(St. Petersburg) самолеты без небa умрут (Zoya)

"No, really?" Zoya asked with an amused but slightly disappointed look on her face. On the one hand, it was super entertaining that they shared the same patronymic, but on the other, it wasn't exactly a smoking gun type of clue. "That's mine too!" She explained, pointing a thumb at her chest and bouncing a little. "How fun," she smiled, sitting back in the seat and then bobbing her head to the side when Stasya asked if it was helpful. "But no, not really," She giggled, it was a setback, but the witch was far from giving up. They had a mission, and Zoya was determined.

"Hmm, throw a quaffle at a group of Russian wizards, and I bet you hit at least three Ivans." She teased as she began to twist her long hair between her fingers some more. Zoya squinted a little, the idea of sneaking around in Stasya's house having a certain level of appeal. "Well, there has to be some reason they would all go out together..." Zoya thought for a moment, putting a finger to her temple because she was not capable of sitting still.

"Wait, what about some kind of festival or something." Zoya hadn't thought about it altogether, but she was working out the details as she spoke. "Like, get them tickets or whatever, but only four. Who are they gonna' leave behind?" She pointed at Stasya, half-smiling a sort of apology, and then continued, "That could get us a little window? What do you think?"

“I know...” Stasya said, sounding slightly desperate. “Not helpful at all...” She shrugged, almost feeling like she had to apologise to her friend that she didn't have a rare patronymic that would narrow down their choices by a lot.

She felt comforted by the fact that she shared the patronymic with her friend, though, albeit she did not think anything of it really. There just were so so many Ivans out there. “At least we share a patronymic,” she said, smiling at her friend who was giggling now. Zoya's determination and optimism felt good and Stasya felt eternally grateful that she could rely on her dormmate to help her on her mission.

“Mhmm,” Stasya said thoughtfully as she wrapped a strand of hair around her finger. Zoya's suggestion to get her family four tickets for something wasn't bad. She was clearly right to assume that Stasya would be the one that was left behind in a situation like that. The girl tried to smile but somehow it also hurt to know that it was not just perception but that it was obvious to her friend as well. Sometimes Stasya believed her mother's words when she said that she was just getting worked up about this and that her family loved her. She knew that wasn't the case, at least not for her step father and her step sisters. However, sometimes it helped to pretend that this was just her being negative about things rather than the sad truth.

“Well, I'm not sure I'd find anything they'd all want to attend,” she muttered, forcing herself to focus on their plan. “If they had a birthday to celebrate I could pretend to not feel well and clearly be spared a family dinner at a restaurant… but the birthdays are not during the summer holidays. I do not really want to wait for the Christmas holidays – or spend them at home, really – but then my eldest step sister has her birthday and...” she shrugged, feeling like she had nothing really helpful to say. “I mean, it could happen that they're coincidentally all out at some point but we'd be at a risk to be caught if we went through things then because we wouldn't know when any of them returns.”

"Well," Zoya slapped her thigh with determination, "I think it will be worth the risk, don't you?" If there were secrets to be found in that house, then they had to do whatever it took to find them, right? Otherwise, all they would be doing was spinning their wheels. Soon enough, summer would be over, and they would be back at Durmstrang, and they would have far fewer options. Zoya looked across the park, looking for inspiration or some brilliant idea, and when it came to her as her finger twirled into her red hair.

"I could always start a fire in the yard," She teased, standing upright and bouncing a little as she grew more excited by the idea. "You know you hate that awful fort your siblings have in the back." Zoya didn't really know if that was true, but it sounded good as she tried to convince the other witch of such a foolish plan. "A little bit of propellant, a few matches, and boom--" she rubbed her hands together and opened them wide, "Kill two birds with one stone,"

Zoya thought it could work, but it probably wouldn't. "I can keep them distracted for at least twenty minutes. Do you think that would be enough time to look?"

