No Williams sisters, but very good looking (anya)

[Yulia Sokolov]

Yulia was glad to had a reason to break back out the racket she had bought a few months back and hadn’t really used as yet. In all fairness life just kept getting in the way of tennis, and there was little that she could do about it. However she was making a conscious effort to get around to doing things that she actually wanted to do, and oh, she did miss tennis! It was far better than filling her time with just anything, and cigarettes. So before going to work this morning she had packed up her gear and brought it with her. By the end of the day she was glad that she had. Training sessions could be incredibly frustrating, and for lack of being able to use old methods, she needed to blow off some steam.

Still there was marked improvement in both her mood and her bruising from last week. She figured that she might have driven things a little harder than normal, and while that might have been good for some of her students it may have unnerved others. However Lia had no intention of being apologetic about this even if it came up again. Either way that had no bearing on today.

Lia headed out to the Tennis courts. She was playing against Anya today. It would be a nice change of company for a little while. She really hadn’t seen Anya all that much since the MSAD incident, and that had not ended fantastically for either of them. After that Lia had stayed clear for a little while, just because she knew that given what had happened they all needed some time to mentally recover. This was relatively quick for Lia, given that her prior experiences. Still she now had a new batch of bruises to tote about. However right now she really needed to worry about her tennis game. It had been a while since she had played. She understood the game and her technique was solid but still pretty basic. Her main strength was in her strength, thanks to years of intensive physical training. She took out her racket and gave it a swing, just to test if some muscle memory would kick in.

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya was not the best at tennis, but she'd resolved herself to get back into good physical fitness ready for the winter sports season. She could serve decently and fire back, but her leg hindered her a little, and it still wasn't perfect. If she kept up the exercise she was certain of it being ready for the skiing and ice skating that Winter brought. Still, she wanted to see Yulia and bond with her fellow Russian - and fellow trainer, for that matter - and willingly took out her racket and tennis clothes for what would probably the last time before the weather turned entirely sour.

She'd packed her water up and a delicious pack of sandwiches and cinnamon buns for her companion, then headed to the school's training grounds with her limp still niggling as she moved. She hoped it'd ease up with further exercising, and so she stubbornly trot over, slung her bag down and gave a lady-like wave to Yulia, before moving over to see her. "Yulia!" She said warmly, opening her arms and heading over to kiss the fellow Russian on the cheek. "Это прекрасно, чтобы увидеть тебя!"

With that, she drew back and smiled. "Как ты был?" It was so nice to speak her mother language with someone, she could feel it lilting off her tongue as she spoke. Still, she stepped to the bag and unsheathed her racket, giving it a few twists and turns to remind herself how it felt in her hand. It was nice and slightly heavy in her hands, which was her preferred style of play. Keeping her hair behind her ears, she posed comfortably and grabbed a ball to serve. It still felt slightly foreign to her, but she was sure she'd warm up. "Готовы ли вы начать?"

[1. It is lovely to see you!
2. How have you been?
3. Are you ready to start?]

[Yulia Sokolov]

Yulia took a few more practice swings, just making sure that everything was in order. Her shoulder didn’t want to roll as far back as she wanted it to, but that was not a huge issue. She let her racket arm hang and rolled it a few time, and then she saw Anya. It looked like the limp was still there, but all things considered Anya seemed to be moving excellently. Yulia grinned and took a few jogging steps over to meet Anya. “Àõ, õîðîøî âèäåòü Âàñ òàêæå!” It was comforting to get to use her mother language. At least if there were any idioms spoken between them she might actually understand them.

Lia responded with the same sort of kiss on Anya’s cheek. She had forgotten how comfortable her old cultural mannerisms made her feel, even if they weren’t exactly similar. Still, considering that the geographical distance between each of their childhood homes was staggering in terms of Russia, so far outside of the borders it felt like nothing. “ß õîðîøî, êàê òû? Âû õîðîøî âûãëÿäåòü.”

