ANA --- POOLSIDE BLUES

[viktor]

He still needed to get her back for dragging him to the Winter Ball, which meant that he had been subjected to something he normally didn't even go to. But, okay, he had to be fair – if he hadn't thought that it would help her, he wouldn't have gone in the first place. So Viktor really didn't have anything to complain about there, because it had been his own decision to go with the Russian princess. He'd probably never forget the night either, given that the two had acted like glaciers from the moment they actually entered the banquet hall together. And to top it off, for the first time in five years, he got himself featured on the gossip blog. He really couldn't have cared less about it, if not for the fact that they seemed to be insinuating something that he didn't like. No way did he like it. Still, it was his own fault, but it did mean that Ana had yet to pay for that one. And he wouldn't even make it hurt either, it was just going to be a little bit of fun. Something, he suspected, she didn't get a lot of, not with the three Stooges she called her brothers, one of them currently searching for something frantically in his room. It had probably grown legs and disappeared through the nearest exit, but as much as he would have enjoyed taunting the boy, Viktor refrained. Maybe because he was sure the tiny pint of a Russian princess would know who it had been if her brother got all ruffled up or something, and then she'd come over before he was ready. Yeah, that was it. He was being merciful because of that.

Finally though, after some days of planning, he was pretty sure he had it all nailed down, which meant that all he had to do was send her a text and wait for her to reply. She'd definitely come down to where he was, no doubt about that. How did he know? Well, Viktor was pretty sure Ana couldn't resist a challenge, and it was a challenge that he sent her while he was walking to the place where he was planning on executing his little revenge. It wasn't going to hurt, and it wasn't going to leave any permanent damage either … it was just going to be a little bit of a payback for the whole ball deal he'd had to go through. That, and it would be a jump into his world for her, not something she got to see every day, he was about positive on that one, and so he whistled to himself as he walked, frowning when he looked at the screen and saw a message from Bri about that project they'd been working on. He'd forgotten all about it really, especially since it was a project that ate up most of the semesters just through sheer size. They covered other stuff as well, but that had never stopped them from actually continuing with the blasted thing either. Shaking his head and quickly typing up a reply to her, hitting the send button, Viktor pushed the thought from his mind and continued on walking, leaving the main school building and heading down to where the gym had its pool area. They had two pools, one for diving and one for swimming, the diving one obviously being deeper and slightly more adapted to what the divers needed. For his own purposes, Viktor simply needed the shallower, swimming one. He didn't think she'd appreciate the diving one as much as he normally did when he needed some time off to just think. It was when he felt most at peace, though he wasn't a diver, he was basically a swimmer. But from time to time, diving worked out for him as well. Sighing and grinning to himself when he saw no one else was there, Viktor hummed the tune on and on as he walked in, pulling his phone out again and searching for the contact number before typing out the text quickly enough, hitting the send button again. There, now all he had to do was wait .. and he was pretty sure that she wouldn't keep him waiting long.

TAGGED --- ANASTASIYA SVETLANA OF RUSSIA
NOTES --- hope you don't mind me starting it
LYRICS --- MICHAEL JACKSON
TEMPLATE --- MADE BY ME

[anastasiya svetlana of russia]

[style=height: 400px; width: 400px; background-color: FFEBCD; opacity: .5; text-align: justify; font-size: 9px; overflow: auto; padding: 8px]Somehow, Ana had been completely certain that the ordeal from the Winter Ball would come back and bite her in the ass. Not only had Viktor explicitly said so, but she had had the inkling that they had been noticed much more than she had intended to be. True to her gut feeling, as most things usually were, the rather short and fluid article in the school’s gossip blog had left an unsettling feeling in her stomach. Nothing particularly ... unsavory had been alluded to, and the rather childish blog had seemed to have gotten one thing completely correct; what was the point? Honestly, as much as Ana mulled over the subject, which she tried to make infrequently and only for short periods of time, she couldn’t pick out any actual reason that would satisfy anyone other than herself. It had been for purely selfish reasons, and she rather regretted bringing Viktor into something he clearly hadn’t enjoyed. Though to be fair, she hadn’t enjoyed it either. She supposed even the best of people were allowed their selfish acts once in a while, though this was one that Ana wished she hadn’t done. Despite her reasoning that it would get the triplets off her back, it had done nothing but spur them on and now she was facing curious and accusing glances from her brothers every time she so much as mentioned anyone of the male specimen, living or dead, fictional or real. It wasn’t as if she actually had an interest in the Slovakian prince, anything but. He had merely been a means to an end, which hadn’t exactly been the kindest thing she could of done. Nonetheless, she was content in the fact she had gotten his name splashed on the gossip blog – even he wasn’t above it – the only real problem being that it was tacked next to hers.

It could have been worse, she decided, laying down her copy of Crime and Punishment, decidedly distracted from her light reading. Rolling her eyes at herself in the privacy of her room, she realized how ridiculous she was being for dwelling on it at all. It was over and done with, and she had absolutely no reason to think any more of it now. Bethany and Nada had been rather quiet on the subject, so she hadn’t had to explain herself to them, and while her brothers were suspicious, they hadn’t breathed a word of it. The only person she was battling about this was herself. A part of her wanted to apologize – but for what, the other half would reason, he’d been perfectly willing and she’d done nothing wrong. If he hadn’t wanted to go, he could’ve just said no. Maybe that would have been easier to deal with. Yes, much easier. Glancing around her pristinely decorated room, she shook her head to clear it, knowing that it would be best to immerse herself back into her novel before she did something irrational, or one of her roommates caught her staring off into space.

Just as she was about to go back to Dostoyevsky’s masterpiece, her phone rang twice in quick succession, indicating that she’d just received two text messages. The luminescent screen was oddly out of place in her subdued abode, shocking her eyes slightly, though the flashing picture of her brother didn’t surprise her in the least. Apparently, he’d lost something again, nothing new. It was the second one that made her quirk an eyebrow, completely unabashed in her privacy to show emotion she usually would have excluded. What on earth would Viktor want? She replied quickly, curious, but more glad than anything that she had something to do besides just read, even if she did enjoy it. Quirking an eyebrow, she did as he requested and grabbed her swimming things, trying to figure out what he was doing. Was she going to be hit with some sort of water balloon on the way to the gym? He certainly didn’t expect her to actually go swimming, did he? That didn’t sound anything like him. Most people attributed water sports to fun, and unless he knew Ana more than she suspected, this couldn’t be the punishment she’d been anticipating.

