of the sickly plant in a short while when she would inevitably need to prove her abilities to the woman who had hired her. Beside, it was a little impolite to tend to someone else's housekeeping without being asked. It took a lot of willpower to not touch the plant though, and Linnet was glad when her prospective employer returned quickly with the tea.

She murmured a quiet thank you and lifted the cup to inhale the aroma. Chamomile. The smell calmed her and she closed her eyes for a brief moment, a small smile creeping onto her face and then vanishing just as quickly. It was took hot to drink just now, but the smell as enough to satisfy her. She replaced the cup and resumed her expression of polite interest. It was clear that Alyona Tikhomirova was far more worried than she was letting on. The stiff way she was sitting, the way she described everything in the massive tense, like she was trying to distance her family from the sequence of events...

Linnet nodded thoughtfully. "Either someone with links to a confectionery business, or something more..." she didn't want to state outright that the World Champion was potentially being stalked by someone with personal experience of poisons, but it seemed likely. That, or someone who was connected with a criminal underworld, which would be even more disturbing. But it was all conjecture for now, so she said nothing more beyond the comment that showed she was following what had been said. Mirroring the older woman's movements, she sipped her own tea and nodded, this time with a genuine smile.

"I doubt bodyguard is something I will ever add to my list of accomplishments" she commented lightly, glancing down at herself. When it came to restraining a suspect on the other hand, she was more than capable, but that was something she kept to herself most of the time.

"You have no leads or ideas at all?" she confirmed, making it more of a statement than a question "and forgive me but - the rest of your family is fully aware of the situation?" Linnet got the distinct impression that the less they actually discussed this the more the older woman would like it, but she didn't want to discover later on that a jealous relative or unbalanced family friend had been the culprit all along. As for attending events, she had expected that. "I shall be learning some more Russian phrases later today" she commented at the news she would be accompanying Aglaya to events "Obviously translation charms are more effective, but I'd rather be prepared."

She took another drink of her tea which had cooled a little by now "I expect I'll be more use fading into the background, perhaps I'm a French writer working on a book about famous artists and athletes" she suggested. French seemed a better cover than her native British; there was no way she could be connected to any detective agency there even if one existed. Then she hesitated. This part was always difficult to bring up, and she wasn't sure she'd perfected it yet "and I don't know...did Ms Robbins mention anything about my more unusual skills?"

As the young investigator reacted to what she had been told, Alyona looked at her, feeling a little surprised. She had not for a moment thought about an actual connection to a confectionery business. Somehow that link didn’t feel worth pursuing to her. However, she had been under constant stress. Possibly this young impartial woman had ideas that she had not been able to see. She was looking at something like a close-up, Linnet, however, could see the whole picture from a distance.

“Of course,” Alyona responded calmly. “As I said, I have employed two bodyguards for her who, hopefully, can protect her in case that it’s needed. We’re all keeping our eyes open now and are careful, of course.” That was an understatement, those few who knew the whole story (or as much as one could know anyway) were very attentive. Whenever Aglaya was anywhere in public she had a bodyguard, sometimes even both, at her side. Usually Alyona or someone she trusted stuck around, too, just in case.

“We know very little,” Alyona admitted, feeling rather uncomfortable admitting this. “My daughter seems to have received letters from this person for a while. She never came to me about it. I’ve only seen one of the letters she got and that was…” her voice broke off when she thought of the threatening letter and the photo that had been attached to it.

“The person who wrote the letter admitted having tried to kill her,” Alyona said, her voice brittle, “they stated they’d…” she shook her head and then took a sip of her tea in order to compose herself. “They wrote that they’d try again. It is a disturbing letter.”

Alyona looked pale and shaken. Talking about this all was hard for her. She wasn’t entirely sure if it was easier to talk to a stranger about it or to someone she knew. However, she tried to be detached just like she often was with her patients. It was essential not to take everything to heart in order to survive. Then again, it was really hard when the person this was all about was her own daughter.

Linnet asked about the rest of the family and Alyona’s gaze rested on the girl for a moment before she responded. “No,” she said quietly, “we wanted to keep this quiet for as long as possible. Only very few people know what really happened. Before you talk to the family I’ll make you a list of people who are informed and those who are not.”

