InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Soft kitty, warm kitty..."

Anatoly Sergievsky is a doctor not a chess player (haventwonatall) wrote in valarlogs,
@ 2015-06-07 02:26:00

Entry tags:

!complete, anatoly sergievsky, svetlana sergievskaya

Who: Svetlana, Anatoly and brief appearance by NPC!Dmitri
What: Svetlana's been oddly absent the past couple days. Anatoly is worried so he goes to investigate.
When: Saturday evening
Where: Svetlana's place
Warnings: Some language
Status: Complete!

Well, to say Anatoly was getting his worry on was putting it mildly. Svetlana hadn't been around the past couple days, sending other people to appointments that she would normally be at, things like that. Most people would probably think she'd simply gotten sick and was taking a couple days off to rest. But Anatoly knew better. Or well he knew Svetlana better than that, anyway. She would never let a cold or something keep her from being at those appointments. She was too devoted to helping those girls to have someone else be there.

So he'd tried to do some work to distract himself, thinking maybe she'd show up. But, of course, that didn't work because he knew what Svetlana did was sometimes very high risk. Especially when the sex traffickers would get angry about their "products" being taken from them. So of course he started thinking the worst had happened. That maybe Svetlana was being hurt or potentially being sex trafficked herself. Which, okay, some part of him probably knew Svetlana wouldn't let that happen to her, that she'd probably rather die first. Which, of course, only led to him thinking she was dead somewhere. Which, of course, made him worry all the more.

Finally he couldn't stand it anymore so he did the most logical thing he could think of: he went over to Svetlana's place. Because using the phone and calling her clearly wasn't enough at the moment. Or else that thought hadn't even crossed his mind. So. Going to Svetlana's it was because he needed to see for himself that she was alright, that she hadn't been taken by criminals and left for dead somewhere. Or worse.

So upon getting to Svetlana's, from the outside things looked normal. There weren't any apparently signs of forced entry like some muscle men broke in to either hurt her or kidnap her. That was definitely a good sign, right? Right. So he went to the door and knocked. Then and only then did he remember his dreams, and he had a feeling Svetlana was going to shank him something fierce on sight. Depending upon how far she'd gotten. But she'd have to be okay to be able to shank him. So maybe being shanked wouldn't be so bad because it meant Svetlana was okay.

Yes, Anatoly clearly had excellent rationale sometimes.

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thegirlisme
2015-06-07 07:34 am UTC (link)

Dreams were currently the furthest thing from Svetlana's mind. Oh, she'd had a few more, being a defector's wife in the Soviet Union was not a pleasant experience and would be something to deal with later. Right now, the blonde's attention was solely on her brother. Ever since the soulless harpy had shown up, Svetlana had been worried. It was a long and complicated history with one Stahma Tarr. Especially with Dmitri in Orange County as well given he'd been her bait and manipulated to get Erik to leave... and well... It wasn't until after the benefit gala she'd spoken out on Wednesday that she'd found him and brought him back to her apartment.

Three days. She'd been taking care of Dmitri for three days, and he finally didn't look like complete death. He was eating, sparingly but eating, and she was able to keep him hydrated. At present, he was asleep as far as she knew and so Svetlana had first done a quick skim of the network to make sure nothing major happened and then was setting up a Skype call with Mikhail when she heard a knock at the door. Blinking, as well as worried that one of her girls needed her, the blonde went to the door and opened it.

To see Anatoly there.

And just like that, the rush of dreams that she wasn't thinking about came back at her. Not just the acknowledgement of his infidelity, or the growing fights and how he hadn't been there for her when her brother died... but that he had defected for a woman. That she was left to deal with that stigma. That, on top of her already being exhausted and worried had her defences high and eyes guarded.

"I'm beginning to believe you've never heard of a phone. What is it, Anatoly?"

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haventwonatall
2015-06-16 06:29 am UTC (link)

What he'd see upon Svetlana answering hadn't really crossed his mind. Apart from potentially being punched or something of the sort. It was the least he deserved. Dream self, he mentally corrected. Sometimes it was difficult to look at the dreams and not feel like he himself had done everything he saw in them. Despite the fact that in the waking world, he and Svetlana weren't even together. Yes, he sometimes questioned why she put up with him because he was awkward and weird and he knew it, but he hadn't exactly asked her why she put up with him.

