The Burden of the Living

I just wanted to care for those leaving us behind. (Sideblog of mistresscapella)

[red-scotch]

Девочка из страшной русской сказки

[puffychi]

👻🍬🍭

[paiislley]

💛 Umbreon 💙

[snapshotsfromgorkhon]

“would you look at that…” (day 1); the gut

[forgottengraves]

governorsaburov​:

Katerina was around during the day, but not at night.

That was… unusual, but it also explained why he barely felt her presence at times. Where could a spirit like hers go to?

Grace tries to feebly evaporate the stain of the dissolved turnskin from the hardwood floors with her budding powers, and Saburov holds out a hand to cease.

“… you don’t have to feel obligated to clean that up, really. It’d be easier to get a rug to cover it or replace the flooring entirely. It’s overdue, anyway.”

He stands, and begins to walk toward the hallway, catching the door frame with his hand to look back, “You should probably stay the night again. There’s wild dogs out, and I don’t want you to get hurt going home alone. I’ll check on Capella quickly- make sure her eye’s swelling is going down. Anything you need?”

Saburov rises. He probably wants a minute alone. Or to check on Capella. Yes, he says as much. 

“I’m fine,” she assures him. “I’ll let Papa know.”

She doesn’t allude to how she’s going to let Papa know, but simply holds the pendant of her necklace in her hand.

[forgottengraves]

governorsaburov​:

Grace speaks, and her voice seems to… drown out, almost. Replaced almost entirely by Katerina’s voice.

When he hears it, the pieces he’d been thinking about finally seem to click together- and hearing it out loud made him realize just how much he needed to hear it.

No, he was of the mind to agree. He couldn’t wait on Dankovsky. Everything happening was too urgent. He had been measuring his responses because of the blow to his reputation and the business trying to make changes in the Town…

She’d been trying to get across to him. A small pang of grief swells for a moment, then subsides.

“I understand,” he says, thinking rapidly about the next idea, the solution.

“… By the end of the week, I’ll gather whom I have. Delegate as immediately as I can.”

Grace offers him a seance, and explains that Aspity has been helping her. It’s not comforting, at all- something about Aspity’s nature had always made him wary… but Katerina liked her.

“…If it’s not… an issue,” he states, “and you are comfortable, then I would. I would like to hear from her. Some other time.”

He seems interested, though not incredibly keen, about the offer. She’s not sure if its reservations about her powers, or about talking with the dead, or something else. The wound might be still too fresh, or he needs time to think about what he wants to say to her. That’s normal too. She nods.

“All right. Just let me know when you’re ready. I’m a little spent for the night. Oh, and I think it will need to be during the day. I think Katerina is one of those spirits that goes away at night... She doesn’t get to stay her at night. I’ve felt her sometimes when I walk by the Rod during the day, but never late at night. Though I haven’t been out late at night very much recently, except with...”

She looks toward the stain on the floor, scrubbed away as well as one could, where the Caravan man they’d fought had dissolved. She’s never seen a corpse do that. She’d felt a little guilty that she was glad - it meant it didn’t have to get buried in her graveyard. Idly, she starts waving her hand over the area, watching the stain almost evaporate out of the wood inch by inch.

[forgottengraves]

governorsaburov​:

From Katerina.

He pauses to determine how he feels, what he thinks. There’s still the numbness of the loss, but there’s… an odd sort of relief in having his feelings about Katerina’s presence confirmed by the young Mistress.

It at least provides some evidence that his sanity isn’t completely dwindling, regardless of the circumstances.

Katerina was still trying to guide the young Capella, since no one else was there to guide her. And she had a message for him.

He straightens his shoulders, and sits patiently, tenting his fingers together.

“Whatever you have from Katerina, I am ready to hear it,” he says, softly.

“You’re taking on too much for yourself.” She says when he gives her the go ahead. Her brows press together, trying to say it as closely to how Katerina said it. “You don’t need to worry about holding back now, and you should call the council before the Bachelor gets back, because people don’t know what’s going on and your reputation is going to get worse the longer you wait. She thinks you need to work on that now - your reputation, that is, because you won’t ever get the perfect moment you’re waiting for.” 

Message said, she breathes a little sigh of relief and settles back on the floor. 

“She’s been trying to say that to you for a while, but couldn’t get it across. But don’t feel bad - that’s pretty normal. Even Capella couldn’t see or hear her before I did a seance. Do you want a seance? Not tonight, but maybe another day. I can do them easy now. Aspity’s been helping me.” 

[forgottengraves]

governorsaburov​:

He listens to her explanation. Yes, she was here for Capella. No, she didn’t need anything…

The statement that Capella was making tea was confirmed by the short whistling noise that came from below in the basement kitchen.