Lia headed to her side of the net as she saw Anya start to do the same. She was excited and ready for a good game, or at least a few good volleys. She stepped back and took her stance, knees bent, torso tilted slightly forward, and racket loosely gripped between two hands at center. “àáñîëþòíî!” She was debating already which way to strike at the serve, forehand or backhand? The latter was more powerful, but the former much quicker to execute. It had been too long since she had done something like this, and as a result her mind and muscles were near twitching with excitement. Due to some of her bruising that was slightly painful, but her excitement outweighed that as well. “Åñòü ëè ó íèõ ñóäàìè, êàê ýòî òóäà, ãäå âû áûëè îò?  Íîðèëüñêå ó íàñ íå áûëî ñëèøêîì õîëîäíî áîëüøóþ ÷àñòü ãîäà, ÷òîáû ñäåëàòü èõ ñòîèìîñòü ñòðîèòåëüñòâà.”


[1. Ah, it is good to see you too!
2. I am fine, how are you? You look well.
3. Absolutely!
4. Did they have courts like this back where you were from? In Norilsk we did not, it was far too cold most of the year to make them worth construction.]

{hmm, clearly having some text code issues there...}

[Anya Vasiliev]

It looked like Yulia was a far more competent Tennis player than she was. Anya would say she was slightly better than a novice, but nowhere near good enough to go against very skilled women. Still, she hoped she could make a good game for the woman - they both needed something to cheer them up. It seemed as if both trainers had been in the wars recently, even if the MSAD fight had seemed so long ago, it's issues seemed to leave a lasting impression.

It was just nice to be natural and feel as though she were home again, even if their circumstances were entirely different. "Моя нога по-прежнему жесткий, но улучшается." She explained, flashing a smile and then stretching her arms. She was certain she'd be ready for skiing soon, she'd kick herself if she missed it. "Я пытаюсь стать лучше готовы к лыжный сезон." She added, flexing her leg to loosen up the muscle. There was no point in trying to play tennis if her leg felt all stiff and uncomfortable.

"Количество Существовали крытых кортов. В основном мы играли зимними видами спорта." She added, in response to the courts. She had only ever been to the indoor ones in her time in Russia. Still, Anya bounced the ball a few times, then served with a smile. It had been a long time since she'd practised her sports, any kind, in fact. "Я не настолько хорош в теннис, но я постараюсь." She admitted with a soft laugh, bouncing on the balls of her feet to anticipate the woman's next move. She also knew Morgan would kill her for being so stubborn, but this was just how she dealt with pain.

[1. My leg is still stiff, but better.
2. I'm trying to get prepared for the ski season.
3. There were indoor courts. But we played winter sports.
4. I am not that good at tennis. But I'll try!]

[Yulia Sokolov]

Yulia nodded at what Anya said about her leg. Bullet wounds could do that, as she had learned before, then again she had just plain gotten lucky with her arm this time around. All in all though she didn’t really have many scars from bullets. She’d been shot at, sure, but she’d had vests on. Just the thought of one going through her leg made her cringe. She could not imagine having to deal with that sort of recuperation without the aid of the biological manipulators in the unit back in Russia.

Once the serve came across the net Yulia went for the forehand swing. She was happy with that for the most part, but not completely thrilled with the result. She got good force behind it, but it hit the racket wrong, bouncing off in the wrong direction across the court. Lia gave half a shrug of apology, but there was little else that she could do beyond that. “Õîðîøî åñòü îäèí ïóíêò äëÿ Âàñ óæå.” Oh well. So maybe her game was far more rusty than she thought. Hopefully she’d warm up soon enough. Well, either that or Anya would end up having one heck of a game against her.

“Íåäàâíî ÿ ñäåëàë íåêîòîðóþ ôèçè÷åñêóþ òåðàïèþ äëÿ íåáîëüøîãî êîëè÷åñòâà ... ñòàðûõ ïîâðåæäåíèé. Âû ìîãëè áû õîòåòü èçó÷èòü ýòî äëÿ âàøåé íîãè, åñëè ýòî ïðîäîëæàåò áûòü òðóäíûì. Ýòî ðàáîòàëî õîðîøî ó ìåíÿ, ÿ äóìàë, ÷òî ÿ òîëüêî ïåðåäàì õîðîøåå ñëîâî.” Lia grinned and then waited for the new serve, but something kept popping up in her mind, something she was tempted to ask. “Òàê, êàê - Morgan?” Lia vividly remembered the fight in which she had last seen them both, and the damage done to him as well. Because of it she had killed someone, an action she was still very aware of whenever she saw any of the group.


