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Post by River Antonucchi on Jun 17, 2015 22:27:58 GMT -5
It was the first day of school and of course with all the celebrations that comes with the first day, there weren't any classes. Mostly it was just students arriving in the school grounds though since it was late in the afternoon, most students have already been within the premises. Later on River has to attend the Sorting Ceremony and watch little kids transition into students and face the wrath that is Transfiguration class. For now he was just hanging out in Pietro's classroom, leaning on Pietro's desk with his already stale-cold coffee in his hand. His coat was loosely hanging from his shoulders, his sleeves hanging flat from his body.
He sipped from his cold coffee, not even flinching to make a face. He's drank so many cold coffees before, he never manages to finish most of his second cups of coffee. "Students these days seem to get lazier and lazier," River murmured to Pietro, taking another sip of his coffee, sighing. He had noticed that there were a lot more students failing not only his class, but other classes too. Well, the average of his class was... well best not mentioned, but he didn't expect any better when he started teaching, he knew exactly what kind of teacher he wanted to be from the beginning, and it was definitely a shock to his former teachers about his rather strict way of teaching. It was definitely not something that River as a student could have passed himself. But it seemed that River was a changed man, and not the old brash trickster that he was. But then again, River had started to change when he was merely only about thirteen himself. But coming back to the academy as the man he was now... Well, no one expected it.
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jun 17, 2015 22:47:36 GMT -5
Pietro glanced wryly at his brother from his perch beside the open window, lit cigarette dangling from his fingers. He was drinking coffee, too, and he appreciated the way it mixed with the smokey taste in his mouth. Something about River was ... different of late. Pietro didn't know if something in particular had happened, or if his brother was just growing up.
Pietro had become solemn and serious much earlier than River had. Ever since he'd turned fourteen and been told exactly what was expected of him as an Antonucchi, his focus had been on his work and improving himself and serving the family to the best of his ability. River, on the other hand, had remained uncontrollable, impulsive, and in some ways wild.
Not that any of this changed Pietro's love for his brother. There was no one in the world he trusted more than he trusted River, and he was immensely glad that they lived and worked near each other at Cascade. They could watch out for each other, and they always would.
He shrugged in response to his brother's comment and flicked ash out the window before replying in Italian, "Perhaps. Or perhaps we are just getting older. I know that I have become a better worker as I've aged. Kids will always be kids, yeah? But we won't. I think perhaps it is we who are changing."
A strange thought, but a reasonable one.
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Post by River Antonucchi on Jun 17, 2015 23:28:19 GMT -5
"It is not us, we're stuck in our ways. It is time that is changing, Pietro..." River mused in the language that they shared. "Things have become more industrialized, less people working... Especially the muggles," He looked plainly at the window, his eyes lit up by the sunlight, making it look like amber. He looked away, turning his head to look at his brother slightly. "White hair at the age of twenty five," River grumbled, making a face. Time has screwed the twins over, that's for sure. Well, not their looks, definitely not. Time has been gracious with their features. Were they hot? Hell yeah, River was aware that despite his asshole attitude, apparently his female students found him still attractive. River was pretty sure the same was happening with his brother, except without the mean attitude.
He found that there were less things to enjoy in life than he had initially thought, maybe that's what triggered his change. Or maybe it was just the stress of dealing with a double life. Either ways, he was a somber man, his only pleasure in life only seemed to be... cold-blooded acts. Maybe that was really what his life was set out to be. Though he enjoyed teaching and giving out detentions, seeing the progress of the upcoming generation to come... Observation was starting to grow on him.
A creak and a soft shut of the door was heard in the classroom, River had snapped his head immediately to the said door, seeing four students giggling, not realizing there were two men in the room. River assumed they were first years, he had never seen their faces before and they looked young enough. River cleared his throat loudly and caught the attention of the students. They stopped giggling and looked at the men, wide-eyed with their back pressed to the door and the wall. Their panic only increased when they realized how tall the two men were. One looked boyish and nice, one looked intimidating and also was very nice to look at. The students knew about the rumors of the twin teachers, and there was no mistaking that they've encountered them now. There was just something about them that was oddly... alike of each other. And of course, the students have also heard about the notorious River Holland.