When nothing came while she was walking, she began reeling internally, though her face remained unaffected as she pushed past the doors and into the gym, glancing around. Of course it would be deserted. Of fricken course. “You’re joking, right?” she said as her eyes fixed on the large, intimidating bodied of water in front of her. He couldn’t be serious. She would have much preferred the water balloon to the face.

[/style]

TAG VIKTOR, WEARING THIS, I'M GETTING BETTER AT POSTING THIS WEEK I SWEAR <3

[viktor]

Viktor could be patient, if he wanted to be. There was no way that he was letting such an opportunity go to waste though, because honestly, he thought she needed something to wake her up from that dream world ofh hers. She seemed to be centered on all she had to do to be a perfect princess, a perfect future ruler … and well, Viktor wanted to show her that it wasn't all about being perfect. It was also something to have fun from time to time, not that she would find this particular ordeal fun in any way. There was no way, really, and why? Because he had never seen her at the pools before, that's why, and it just went to show that there were things he didn't know about her, but he was willing to learn. She was … interesting enough when she wasn't telling him to go find a suit and join her for the Winter ball, he'd give her that one. But there was no way he was actually going through something like that again. He'd learned his lesson, now she would just have to learn her own, and he was pretty sure she'd get the idea soon enough, as soon as she arrived. While he waited, Viktor leaned against the wall closest to the edge, whistling a tune to himself in a low voice even as he did so, arms crossed in front of his chest while his eyes were fixed on the surface of the water. It had been a while since their last competition, and it didn't look like there'd be another one soon, but he did still come here every day, every morning to do his rounds and laps and swim out all the excess energy … and the dark feelings that sometimes threatened to consume him. It was his way of letting go of everything he didn't need to feel, and Viktor enjoyed the water almost as much as he enjoyed walking, which was a lot. So there.

He heard footsteps before he could see her, but he knew it was her either way, because there would be no one else down here at this point. His teammates weren't using the pool for their own personal use when they weren't practising, and unless someone had decided to go for a swim, he was sure it wasn't them either. And as he turned his head to look at the entrance, he could feel a small, small smile forming on his lips as he saw Ana enter, pushing hesitantly through the doors and obviously not expecting anything like this. Well, there was something to be said abou surprises, and this one wasn't about to just stand there either. Does it look like I'm joking? he asked, pleasantly really, he had no reason to really be mad at her or anything, it was just a little payback for something she made him do, somehow convinced him to do without him really knowing what was happening until it was too late and he was already in the ballroom with her. He would probably never live it down, and Bri was giving him a hard enough time as it were. He shook his head slightly to get rid of any thoughts he wouldn't need right now. Instead, he peeled himself away from the wall and slowly took a step forward, before stopping and giving her what could have been an amiable smile. Well, it could have been, but then Viktor, right now, wasn't feeling like the greatest friend in the world, and he didn't feel like smiling like one either. Unfortunately, it's not, he informed her cheerfully, he was already having fun with this. She looked as though someone had just splashed water right into her face which she'd spent a painstaking amount of time doing with make-up, and he was definitely enjoying himself right now. This was going to turno ut pretty well if he could play his cards right, though be the way she looked it seemed as though she was about ready to bold. But hey, the pool isn't going to eat you, he told her, again with the cheerful note to his voice, I've been swimming in it since first year and I'm still alive. It's pretty shallow – the diving one's the one you should fear. We once had a shark in it. Not exactly, but close enough – it had been that balloon like thing.

TAGGED --- ANASTASIYA SVETLANA OF RUSSIA
NOTES --- <3
LYRICS --- MICHAEL JACKSON
TEMPLATE --- MADE BY ME

[anastasiya svetlana of russia]

[style=height: 400px; width: 400px; background-color: FFEBCD; opacity: .5; text-align: justify; font-size: 9px; overflow: auto; padding: 8px]Ana, for one, wasn’t a habitual frequenter of this part of the gym. In total, she’ probably stepped into the pool side of the gym maybe twice in her five years at Vineheart, which was rather ridiculous. Far too many time if you asked her. She wasn’t big on swimming. Not that she couldn’t, she just wasn’t very good at it. Neither of her brothers was big into swimming either. Actually, she could vaguely recall a few incidents, or maybe one in particular, when one of them had nearly drowned during a boat trip with the family. That had been what had originally instigated their parents to force swim lessons on all the kids, even if Ana had never explicitly shown any interest in water. Truthfully, she was rather afraid of drowning. Of course, there were worse things she feared, but she still couldn’t get over deep water. And besides, she wasn’t much of an outdoor sports person. While the other kids would be playing football outside, Ana had been inside practicing ballet or riding when they played lacrosse. Besides, she absolutely detested what chlorine did to her skin and her hair. She wasn’t the most preoccupied with looks, but even she didn’t like running around with stringy hair and dried out skin. At least salt water, like the pools back home and the few beaches where she’d actually enter the water - nothing above the waist, mind you - weren’t as bad as chlorinated ones.

Of course, at the moment she’d think up any possible excuse to get out of here, despite seeing the challenge in his eyes. If she couldn’t ignore that, then she was screwed. Ana had the worst habit of never being able to back down from a challenge when it was called upon her. Something that her brothers like to test every once in a while. Green eyes glanced toward the door as Ana wondered whether or not she’d be able to escape the situation with her dignity. So long as he didn’t actually expect her to get into the water, she’d be fine. She’d throw a toe in; maybe an entire foot would be immersed, if she could just leave. Couldn’t he have picked something that she liked a little more? Then again, she doubted that this was supposed to be any sort of pleasant for her, even if he couldn’t possibly have known about her dislike of water. Unless her brother had said something. In that case, he was very much going to be dead.

