A Fireside Chat (Lorena)

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

Date: 2008 November 23 (Feel free to change this.)

Aaahhh. This was perfect. It was late at night, and everyone was elsewhere in the B.P.R.D. facility, so Ludmila had the library all to herself. She sat in a comfy leather chair, her feet bare and propped up on a stool. She faced the fire, which was crackling lazily away and giving off just the right amount of warmth. Most of the lights in the library were also switched off or dimmed down, plunging the large room into a comforting fire-lit penumbra.

Ludmila had removed her comb, which now lay in her lap. Her shoulder length hair was unravelled. Her mily white eyes, white hair and ghostly countenance were all apparent now, as her comb no longer gave her a human appearance. Next to her were two bottles of red wine, Californian, and a half empty balloon glass. In her fingers she gently held her cigarette holder and puffed dreamily on her little stick of tobacco. Soft music played on an old gramophone nearby.

It was deliciously pleasant. Warren wasn't around to annoy her, and neither was Rose. She liked Abraham, but smoking and drinking while he was around did not go down well. Manning was probably hard at work on paperwork or some other activity, so she was left in complete peace. The wine had lulled her into a warm, fuzzy feeling of comfort. The Rusalka sighed contentedly. She almost never had such moments for herself any more. She was either being pestered by Anastasia or arguing with her, talking to Manning or Abe about work or being annoyed by Warren.

She began to hum along to the music, her voice soft and crystalline like icicles gently chiming against each other.

[LORENA ZACCARDO]

Lorena had been passing the library when a pleasant humming sound, accompanied by softly played music, greeted her through the cracked open door. She was certain the culprit hadn't meant to leave the door open, and the voice wasn't the voice of Abe who was usually in the library at this hour. Curiosity sparked, Lorena knocked twice timidly on the heavy gold colored door before pushing it open. She was surprised to find the lights off and dimmed, and a cozy glow coming from the fireplace.

At first the junior agent failed to recognize Agent Ilyukhin who was relaxing. Ludmila seemed to have an air of seriousness about her, at least through the stories she had heard through the other agents. "I'm sorry if I intruded." Lorena stated quietly, trying to cover her nervousness. "I heard music and was curious." She explained, standing in the doorway to better reveal herself.

Unlike her roommate Rose, Lorena had been on the shy side. She knew a few other junior agents would walk in as though they owned the place, but Lorena was of the belief that senior agents of the BPRD demanded a certain respect, and she was careful not to tread on any toes, not wishing to annoy any of the more reserved seniors. The womans voice had been bone chilling, not because it was murder on the ears, but because it was a sound that Lorena had not been accustomed to. She glanced shyly again at the agent, unsure of whether to leave or stay and keep the woman company.

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

A voice. Shy and female. Ludmila had heard the door creak slightly and had briefly wondered if Warren had caught up with her, much to her annoyance. She was relieved however to find out it wasn't Warren, but one of the junior agents.

"Hm, good evening", she said, somewhat groggily from the wine she'd been drinking. She didn't want to be disturbed, but she didn't want to send the poor agent away either. She seemed more nervous and shy than anything. What was her name already? Ludmila couldn't remember. She spent most of her working time with other senior agents, and occasionally Rose for technological assistance and advice.

"Bah, at least you're not Warren or Manning. C'mon, have a seat, devotchka. Want a glass of wine? I got these two bottles from the kitchen...having a charming aura is pretty useful sometimes. Men just can't say no."

Ludmila turned around and settled back in her chair. She put her cigarette holder down in the small ashtray she used and picked up her glass of red wine. She took a sip and relished the rich taste.

"Very good wine...", she said softly.

[LORENA ZACCARDO]

The woman appeared annoyed at first, though seemed to lighten up. Perhaps she had expected someone less welcome. Biting her lower lip, Lorena avoided eye contact, then deciding it was all right. Agent Ilyukhin added the element of surprise for the night with a warm greeting and an invitation to join her inside the library. Slipping through the entrance, Lorena shut the door completely, assuming the inhabitant had meant for privacy. At the note of not being Sorrow, her ex, or Manning Lorena chuckled. "I hear you there, Miss Ilyukhin." She stated quietly, walking to take a seat across from the agent.