Looks can be so deceiving, especially with dangerous rumors like those.
"It seems they've heard about me," River murmured to his brother with a smirk as he watched the still-petrified students.
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jun 18, 2015 0:17:05 GMT -5
"Agh. Perhaps." Pietro blew another wave of smoke out the window, watching with some amazement and wonder as his brother's eyes continued to harden. This was strange, just ... he still couldn't figure out how, exactly, but it made him feel somewhat nervous. "Stuck in our ways and becoming more and more old-fashioned every day. But all this talk of muggles and white hair ... what is truly bothering you, brother? I fail to understand this change that has come over you. Is it just the fact that the feud with the O'Briens continues to intensify? Or has something happened? If there is a problem, we can solve it."
After all, that was his job, wasn't it? To solve problems for the family, and particularly for his brother. There was no reason for River to be going through some unknowable stress and doing so on his own. Brothers were supposed to count on each other.
Before River could respond, however, the door flew open and four giggling first-years tumbled inside. River, of course, took the opportunity to make them feel uncomfortable, forgetting once again that they were children and therefore could not help the fact that they were foolish and inclined to explore where they shouldn't. The students fell silent, awestruck looks of terror on their faces.
Pietro sighed and flicked his cigarette butt out the window before standing up and giving River a stern look. "It would seem so, terror of Cascade. Be kind. They are probably lost."
Switching to English, he shifted his gaze to the students. "This area is out of bounds today," he pointed out, "so if you tell me where you are supposed to be, I can send you in the right direction."
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Post by River Antonucchi on Jun 18, 2015 0:43:42 GMT -5
River didn't know the answer to Pietro's question. He didn't know himself that he was changing, was he? He shrugged it off, River wouldn't be able to answer the question himself. He was still struggling to find the answer himself, especially since the change was now brought to his attention. Was it a good change? Probably not, especially since Pietro seemed worried, and wanting to 'fix' things. He guessed there was a problem with him these days. Maybe its just something superficial, like leading their double life. The stress can be really hard to handle, obviously. Or maybe, just maybe, its really just River changing with the times. He can't be the same trickster back then, but he can definitely be who he was now. A brash and womanizing asshole.
The kids looked scared, thinking that this person who just spoke was the well-known River Holland. Of course, Pietro looked roguishly handsome (god Jensen ;0) enough to look strict rather than the boyish look that the actual River had. River smirked at his brother, nodding, he'd be kind, River would give them an option. "Or I could personally escort you to where you should be," he said, his eyes hardening as he spoke in English with a thick Italian accent, "in the Headmaster's office." He enjoyed seeing the terrified faces of the kids, it gave him life, "Or I could give you a detention for being where you aren't supposed to be." For River to give out choices was very lenient, but today was the first day, he'd let them slip. Of course he knew he couldn't do anything because his saint of a brother was there. But the kids seemed terrified enough to believe he would do as said.
And that's when the first years knew who River actually was.
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jun 18, 2015 4:45:56 GMT -5
Pietro turned his head sharply to toss a brief glare at his brother. "They are obviously first-years. That is unnecessary. They do not know." Why, why, why did his brother insist on tormenting the students this way? It didn't make any sense to Pietro. They were little children. Older students should know better, yes, but brand-new ones could be forgiven on the day of their arrival at the school.
He tried not to let his annoyance at his brother's brusqueness show on his face as he turned once again to the students. "Return to your dormitories. Classes will begin tomorrow. This is the room where you will study Potions with me." At that command, the terrified students nearly ran out the door, and Pietro listened contemplatively to their retreating footsteps before turning again to River.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you not remember being eleven years old? What we used to get up to? How stupid we were?" Oh, this was not good. He should not speak angrily to his brother. Pietro turned away, ran a hand through his hair, and then sat down on a desk in the front row, sighing heavily. "I apologize, brother. I simply do not understand your behavior. It confuses me."