Ah.

He pulls out the chair he set his coat down on and faces it toward Grace sitting, watching her roll up the tiny pieces of wax from a snuffed candle.

“Hm. Tea would be… quite nice, actually.”

He glances over to the china cabinet and frowns slightly, “… I should let her know she can use the samovar to make tea, so she doesn’t have to walk up the stairs and through the house with a hot kettle for the next time…”

He turns his attention back to Grace, folding his hands.

“This message… who is it from, then?”

“From Katerina.” She says simply. She has, on the rare occasion, connected people, or passed on messages so the dead in turn can pass. She doesn’t think Katerina will pass after she relays this message though - she seems to have more unfinished business to attend to. Still, Grace gives him a minute to digest that. She knows it hasn’t been long since Katerina passed. The pain is always worst, as she’s seen, a few weeks after someone passes - the first few days are either too numb or too raw. No, it’s the weeks following where you have to get used to the absence that make people most upset. 

“She’s still around. You might have been able to sense it. You seem like the type of person who can do that - you seem aware of things that others aren’t. She was able to come through strongly today since I was here - she wanted to talk to Capella about mistress things. But she also had a message for you. Are you ready to hear it?” 

[governorsaburov]

Saburov steps into the threshold of his own home after a long day in Town Hall. A routine at this point, he locks the door and walks over to the dining room to inspect it for any intruders-

Finding Grace sitting down on the floor.

He pauses, looking at the frail-looking young girl.

“Grace…?”

Alexander steps into the room, a quizzical expression on his usually stoic face. She was friends with both Clara and Capella, so she could have been here visiting Capella while Clara was gone- but lately the Stamatins also had a habit of showing up whenever they pleased, and typically at odd hours, so there was no real way to guess why she had appeared here.

So he asks:

“Were you here on Capella’s behalf…? Or Peter’s? Does Peter- your father- know you’re here?”

Not that it would matter if he did or did not, if Peter felt the need to pay a visit to his house, he would just show up, regardless.

He takes his overcoat off and folds it over one of the chairs at the dining table, pausing momentarily, “Do I need to get you anything to eat or drink? Or did you need someone to take you home?”

@forgottengraves

[forgottengraves]

Grace is still sitting on the floor - Capella went down to the basement kitchen to put tea on the stove and, Grace thinks, have a moment to herself to think about what Katerina had told her. Katerina’s energy still wafts through the house with the leftover smell of her snuffed candle when the Governor comes through. 

“Hello Governor,” she says, waving at him from the floor. He asks if Peter knows she’s here, and she nods. “Yes I told him I was visiting Capella. No, I don’t need anything. Capella is making tea. Do you want tea? I have a message for you by the way. Not from Papa. You should probably sit down for it.” 

She’s been picking the wax drips off the side of the candle and warming them in her hands, rolling them into little balls. 

[forgottengraves]

earthmistress​:

Katerina looks to Grace and then to Capella expectantly.

“Can she see and hear me now?”

She moves to sit in an unoccupied chair. Sighing heavily. Capella and Grace can see that even with death, Katerina looks worn out and run ragged. The chronic use of morphine has shaped her appearance even in spirit. She does have an air of relief when she knows that she can still be heard.

“Hello again. I am sure you have as many questions as I have answers and information to give. My powers have not completely left me, so I am still able to do most of what I did in life. And the same goes for the other mistresses.”

At this she pauses. How much should she let them know at one time and should she let them ask questions first? She isn’t sure how long seances tended to last. That would be up to Grace.

“How much time to I have to speak with Capella?”

“I can hear you,” Capella answers. She looks between Katerina and Grace, frowning. Grace doesn’t immediately answer the question - she is focusing intensely, her hands cupping the flame like she’s trying to keep it from escaping. 

“Not too long,” Capella answers after a moment. “I don’t want her to overexert herself.”

“I’ve been working with Aspity,” Grace says after a moment, her voice distracted but not strained. “I know how to keep myself safer, so it doesn’t hurt me to talk. Not to just one spirit, anyway.”

Capella hums, contemplating, and nods. 

“Ten minutes? I still don’t want to put too much strain on you too soon. Tell me if you start to feel anything.” It is a tone that doesn’t leave much room for arguing, stated as fact, like a mistress. Grace nods, that’s fine to her. Capella turns back to Katerina, seeming to consider what she should say carefully. 

“...Katerina Saburova. I’m sure you probably never thought to see me living in your house, however temporary the set up may be. I am appreciative of your husband’s concern, even if I think he is being somewhat overly cautious. Still...” Her frown deepens. “...I wish I had gotten to have this conversation with you in life. I suppose that is on me as much as it is my mother. I never resented you. But I never truly sought to mend that injustice my mother did to you, shunning you as she did. And that is something I am not proud of. I apologize.” 

