Arkadiy; Shasta; Kaz; Stasja

Shasta knew how to be patient. She spent the majority of her life waiting for something, anything, and she found it when she met the Volkov family. A home, a family, a new life away from her now-deceased father and brother who always really hated her. She mourned for her mother, though, from whom she had not heard in over a year. Erin Pembroke, bless her heart, was losing her battle with cancer and may have already lost it.
But in the company of her new family - her husband, his relatives, and their two little daughters - she felt at peace.
Not so much today, though. Her neck and arms itched like crazy, leading her to believe that she may be having an allergic reaction to something. "I think I've been bitten. Or... poison ivy, maybe?" She was rubbing her neck, but Arkadiy gently grabbed her hand, turned her head to the side and looked at her neck. "I don't see anything. It's allergy season though, you know. We'll have Viktor check it out later." He touched her neck and noticed that it was warmer than usual, but he figured that was from the scratching. "Here. Take this." He took his backpack off and pulled out a bottle of allergy pills. "It'll make you tired, but that might even be a good thing." Shasta took the pill with a drink of water, and as she swallowed it, she noticed their guests arriving.

Kaz pushed open the door to allow Stasja to enter, He glanced around to see if Ivan was nearby, but the trees and buildings, as well as the glaring sun, made it hard to see very far. He shrugged, then entered the building after Stasja.
"So..." Stasja said as she approached the table where Arkadiy and Shasta sat, "...what adrenaline rush do you have for us today?"
Arkadiy leaned on the table. "I'll tell you once the others get here, but it's good."
Meanwhile, Kaz approached the counter to order drinks for himself and Stasja. Vodka was always good. Especially with a medley of fruit juice in it.

Ivan and Taru

It wasn’t long before the large Russian came into the Night Club, opening and holding the door for the 16 year old. Taru walked in graciously, smiling as she held a plastic spoon in her mouth, a sundae in hand. After closing the door, Ivan went to the girl’s side, his usual smile on his face. The girl couldn’t help but notice that that smile never faltered. And when it did, it was something very bad for Ivan was someone who wasn’t angered easily. And if he was, he was able to hide it. Of course, Taru had never seen the Russian angered. She had only been living with him for a small amount of time. She had seen him slightly annoyed, and that was creepy enough. Even when annoyed his smile never faltered, it just grew incredibly creepy and he gave off this aura that made even her want to back away. Even when he was happy though, people seemed to be scared of him a bit. It was just the aura he gave off and the domineering height of his.

Either way, the two looked around and then found the people they were supposed to meet up with. Ivan’s smile widened and then walked over, Taru quickly following. People glanced to them, wondering why such a small girl was doing with a man Ivan’s age. Let alone her being at least 2 feet shorter than him. When they got to the table, both of them sat down and Taru placed her sundae on the table to eat while she listened. Ivan spoke up, his Russian accent heavy in the air along with his partly childish voice. ”Sorry for being late, da. Taru was hungry while we were walking here so I got her ice cream, da. Didn’t miss anything, da?” It was a little habit of his to end his sentences in ‘da’ which was the Russian word for ‘yes’. He couldn’t help since he did it for so long. Taru pouted a bit. ”It’s sweltering out, Ivan. Of course I would want something to cool myself down!! I don’t see how you can walk around with that heavy coat and that scarf of yours all the time.” The Russian smiled at her. ”My scarf is a part of my body, little one. I cannot take it off, da. And my coat is where I keep everything, da. I am used to being in hot weather with it, da. Do not worry about me, little one.” He had also started to call Taru ‘little one’ since she was so short and so much younger than them. Though the girl had tried to protest with that nickname, the Russian wouldn’t budge with it and she just accepted it with bitter thoughts. That was what she was doing now. She grumbled and looked away a bit, taking another spoonful of ice cream. Ivan just laughed a little at this.

Arkadiy; Shasta; Kaz; Stasja

Arkadiy kept a close eye on his wife, seeing that what was going on might be more than a simple case of allergies. Shasta looked more upset than she would usually be. It was when Ivan and Taru walked in that she perked up, but instantly slammed her head on the table when they started talking. "From what part of Russia do you come that you must say 'yes' after every statement? It's fucking annoyi--" Arkadiy jerked Shasta's shoulder and pulled her closer, whispering something quietly to her. Shasta then raised her head and now only rested her chin on the table. "It's just that..." she mumbled, ...I'm not used to unusual and atypical grammar and sentence structure, even in a language as foreign as Russian."
Arkadiy patted Shasta on the back, then looked up at Ivan with an apologetic expression. "She doesn't mean it. She's just feeling really bad today." Shasta mumbled something indecipherable.
Stasja's bi-colored eyes shifted between Arkadiy, Shasta, Ivan and Taru, and while she said nothing, it was clear that she was uncomfortable. She then approached Kaz to get her drink. It was a pinkish drink, a mix of vodka, passion fruit, blood orange and mango, a beverage known as "kinky liqueur." Kaz opted for a less exotic drink, a simple Madras cocktail: a mix of vodka, cranberry juice and orange juice to make a sweet, tangy, bitter drink. Kaz passed Stasja's drink to her, then passed Ivan and Taru, nodding a greeting to them. Stasja stopped next to Taru and looked down at her. The former Spetsnaz soldier took a sip of her drink, then spoke in a soft, almost lyrical voice, "Come on, let's see what Arkadiy has for us today." With a smile, she walked away and sat in the booth next to Kaz, and the four of them waited for Ivan and Taru to take a seat so they could discuss their plans.
Arkadiy retrieved a piece of paper from his backpack. It was hard to see with the way he was leaning over it, but it was apparently about sword fighting. Ah, this would be fun...