[color=silver][right][sub]TIMESTAMP: Monday Afternoon around 4 PM
FT: [color=635687]Mikhail Zima[/color] & [color=56877b]Anya Kamensky[/color][/sub][/right]
[center][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/metanoia][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220707/de8425488b0608f3b4f383a389598999.png[/img][/url] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220707/ea0c13b96bec39eb2a81ba5c05ed31f7.png[/img] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/lovelycomplex][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220707/29817612104c780ce1548b8a06b6ada5.png[/img][/url]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/M8b6zFD.gif[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/AyyPjzo.gif[/img]

[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220807/9c06cc5a4b21a915af1fc5ec81d79965.png[/img]

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What an eventful day Mikhail ZIma had. Between the highly informative morning of getting his head back in the game with Coach, his not-so-informative conversation with the artist formerly known as old bastard, and then reading that letter that led to him the Cleary house and being trapped in her closet, it was a lot. Sure as hell didn’t help that Danilo Belmonte wasn’t too happy to not only find him there, but him being near Caitlin. He still had a couple bruises around his cheeks and even a partially-busted lip. Say what you want about Danny, but there was a reason he was the captain of the basketball team back in the day.

He could shoot and had a hell of a left straight, too.

But when things settled and they came to an understanding, against everything in him that [i]wanted[/i] to stay, Mika didn’t. Instead, he opted to leave. He made peace with it because Cece had Danny with her and at least she wouldn’t be alone. He had no right of being there, especially not when she had a literal boyfriend.

So when he left, he went back home and slept most of what remained of the morning away. He woke up sometime in the afternoon, dozed off again, but eventually Mika finally woke up around 3pm. When he did, he went straight for his fridge. Everything ached because, surprise surprise, Mika fell asleep on the couch again. It was a really bad habit of his. Well, at least he still had some leftovers in his fridge. 

[color=635687]“What do we have?”[/color] He murmured to himself, looking through and grabbed some leftover chinese food from the other night. It was shrimp fried rice, which was fine by him. Grabbing a soy sauce packet, he mixed and mixed it well and ate some. About halfway into it, he heard his phone go off and grabbed it when he made it back to the couch. It was a text message from what appeared to be an unknown number. His go-to response would be some kind of trolling tactic. Usually he got these texts from scammers, so it was fun to toy with them, but then he read the message.

[quote=Unknown Sender][color=56877b]Liberty 4[/color][/quote]
He paid attention. He knew exactly who this was. He knew what this message meant.

With a smile, Mika left his apartment. He was wearing the same thing he had worn to Cece’s in the morning. His jacket and all. When he got outside, Mika expected to see sunshine. He expected mother nature to punish him with unforgivable heat and while still relatively hot and muggy, what Mika didn’t expect to see was a gathering of clouds. [color=635687]“The fuck? Isn’t it supposed to be summer? The fuck is this shit?”[/color]

Shaking his head, Mika climbed into his truck and drove across the tracks, through main street and stopped about a half a block away from where the entrance of Eastbrook. Mika knew the general layout and he knew what the text meant. Milligan’s Bridge was just down the road. He couldn’t say whether or not it was clever code to just say liberty or if it was simply the lack of translation skills a certain person had, but he could decipher it. 

He walked towards the bridge but took a detour to the underpass, waiting for her to show up. Looking at his phone, it was just five minutes till four, so not long according to the message he received earlier.

Once the clock struck 4 there was a light touch on Mika’s back, a silent and soundless hello in the form of Anya resting her right hand on him. When her brother turned around and smiled at her, Anya’s eyes locked with his in a way that conveyed this meeting wasn’t for fun. She wasn’t here to have a happy brother and sister catch up session. No. She was here to warn him. 

If there was a person who knew Anya did not waste time, it would be Mika. She was a busy girl from her job with the Angels to her library duties (how she got that job he will never understand) to her work with her mysterious employer.  Unbeknownst to him, she’s been on the go for the past thirty six hours from job to job to lunch with Legs to another job to now. His sister was a warrior, constantly pushing through all the shit life threw at her, just to survive. 

