not scared of the dark

cousin sokolov known as Lukyan Sokolov. Thirty-four. Werewolf. Retired and tired

[lukyan-sokolov]

@nikolai-sokolov​

Nikolai raises a brow at the snarky comment, obviously unamused. Lukyan is one of the few people who can actually get under his skin, and Nikolai does not relish that fact not even a bit. “I didn’t forget how to dress.” He growls. He stops himself mid-crossing his arms out of habit, as the right arm doesn’t move. Clicking his tongue, he moves away from the doorway and grabs a towel hanging on a chair. There are definitely more furniture and random items around the apartment, which is not Nikolai but Rafael. His boyfriend stays over frequently and demanded that he gets more towels and utensils. “So that’s what you want? A boring life where you get to sit back and watch all hell getting loose? You’re mental.” He scoffs as he wipes the sweat off of his face and tosses the towel into the hamper. At the mention of Rafael, he shoots a threatening glare. Obviously, he is not happy that Lukyan is all chummy with his boyfriend. “What I do with Rafael is none of your business.” He growls. “…and obviously I’m not going to a party in this.” On the table is a set of clothes he had picked out for after he takes a shower. A printed t-shirt with a random cat in sunglasses and cargo shorts, neatly folded and ready. “Since when did you give a shit about how I dress?” 

Luke grins, holding his hands up in mock surrender. See, he thinks he’s figured out how to read Nikolai’s moods and he hasn’t pissed him off enough to worry about a hit. He lets himself inside as Nikolai goes for a towel, his eyes swiveling over the place, taking in the lived in quality of it. “Are you leaving with Yuri?” he blurts out, fixing his gaze on his cousin’s back. A visible grimace crosses his face, annoyed at the worry in his voice, something only a fool could miss. “Dunno what I want, I haven’t thought that far ahead, I just think I deserve the chance to decide for myself. We deserve the chance to decide on our own.” Luke sighs, shaking his head, deciding to let the topic of Rafael shift away, even if he longs to prod him about it a little more. “Fine, I’ll just prod Rafael when I see him next, he wants to go to the gym sometime next-- God, what the fuck is that shirt?” he says, looking more amused than his words implied. “I give a shit because I reckon people know we’re related and my reputation takes a hit every time you walk around looking like garbage. Why are you wearing this, where’s your suit?” He almost asks if Nikolai wants to impress his boyfriend, but he thinks Nikolai wouldn’t like the comment - and also Rafael seems the type to prefer him with no clothes at all which is too gross to think, let alone say.

[lukyan-sokolov]

@nikolai-sokolov​

Nikolai makes a face that reads ‘oh, it’s you’ when he sees his cousin. He just grunts a response, not sure what they’ve got to talk about. He shifts his focus back to the snacks, shoving a cookie or two in his mouth. They didn’t let him have any sweets (aside from fruits) so he was compensating. “I could, but I reckon that’d piss off some people” he replies flatly, meaning Yuri and Rafael. He raises a brow at Lukyan. “That tends to happen when someone almost loses their arm.” They said it was unlikely that his right arm will ever be like it was before. He understands that, but only factually. The reality of it has not sunken its teeth on him yet… and Nikolai is not the kind of person who worries over things in advance. He makes plans, follows them until he has to chuck it out of the window. Nothing he can do about his arm for now, so no point in mulling over it. “They had to triple my dosage ‘cause it wasn’t working… so yeah. Kind of.” He wouldn’t say he is slurring his speech, pour his empty heart out high, but he does feel somewhat leisured. His eyes trail off to distance. The town and its buildings look like toys from up here, and the vast forest beyond is the serene wave of greens. It occurs to Nikolai that this is… probably the most peaceful he has been for the first time in months, or maybe in years. “…she’s really dead, huh.” He blurts out in Russian, looking back at his cousin. “Weird. I was certain that I’d be dead too by now.” Anastasiya Sokolova in his mind was… the unconquerable. As a child, Nikolai did not fear monsters under the bed or shadows of the basement. Stories, they were, and they can’t be scarier than what was real. He doesn’t know how it was for Lukyan, having Anastasiya as the mother. “How are you holding up?” he asks, looking up at his freshly-orphaned cousin. 

Who let his cousin have cookies? Luke doesn’t even remember if the hospital happens to have them, or if Nikolai just happened to steal the lunch from poor, dumb ass doctor. “It would, they happen to care about you, I’m not sure why yet, but I suppose there’s something agreeable about you,” he jokes, a little weakly. His eyes to his arm, a grimace on his face. No, he supposes that’s reason enough to pump his full of medicine. “No surprise there, medicine isn’t very strong on us, and you burn through things more than the rest of us. Your body is trying to kick your ass right now.” Luke cranes his head around, listening for the sound of anyone coming up the stairs. Nothing. He nudges a rock in the crack of the door, holding it propped open so no one can sneak up on them. Not ideal for this conversation, and he’s relived to have it in Russian, even as he winces at the reminder. “Yeah, yeah, she’s gone. Thought I’d feel a lot more free than I really am,” he murmurs, dragging a hand over his face, moving to sink against the wall. A nice shove will push him off the roof, but he gets the feeling Nikolai isn’t contemplating killing him. His lips quirk, amused at the notion of Nikolai dying, his cousin has always seemed too strong to die. Probably why the sight of his arm unnerves Luke. “Thought I’d have died, too, either because you decided I was too much of a security risk, or she found out what I was doing. Guess I can go burn that will of mine. Unless you’re feeling murderous?” He won’t regardless. He’s already seen life is too fond of throwing curve balls in his path.

