St. Vladimir's Academy | Late Friday Night FH-Time
Dimitri didn't like sitting in the audience. It made sense that he was not included in the disciplinary committee given his working relationship with the accused, but that didn't mean he was going to enjoy watching the experience like an outsider. Looking on as Alberta, Celeste, and Yuri stared his novice down, he couldn't help but notice how imposing the team appeared from behind that long table as compared to Rose perched on a single chair.
His concern for her existed on multiple levels, but the foremost was how Rose was completely and utterly not acting like herself. Dimitri didn't know what was going on, but after her outburst the day before and this failed altercation with Stan, he intended to find out.
From what he'd been told, his novice had failed to respond to an attack her Moroi and had landed herself in a rare guardian disciplinary hearing. At least it isn't Kirova, Dimitri reminded himself, clasping his hands tightly together as he leaned forward to listen to the proceedings. Dimitri didn't believe there was anything left that he could say or do to stop the school's Headmistress from waving a hand and removing Rose from ever having a chance at graduating, but no matter how serious Alberta and the others took their disciplinary duties, he knew in the end they thought like he did. Or at least, they had nine months earlier.
But for now, it was up to Rose to explain what the hell she'd been doing.
The questioning had gone on far too long for Rose's liking. Really, the entire situation had gone on far too long for her liking. She was already completely embarrassed and more than a bit discouraged. It had been - like Dimitri said - her chance at proving them all wrong, and now... How could she have failed like that? Mason had been appearing for months now, and that time - everything else had stopped when he appeared.
Which led to the current situation where she was up against the disciplinary committee on charges of willfully endangering a Moroi.
Rose took a breath, trying to stay calm as they asked her another stupid question. "It wasn't on purpose. I would never fail to protect a Moroi on purpose!"
"Miss Hathaway," said Alberta, fully in strict-captain mode for this disciplinary duty, "you must know why we have a hard time believing that."
Yuri nodded, no matter how much he liked Rose, Stan's words were stacked against the girl. "Guardian Alto saw you. You refused to protect a Moroi to whose protection you were specifically assigned."
This was going around in circles, and it was going to end with her getting kicked out for good, Rose nearly could feel it.
"I didn't refuse!" she argued. "I - I just fumbled."
"That wasn't a fumble," said Stan from the audience. He glanced at Alberta for permission to speak. "May I?"
Alberta nodded and Stan continued. "If you'd blocked or attacked me and then messed up, that would be a fumble. But you didn't block. You didn't attack. You didn't even try. You just stood there like a statue and did nothing."
She hated him so much, but Rose tried to bite back her rage at his accusations. Like she'd ever leave a Moroi unprotected. It was ridiculous. So she could confess to seeing a ghost or just being completely incompetent.
It wasn't her favorite choice in the world, but the idea of being thought insane was worse than being a failure.
"Why am I the only one getting in trouble for messing up?" she finally asked, her voice angry but controlled. "I saw Ryan screw up earlier, and he's not in here. Aren't we supposed to be doing this for the practice?" There was a second where she thought Dimitri would be proud of her for this logical argument until she remembered how pissed he was. She'd almost been surprised to see him in the audience. "If we were perfect, we'd be out in the real world guarding Moroi!"
"Weren't you listening?" said Stan, not having missed this particular novice one tiny bit. "You didn't mess up, because 'messing up' implies that you have to actually do something."
Rose realised as she watched the vein throb in Stan's forehead that he was the only one there as pissed off as she was. Some remnant of cooler emotion in her head pointed out that if she'd been in his place, she might of thought the worst of her too.
She glared at him defiantly. "Fine. I froze. I thought I was prepared, I wasn't, and I cracked under pressure. Does that count as messing up? I panicked. It happens to novices all the time."
"To a novice who has already killed Strigoi?" Yuri couldn't help sounding skeptical with this point. If there was pressure to crack under, it would've been that incident in Spokane. "It seems unlikely."
"What? Now I'm supposed to be perfect?" she bitched, glaring at Yuri and then everyone else on the panel for good measure. "I can't panic or be afraid cause of one incident? Thanks. That's totally fair."
