Modern Idiots
AULIS VOROZHEYKIN.
KOLDOVSTORETZ. VEDMAK OF DIVINATION.
Russian. | English.
Spoken. | Thought.
When the cat's away, the mice will play -- but when the mice were home for the summer holiday with their families, the cats could relax. One such feline, Koldovstoretz's Vedmak of Divination Aulis Vorozheykin, had spent much of his relaxation time in New Zealand for the past few summers -- after all, where else could he get free shoulder rubs on demand? Of course, his host and boyfriend of the past two years, Arturo Reyes -- a travelling, drop-dead gorgeous, and mildly famous conservationist based here in Auckland -- had better qualities than just strong hands and a good knowledge of the musculoskeletal system; there was the jawline sharp enough to cut glass, and the biceps thicker than Aulis's neck, and the beautiful house and loads of Galleons, and, and, and... oh, and the personality stuff, too, he supposed. Intelligence and kindness and caring about the environment and such.
Yeah, it was definitely the biceps.
The school year was due to start up again in just a few days, and so Aulis had reluctantly begun to pack his things back into his trunk for the Floo trip back to Russia. It had been a balmy warm during his time here, not too hot but definitely not too cold, so most of Aulis's long coats had spent their time simply hanging in Art's closet; he was in the middle of packing them, at first using the Pack! spell and then getting annoyed at the charm's uneven lines and simply doing it manually to straighten out each crease and ensure a perfect fold of each perfect garment, when a light bulb went off (figuratively, of course) over his head, a solution to an issue he'd been turning over in his mind for days.
Of course! That is it.
Abandoning the folding of coats, Aulis glanced behind him to surreptitiously ensure that his handsome partner hadn't crept up behind him into the room without his knowing. Luckily, the bedroom was still empty; Art had been gone when Aulis had woken up, and the Koldovstoretz professor had figured he would simply use the time to continue gathering his things so that when his boyfriend returned they could spend the time he would have needed to use for packing to do things together instead. Pulling his cherrywood wand from the pocket of his silk robe, Aulis tapped it lightly along the hard side of his trunk and whispered, "Revelio." The hidden compartment there swung open, revealing a large, solid indoor pocket of the trunk lid, stuffed nearly to its brim with various parchments and journals. The one he sought was on top, old and weathered and worn with a brown leather cover and моя поэзия (my poetry) scratched to its front. A last line of defence, in case it was ever discovered.
Aulis pulled the journal of prophecies from its hidden compartment, along with a Muggle ink pen, and sealed the pocket back up with another spell. Deft, practiced fingers flipped to a page bookmarked in pale blue, a name in Russian emblazoned at its top. Several versions of an augury had been scrawled there and scribbled out in the last weeks as Aulis attempted to think through the problem: the problem, of course, being one of his incoming seventh-year students. Daniil. The boy was a genius, a Herbology mastermind and a wizard (quite literally!) with creatures; he had a soothing touch and a calming voice, and was well-liked by his peers... but he hated Divination with a passion, and it was beginning to affect the rest of the class. Aulis had just barely managed to keep them under control through the end of their sixth year a few months back, but with his final year at Koldovstoretz beginning in just days, Daniil was sure to wreak havoc on what little tenuous hold Aulis still had on his classroom. He'd spent the entire summer trying to figure out a solution, and now, here it was: Yuliya, another soon-to-be-seventh-year in the same class. A lovely young creature with long blonde hair and stunning dark eyes, she had captured the attention of nearly every young man -- and some of the young women, alike -- in their age grouping, Daniil included, and Aulis's keen gaze had not let this go unnoticed. Best of all, Yuliya was one of Aulis's best students, and loved Divination.
He flipped to a new page and wrote her name at the top: Юлія.
Getting her to fall for Daniil would be a separate challenge. For now, he flipped back to Daniil's page and began to write. Time slipped through the hourglass, sands through the cinch, as he wrote and scribbled and wrote and crossed and wrote -- until he had a prophecy, fully formed in front of him. A loving sigh escaped his lips as he lifted it to examine, as if it were a precious creation rather than a page of deceit in a book of lies.
Aulya, you have done it again.
A rustling sound in another part of the house -- nearby, but not yet in the room -- startled him, and Aulis jumped up off the bed where he had perched; it was either Art or their child dog, but seeing as how neither had been here upon his awakening, Aulis knew that he was about to have company, fast. Too fast to unlock the compartment. Sweat broke out along his chiseled brow, and in a fit of fear, Aulis lifted one of the coats he had thrown upon the bed and shoved the journal -- still open to Daniil's page -- underneath it, arranging the cloth to look as if it had been tossed there haphazardly. Something Aulis would never do, normally, but right now the situation necessitated such carelessness. Standing back up and grabbing a different coat to fold, he whirled back towards the door just as a figure appeared there, giving his partner a winning smile.
