"Sveta, please, wait!" Ivan tried to reach for Sveta again, but she managed to avoid his grasp. He continued to call after her as he followed her in hot pursuit, which ended rather quickly as he tried to follow her down the stairs, only to take a spill, thudding harshly down half the steps before catching himself on the railing. "Sveta!" _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Fauna didn’t stop, she kept running even she went through the front door. Even opting for the stairs versus the elevator. She didn’t have an inkling of an idea of where she was going, but her body was driving her forward by sheer instinct and familiarity. Even in the heart of the city, her body was driving her toward a specific place.
(FF I assume I can do that)
There was no telling how far she’d run or even the path she’d taken, it was all a blur. But she’d found herself in a heavily wooded area, covered with dense foliage and trees that were barred closely together. Her feet were badly damaged, the rest of her and her clothes in particular weren’t much better but still she pushed forward into a clearing. Only then, did things begin to fall into place, as a hut came into view. It was modest in size, and appeared vacant. It looked like it had been pitched in a day with nothing to preserve it; covered in moss and creeping vines, it was almost apart of the forest.
Stumbling forward she fell to her knees outside the door. In spite of seeming to get no attention, the roses around the hut were thriving; vibrant and red. Reaching out, she touched the petals on a rose and felt a bizarre kinship to it.
Ivan had tried to continue after Sveta, but after losing sight and eventually smell of her, he found himself only ambling in circles in the city. He wasn't sure where she could have possibly gone. For the entire time after having found her in the woods, she had been with only with him, hardly ever far from his side. All the places she could have possibly known, he knew, and after making some calls and perusing those haunts, she was still nowhere to be found.
With no other leads and no other options, Ivan decided to reach out using a number he'd saved "just in case" for Sveta.
Her brother, Romulus.
He began to make his way back to the building where the Nikitin's resided, hoping that maybe Sveta hat circled back, and took a seat on the curb as the phone rang.
"Hello?" Romulus answered.
"Romulus...I can't find her."
---
Ivan waited for Romulus still perched on the curb. He'd folded himself over, guilt making his shoulders heavy and cave in on himself. Eventually, someone approached, though he didn't look up until he heard his name.
"Ivan?"
Ivan looked up and found Romulus looking down on him, his own brows a little bit sad, though perhaps it was more empathy for Ivan's sad puppy eyed look than it was for his missing sister.
Ivan stood up and dusted the seat of his pants off.
"I'm sorry for calling so late. You probably were busy." He said apologetically.
"No, it's okay. I said to call whenever. Remedy's home with the boys, she said she'd be fine." He nodded. "So...what happened?"
Ivan let out a sigh and shook his head.
"I don't know...she's been talking about voices in Spanish and has been lashing out. She basically destroyed her vanity before she left." He explained, confused and definitely morose. "She just kept saying she had to go, but she couldn't tell me where."
Romulus listened and gave a little bob of his head to acknowledge Ivan's tale. He let out a long exhale before speaking.
"Maybe she went...well...home. Even when we were all still with...Natas and Armand, she mostly stayed there. Me and Remus were the only ones who went out by ourselves to do work. I can't imagine she knows many places other than the hut." Romulus explained.
"Okay, well, that's something. How do we get there?" Ivan asked.
---
Because Romulus couldn't simply write directions down and the hut wasn't exactly somewhere to be found via GPS, Ivan took his car from the garage and with Romulus in the passenger seat, they drove out of the city.
It was a moderately long and quiet drive, Ivan almost thought it was improbable that Sveta could have walked so far, but he didn't question it as it was the only lead he had.
Romulus pointed them down this road and that one until there was no road left, just a turn out to park the car.
Ivan cut the engine and got out, only to find Romulus still sitting inside, looking tense.
"I...don't think I can go much further." He admitted, fidgeting with his hands. "You don't have to worry about driving me back, I can call my brother or my father-in-law, or whoever, but...I don't think I can go back to that place."
Ivan was a bit annoyed, after all, Romulus had come this far, but perhaps the annoyance he felt was more frustration than anything. Still, with a little huff, he nodded tensely.
"Okay, well, which way do I go?" He asked.
Romulus looked up, craning his head to look up at the night sky, which was perfectly clear so far out from the city. He gestured to a trail of stars and followed that trail straight down to where the sky met the treeline.
"Straight that way. You'll cross a creek and then, if there's no magic left to conceal it, you should be able to see the hut from there. If there is magic, just keep walking until you see a clearing with a big oak tree. It'll look out of place, but it's just an illusion anyway. If you keep on passed that, you'll see it." Romulus explained, taking a little pause. "I hope you find her." He said.
"Yeah, me too." Ivan said before trudging off.
---
Ivan walked for a good long while, his feet aching inside his definitely-not-suited-for-hiking shoes. Eventually, he absently stumbled into the creek Romulus had mentioned, the water slow and trickling, though the muddy banks indicated that more water came and went with a frequency. He continued on until, fortunately for him, he came across no illusions, but rather a rotted old cabin.
The hut.
He hurried towards it, nearly stumbling down the embankment leading down to the ramshackle building.
"Sveta?" He called out. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Fauna had let herself inside, there was no magic, wards or sigils protecting it or keeping it locked. She didn’t venture far in though, just on the inside of the door, there she’d slide down to the floor, hugging her knees as memories ebbed and flowed over her like rippling water. She looked up upon hearing a voice, Ivan?
She peeled out from the corner of the doorframe and saw him stumbling toward the hut.
Ivan paused when he heard Sveta and let his shoulders slump and a breath of relief escape him. He continued towards the hut.
“I was worried about you. I asked Romulus for help and, well, he told me about this place.” He explained as he reached the slumping stoop of the house. He placed his hand on the door, though didn’t go in. “Are you alright?” He asked. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
“Yes, of course I did. I needed to know you were alright.” Ivan took a little pause, hand still resting on the door. “Sveta, I’m not sure I really understand what you’re going through, but I don’t plan on going leaving you alone to figure it out. I want to be there for you. I want to be with you.” _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
“I’m not sure what I’m going through...everything is just so overwhelming,” Fauna sputtered helplessly. “I saw Romulus and then-then I started hearing voices, and it brought me here...” She tried to explain, slumped against the doorframe.
“You shouldn’t have come here, I don’t know what’s happening to me or what will happen next.” She added.
"That's all the more reason for me to be here with you then." Ivan contended, listening as the wood of the door frame creaked, presumably because Sveta leaned into it on the other side of the door. "I don't want you to go through whatever you're going through alone." _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
"Sveta, you could never waste my time...and I know I'm not as big as some of the guys who I work with, but I'm actually pretty strong too you know?" Ivan added with a joking soft chuckle. "But I'm also not afraid of you hurting me." _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
“I didn’t mean it that way..” Fauna replied, though she had a soft smile, wanting to laugh but couldn’t muster it. “It’s not safe out here, or it’s probably not anyways.” She added, trying to give him reasons to leave.
"Then I should definitely stay. That means it's not safe out here for you either." Ivan said. He let out a little sigh as he moved to sit down on the other side of the door. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
“I used to live here, I think...I’d probably be okay. Maybe?” Fauna said though she wasn’t sure of anything. Admittedly, she felt better having him there. As badly as she felt the urge to run and hide here, Ivan on the other side of the door.
"Do you remember anything about it?" Ivan asked gently, wondering if it would be okay or if his question would push Sveta towards a meltdown again. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
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