timestamp : morning , — of december 1920 . location : the stables tagging : @pakhans
the candles had been new , or just about , last night . nikolai had only changed them out recently , which is why when he woke to see that they had burned completely — wax now frozen in place had reached out desperately towards the ground , as if trying to escape , but the fire lost fuel before it could make it — , nikolai knew that vladimir had not come home last night . the one before that had been expected , nikolai having been informed that something would keep his brother , and he asked someone else within the house to make sure the candles were extinguished . but he should have been home last night . a unfortunate , familiar grasp seized his chest .
it felt childish , the way he shyed from dark spaces despite being mostly shadow himself , and even more so the request that someone else blow out the candles for he could not sleep without them still burning . yet , now it had another use besides comfort : an alarm system , alerting him that the house was empty , cold , and lonely , in a way it should not be . he began whispering prayers , more like pleas , that vova had simply forgotten , that he was safe and nothing had happened to him . wolf pup tries to prowl the estate , room by room , but if any soul was watching they might notice that proverbial tails were tucked , ears back .
the stable . he has to be at the stable . prayer robe is in his hands now , trying to focus on the heart prayer to calm his own — it’s racing faster than any of their mares could dream to . he turns the corner and a ragged breath is let out , one he was unaware he had been holding , when he sees his brother with one of the animals he loved so much . ‘ where have you been , vova ? ’ he asks , slowly moving closer , not wanting to startle either , his voice mixed between relief and anxiety , love and anger .
𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝚁 𝙼𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝙾𝙽 , leaving its soldiers stripped bare in mass graves. &. when combative campaign turned vladimir loose, he learned that shadows scream. that sometimes, to survive, you’ve got to kill your mind : spin the chamber / shut your eyes / pull the god damn trigger. &. hope that what nerve you’ve got left out - haunts the ghosts already hollowing your bones. the opium did that, when it had to. when time blurred, a narcotized haze would lure him toward lands of obscurity, sending oppressive recollection into exile.
days were lost within dismal flat, single chamber contaminated by industrial fumes wafting through splintered window. a property off the books, pakhan spent hours ‘pon broken bed, body seeped in sweat. if it wasn’t fever dreams, it was the descent into hell / coming down from the high. &. come time to breathe new life, traumatized timepiece left him an eventide overdue. with or without him, as commanded by alpha’s maw, the volki would hunt till final enemy fell. but with nikolai, it was hard to tell.
automobile deserted to winding drive, and refusing to ring a driver, vlad began the listless trek home. it was mere seconds compared to the beginning : the bullet - riddled miles between ostrava &. moscow, adolescence stalked &. bleeding out with nik clinging to his back. it had been the end of innocence, where he had decided to be the actor starring in your bad dreams. &. if he didn’t make it, he would take the world with him. he would take everything.
gloved digits skim velvet muzzle &. stroke muscular neck, sincere affections repaid with muted nickers. pink nostrils puff out hot air, cranium swung ‘round to press against opposite forehead, nudge suited silhouette. but like the maturing mare’s master, ears prick, spacious warmth marred by a colder presence. with a final pat, the wolf pulls back. ❛ business , 𝐤𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐚 . ❜ the personal sort. elder brother steps forth, smile light but easy, rekindled into something he hopes untucks the pup’s tail. ❛ i said i’d never leave you . ❜ like before, the gaping jaws of mortar scorched land close in, and surviving kin are reunited. he reaches, enclosing nikolai’s shoulder within reassuring grasp. ❛ i’ve yet to break my word , da ? ❜