“A girl can dream, can’t she?” She mumbled to herself, though she noted internally that Viktor hardly seemed like the type that would joke around, much less with her, who had never given him any indication that she had any sort of sense of humour. Not that it didn’t exist; but she certainly didn’t know him enough to grace him with her dry sarcasm and odd sense of humour. There was very little that she found funny about Viktor, which in turn, squashed any real jokes she could make. And if she did happen to attempt them, they’d probably turn out awkward and not funny at all. Best to stay away from them. And the water. She wasn’t getting near that, not if you paid her. “I’m not afraid of the water eating me,” she said, matter-of-factly, rolling her eyes. That was stupid and, peering over the edge ever-so slightly by raising herself on her tippy toes, there was nothing in the water that would do so either. “I’d be much more concerned about, well, drowning,” she deadpanned. Taking a step forward toward the edge, she decided to inspect the depth of the water herself. If it wasn’t too deep, it wouldn’t be so bad and she was more likely to be convinced to touch it at least. “Shallow or not,” she said, inspecting the clear water. “I can rarely touch the bottom,” she finished. It was true, in most pools even the shallow parts came up a little too high for her liking, and in a lot of cases, she couldn’t even touch the bottom without being completely submerged. “So what do you want me to do? Time you or something?”

[/style]

TAG VIKTOR, WEARING THIS, <33

[viktor]

He was definitely having a ball already, and all she was doing was peering at the water from where she stood, which was by far too far away for his liking. But Viktor was nothing if not patient, and really, she was just giving him enough to work with; he'd need to lure her closer somehow, just to make sure she didn't get any wrong ideas. This was actually proving to be quite fun in the long run, but again, it all depended on whether or not he succeeded. She would quite possibly hate him after this was over, but hey, hate was a strong emotion and it bordered on a lot of other ones as well. And it was easier to overcome hate than it was some other, colder ones, like this icy wall she seemed to have thrown up all around her like some sort of shield from whatever was coming her way. He somehow wanted to know what went on behind it half the time, even though he knew that was entirely absurd. It wasn't like she'd ever given him any inclination as to what she was thinking, and she certainly hadn't invited him to have lunch with her at any point. Traditional didn't really work with this princess it seemed, well modern traditional that is. The usual traditional, the old-fashioned one, that one worked rather well in reverse. Given that the guy was usually the one who asked the girl to accompany him to a ball, well, it seemed to be the exact opposite with the two of them. Viktor was still having a hard time living it down with the youngest of the triplets as his roommate, but he kept telling himself it was only for about six more months. Then he would be free of them for good unless one of them decided he wanted to move to Slovakia, which was highly unlikely. So instead, he would just ignore the younger boy and focus on what was important, which was his plan currently, though it didn't look like it at the moment. Then again, nothing looked like it right now.

He heard her mumbled comment and surpressed a wry chuckle, instead allowing his lips to simply twist upwards into a small smile. Dreams are for young girls, he said with a shrug, the big ones usually just take what they dream about. He DID, however, laugh when she got all hissy over the eating comment. Especially since it was meant preciselly like that – a small jibe. Hey, a guy can dream, he told her in response with a cheeky expression, and well, I like to think about drowning as a form of water eating you, but it's your call. Then again you really wouldn't drown in this one here. He stepped to the edge and looked down, knowing the exact depth and length and every single other measure of the pool. He'd been up down and across it so many times he would have probably been able to do it blindfolded with little to no trouble at all. She was peering back at the doors though, and what wasn't the best sign, because as much as he knew she couldn't back down from a challenge, sometimes challenges weren't enough. Viktor needed the more than a challenge deal though, if he wanted to do what he'd set out to do. Her brothers would most likely hate him after this as well, but hey, like stated before, hate could be overcome, eventually. Besides, she needed some shockers in her life, it was just something he firmly believed in, and Viktor was all for making sure people got the shocks they needed. What would you know about timing? he countered with a snort, shaking his head slightly, But come over here; you're standing like a frightened little chick that got torn away from it's mother. I swear the water won't eat you and neither will I. He turned partly away. And here I thought you were used to all kind of stuff running after your brothers all the time, he quipped in for good measure, stretching his arms out and listening to the joints popping. If things went the way he wanted them to go, then he would need to be fast and strong enough to not allow her to whack him before it was all over, otherwise they could both get themselves into a lot of trouble really. But Viktor was confident enough in himself and his own limits to know how far he could push it, so he was definitely counting on that.

TAGGED --- ANASTASIYA SVETLANA OF RUSSIA
NOTES --- she will go swimming next … just sayin xD
LYRICS --- MICHAEL JACKSON
TEMPLATE --- MADE BY ME

[anastasiya svetlana of russia]

[style=height: 400px; width: 400px; background-color: FFEBCD; opacity: .5; text-align: justify; font-size: 9px; overflow: auto; padding: 8px]Ana wrinkled her nose, half from distaste of smelling the pool water and partly because she could tell that this was amusing him. Normally, it would have bothered her more than it did, but given that she’d caused him so much discomfort at the Winter Gala, it was only fair he got a little retribution. Not to say that she was going to sit silently and take this, but nonetheless, she still felt bad for being a horrible date. Except they hadn’t been dates. That thought was far too disturbing to consider. They’d merely gone together, there was no formality of a ‘date’ involved. That would imply that they’d been there to actually enjoy the evening, which, even if it had been their intention -clearly it hadn’t been- it would have been a failed motive. If she was to be completely honest, it would have been worse alone. In comparison to all the other years, she could at least be happy that she’d had someone to talk to, even if it was cold and sarcastic the majority of the time. And no one was looking at her pitifully, the only girl without a date, and with incredulous eyes instead. However, that was decidedly a night to be forgotten. If only she was able to push painful and unnecessary memories to the back of her mind, the night of the Gala would be there, along with what she pictured this one turning out to be. Viktor’s smirk was a telltale sign that this wasn’t going to be pleasant to her at all. She’d doubted she’d be leaving with anything but a scowl on her face in lieu of her usual blank expression.

“They’re also for big girls who never got to be young,” she quipped, rather irritated at herself for letting him hear her and also for being touchy on the subject. Ana wasn’t a dreamer, and never had been, mostly because she’d always been forced to look at the realities of life. Simply, she lacked the immense creativity and whimsical childhood that most people had. In turn, she was always dry and blunt; she didn’t really have the capacity to go farther than that. Sad but true, and it was too late to change now so Ana accepted the fact. It was just another thing about her that people had to deal with. And at least she knew that the people who did, wanted her around enough to do so. Except her brothers, they were forced to deal with her. But their suffering was totally justified. Their own creativity ran rampant. Now if they could channel it into something productive, everyone would be much better off.