[lukyan-sokolov]

@gemmasundara​

She had people to do the rounds for her, people she was meant to trust, but did she? That was an excellent way to set yourself up for disappointment, if not betrayal, and besides, it behooved her to get a good idea of how the maps they had been given matched the actual property. Gemma had some gripes about that, but they could wait until tomorrow. Right now she was raising an eyebrow at the question she’s being asked and smiling thinly at just who was asking it. She didn’t know this Luke Sokolov, of course, but she’d heard things. Did he get away with all this bullshit because he looked like that? Seemed likely. But he was smart enough that he was still standing, so that was respectable in its way. “How much money? Inquiring minds want to know.” She said, fingers closing her clutch after checking her knives were within. “Because I can get behind a couple hundred, maybe a thousand, but I heard they enchanted the hedges. I also heard the head of security is a real bitch, so I need numbers to see if it’s worth my time. Is it? More to the point, are you?”

 Luke didn’t his luck was shitty until he tried to strike a conversation with strangers at the gala and ended up with some of the worst possible combinations. “I don’t make uneducated bets, I’d have to look into what precautions they took on his maze of theirs. Saw someone walk away from it with a couple bruises after all,” he says with a careless shrug, shoulders leaning against one of the tree trunks shielding them from view. “Enchanted the hedges? Seems a bit extreme, it’s almost like someone died the last time we had one of these, but I’m not sure. The last gala was before my time after all.” Sarcasm is thick on his tongue, and he knows she doesn’t miss it, just like he knows insulting the head of security herself is a mistake. Oh, well, in for a penny, in for a pound, and he shrugs again, head tilted and a lopsided grin on his face. “Of course the head of security is a bitch, it’s the only way you get hired anywhere and I imagine she didn’t get where she is by being kind, did she?” he arches a brow at her, the sarcasm leaking from his tone by the end of it. No, he’s well aware who Gemma Sundara is, and he supposes there are worse persons to speak with at the gala. Not many, but still. “Am I person of authority? No, not me, I’m just some random bystander coming along for the ride, and hoping it’s a worthwhile one.”

[lukyan-sokolov]

@notleftalive​

Joseph had just gotten here, an hour after the gala had already started, and already he felt like he needed to have a pen and reporter’s notepad ready.

Maybe he would need it to be ready now. Some older man started mentioning something about a maze (interesting) and about the chance to light it on fire (weird), and he doesn’t seem intent on letting Joseph get a word in as he talks about his own loose regard for the law (suspicious) and this all being a hypothetical conversation (weird, again).

“What the fuck are you on?” Joseph asked, already itching to peer into the guy’s head, however messed up it was. “What’s all your shit about a fire? And why are you talking about the law, all the sudden?”

Oh, great, a lich, and Luke doesn’t know how he missed it until he peeks down at the flowers. The floral scent clings to the air, masking the smell of anything else, and he heaves a sigh. “Do you know Russian?” he wonders, thinking of white noise. He scratches his jaw, eyes narrowed on his face, trying to remember what he knows about liches. “And how long have you been dead? I need to know how much you’ll try to invade my privacy.” Blunt, but he doesn’t much mind, especially since the boy seems less than enthused by this conversation. Or maybe too enthused? Luke can’t tell.

“I’m not on anything, I’m trying to entertain myself,” he says with a laugh, a little more pleased at the question than he was initially. Entertainment is hard to come by at the gala. “This is Lethe, kid, it’s not weird to imagine something will go wrong, I’m just trying to make some cash on it. My savings are getting low - life, you know how it is. Or you did.”

[lukyan-sokolov]

@giltwain​

Gilroy doesn’t want to be here.

Normally, he’s very much the sort of ilk that likes to dress in his best and attend every fancy soiree if only to rub elbows with potential marks as any criminal worth his merit would. Now? Well, he’d much rather be in his sweats back at his apartment watching something noteworthy terrible on Netflix with a cold beer in hand. 

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

But, he’s got something of a professional responsibility to be here. And if that professional responsibility so happened to include an overindulgence on extravagant finger foods…well, it wasn’t like he was the only one. He kept to himself, well out of the way as a harmless nobody just as Gilroy Twain liked to be. Find a wall, put his back to it and mind his own business while taking in the sights was just about all he had planned for the evening.

Seems like he wasn’t the only one.

Champagne flute only half way to his lips, he brought out of his thoughts and back into the now by another passing well-dressed soul. He offers a small but polite smile by way of greeting and…decides not to comment on his words. Not outwardly anyway. Takes a sip of his drink for good measure. As if swallowing back whatever comments wanted to make themselves known “I can’t say I’ve looked at it myself but I did see the blue prints…so I guess it would give me something of a leg over the competition if it were to come down to it,” he says instead, as if such words didn’t paint him in a suspicious light “Not as though I’m a person of authority.”

He lifts his flute in something of an awkward little salute before downing the rest of the expensive, bubbly drink “But, if that’s your way of asking permission…” he trails off letting the delicate glass dangle loosely in his grip “I happen to know where the nearest person of authority is,” he offers another smile, so sparkling as to rival the beverage he just consumed “Are we to be at a standstill so soon after meeting?”

Luke waits for a comment, but this guy is the quiet sort and he resigns himself to getting no response at all. Not an ideal start to this gala. He’s not here to make friends, no, but some conversation would be welcome given he’s expecting it to be several hours before something interesting happens. “A man of many words, are you?” he remarks, not quite willing to give up, and breathes a sigh of relief as the man speaks.

His brows furrow, fully processing his words. “Wait, how on earth did you get the blueprints for this place? I’ve been looking for ages.” Okay, maybe not very hard. Luke dedicated an afternoon to it before calling it a draw, deciding he’s better off just winging it when he arrives. He considers the man for a long moment, wondering if he wants to press more, but decides to hold off on it. “Find anything interesting? Secret entrances? One of those hidden hallways where you peer through the eyes of a painting?”

He laughs, head tilting back in response to the salute. “No, you do not have the look of authority to you, or you are very good at hiding it.” Luke considers him a moment, lips still quirked with amusement. Does he want to go talk with a police officer? No, probably not, he hasn’t spoken with Hugh Stewart in a while and he isn’t sure whether their contract still stands. No, better not to speak with someone who might recognize his face. He raises his hands in mock surrender. “No need. I only speak to the police when I get a benefit from it, and getting questioned before the fun even starts is a great waste of my time. And yours considering I’ll get away before you find them.”

