Several weeks had gone by since New Years, and the manifestation of Kozel's tiny new companion at Christmas. Not a lot had changed, and though Zharkov had promised to figure out what was going on, his quest for knowledge concerning their unique situation had garnered mixed results, ranging from silly to outright unbelievable. The Okrainan was hesitant to even begin to explain his findings to his uptight friend, and so they carried on, adjusting as well as they could to their new responsibilities. While the young fawns could be rambunctious, they were easily contained, and no one in the Fox and Hounds seemed any the wiser about the tiny animals the foreigners were harboring in their room. Zharkov adored them, but it was obvious as ever that Kozel didn't share such sentiments, taking every opportunity to avoid them when he could.
"They will be fine, Kozel. Let us go out and get some fresh air for a while."
With the slanted winter sun shining down on slush-strewn streets, it was a nice morning to do a bit of wandering, Zharkov had pointed out, and since it was a rare occasion on which they both had a day of rest, Kozel had begrudgingly acquiesced. Making sure the door to their room was locked up tight, the two had made their way out, heavily bundled against the cold. Zharkov was happy to be able to be out and about for a while, and as they drifted into one of the neighboring open air markets, he slowed his pace, happy enough to browse the stalls.
"I think I've made some headway in figuring out what's going on," Zharkov murmured, slipping into their native tongue as he inspected a selection of fish one stall had to offer. After digging around in his pocket, he set a few shillings down, pointing to his choice and taking the wrapped parcel as it was handed to him. "But I don't think you're going to like it much." He continued, a grin on his lips as he glanced down to the smaller man. Despite how much it all seemed to upset him, Kozel had been a good sport about allowing the creatures to remain in their shared room (after a lengthy amount of convincing, anyway). He had wanted to follow through with his promise, but it had been difficult, when there seemed to be so many different stories floating around. Now seemed as good a time as ever to share with Kozel what he had heard.