[1. Well there’s one point for you already.
2. Recently I've been doing some physical therapy for some... old injuries. You might want to look into it for your leg if it continues to be difficult. It has been working well for me, I thought I'd just pass on the good word.
3. So, how is Morgan?]

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya had wished she'd been able to have the wound bio-manipulated as soon as she'd been shot, but there was no such luck. It was only when her doctor had given her week review that she'd been given a little healing boost. It was mainly the muscle tissue damage that was still giving her gip, as though it didn't want to quite be the way it had been. She had been doing a lot of exercise to try and strength said muscles, but it looked like she really would have to go to a physio for further ideas.

Anya admired Yulia's hit, and was about to compliment her and whack it back when it bounced out of court. She gave a smile and also shrugged, running to fetch the ball. She turned the ball in her hand, then served again. "Нет, это не в счет. Давайте вместе практике в первую очередь." She said warmly, shaking her head. A practice set sounded more fair for both women to warm up and get better. She bounced on her legs, then kept the racket up, feeling a little more relaxed and one with the court. It had certainly been a while.

"Звучит неплохо. Я хотел бы, что очень много." Anya said honestly, rubbing her leg and keeping herself agile. "Мышца занимает много времени, чтобы залечить." She added with a sigh, flexing it again. She did pause in her bouncing when Yulia mentioned Morgan and her face looked troubled, offering a small shrug. How WAS Morgan? "Он хорошо. Он до сих пор не имеет зрение обратно. Я надеюсь, что он возвращается в ближайшее время." The brunette offered a small, sad smile, then returned to concentrating on the tennis.

[1. No, that doesn't count. Lets practice first.
2. That sounds good. I would like that very much.
3. The muscle is taking time to heal.
4. He is good. He still has no vision back. I hope it comes back soon.]

[Yulia Sokolov]

Yulia laughed and nodded when Anya said that this should be a practice round to get them both warmed up. Lia appreciated that one, glad that she’d have a chance to set herself into the motions before going for any points. Honestly, Lia wouldn’t mind if it never turned into a match and just stayed as a volley. As such the second serve did bounce better off of her racket, sailing over the net to her before she sent it sailing smoothly back to Anya. Now that was a good hit, at least in Lia’s opinion. The only bad thing was that the forearm made her bruised up back ache, given the muscle movements involved.

“Îíè ñêàçàëè, ÷òî ÿ èìåë òêàíü øðàìà, ìîæåò áûòü Âû èìååòå òêàíü øðàìà.” She wasn’t sure exactly what that was but it seemed like a decent reason for their inability to move as easily as they would like. Still Yulia’s mind was barely on that anymore, instead she was focused on the other question that she had asked. The response was not a surprise and it nearly made Lia grimace at the memory. Instead she pulled her mouth into a tight line for a moment as she put a little extra force behind the ball this time, edging on nearly too much spin.

“Îíè áûëè çâåðñêèìè, íî ÿ áûë çâåðñêèé îáðàòíûé, ïî êðàéíåé ìåðå.” Then Lia shook her head over what she had just said. That was not a point of pride anymore for her, not that it ever had been. She had done what she had been trained to do in a completely different world. All the same Mordechai’s death was no accident. It had been a choice, it had been Lia’s choice. “ß ñîæàëåþ, ýòî - ïîñëåäíÿÿ âåùü ëþáîé èç íàñ æåëàíèÿ, ÷òîáû ãîâîðèòü î, ÿ çíàþ ýòî.” She shook her head in an attempt to clear it, finding little actual relief from the process. Things had been so hard recently, and Lia kept going over all of it in her mind, trying to find some justification. Right now she tried to ignore that, clicking into her backhand.


[1. They said I had scar tissue, maybe you have scar tissue.
2. They were brutal, I was brutal back, at least.
3. I’m sorry, this is the last thing that either of us wants to talk about, I know that.]

[Anya Vasiliev]

In all fairness to both women, Anya was definitely more in the mood for a friendly volley rather than a full on competition - her last class had been so frustrating that she just needed to relax now. She watched Yulia closely, appreciating the other woman's tennis skills before diving and sweeping the ball with her racket, managing to hit it back over the net and towards the far corner of the court. It was a little squiffy, and the ball seemed to be going towards Yulia more than anything else, but Anya honestly didn't mind. This was for fun, after all.