[lukyan-sokolov]

@aureliemeadowes​

“I would bet money that the culprit may be you.” Aurélie replies with perhaps too much levity, given the talk of arsonists and property damage and lives lost. But it’s good to see a friend, even one she was just gossiping about with his cousin mere days ago, and so she smiles. “Always have had a flare for the dramatic, hm?” Such was a common taunt from her during sparring sessions, given their different fighting styles, and it leads to a laugh that only grows more genuine at his rules. “Oh, I see. You simply want to be in the good graces of the police. How out of character. I will not partake in your bet, thank you.” She sighs at the mention of authority, shrugging. “They would like for it to be me, what with the new security the council seems to be hoping to put together. I have yet to give them a formal response – not certain if it is my ideal pastime.” Aurélie wheels back to her company then, raising a brow. “How have you been passing the time, Lukyan? I ran into your cousin only a few days ago – he did not seem to be in the best shape. Thoroughly irritated by me, but I have a feeling that is to be expected from him. He was hesitant about telling me any finer details.” A beat, and she shrugs. “I imagine you may be as well, which I do understand. I am only curious.”

"No, I am only a slight fool. The smallest spark here would light a fire if I were to do it - being a werewolf and all, I have already been questioned once, which is a shame because I have such a trustworthy face.” He gestures to his face which is scarred in several new places: his upper lip, the side of his jaw, one on his forehead beneath his hair line. Luke cracks a grin. “You have to be dramatic in my line of work, you need people to try and walk all over you. Just like people underestimate you at their own ruin.” She can break him with a single well-placed hit. Well, not that means much, he knows a determined duck can do the same to an extent. “Fine, fine, I will find someone else to amuse me. I am just trying to cover my bases for when things go south in a couple hours, especially if you decided not to take the helm on this. Surprised, don’t you miss the good ole days?” he questions, gaze turning a little more serious as he regards her. He doesn’t miss it, not really, but he does miss having a purpose. Luke’s lips purse, shrugging his shoulders. What did Nikolai tell her? “I didn’t know you and my cousin were friends, but I imagine, yeah, he isn’t the type to blurt out family secrets. Nor am I on most days. Tell me, have you ever lived under a shadow and then be freed of it? It always comes with a cost, but damn am I happy to have paid it. Sometimes.” Eh, more talkative than he prefers, and he visibly shakes his head. “Nothing fun, I assure you.”

[lukyan-sokolov]

@andre-marek​

Marek was less than enthusiastic about the gala. The last one he attended had been memorable, so to speak, and for all the wrong reasons. Yasemin had told him about the fact that this whole thing had been orchestrated as a way to lure in the arsonists, effectively making everyone here bait, so the fae couldn’t help but feel it was just a matter of time before chaos erupted. A usual, he carried his concealed electrokinetic blade hilt and he’d even smuggled into shiv blades strapped to his back, skillfully hidden beneath his shirt. The fae may not be anyone’s guard now, but he knew himself well enough to know he’d jump in when things got ugly, whether it was because old habits died hard or because it was just who he was and not a consequence of what he’d been. “I don’t think you have to worry about me setting anything on fire” he countered as she came to a halt, standing a few feet away from the Sokolov werewolf. He looked around, admiring the Antrim’s manor, less for aesthetic pleasure and more to better get acquainted with his surroundings, locating vantage points, possible quick exits. “And I suppose we can all count ourselves lucky that your bright ideas have never included fire” he said as he glanced in Luke’s direction. The fae didn’t dislike him even though there had been enough reasons for Marek to. He didn’t attribute the sins of his mother to him, even though that connection had been enough to make Marek wary at first, and he would of course never look past the fact that he’d once shot Katia. Ultimately he did think Luke’s heart was in the right place despite the mistakes from his past. Marek wasn’t clean of those either so he was in no position to judge others harshly because of them.

Uh oh, not the person Luke is hoping would be standing there when he turns around. The two of them aren’t friends, though Marek doesn’t seem likely to jump on him for the events of-- Wow, was it almost a year ago? His ribs are aching in protest, recalling the abuse they endeared from Katia’s lover, and he’s still waiting for Marek’s revenge. “I don’t dismiss anyone as a possible heavy hitter, anyone can do it if they are desperate enough. Fire not your style, is it?” he questions, turning slightly to keep Marek in his peripheral. Better, if he decides a year is long enough to prompt an answer. No matter how justified it was, he’ll look over his shoulder about shooting Katia for the rest of his life, if only because she’s clearly a fae turned werewolf with connections. “Fire is good for disposal and I have certainly used it to my advantage,” he corrects. “But, you’re right, my favorite plans don’t include fire. Too messy, too likely to burn you alongside everyone else, and werewolves burn as easily as fae do as it turns out.” Marek is surprisingly calm for the history between them. Sure, they don’t talk much, an acquaintanceship on the peripheral, drowned out by the loudness of the people they know. “What brings you out here? Exploring, or keeping an eye out? You’re dating the council lady... Nymph, I forget her name, Yasemin?”

[lukyan-sokolov]

@emira-birsen​

“Mhm…” A survivor. It’s been what she’s doing her whole life and it was all she’d ever known. It took everything she’s got to be where she’s at and having to share that with someone like Luke should help with putting her guard down. However, it seems like till this day she still had some things to work on seeing as she couldn’t bring herself to be 100% honest with him. “It’s worth a challenge if you and your cousins fail.” Nothing like a little murder for hire to do the trick. Her gaze became fixated on the scenery, avoiding any eye contact with the werewolf to prevent him from worrying. It’s all she seems to be doing, when it’s the last thing she wanted to do. “I know…” A wave of guilt consumed her as she understood he was trying to help her. “Sometimes it’s for the best to leave it at that…I just…” Her voice trailed off as she stood there with a troubled expression, especially since she knew she should be honest with him. 

