Dmitri Bogdanov

[ dmitri bogdanov ], an [ twenty nine ] year old grisha in the little palace. he is a [ heartrender ] and are known in the little palace as the [ puppeteer ]. they are known to be [ persistent ] and [ cruel ] and vaguely resemble [ luke pasqualino ]. ( merel, 24, she/her, gmt+2 ).

tw suicide, death, gun, explosives, explosion

Get Out The Way - Mother Mother  /  Shipwrecked - Shane Alexander  /  Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson  /  Bad Habit - The Kooks  /  People - Kye Kye  /  Now - Joywave  /  No I Won’t Go - Brick + Mortar  /  Twisted - MISSIO  /  Cold Blood - Dave Not Dave  /  ROADS UNTRAVELED - Linkin Park  /  Monsters - Hurricane Bells  /  When We Were Young - Take That  /  Ghost In My Head - watt  /  Pyramid Song - Radiohead  /  Grand Union - Arthur Beatrice

jedda would argue that she wasn’t drunk, but it would be a lie. the woman had been drinking from the moment she set foot in the place. she had no idea why the king thought this would be a good idea, considering how small his brain was jedda wasn’t about to try and find logic behind any of his actions but this truly was stupid, even for him. if she was going to endure the evening then she would need alcohol, tons and tons of it. maybe it was the alchohol in her system that had made her think it would be a good idea to steal from dmitri. jedda felt the grip of his hand around her wrist, his touch felt surprisingly warm. she had failed her mission but she couldn’t help to laugh, and she tried to hide it by covering her mouth with her free hand. 

“but i don’t want a drink, i want yours.” she said like a stubborn child. “if it’s stolen it tastes better, wouldn’t you agree?” stealing something and getting away with it always gave her a rush, and it didn’t matter if what she was trying to steal was something insignificant, as long as she knew she had taken it from someone else it would immediately become anything but insignificant. “don’t think so high of yourself, it’s not like i haven’t stolen from you before.” she teased as she leaned in to whisper her next word “you remember, right?” 

‘’if you think you’re hiding your laugh successfully, you’re not.’’ even though she covered the view of it, with how close they were standing he could hear the laugh she was trying to hide, rolling his eyes at her, only to join in with a laugh of his own. letting her wrist slip from his grasp, not expecting her to have a go at his glass again. 

dmitri mulled over her words for a moment, of course he could just give it to her and get himself a new one, glancing down at the glass, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. ‘’well jedda, you can’t always get what you want.’’ making sure to look her straight in the eyes, the look in them serious yet teasing. ‘‘depends who it is, the look of surprise on their face, them immediately noticing something is gone, makes it worth while for me. still, stealing objects is better.’’ stealing food and drink was good for an immediate, short term rush but only the stealing of objects gave any real, long term satisfaction. ‘’am I the first person you tried this on tonight?’’ curiosity marring the visible parts of his features, as he took a sip of kvas.

the first thing dmitri had done when he’d entered the ballroom was head straight for the drinks without bothering to admire the decorations as the group of people he’d had to walk around had been doing to reach his destination, grabbing a glass of kvas. glass in hand, he moved along, finding a spot in the back from where he could see everything. about to take a sip, a new group of people entering the ballroom had him look away for a moment, lowering the glass.

“Ghosts and exhaustion. Probably delusions due to the lack of sleep.” He yawned cracking his neck breathing deeply after that. A hand reached up toward the back of his neck strumming a sore and tired muscle looking across to a man he considered a friend. The moment the glass materialized a smile crossed Kolya’s face. “I shouldn’t have thought otherwise of you my friend. The world would be falling apart and it would be another day for all of us. One should think we’d be used to it here in Ravka. I feel awful but that is my burden I suppose believing I can protect not everyone but some people.”

