Carol of the Bells (Katia/Adala/Desirée)

Adala nodded, still a bit strained. "Slovakia is nice." she said, thinking of the house Sasha had owned there. "The nature is gorgeous." she added, smiling a little of the thought of the large garden and the trees.

"I'm not sure if you'd survive in another country, sister dear." She gave her sister a pointedly look. "It may have mud and dirt and wind, think about your hair!" she pushed her glass slowly, with one finger, towards her sister.

"Brooms are fascinating, I feel ... annoyed if I don't fly few times a month." she replied to Katia, but didn't make eye-contact with the woman. Adala still wasn't sure what she thought about her, and it was driving her crazy. "Most brooms are similar, but no one is the same," this time she looked up, when she talked, and right at Katia. "It takes a lot of work to figure brooms out, they're like people."

"I would be fine in another country," laughed Des, poking her tongue out at her sister. "As long as it was clean."

She turned to pour drinks and returned to put them in front of the other two ladies. "Anyway, our father will keel over soon and I have no doubt there's a stash of inheritance somewhere that the old bugger won't give to us."

Taking a sip of her drink, she looked at Katia. "Have you ever been abroad then? Am I the only one to have never left measley old Russia other than for school purposes?"

Katia listened to the way Adala talked about Slovakia, taking not of her expression. She decided pressing the topic now would not get her very far, and made a not to ask more about it at a later date. It was certainly easy to move on to a different subject with the younger sister there to talk. She definitely seemed to like talking.

"It sounds like you have it all planned out," Katia agreed. "You'd certainly need inheritance if you were going to make such a big trip round the world without getting dirty. Expensive hotels and the like."

It was curious how Adala seemed to refuse to meet her gaze while talking to her about flying, trying not to show how much it amused her. Katia guessed that amusement would be just taken for enjoying the conversation, however. Her smile widened slightly as the woman looked her straight on with her last sentence. "They sound intriguing," Katia said. "Though I imagine half the fun would be taken out if you managed to figure them out so quickly, no?"

It was always good to have a little mystery.

"I can't say I have. Only travelled round Russia and close by it, though my travelling wasn't exactly recreational. I did enjoy it though, travelling is certainly something I hope to do in the future."

There were lots of places that needed guidance, after all.