"Это возможно... Я попрошу врача, когда я в следующий раз увидеть его." She looked thoughtfully back down at her leg. Still, she didn't have time to think for too long as the ball whizzed to her, and she blinked in surprise, trying to sweep it back only for it to fly past her racket and bounce nearly behind her and out of the court. "Ты меня!" She laughed, heading over to grab the ball and tossing it over to Yulia to serve. "Ваш служить."

She did pause again when Yulia spoke, and the brunette's smile dropped a little, nodding. "Если бы я был более подготовлен вы бы не нужно было использовать свое могущество..." She said quietly, frowning. She did feel like she'd let the entire team down by being caught so unprepared. "Если есть в следующий раз, это обыкновение повториться." She waved her free hand as if to clear the thoughts from her head, and looked over at Yulia with a small shrug and a return to her smile. "Это все в порядке. Мы оба необходимы, чтобы очистить наши головы."

[1. It is possible... I will ask the doctor when I see him next.
2. You got me!
3. Your serve.
4. If I had been more prepared you wouldn't have needed to use your power.
5. If there is a next time, it wont happen again.
6. It's alright, we both needed to clear our heads.]

[Yulia Sokolov]

Lia grabbed the ball as it bounced over to her. She wanted to test out her serve anyways, she wasn’t confident that she was at full swing with that piece of her game. She just hoped it wouldn’t go flying off in the wrong direction, but that was a matter of focus more than anything else. Focus was something that she could do, she had that in spades from all of her training! She tossed up the ball to serve, but what Anya said next nearly did make her miss. The ball sailed over the net, but just barely , almost skimming the top of it. Yulia didn’t even notice that, she just stared at Anya, somewhat incredulous at what she had just heard.

“Íåò, ¹ áûëî áëàãîñëîâåíèÿ, íèêòî íå áûë ïîäãîòîâëåí çà èñêëþ÷åíèåì íåêîòîðûõ èç íàñ. ×òî ñêàçàëè ìíå ñòîëüêî ýòîãî ñîîáùåñòâà, ÿ íèêîãäà íå äóìàëè. Âñå âû ñâîáîäíû îò àòðèáóòû âîéíû, è ÷òî ýòî êðàñèâàÿ âåùü. Åñëè âû áûëî ëó÷øå ïîäãîòîâëåíî òîãäà òî, ÷òî ìîæåò ïðîèçîéòè? Ìû, âîçìîæíî, çàñëóæèëè áîëüøåãî ÷èñëà æåðòâ, ÷åì ìû ñäåëàëè.  ñèòóàöèè, ïîäîáíîé, ÿ äóìàþ, ÷òî ýòî ãîðàçäî ëó÷øå èìåòü êó÷ó ëþäåé, êîòîðûå íå çíàþò, ÷òî îíè äåëàþò ÷åì òå, êòî.” Lia sent the ball back over the net again and then shrugged.

“Íî ÿ ðàä ñåé÷àñ, ÷åì ñ÷àñòëèâûì ÿ íèêîãäà íå â îïðåäåëåííîì ñìûñëå. ß ïîëàãàþ ïðàâî ñëîâî áûëî áû â ìèðå.” And it was true no matter what mischief she had gotten herself into as of late. It barely even mattered anymore, not here, because here felt like home to her. Then Lia let out a short laugh. “Òîëüêî ÷òî çíàåì, ÷òî ÿ êëÿíóñü ÿ íå ñâîåãî ðîäà ñìåðòè ìàøèíû, è ÿ íå ìîãó ñåáå ïðåäñòàâèòü, ÷òî áóäåò â ñëåäóþùèé ðàç. Áîã áëàãîñëîâèò íàñ, åñëè ñóùåñòâóåò.”

[1. No, no. It was a blessing that no one was prepared except for a few of us. That told me so much about this community that I never thought about. You are all free from the trappings of war, and that is a beautiful thing. If you had been more prepared then what might have happened? We might have earned more casualties than we did. In a situation like that I think it is far better to have a bunch of people who do not know what they are doing than those who do. I have seen fighting, I have been trained to kill, and never had I thought I would be happy to put all of those skills aside.
2. But I am happy now, happier than I have ever been in a sense. I guess the right word for it would be at peace.
3. Just know that I swear I am not some kind of death machine, and I cannot imagine that there will be a next time. God bless us if there is. ]

[Anya Vasiliev]

What Yulia said was true - Pilot Ridge was incredibly peaceful and serene. There was no threat of being taken away to a military facility should your meta identity be uncovered, and there was no fighting. She liked it here, and though she missed her family outside of St Petersburg, she also enjoyed the freedom of America, of Vermont, a great deal. "Я только что избежал военных. Я испытываю к вам во многих отношениях." She admitted quietly, serving back to Yulia and getting into the swing of the game.