Nikolai leaned against a wall and sipped the drink slowly. “Dima, I have not slept well in a decade all that is holding me together is kvas, a blue kefta and Sacha’s demanding ways. Our friend would never let me die unless he were the one to kill me so for now I may be immortal. Perhaps I will sleep better when I’m dead. What little sleep I might end up getting will serve to push me through the day and keep me sharp for students to launch things at my head not having full control over their powers. How often do you end up out here and not those fine goose feather pillows”

‘‘ah, that’ll do it. should you really be out and about then? unless the wandering helps.’‘ somewhat teasing, holding the glass up halfway, swirling the kvas in it. while dmitri’s words were lighthearted, the signs of sleep depravation worried him, watching kolya crack his neck with concern, a frown evident on his face. ‘‘sounds like we all deserve a trip up to the infirmary, makes you wonder if it’ll ever end, wars. the world ending. don’t, saving some souls is better than none at all. best not to dwell on those you didn’t.’‘

Finishing the remain liquid at the bottom of his glass, dmitri lowered it, putting it back in its original place where he’d found it upon waking, looking up at the man’s answer, frown deepening. ‘’Kolya, how long do you think that’ll last? that may be, but even immortals need sleep. Sacha with his demanding ways probably wouldn’t let you break down, and neither will I. some healer must have found a way to help people sleep, if not, I could always knock you out no problem, you just have to ask.’’

dmitri let out a chuckle at his question, it probably was his least favourite thing to talk about, immediately refilling his own glass and knocking it back before answering. ‘’too often. they’re soft enough but I guess i’ll always have this fear of someone trying to kill me in my sleep. business as usual in Ketterdam.’’

moving to the little palace was a life-changing moment for tahir. he’d never seen a place as beautiful as the one he was constantly walking through the corridors. even after a few years the palace managed to take his breath away on how majestic the marble floors were and the paintings hanging on the walls. it was another world, completely different from the one tahir were from. he wasn’t supposed to be there, that’s for sure. if he wasn’t an oprichniki they’d never allow him inside these walls.

after years making rounds on the palace, tahir learned which corners to go or to avoid. walking through the hallway near the library a flicker of a ligh caught his attention, carefully going to where the ligh were. the moment tahir set his feet near a chair at the library, he was attacked. his lungs eptied quickly but the attack ended soon as dmitri reconized him. gasping for air, tahir coughed a few times. “ i think i can ask you the same thing. ” he replied to the other man. “ rounds. ” tahir said, it was probably enough for dmitri understand why he was awake so late. the human took the chair near the grisha, accepting the cup of kvas he was offering. “ how are you? ” tahir asked with a face after drinking, feeling the liquid warming his body.

unsure at first how to answer the very question he’d asked, dmitri looked down at the table he was sitting at for an answer, finding the open book he’d been reading. ‘’good book.’’ he replied casually, lifting it, telling tahir a lie instead of the truth. the truth being that dmitri wasn’t interested in explaining how his sleeping in strange places had nothing to do with the recent attack or why it was normal for him in the first place. ‘’ah, an oprichniki. what’s that like? I wasn’t aware the darkling turned into the little palace at night.’’ thinking he was being funny, only now noticing the oprichniki uniform tahir was wearing. to his knowledge oprichniki usually guarded the darkling, not the little palace. 

however, seeing as tahir hadn’t gotten upset about being choked by a heartrender, indirectly or not, the least he could was have a pleasant conversation, doubly earned when he’d taken the glass of kvas offered. drinking together being way more fun than drinking alone ever had been. ‘’I’m good, the chaos, being busy training, and examining strange creatures is my peace and quiet, how about you?’’

Nikolai took a grateful breath before shaking his head and adjusting his collar. The man rarely slept and never well when he did. Exhaustion was a constant friend when who had ghosts in your past and in your head to haunt you no matter how friendly the ghost. “Shouldn’t you be?” Nikolai answered forgiving and forgetting the moment had two seconds before. It was not strange thing to see dima asleep in random and rather interesting places. “I was hoping you had kvas.” The squaller hoped. “The same illness plagues us both and I’d rather drink with a friend. How are you Dmitri? Since the attack I mean to say”

straightening his kefta, ridiculous uniform that it was, dmitri couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at nikolai’s reply. ‘’probably. but unlike you I was actually sleeping. what’s your excuse?’’ sounding nice enough, even if the words on their own were not. he didn’t get angry about the incident after all, so the least dmitri could do was to be nice in return, especially since he considered the man a friend. 