“I’m fairly sure drowning would be me taking in water, not the other way around,” she couldn’t resist the quirk of an eyebrow that came with the statement. How he could believe that those were the equivalent of each other at all was a wonder to her, but then again, she wasn’t known for her wild imagination. “Honestly,” she said, turning back to the pool, “I beg to differ.” If there was a way to drown in it, it was mostly certain that she’d find a way. She was a rather terrible swimmer after all, even after years of lessons. She just didn’t grasp it the way others could. She knew enough to keep her afloat in the event that something happened, but that didn’t last forever. If it didn’t dwindle her pride, she’d be looking around for a lifejacket right now, having given a rather fair guess as to what Viktor’s intentions were, or, Lord forbid she couldn’t find them, water wings. “From one side to the other and back,” she said, pointing the course with her finger. “Not much complicated there.” Once more, she stared at the water, not sure if something so innately... well, innate, should be as intimidating as it was. Then again, this entire situation was rather intimidating, even if she would never admit that out loud. She wasn’t even going to deny his claim that she looked like a frightened chicken, she knew it was true, as much as she hated to admit she’d let it show on her face. “They’ve never run into a pool before,” she said, bending down and poking a finger in the water.

[/style]

TAG VIKTOR, WEARING THIS, LOL YES. SOMEHOW, SHE CAN'T GET HER STUFF WET !

[viktor]

Her remark made reminded him that she'd never actually gotten to really experience things little girls usually did. It was a foreign concept to Viktor because while his parents had always been strict on the ruling issues and the tutors they brought in for him and his brother, they also insisted the boys have a semi-normal childhood, which meant bringing in various other children from other social classes and families, just to bring about a healthy mix of ages and sexes. There were sme friendships that lasted forever and couldn't be overcome by something like kingship, and so Viktor still had some childhood friends who didn't think he was too stand-offish or something. One of them was his servant, obviously, not that anyone would take much notice given the fact he was the local wallflower around here. But yes, he was pretty sure he could understand, at least, or try to understand what Ana was talking about. Still, he didn't quite understand why she never worked hard enough on achieving her dreams – if she had any – when she could basically do just that. She was, after all, a princess. She could have the world if she wanted to and really, with the trio of brothers at her heels, Viktor would've expected she would take something out of this and make it her own. Apparently though, she was all work and no fun, which didn't sit entirely well with him. What good was a title when you couldn't bring anything out of it? He would have to work on changing her perspective a little bit, as much as he could and as much as she'd let him, which probably wouldn't be a lot. Strangely, Viktor found himself wishing to see whether the Russian princess could loosen up at some point.

He rolled his eyes when she went all logical on him again. I should've told you to bring a swimsuit and leave your logic in the dorm room. Honestly, would it kill you to let someone else have the last word sometime? He eyed her from where he stood, one hand leisurely in his pocket while his messy hair continued falling into his eyes repeatedly, but he simply tossed his head a little when it got too much in the way. He'd need to get his bangs cut again soon, it was getting annoying. Then again, it was probably less annoying to him than it was to her …. And if he was perfectly honest with himself, the thought of an annoyed Ana amused Viktor to no end right now. He was probably acting like a typical bully at the moment but he didn't quite care enough to stop. She was being all high and mighty and untouchable; he wanted to see whether she had any other emotions in her than the cool collective thoughts that always simmered underneath the surface. That, and the sarcasm she used whenever she could. Also something else he figured out. He ignored the way she, again logically, pointed out the whole deal about timing him the length of the pool, but he wouldn't be doing any swimming, or not much at least, not competitive anyway, so she needn't have bothered, not that he'd tell her that. She was being just too absurdly naive about the water's edge right now, which was quite well for him. Well, there's always a start somewhere, he commented, shifting his position and sauntering towards her, I mean, I guess they'd need a good role-model first though. Which is kind of smart, come to think of it, them looking up to someone before they tried anything. If his brother would've been ANYWHERE near here, he would have crossed himself by now and hoped there wasn't a guillotine somewhere waiting for the eldest Slovakian prince. Viktor smiled incredibly sweetly at Ana – right before using the gentlest of shoves, but she was bending over as it were, and he aimed it so that her balance would tip directly in the direction of the water. The plan couldn't have gone more perfect than if he had planned it all in a snap, but then he'd taken some care and precautions with this. He didn't want any of her three brothers close when this happened, or the annoying Serbian princess who thought she was so smart trying to help everyone. Nope, they were alone – and Ana would definitely see the pool up close.

TAGGED --- ANASTASIYA SVETLANA OF RUSSIA
NOTES --- oops (A) =P
LYRICS --- MICHAEL JACKSON
TEMPLATE --- MADE BY ME

[anastasiya svetlana of russia]

[style=height: 400px; width: 400px; background-color: FFEBCD; opacity: .5; text-align: justify; font-size: 9px; overflow: auto; padding: 8px]Mentally Ana berated herself for her own comment. That was not something she typically shared, even if to prove a point. She was the epitome of closed off. Things that bothered her were strictly kept to herself. She was under the strong impression that it was best to cope with things in her own way, explicitly on her own without involving other people with her problems. After all, they had their own things to deal with. Which was, incidentally, the exact response she used to get from her parents whenever she approached them with something that was troubling her, no matter what it was, they turned her away. After a while, Ana had just become accustomed to doing things for others rather than herself. It was easier that way. If she didn’t have to deal with her own problems, she could pretend they didn’t exist in favour of helping someone else. The kindness she extended was somewhat of a double-edged sword. Selfless but selfish, helping them but also helping herself. As much as she tried to convince herself and others that it wasn’t for personal gain, she couldn’t deny the fact that she got something out of it too. Even if it wasn’t direct like some other things. Very rarely did her tongue slip either; while blunt, she always thought things over before she said them, although in this instance she was trying to prove a point, and even if she felt like she succeeded, it wasn’t worth it. Sometimes she knew she had to learn to let things go. “Sometimes,” she said, twisting her lips into a wry grin. “I think it would.” She wasn’t known for it, ever. Ana could barely remember a conversation where she hadn’t had the last word, conversations with Viktor notwithstanding.

