Nepenthe • Something that can make you forget grief or suffering.
Never feeling like they belonged was a feeling that Lissa Dragomir lived with, even with her family and life long best friend, although they aided in that feeling not being so strong...
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The Dhampir student body of St. Vladimir's Academy thought that they were seeing the beginning of a huge shitshow in slow motion, as Lady Natasha Ozera walked down from the Promised Guardian's Quarters floor wearing Guardian Belikov's clothes and with slightly messy hair and with a limp, that was quite noticeable.
It wasn't like they could avoid looking at her, they couldn't because Lady Ozera made sure to walk through the students with her head held high.
One could argue that she was holding her head high so that everyone knew she wasn't ashamed of the scar on her face, but everyone knew that it wasn't the case.
Mason Ashford tripped over his feet at the sight and was barely caught by Eddie Castille while Viktoria Belikova squeezed the glass of water, that she'd been drinking from, so hard that it shattered in her grip.
Everyone knew that the Russian God, Dimitri Belikov was exclusively seeing, or in other words, dating, the most deadly Novice, Katherine Mazur Alistair, so for Lady Ozera to be doing this, it meant that Dimitri cheated on Kate. And no one wanted to believe that he'd done that when he was so hopelessly attentive to her.
"Ты что, перепутала комнату моего брата с гостевым домиком, в котором остановилась, шлюха, ищущая внимания? (Did you mistake my brother's room for the guest cabin you're staying at, you attention seeking whore?)" Viktoria called out, venomously, making Tasha look surprised, as if the older woman had forgotten she attended the Academy.
The next few steps that Tasha took were without the limp she'd been displaying, before it returned just as Tasha turned her wintry blue eyes to Viktoria and replied in Russian "Мы с Димкой продолжили разговор на рассвете, выпили и снова сошлись. Знаете, как это бывает у бывших любовников. (Dimka and I continued talking at dawn, we drank and reconnected. You know, as ex-lovers do.)" her voice sugary and innocently sweet.
The type of voice that everyone believes instantly.
"My brother wouldn't return to you, even if you two were the last people on Earth." Viktoria scoffed, "Trust me, nothing happened except in your imagination."
The way that Viktoria was speaking showed her trust in her brother, her belief that he would never cheat on Kate, it was almost reassuring for some Dhampirs that were witnessing this, because while Kate and Dimitri's relationship was forbidden, it was far from being the first intra-Dhampir relationship, it was only the only one that wasn't kept a secret.
A look of offense crossed Tasha's face, barely long enough for anyone to notice it, except every Dhampir noticed it, they were trained to do so, to pick up on the slightest change, because it could be the difference between life and death.