‘’oh always, no need to hope.’’ he confirmed casually, as if he had a stash somewhere, sliding the glass towards him. ‘’there’s something to drink to. not too bad. to be honest with you, I’ve never slept better. something about the familiarity of the chaos of the attack, the work and not really knowing any of the dead, makes for a good distraction from my own memories.’’ taking a drink from the glass he’d been holding, eyes glazing over for a second at just the mention of his past. shaking out of it, dmitri looked at the other, finally noticing nikolai’s exhausted state. ‘’anyway, it’s me who should be asking you, you look awful.’’ as if wandering the little palace in the middle of the night was not a dead give away.

sleeping in strange places. for anyone who knew him this was a normal habit of his, however to those who did not, it could easily come across as a coping mechanism, a consequence of the attack that had taken place. 

he’d started the night with a good book and a glass of kvas, a second standing next to his in case someone decided to join him. soon enough night turned into the dark hours, the last soul having left the place long ago, turning off the last source of light in the library, save for the one on the table he was sitting at. dmitri remained, having dozed off in one of the armchairs. although from the way he was sitting it looked like he could still be awake, as if he’d closed his eyes only to rest them for a moment.

a sound to his right startled him awake, instinctively reaching for their lungs, angling his hands together, removing the air from them as he manipulated the organ. realising the person who interrupted his sleep was not actually a threat to him, not at the moment at least, dmitri released them. 

‘‘shouldn’t you be in bed, you know, sleeping?’‘ pretending the incident hadn’t happened in the first place, dmitri reached for the bottle of kvas on the table, pouring the both of them a drink. ‘‘sit.’‘

Losing   people—it   has   been   years   since   she   became   a   part   of   the   second   army,   plenty   enough   time   to   see   more   loss   than   victories.   And   yet,   Yelena   was   still   not   used   to   it.   Nor   did   she   take   it   with   a   stride,   as   some   preferred   to   do.   In   moments   of   loss,   she   was   more   prone   to   anger   than   keeping   a   level   head.   The   memory   of   it   would   play   in   her   mind—even   the   sound   and   the   smell   of   anguish—and   it   would   sour   her   mood   quickly.   Today   was   no   different,   so   soon   after   the   recent   tragedy.   And   in   her   frustration,   a   scream   tore   through   the   silence,   as   she   threw   the   book   she   was   studying   across   the   room,   until   it   slammed   against   a   wall,   the   pages   flying   from   its   decaying   spine.

Yelena   tried   to   manage   her   breathing,   hands   balled   into   tight   fists.   Once   her   temper   passed,   she   could   finally   feel   the   other   beating   heart   in   the   room   with   her.   She   heaved   a   heavy   and   audible   sigh,   almost   theatrically,   as   if   she   had   just   been   caught   being   petulant,   rather   than   having   a   witness   to   a   moment   of   vulnerability.   “I’ll   pick   it   up,”   she   said,   before   doing   so.   Carefully,   she   picked   up   the   heavy   book,   and   its   pages,   strewn   all   over   the   floor.   “You   should   think   twice   before   sneaking   up   on   someone   like   that,   ”   Yelena   said,   her   tone   surprisingly   nonchalant.

the attack had been sudden, unexpected, horrifying, yet dmitri couldn’t get himself to care all that much about those who had been affected, dead, injured or otherwise. perhaps it was because he hadn’t grown up with any of them. however, knowing better, it was because he was a realist. nothing lasted forever, not even the little palace or the sanctuary it provided, the attack was proof of enough of its non-permanence. as a result he tried not to get too close to anybody here. yet here he was, aimlessly roaming the hallways.

a scream made him halt in his step as he passed the library. curiosity getting the better of him, he entered, only to find pages and pages of a book strewn everywhere. looking up he found the source, yelena. ‘’you should, I’m not doing it for you. nicely done though, this place could do with a book or two less if you ask me.’’ he chuckled, quite enjoying her outburst from where he was, leaning against the side of a book case with his arms crossed.

watching his fellow heartrender pick up the pages, dmitri couldn’t help but be surprised at her next words, raising an eyebrow at the woman. ‘’you’re a heartrender yelena, who could sneak up on you?’’