No Backing Out Now, We Already Shook On It PV Closed

rping as iNPC Maksim Preobrazhensky [x]

All dialogue is in Russian.

Maksim was, for the first time in his very short life, counting down the days until school started.

It wasn't that he hated his family, or his brother, or his home life. On the contrary, he loved his parents very dearly, the pub and their home above the pub, and most of all, his brother (slash automatic best friend). But three months was just far too long of a time to spend roaming the fields and cliffs each and every day. Even as social as he was, he felt like his head was going to explode from the amount of new people he greeted, perched behind the bar, every single day. There was only so much repetitiveness a teenager could bear before going absolutely insane.

And so it seemed that the day was like any other. Slava was antsy and wanted to go out, like always; Mama was supportive but joking, like always; Papa was cheerful and optimistic, like always. There was little Max could do to resist Slava's requests, but it was with a deep groan that he managed to peel himself off the living room couch, and a dragging of his feet that he managed to stuff his feet into his sneakers. They were so close, painfully close to the school year, and all Max wanted to do was to go back to Durmstrang.

As if sensing her son's thoughts, Sofia called his name softly from the kitchen, where she was preparing food for a few of the guests staying at the pub. "Chin up, darling," she remarked with a gentle smile. "The birds are singing, and so should you."

With those rather puzzling words, Max waved goodbye as Slava ran face-first into the door. "Dumbass!" he called with a chuckle, closely followed by an admonishing "Language!" from Aleksandr. Watching Slava sprint across their yard/the pub's lawn, Maksim sighed as he picked up his pace to a mild jog. He knew that he'd get an earful if he was lagging too far behind (and would never live it down until the day he died), and his long legs quickly helped him trail behind Slava as he reached the tree. Staring down at his brother with an amused grin, Max idly wondered if there would be a day when his little brother would grow taller than him, or stronger than him. Surely not, right? After all, he was the big brother.

"You're getting slow," he remarked, although the statement was completely untrue. "The fitness classes are going to be hell when we go back." School seemed to be at the very center of his thoughts as the Preobrazhensky brothers caught their breath by the tree. Remembering his father's words, Max stood up on his tiptoes as he peered into the bowtruckles' next in the tree, waving a gentle hello at them as he saw that they were all still there.

Once Slava was no longer hyperventilating, Max would gesture wordlessly with his gaze and his eyebrows towards a well-traveled path that curved into tall fields of grass, wildflowers, and wheat. Living on the outskirts of town certainly had its benefits, one of them being the abundant wildlife to traverse during the holidays. This path would eventually fork, one leading towards more prairie and some woods, while the left branch would lead towards the cliffs overlooking a small ravine. It was a path the brothers had traveled often during their summers, sometimes simply strolling along while others, racing each other on their parents' brooms, keeping low to the ground and crashing into the fields.

"Let's go to the cliffs," Max suggested, his eyes glancing towards the aforementioned landmarks in the distance. Usually, it took them about an hour and some change to make the whole loop, but as he figured that they'd stay up at the cliffs for a while, they'd make it back just in time for dinner. "I'll think of a dare on the way." Nudging Slava towards the path with his elbow, the two began the somewhat lengthy walk towards their destination. As they walked, Max's eyes unfocused slightly, his expression clearly one of deep thought and contemplation. Usually, Slava had no time for this silly thinking business, but his brother liked to choose his words carefully before speaking. Finally, after a moment, he glanced at Slava with an uncharacteristically stern expression.

"We're going to have to sharpen up this year," he said definitively, with a hard, determined edge to his words. "We're going to make Mama and Papa proud. We have to. I know grades aren't the first thing on your mind, but I'm going to make something of myself... and that means taking my schoolwork as seriously as possible." With a shrug, Max turned his gaze back towards the path as he added, "I suggest that you do the same."

RPing as approved Durmstrang iNPC Vyacheslav Preobrazhensky

Slava ran, relishing the way the wind felt as it pushed against his body and pulled the curls away from his face, which were bouncing up and down every time his feet hit the ground. A frantic glance was cast in an attempt to locate his brother, Slava still propelling himself forwards despite his gaze flicking behind him. Max was behind him, but he knew it would not be for long, as his sibling was gaining on him quickly. They finally reached the tree side by side, Slava panting and leaning against the trunk in a carefree manner. He inhaled deeply, making sure he had enough air to respond to Maksim's quip. “Me? Slow?” Slava snorted. “In your dreams. You're just trying to distract from the fact that I beat you here,” he accused with a grin.

He watched Max begin to look for the bowtruckles and swiftly made his way to his brother's side, moving from his position against the tree. He craned his neck, teetering on his tiptoes before realising that he was still too short to see. Undeterred, he began leaping up and down, catching a glimpse of the small tree-dwelling creatures and smiling. Maksim eventually moved him along, directing him to the path that would lead to the cliffs. Slava didn't just walk beside him, he skipped and bounced, falling behind for a moment to kick a rock like one would a ball before hurrying to catch up. He made little carefree, energetic movements every now and then, an extra hop, a funny walk that prevented him from moving in a straight line without wobbling all over the place or stumbling off to the side, and they lacked any pattern or order.