Emira could feel Luke studying her and she finally looked over noticing the worry and concern he had for her. “I know…” she repeated again. Of course he didn’t buy it and she knew there was no use in denying at this point. It was either you were in or out in their world, backup was no such thing. She appeared in front of him, gently caressing his face more so for her comfort before she dropped her hand to hold it with his. “They know about us.” she finally admitted. Normally they say the truth will set you free, but in the vampire’s case she felt like complete shit. “And before you go and act all heroic and courageous on me, it’s not that…You’re leverage Luke—they finally have a hold on my weakness and it’s…I just need to stop them. And look, you have enough on your plate with your mother and whatever shit you need to do, to get to your after and I don’t want to be in the way of that with this menial issue.” She was underplaying the whole situation, but again, she loved him and didn’t want him to worry. A tiny part of her feel as if he was going to buy it, but somehow she already knew where this conversation was going to go. “Ultimately, I’m figuring out whether to break them or cut them off completely. Probably gonna go with the latter, but didn’t want to drag you down with it.” And by cut, she was most definitely going to kill them. 

His voice lowers, elbows resting on the balcony and gaze out on the horizon. “If my cousins and I fail, I will have bigger worries than what your coven can do to her. I hope you would also be busy, avenging me or mourning me, at least for a time, yeah?” This he turns his gaze back to her, lips turning up at the corners. Luke hasn’t thought too much about their future, only felt a deep-seated craving to experience it, and it occurs to him that someday they’ll be parted. Her eyes aren’t on him, looking elsewhere, seemingly lost in the storm of her own thoughts. Worry is still there, and his hands curl around the railing. Its creak under his touch and he has to sigh, letting go of it before he can break it. Her touch on his cheeks makes him sigh again, leaning into her touch. “How long have they known?” He wants to protest the heroics, but it doesn’t change the surge in his gut to telling him to take her hand and ask her to run with him. Run from all of this, how much easier it would be. It’s not heroic, or courageous, and he feels a bit like a coward for thinking it. Luke pulls away from her, running a hand over his face. “I don’t want to be a weakness to you, Emira, and keeping me in the dark is going to turn me into one. Don’t let me be a liability to you, I’m sure as fuck not worth it.”

Luke chews her words over in his head, arms crossing over his chest, studying her expression. “My mother has been an issue my entire life, I am capable of putting her aside to get the job done,” he points out after a long pause. “You aren’t dragging me into anything. I signed up for every part of this, the good and the bad, when I told you I loved you.” He waits a beat before his arms drop, his arms reaching out, attempting to pull her in close and tuck her beneath his chin. Last ditch effort. “You know these people best, if you think I can’t help you, I won’t, but you know what I can do. Use me, you point where and I’ll walk there. We’re a team, yeah? There’s no Luke without Emira.”

[lukyan-sokolov]

xwecpon‌:

nikolai-sokolov‌:

Something clicks within him in the heat of the battle, the sickening sense of detachment he was trained with kicking in. His mind latches onto a singular goal, and everything else fades. His body is nothing but a mechanism to follow through the order. When his tunnel vision locks on the target, he needs to consciously remind himself– an anchor, a sense of home, somewhere to crawl back when there is no more blood to be shed. To relearn how to be human. He thinks of Yuri, whose freedom he is fighting for. He thinks of Lukyan, and how his cousin gets under his skin. He thinks of the severe, starving nights where he just couldn’t give up fighting. He thinks of Rafael, the branding touch and in that warmth, he realized he could never go back. 

And once more, Nikolai finds his way back to himself after slaughtering dozens of lives. Covered in blood, both theirs and his own, he drops the man he was pummeling until the skull caved in. The corridor behind him is littered with death. To his front is his aunt. He spits blood on the floor, his glare never leaving her. Even without her subjects, Anastasiya Sokolova is the queen of the wolves. She has dropped her thin mask, and underneath are the eyes with the dark, voracious wells of void their bad blood shares. There is no word exchanged between them. They don’t have to. They already know the stark malice in their hearts. 

They draw almost simultaneously, Nikolai with an axe he grabbed from a dead man’s hand, Anastasiya with her concealed revolver. The silver bullets graze past him as he charges forward. Anastasiya pulls out her favorite silver knife. She jabs, and he steps aside and grabs her arm. Her leg strikes the back of his knee, taking away his balance before throwing a spin kick at his chest. He blocks it with his other arm and flips her. They each take a few steps back, gauging each other in silence.

From behind him, the familiar footstep approaches and Nikolai doesn’t need to look back to know his brother. “Where’s Lukyan?” he whispers, his eyes not leaving Anastasiya even for a second. “you’re faster than I am. You take the offense, I’ll be the defense.” He strategizes, standing a few steps forward to the left. This reminds him of the training sessions they had kids.

@xwecpon​ 

Riiiight, the plan. Did they ever stick to plans at this point? They weren’t ones to follow the rules anyone. Besides if their main goal was to kill Anya, wouldn’t it be best to exhaust any means necessary to end it once and for all? This was Yuri’s mentality at the moment, especially since years of torment and running away was so close to coming to an end. It was now or never at this point. “Fuck the plan!” he yelled out. His expression turned into a concerned one as he watched his cousin fight off his own pack. This was too real…Snapping out of his thoughts, he listened to Luke telling him to go ahead. “You’re insane! There’s still so many of th—” He felt a pang of pain behind him, an attempt from one of her aunt’s henchmen to bash his head, but clearly they weren’t able to reach. A few punches thrown and a mini brawl out, Yuri eventually grabbed and lifted them by the neck, gripping it tightly before knocking them out completely. Taking note of what his cousin said, the werewolf sighed in defeat and began to make his way towards the stairs. “Fine! And got it…Got it! You better hurry up, you’re slackin’ bro!” While he was heading up, he heard commotion behind him and noticed that Luke covering for him. A bloody grin crept onto his lips as he gave a shrug, “—Okay maybe a little, but still get your ass over to us!” 

