Above Ground: Outdoor Terrain

Boris had just been about to remove his hood when a sphere of snow made contact with his face. "E-aargh...!" the Russian exclaimed and wiped the compacted frozen snowflakes from his face. He had heard her tell someone to run, and was about to say something, but as it so happened there was even snow in his mouth.

Then he heard approaching footfalls. Fast approaching, too. Boris immediately withdrew his wand, not wanting to be hexed on sight, and cast a shielding spell around him. "Vait!" he called to the on-comer and yanked off his hood, revealing a raven-haired buzz cut that was slowly growing back into a natural faux hawk. "It's just me! Boris Kaminski... I bring news..." he called, searching for where the person - sounded like possibly a young man - would appear.

'Admittedly not happy news...' Boris mused to himself, lowering brown eyes to the snow briefly before snapping them back to the task of finding the witch or wizard rushing toward him.

Fitzwilliam Casillas was stopped in his tracks.

"Boris?" Will strained his eyes and a second later, laughed. He was indeed Boris - there as no mistaking him... well his form anyway. It could easily be a Purger under Polyjuice. Will kept his wand at Boris, he needed to be certain.

"What's your favorite jam flavour?"

Fitzwilliam... Will by preference. Or, at least, the kid certainly looked like Will. Grown up a bit since the last time Boris seen him, but unmistakable just the same.

The lad couldn’t be blamed for keeping his wand trained on Boris, and nor did the Russian wizard hold it against him. Quite the contrary, it was a wise move. To show he meant no harm, Boris lowered his wand. However, to be on the safe side, he kept the shield up between them.

“Nicolas taught you vell... It is blackberry,” Boris replied neutrally. “Just so ve are on the same page, might I ask you yours?”

"Grape flavoured." Will said grinning now, confident that it was indeed Boris. He lowered his wand but he didn't put it away. It was Boris however a Purger could have easily followed Boris. It might have been paranoia on his part but it was better safe than sorry. Will was always a lot more keen and one the watch when his siblings where within proximity. Eliza and Darius where close by.

Will gave Boris a sort of half-hug hand shake with his free hand in greeting. "What brings you here?"

Eliza relaxed, and started to feel stupid.

I really should check who it is before running away... She thought to herself.

Boris grinned slightly at Will’s expression, satisfied he was truly whom he appeared, though it looked sort of more like a pained grimace. He really shouldn’t be grinning, knowing Nick was dead or very close to death. The Russian lowered the shield he’d cast. “I did my best to make sure the purgers vouldn’t follow me,” he reassured the young man, though the look in his eyes – so much like his second cousin’s – indicated that despite the assurance they should be on their guard.

The wizard reciprocated the greeting, though had a hard time maintaining the enthusiasm. Especially at the young man’s question. Brown eyes lowered to the ground for the briefest of moments before looking Will in the eye. “I bring news. I... vish it vere good news but...” Boris trailed off.

Shaking his head, Boris regained his composure. “I must speak vith you, Eliza, and Darius,” he explained, looking around for the other two. “I... is there a place vhere ve might sit down?” Boris asked, more concerned about Eliza being in shock and Darius being distraught moreso than his own comfort. He would like to have thought that, if his cousin Sevastyan Kaminski were alive, the wizard would for once be proud of him.

Eliza paused, glancing across at Darius, then at Will.

"...Sure..."

Eliza began to feel the onset of sadness...and fear of whatever news was to come.

"Yeah I think we can go inside." Will cast a fleeting look to the atmosphere before ushering Boris inside.

Like Eliza, Will picked up on the negative feeling. He began to feel a sense of forbidding.

Darius, seeing that they were headed inside the Keep, went in. Wondering all the while why Boris had showed up.

Eliza smiled in fake reassurance at her yonger brother and followed Will into the Keep.

(( Different Timeline actually, probably before the one above))

Fitzwilliam stepped out of the keep full of resolve. He was bored. He was really bored. And it was willing to bet, he wasn't the only one.

He hiked through the trees looking for a certain Kaminski girl.

Lara sat upon one of the walls staring into the grounds. While she knew she should be glad for a peaceful moment, especially amidst the dark times all of them here in Morpheus Keep were living in, she couldn't help but be extremely bored. All it seemed they ever did was worry, panic, fear, and watch. Almost like a routine, it seemed.