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Post by River Antonucchi on Jun 18, 2015 14:42:50 GMT -5
River took his brother's glare with a stoic look. Pietro always glared at him for this exact same reason. Also maybe for other valid reasons too, but hey, what's brotherly love without a few glares along the way? River chuckled, "That's why I was lenient. I gave them an option, dear brother," he spoke again in Italian with a handsome smirk. "Besides, it was just a joke, I know I can't get anywhere with giving detentions right ahead when you're around. What's harm in a little scare, its not like they're not going to go through it in my class, might as well start the attitude now," he told his brother simply.
He finished his coffee and threw the cup away in the nearby trash, then returning to his place. "That was back then, when it was okay to be stupid and playful," he thought about it and frowned, "it didn't matter much back then. I know they're just kids, but dear brother," he started with a shake of his head, "it seems that my once eternal-standing patience has since become a short fuse. I think its because I realized how much of a handful I was back then, I see it in my students. That's why I don't wanna have kids," he started to chuckle.
A few moments and then he smirked again, "But since you brought it up, to prove to you I'm still your idiotic brother, why not pull a leg at the students?" His suggestion made him feel a bit young again, "Why not pretend to be one another? I mean, except for those four, every first year would have mistaken me for you. I mean, my awful good looks come about once a century, why wouldn't they believe I wasn't a martyr like you?" His cocky attitude now had very much turned him back to who he was, again.
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jun 18, 2015 17:10:31 GMT -5
"Agh, I suppose you have a point. It would be unfair to let them think of you as kindly, wouldn't it? However, I still do not like it." As he watched his brother finish his coffee, Pietro's fingers made their way to the cigarettes in his shirt pocket. He placed one between his lips, then held the pack out toward River. "Smoke, brother?" With nimble fingers, River snagged a smoke, and Pietro put the pack away before lighting his own and taking a long drag.
He couldn't help but laugh at his brother's faulty logic. "Yes, River, it's back then for us. For them, it's now. And what is this patience you speak of? I wasn't aware you knew the word."
He cocked his head at River's mention of not wanting children. That was simply a foreign concept for Pietro. Not only was it his duty to the family line, but he also truly wanted to be a father. And when duty and desire aligned, how could anyone pass it up?
Perhaps now that he'd had a summer to get over his foolish crush on a student, he'd be able to meet a woman of marriageable age. He felt ... old, really, when he thought about families and love. How was he twenty-five years old and hopelessly single?
"I look forward to having children," he confessed. "I need a wife. Perhaps you will set me up on a date with someone? You seem to know all the women."
And then his brother began plotting a terrible prank, and Pietro's jaw dropped further and further as he listened. For several moments, he was speechless, and then he burst out, "First, dear brother, martyrs are dead, and I have no intention of being dead anytime soon. Secondly, WHAT on EARTH is WRONG with you? That is horrid and would confuse them and serves no purpose. Why do you teach if you despise children so?"
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Post by River Antonucchi on Jun 18, 2015 17:51:01 GMT -5
He lit his own cigarette with a simple tap of his index finger, chuckling. "Patience... its a foreign word to me, I just learnt about it a year or two ago," he murmured before taking a long drag as well, looking amused at how his brother gushed about wanting to have children, exhaling deeply, he smirked with the cigarette between his long fingers.
"Brother, if I introduce you to each and every one of the women I know and set you up on a date, all of them would hate me for setting them up for a let down in bed. Once you sleep with a woman after I had bed them, there's no joy for the two of you," he took another long inhale as he placed the cigarette between his lips, then puffing it out slowly with a chuckle, "and I love you enough to the point where I wouldn't want to be the one to wear down your bed," he mused. "I've been the cause for many ruined marriages and relationships alike in so many different ways," River murmured to his brother with a grin as he flicked out a little bit of ash from his cigarette.