Lorena eyed the wine curiously. "I'm not very accustomed to wines, miss, but if you're certain it's all right I'll gladly take a glass." She agreed with a smile. "I expected you to be Agent Sapien, but when I heard your voice I knew it wasn't the case. I honesty did not mean to intrude... I take it Sorrow did not hesitate to get on your bad side either?" She wondered half amused. Warren, although somewhat sweet, had a bit of a problem when it came to flirting. At least in her eyes, it seemed to her that Sorrow was always throwing himself unto women. "Manning is explanatory..." She grumbled quietly.

Not wanting to complain she changed the subject briefly. "Its not just men that can't say no to this kind of atmosphere, Miss Ilyukhin. Fires are cozy unto anyone."

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

Ludmila snorted and swirled her wine around in its glass.

"Agent Sorrow is very unprofessional in his dealings with female agents. It is my belief that male and female agents should be treated the same way, and, more specifically, if a woman asks a man to stop flirting with her, that he should stop. Agent Sorrow hasn't quite grasped that concept, unfortunately...much to my annoyance."

She took another sip of wine before setting the glass down. There was another glass on the small table, and Ludmila poured the younger woman beside her some wine before picking up her cigarette holder and inhaling some more tobacco smoke.

"It's nice to have some peace and quiet...", said Ludmila quietly. She picked up her comb and examined it with her white eyes. "It's so hard to actually get some in this line of work."

She put her comb back down on her lap. Usually she was not comfortable about being seen in her original appearance by humans, but the wine and darkness made her somewhat less complexed about it.

[LORENA ZACCARDO]

Lorena couldn't help herself, as a quiet giggle escaped her lips, her eyes flickering with amusement at the agents response to Warren.

"That maybe true, miss." She stated respectfully, nodding as she listened. "That certainly does sound like the Warren I used to know. One would hope that others could change for the better and respect one another, but I'm afraid that in Warren's case, he will always be that way..." It was true, Warren simply could not control himself around the opposite sex.

Lorena lifted the glass that Ludmila had poured into and took a small sip, savoring the taste. "This is really good!" She exclaimed, a bit more surprised than anticipated. She hadn't had wine in quite some time, due to not being partial to the taste, but it was apparent she had just selected the incorrect wine to suit her needs. "I'm Lorena, by the way... Zaccardo." She stated, not expecting the senior agents to remember all of the names of the juniors. There were simply too many for even Lorena to remember with ease.

"Quiet does seem hard to come by." She agreed, taking another slow sip of the liquid. "Especially with Manning swooping down on you like a bat out of hell the minute you're least expecting it." She sighed. She observed the senior agent lift her comb then lay it down again, thinking nothing of it. "I guess he's just trying to do his job. What about you? I hear you get to go to the field often, is it exciting?" She wondered.

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

The field. Ludmila had been out in the field so many times in her life that it was getting a bit hard to tell all her "sorties" apart.

"Hm, being out in the field is exciting I suppose", said Ludmila. "But I've been out there so many times that all but the most terrifying and arduous missions move me now...it's sad in a way..."

She puffed smoke out again and gazed dreamily out into space. A log broke in the fireplace, sending sparks up into the chimney. As her eyes caught sight of the sparks, her memory brought back visions of fire and destruction. She closed her eyes and warded these thoughts away. No. Not now, not ever.

"All in a day's work", she added. "All in a day's work...I signed up for a mission in the Congo yesterday. I'm desperate to get out and do some real work instead of checking out rumours of pink ghosts sighted by drugged up teens. Last week I had to go investigate the "Loveland Frogmen"...it was a load of shit. Drunk locals making things up to spice up their boring, dead-end life."

She had another drink of wine and changed the subject.

"And you, Miss Zaccardo, don't you go out in the field? Doing paperwork would be rather tedious..."

[LORENA ZACCARDO]

Taking another long sip of wine, Lorena's eyes widened a bit as the senior agent revealed her insight from the field work. "You mean its become routine?" Her surprise remained unveiled as she wondered aloud. "I didn't know field work could ever get boring. I was under the impression that the field agents got to see many different things, and yet never the same thing twice. Or perhaps its' been romanticized?"

The girl watched the senior agent close her eyes, hoping she didn't annoy Ludmila. There were enough problem agents that Lorena had crossed as a forensics scientist in the area, and her only real stable friends included Rose, who had too been somewhat annoying sometimes, and the plants around the BPRD, all in which she had named.

