Vampire Academy: Dimitri's Point of View

Calm Before The Storm

Schedules were shifted slightly for the Equinox Dance. I had an afternoon shift running the school perimeter before the dance started, and then the rest of the night off. It would be my first real night off duty in a while and I was already looking forward to spending some quiet time alone. Between training and the extra shifts watching over Lissa, I felt like I was constantly working. Usually, I didn't mind. Especially since "time off" wasn't really something that you got to enjoy during typical field work. I briefly humored the thought of how it was just another sign that Academy work was making me soft. Still, I was determined to enjoy the luxury while I could.
That morning, I had given Rose the afternoon off from practice because of the schedule change and so she had extra time to get ready for the dance. I would be good for her. Between classes and training, she didn't have nearly the amount of time most girls her age had to just be a normal teenager. It would be nice for her to enjoy an activity that didn't directly train her to eventually kill. Plus, I knew she had been looking forward to this with Lissa. Perhaps this could help them come together again. They were still having issues. I had hoped that the dance would cheer her up, but all she did was inform me that she was going to finish the paper that she had been working on yesterday wasn't planning on attending it at all.
I wanted to encourage her to go, but I knew that it wasn't my place. Plus, when her mind was made up, it was practically pointless to try to change it and this small matter wasn't worth the effort. Instead I just wished her a good evening watched her run off towards the rest of her day.
My perimeter shift was fairly quiet, just checking the wards surrounding the Academy and watching out for students sneaking away towards restricted areas. More often than not, checking the wards was simply a nice long walk around the woods surrounding the academy. The path was well worn from others who had made this walk before me. That was the most physical sign of the ward boundaries. The protective magic was a combination of the four elements: fire, water, air, and earth. Just like our stakes, they offered a protection from Strigoi, even though it didn't have a visable presence. Every other week, several of the Moroi teachers would renew the charm so that it stayed active. Since it wasn't tied to silver like our stakes, or gold like an alchemist's tattoo, the magic faded much quicker. To be completely broken was rare, mostly because there were only a few ways to do so. The most common way is to forcefully pierce the ward line with a charmed stake, but even that was unusual since Strigoi cannot handle stakes and the subtle compulsion infused into the ward line encouraged humans to move away from it. Still, a Moroi or dahmpir who had aligned themselves with the Strigoi in hopes of immortality could cause an issue, hence my current shift. Thankfully, nothing seemed out of the ordinary today, and the nice weather made the shift pass pleasantly. With the dance tonight, I knew whoever took over my position for the evening shift would have a much more exciting night. There were always more than a few after parties during events like these, and most of them tended to include alcohol.
While I couldn't really approve of students attending these parties now, I was still young enough to remember them fondly. I shook my head at the memories of my own Academy days and the few times Ivan managed to drag me to a party like the ones bound to pop up tonight. Like most older students, Ivan and I never really had much patience for the corresponding sanctioned dance or event, but we almost always made a short appearance since he was royal. After making the rounds, the rest of the night would be spent in an abandoned lounge or out in the woods with loud music and plenty of company. I wasn't one for heavy drinking (it seemed to trigger the worst in my father and I wasn't looking for a family resemblance) but even I would take a shot or two. Ivan tended to drink enough for both of us though. The closer to graduation we got, the more that I would lay off, just so I could keep an eye on him. He never became too out of control to the point where he would hurt himself or others, but after he proclaimed his undying love to three girls in one night – two of them being twin sisters he mistook for the other – I felt like he could use a sober conscience to keep him in check.
After graduation, I stopped drinking entirely with one exception: Ivan's death. Russian memorials often include quite a bit of vodka, and I am nothing if not a traditionalist. Occasionally, I missed the social aspect though. While field guardians don't usually drink because of the nature of their job, there is a bar at Court were many guardians tend to gather when off duty. I've been invited on several trips there, perhaps next time I'll accept. Rumor has it that they even have some decent Russian beers, though I doubt they'll compare to what we had back home.
The odd thought of dropping by Rose's dorm kept itching at me. I didn't relish the idea of her spending her evening locked away alone. It was so completely out of character for her. I was the one that enjoyed solitude, not her. She was the one that could electrify a room simply by walking into it. I was beginning to miss the wild girl that I had snatched from the streets of Portland.
As my shift ended and my replacement appeared, I clocked out over the headset. Before turning it off however, I heard Guardian Petrov request a short meeting with me in front of the hall where the dance would be taking place. I changed me direction slightly and made my way towards her.