He let out a bark of a laugh as his brother raged at his suggestion, "Pietro, you might have mistaken my reasons for teaching," he definitely didn't do it for the kids, that's for sure. "You told me I should loosen up, what better way that going back to the good old times?" River kind of did have a point, of course it wasn't a good point, but a point nonetheless.
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jun 18, 2015 20:57:05 GMT -5
"Well, I am glad you've finally picked it up. It can be helpful, you know. Especially in ... both of our professions. You run in half-cocked and you're liable to get yourself killed. And me."
Pietro took a reflective pull on his cigarette, looking out the window at the setting sun glistening on the lake. Certainly, the family business was a dangerous one, but he'd never truly come to terms with the fact that he might die a violent and untimely death. He'd seen other men die, ushered them on their way with a jet of green light, but somehow, Pietro still felt ... invincible. Foolish of him, really. Perhaps one of the only ways in which he was still a child. He would live forever.
Well, he should have known. Making a serious request of this nature? Of course River would mock him. It wasn't as though Pietro were some virginal schoolboy. He knew his way around a woman's body, and he'd learned some tricks of his own. Just because he didn't jump on every dame who smiled in his direction ... it still irked him, though. River seemed to feel so superior in this sense, so worldly in comparison to pathetic little Pietro.
He wasn't pathetic! He gritted his teeth and stared at his cigarette. "You are crass, brother. I should have remembered that you wouldn't take this seriously. Forget I said anything." He frowned, trying to stave off the foolish hurt feelings that rose in response to his brother's jibes. Stupid, stupid Pietro.
"A better idea," he snapped, leaping for the change of subject. "A joint lecture for the older students. Cross-curricular. That's the closest I'll come to indulging your immature fantasy."
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Post by River Antonucchi on Jun 18, 2015 21:47:07 GMT -5
River took in a long drag from his cigarette and looked amused at his brother's words. He knew just about how to push the right brothers. But he was his twin, he was supposed to do that. It was all in brotherly love. There was no one out there in this world he trusted more than Pietro. And he's pretty sure Pietro felt the same. After all, he only showed his womanizing and playful ways to him and Suki. Only they knew how playful and brash he could get.
He looked at his twin with his genius idea. "Well, you're not the brains of the family for nothing dear brother," he smiled at him roguishly. He knew the students would never guess it was him who would have started the conversation leading to this joint-class for a day. "It is not immature, besides, its not only for the students. I believe its also to convince you that I'm perfectly fine. Of course, don't be too sure I'm not going to try anything," a few more puffs of smoke and he moved to his window to flick away his quickly burnt-out cigarette. Perhaps it was a bad habit... Wasting out the roll quickly. He looked out the window, his eyes set. "I just have a feeling things in the business will somehow...escalate," his voice was deep and serious now, like his River Holland persona, in some way, River Antonucchi was slowly turning to River Holland more and more each day. And while still true to his family name, River Holland was a less pleasant person than River Antonucchi. But River Antonucchi was far more dangerous.
River Antonucchi would hold on to his brother for as long as he could, and possibly as tight as he could for the future.
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Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Jun 19, 2015 5:47:16 GMT -5
"Oh, I assure you, brother, I would never be so foolish as to assume that you wouldn't try anything. But it would be enlightening to watch you teach. Yes, it could work out very well if we approach it properly."
Pietro watched, then, as his brother finished his cigarette and cast a hard look at the horizon. Things in the business would escalate, of course, as they always did, but River seemed suddenly quite somber. This was not a moment for much talk; after all, what was there to say? Silently, Pietro stood up and mirrored his brother's action, tossing the butt out the window as his eyebrows drew together.
After a long moment, he reached out and placed a hand on River's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "They will, but we will stand strong together. That is what we do."
After all, they weren't only Antonucchis. They were twins. Strongest bond in the strongest family. Nothing could take them down.
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