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Post by Forte! on Aug 22, 2009 21:03:50 GMT -5
Morning feeding was always nice and quiet, and fairly perfunctory. Dmitri liked it, at least, especially since he was the only one awake except for the birds, and her had a moment alone before he actually had to talk to anyone. Though far from antisocial, he wasn't exactly the garrulous sort, and he was rather over-thoughtful and introverted at times. The feeding had been going as usual, and he had finished his rounds and was standing, as he always did, between Bartok and Vodka's stalls, when a car pulled up to the barn. It wasn't Ana's (or, thank goodness, Ivan's), and it wasn't usual, and immediately Dmitri was on guard. The driver apparently saw him, and stopped, rolling down the window. "Dmitri! I thought I'd find you here!" The accent was akin to Dmitri's own, and the look of shock that crossed his face was astounding. For a moment he was dumbfounded. "Wh... Who are you?" he asked, as the driver stepped out. It had been a good seven and three-quarters years since Dmitri had seen his eldest brother, and while Dmitri himself was instantly recognizable by his limp, Nikolas was not so easy to tell.
Nikolas laughed, a rather deep and booming note. "Oh, come on, don't say you don't regognize your own brother?" Dmitri was, again, shocked. It took him a moment to process this fact, but once Nikolas had said it, he had known that it was true. "Nicky! You have got to be kidding me! I thought you'd gone!" Nikolas was grinning now, and Dmitri couldn't help but smile. "It really is you, huh?" Nikolas said, "and, by George, smiling? What happened to you?" Dmitri quickly stifled his grin, rather sheepishly. "I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing in America, anyway? More importantly, where in the world have you been?" "Moscow," Nikolas said with a shrug, "I went home while Petra was sick, and then I decided that I just couldn't do it anymore. She was all they had, you know? And I couldn't be that, but they wanted me to." Dmitri frowned, knowing that Nikolas was refering to his other siblings. "Anyway, this isn't Ivan's place, is it? It's too nice for that old fool."
"It's his daughter's. Long story, and it doesn't matter anyway. It's good to see you." They shook hands, with Nikolas apparently trying to crush Dmitri's and vice-versa. But Nikolas hadn't missed Dmitri's expression while he was speaking of Ana, and rose an eyebrow. "Oh-ho, then, brother. What's her name?" Dmitri told him, rather guarded now, which made Nikolas laugh. "No worries, Dmitri. I'm not here to ruin whatever it is you've created for yourself here. I have a job in the city, you know. Staying at the motel and all. It's not quite as cool as Moscow, but, hey, we take what we can and don't give anything back, eh?" Dmitri nodded slightly, as if he didn't really agree, and Nikolas clapped him on the back hard enough that he staggered forward a few steps. "Anyway, you'll have to show me around town later. Pretty much horse country, isn't it?" He made a face. Nikolas had never really liked horses, and Dmitri knew it. He was going to have to get used to it if he wanted to live here, though.
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Post by Frenzi™ on Aug 24, 2009 19:41:19 GMT -5
;; The array of colors on the palette of the sky blended together, and inside the ranch house the only one inside was up and about. She rubbed sleep from her eyes as she went and grabbed a cup of tea from the fridge, shuffling back to her room in black pajama bottoms and a black tank top. There were morning where she woke up wondering why she chose an occupation that would require her to get up at the crack of dawn, but today wasn't one of those mornings. This morning she just seemed to be going through the normal routine with her brain still practically asleep. Stumbling back to her room she threw on a bright green shirt and flare jeans, and slipped on a pair of old tennis shoes, which she favored to boots. Then, with a short sigh, she plopped back onto her bed, not bothering to add any makeup to her face, brushing her hair on the list. Ana lifted her head curiously off the bed as the door slammed shut, and sat up immediately, looking around. Nothing seemed to move in the house, and as she stood up, a black and tan shape bolted from the hallway, heading straight for her. "Echo! No!" she shouted, scrambling backwards onto the bed so her legs wouldn't be crushed by the careening puppy.