So when she did open the door, Anatoly almost expected her to punch him. Which it did look like she would punch someone if given the opportunity. However, he was grateful that she didn't physically hit him. He could deal with the words. In his awkward manner, of course.

"Oh. Uh. Yes. Sorry." Anatoly suddenly felt like he had the fear of God in him. Which, well, he probably should given he was standing in front of Svetlana on her doorstep when a phone call really would have sufficed. And also saved him if she ended up deciding she did want to hit him. "I'm sorry to bother you, but you hadn't been at some appointments the past couple days you otherwise would not normally miss and I was worried."

Worried something bad had happened. Because his mind always ultimately jumped to the worst possible scenario. But it was obvious that he was worried about her. Perhaps the worry was misplaced, perhaps it wasn't, but it was genuine.

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thegirlisme
2015-06-17 03:03 am UTC (link)

There certainly was a part of Svetlana that wanted to punch Anatoly for just showing up unannounced, but she had long since mastered the art of self control. It simply was in the clipped tone and general body posture that showed she really wasn't thrilled by this development. The fact that they weren't even together was irrelevant. It shouldn't be, but it was, if only because Svetlana did trust Anatoly in her own way, and to her it was just showing her what a fool she was to believe in people. Awkward and weird was certainly preferential to pride, cheating and lies.

Too late now.

And... that was why he was here? Because she'd missed appointments? Yes, it wasn't like her. She took her job seriously, she was there for the girls and did everything she could to make them feel comfortable. But Dmitri had needed her.

"You just don't give up..."

It really was more a resigned statement of fact. Before she had told him he gave up too easily, and deep down she knew that it was good that there was someone who would notice if something was wrong given how much Svetlana internalised, but it didn't mean she had to like it now. And she also knew it was pointless to send him away, so she just stepped aside to let him in.

The apartment was organised, but it was clear she wasn't staying there alone at the moment, Dmitri's jacket on the coat rack. Once Anatoly was in the apartment, Svetlana did a quick scan, just to make sure no one was watching (one couldn't be too careful and the paranoia seemed to continue to mount with the dreams... and now Stahma...) and closed the door.

"I've been looking after Dmitri. Who is theoretically resting right now."

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haventwonatall
2015-06-25 09:15 am UTC (link)

Perhaps next time Anatoly would actually think before acting. A phone call may have gotten the same reaction he currently got, but a phone call might at least not irk Svetlana as much as his current showing up unannounced did. And oh he could tell she wasn't happy about it. Which just put him even more on edge for fear of treading too much on where he wasn't wanted. There was also the fact he just was socially awkward and didn't like upsetting people if he could help it.

Yes, he sometimes gave up too easily out of not wanting to bother people or rub them the wrong way. But Svetlana was different. He wanted to not give up. Though with how his dreams had turned, he did wonder if she'd write him off completely because his dream self was an asshole. Really, he wouldn't blame her if she did. His dream self had no redeeming qualities any longer, and Anatoly really wished he hadn't started dreaming in the first place.

Upon being let in, he moved inside. He noted Dmitri's jacket, but he didn't say anything on that. In fact, he didn't actually say anything until after Svetlana mentioned Dmitri. And, well, that made Anatoly all the more concerned.

"Is Dmitri ill?" That was the first thing that jumped into his mind. Either Dmitri was sick or somehow injured. Even though he couldn't guess at the real cause of it, it did make sense for an illness or injury to result in Svetlana taking care of her brother. And he had no reason to think there was another cause for Dmitri being here. At least not yet, anyway.

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thegirlisme
2015-06-25 04:13 pm UTC (link)

Svetlana hadn't made any decision one way or the other about writing Anatoly off. She had let him into her apartment though despite what she had dreamt of him doing, so that was... something. Subconscious, but something. It was complicated and confusing and honestly, there was enough going on that she didn't need to think too mud about the dreams. They already had her more paranoid, now Stahma was here. Which was just... great. Really great.

"In a way." How to explain what was going on, because really, Svetlana didn't know what to say as it wasn't her place to do so. "A cuchka derganaya from our past has shown up. Think Katya, but more focused and meticulous."

Yes, she did just call someone a crazy bitch in Russian, what of it? Admittedly it seemed she was sticking to English, as if it were a barrier as well. Even if she wasn't as comfortable in it, she was still guarding her heart. To speak Russian was too intimate, especially right now with what had been dreamt.

"Her family and mine have a sordid past.. Back to the Grandfather plot. She couldn't break Erik, so she went after Dmitri." Once she had failed getting Mikhail to pay any attention to her.