The water didn’t look all that bad, she decided upon closer inspection. It was clear, free of debris and didn’t look all that dirty. She could still smell the chlorine emanating from it, and the only comfort she took in that was that surely any sort of bacteria or disease that could possibly be living in the water was most definitely dead. Placing her phone on the cement side, she dipped her other hand in to join the first. Well, it wasn’t cold either, but not warm. So it wouldn’t feel like bathwater, that would just be weird. Glancing back to comment on the temperature, she saw Viktor flick his head to get his hair out of his face and forgot her comment in favour of rolling her eyes. That would drive her insane. She couldn’t stand it when people had hair in their eyes, including herself. It was terrible difficult to look at them straight on when a mess of brown was obstructing your view. She’d let it go this time though; she had already seen enough frustration from his hair at the Gala and didn’t fancy revisiting that. Ever. Green eyes turned back to the blue water as she heard him moving closer to her. “I doubt they’d come in with me even then,” she said, staring at the crystalline liquid, making small figure eights with her fingers. “I can distinctly remember one of them nearly drowning when we were children.” Well, when she was still a child. Her brothers were hardly mature enough to be anything but prepubescent, but lo and behold, they had somehow managed to make to their fourth year at Vineheart. Not without the occasional swift kick in the behind by their favourite -and luckily only- older sister. “And Mattie swims,” she said, poking the water as if it was something offensive. “He just knows that I don’t.”

Ana was suddenly aware of how close the water was as she fell face first towards it. She couldn’t tell if she shrieked or not, but she doubted that inhumane sound of unbelievably high pitch belonged to Viktor, though it was silenced quickly as the water surrounded and engulfed her. It took her a moment to realize what had happened and another to come up, head first, splurting water and flailing her arms, disregarding the entire concept of ‘grace’ as she tried to breathe in thick gulps of air and somehow find her footing. “Bleck,” she said once she had coughed up a fair bit of water. “I can’t believe you!” she said harshly, glaring at the clearly amused Viktor. At least she’d put her phone down, or she would have skinned him alive. It was hard to muster an angry face when she knew she looked something akin to a wet kitten.

[/style]

TAG VIKTOR, WEARING THIS, LOL YES. SOMEHOW, SHE CAN'T GET HER STUFF WET !

[viktor]

He would have laughed if he knew she would take it as a joke, but given he wasn't so sure, Viktor allowed the comment to slip by without noticing it. She would probably notice his silence, but hey, sometimes it was better to lose the battle instead of losing the whole war. And the war was only just beginning, or really just freshiening up, he couldn't be sure. In either case, he would most definitely enjoy this current situation they were in, though afterwards he would quite possibly work his way into showing her that everything didn't have to be so black and white as she saw it. Sure he saw it in the same way most of the time, but he still felt like he was a lot more lenient when it came down to it, a lot less stiff about things, and he winged it a lot of times. Like with the project he and Bri had done together, well, that one had been winged from the start, because Viktor had never imagined they'd have to do something similar to that, which meant that he had been thrown into the deep ocean and left to his own devices. Luckily enough, he was used to doing things by ear and not by the book half the time, which was something the one triplet of the Russian disaster trio had taught him in the time they'd spent as roommates. It was inevitable that you forgot all about proper schedule and timing when you were with one of them, except perhaps the oldest, because honestly, the guys were about as organized as a coffee shop during rush hour. Which wasn't a lot, just the basics, and Viktor wondered whether he'd be able to survive the last six months before he'd be out in the world without the presence of any other Russian siblings anywhere. That would feel heavenly to him really.

You never know, they might, he pointed out with a small smile, thinking about the times when he'd had to be super careful not to do stuff that would put his own brother in danger. The kid had basically followed Viktor everywhere, still did half the time and so the oldest of the Slovakian princes needed to be on his guard and make sure he was properly dull when it came down to it, so the boy wouldn't get himself into too much trouble. Who knew what would happen if he did, that would possibly prove to be a disaster. Mattie's not the one who's my roommate, right? he asked after a moment, not remembering the name of the one he was doomed to share a room with, but fairly certain it wasn't Matvei. He would have remembered that one. Oh no wait, that's the one who's chasing after the Irish princess. He commented out loud, musing to himself, right before he pushed Ana into the water. The picture she presented made him laugh, although the amount of flailing she was doing would cause her to inhale more water than she would have wished, and Viktor eyed her as she pushed her head above the clear liquid. The last thing he wanted was for her to drown on his watch, which was why he dropped his phone and dived, head-first, into the pool after her. He would more easily help her if anything went wrong – that wasn't in the plan. The plan was to get her a little soaked through and just get his tiny bit of revenge. That was it. Resourfacing, and his hair finally plastered away from his forehead, Viktor pushed closer to Ana. You better, you're in the water, he laughed, clearly perfectly at ease and languidly moving his long limbs like it was no effort at all. And to him, it really wasn't. Stop moving your arms so much, you're not going to drown, and the only thing you'll do is swallow more water, he instructed her, kick with your legs a little to keep yourself afloat. And give me your hand while you're at it. The last thing I want is to be accused of drowning the Russian Crown Princess. He extended his hand and wondered whether she'd slap him or accept his help, or do neither. She was about as predictable as the wind, so he couldn't say, but at the very least she wouldn't be able to tell anyone he hadn't offered help. After he dumped her in the water, but oh well, minor details.

TAGGED --- ANASTASIYA SVETLANA OF RUSSIA
NOTES --- oops (A) =P
LYRICS --- MICHAEL JACKSON
TEMPLATE --- MADE BY ME

[anastasiya svetlana of russia]

[style=height: 400px; width: 400px; background-color: FFEBCD; opacity: .5; text-align: justify; font-size: 9px; overflow: auto; padding: 8px]“I’d hope they wouldn’t,” Ana mumbled in response. Hopefully her brothers would show her a little more consideration, and prove that they did in fact, listen every once in a while, and never ask her to go swimming in the pool at Vineheart with them, or run in here when she was trying to find them. They knew her better than that, and -she hoped- they respected her more than bring her to a place she clearly wasn’t comfortable with. She’d be angrier with Viktor for doing the very thing she wished her siblings never would, but she couldn’t. He hadn’t after all, known that she didn’t like swimming all that much, or that the smell of chlorine made her nauseas and gave her a headache in large doses. Ana was a firm believer in the fact that you couldn’t blame someone for doing something if they truly hadn’t known any better. If someone has not learnt the difference between right and wrong, could they be held accountable for their actions? She didn’t think so. Of course... exceptions to every rule and all. And she could perfectly be cross with Viktor, though not angry. More displeased than anything else really.