There was no need to fake bitchy defiance. She had plenty of it to dish out.
Alberta sighed and leaned forward. "We're arguing semantics. Technicalities aren't the point here. What's important is that yesterday you made it very clear you did not want to guard Christian Ozera. In fact...I recall you even said you wanted us to be sure we knew that you were doing it against your will. And then, when your first test comes around, we find you completely and utterly unresponsive."
Rose had slumped back in her chair, but at Alberta's words, she jumped to her feet. "Wait, that's what this is all about? You think I didn't protect him because of some stupid revenge thing?"
Really? They thought she was that petty and stupid?
The trio looked expectantly to Rose, as though perhaps her attitude here should answer that question.
"You aren't exactly known for calmly and gracefully accepting things you don't like," Alberta replied wryly.
"Not even true," Rose snapped back. "I've done everything you and Kirova have asked of me for over a year. I've gone to another school, I've gone to every training my mentor assigned, I've come back instantly every time you ask. If I didn't want to be a guardian, why even bother? Just staying in Fandom would be an easier way to quit." She shook her head, upset at the whole this. "What good would doing this revenge thing do? Sta- Guardian Alto wasn't going to hurt Christian so I wouldn't even get to see him punched or something. I'd just get dragged into the middle of this and maybe even face removal from the field experience."
"You are facing removal from the field experience," replied Yuri, wondering not for the first time how Belikov put up with all that bitchy attitude on a regular basis. No way it was worth life on the isle of pretty people.
Rose sank back into her chair. It was one thing to be pretty sure of something and another to have it confirmed by one of the guys whose job was to decide it. "...oh."
Dimitri couldn't let the silence hang in the air for very long after that. "She has a point." Ignoring that he was supposed to be an observer here, he rose and addressed the committee, unable to sit quietly and watch Rose drown. "If Miss Hathaway were going to protest or take revenge, she'd do it in a different way."
Celeste frowned. "Yes, but after the scene she made yesterday..."
Dimitri took a few steps forward and stood beside Rose's chair. The message was clear: she had his support no matter what was going on or how oddly she was acting. "This is all circumstantial," he said. "Regardless of how suspicious you think it looks, there's no proof. Removing her from the experience, and essentially ruining her graduation, is a bit extreme without any certainties."
Something in Rose's chest relaxed as she'd heard Dimitri's voice. No matter how angry he was, he knew she wasn't that petty.
His presence as he moved forward comforted her though she kept herself facing the committee instead of looking over at him. If Dimitri was on her side, it might still work out okay.
At that, the committee leaned together in whispered conference until finally Alberta gave a resigned nod and they regained their focus on Rose.
"Miss Hathaway, do you have anything you'd like to say before we tell you our conclusions?"
She wanted to say everything. She hadn't messed up. She was a damn good novice, and she'd already been reacting at Stan's approach. One of her few tests at St Vlad's, and she was going to get a black mark on her record for it even if they'd decided to let her continue with the field experience.
...but she still couldn't tell them why she'd frozen. Couldn't tell them that she'd been seeing Mason's ghost for months. They'd think she was crazy, and they really, really might be right.
"No, Guardian Petrov," she said, trying to sound as meek as possible. "Nothing at all."
"All right," Alberta said wearily. "Here's what we've decided. You're lucky you have Guardian Belikov to advocate for you, or this decision might have been different. We're giving you the benefit of the doubt. You'll go on with the field experience this weekend and continue to guard Mr. Ozera as scheduled. You'll just be on a probation of sorts."
"That's okay," Rose said quickly then she took a breath, relieved at the decision. "Thank you."
"And," Alberta added, sounding every bit the experienced trainer she was. "Because the suspicion isn't entirely removed, you'll be spending this Sunday doing community service."
"What?" Rose exclaimed, jumping out of her seat again and ready to argue.
Oh, come on.
Oh, come on was right. Rose needed to sit down and close her mouth before she undid what they'd just managed to fix for her.
Dimitri's hand wrapped around her wrist. "Sit down," he murmured in Rose's ear, tugging her back to the chair. "Take what you can get."
"If that's a problem, we can extend the service to Fandom," warned Yuri. "Along with each visit to the Academy."