[forgottengraves]

earthmistress​:

Katerina knows that there are candles around somewhere. It would be nice to chat.

“Yes, I would like to speak with both of you. Someone should know what I have learned since I died. And what I have continued to do to protect Capella. I want her to know.”

Katerina motions to the other room where there is a place to sit and talk.

“I should have candles somewhere. Possibly in my room. You should check there. I don’t think Alexander has gone in there to take them.”

She glides into the next room where there is some seating and will wait patiently for Grace to get everything set up for a seance. She stands near the entryway to allow them the pick of seating first. Luckily, she hasn’t had to worry much about the pain of standing too long recently so its not a bother waiting like this.

“Capella, can you get candles? Katerina says there are some in her room..” Grace says, since she does not know where Katerina’s room is. Capella retrieves them quickly, seeming to teeter on the edge of excitement and trepidation behind her usual level demeanor. 

“You can hear her just as you hear me talking?” she asks, and Grace nods as she sets up. 

It takes several minutes, filled with loaded silence, as Grace stares into the open flame and invites Capella to do the same. Staring directly at the flickering lights makes her eyes burn and water, but Grace seems easily transfixed. After several minutes, she motions for Capella to look up, which she does. At first all she sees is the imprint of the flame on her vision, that she tries to clear by rubbing her eyes. The motion feels muted, slowed. When she opens them, she admittedly jumps. 

Katerina stands by the doorway, an afterimage dancing on her vision, watching them solemnly. 

[forgottengraves]

earthmistress​:

Katerina drifted around her home. She could tell that she was just a spirit but her powers allowed her to linger. The mistresses always took over their heir but she could not stand by that. She could never cause harm to Clara. Just given how her powers affected her, the morphine addiction getting worse as she took on more and more from Victoria and Nina dying. Trying to hold onto their powers. Just pain. For now she could keep an eye on Capella.  She had to make sure she would not suffer a similar fate to Maria.

A knock at the door. Someone had came to visit them. Her husband had already stepped out for the day. He spent a lot of time away. Always busy. Such was the norm. She could tell he didn’t want to linger too long each morning. Uneasiness and worry were plain as day on his face, especially to her.

She moved towards the entrance of the Rod to see who it was. Ah, Grace.

Capella had come to let her in. Hopefully, she came to help Capella. She would need more assistance as Katerina could only do so much against Victoria’s plot. Fortunately, Alexander insisted on Capella staying here. Away from her mother’s spirit. It would pain Katerina to see the power of the mistresses consume another.

Katerina could sense Grace looking in her direction. Did she know? Of course she would given things. Her gaze almost pierced through her form.

Capella looked around. There’s a chill in the air, but she’d just let the door open. She knew Grace’s gifts, gifts to talk to those who had passed. There’s only one person she can think of that might haunt the Rod. 

“Is it Katerina? Can you feel her?”

She seems a little more interested in it being Katerina than that there is a ghost nearby in general. It makes sense to Grace, a mistress should want to talk to another mistress. 

“Do you have candles? I could set up a seance... You do wish to speak to us, yes?” Grace directs the last question to Katerina.

[forgottengraves]

// @earthmistress w/ @mistresscapella

The ground is compacted with the hard freeze and smoke and steam billow out of roofs as Grace crunches her way over to the Rod, Capella’s new temporary place of residence. Capella lets her in quickly, chiding her gently for something or other in the way she is wont to do as self appointed Mother Superior. It’s just a simple visit - both of them operate on their own wavelengths, wavelengths separate from many others. They both awoke and felt the need to meet, and so they both found their way together. It was as simple and logical as that. 

Grace admittedly had never been in the Rod before. It was a quiet, unassuming place at first, but not as quiet as Peter’s loft, high in the air, away from the earth. Here the whispers were a little louder, though not many spirits congregated here. One spirit did remain, however. 

Katerina Saburova and Grace had never met, though she thinks she and Capella must have. Clara had also mentioned that Katerina had been interested in her in some respect, once. 

“Mmm... Capella can you feel that?”

[twyrine]

drawing with friends

[goddidntdothis]

Seeing double at the Broken Heart.

[soussune]

A warm dry hand seemed to have touched your forehead soothingly..

(this scenario is probably not that realistic, but i thought it was interesting to see daniil know a lot of people in marble nest…it’s fun to imagine either he knew them well before he got sick or those people are hanging around his bed and affecting his dreams, maybe) bonus

[antisocialxconstruct]

dialogue that makes you realize you’ve been playing the villain