He wouldn't be running out of energy any time soon, so why not have fun with it while his brother was deep in thought? He hummed lightly, swinging his arms vigorously as he moved, only stopping when Max turned to him with a serious expression. “What? What did I do?” he asked, squinting at him, confused. His brother started speaking, talking about boring things like grades and taking schoolwork seriously. Slava mimicked him, mouthing the words after his brother said them, puffing out his chest to imply a grandiose sense of importance. He stuck out his tongue as a childish move, staring blankly at Maksim.

Stretching to reach Max's head, he rapped gently on it. “Is Max in there?” he cooed teasingly. He realised that his brother was indeed serious and wrinkled his nose in disgust. “The horror! What's got into you?” He turned away, letting their footfalls be the only sound between them, but it only took a moment for him to turn to face Max once more. “They'll be proud of us no matter what,” he insisted, confident that it was true. “Surely there's more to success than just grades anyway.”

What else was there? Friendships, being well-liked? Weren't those good things to strive for? He personally liked pranks, but he didn't think his parents would call that a form of success. What about sports? Quidditch was an option, right? Yeah, there were plenty of things outside of conventional smarts and classes… The youngest Preobrazhensky currently cared little for grades, much preferring thrill-seeking or social interaction to studying just to be considered "smart". Grades were worthless to him if he wasn't also making space for fun and feeling alive. “Lighten up and live a little.” A playful punch was swung in the direction of Max's arm. “What about that dare? You got anything?” He began walking backwards, facing his brother fully with a silly grin on his face.

rping as iNPC Maksim Preobrazhensky [x]

All dialogue is in Russian.

Slava had always been the jokester of the two, that was true. But Max had never considered himself to be serious- he just seemed that way in comparison to his younger brother. But as Slava rapped his knuckles on his forehead and Maksim swatted his hand away with a half-hearted scowl, he couldn’t help but think that maybe he was a bit too serious. Yes, there was something to be said for pride and dignity, but maybe Slava was right. Was he taking things too seriously? The self-doubt that was building in his mind was evident as his pace began to slow and a crease began to form between his brows. This year was a pivotal moment in the young boy's life, where he was maturing and beginning to recognize the responsibilities he would soon have to face. He knew that his future was looming just over the horizon, casting its dark and heavy shadow over nearly every aspect of his life. While he would've liked nothing more than to spend life flying by the seat of his pants, spontaneity would not carry him through the rest of school and into a career.

He pursed his lips as Slava stated the obvious, rebutting quietly, "Sure, but grades are at least a good way to measure certain types of success, and quantifiable data is... oh, nevermind. It doesn't matter." The two brothers strolled side by side on the path, the cliffs to their left and the woods growing smaller and smaller to their right. The familiar path was not one that Maksim particularly enjoyed; the image of his body lying broken on the rocks, slowly being eroded by the crashing waves far below his feet, was all too easily conjured up in his mind every time he glanced toward the cliff's edge. Thankfully, the reoccurring visualization of his own demise was interrupted by a very real feeling of sudden pain in his arm. Max turned on his brother with a lecture on the tip of his tongue and a retaliatory blow forming in his own fist, but he paused when Slava brought up the dare. That's right, he was supposed to have thought of a dare at this point. "Uh... not yet. Give me a moment." His lips pressed together instinctually as he thought, realizing that in his tornado of thoughts about school and homework, he had completely forgotten to come up with a dare for Slava.

While he thought, his eyes remained locked on the cliff's edge, warily watching the tufts of grass at the furthermost edge of the precipice bending dutifully in the gentle breeze of the summer afternoon. How could they bow so mindlessly to their eventual demise? The rain would erode the face of the cliff, the dirt beneath the grass would tumble to the sea below, and a fall from that height was enough to kill anyone and anything. The grass would be lost to the turmoil of the sea, never to see the sun's rays ever again. What a sad existence. With his thoughts so focused on the cliff, it was only natural that Maksim began to contemplate other great heights from which one could fall. From the top of the Durmstrang towers, no doubt...

Or what about from atop a broom?

"I dare you to try out for Quidditch this year," Maksim announced, turning to Slava with a glint in his eye. It wasn't a very practical nor riveting dare, since it couldn't be completed now in the moment, but it was one that held a lot at stake. Joining an extracurricular was a big deal and a huge time commitment, and Max couldn't help but wonder if Slava valued his free time too much to follow through on the proposed dare. "Of course, you can back out... but then you have to do the dishes for the rest of the summer until we go back to school," Max added, giving his younger brother an out. "Do you want to talk terms on the dare? Or do you want to be our dishwasher for the summer?"