Stepping back to give him space, Anya observed her brother in silence a little more, before easing her body, feeling that the area was safe. That it was just her and him. [color=56877b]“Hyde [i]sees[/i] you,”[/color] She started off, not holding back any truths and bluntness. [color=56877b]“I know this life,”[/color] She gestured to herself and what she was, and what she always would be, a monster, [color=56877b]“Is not [i]you[/i]. Hyde sees and he does not like.”[/color] 

[i][color=63773B]We need to bring Mika back to his real family.[/color][/i]

Hyde’s words replayed in her head, and maybe he was right. Maybe she was losing her touch, but Mika? Mika was never hard to begin with. He might’ve had his Honey Badger persona but Anya knew it was a way to protect himself. He was and always will be a soft, kind, and loving person at heart. Mika’s desire to connect with a family that was always part of him meant he would step into the light and leave the creatures of the underworld behind. That included her, that included Hyde. He had a chance at love, while she and Hyde? They couldn’t afford it. That’s what it meant to be born in the Underworld. In the dark. Born a monster or forced to become one. Love, happiness, [i][color=63773B]white picket fences[/color][/i]. They never stood a chance but her baby brother. Mikhail O’Hara. He had his whole life ahead of her. 

Right now, Hyde’s ideal of a family was so very real. It’s all he thought about while he was doing time. Anything that jeopardized that? He would [color=63773B][i]burn anyone that gets in[/i][/color] his [color=63773B][i]way. Anyone.[/i][/color] Anya, not Basilisk, wanted to help. She didn’t know how and she didn’t know if this was the right thing to do, but if she could save her brother from the Devil, even if it gets her killed, she would die happy. [color=56877b]“Mother. Sisters. Gonzalez. Coach.”[/color] She paused, letting her sharp gaze pierce Mika’s soul, [color=56877b]“[i]Caitlin[/i]. Big brother is not right and he [i]smells[/i] change. Not change he wants. If I know, he will too. He [i]sees[/i] you. OK?”[/color] She hoped he understood the dire importance of him to come up with solutions to protect his turf. If not his family, then certainly the girl he had eyes for. 

Had it not been for the fact that Mika understood when his sister wasn’t kidding around, this would be the part where he would laugh and shrug what she was saying - but it was in her eyes? Anya’s eyes had always been cold, but never with him. Her eyes were like Hyde’s, but when it came to him, she never stared so deep into his soul he felt an uncomfortable tension settle in. It was uneasy and, if he was being completely truthful with himself, a bit terrifying. Not in the same way Hyde made him feel - no, not of the same type of terror. It was more like a reality check that hit so hard that Mika understood the severity of everything she was saying just by Anya’s eyes.

[color=635687]“Anya…I swear I was careful. Mom is protected. She is not accessible by just anyone. Our sisters are a town away. Nobody knows they exist other than a handful of people and most of them I lived with.”[/color] It was showing in his voice, the sudden realization of his errors of his ways. He knew that Uncle Gus would protect Stacy and Katie. He knew that the Angels and serpents, when asked, would protect mother, but Caitlin? That was on him. He had to protect her. 

Mika began to pace a little, back and forth, hands on hips, clear distress in inaudible noises he made. [color=635687]“What should I do? What [i]can[/i] I do? Should I cut contact off from them?”[/color] The idea in itself was ridiculous. He couldn’t do that. He [i]wouldn’t[/i] do that. [color=635687]“I can’t do that. They’re my [i]family[/i].”[/color]

[color=56877b]“I know,”[/color] Anya firmly answered. Rubbing the sleep off her face, thinking, not having an immediate solution for this one because she did not understand what it was to have the option of a better life, to be able to step in the light, Anya stood there. Silent. There was only one thing he could do, really, but was Mika capable of standing up against the Evil that all men do. Not Cameron. But Hyde. The Devil. 

