Amanda and Pyotr - Little Sisters
Apr. 4th, 2022 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsPyotr's been reading dossiers. Came across a very interesting one so he asked Amanda to share some insights.
It had taken him some time to get over his initial shock and April might, one day, actually talk to him again. How was he supposed to know she was going to respond so badly to moderate quantities of ice-cold vodka? She'd even been cutting them with water, to no avail. But the shock had passed, even if his self-recrimination had only faded a little. So it was time to get off his shiny metal ass, as Kyle might say, and start _doing something_.
He was, typically, a fan of doing something.
So he'd reached out to the witch of the Snow Valley people and, after some back-and-forth, they'd set an appointment to meet at a teashop she liked. Made no difference to him and it would be nice to get into the city for a bit.
He'd arrived early, as was his usual wont for appointments of all kinds, and ordered himself some tea he hoped was drinkable. To amuse himself and to spend the time until Amanda appeared, he started sketching the Snow Valley people he'd met from memory.
He didn't have to wait long. There was a brief swirl of air as the door opened and closed and then an English accented voice was heard by his side. "Hey, Pyotr. Hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"Not long at all." he said with a pleasant smile. And, coincidence by coincidence, it was her face he'd just start sketching when she walked in. He closed the sketchbook and put his pencil down. "You're probably wondering why I asked to speak with you." he said. "Was doing some casefile reading. Discovered something fairly interesting, thought yours would be the best input onto the situation." he said, then paused to take a sip of his tea.
"Tell me about my sister." he said plainly.
Amanda was sorry he'd put the sketchbook away so fast, and not just because it would have delayed what was obviously going to be a difficult conversation. Living with Marie-Ange had given her a certain appreciation for artists. She ordered her own tea and sat down, using the pause to marshall her thoughts.
"Hmm. Okay." She waited until her drink was brought and stirred sugar into it, trying to think of the best approach, especially considering she'd known two different Illyanas. "I didn't have very much to do with her," she said at last. "But I knew about her... history, with the demon realm. It might help if you tell me what you know first, so I can fill the gaps?"
"Did you know she had kin?" he asked quietly. "Who might have wanted to know when she re-appeared after her mysterious disappearance? And no, I'm not talking about Nikolai and Alexandra." he said, working very hard to keep things calm. Hence the public meeting.
"No, we didn't. Illyana was very tight-lipped about herself, and especially about family." It was essentially true, although their knowledge of that other version of Illyana meant it wasn't exactly true. "We did some digging, but without details it wasn't exactly easy. If we'd found family for her, we would have contacted them."
Pyotr wagged the fingers on one hand. "Hi. I'm the family you didn't contact." he said with a little steel in his voice. "And for now I'll accept that a group of powered global super-spies with precogs and witches couldn't find one person's family. I'm sure you tried." he said, hanging onto his temper by a thread. So he paused, took a sip of his tea, and counted backwards from 50 in Russian in his head. Then in English. "I want to know mostly about who she is. How she is doing." he asked.
Amanda's expression wasn't unsympathetic, but she also wasn't about to be intimidated. "I'm sorry that we didn't find you while she was with us. Illyana's situation was... hard to explain. And she probably isn't much like the little girl you remember - she's older than she should be, for a start. Very suspicious and secretive, which goes with the trauma she suffered being raised in a demon realm. To be honest, she didn't really connect with anyone at the mansion, except maybe her roommate. And when she said she wanted to join Rahne in Scotland, it seemed like a good idea." Amanda gestured, a little helplessly. "She disappeared not long after that. and we haven't been able to trace her at all."
"And unless she decides to once again grace us with her presence I suppose I'll never know. I've read the dossier, I've got the what-and-when. I'm looking for the who. You say she was secretive. Suspicious. Raised by demons. Tell me what that _means_. I'm a son of the Rodina, we don't typically go in for demons and spirits and magic and whatnot." he said with a fine disregard for Amanda's own gifts. "I want to know who my little sister is _now_. I know quite well who she was then."