“No, Mat’s not your roommate,” Ana shook her head and couldn’t help but let a small smirk tug at her lips. He had to be joking; he’d been living with her brother for the past six months, he had to know which of the triplets it was. If he didn’t, she’d have to physically suppress the urge to smack him upside the head. On the other hand, he couldn’t possibly be that aloof and uncaring. Every once in a while, she could pick up on the subtle jokes, when they were about a subject that she could willingly laugh about. Her brothers, the brats that they were, had elicited quite a bit of laughter from their older sister over the years, despite the fact that most people would believe their antics beneath her. Every once in a while she couldn’t help herself, even when she claimed to be far too mature for petty pranks and low-brow jokes. Some of them, she had to admit, were funny. Mostly the innocent ones that didn’t get them into too much trouble. The ones where Ana didn’t have to go back and cover for them to be assured that no one was harmed or distresses -mentally, physically or otherwise- in the making of. At least, she reminded herself after every clean up she’d ever have to do, they were like the people in those horrible American movies about people hurting themselves for entertainment, that they’d forced her to watch numerous times. “Russians don’t chase after others,” she said matter-of-factly. Well, they did chase after each other, but that was a different matter altogether. “She’s coming to him. Mostly. He just needs a shove in the proper direction,” she finished, blandly. Perhaps, she reasoned, the right direction was away from the Irish royal, but he had to learn some things on his own, didn’t he? Oh well, no need to dwell on that when there was a Slovakian to be angry at.

“No thanks to you,” she huffed, and tried to brush away the wet hair that had plastered itself to her face, only to realize that it meant losing an arm to help keep her up and immediately stopped. “I will move my arms as much as I damn well please!” she quipped quickly. Ana, as much as she could remain cool and collected in nearly any situation, had quite the problem remaining so when she was faced with something she was innately afraid of, anything that was actually physical. Begrudgingly, she started kicking her legs -she was good at that- hoping he wouldn’t notice. He had pushed her in here after all, so why should she trust him? Except, she knew that what he was saying made sense. Biting her thick bottom lip, she contemplated her options. Clearly, he knew more about this than her, but she still didn’t know if there was a phase two of his ‘master plan’. Deciding that nothing could be really worse than being pushed in the pool, and she’d survived that, she reached out her hand to grasp his, instantly feeling the resistance from her wet clothes. “This is horrible,” she said, frowning and pouting slightly, though glad she could finally brush her hair out of her face.

[/style]

TAG VIKTOR, WEARING THIS, PFFFT SHE'S SUCH A ... PRINCESS?

[viktor]

She was definitely being hilarious right now, especially with the counting factor that she didn't know what was coming straight at her. Viktor definitely felt smug enough with this whole aspect, he was pretty sure she would hate him afterwards, but hey, it was all in good fun and besides, she didn't have nearly enough of that in his opinion, so there. He was doing her a favour, really, if she looked at it this way. She wasn't going to have the time of her life, but she was most definitely going to remember this particular afternoon, so there was nothing wrong with that, was it? Nope, not in his mind. Though of course her brothers might think otherwise if they got any wind of this before everything was pretty much settled, and then Viktor would have not only one, but three of them to deal with. THAT he wouldn't be looking forward to if it actually ever happened, because honestly, one was trouble enough, regardless whether it was the youngest or the eldest. The middle one he'd never really met before, but Mat and the youngest? Yeah, those two he definitely knew and to be honest, he wasn't a big fan at the moment. Anyone who couldn't see that their sister wasn't really having the time of her life with something, well, they didn't really rank all that high on Viktor's list, then again he wasn't the saintest of siblings either, so who was he to talk? But at least his brother always knew he would get advice, and he wasn't coddled, like he had the feeling Ana did with her brothers. She would need a lesson on that front as well, while they were at it.

He snorted when she went all high and mighty with the Russian deal. Oh please, don't be ricidulous; every guy chases after the girl he wants, regardless whether she's 'coming to him' or not. It's just the way the universe works. If he went through any trouble at all because of this girl, then he's chasing after her. Fact. And for once, he was pretty sure there wasn't much she could say regarding that front, though then again you never knew, this was Ana they were talking about. She had retorts ready for everything, even talking in her sleep probably. Viktor still hadn't quite figured out what the catch was, but he would gladly do so, in time. He would have loved to add that Mat needed more than just a shove in the right direction, but he was in enough trouble with her already, so he decided to drop that particular subject before it got too hot. She was huffing so funnily though, that he had to laugh, tossing his hair back once he was in the water, and grinning. Suit yourself, but you'll swallow more chlorine that way. He knew what he was talking about, he'd been swimming since he was four years old, and then swimming well too, not just something random, like she was currently doing. Pleased to notice she seemed to be moving her legs now, Viktor still kept his hand outstretched to her, wondering what she'd do. Once she took it, he smiled, and pulled her closer to him so he could put an arm against her lower back and propel her towards the water's edge, where she'd be able to hold on to it. Hey, no bad-mouthing the water, it's got ears, he clucked his tongue lightly with a rougish grin. This was his element, and he knew it well. And it isn't THAT bad, is it? You haven't drowned, so I'd say that's a score in the right direction. Hold on to the edge. He was pretty calm about this all, and definitely amused at the pouting she was giving off. Such a proper princess, but hey, this was the reaction he'd been hoping for, though he still hadn't entirely rulled out slapping. Leisurely, he leaned his body back in the water, using only minimal movement to keep afloat while keeping his eyes on her. You really don't swim much, do you? he asked after a moment of silence, genuinely curious on this one.