"Мне стало грустно, что я стрелял Джесси. Хотя он был угрозой, он был всего лишь ребенком." She cleared her throat, gently tapping the ball over the net with a less fierce stroke, destined to make Yulia move after it. "Я не знаю, если он выживет." She hoped he did, if only for the selfish thoughts of not wanting to kill a teenager. But then there was the threat he would be angry and seek revenge. Either way it was bad.

Anya looked surprised at what Yulia said, eyes widening. "Я никогда не думал о вас так. Вы русский, как я. И ты мой друг. То, что вы делали, было сохранить жизни многих моих друзей. Это не убийство. То есть защита." And with that, Anya smiled a warm, honest smile then playfully thocked the ball back towards Yulia, wanting her fellow Russian to not be so hard on herself. Which, in some respects, she should pay heed to as well. There was no point in living in the past now - it was done and could not be changed.

[1. I only just escaped the military. I feel for you in many ways.
2. I feel bad that I shot Jesse. Though he was a threat, he was still just a child.
3. I don't know if he survived.
4. I have never thought of you like that. You are Russian, as am I. And you are my friend. What you did was save the lives of many of my friends. That is not murder, that is protection.]

[Yulia Sokolov]

Lia was slightly surprised to hear that Anya had just barely escaped the military. Then again, why should she be? She was sure that all who did escape did so by the skin of their teeth, and something like what Anya could do could be hidden. Still the military was something Yulia did not want to dwell on, though she had been doing so a lot of late. It was all a matter of finally extracting herself from that, seeing how she was not what the military made her. It was a slow process that continued to be enlightening and sickening. Either way, she was free of it now, definitely free from that old life.

Yulia did indeed nearly dive for the ball when Anya sent it across. She just caught it on the edge of her racket and sent it back. She furrowed her brow and looked sympathetically at Anya. She knew what it was like to hurt someone who she didn’t feel deserved it. “Íå äóìàþ, ÷òî î íåì. ß íå äóìàþ, ÷òî âû êîãäà-ëèáî íàéòè îòâåò, Âàì íðàâèòñÿ.” At least that was something Lia knew somewhat about. There was no good way of thinking about the people that she killed, and she assumed the same stood for people that someone else might have killed.

Lia appreciated what Anya said to her, and returned the smile. Still the same feelings lurked underneath the surface. “Îíà ïðîñòî âñå âûãëÿäèò òî æå ñàìîå, ÷òî ÷åðåç íåêîòîðîå âðåìÿ. Îí íèêîãäà íå äåéñòâèòåëüíî èçìåíåíèé, îíà âñåãäà çàêàí÷èâàåòñÿ òàêèì æå îáðàçîì.” This got her fired up a little, and her shots came across a bit harder and more focused. “Íàçàä â âîåííîé îíè ìîãëè áû ðàññêàçàòü ìíå' Þëèè íàïðàâëåííîñòü, Þëèÿ ïðèíÿòü èõ, ýòî ïîçâîëèò äîáèòüñÿ ðàçíèöó! Ýòî èìåííî òî, ÷òî Ðîññèÿ äîëæíà!' æå íà odarennyi, è ýòî äåðüìî, îíà ÿâëÿåòñÿ òàêîå äåðüìî!” She bounced a little on the balls of her feet, now feeling in the swing of things. “Åñëè ìíå íå èçâåñòíî òî òî, ÷òî ÿ çíàþ ñåé÷àñ, è îíà áóäåò èìåòü â âèäó âûäóâ.” She happily chased a ball across the court and hit it smoothly back over.


[1. Don’t think about it. You’ll never find an answer that you’ll like.
2. It just all seems like the same thing after a while. It never really changes, it always ends the same way.
3. Back in the military they would tell me 'Yulia focus, Yulia take them out, this will make a difference! This is what Russia needs!' Same thing at Odarennyi, and it's crap, it is such crap!
4. If I had known then what I know now, well it would have been mind blowing.]