"Doesn't matter because now Erik's dead. Because of me. That Pizda na palochke."

And so entered Dmitri who really did look like he'd been to hell and back, his voice completely hollow, which he had from his spiral. And using a much more vulgar insult than Svetlana had, but he had his reasons. Sighing, the blond moved out of the kitchen, switching back to Russian.

"Dmitri, you should be resting. Please."

Not that he heard her, instead just going for vodka as Svetlana closed her eyes and took a breath before removing it from his grasp and setting a look on her brother. She needed Mikhail here. He could help. With it seeming that Dmitri relented that he wasn't getting anything other than water, he just nodded numbly at Anatoly before heading back to the room, leaving Svetlana to deal with the unannounced guest on her own.

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haventwonatall
2015-06-28 08:00 am UTC (link)

Anatoly was also content to not think about the dreams right now. Not in detail anyway. Besides, it was more than obvious that there were other far more pressing matters than discussing dreams. After all, the dreams, while upsetting, certainly paled in comparison to a real life family emergency. Dream life aside, this Anatoly hadn't done what his dream self had. Yes he hadn't picked up a phone when he should have, but that was a far, far different transgression than defecting to England with another woman. And in a way, Anatoly was struggling to try and understand his dream self's motivations, but he as of yet couldn't.

So instead he focused on Svetlana, on what she said. And, well, he was shocked to hear the Russian words because he couldn't recall a single time when he'd heard Svetlana say anything so blatantly bad about anyone. Though the comparison to Katya? It certainly made sense. Katya had been more than a piece of work after all. So to hear someone was here in Orange County who was worse than that? It was distressing. Especially now knowing there was bad blood between the families to that extent.

Anatoly frowned slightly at the thought someone like that was here and clearly still having an effect on Dmitri and Svetlana. Did she have ulterior motives currently? Anatoly wouldn't put it past her by any stretch of the imagination. He didn't need to know her beyond the Katya comparison to know it was a possibility.

When Dmitri came out, it was more than a little shocking to see the state he was in, the hollowness of his voice. Dmitri was always so full of vigor that to see him like this only spoke to how much damage had been done to him and his entire family by this woman. Once Dmitri was gone, Anatoly looked at Svetlana.

"Did she ever do anything to you?" Anatoly could have given his condolences for the state Dmitri was in, but it was neither his fault nor did he think it would be received well currently. Instead, he simply hoped to convey his empathy through his tone of voice and through being there.

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thegirlisme
2015-06-28 04:26 pm UTC (link)

Sometimes for their own sanity, not thinking about the dreams was necessary. They were never truly easy to escape, lurking in the recesses of the mind, but they could be pushed aside if people really wanted to. Mostly. There might be ramifications if people full on ignored them, perhaps get worse. Svetlana didn't know. She just knew that right now? She couldn't think about them, what they meant or make any decisions based on them. Not when she had more pressing matters to deal with.

As a rule, Svetlana kept her opinions on others to herself, tried not to insult them. But Stahma? Stahma was a special case, and she was sure the woman would love to know that. Yet after all the turmoil the woman's family had put her own through, the fact that Erik had ended up in Beslan because of her manipulations and the threat to Dmitri's life? The worry was there for Svetlana, of course. That she had something in mind. Or that, now knowing they were here, she would come up with something. Just because.

"Me specifically? No. Too young at the time. She played a long game on Dmitri. Led to Erik being in Beslan by breaking Dmitri down, using him. Before then, she'd used Erik for...something. I was too young to know, but he got information on her I suppose and that is why she went after Dmitri." Dmitri, who just wanted to be friends with everyone. Who wanted to believe in the best of people and get Svetlana out of her shell when all she saw of life proved that staying in her shell was much safer.

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haventwonatall
2015-06-29 07:21 am UTC (link)

There was a time and a place for addressing the dreams, but now wasn't it. Anatoly could push his worries about them aside, save them for a time more appropriate than now. Not that the dreams were the reason he'd come here, because they weren't. It had simply been remembering them upon knocking on the door. But now, he was pushing them aside easily to instead focus on Svetlana and the situation she was dealing with.

It was more than obvious to him that Svetlana kept her opinions of others to herself. So the fact she spoke so freely against Stahma really said it all. There a clear and deep hatred there, and it was also more than clear that this woman was very dangerous if she put her mind to it. So he'd at least tread carefully in that respect.