TAGGED --- ANASTASIYA SVETLANA OF RUSSIA
NOTES --- lol <3
LYRICS --- MICHAEL JACKSON
TEMPLATE --- MADE BY ME

[anastasiya svetlana of russia]

[style=height: 400px; width: 400px; background-color: FFEBCD; opacity: .5; text-align: justify; font-size: 9px; overflow: auto; padding: 8px]“Well, what if the girl wishes to chase the boy,” she said, a tad bit of her feminism showing through. She couldn’t help it really, she believed in equality and her father hadn’t appointed her heir for nothing. Determined to bring Russia, and the rest of the world, into the twenty-first century as they should have been, she bristled at his implications. Sure, she liked traditions as much as the next royal, but sometimes the stereotypes bothered her. A girl had as much right to pursue a guy as he did vice versa. Not that she’d ever do it herself, but she knew that from the other females in her life that they would have no problems doing so, if royal society hadn’t decided it was slightly improper. It didn’t stop them though and she had to commend them for it. Ana was far too quiet to do anything, and besides, that would mean that someone would warrant her efforts, which she hadn’t found as of yet. However, should the situation arise and she found that she wanted to pursue someone, she wasn’t going to sit around and wait. And in the case of her brother and the Irish princess, it seemed to be a combined effort. “Besides, she’s gone through just as much trouble for him. They’re more of a conjoined effort than anything,” she shrugged. She hadn’t found much reason to stick her nose into Matvei’s relationship, yet. Though she was as good as certain that she’d have to do it sooner or later.

Rolling her eyes, Ana couldn’t help but cringe. She knew he was right; that flailing her arms was doing nothing but making the situation worse. Already she could taste the bitter tang of the chlorine entering her mouth, and she didn’t even know how much she’d already swallowed. She hated that he was right, almost as much as she hated the taste of the water she was inadvertently splashing into her face and mouth. Another of the reasons why she didn’t like swimming. The unbearable amount of water one took into their body. Except with Viktor’s advice, she could avoid it. But she was really far too stubborn and angry to take it into consideration. Nonetheless, she quelled her flailing to a minimum; just enough to keep her afloat, to avoid getting anymore water near her face than she really needed to. She’d suffer a little to prove her point, that she didn’t need his help. Her pride wouldn’t allow it. She should be able to do something as simple as swimming; she should be good at everything according to most people, except she wasn’t. And it always killed her to have to admit defeat.

“Oh, well I’ll have to apologize to the water... sometime when I’m not potentially drowning in it!” she huffed and shook her head out. Yeah, because she was going to add that to her to do list. At least he was giving her fuel to get out her anger rather her having to do something herself. She briefly considered pushing him under and holding him there, but realized that was a horrible idea. She wouldn’t force her brother to have to break in another roommate so late in the year. And she’d rather prefer Viktor alive. Not that she’d admit that. But when he wasn’t pushing her into pools he was... tolerable. “Absolutely horrible,” she said once she reached the side and got a good grip. She took a few moments to breathe deeply, coughing up a little water as she did so, but altogether, she had survive and she could be thankful for that. The water hadn’t eaten her. “I can’t say I do,” she answered, pulling on the soaked tunic that she’d been wearing. It was clinging to her skin, weighting her down and making her rather uncomfortable. “Especially not while fully clothed,” she commented, glancing down into the water where her shoes lay forgotten on the pool floor. “I’m not a fan of this,” she finished, pulling her tunic and cringing at the slurping noise it made when forced to peel off her skin.

[/style]

TAG VIKTOR, WEARING THIS, UHM... YEAH.

[viktor]

Of course he should have known it wasn't going to be that easy. Nothing seemed to be easy where this particular princess was involved. Viktor tried not to feel like he was fighting a losing battle here, but all in all, it seemed as though she had to have the last say in everything. He wasn't entirely sure whether she was even aware of it or not. Maybe it was such an ingrained part of her personality that she just did it without really knowing it now. Who knew? He certainly didn't. No one said a girl can't chase after a guy, he replied finally, but if we're perfectly honest, how many girls would actually do that? Maybe a quarter of them all. Three quarters still prefer being chased after. It was apparently some romantic notion or something, he didn't know, he didn't read that many fairytale books when he was little. He'd actually started off with a huge chunk of a book, though he couldn't remember the title at the moment. The point was, that he was pretty sure most of the girls still enjoyed the fact that guys would be willing to do practically anything to be with them, and he didn't think any feminism was going to change that, regardless of how hard they all tried. And well, if they've gone through so much trouble already, how come they aren't dating yet? he asked, curious now, I mean, it sounds to me like it's pretty much signed and sealed there, except for the fact that your brother still seems to be single, and so does the Irish princess. Which makes me wonder what they're waiting for. He knew, for a fact, that if he ever found himself in such a position, waiting was the last thing he'd ever do. You could lose a girl like that.

Not that he was about to explain that particular philosophy to Ana really, it was too funny watching her toss her arms around and flail, ignoring his recommendation. He didn't mind the water in his face, regardless of the fact that he was wearing contact lenses. He'd gotten pretty used to randomly having water tossed into them, so he wasn't having many problems with them anymore, except he still had to be careful. And he couldn't come here today without them because he'd be blind as a bat, and he knew he needed to keep an eye out for any problems when it came to this excercise. Ana would be in enough trouble without him handicapped. Relax, he said with a grin, easing a bit backwards into the water. Viktor was as home in it as he was on the ground, with both feet firmly planted onto the tiles, you're not going to drown unless you swallow way too much water. But by that point I'll have pulled you out anyway. So don't worry. She was actually pretty funny, but he really had no intention on having her go through any more trouble. This was enough, really, she looked hilarious even without any additional stuff going on. Guiding her to the edge, Viktor waited for her to grab onto it before making himself comfortable again, eyeing her with a self-satisfied smirk on his lips, his chin covered with water. Life's full of surprises – who knows, maybe you'll go skinny dipping next time, he commented non chalantly, before flashing her a grin. His eyes followed her glance and he sighed when he saw her shoes. Hang on. He took a breath and went under, stretching out and with two strokes getting to the shoes, grabbing hold of them before resourfacing again and shaking his head to toss water out of his hair. One hand went across his face, careful so he wouldn't lose a lense anywhere. He'd have to get them out soon enough as it was. There, he said, tossing the shoes out onto the tiles again and resting against them himself, thoroughly enjoying the moment. Hey, fan or not, you have to admit it's cool having the pool virtually to yourself, he told her, looking sideways at her with a grin on his features. This was probably the most relaxed he'd ever been in her presence before, and it was easy to smile and act like it was the most natural thing in the world to be in the pool right now, with her.