A decade ago, Amanda might have risen to the bait. But she had knowledge of two dimension's worth of Rasputins, and she wasn't about to potentially destroy the family again, just to make a point. "I can't be too specific," she began. "Like I said, I didn't have a lot to do with her - she didn't want anything to do with me and I tried to respect that. Topaz knew her better. But I can tell you that being raised by demons... it's not like being raised by even the worst of humanity. She had to learn to survive potential death every day. Trust no-one, do whatever it took to keep on living. When she came to us, she barely knew how to function around people, or even the basics of technology. She spent most of her time alone and she avoided doing anything that needed her to interact with people - for the most part she thought we were all idiots."
"Just my luck." he said with a sigh. "I come to you for answers, to learn about who my sister was then when I didn't even know she was still alive and as it turns out she didn't trust you." he said. "Well, I know now more than I did before I started this conversation and I am grateful for that." he said with the closest he could come right then to a friendly smile. "I do have one last question, though." he said.
"Go ahead." Amanda kept her tone calm, sipping at her tea.
"Forgive me if this is a foolish idea, but I know literally nothing about how magic works." he said, keeping his voice low and conversational to avoid drawing any additional information. "But can you ... send me to whatever Hell she happens to be in?" he asked, fully expecting to be laughed out of the coffeeshop.
"No, I can't." She held up her hand to forestall any reaction of his. "Because honestly? We don't know that she is in a hell dimension right now. She left Muir, but that doesn't mean she's back in Limbo. She could be anywhere. And I can't promise anything, but we are looking for her. If we get any kind of data on her whereabouts, we'll let you know."
He nodded. "Well, it was a remote chance, but I just had to ask." he said, then took a swig of the last of his tea. "And she is my family and you know where I am. I'll hold you to your word." he said, then stood up and left a few bills on the table. "For your drink and mine. Thank you for your time." he said, gathering up his things and walking out. He wasn't going to let her see his reaction. Hopes raised, hopes dashed. But he knew more than he did and there had to be _someone_ in this gigantic city who could be persuaded to help him.
The tension drained out of her shoulders as she watched Pyotr leave. At least it hadn't been a total shithow. But he was going to be an issue, especially if he ever found his way to the magical underground - the incident with Warren had illustrated just how much trouble could be had. So she pulled out her phone and started tapping away. Better to be safe than having to drag someone else's arse out of a demonic realm.
It had taken him some time to get over his initial shock and April might, one day, actually talk to him again. How was he supposed to know she was going to respond so badly to moderate quantities of ice-cold vodka? She'd even been cutting them with water, to no avail. But the shock had passed, even if his self-recrimination had only faded a little. So it was time to get off his shiny metal ass, as Kyle might say, and start _doing something_.
He was, typically, a fan of doing something.
So he'd reached out to the witch of the Snow Valley people and, after some back-and-forth, they'd set an appointment to meet at a teashop she liked. Made no difference to him and it would be nice to get into the city for a bit.
He'd arrived early, as was his usual wont for appointments of all kinds, and ordered himself some tea he hoped was drinkable. To amuse himself and to spend the time until Amanda appeared, he started sketching the Snow Valley people he'd met from memory.
He didn't have to wait long. There was a brief swirl of air as the door opened and closed and then an English accented voice was heard by his side. "Hey, Pyotr. Hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"Not long at all." he said with a pleasant smile. And, coincidence by coincidence, it was her face he'd just start sketching when she walked in. He closed the sketchbook and put his pencil down. "You're probably wondering why I asked to speak with you." he said. "Was doing some casefile reading. Discovered something fairly interesting, thought yours would be the best input onto the situation." he said, then paused to take a sip of his tea.
"Tell me about my sister." he said plainly.
Amanda was sorry he'd put the sketchbook away so fast, and not just because it would have delayed what was obviously going to be a difficult conversation. Living with Marie-Ange had given her a certain appreciation for artists. She ordered her own tea and sat down, using the pause to marshall her thoughts.
"Hmm. Okay." She waited until her drink was brought and stirred sugar into it, trying to think of the best approach, especially considering she'd known two different Illyanas. "I didn't have very much to do with her," she said at last. "But I knew about her... history, with the demon realm. It might help if you tell me what you know first, so I can fill the gaps?"
"Did you know she had kin?" he asked quietly. "Who might have wanted to know when she re-appeared after her mysterious disappearance? And no, I'm not talking about Nikolai and Alexandra." he said, working very hard to keep things calm. Hence the public meeting.
