03-08-2010, 11:56 PM
Feel free to wrap this up, you two—my last post here.
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He smiled encouragingly to Sonja as she introduced herself in English to his uncle—language had been something of a barrier; his knowledge of French had given him a small framework for Italian, but he was learning it as swiftly as she was learning English from him. Russian, however, was a very different beast from the Romance and Germanic / Anglo-Saxon languages—if she was truly devoted to want to learn, he would try to teach, but it would be difficult. That aside, Rurik seemed pleased with his English and that gave him a bit of dark humor. When he had been home in Russia and everyone else had been out and about on the boats, he had mostly stayed home reading and writing in several languages. A fascination that haunted him to this day.
It actually was pretty amazing to meet Rurik here, of all places, of all people! The world was a vast and sprawling place, but sometimes it seemed as though it was just as big as one's backyard—at least when situations like this happened. And, as Rurik told him, Anatoliy was here as well. He had never known Rurik's son well, but he lifted a brow in surprise when he learned this and said, "You must be joking." Family was what he had least expected, and while he was glad he was also nervous. They would be able to see through him more easily than others.
"When I last saw them, they were doing very well. But that was a long while ago—many months," he said, looking to Sonja and then back to his uncle. "I left Russia to the east and traveled through Europe, meeting Sonja in Italy. We got on a French vessel and came here." Reasons why, he hoped, were less important than the actions themselves.
Yes, running into family was an unexpected curve in his plan. He wasn't quite sure how it would factor in yet; it would take thought, and thought of later.
He smiled encouragingly to Sonja as she introduced herself in English to his uncle—language had been something of a barrier; his knowledge of French had given him a small framework for Italian, but he was learning it as swiftly as she was learning English from him. Russian, however, was a very different beast from the Romance and Germanic / Anglo-Saxon languages—if she was truly devoted to want to learn, he would try to teach, but it would be difficult. That aside, Rurik seemed pleased with his English and that gave him a bit of dark humor. When he had been home in Russia and everyone else had been out and about on the boats, he had mostly stayed home reading and writing in several languages. A fascination that haunted him to this day.
It actually was pretty amazing to meet Rurik here, of all places, of all people! The world was a vast and sprawling place, but sometimes it seemed as though it was just as big as one's backyard—at least when situations like this happened. And, as Rurik told him, Anatoliy was here as well. He had never known Rurik's son well, but he lifted a brow in surprise when he learned this and said, "You must be joking." Family was what he had least expected, and while he was glad he was also nervous. They would be able to see through him more easily than others.
"When I last saw them, they were doing very well. But that was a long while ago—many months," he said, looking to Sonja and then back to his uncle. "I left Russia to the east and traveled through Europe, meeting Sonja in Italy. We got on a French vessel and came here." Reasons why, he hoped, were less important than the actions themselves.
Yes, running into family was an unexpected curve in his plan. He wasn't quite sure how it would factor in yet; it would take thought, and thought of later.