Appreciating that Linnet wanted to make an effort to learn some Russian phrases, Alyona nodded gratefully. It was surely a good thing if the young witch knew how to say at least some basic things.

“Yes, I think a cover would be a good idea. I don’t want people to find out anything about this - especially not the media. Aglaya gave an interview saying that the rumours about her poisoning were all wrong and I’d like to stick to this version for the public.” She paused as she thought about Linnet’s other question. “Ms Robbins mentioned that you had skills that would come in handy but she didn’t elaborate.” She looked at the young woman now, wondering what kind of unusual skills she’d have to offer that would help with the case.

This was worse than she'd expected. So far Linnet had dealt with cheating partners, a copied fashion portfolio and a stolen dog, all with at least moderate success. But this was a far different proposition. They were talking about a deranged stalker who didn't appear to have any limits on what he might decide to do next. Privately she thought the poor Aglaya was fortunate not to have been kidnapped so far and seriously hoped she would be able to find something out before a tragedy happened. She wished Ms Robbins had given her a bit more detail on what to expect - but then, she imagined that she had been told everything necessary. What good would knowing all the fine details have done. It might even have been counterproductive, because at least a degree of ignorance about the severity of the case meant she'd walked in there with confidence.

Then she relaxed a little. If she treated this just like any other case - they'd had no idea who had stolen the dog, and she'd solved that one - it would be okay. She thought of asking to see the letter, then decided it probably wouldn't do any good at this stage. Besides, she doubted Alyona would have it there with her. She'd look into that later. Knowing who she could speak freely to and who was ignorant of the situation was more important for the moment.

"Thank you. As I said, my French is fluent so I can pass as a writer...oh, and Linette would be the French form of my name if that becomes necessary" she added, probably unnecessarily but feeling a need to look like she was already taking control of the situation. But then came the question, the one she had already answered a couple of times. It didn't get easier explaining what she was, but one thing she had learned was to show and then tell. Linnet reached out a finger across the table to the spider plant, murmuring a spell so quietly as to be almost inaudible. Within seconds the leaves were looking healthier and it was growing, visibly increasing in size and health.

"I'm not a normal witch" she said, her eyes on the older woman as the spider plant rejoiced in the new life it was feeling "I don't carry a wand. Instead my spells all draw upon the element of Earth. I can make things grown, I can command plants and the soil and...I can promise that if I am following someone, they will never know I was there" she hesitated, her eyes flickering to the spider plant, now almost twice its original size and with lush, glossy leaves "I can show you, if you like?"

Alyona wasn't quite sure why pretending to be French was so much better than being British but she wasn't going to ask Linnet for the reason, thinking that it didn't matter if she was English, French, Malaysian or Nigerian. The only thing that mattered to Alyona was the result. She hoped that this young investigator could help her to find the stalker, the awful person who had tried to poison her daughter. Nothing else was of any importance. If Linnet achieved this goal claiming that she was the queen of some obscure country nobody knew and spoke in tongues nobody but her understood that would be fine with her.

"You're the expert," Alyona said, hoping that this was actually true. "You can choose your cover as you please. Just let me know all the details and I'll forward the information to the family members so you can talk to everyone."

She watched as Linnet healed and grew the potted plant and wasn't sure what to make of this. Maybe she had had too much alcohol to understand how healing and growing plants would be useful for this case or maybe it just wasn't really useful at all and Linnet just wanted to impress her with this little trick.

Either way, Alyona didn't have a lot of options. She had hired bodyguards, her previous private investigator hadn't achieved anything. It was a worth a try. Everything was. All that the healer wanted was to keep her daughter alive and find the bastard who had tried to kill her and punish him accordingly.

Alyona wondered if she had had too much or too little alcohol. She really couldn't follow what the girl said so when Linnet suggested that she could show her whatever made her an unnormal witch, Alyona nodded. She wasn't sure what to expect. In fact, she hoped for some kind of miracle that would bring them a step closer to finding and punishing the cruel stalker. Alyona wanted nothing more than to give her daughter her life back and, respectively, for herself to get her confident and successful daughter back.