With that being said, he rushed off and on the way, he decided to pick up a brass knuckles and a blade for his weapon of choice should he face combat. He tucks the blade away for emergency backup, but uses the brass knuckle as it was better to be safe than sorry. Noticing a trail of bodies, Yuri followed it as it led him to Nikolai and Anastasiya. This was it—it was what they’ve been waiting for their whole life. “He’s fucking slow…” he whispered back. A means to say that he was on the way. He kept his gaze on his aunt who reeked of death and destruction, a part of him would have feared her…But he told himself there was no use if he wanted this to be over. Nodding in response to his brother’s plan, Yuri remembered it was just like old times when they trained. 

Yuri ignored Anastasiya’s words, something along the lines of being foolish, bringing up his mother, how a waste of potential he was. He couldn’t afford to be distracted and so, he went ahead and made the first move. If he could keep Anya’s attention on him then either Nik and or Luke can finish her off. He approached her slowly and analyzed her movements, before dodging her silver blade and throwing in a punch to her abdomen with the brass knuckle. The impact was brief as she was able to move away on time and felt a burn as her blade briefly came in contact with his skin. Stepping away, he hisses in pain and decided to charge head on as she used his height to his advantage to tackle her and slam her wrists on the ground in order for her to let go of the blade. “Take it!” he yelled. He succeeds in getting that away from them, but felt her kneeing him deep and throwing him off of her with his strength. “Shit!”

@lukyan-sokolov​

The bodies lining the ground make him wince. He knows them. He’s sparred with them, killed with them. Hell, Luke thinks he had dinner with them and their family once upon a time. It makes his blood curdle to know he’s had a hand in sending them away, he’s always preferred the route of sniping to close combat for this reason. “Started without me, I see? Not like you to play with us, mother.” He looks away from them, settling a gaze on his mother, wiping a hand across his face to wipe away the blood clinging to his face. His wounds knit slowly, slowly, too many things at once to be much use. He and his mother lock gazes, but she doesn’t speak, and he cannot read the look in her eyes.

Nor does he try as Yuri charges into action, a move Luke knows will fail before he finishes it. His cousin surprises him, managing to tackle her to the ground. Luke shoots forward, snagging the blade off the ground and spinning out of reach as his mother flings Yuri off. Her eyes are narrowed, the first sign of annoyance. “It’s over,” he warns her, “You’ll run out of bullets before one of us hits the ground.” He doesn’t fancy one of those silver bullets catching him, he can still feel the sting of silver in his earlier wounds. A silver bullet in the right spot is a guaranteed death, and none of them are foolish enough to forget it. Just as his mother isn’t stupid enough to think bullets will kill them before one of them throws a weapon. For a second, Luke doesn’t know what’s going to happen, the room tense and quiet, balanced on a knife’s edge with one side being violence and one side being freedom. Which way do they fall?

His mother isn’t the type to sit down without a fight. No, Luke isn’t sure her endgame now, but he knows she has one, and locking eyes with her once more is a bit like staring into an abyss. Her eyes glint, lips quirking at the corners at him as if they are sharing a private joke. His own eyes widening in surprise, he reaches forward, attempting to jerk his cousins back several feet. “She’s changing, watch out!” he says, knife dropping to the ground, wincing as she tugs on the pack bonds he still loosely shares. She’s alpha for a reason, and small as their pack has become in the last few minutes with every death he and his cousins inflicted, and her change is faster than a normal wolves. Luke flinches, feeling the weakness as she steals from the pack, his hand presses against the wall. “Fuck.” He didn’t think she would take the risk.

@nikolai-sokolov​

[nikolai-sokolov]

Date: 30 May 2021 Time: 2:38 PM Location: Nikolai’s apartment

Nikolai stops mid pull-up when he hears a knock on his door. Rafi would have just let himself in (he disabled the bell on purpose when he first got the apartment), and… well, he doesn’t get many visitors. He drops from the bar and goes over to the door. He makes a quizzical face that reads ‘what the hell are you doing here’ as he opens the door to his cousin. “What?” He is reluctant to let Lukyan into his apartment, which is nothing new, but at least he doesn’t slam the door close to his cousin’s face– that is quite new. His eyes scan Lukyan up and down before he blurts out, “…you’re dressed up.” That is an understatement, especially compared to Nikolai in his sweaty shirts and shorts.

@lukyan-sokolov​

[lukyan-sokolov]

Why is Luke checking on his cousin before he heads to the gala? Because he’s a sucker who can’t help wanting some sort of friendship with this only decent relative of his. Regret is instantaneous, and he visibly cringes. Alright, he can work with this. “Do you forget how to dress yourself for events without someone here to hold your hand?” he comments with a snort, leaning his shoulder against the threshold, mentally calculating whether he accurately sized his cousin. “I am attending a gala and I like to blend in. Much easier to get a front row seat of things when it goes to hell, and I thought, hey, what a good description this is from the boring life I always wanted.” It’s nice to have options. Luke scans him over once more. “Have you decided to ditch Rafael and stay home then or are you going in looking like you’ve just left the gym?”

@nikolai-sokolov​

[emira-birsen]

*|| STARTER FOR: @lukyan-sokolov​

They cleaned up nicely for a couple that did a little murdering a few weeks ago. Blame their genetic makeup or the fact that they’ve done this countless times, but them dressed up made it seem like nothing had happened. Floofing up her gown, Emira made her way over to her boyfriend and greeted him with a look no short of adoration. “Hi handsome.” Snaking her arms around his neck, she pulls him down for a kiss, a little make out session that was uncalled for, but she blames the suit. After pulling away, she remained close and glanced up at Luke as she spoke, “Soooo…Are we actually sticking around here for the entirety of the event? Or?” 