"No, we didn't. Illyana was very tight-lipped about herself, and especially about family." It was essentially true, although their knowledge of that other version of Illyana meant it wasn't exactly true. "We did some digging, but without details it wasn't exactly easy. If we'd found family for her, we would have contacted them."
Pyotr wagged the fingers on one hand. "Hi. I'm the family you didn't contact." he said with a little steel in his voice. "And for now I'll accept that a group of powered global super-spies with precogs and witches couldn't find one person's family. I'm sure you tried." he said, hanging onto his temper by a thread. So he paused, took a sip of his tea, and counted backwards from 50 in Russian in his head. Then in English. "I want to know mostly about who she is. How she is doing." he asked.
Amanda's expression wasn't unsympathetic, but she also wasn't about to be intimidated. "I'm sorry that we didn't find you while she was with us. Illyana's situation was... hard to explain. And she probably isn't much like the little girl you remember - she's older than she should be, for a start. Very suspicious and secretive, which goes with the trauma she suffered being raised in a demon realm. To be honest, she didn't really connect with anyone at the mansion, except maybe her roommate. And when she said she wanted to join Rahne in Scotland, it seemed like a good idea." Amanda gestured, a little helplessly. "She disappeared not long after that. and we haven't been able to trace her at all."
"And unless she decides to once again grace us with her presence I suppose I'll never know. I've read the dossier, I've got the what-and-when. I'm looking for the who. You say she was secretive. Suspicious. Raised by demons. Tell me what that _means_. I'm a son of the Rodina, we don't typically go in for demons and spirits and magic and whatnot." he said with a fine disregard for Amanda's own gifts. "I want to know who my little sister is _now_. I know quite well who she was then."
A decade ago, Amanda might have risen to the bait. But she had knowledge of two dimension's worth of Rasputins, and she wasn't about to potentially destroy the family again, just to make a point. "I can't be too specific," she began. "Like I said, I didn't have a lot to do with her - she didn't want anything to do with me and I tried to respect that. Topaz knew her better. But I can tell you that being raised by demons... it's not like being raised by even the worst of humanity. She had to learn to survive potential death every day. Trust no-one, do whatever it took to keep on living. When she came to us, she barely knew how to function around people, or even the basics of technology. She spent most of her time alone and she avoided doing anything that needed her to interact with people - for the most part she thought we were all idiots."
"Just my luck." he said with a sigh. "I come to you for answers, to learn about who my sister was then when I didn't even know she was still alive and as it turns out she didn't trust you." he said. "Well, I know now more than I did before I started this conversation and I am grateful for that." he said with the closest he could come right then to a friendly smile. "I do have one last question, though." he said.
"Go ahead." Amanda kept her tone calm, sipping at her tea.
"Forgive me if this is a foolish idea, but I know literally nothing about how magic works." he said, keeping his voice low and conversational to avoid drawing any additional information. "But can you ... send me to whatever Hell she happens to be in?" he asked, fully expecting to be laughed out of the coffeeshop.
"No, I can't." She held up her hand to forestall any reaction of his. "Because honestly? We don't know that she is in a hell dimension right now. She left Muir, but that doesn't mean she's back in Limbo. She could be anywhere. And I can't promise anything, but we are looking for her. If we get any kind of data on her whereabouts, we'll let you know."
He nodded. "Well, it was a remote chance, but I just had to ask." he said, then took a swig of the last of his tea. "And she is my family and you know where I am. I'll hold you to your word." he said, then stood up and left a few bills on the table. "For your drink and mine. Thank you for your time." he said, gathering up his things and walking out. He wasn't going to let her see his reaction. Hopes raised, hopes dashed. But he knew more than he did and there had to be _someone_ in this gigantic city who could be persuaded to help him.
The tension drained out of her shoulders as she watched Pyotr leave. At least it hadn't been a total shithow. But he was going to be an issue, especially if he ever found his way to the magical underground - the incident with Warren had illustrated just how much trouble could be had. So she pulled out her phone and started tapping away. Better to be safe than having to drag someone else's arse out of a demonic realm.