"You signed up for the Congo?" She asked excited. "I think we'll be working together. Manning asked me to go to help with forensic studies. I'm more of a scientist than a field agent, but I can do my part..." She wondered if Rose had signed up and bit her lower lip timidly, hoping her roommate didn't over pack her personal munitions department. "But there are a lot of plants that are native to the congo as well, Miss." She stated, with another swig of wine. "Did you know a lot of the plants in the basin are exclusive to it? They won't grow anywhere else. Oh how I'd kill to see them! I can't wait... Maybe I can wait for the heat, and the danger, but the plants?" She took a moment to compose her excitement, she would not turn into one of the easily excited agents. She was a professional after all, but like all scientists loved her field of study.

The agent asked if paperwork got tiresome and Lorena giggled slightly. "The paperwork isn't the part I enjoy admittedly." She said quietly. "I really enjoy the botany, did you know that a leaf can tell you whether a body had been moved, or the time of death? Plants are quite interesting, then again so are bones, bodies, and science in general." She said with a smile. "Did you always work in the field?"

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

"Hmmm...plants and botany. I'm afraid I won't be going to the Congo to look at flowers. I'll be going there to carry a gun. The place we're going to is infested with guerillas."

She thought about the upcoming trip. The last time she'd been to the jungle was in the 1960s, in Vietnam. An unusual place for a Soviet agent to be, in the midst of American bombings and Vietnamese guerilla warfare, but Ludmila's life was very unusual.

"Liking the study of leaves and plants is better than enjoying paperwork", said Ludmila with a smile. "I hate bureaucrats...soulless people they are, living among their stacks of paper and their diddles and doddles. Evidently, we all have to do paperwork. Reports don't write themselves after all..."

She filled up her glass again. The smell of wine and tobacco was quite present now, and Ludmila was beginning to be quite drunk. Not in the riotous, noisy way that vodka or other alcohols got one drunk, but in the quiet, relaxed way wine did. She took another sip of wine and spoke again.

"I've been in the field since the 1920s, devotchka", she said. "Seen many wonderful things, but also seen a lot of horrible stuff too. I'd rather forget the latter..."

[LORENA ZACCARDO]

Her eyes widened at the mention of firearms. "Oh no, so it will be dangerous? I'll do my best Agent Ilyukhin, I'll shoot if needed, I'm opposed to violence, but if it must be done, so be it." It was the mindset that NJ:CSI had trained her to have. "If Rose registered, perhaps I should talk to her about her packing.. She tends to get carried away I think.. She' knows more about guns than I do, so maybe I should trust her, I suppose I'm a bit skeptical sometimes." She stated, wondering if Rose was just as excitable off the field. She was a passionate woman, one with a lot of love for her job, that Lorena was able to admire. Perhaps all Junior Agents started out this way.

"I do like the study of just about anything better than paperwork." She finished her glass, setting it on the table, reaching for the bottle timidly. "May I?" She asked implying a second glass, she hadn't wished to be a free loader, though perhaps the agency had covered the costs. "Paperwork is not my idea of fun..." Lorena stated with an annoyed frown. "Manning likes his reports though, doesn't he?" She wondered.

When the agent stated 1920's Lorena was certain she had misheard. "I'm sorry?" She wondered. "1920s? You hardly look it!" Her eyes wide, she could only wonder if it were a slip of the tongue.

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

Ludmila absent-mindedly refilled Lorena's glass.

"I'm over 700 years old", she said. "As you can see, I'm not human. I'm a Rusalka. Rusalki don't age physically, we just live and then suddenly fade away..."

As she spoke, Ludmila waved her hand slowly. Rusalki did not die like most other beings did. Their life force simply depleted over time, causing them to fade away once it ran out completely. Some Rusalki lived only for a year, or a month, while others could live for centuries. Ludmila was one of the latter, although she did not know how she did that.

"Of course it's dangerous, devotchka. Didn't they tell you that? I'd be rather worried if they didn't tell the younger agents about the dangers of certain missions...you know what? Meet me tomorrow at the shooting range. I'll teach you how to use an assault rifle."