;; The dog stopped before it ran headfirst into the bottom of the bed, looking up happily at the girl. "You. You're going outside," Ana said, scooping up the puppy and walking down the hallway. Once outside she stopped and let the wind tousle her hair into a natural set-state, and continued walking, blinking her eyes towards the early morning sun. What she saw out of the corner of her eye made her wonder. Two figures standing by the barn, and by the looks of it, one was Dmitri, though she had no idea who the other person was. Certainly not one of the workers, unless Dmitri had decided to hire someone. An eyebrow rose curiously, and she momentarily forgot all about setting the now-calm puppy on the ground, making her way towards the two figures. She walked quite slow, not wanting to interrupt any conversation that they were having, and was trying not to eavesdrop. However, that didn't prove to be much of a problem, the wind was whipping away their words, which was good for them, but not necessarily good for her hair, which had decided to fly around her face for the time being.
;; 'Anyway, you'll have to show me around town later. Pretty much horse country, isn't it?' The warm breeze finally quit and the comment and question drifted towards her. Ana put on a smile and strode forwards, coming up to stand by the right side of Dmitri, obviously facing the second person in the conversation. "'Ello Dmitri," she said, announcing her presence as to not scare either of the two that seemed deep in conversation. Ana's eyes flicked to the one that she had no idea who was, which was quite odd in this small town, but it sounded like he wasn't from around here. "Are you new here? I'm Ana, owner of Phoenix Racing Stables, nice to meet you." Realizing that Echo was still held in her arms, she opened them slightly and the dog pounced onto the ground, shooting off in an opposite direction. She held out her hand for a handshake, smiling.
Note: That was terrible. o.e
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Post by Forte! on Aug 25, 2009 21:01:22 GMT -5
Dmitri grinned as he saw Ana coming down the path, and Nikolas gave him a befuddled look as he craned his neck to see over his brother's shoulder. "Jeez, man, you look like the Cheshire cat..." he mumbled under his breath, almost too low for his brother to hear, but not quite. The corner of Dmitri's mouth twitched in amusement, almost irony - he seemed to be getting that a lot lately. "Good morning, Ana. Decided not to miss the best part of the day, I see," he said, watching as Echo shot off across the field. Nikolas shook the hand - more gently then he had his brother's, studying Ana for a moment. "Nikolas Petrova," here he paused for effect (Nikolas had always had a flair for the dramatic), "pleased to meet you." Dmitri rolled his eyes at the rather pointed pause, and hastily explained, "He's my brother... well, one of them..." Nikolas beamed, patting Dmitri on the back again (with a rather resounding thump and another stagger from his brother, who was just beginning to remember that Nikolas was a tad bit rough.) Nikolas, was, honestly, amazed that Dmitri was actually still grinning like a fool, something he had hardly been known to do.
"Ana, I wouldn't trust him if I were you. He cheats at cards." Nikolas chuckled and rose an eyebrow at his brother, who had put on his best poker face and was trying to remain utterly serious. Years of practice had actually made him good at this. "Bit of a joke at your expense, I'm afraid," Nikolas said to Ana, "but you're considered the loser if you don't cheat at Russian cards, and, save Dmitri here, everyone does. Anyway, I'm afraid I never expected my brother to break ties with his old boss, or I would've picked up some flowers on my way." Dmitri cocked his brow at this statement, his head slightly to the side as if he were trying to figure something out but couldn't quite do so. He thought he might be dreaming, but if this were a dream it would be an incredibly strange one for him. "Nicky," Nikolas glared at him, "will tell me again what exactly you're doing here?" He shrugged broadly. "Is there a reason that the grass grows? I don't know, I felt like I had to go somewhere, and I was tired of Moscow."
"Besides, your mailing address changed, and being the naturally curious person I am, well..." He shrugged again. "I think you mean nosy," Dmitri said, but he was more joking than serious. Whatever Nikolas's reasons were, and whatever he thought he was going to do now that he was, in fact, here, Dmitri was almost glad to see him again. It had been strange, being so alienated from a family that had once chiefly defined his place in the world and how he was supposed to think, act, feel, and be. Satisfied, Dmitri turned back to Ana, his head to the side, studying her, making sure that he knew every part of her (as he always did). "How are you, milaya moya?" Nikolas barely stifled an 'awww', but nudged his brother in the ribs (gently, Dmitri barely felt it.) For a moment, even he was silent, although it wasn't in his very nature to ever be so. Nikolas was a talker and a debater, far more of a live spark than his brother, and far less introverted. Nonetheless, even he knew when to shut up for a second. |
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