[lukyan-sokolov]

No point in looking around for her, Luke knows she’ll have an easier time finding him than the other way around. “Hi beautiful,” he murmurs, laughing against her lips as she kisses him, resting his hands on her hips. Luke pulls back a few inches to look her over, grinning at her legs peeking out from the dress, unrestricted. He doesn’t complain, he quite likes the dress on her, but it amuses him. “Plan on kicking some asses while you’re here?” Luke teases. “I’m just here until something exciting happens, I don’t put on a suit for no reason. Definitely not for music from when Russia was still part of the USSR.”

[lukyan-sokolov]

Date: 30 May 2021 Location: the gardens @ the gala Time: 3:55PM Status: open!

He’s not lost, but it’s the first thing he’ll say if anyone asks him why he’s wandering around. Mostly he’s trying to get a scope of the manor, trying to find  a place easiest to watch people and parking himself there when the inevitable madness starts later. “Did you know there’s a maze? Do you want to bet money on it that someone lights it on fire before the night is over?” he questions the first person he spots. Getting the first punch in is very important, but mostly Luke is bored of listening to the mindless prattle of people preparing for the evening to come. “If you light it yourself, or encourage it, you forfeit. Then I will forget my loose regard for the law and tell the nearest person of authority. Hopefully that isn’t you, if so this a hypothetical conversation.”

[lukyan-sokolov]

Lukyan Sokolov + the 2021 Spring Equinox Gala

[lukyan-sokolov]

xwecpon‌:

nikolai-sokolov‌:

Nikolai watches in silence, watching Yuri and Lukyan barking at each other. He checks the chain tying his hands behind. It should be loose enough for him to unshackle himself. Even though his system has flushed most of the drug out, he is not in his best condition. He counts the guards in and outside this room. They are greatly outnumbered, even with the element of surprise. If it were just him, he would have gladly taken that chance, however slim. But with Yuri on the line, he can’t risk it. Killing Anastasiya is not the goal itself. Nikolai is here to take back what was rightfully his brother’s– some semblance of peace and normalcy in life. 

“You two have spent too much time away from the family. That vulgar mouth of yours simply won’t do, darling.” Anastasiya laughs as she crosses her arms across the chest. Her gaze sets on Yuri, the knife on the floor and then on Lukyan, wearing that unreadable smile of hers. Sighing dramatically, she rests her hand on her cheek. “When will you children ever learn? I only want what’s best for you– but if you are so adamant and refuse to come back home, my hands are tied.” 

At Lukyan’s signal, Nikolai crooks the end of his lips to bare the fangs. His eyes meet with Yuri’s for a split second, and he frees his left arm from the shackle. Before the guard nearest to him could react, he grabs their neck and snaps it in one fluid motion. The chain still wrapped around his right arm rattles. “…man, you talk too much,” he sighs at Anastasiya. The tension in the room snaps. The gunshots echo, the scent of blood burns in the air. Nikolai sees Anastasiya as the guards swarm around to protect her– her smile has not faded, her cold, unfathomable eyes fixed on Lukyan. Her lips move, whispering something.

Nikolai’s attention shifts to the knife on the floor. He dives to the floor and grabs it. He whips the chain at a soldier who was about to open fire, slamming it against the legs. Nikolai then drives the knife down, impaling the foot to the floor, and punches the man in the throat as he gets up. He yanks the chain off the arm and glances over at Yuri and Lukyan. He only has a fleeting second to mouth– don’t do anything stupid, before picking up the gun and fighting his way through the staircase.

@xwecpon​

The way the pack sees it, Yuri is the weakest link. They assume that he doesn’t have it in him the way that his brother and cousin does. However, what they don’t realize was that his hatred towards them and his family fueled stronger than ever. Therefore, he’d do anything to end it. However, that didn’t mean he had to be so out of character and so he took the insults and simply glared at Lukyan as he spoke. If he had dared him to do anything to him then for sure Anastasiya would have asked or a front row seat to it. It was all about remaining the way he was—weak and the epitome of what they thought his mother, Yekaterina, would be (they were oh so wrong). 

 “This isn’t my family.” he deadpanned, no longer showing any signs of emotion. “Kolya is my only family.” Because it was always those two till the very end right? And from there he waits, because at any given moment shit was going to go down. He remained attentive and made note of his surroundings. He refused to fuck this up as they all got one chance at this. He could only hope that this would be their only chance at succeeding. “You only want what’s best for yourself old hag.” Yuri muttered under his breath. and before he knew it the signal was done and off to the races they go. 

Without a second to spare, Yuri ducked and elbowed the man with the gun behind him, before reaching for his wrist and breaking it. Because he was built and taller, he used his strength to aim the gun at them before pulling the trigger for a headshot. With the adrenaline he was feeling, he helped Luke with the rest of Anya’s henchmen by fighting them off. When he locked his gaze on Nik, he frowned and noticed the direction he took off. “Yo we gotta follow him! He’s not fucking thinking again!!!!” A stab here, a bullet there, Yuri’s anger was boiling at that point as it became his fuel to do the damage. He takes a gun and begins shooting at the men by the staircase, covering his brother, but also trying to make way for him and Luke as they made their way in that direction. 

@lukyan-sokolov​

The other men are easy enough. For all his mother’s abilities, she’s predictable in the ways that matter, and a quarter of their guns are missing a part when the henchmen go to unload. Disposing of them is child’s play, even if he and Yuri haven’t yet fought together, not since they were younger. “What? What about the plan?” Well, at least this is... almost expected. Their plan is already a little messier than he prefers. His mother took her time, toying with the brothers, and their plan is contingencies on top of contingencies. “Go, I’ll catch up, you both have worked with each other more,” he says, twisting the arm of one of the henchman and jerking him in front as a shield to march closer to the stair as Yuri opens fire on the ones on the steps. Closer, and he shoves the henchman in, flying up the stairs to help clear a path for Yuri. He jerks his head at his cousin, feeling a blade slicing across his arm before he disarms it, hissing at the slow numbness creeping through his limb. “Go on, if she makes it out of here, we’re fucked. Don’t let them lead you into the outer rooms, they’ve got traps up and down the corridor just for you.” 