There it was. Without meaning to and probably without fully understanding, this woman had given Linnet tacit permission to do whatever she felt necessary in order to discover who was behind the poisoning and stalking. That was the first bridge crossed, though if she was honest Linnet had little idea how she was going to catch a stalker in a country where she didn't speak the language and had almost no knowledge of the artistic flying world into which she was about to be plunged. For a moment she thought of the look on Alyona's face if she admitted to a fear of heights and only basic flying abilities, simply because the thought grounded her. No way was she going to do anything to affect the rudimentary understanding they were beginning to develop.

She would write to Ms Robbins as soon as the meeting was over, asking about the logistics of interviewing people when she didn't speak their language. Hopefully at least some of them would speak English or French, but obviously Linnet was unable to cast a translation charm so that could be a potential issue. Again, that wasn't something she intended to mention here. What she was about to mention - well, show - would either convince Mrs Tikhimorovna that she did indeed have useful skills for this task or would end in her being thrown from the house.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Linnet took another drink of her tea and slipped her feet out of her boots under the table before she got to her feet, turning to pick up her cloak. "Would you take this, please. I will ask for it back in a few moments...I understand this seems strange to you, but I can explain this better if I offer a demonstration". Belatedly she remembered her blouse. The skirt would simply slide down to her ankles - well, trunk - when she morphed, but the shirt would tear... she felt a twinge of regret and then decided it was preferable to standing there and removing it. That would definitely get her thrown out and probably interviewed by the Ministry into the bargain. She took a deep breath, tried a reassuring smile, and closed her eyes.

Morphing indoors was different and not as easy as standing in a forest. She didn't have the same connection with the earth, so it felt a little more forced, and she wasn't able to burrow her roots into the earth. She supposed she could have tried forcing them through the floor, but that would be uncomfortable, not to mention impolite. She would just have to hope that she could balance without the earth...the thoughts ran through her mind in seconds as she felt herself beginning to change, her metabolism slowing and her mind relaxing. For a moment there was unsteadiness and then her roots reached out across the not-earth, finding deadwood to reach for and grip. She could stand unassisted, no fear of being blown down in a gale; her branches reaching for the sky and then remembering something wasn't quite right, that there was no Sun in here. No Sun, no earth, no rain...it was a bad place to be a tree, yet somewhere in her being she remembered this was temporary, this was necessary...

In the space of a dozen seconds Linnet had morphed into her tree form which now stood in Alyona's living room, roots wrapping around the table and chair legs for stability.

Ms Robbins had seemed like a reliable businesswoman to Alyona when she had first made contact. Now, the Russian witch began to wonder if she had fallen for a cheat. Healing plants was, without any doubt, a good thing to do. Alyona, being a healer herself, fully understood the necessity of keeping people, creatures and plants healthy. However, how this was going to help with her very own predicament was beyond her.

Then Linnet handed Alyona her coat and the older witch stared at the girl in front of her, feeling more than just a little bemused. What was going on here? She spoke of a demonstration and before Alyona could figure out what kind of demonstration Linnet had in mind something weird happened right in front of her.

The private investigator stood there, her eyes closed, and then she spread branches and roots, and her body turned into a tree trunk. Alyona blinked a few times, unsure if she could really trust her eyes. Really, she needed to gain control over her drinking habits again. This was the worst that had yet happened to her under the influence of alcohol. She was clearly hallucinating.

The sound of a chair moving slightly over the wooden floor as roots wrapped around its legs made Alyone jump. This was really bad. Clearly she was losing it. Aglaya needed her. What if she now lost her marbles? Then her daughter was on her own fighting the stalker. Anton was utterly useless lately. Valera would probably be helping her, though, and probably Dema, too, if he heard of this at all, that is. However, she didn’t want to end up locked away in a mental home on alcohol withdrawal. She wanted to be the mother for her daughter that she should have been years ago when, apparently, she had failed to notice that something wasn’t right.

Feeling dizzy now, she sank down on a chair that the roots hadn’t reached if there really were roots anyway. She tried to focus on her breathing, tried to calm down, and looked at the whole scene sensibly. The tree was still there. Either she was having the most weird and intense hallucinations or this was actually happening and this morphing into a tree skill was what Ms Robbins had deemed a useful skill for the case. However, Alyona wasn’t too convinced a tree would be a useful investigator. Did Linnet still perceive everything around her when she was in this shape? Clearly she could stand in front of a building and observe who came and left but was that really useful?

Alyona shook her head slowly. When had her life become this insane?