"It is no wonder why Dmitri is in the state he's in." All things considered, Anatoly could tell Dmitri had a positive outlook on people and life. So to see all of that having been sucked out of him simply by seeing this woman again? It spoke to the damage the woman had wrought. "It may not be much consolation, but at least here, she cannot do things she otherwise may be able to." Anatoly didn't know who the woman's family was aside from former-KGB, and while he'd spent most of his life here in America, he was well-schooled in Russian history, especially the Soviet Union era thanks to his parents. The KGB may not be around in name any longer, but they certainly did still have weight. And in America, they had no political pull. The woman would have to play by America's laws here in that respect.

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thegirlisme
2015-06-29 04:30 pm UTC (link)

At least he could see that now wasn't the time to be discussing the dreams. He'd probably get a pointed look and either shut down, or kicked out. Depending on how forgiving Svetlana was feeling and how it was broached. No. Staying silent on that matter was a good thing for the time being. The dreams were hardly pressing when it came to everything that was going on with Dmitri. At least for Svetlana. She knew her priorities.

Perhaps Svetlana shouldn't be speaking to freely. There was always that concern that somehow, her apartment had been bugged. The paranoia from the dreams, the fact that she knew she probably made enemies with the NGO work she did. Especially with the Russian mafia presence. Now Stahma's arrival. But this was America and she should (theoretically) be safe from that. And her hatred of Stahma.

"Mm." There really wasn't much to say on the matter. The woman seemed to thrive on the pain and anguish she brought to them. It was a game, some way to show her superiority. Which was why she could only look at Anatoly with a guarded gaze as he said she could not do the things here that she might get away with back in Moscow. Even knowing the fact she was more dangerous than Katya, even after seeing the effect she'd had on Dmitri from nothing more than seeing her across the street.... Did he truly think American laws would stop her? "In theory."

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haventwonatall
2015-06-29 09:49 pm UTC (link)

As much as he didn't exactly want to broach the subject of the dreams at all, he knew at some point that he would have to. It was going to be the elephant in the room for a while, but once things with Dmitri were back to normal he knew that he and Svetlana would have to talk. Maybe. He still thought she'd kill him for things his dream self did. And he wouldn't even blame her for it either.

True she was more dangerous than Katya, but there were things that she couldn't actually do in America that she could in Russia. For instance putting people in prison for no reason. Pulling strings that only a former KGB agent could pull to make life difficult. It wouldn't stop her from getting creative if she really wanted to, but there were still different rules she had to play by. And she was without a major tool in her arsenal with her father not being here.

"Well she at least won't be able to pull KGB-type strings here." There wouldn't be an abuse of power like that, at any rate. But now wasn't the time to discuss the intricacies of what was and was not possible here. Especially in Orange County where weird things tended to happen quite often. So with that he felt like it was pretty much time to move on and let Svetlana get back to taking care of Dmitri. After all, he didn't want to overstay his un-welcomed welcome and risk getting hit by Svetlana. So it was just best to not agitate her. He'd at least shown her he'd been worried enough to come check on her, so he was hoping that somehow that would register with her.

"Anyway, I won't impose upon you any longer. I hope that Dmitri will come out of it alright. If there is anything I am able to do for either of you, I'm here." He highly doubted Svetlana would actually take him up on that, but he just wanted to put it out there. And without dawdling, Anatoly showed himself out.

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thegirlisme
2015-06-29 09:56 pm UTC (link)

Oh, there would come a day to talk about the dreams, but that wasn't today. Instead, Svetlana remained silent while he mentioned that Stahma couldn't pull any KGB type strings. No. It meant she would have to get creative and Svetlana was pretty sure that would be worse. And even more unexpected. Not like there was much she could do on that matter. Eventually the other Russian woman would figure out she was there and as Svetlana was basically the only one she hadn't done anything to... she was worried. Letting things go wasn't exactly in Stahma's repertoire.

"Thank you."

He was right, she probably wouldn't take him up on his offer to help. Not this time. That still required her to figure out what she felt on the matter of the dreams and where she stood with Anatoly when it was all said and done. But the gesture was noted and filed away for later thought. And he seemed to realise that, as good as his intentions were, Svetlana really didn't have the energy to fake host him and he was gone. As the door closed, the blonde woman stood up and locked it before going back to her computer. Right. Trying to set up a Skype call with Mikhail to see if he could fly out to help.

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