Rose glanced at Dimitri in surprise then nodded, sitting back down. He was right. This was good. "I'm sorry. Thank you."
[NFB and continued in the comments because this stuff calls for chocolate.]
His concern for her existed on multiple levels, but the foremost was how Rose was completely and utterly not acting like herself. Dimitri didn't know what was going on, but after her outburst the day before and this failed altercation with Stan, he intended to find out.
From what he'd been told, his novice had failed to respond to an attack her Moroi and had landed herself in a rare guardian disciplinary hearing. At least it isn't Kirova, Dimitri reminded himself, clasping his hands tightly together as he leaned forward to listen to the proceedings. Dimitri didn't believe there was anything left that he could say or do to stop the school's Headmistress from waving a hand and removing Rose from ever having a chance at graduating, but no matter how serious Alberta and the others took their disciplinary duties, he knew in the end they thought like he did. Or at least, they had nine months earlier.
But for now, it was up to Rose to explain what the hell she'd been doing.
The questioning had gone on far too long for Rose's liking. Really, the entire situation had gone on far too long for her liking. She was already completely embarrassed and more than a bit discouraged. It had been - like Dimitri said - her chance at proving them all wrong, and now... How could she have failed like that? Mason had been appearing for months now, and that time - everything else had stopped when he appeared.
Which led to the current situation where she was up against the disciplinary committee on charges of willfully endangering a Moroi.
Rose took a breath, trying to stay calm as they asked her another stupid question. "It wasn't on purpose. I would never fail to protect a Moroi on purpose!"
"Miss Hathaway," said Alberta, fully in strict-captain mode for this disciplinary duty, "you must know why we have a hard time believing that."
Yuri nodded, no matter how much he liked Rose, Stan's words were stacked against the girl. "Guardian Alto saw you. You refused to protect a Moroi to whose protection you were specifically assigned."
This was going around in circles, and it was going to end with her getting kicked out for good, Rose nearly could feel it.
"I didn't refuse!" she argued. "I - I just fumbled."
"That wasn't a fumble," said Stan from the audience. He glanced at Alberta for permission to speak. "May I?"
Alberta nodded and Stan continued. "If you'd blocked or attacked me and then messed up, that would be a fumble. But you didn't block. You didn't attack. You didn't even try. You just stood there like a statue and did nothing."
She hated him so much, but Rose tried to bite back her rage at his accusations. Like she'd ever leave a Moroi unprotected. It was ridiculous. So she could confess to seeing a ghost or just being completely incompetent.
It wasn't her favorite choice in the world, but the idea of being thought insane was worse than being a failure.
"Why am I the only one getting in trouble for messing up?" she finally asked, her voice angry but controlled. "I saw Ryan screw up earlier, and he's not in here. Aren't we supposed to be doing this for the practice?" There was a second where she thought Dimitri would be proud of her for this logical argument until she remembered how pissed he was. She'd almost been surprised to see him in the audience. "If we were perfect, we'd be out in the real world guarding Moroi!"
"Weren't you listening?" said Stan, not having missed this particular novice one tiny bit. "You didn't mess up, because 'messing up' implies that you have to actually do something."
Rose realised as she watched the vein throb in Stan's forehead that he was the only one there as pissed off as she was. Some remnant of cooler emotion in her head pointed out that if she'd been in his place, she might of thought the worst of her too.
She glared at him defiantly. "Fine. I froze. I thought I was prepared, I wasn't, and I cracked under pressure. Does that count as messing up? I panicked. It happens to novices all the time."
"To a novice who has already killed Strigoi?" Yuri couldn't help sounding skeptical with this point. If there was pressure to crack under, it would've been that incident in Spokane. "It seems unlikely."
"What? Now I'm supposed to be perfect?" she bitched, glaring at Yuri and then everyone else on the panel for good measure. "I can't panic or be afraid cause of one incident? Thanks. That's totally fair."
There was no need to fake bitchy defiance. She had plenty of it to dish out.
Alberta sighed and leaned forward. "We're arguing semantics. Technicalities aren't the point here. What's important is that yesterday you made it very clear you did not want to guard Christian Ozera. In fact...I recall you even said you wanted us to be sure we knew that you were doing it against your will. And then, when your first test comes around, we find you completely and utterly unresponsive."