"Goodest morning, my solnyshko," sunshine Aulis exclaimed, as if everything was normal and nothing was hidden or wrong at all. "Where were you?"
Yeah, it was definitely the biceps.
The school year was due to start up again in just a few days, and so Aulis had reluctantly begun to pack his things back into his trunk for the Floo trip back to Russia. It had been a balmy warm during his time here, not too hot but definitely not too cold, so most of Aulis's long coats had spent their time simply hanging in Art's closet; he was in the middle of packing them, at first using the Pack! spell and then getting annoyed at the charm's uneven lines and simply doing it manually to straighten out each crease and ensure a perfect fold of each perfect garment, when a light bulb went off (figuratively, of course) over his head, a solution to an issue he'd been turning over in his mind for days.
Of course! That is it.
Abandoning the folding of coats, Aulis glanced behind him to surreptitiously ensure that his handsome partner hadn't crept up behind him into the room without his knowing. Luckily, the bedroom was still empty; Art had been gone when Aulis had woken up, and the Koldovstoretz professor had figured he would simply use the time to continue gathering his things so that when his boyfriend returned they could spend the time he would have needed to use for packing to do things together instead. Pulling his cherrywood wand from the pocket of his silk robe, Aulis tapped it lightly along the hard side of his trunk and whispered, "Revelio." The hidden compartment there swung open, revealing a large, solid indoor pocket of the trunk lid, stuffed nearly to its brim with various parchments and journals. The one he sought was on top, old and weathered and worn with a brown leather cover and моя поэзия (my poetry) scratched to its front. A last line of defence, in case it was ever discovered.
Aulis pulled the journal of prophecies from its hidden compartment, along with a Muggle ink pen, and sealed the pocket back up with another spell. Deft, practiced fingers flipped to a page bookmarked in pale blue, a name in Russian emblazoned at its top. Several versions of an augury had been scrawled there and scribbled out in the last weeks as Aulis attempted to think through the problem: the problem, of course, being one of his incoming seventh-year students. Daniil. The boy was a genius, a Herbology mastermind and a wizard (quite literally!) with creatures; he had a soothing touch and a calming voice, and was well-liked by his peers... but he hated Divination with a passion, and it was beginning to affect the rest of the class. Aulis had just barely managed to keep them under control through the end of their sixth year a few months back, but with his final year at Koldovstoretz beginning in just days, Daniil was sure to wreak havoc on what little tenuous hold Aulis still had on his classroom. He'd spent the entire summer trying to figure out a solution, and now, here it was: Yuliya, another soon-to-be-seventh-year in the same class. A lovely young creature with long blonde hair and stunning dark eyes, she had captured the attention of nearly every young man -- and some of the young women, alike -- in their age grouping, Daniil included, and Aulis's keen gaze had not let this go unnoticed. Best of all, Yuliya was one of Aulis's best students, and loved Divination.
He flipped to a new page and wrote her name at the top: Юлія.
Getting her to fall for Daniil would be a separate challenge. For now, he flipped back to Daniil's page and began to write. Time slipped through the hourglass, sands through the cinch, as he wrote and scribbled and wrote and crossed and wrote -- until he had a prophecy, fully formed in front of him. A loving sigh escaped his lips as he lifted it to examine, as if it were a precious creation rather than a page of deceit in a book of lies.
Aulya, you have done it again.
A rustling sound in another part of the house -- nearby, but not yet in the room -- startled him, and Aulis jumped up off the bed where he had perched; it was either Art or their child dog, but seeing as how neither had been here upon his awakening, Aulis knew that he was about to have company, fast. Too fast to unlock the compartment. Sweat broke out along his chiseled brow, and in a fit of fear, Aulis lifted one of the coats he had thrown upon the bed and shoved the journal -- still open to Daniil's page -- underneath it, arranging the cloth to look as if it had been tossed there haphazardly. Something Aulis would never do, normally, but right now the situation necessitated such carelessness. Standing back up and grabbing a different coat to fold, he whirled back towards the door just as a figure appeared there, giving his partner a winning smile.
"Goodest morning, my solnyshko," sunshine Aulis exclaimed, as if everything was normal and nothing was hidden or wrong at all. "Where were you?"
|| DATE. 29th Aug. 2022 | LOCATION. Arturo's home in Auckland, NZ | OUTFIT. x | WORD COUNT. 1,012/200 ||
|| KEEN EYE | PERFECTIONIST II | CHARMER | NONVERBAL MAGIC | WANDLESS MAGIC | LEGILIMENS ||
@Arturo Reyes
|| KEEN EYE | PERFECTIONIST II | CHARMER | NONVERBAL MAGIC | WANDLESS MAGIC | LEGILIMENS ||
@Arturo Reyes
Modern Idiots
Summers in Hamilton was always his favorite part of the year, where Aulis wasn't forced to be away from him and they both could pretend like they lived a silly, little life of domesticity and playful banter.
