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"So!" Iosif exclaimed, clapping his hands together and smiling brilliantly. "You tell the fortunes, yes? Maybe you tell me what my fortune is, eh? Like gypsies back home! Except maybe with less drinking."

Something that Iosif could quickly rectify, actually. He looked thoughtful for a moment, considering looking for a place to get a good drink (despite it being fairly early in the day) before realizing it'd be rude. Normally such things didn't concern him, but since this was his first colleague he figured it'd be in his best interest to maintain some semblence of politeness.

"You, uh - you do the palm looking?" Iosif asked, offering his hand palm up towards Ankita.

Bone readings? How morbid! Iosif was clearly intrigued, and he pulled his hand back as his mind - which never liked to stay on one topic too long - pressed onward. "You read bones?" he asked, voice sounding somewhat hushed. "Eh? Okay, what my bone say, eh?"

He took Ankita's hand and laid it on top of his wrist, beaming broadly. "I drink many milk," he added, sounding proud.

"I know! I think it taste like s**t, yeah?" He made a face, lip curling upwards. "But! My bones is strong, yes?" As she could probably tell, since she could read them. He was practically glowing with pride.

Her explanation finally made its way into his head, and his brow furrowed with confusion. "Wait this one moment. You read chicken bones?" he asked, sounding puzzled. "Chickens want fortunes telling?"

Iosif's eye flicked up towards Sarava, a half-grin slowly making its way across his features. "Sarava would rather eat chickens, yes?" he asked jokingly, patting Sarava delicately once more. If Sarava maintained an herbivorous diet, Iosif was unaware. He had no idea what Sarava was anyway aside from "cute." And he didn't quite understand how an animal could tell fortunes, but he assumed it was part of Ankita's act - some sort of exotic allure, maybe? He'd seen animals used in acts before. It wasn't too surprising.

He didn't quite understand how bones told people their fortunes anyway. Surely they were a good means of measuring how much milk one drank, but as far as telling the future - hm. Well, he'd reserve judgement until he saw the act itself. Ankita's pantomime was interesting, but it didn't really clear up anything for Iosif. Then again most things seemed to puzzle the Russian, so he let it slide for the moment.

"So, little Anuchka," he said, pulling his hand away from the aye-aye and instead tucking it into his pocket. "You work here long? You know anyone else?" A thought suddenly occurred Iosif and he started a bit, staring somewhat suspiciously at Ankita. "You read minds?"

It took a moment before Iosif got Ankita's joke, but once it had slowly trickled into his mind he burst into raucous laughter, going so far as to slap his knee. Tickled pink by this bit of cleverness - and incredibly relieved that Ankita couldn't read minds - he pat Ankita's head much in the same way he pat her familiar. (Perhaps in that sense, it was a little bit patronizing.)

"You is a funny girl, yes?" He could appreciate a good sense of humor, even if the jokes took an inordinate amount of time to sink in. "Maybe Sarava can read the minds and she just don't tell you, eh?"

Iosif laughed, though he cast a somewhat suspicious glance at the aye-aye, as if he suddenly expected her to start spouting off his darkest secrets. You needed to give him at least two good drinks before he was willing to give those away. Thankfully Sarava was quiet for the time being, so Iosif soon relaxed, running a hand through his thick head of hair.

"Well, little Anuchka, I must go check in, yeah? Is good to meet you. Maybe this next time we can do palm looking!" Iosif said, sighing heavily. Work, work, work - ah well. With a wave that he wasn't aware Ankita couldn't see, Iosif headed out the tent and towards where he hoped this "Scarlett" was.