He wants this over, he wants this done, and yet his eyes lift to his mother’s for just a moment. Her whisper is lost among the chaos, but her gaze is knowing. Too much so for his comfort, and his lips curl into a scowl. “I choose them, I choose me,” he says aloud, knowing she can’t hear him. Her smile widens a fraction, eyes glinting and a murmur he can’t catch before she disappears, footsteps running after her. She’s protected, but... No, he knows it won’t be for long, he knows they are leaving here without her hanging over them or not at all. He isn’t sure where Yuri and Nikolai are for a moment and an elbow slams into his side, sending him careening into the railing. The butt of a gun catches his face before he can dodge, stars bursting behind his eyes. “Fuck, fuck.” Luke blindly flings a hand forward through watering eyes. He catches a sleeve, and then a wrist, and snaps it before yanking the man closer to punch, letting him fall to the heap on the stairs.

It’s blissfully silent now with the people in this room disposed, but he has no time to enjoy it before gunfire echoes from the doorway where his mother and cousins disappeared through. Luke wipes his face, taking the steps two at a time. The wound on his lip isn’t healing, his body busy with whatever coated the knife to catch him earlier, but he ignores it in favor of catching up. A line of bodies marks the path and he picks up speed, only pausing to swipe a gun from a body on the floor. He catches them further down and burst into the room, taking a shot at one of the wolves attempting to sneak up on his cousin. “Got your back,” he says with a grin, less charming with the blood coating his face.

@nikolai-sokolov​

[nikolai-sokolov]

Date: 15 May 2021 Time: 11:14 AM Location: the rooftop of Lethe General Hospital

Nikolai is, in a manner of speaking, hiding. In a hospital gown and his right arm carefully held in a sling, he sits on the corner of the rooftop, behind an AC unit, munching on a bag of cookies and candies. He is supposed to be on bed rest, but it’s been a month. Aside from his arm, which they say that it’s a miracle that he didn’t lose it entirely, he has recovered enough to be up and about. But everyone– his brother, Rafael, and his doctor– is absolutely against his discharge. It’s not like he doesn’t appreciate their unnecessary concern. He is just restless and honestly needs some time alone. So in his passive-aggressive protest, he sneaked out of the room to get some air. He technically is within the bound of hospital, even though the rooftop was locked so he had to pick it with some surgery tools he borrowed.

Even though he feels like his little escape is justified, he flinches when he hears the door open. As the footsteps get closer, he murmurs “…they need a better lock on that door if they wanna keep people out.”

[lukyan-sokolov]

The rest might question where Nikolai has gone, but Luke picks two guesses. First one is wrong, and he supposes the basement is a poor choice. Second one grants him a familiar scent, one he follows to the roof. "Hey, man, I'm not hospital security or a doctor, it makes no difference to me whether we talk inside or on the roof," he answers, a little miffed that the creaking door ruins any attempt at walking in and situating himself. Luke approaches, but keeps several feet away, hands in his pockets. Compared to Nikolai, the only noticeable sign of his injuries is the scar on his upper lip and the limp in his leg that's getting better by the day. "Surprised you haven't let yourself out of here, cousin. Relieved you aren't out there yet, you almost look human standing here in your hospital gown." Easier to handle him with humor as a distance, but he doubts Nikolai has missed the way his gaze scans the roof for exits. He's just sweeped the roof and dubbed the height too far for jumping when his eyes land on Nikolai again. The sling brings him to a pause, as it always does when he imagines his cousin's injury. "How hopped on medicine do they have you for now?"

[lukyan-sokolov]

@emira-birsen​

“Good.” At least Luke got rest, out of the two he would need it most considering it wouldn’t make a difference if she did, especially since she was already physically dead. Emira then pressed her lips into a thin line and sighed, in fact she was going to argue with him on it until she felt him touch her cheek out of affection. This calmed her down as she just stared at him, the kind of look that meant that she was going to let it go for now. 

Arching a brow, she waited for him to finish. His ‘after’ was up in the air and she could feel the exhaustion that she hugged him some more while rubbing his back for comfort. “Just not enough.” she declared at first. “You wouldn’t be Lukyan Sokolov with the overthinking dear.” She then leaned up for another kiss before pulling away and moved some strands of hair away from her face before saying, “You’ll figure it out.” On the topic of her coven, it did make her blood boil and so as a means to cool herself off she walked towards the balcony and leaned against it as she watched the Seattle scenery. “They’re a league of assassins from all walks of life, what did you expect? I’m pretty sure they could annihilate your mother if they could.” 

Emira was avoiding the subject, especially since this was because of him. The reason was him. They knew Luke was her weakness and were using that as leverage against her. “Unfinished business.” she lied and faked a cunning smile. “It would be best if you…were just backup. Stay here for a bit, while I go catch up on my old friends and then I’ll give you a call and let you know when to step in.” Maybe the how many-th time of convincing him may do the trick? 

Something is eating her. He can see it in the impatience, in the way her emotions seem to sway on a knife’s edge waiting for a reason to change. It worries Luke, long after his touch seems to soothe it. “Overthinking is a very useful trait in my line of work, we aren’t all blessed with the same...” He doesn’t know the word, not in English, and shrugs. In the same way his touch soothed her, the strength in her hug made him smile. It amuses him how she can lift him without effort or hesitation. “The same ability to survive against the odds as you do. You’re a survivor, Emira.” He doesn’t know what he is, but he’ll try to be the same.