Rolling her neck around, like she did earlier at the diner, the ache from this morning’s job really catching up with her, from her stomach to her wrists to this stupid pain in her neck, Anya dropped the harsh venom and comforted her brother instead of give him a solution immediately, [color=56877b]“It’s OK. We will think.” [/color]

Closing her eyes, Anya wondered in her thoughts and tightly spoke, [color=56877b]“A friend told me today, some…time…”[/color] Her words started to slow down as her broken English tried to reiterate what Allegra had said at Dolly’s. [color=56877b]“we need… em in dark, with us.”[/color] Fuck why was it so hard to speak in good English? [color=56877b]“Be…cuz we not able to go in light.”[/color] Her last words weren’t necessarily how Legs said it but she struggled enough and just wanted to move on. [color=56877b]“I do not agree. Though, what I do see, to keep her safe [i]you[/i] need to go. Be with her. No more dark. No more light. [i]Choose[/i] one and [i]fight[/i].”[/color]  

Sometimes his sister’s broken English was hard to understand and even he had nodded through most of it, but he understood what she was saying. Not only that, but he knew what he had to do. Fight for what was most important to him: his family. It wasn’t just his southside family - not just Poppy or Boa or Legs. It was his Northside family. Coach and the O’Haras (even the ones who didn’t know about him yet). It was about all the friends he has made that gave him a purpose. The team he had in high school, Natalia, and, of course, Cece. The one person that he wanted to protect the most. He knew the Angels and Serpents would protect everyone in the Fallen Souls apartment complex, but Cece didn’t have that. She was innocent in all of this.

[color=635687]“I agree about what I have to do and I will go to her, but what about our brother? If what you say is true and he sees me, wouldn’t going to her put her in even more danger?”[/color] It wasn’t that he wanted to think that Hyde would threaten her while he was there, but the truth was that Mika wouldn’t put it past The Devil of Eden to do something so brazen. Mika learned a long time ago to never underestimate what his brother was capable of.

[color=56877b]“You will hide her forever?”[/color] The Basilisk questioned. There were some answers that only he could decide on. If it were her, she’d make sure that she was a constant wall between the Devil and his desired target. Presently, Mika did not believe he could take down his brother. The fear emitted from him like the sun releases light. But if he didn’t try, then this life he wanted would never be. If he wanted to shine, he needed to do just that, shine. The Devil only goes to those that listen. [color=56877b]“I not saying have plan. This will take time. I do think you, Mikhail, needs to make choice. That is first step. The rest will come. Not today, not tomorrow, but it will come.”[/color]  

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand what she was telling him to do. He knew that, eventually, he couldn’t just stay on the sidelines. As it turned out, every day his brother became worse and worse. Or Mika being careless has made him become worse. He didn’t know which one it was nor did he really care. He knew despite [i]everything[/i], he was putting Cece in harm’s way and [i]he[/i] was the reason that now they were in this pickle. What was happening was exactly what he tried to prevent two years ago when he broke up with her: to keep her out of harm's way, but despite knowing it was dangerous, he re-entered her life.

What was that quote that Katie [i]always[/i] like to repeat to him from that fantasy show? Love is the death of duty? God, why was he remembering something his nerdy ass sister said to him?

But it was the truth. And his duty was to protect Cece and prevent Hyde from finding out about her existence, or at least her connection to Mika.

[color=635687]“I’ll hide Cece for as long as I need to. Until I know she’s safe.”[/color] Yeah, try explaining that to Cece. Doubt she would be as open to the idea unless Mika explained everything about it to her. [color=635687]“I don’t know what choice I should make, but one I know that makes sense to me right now is Cece and making sure [i]he[/i] doesn’t harm her.”[/color] Under his breath, Mika cursed himself because that would leave the difficult task of convincing his ex to all of this and explaining just what the fuck kind of mess he dragged her into. Simple, right?