TAGGED --- ANASTASIYA SVETLANA OF RUSSIA
NOTES --- lol <3
LYRICS --- MICHAEL JACKSON
TEMPLATE --- MADE BY ME

[anastasiya svetlana of russia]

[style=height: 400px; width: 400px; background-color: FFEBCD; opacity: .5; text-align: justify; font-size: 9px; overflow: auto; padding: 8px]Briefly, she wondered why Viktor didn’t just give her brother relationship advice. He seemed to be much better at it than she was. Whenever Mat approached her about it, never in person mind you, that was far too embarrassing for the both of them though more so for Matvei, having to admit you needed your big sister’s help in regards of love couldn’t bode well for his reputation, she had no idea what to say. Ana, unfortunately for Matvei, tried to rationalize it all and speak from both angles, which was usually not what he wanted to hear. She certainly wasn’t the one to give him the shove in the right direction that he needed, though she was comforted in the fact that she knew it would all work out for him in the end. Everything worked out for Mattie, he was born with innate ability to live with a horseshoe up his rear; always getting out of the worst of scrapes with the littlest injuries. Even if Ana wasn’t around to help him out, she was sure he’d make due. “Those three quarters are ridiculous though,” Ana said huffing slightly. She didn’t like generalizations about her sex, but she couldn’t deny that. “Eventually, everyone gets tired of chasing and then you’re stuck at an impasse.” And she sorely hoped that that didn’t happen to Mat, that he and his girl friend weren’t skirting around, getting nowhere. That would leave him depressed for the longest while and Ana had enough to deal with without adding an angsty little brother to the mix. “They’ll figure it out,” she said, and while she wanted to sound confident, she wasn’t so sure. “Mattie always does. It’s some sort of gift.” Well, the gift was Ana who ended up fixing most things for him, but surely, that counted, right?

Now, Ana was sure she understood why wet cats hissed and growled so much. She was unbelievably uncomfortable with the second skin that had attached itself to her and was tangling up in her legs. Well, that was just unpleasant. She was lucky that she was used to moving around in confining clothing or she would have no idea how to keep herself afloat. Pouting, she watched Viktor, completely at ease in the water as if he’d been born in it. Give him pointe shoes, she huffed in her mind, see how well he does on those. The though made her crack a small smile before she was trying hard to suppress a giggle. That would be a sight to see. “It’ll much easier to relax when I get out of here,” she grumbled, not liking the idea of having anymore of the nasty water enter her system. Surely that much chlorine was going to upset her digestive track or something. Cringing, she knew she was going to have to go see the nurse after and ask; she was smart, but she wasn’t great with medical things. “What?” she said quickly, eyes widening a fraction as her mouth dropped open. No propriety, this one! Her mind couldn’t even form a proper retort to shut him up or deny it. That was a ridiculous notion. She was not the type of person that would do... that. “Thank you,” she said once he’d gathered her shoes, her cheeks partly tinted red from embarrassment as his previous comment and partially from anger. “An entire pool is rather convenient... erm... cool,” she said, not entirely sure, but the idea was appealing. Probably the same thing as when she got a studio completely to herself, which was tough in this school with the dance team and all. Unable to help herself, Ana held herself up by one elbow on the side of the side of the pool before using the other to pull one of her legs off, starting to peel the tights off her legs. She was going to salvage them while she still could. Besides, she didn’t want to damage them, or her tunic, as she was getting out of the pool.

[/style]

TAG VIKTOR, WEARING THIS, UHM... YEAH.

[viktor]

If he had known she was considering him for Matvei’s go-to guy for romantic advice, Viktor would have shut up by that point and possibly gotten her out of the pool and ran for his life. He was already dealing with one of the triplets on dayly basis. He didn’t need to deal with any more, not without a very good, solid reason. Still, he didn’t know what she was thinking and therefore he couldn’t run for it, and he simply continued on with whatever he’d been talking about earlier. As far as relationships went, he was by far not a master of them. He was simply rational enough to give whoever needed it a kick in the right direction and made surethey got the idea even if they weren’t close to him. So basically, kicking Matvei towards Cathleen would have been a piece of cake for Viktor at the time being. Hey, most guys are hunters you know, he pointed out, regardless of anything modern going on around here. It still comes down to the same old story. But an impasse? He didn’t quite think so. Maybe, but I’m pretty sure your brother’s just trying to approach this from the best angle possible, he commented out loud, musing, and like you said, it works out for him most of the time. So you don’t have to worry at all. He had a feeling she’d worry anyway. She struck him as the type who wouldn’t let her brothers fiddle a bit on their own but just do it for them at the slightest sign that something didn’t seem doable from their end. He was also surprised to find himself thinking of ways on how to stop her from doing most of that. Maybe when she stopped doing things for her brothers, she’d have more time for herself. Question was, whether she wanted this or not.

Viktor rolled his eyes when she pouted and hissed like a cat who’d just been thrown into the pool. Well, most of it was true for her, but she was no fury animal, no matter how much she tried to act like one. Oh well. You’ll get out soon, he promised her, the smile staying in place as he lazily moved his arms around and kicked with his legs from time to time. Water was an environment he was so comfortable in he could practically be thrown in it wearing winter clothes, jacket and everything, and he’d still be able to make it look like he knew what he was doing. If nothing else, he’d know how to fake it. That was one good thing about not having many people really know you. They never knew whether you were doing things as you should, or as you wanted to. Eyeing Ana’s semi-smile, Viktor got curious, Penny for your thoughts? He was curious about a lot of things when it came to her really, something that kept on surprising him. She wasn’t someone he would initially have been interested in. She was cool, collected, reserved. Too much like him. He didn’t do well with people like that – their personalities clashed way too much for comfort. But with Ana ... well, he wanted to know more. It was terrifying and exciting all at the same time. He got the biggest satisfaction out of her reaction to his comment; he laughed, winking at her, What I said, princess. Come to think of it, that was a plan. But not for now, and definitely not when she was about ready to strangle him for throwing her into the water anyway. You’re welcome, he replied, playing with the shoe by letting the water out of it, turning it upside down and then putting it down again before looking at her, watching as she battled with the leggings under water. He sighed. It’ll be faster if you let go of the edge and quickly peel them off – you won’t sink, our bodies weren’t made for that, we float regardless, he pointed out to her, still amused. It was that ... or he could help her. That was an interesting thought.

TAGGED --- ANASTASIYA SVETLANA OF RUSSIA
NOTES --- Viktor’s baaad ... and SO taking her skinny dipping once xD
LYRICS --- MICHAEL JACKSON
TEMPLATE --- MADE BY ME