Emira moves to the balcony, and Luke stays in place, watching her back with a fissure of worry. “My mother is a cockroach, so I don’t know if it would be so easy, but if anyone can try, it’s your coven,” he says, shrugging, because he hasn’t met them enough to know everything. It’s the one thing he and Emira don’t really discuss. Luke frowns, finally stepping over to the balcony and leaning his elbow on the edges of it nearly a foot away from her. “I don’t know what to expect from your coven, you are quiet about them beyond the basics. The only thing I know is they are a part of your life.” Sometimes, he doesn’t even know if she really likes their presence, or whether she’s as lost without them as he is without his mother to run from.

He arches a brow. “Unfinished business has you tied in a knot?” he asks, somewhat disbelieving, studying her out of the corner of his eye. It seems easier to have this conversation without looking at her, well aware of how easily he’ll crack to her expression. Luke heaves a sigh. “You know there’s next to nothing I would deny you,” he starts, at once unsure of how to venture on, but he knows he trusts her. Trusts her to know her limits, and handle her business without a paranoid wolf butting in. Luke finally looks at her, expressing the worry that he’s, until that point, masked with humor. The distance remains. “Is that what you really want? You know as well as I do there’s no such thing as backup in our world.”

[nikolai-sokolov]

Date: 7 April 2021 Time: 10:27 PM Location: Anastasiya Sokolova’s Base

Nikolai jolts and resurfaces as the door opens with a screeching creak. He had a dream– several, actually. Some were twisted nonsense, some were memories. He rarely dreams, so the drug must have fucked with his head. Anastasiya didn’t think the silver chains and reinforced cell were enough to contain him. After every night of torture, she would put him down with a syringe full of sedative. Granted, he has had a better week. It takes him a moment to register his cousin standing in front of him. His ears perk up as he counts several soldiers outside the door as well. He exchanges a look with Lukyan, trying to check if it was time. Lukyan pulls him up, which Nikolai interprets as ‘yes’ to his unspoken question, and walks him to a large chamber. On the south side of the wall is a staircase and raised platform, which seems to be connected to the upper floor. Anastasiya Sokolova is leaning against the railing, looking over the entire room. On the other side of the chamber by the door is Yuri held at gunpoints by fully armed guards. “Hey, little brother.” Nikolai says with a hoarse chuckle, hoping his brother can read the look of assurance that he is alright, and everything is according to the plan– play along until Lukyan gives a queue, use the hidden weapons in the room and focus on killing Anastasiya.

Anastasiya puts up a biting smile, “I see you’re still up and about, Kolya. Perhaps I should’ve upped your dosage… And Yuri, not even a flower for your aunt?” She scolds Yuri as if this was an ordinary family gettogether. She turns to Lukyan and orders, “Lukyan, be a darling and search him. You know how cheeky he is. Maybe he is hiding a gift under that jacket.”

@xwecpon​ @lukyan-sokolov​

[xwecpon]

This was long overdue, in fact going into this plan sounded great at the time. However, seeing it all go down in action, Yuri was beginning to think it was a mistake. This was maybe his fear talking, especially since he was determined in ending this family affair once and for all. His life was slowly reaching a point where he looked forward to the next day. However, the only obstacle in his way was his aunt. To have to face her today in hopes of killing her brought nothing, but anxiety to the youngest Sokolov. This had to work or the three of them were dead men.

It took a lot for him to leave Katia, but he advised her that it would be best not to stay in the cabin alone and bunk with her sister. Her roommate was of lamia royalty anyways, so what would a few werewolves do up against that man? Let alone her sister, who was a child to skillful guards who overlooked fae royalty. At least she was in good hands and that’s all that mattered to him. 

God he wishes he was with her right now though. 

Feeling the tip of the gun barrel at the back of his head, Yuri clenched his jaw as he caught sight of his brother looking like complete shit. The fact that he had the audacity to greet him, only caused the werewolf to struggle under the grasp as he shook his head in disappointment. It wasn’t until his aunt spoke that he looked up at her and barked in their native tongue, “Fuck you, you old hag. Why don’t you come closer so you can fucking see what I have for you.” God he really wanted to slit her throat right then and there, but that would be too fucking easy. Glaring at Luke, he kept up the charades and even spat at him for a nice touch. 

@lukyan-sokolov​

[lukyan-sokolov]

His mother enjoys a show and tonight, they all have parts to play if they want things to go off without a hitch. Luke considers it lucky they’ve even gotten this far, dispassionate as he drags his cousin into the chambers. He lets the variety of plans fade to the back of his mind, inwardly pleased at Nikolai’s words though he rolls his eyes and shakes his shoulder as expected of him. “Shut up. Wow, I’ve waited a long time to say that, cousin.” This is no hard feat for him, Luke finds it easy to slip into the role his mother requires of him. She wants him to hate the months of undercover work, not realizing it was the only gift she had ever given him. Luke shoves Nikolai away from him, heading straight for Yuri. “I would be quite willing to cut your tongue out for the insults, cousin,” he offered with feigned amusement.

Luke pats his cousin down, ignoring the majority of the hidden weapons. Instead, he grasps a knife, one he doubts Yuri will miss, and yanks it out, tossing it on the floor and kicking it across the room. If it happens to land near Nikolai, well, none of them look at it twice given his cousin’s disposition and the armed guards in the room. Yuri spits at him, and he narrows his eyes. “Have you no manners at all still? I was hoping there’d be no hard feelings on this, you have an obligation to the family, too.” Luke lifts his eyes to his mother and inclines his head. “Shitty gift, but clean now. Well, in so much as someone like him can be.” His mother ignores his words, as if she expects no less, as if he no longer requires her attention when he’s following her orders. Its what makes this plan so easy, really.

Luke lets the armed guard return to Yuri, sliding to stand at his other side, as if to await further orders without letting either of his cousin’s out of his sight. In truth, he’s in position to yank the gun from Yuri’s head, and he makes eye contact with Nik as his mother, mid-monologue, strides into position. He nods his head.

@nikolai-sokolov​