Veni, Vidi, Vici (Ksenia)

Jaelyn kicked her feet up onto the seat in front of her and leaned back onto her elbows. It was a good, open space here. Empty, at the moment. There was room to think, room to breathe.

It was a good escape from the quiet chaos of the school corridors. What lesson next?

Jaelyn scoffed to herself. She wasn't in the mood for work today. The girl would just catch up next time. But for now- now she wanted to think. Plan.

Ksenia wandered slowly to the great amphitheater of the school, deep in thought. It was good to get out of library for a little while to clear your head. Though clearing her head was the last thing Ksenia wanted to do right now. Not when it carried her thoughts back to the pit hole that was her life.

She turned her head when she noticed another figure a few meters away from her as she came to a stop. "Skipping class again, Morozov?" she said with a smirk.

Jaelyn shook her head and smirked.

"Now, I don't skip class that often, do I?" she asked, a mocking look of innocence played at her features. The expression looked out of place.

"And what are you doing here, Sokol?" she arched an eyebrow at the girl.

"Oh, you know, the walls of the library can become a bit stifling when you spend so much time there," Ksenia said as she looked over the scenery, her eyes enjoying the break from all the reading.

"You do have a knack for being a high achieving troublemaker. They should give out medals for that. It's a talent," she said with another smirk.

"Ah." Jaelyn nodded. "I know that all too well." The girl's glassy green eyes swept across the amphitheatre laid out before them.

"It's a good place to think. It's boring, empty. Really you have no choice but to think about things that you would otherwise push aside and focus on something else." The girl laughed bitterly. "But here there's nothing else to focus on."

"More than just a medal." she smiled smugly. "It's an art."

"Yes. I am quite surprised to find you here without any vodka," Ksenia looked at the other girl expectantly. This thinking thing was never good for either of them and she was ready to put an end to it.

She laughed slightly, giving the younger girl a wide smirk. They had this strange friendship. Though they were far from close, they understood each other.

Jaelyn sighed and shook her head, as if disappointed.

"Sokol, it's as if you don't now me at all." she looked up, winked at the girl and jumped up from her position, then over a few row of seats. She walked for a few minutes away from the amphitheatre, close to the edge of the forest. Just as Jaelyn was about to disappear completely from sight and become shrouded by the dark foliage, she turned back to Ksenia and placed her fingers to her lips. The girl proceeded into the forest.

She returned with one bottle of firewhiskey and the other Russian muggle vodka.

"If there's one thing that those muggles can do-" she studied the vodka and opened it slowly .

"-it's having a good drink."

Ksenia followed Jaelyn away from the amphitheater with a smirk. She knew she could always count on the other girl for some booze within yhr walls of the school if she ever needed it. "If only the professors knew as much about you as I do," she said laughing and shaking her head slightly. Of course she would never tell on the other girl. It was a silent pact that they had between each other. A pact of girls that were far too similar in some of their characteristics.

"Muggles be damned," Ksenia said darkly as she took the vodka from the other girl. It was always her proffered drink. "I'd rather not think of them when I am enjoying myself," she said before taking a swing from the bottle.

"If the professors knew even that much, I doubt I'd still be in this school, Sokol." she smiled weakly and opened her bottle of firewhiskey.

Jae stared at intently for a few moments, then opened it quickly, eager for a swig. The girl swung the bottle to her lips and drank deeply. The sweet, dark, burning flames of the whiskey licked her throat and swirled in the pit of her stomach.

It was good.

"And what is it we shall drink to, Sokol?" she raised an eyebrow.

"They wouldn't know what they would be losing if they did," Ksenia sais as she took another swing from her own bottle. Her tone was almost bitter, not as amused as it was before. She shook her head. clearing her thoughts.

"Freedom. Let's drink to freedom," the girl said as she spread her arms. "And," she cotniued. "We can drink to my burned wedding drss," she added with a smirk as she recalled that particular memory.

Jaelyn laughed and swung the bottle to her lips again.

"There was a wedding dress?" she asked, words still sharply defined, no where near slurred- yet.

"Freedom of what?" the girl murmured. "I'll drink to whatever freedom I can get my hands on, Sokol." she paused, as if she were about to say something, shook her head vigorously and took a longer, deeper drink from the bottle.

"There was," Ksenia said with a smirk. "And I burned," the expression on her face was glorious. Abraxas would never control her fully. For as long as he lived she would find a way to rebel. She lifted the bottle of vodka to her lips once again, enjoying the burning sensation it made as it ran down her throat.

"Just freedom, Morozov," Ksenia said, a smile slipping onto her face as she looked at the forest around them. "To be free of everything."

Jaelyn shook her head, deciding not to press the matter any further. Ksenia was a capable girl, she could handle herself, she had no doubt in that.

"To the burned wedding dress, then." she chuckled lowly and continued to drink the liquid fire.

"Free of everything." she echoed quietly.

"In our dreams." she muttered, and took another swig.

Ksenia smirked widely once again and took a swing from her own bottle, enjoying the memory of revenge.

Ksenia laughed. "Probably, but who knows. Anything can happen. They say we are free to choose how we live. Maybe we will be soon," she said, almost thoughfully.

"What about you? Anything interesting happened to you recently?" she raised an eyebrow slightly at the other girl.

Jaelyn's bright green eyes flickered dangerously.

"And what if we were free of everything? No obligations. No purpose."

"Fuck it." she murmured and drank more, her thoughts starting to get slightly fuzzy.

"Interesting?" she laughed bitterly.

"My father's been chaining me, Sokol. Why do you think I go looking for trouble?" the girl grumbled.

"We will be free to make our own purposes. Well in most cases," Ksenia frowned slightly, before shaking her head.

"You know I think we far too much alike, Morozov," she said as she linked her arm with the other girl's. "Your father chains you, my husband beats me. They can all go to hell for one night while we go have some fun. What do you say?" she smirked.

"Free of everything- not bound to anything. Nothing to hold us back, but nothing to hold onto." she said gravely, then laughed heartily.

"I'm a philosopher now, am I?" she said, a bitter tone laced into her voice.

Jaelyn raised her bottle into the air, as if a beacon leading them through the dark.

"Onwards to some fun then, Sokol." she smirked. The girl looked down at the ground, eyes slightly glazed.

"And downstairs for them." she hissed lowly.

Ksenia rolled her eyes slightly. "I am would be very surprised if you weren't, Morozov. You are one of the smartest witches in this school. Our problems are not supposed to be the only things we talk about. We are civilized people."

"Exactly," she agreed as they walked on.