These breaks were the only moments of solace that he'd find with his boyfriend who quite frankly, drove the New Zealander absolutely mad with immense passion and genuine frustration. Was it meant to feel this frantic? A specter of a man always out of reach; a marble statue both in form and function. And yet, Arturo couldn't get enough and ached for more stolen moments between Hamilton and the frigid terrain of Koldovstoretz. It was between the yearning, the clashing of minds and forms against one another, and the playful taunts that had Arturo mesmerized by the smoke and mirrors of it all. He wasn't an idiot, there was something that always felt slightly askew when it came to the two of them together but the Wizard had to willingly decide that it hadn't mattered long ago and it simply didn't matter now.
With the two of them co-habiting Arturo's home for months now and it felt like something the conservationist could've gotten in the groove with if their jobs hadn't been at odds with one another. The only silver lining was that Arturo could time his breaks to be he same and that they could have these reprieves together ; fervor and voracity exponential in their proximity to one another. Fuck, he couldn't resist his stupid boyfriend's charm and sass. There was something about Aulis and the way that he maneuvered through the world that was so fascinating to Arturo because of how inherently opposed the two of them were meant to be.
The Filipino-Canadian had a ferocity that he wore as armor and brandished like a weapon, willing to charge, disarm, and parry those who stood so adamantly apposed to him and his beliefs. However, Aulis Lavrentovich Vorozheykin moved as the shadows did — shrouded and mysterious in the background while distracting others with his existence, as though he had been conditioned through life to distract and engage, to then distract again.
The morning had been uneventful as Aulis had taken his sweet time waking up for the day and Arturo could only wait so patiently for so long before he got himself out of bed hours before his boyfriend would even begin to stir. A gentle kissed places on the blonde's forehead, Arturo tucked the other back into bed before making his way to the bathroom to ready himself for a morning jog.
It was a part of his routine while at home, the wizarding neighborhood that he lived in was exactly two miles, which was the perfect path for him to get back home with enough time to make breakfast before Aulis had to begin packing for his floo powder journey back home. Despite his heart panging with yearning, Arturo was far too logical to let it bother him much more than the errant feeling of wishing that this fleeting moment could be extended. While he was excited to get back to his work, Arturo would always be splitting himself between one and the other, as long as Aulis was a professor of divination.
The jog was routine - wand secured in a satchel that clasped onto his back as he dressed in form-fitting clothing and focused on a steady rhythm throughout Hamilton letting his mind take in his home as the days till his returned counted down.
About an half and a half later, Arturo had returned back to their place with a bag of their favorite bagels and spread from the bakery around the corner. Shuffling noises had been coming from the bedroom and a sweaty Art kicked off his shoes while he entered and made his way over to see if Aulis was actually up or if he was just tossing and turning incredibly loudly.
" That's not curious at all, babe. " His brow furrowed slightly as Arturo turned the corner into the bedroom and noticed a whirlwind of magic helping the man pack while Aulis stood there like a toddler being caught with his hand in a cookie jar." I went for a run though. There's bagels on the counter, if you're hungry. " Without skipping a beat, Arturo made his way to the primary bathroom to shower and left a present for his boyfriend by peeling off his shirt and balling it up nice and tight only to throw it over to Aulis hoping to hit him right in the face while he closed the door to the bathroom behind him.
Wasn't it such a joy for Aulis that his wonderful and lovely boyfriend had so much whimsy and wonder. Truly, the luckiest man in all the Wizarding World.
Modern Idiots
AULIS VOROZHEYKIN.
KOLDOVSTORETZ. VEDMAK OF DIVINATION.
Russian. | English.
Spoken. | Thought.
Before Art could so much as answer where he had been, Aulis's discerning gaze peered over his boyfriend's sweaty frame, enjoying what he saw (naturally) but also picking up on some particular details here and there to tell the story of the man's trip out-of-doors this morning. The slight redness in a line around Art's dominant wrist indicated that he'd taken their dog with him, wherever he had gone, and that the goodest boy had been leashed, so they hadn't just been in the backyard running wild. Sweat dripping down his brow and visible in dark patches spattered along his very tight clothing, appreciation duly noted, told Aulis that there had been some running involved (and thank goodness he had not been awake for that, lest he'd been dragged along on the exercise). And finally, the slightly warm, salty scent of bread in the air, plus the crinkling sound he'd just heard from the living room before his beautiful god of a boyfriend's entrance, suggested that there were bagels in play. Excellent. Let there please be one of beetroot. It is such a lovely colour, and so difficult to acquire back home.