She needed something to do. Anything, just to make her normal, mediocre days differ.

With a sigh, she leaned back against the wall. It was only when she felt another's prescence near tha tshe turned, noticing a familiar face. "Hey, stranger." she greeted with a smile she saved just for Will.

She spotted him, before he could see her. He turned immediately towards her at the sound of her voice.

With the smile that she sent him, he was acutely aware that his breathing stumbled. Sure it was cheesy and a little corny, but seriously, that girl had a smile, when properly launched, could sink a million ships.

"Heya Muffin," Will teased playfully. He climbed up and sat down besides her. "What'cha up to?"

Lara rolled her eyes playfully at the nickname, feigning annoyance, yet deep down loving it. Almost as much as she loved Will sitting down right beside her; so close, yet so far, it seemed.

"Not much. That right there seems to be the problem. There's nothing to do here." she replied with a sigh, adjusting her position so she was laying on her stomach, upon the wall. Her reasons for moving were two-fold: one, it was more comfortable. Two, and more significantly, it allowed her to be even closer, to Will. So close that, if she wanted, all she'd have to do was inch a few more inches and she'd be able to rest her head upon his lap.

As she maneuvered herself to lay on her stomach, Will couldn't help but notice that the movement had brought them in close proximity of each other. He wondered if she did it on purpose. A sense of encouragement rose inside of Will. He could easily reach out and touch her face, stroke her hair... he imagined it would be soft. It sure looked it.

He gave her a mischievous smirk. "Wanna ditch? I know a bar that's not too far from here."

Green orbs looked to Will's with a mirroring smirk following. "That does sound fun..." she lamented. Part of her wanted nothing more than to just get up and dash off, slugging back a few mixers, yet the other part, the annoying little thing she called her conscience loudly protested.

"But Val and Tav would skin us alive just for thinking it." she added with a dissapointed sigh.

"C'mon Kaminski, where's your sense of fun?" Will teased.

He glanced around. "Look no one's here. It'll be our little secret."

"It'll be just like at Hogwarts, you remember don't you? Sneaking off after hours, going through the secret passage and wreaking havoc in Hogsmeade. Don't tell me you've forgotten."

He noted a sense of irony as at Hogwarts, it was usually her who'd convince him to go and now here she was refusing to. He lived for those trips. Made school work bearable. Made the Purger's reign just a little bit tolerable. It was like, everything horrible in the world was gone and it was just him, Lara, and the night filled with possibilities.

He locked her gaze and said in an undertone. "It'll be just like old times, just you and me."

"Right next to where your cuteness is." Lara replied in the same teasing voice, leaving it to Will to interpret the meaning, whether she was indicating that it was nonexistant, or that it was there, full throttle.

She shrugged playfully as he glance around, weakly arguing in a playful tone. "We already have many secrets together..."

The young witch couldn't help but smile sadly and reminisce about the old times in Hogwarts. In no way was it exactly a happy era considering their parents had been annihilated by then, but compared to their days of late, it certainly was happier. Will did have a point...

What harm could it do, after all? They'd only be out for a few hours at most. What could happen?

"Alright, but if anything happens, I'm blaming you." she teased after a moment of thinking. "Lead the way, bubble butt."

Will jumped off the wall and turned around to face her. "Bubble butt?"

He decided to let the insult go, as she decided to come with him. He offered his hand to help her off the wall. "We can take my motorcycle."

"You heard me," she countered playfully with a wink. She took the offered hand with a smile, a rarity indeed since she was quite independent, and hopped off the wall.

"I trust you, Will." she replied as she followed him. Her statement still carried the carefree air and light banter of their conversation, yet carried undertones of much more, for although there were very few people Lara truly trusted, Will was certainly one of them. One of the top ones, in fact.

Will smiled. "That you should. I am perfectly responsible, dependable and lovable." He said playfully, but he was deeply flattered at the statement. He'd known Lara for a long time now and knew that she was not the type who trusted just anybody.

"Don't worry, I promise to protect you from those evil Purgers." Again, it was said playfully however, it was words Will would follow to the grave.