[Anya Vasiliev]

Indeed, if Hammel hadn't taken her on as a teacher, and before that as a student, then Anya would have most certainly have been enlisted into the military. That was the way most Meta Humans went, though the brunette often wondered what on earth they would have expected her to do - she wasn't a particularly strong woman, and her power was not destructive, merely defensive. She'd not stayed to find out all the same, Kirill had certainly had his little press spew and she wanted nothing more to do with the intricacies of Russia's military recruitment system.

Yulia's words were of some comfort to Anya, and she took them greedily, to save her from fretting any further about the status of Jesse Adams. "Спасибо. Вы правы." She agreed, stroking over her arms before batting the ball comfortably. It seemed like there was a real volley going now, and she was enjoying it, stiffness in her leg long forgotten. "Иногда я чувствую, что все люди хотят сделать, это бороться." She said with a long sigh, shaking her head and pulling a few stray hairs back from her face.

"Давайте говорить о другом. Эта тема настолько кислым." The brunette said with a smile, thwacking the ball with a rather powerful shot she felt proud of. "Делаете ли вы что-нибудь для Хэллоуина?" So far she had no plans, she was just going to curl up with a scary movie, sip a hot drink and maybe eat some chocolate. "Это забавно, как американцы считают этот праздник так важен. Ни одна другая страна, кажется, поставить на столько-шоу." Which was true, in Russia it was acknowledged, and in her European travels, it was celebrated as more of a sombre affair, none of this candy and parties.

[1. Thank you, you're right.
2. Sometimes I feel like all people want to do is fight.
3. Lets talk about something else. This subject is so sour.
4. Are you doing anything for Halloween?
5. It's funny how the Americans view this holiday as so important. No other country seems to put on such a show.]

[Yulia Sokolov]

Lia felt that it was not necessary for her to tell Anya that she agreed. All people did seem to want to do was fight. Sometimes that was appropriate, and sometimes it was not. It was almost like they needed two words, one for the justified and one for the cruel. That was if any was justified, and Yulia was optimistic. When the suggestion came up to let the topic go Yulia did not debate it. She didn’t want to talk about this anymore either; she was fine with moving away from it. She had seen enough of fighting and of war, secret thought it might be, and she didn’t want that in her new life here, not in any form.

Lia had almost forgotten that Halloween was coming up. She hadn’t celebrated it since she was a child, and even then that wasn’t a presentation. Her mother had always been suspicious about those things. She didn’t like the idea of her daughters being out on such unholy days. Their father was the one who used to scare them, telling them that he knew that one of the mines reached straight down into hell and who knew what might come crawling out on Halloween. As such, she was surprised to see all of the decorations last year during her first Halloween in Pilot Ridge. It was altogether strange, and possibly a waste of good pumpkins.

“ß íå ïëàíèðóåò äåëàòü ÷òî-íèáóäü äåéñòâèòåëüíî. Åñëè áåí íå òîãäà, ÿ îáÿçàòåëüíî ñòîðîíû, Candy. ×åñòíî ÿ íå ñîâñåì ïîíÿòíî. ß èìåþ â âèäó, íàñêîëüêî ÿ ïîíèìàþ êîñòþìû, íî ÿ íå ïîíèìàþ, êàê åå çàáàâíûì. ïëþñ ïîõîæå êàæäûé êîñòþì ÿ âèæó æåíùèíà íà÷èíàåò ñ ñëîâî ñåêñóàëüíàÿ. Ìîæåò áûòü, ÿ îáÿçàòåëüíî ïðîñòî êóïèòü a Witch Hat, õîòÿ íåêîòîðûå èç ìîèõ ñëóøàòåëåé ìîæåò íå âèäåòü åãî â êà÷åñòâå øóòêè.” Lia laughed. She knew that some of the kids were a little wary of her, but she was just a tough trainer, and that got pretty great results. “Bac?”


[1. I am not planning on doing anything really. If Ben isn't then I'll hand out the candy. Honestly I don't really get it. I mean, I understand costumes, but I don't understand how its funny. Plus it seems like every costume I see for a woman starts with the word sexy. Maybe I'll just buy a witch hat, though some of my trainees might not see it as a joke.
2. How about you?]