"I went for a run though. There's-"
"Bagels," Aulis interrupted, saying the word at the same time as his partner did, though the next few were half a second behind Art: "On the counter. And you have taken the zolotse darling/"little gold" on your run. Thank you so dearly, my solnyshko. I hope your run was quite pleasing. That is surely most pleasing to me," and he added a wink at the end, reaching out and tracing a finger over the other man's collarbone as he passed by. "Ya tebya lyublyuuuuu..." I love you
Arturo made his way over to the bathroom, and Aulis took a step to perhaps sneak in after him - at the very least, he could draw cute phrases in Russian in the mirror steam, though we all know that was not what was intended - but before he could stop the door from closing, a sweat-stained shirt smacked him square in his chiseled face, and Aulis sputtered, immediately batting the thing away as if he were a cat, with his long fingers curled into instinctive paw-like fists. The shirt was quite nice on his partner, but off, it was just a wet, stinky blob of fabric that so desperately needed a wash, or perhaps two. It fell to the floor with a sad plop just as the door to the restroom clicked shut, leaving Aulis outside. He waltzed over to the wooden apparatus so heartlessly separating them, dancing fingertips down the beveling as if it were Art's equally marble-carved chest. "How of you to be so cruel," he half-whined just loudly enough for his boyfriend to hear even as his own ears sensed the water starting on the other side. "So very cruel..."
And yet, it was a good thing, wasn't it? There were prophecies to hide, written and stashed under a blanket on the bed. Aulis turned and threw the blanket aside to reveal his book of lies and mischief, moving to put the darned thing away before it ruined one of the best things to ever happen to him... and then the seduction of it called to him, the blank pages simply crying out for text to be inscribed upon their empty surfaces, and before he knew it, he was sitting on the bed again scribbling away. Thoughts of model students and matchmaking danced in his head as he wrote out a most lovely first draft:
Two lonely hearts lost
Finally, together
Light eyes meet
Blue sky, warm weather
A heart so entangled
In joy of another
May find peace at last
A secret uncovered
Over a crystal ball
Mutual interests bloom
Fall into this love
To find yourself a groom
Surely he had enough time to edit it before Art got out of the shower... right?
"I went for a run though. There's-"
"Bagels," Aulis interrupted, saying the word at the same time as his partner did, though the next few were half a second behind Art: "On the counter. And you have taken the zolotse darling/"little gold" on your run. Thank you so dearly, my solnyshko. I hope your run was quite pleasing. That is surely most pleasing to me," and he added a wink at the end, reaching out and tracing a finger over the other man's collarbone as he passed by. "Ya tebya lyublyuuuuu..." I love you
Arturo made his way over to the bathroom, and Aulis took a step to perhaps sneak in after him - at the very least, he could draw cute phrases in Russian in the mirror steam, though we all know that was not what was intended - but before he could stop the door from closing, a sweat-stained shirt smacked him square in his chiseled face, and Aulis sputtered, immediately batting the thing away as if he were a cat, with his long fingers curled into instinctive paw-like fists. The shirt was quite nice on his partner, but off, it was just a wet, stinky blob of fabric that so desperately needed a wash, or perhaps two. It fell to the floor with a sad plop just as the door to the restroom clicked shut, leaving Aulis outside. He waltzed over to the wooden apparatus so heartlessly separating them, dancing fingertips down the beveling as if it were Art's equally marble-carved chest. "How of you to be so cruel," he half-whined just loudly enough for his boyfriend to hear even as his own ears sensed the water starting on the other side. "So very cruel..."
And yet, it was a good thing, wasn't it? There were prophecies to hide, written and stashed under a blanket on the bed. Aulis turned and threw the blanket aside to reveal his book of lies and mischief, moving to put the darned thing away before it ruined one of the best things to ever happen to him... and then the seduction of it called to him, the blank pages simply crying out for text to be inscribed upon their empty surfaces, and before he knew it, he was sitting on the bed again scribbling away. Thoughts of model students and matchmaking danced in his head as he wrote out a most lovely first draft:
Two lonely hearts lost
Finally, together
Light eyes meet
Blue sky, warm weather
A heart so entangled
In joy of another
May find peace at last
A secret uncovered
Over a crystal ball
Mutual interests bloom
Fall into this love
To find yourself a groom
Surely he had enough time to edit it before Art got out of the shower... right?
|| DATE. 29th Aug. 2022 | LOCATION. Arturo's home in Auckland, NZ | OUTFIT. x | WORD COUNT. 1,012/200 ||
|| KEEN EYE | PERFECTIONIST II | CHARMER | NONVERBAL MAGIC | WANDLESS MAGIC | LEGILIMENS ||
@Arturo Reyes
|| KEEN EYE | PERFECTIONIST II | CHARMER | NONVERBAL MAGIC | WANDLESS MAGIC | LEGILIMENS ||
@Arturo Reyes