Arven understood minimal Russian, but got the gist from her courteous tone. She sounded like a Russian, but behaved like she was in no-man's land. An albeit graceful fish out of water.

And once the gentleman who'd introduced them turned to talk with some other guest, Miss Kozlova did not hesitate in sharing her discomfort with the dinner party she'd landed herself in. Though she did so with a smile.

"Personally I find Saint Petersburg to be one of the wonders of the world", he replied, for the architecture of the city was unapologetically majestic and dramatically ambitious. "But I can relate to always looking beyond one's home. The farthest place from here I can think of..." the tall wanderer glanced up at the wall, as if imagining a world map, "might be Brazil, much of which is covered by the vast rainforests of Amazonia. It was there I almost had my hand torn off by a jaguar."