[LORENA ZACCARDO]

Rusalka... She repeated the word to herself trying desperately to remember what they were, but drawing a blank. Instead she nodded slowly, trying to comprehend how life could just disappear without warning, or maybe there was a warning. "Woah." Lorena stated simply, she knew that the BPRD was home to many strange creatures, but she had not expected so many. Although, perhaps the BPRD was the best place on the planet for them because there were so many. "No warning or anything? I didn't know life could just vanish, I knew it could come to a quick end, but I've never heard of it fading on its own." The junior agent could see how this topic might be sour, and winced, hoping she hadn't gone too far with her last statement.

"They told me I was needed, so I mistook needed for my expertise, not my ability to handle a weapon. That assumption was clearly foolish of me." God she hated Manning right now. Signing her up for missions without a briefing seemed unprofessional to say the least. "I'll be slower to jump to conclusions next time, I suppose I thought he'd send me out because my knowledge was key, seeing as I'm always here in the lab doing the research. I can see why having more scientists could prove strange since Agent Sapien was on the chart."

The other agent seemed informed enough and offered to teach her to use an assault rifle. "I've never handled a gun before, but I'll listen if you spare the time." She said nervously, not too sure she would be able to pull the trigger, but if duty called she knew she would have no choice. She also knew she would somehow bring herself to do it anyway since her time in NJ: CSI had taught her that she could react on impulse. "What time shall I meet you?"

OOC: Sorry I just passed out last night D=

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

"Let's say 4 o'clock in the afternoon", said Ludmila. "You ever been to the jungle before? It's absolute hell when someone''s after you. You can't see shit, and for all you know the enemy could be hiding in the tree behind you or in the bushes nearby. Injuries get infected very quickly and insects constantly harass you, not to mention the traps the enemy lays for you..."

She stopped talking and took a swig of wine.

"The Smithsonian guys are insane. They'd need a team of Green Berets for this mission, not Bureau agents. I'm probably the only one who's actually been in a war save for the Iraq war vets we have here and there. I have a feeling...I have a feeling this mission will be a disaster..."

Ludmila set her glass down. Alcohol loosened her tongue a lot, and she was wishing she hadn't expressed her views on the upcoming Congo mission to Lorena, since they were very pessimistic.

"I don't even think the people who signed up for the Congo have even killed anyone yet, well, except Abe. It'll be like going into a tiger's den with companions armed only with small sticks."

[LORENA ZACCARDO]

"4 o'clock it is." Lorena agreed. "No..." She replied shyly again, rigidness easing off with the assistance of the wine. "I have never been to the jungle, but I've read about the plants there, and am familiar with various poisons indigenous to the jungle and how to treat them.. Is it best to pack heavily or lightly for firearms?" She asked gently. "I only own a handgun, so I might have to borrow some of what Rose packs, she does tend to pack everything." She stared in slighted horror at the mention of traps and paused to let the wine touch her lips. "Traps." She repeated. "What kinds of traps are you implying?" Her excitement about her first field mission was beginning to be replaced with a paranoia.

When the senior agent mentioned the mission might be a disaster, Lorena bit her lower lip nervously. Her eyes shifted as Agent Ilyukhin stated her belief that nobody had killed anyone yet. "I'm guilty of not firing a firearm to kill." Lorena admitted, sheepishly. "But I have shot to injure, and if it comes down to needing to open fire, I will do so. I just hope such actions won't be necessary. Knowing my luck, they will be." She sighed taking a deeper drink of wine.

"I don't want to be a burden, so I will do my best to stay out of the way and contribute when needed. I know my lack of expertise in the field department might be a problem, but I will do what I can." She promised once more.

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

"Well, I could be wrong", said Ludmila. "Maybe we won't even meet any hostiles while out in the jungle. The best advice I can give you with firearms is to choose a simple, reliable gun. Packing heavily won't help you one bit though, because we'll have to stay mobile out there and the Congo Basin is pretty swampy from what I hear."

Ludmila took another puff on her cigarette. She smoked far too much according to her doctor, and ate far too many sugary things. The trouble was that she never put on or lost any weight, so she couldn't actually tell if her love for sugar was having bad effects on her body. She did know that her smoking habit was impairing her running and endurance abilities though.

"Tell me, devotchka, do you smoke?", she asked. "I wouldn't want to deprive you of a smoke if you do..."