While he was stewing in thought, trying to come to his own conclusions, Anya gilded closer and slipped her hand into his. Allegra had held her hand earlier today bringing her comfort, maybe it would do the same for her little brother. Squeezing it and looking at the water under the bridge, Anya reassured Mika, her sweet, baby brother, [color=56877b]“At all cost, you protect her. I do what I can on my end.”[/color] Her sharp gaze softened at the sight of the everflowing stream of water. Her eyes went from the water to the boy beside her, all the while holding his hand, [color=56877b]“Hey, brother?”[/color] She hesitantly asked, wondering if the follow up question was worth asking or not. She waited for his reaction before saying anything more.  

When she reached for his hand and grabbed it, anything that Mika had been thinking about seemed to fade away. It was so unexpected, especially for Anya. He watched as she looked to the river and made a sort of vow (or was it more of a pledge?) Whichever it was, he smiled at and then she looked back at him, no longer having that cold gaze that reminded him of Hyde but the Anya he knew and felt like he could trust with just about anything. Literally anything. [color=635687]“What’s up, Anya? Something on your mind?” [/color]

[color=56877b]“Do you think…”[/color] She struggled talking not because of phrasing, or wording, or even the English, but more because of the value of the question, as if it was a foreign concept to her. Foreign but something intriguing, especially lately. [color=56877b]“Do you think I can love? Like you with your Cece?”[/color] Today was a strange day for the Basilisk. First she gave Allegra her real name. Now she was asking her brother if she was deserving of love or even capable of it. [color=56877b]“It’s stupid, I know.”[/color] She started paddling back, looking away from Mika and bringing her gaze to the water. People like her, they couldn’t afford love.

[color=635687]“What?”[/color] Was Mika’s immediate reaction, exactly like he was caught off guard by his sister’s question. Because he was. In what has been a whirlwind of a meet-up with Anya, he’s gone from dread to being the protective man he is to unexplainably confused, but at the same time, he saw how Anya looked. In her eyes, he could see it. He didn’t know exactly what it might be, but the minute she mentioned how it’s stupid, he shook his head. [color=635687]“No, it’s not stupid at all!”[/color] He squeezed his sister’s hand tighter to enforce what he just said. [color=635687]“Everyone is deserving of love, Anya! Doesn’t matter what they’ve done or what, everyone is entitled to a love that makes them smile and maybe do things they normally wouldn’t.”[/color] He sure as hell has done his fair share of stupid things in the name of love. 

She hoped he was right. Love didn’t work out for her grandmother, her mother, or any of her Sisters for that matter. When her Sisters strayed from the path, it all ended the same. Six feet under. She opened up her mouth to thank him and that she would try her best to believe in this thing called love but they were interrupted by thunder and the sudden appearance of rain. Releasing her brother’s hand, checking her watch, she realized how much time came and went. It was already half past 4. [color=56877b]“You need to go. This is bad brother. This storm.”[/color] Anya needed Mika safe and in that same worry, she wondered if Jade was okay. Was she safe? Did she need her to be safe too?

Of course she did. Jade was the reason she wasn’t herself lately. She was the reason she was asking so many questions and wondering about things she wouldn’t have thought about a month ago. Jade was the reason that Anya was ‘losing her touch’ because ever since their first day together at Dolly’s with pancakes and french toast, Anya couldn’t stop thinking about her smile. The Basilisk had seen the Angel Princess before, while in the background at the MC, but only recently had she ever gotten a one on one session with her. Multiple now if you count the past couple Sundays. And in each sitting, she found herself looking forward to the next. She didn’t need to hear much. She could sit in silence with Jade and feel content. It was knowing she was okay and safe, knowing that she enjoyed being with her, just like Anya did but for her, that made the next Sunday something always to look forward to. Jade was her something, her someone, she looked forward to and she needed to know she was safe so that their Sundays would never change. [color=56877b]“Go be safe, Mikhail.”[/color]

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