“Yes,” Stasya muttered. “Yes, absolutely!” she added a little louder and with more determination. It was worth any risk, really. What did she have to lose anyway? There was not a whole lot that her family could do to make her feel less welcome at their home. Besides the summer was almost over and once she was back at Durmstrang her family was of little consequence anyway. It was funny how the boarding school felt more like home than her actual home and how her friends at school, Zoya in particular, were more important to her than her family.

“A fire?” the girl asked incredulously. That sounded rather dangerous and she wasn’t sure if starting a fire wouldn’t get them into a lot of trouble. A moment ago she had believed that there was no risk too high to take but now she was not quite so sure anymore.

“Hmm,” she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “Well, it would kill two birds with one stone,” she admittedly sheepishly. “But it might be a little… too much?” Stasya wasn’t the daring kind of girl. While she wanted to be braver she wasn’t convinced that such a bold move was wise.

Stasya shrugged as Zoya said that she could probably keep her family distracted for at least twenty minutes. “I’m not sure?” she offered hesitantly. “I mean, I really have no clue where to look for hints. She might have even put the files in a safe that I cannot access. Possibly even a safe deposit box at a bank… or maybe she has a box somewhere hidden in her bedroom… or…” she shrugged helplessly. “I really don’t know!” she said, feeling a little desperate again. “I mean, I could probably check some places in about twenty minutes.” She really didn’t want to make this sound like an entirely hopeless case as she didn’t want to lose her partner in crime but Stasya did not really feel confident at all now.

"If it's not too much, then you are doing it wrong!" Zoya explained, wiggling her hips dramatically as she pointed at her friend. Setting things on fire was Zoya's go-to, physically or metaphorically, and this would not be her first time, but she would, of course, only go as far as her best friend was comfortable with. The dramatic Russian witch got out of hand quickly, but Stasya usually kept her in check. The redhead kept pacing as they discussed; maybe setting the whole house on fire took it too far, but there were other things they could do to keep her family distracted.

Either way, they had half a plan, which was more than enough to keep moving forward, and Zoya felt good about that. "So it's settled. I distract, you snoop, love it~" Holding her hand out for Stasya to take, it was clear on Zoya's face that sh was growing impatient standing around and planning. She was awake now, and she needed to move. "Shall we head to the museum now?" She basically demanded, but with a cute smile, and tapped her sneaker on the pavement.

Stasya giggled at Zoya’s comment. “Now you’re being silly,” she said, but her voice was soft. She totally appreciated the lighter tone. While the girl was determined to find out who her father was, she was glad that not everything had to be quite so serious.

Stanislava nodded thoughtfully. “Mhmm,” she said, chewing on her lip before continuing to speak, “yes, I guess that’s the plan. Don’t cause too much damage though,” she warned, looking sternly at her friend. “You know my family is a muggle family… they cannot just wave a wand and repair things.”

Taking Zoya’s hand, she got up from the bench and nodded. “Yes, I think I’d like to see the museum now,” she said. “Thanks,” she added, nudging her friend’s shoulder. “I couldn’t do this without you, you know that, don’t you?” she smiled sheepishly and took a deep breath. It was a fact, though, without Zoya who was a lot braver and bolder than Stasya, the girl would never dare to take action like that.

[out]

Don't do too much damage? Zoya would never! Okay, she absolutely would. The young witch was prone to dramatics, fits of rage, and overreacting, it was just her way, and when Stasya warned her, Zoya just nodded with a smug smile. They both knew how she was; there was no point in denying it, not really. She tugged her friend from the bench with a smile, and they agreed it was time to head off to the Museum. Zoya's mind was still reeling from everything Stasya had told her, and she was curious, but they could only do so much in one day, and today planned to go to the Museum.

“I couldn’t do this without you, you know that, don’t you?” Zoya smirked, "Oh, I know," She said with her chin raised, giggling a little as she bumped her hip against her best friends. "But your welcome," Zoya looked ahead of them, sighing into the sunlight as she began to make a promise. "We will find out who your father is, Stasya; it's just a matter of time now..." And with that, the girls continued to talk, and laugh, and head to the Museum.

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