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya was enjoying the rhythm of the tennis match and the comfort of the distraction no longer causing her leg to ache. It was also enjoyable to talk about Halloween, and the woman served the ball a few more times, before taking five to grab her baked goods and heading over to offer them over to her friend. Settling down on the bench, she unwrapped a few sandwiches and the buns, and nodded down at them. "Помоги себе сам." She said warmly. She certainly couldn't eat all this for herself.

"Я просто буду сидеть дома с некоторыми шоколад и страшный фильм. Может быть, я получу сторона пригласить. Но у меня не так далеко." She smiled and took a sandwich, happily taking a bite and looking over the school. "Я бы не стал беспокоиться. Студенты будут думать, что я злая ведьма тоже." Both women seemed to have similar training methods, anyway. It was important to get the students confident and competent at their power. There was no shame in that.

"Если вы не заняты, возможно, мы могли выйти на напитки на Хэллоуин?" Anya offered cheerfully, tilting her head. "Мы могли бы одеваться и танцевать, а затем пойти куда-нибудь на ужин Хэллоуина. Мы как одиночного, так, в конце концов." She grinned, wondering whether she could find a good Halloween outfit so late on. Still, that was dependant on Yulia coming. Perhaps they could invite a few other lonely ladies for a girly night out, goodness knows she needed it.

[1. Help yourself.
2. I'll just sit at home with chocolate and a scary movie. Maybe I'll get a party invite, but I haven't so far.
3. I wouldn't worry. The students probably think I'm an evil witch too.
4. If you aren't busy, we could go out for drinks on Halloween.
5. We could dress up and dance, then go for a Halloween dinner. We are both single, after all.

[Yulia Sokolov]

Lia felt good and into her stride by the time they took a break. It was nice to have just a volley like that instead of a game, though she was up for the latter now as well since she was warmed up. She trotted over to settle herself down next to Anya, taking one of the offered sandwiches. At least one of them had been smart and brought food along. Lia certainly appreciated, given that her cooking skill were essentially nil, or possibly worse than that, destructive. Lia stretched her legs out in order to catch some of that end of October sun. Clearly they had picked a great day for this, intentional or not.

“ÿ êëÿíóñü âàì áóäåò äóìàòü, ÷òî ÿ ñîáèðàëñÿ flay íåêîòîðûå èç íèõ æèâû òåì, êàê îíè ïîêîëåáàòü òîãäà, êîãäà îíè ïîëó÷àþò ïðîôåññèîíàëüíîé ïîäãîòîâêè. ß äóìàþ, ÷òî âñå îñòàâøèåñÿ îò ôèëüìû Âû çíàåòå? Äà Íåò Ðîññèè! Äà Íåò Ñîâåòñêîãî Ñîþçà! Ìîÿ ìàëî âîåííîé ïðîøëîãî âîçìîæíî íå ïîìîãëî. Îé, îíè ïðèáûëè ñþäà, ÷òîáû îáó÷àòü òåïåðü, ÷òîáû íå áûòü îáúÿòèå.” Lia shook her head gravely at the ridiculousness of it all. Then again if she was being honest she really didn’t give a lick about it. She wasn’t going to make anyone train, but if they were going to show up in front of her, well that was exactly what they were going to do.

“Ñòðàííî, ÷òî ìîæåò áûòü äåéñòâèòåëüíî èíòåðåñíî, ìû äîëæíû ñäåëàòü ýòî. ß óâåðåí, ÷òî íåêîòîðûå ñòàðûå àðìèè stuff ÿ ìîãóò çàòÿíóòüñÿ, è ïîìåùàåòñÿ íà …” Was that Halloween enough or did real life not count? Lia wasn’t really one to go out too much, especially given what a lightweight she was when it came to drinking. Frankly, that fact was a bit of an embarrassment. After all drinking seemed to be quite the pastime here. Either way she had every intention of going if this did happen. They were single, they were friends, and if they spoke their native language no one would know what the heck they were saying, what could be more fun than that?

[1. I swear you would think that I was going to flay some of them alive the way they shake when they get to training. I think its all left over from movies you know? Oh no Russia! Oh no Soviet Union! My little military past probably doesn’t help either. Oh well, they come here to train anyways, not to be cuddled.
2. Oh, that could be really fun, we should do that. I am sure I have some old army stuff I could drag out and put on…]