Rose had slumped back in her chair, but at Alberta's words, she jumped to her feet. "Wait, that's what this is all about? You think I didn't protect him because of some stupid revenge thing?"
Really? They thought she was that petty and stupid?
The trio looked expectantly to Rose, as though perhaps her attitude here should answer that question.
"You aren't exactly known for calmly and gracefully accepting things you don't like," Alberta replied wryly.
"Not even true," Rose snapped back. "I've done everything you and Kirova have asked of me for over a year. I've gone to another school, I've gone to every training my mentor assigned, I've come back instantly every time you ask. If I didn't want to be a guardian, why even bother? Just staying in Fandom would be an easier way to quit." She shook her head, upset at the whole this. "What good would doing this revenge thing do? Sta- Guardian Alto wasn't going to hurt Christian so I wouldn't even get to see him punched or something. I'd just get dragged into the middle of this and maybe even face removal from the field experience."
"You are facing removal from the field experience," replied Yuri, wondering not for the first time how Belikov put up with all that bitchy attitude on a regular basis. No way it was worth life on the isle of pretty people.
Rose sank back into her chair. It was one thing to be pretty sure of something and another to have it confirmed by one of the guys whose job was to decide it. "...oh."
Dimitri couldn't let the silence hang in the air for very long after that. "She has a point." Ignoring that he was supposed to be an observer here, he rose and addressed the committee, unable to sit quietly and watch Rose drown. "If Miss Hathaway were going to protest or take revenge, she'd do it in a different way."
Celeste frowned. "Yes, but after the scene she made yesterday..."
Dimitri took a few steps forward and stood beside Rose's chair. The message was clear: she had his support no matter what was going on or how oddly she was acting. "This is all circumstantial," he said. "Regardless of how suspicious you think it looks, there's no proof. Removing her from the experience, and essentially ruining her graduation, is a bit extreme without any certainties."
Something in Rose's chest relaxed as she'd heard Dimitri's voice. No matter how angry he was, he knew she wasn't that petty.
His presence as he moved forward comforted her though she kept herself facing the committee instead of looking over at him. If Dimitri was on her side, it might still work out okay.
At that, the committee leaned together in whispered conference until finally Alberta gave a resigned nod and they regained their focus on Rose.
"Miss Hathaway, do you have anything you'd like to say before we tell you our conclusions?"
She wanted to say everything. She hadn't messed up. She was a damn good novice, and she'd already been reacting at Stan's approach. One of her few tests at St Vlad's, and she was going to get a black mark on her record for it even if they'd decided to let her continue with the field experience.
...but she still couldn't tell them why she'd frozen. Couldn't tell them that she'd been seeing Mason's ghost for months. They'd think she was crazy, and they really, really might be right.
"No, Guardian Petrov," she said, trying to sound as meek as possible. "Nothing at all."
"All right," Alberta said wearily. "Here's what we've decided. You're lucky you have Guardian Belikov to advocate for you, or this decision might have been different. We're giving you the benefit of the doubt. You'll go on with the field experience this weekend and continue to guard Mr. Ozera as scheduled. You'll just be on a probation of sorts."
"That's okay," Rose said quickly then she took a breath, relieved at the decision. "Thank you."
"And," Alberta added, sounding every bit the experienced trainer she was. "Because the suspicion isn't entirely removed, you'll be spending this Sunday doing community service."
"What?" Rose exclaimed, jumping out of her seat again and ready to argue.
Oh, come on.
Oh, come on was right. Rose needed to sit down and close her mouth before she undid what they'd just managed to fix for her.
Dimitri's hand wrapped around her wrist. "Sit down," he murmured in Rose's ear, tugging her back to the chair. "Take what you can get."
"If that's a problem, we can extend the service to Fandom," warned Yuri. "Along with each visit to the Academy."
Rose glanced at Dimitri in surprise then nodded, sitting back down. He was right. This was good. "I'm sorry. Thank you."
[NFB and continued in the comments because this stuff calls for chocolate.]