[M] Masha and the Bears [IC - Shxt & Nastia]

[Anastasia]

[M] for Graphic Violence, explitive language and possible sexual content.

It had probably been a day like any other, though a sudden malaise had enveloped her. Aleksandra sat atop a desk in the lecture hall, it was designated meeting location for a group of students selected to go on a trip through rural Russia. Their task was tour historic sites, take notes, and live through history. It felt more like a joint archaeological venture through all of Russia.

When Sasha thought of the students in her class, most of their names washed over her. A sigh escaped her lips as she ran her fingers through her near raven tresses. Weeks with these people, none of whom were her friends. What would they do?

Overall, she could say it was a sense of excitement, history of the feudal era was something she held dear, it was probably her favorite period of her nation's history. It was certainly, in a way less depressing then the modern things times they had been inundated with and lived with the unbearable heavy head. At least she did well, she had rejected studying what her parents wished her to, and decided to go with her own love.

Adjusting the form fitting black sweater, she retied the pair of cons at her feet, with better shoes packed, but still it was a source of comfort, it made her stand out. Alright, she would keep to herself, that would pass the time, or maybe she would try to expand her horizons a bit.

Had she really known anyone? Her eyes lowered toward the floor before she stood straight up, anticipating the arrival of the professor shortly, and the other students as well.

Looking down at her phone, the minutes passed, she felt herself moving to lean back on the desk but straightened her back, pushing away from it. It was a time to be serious, she thought.

"Oh come on... is everyone in this country late?"

The better question was, why is she here so early?

[shxt]

Ruslan leaned his head against the window of the passenger seat and quickly fell asleep. Just another thirty minutes, a good thirty minutes. When you are hungover and it's early, nothing feels better than some extra sleep, especially when it's a cold and grey spring morning outside while you're in your friend's warm Range Rover.

Something brusquely pushed Ruslan in the side and he groaned, opening his left eye to see Evgeniy's insolent grin. "WAKE UP SOLDIER!" He said. Ruslan let out an annoyed sigh and shut his eyes again as he mumbled, "Zhenek, fuck off..." Here they were, four close friends setting off on a trip to the middle of nowhere - Russian vastness of which they, city boys, knew nothing of from first hand experience. All equally annoyed by each other on this hungover morning.

Ivan pulled the car into the university's parking lot and Ruslan received another awakening push, "Alright, seriously now, let's go." Slowly and nonchalantly they unloaded their baggage from the Rover's trunk and stumbled into the building. "So uh... where's the meeting point?" Yaroslav looked around the many stairs and corridors of the uni and silence was the only answer he got: nobody knew or remembered. Thankfully all of them were saved by the teacher who had just arrived herself - Irina Nikolaevna walked through the same door a minute after and gave the boys a smile, "Ah, how early! That's what I call enthusiastic students, let's go meet up with the others at the lecture hall."

Ruslan opened the class room's door with a swing of his arm and said loudly, "MOSCOW POLICE, EVERYBODY GET ON THE FLOOR!" He did not expect Sasha, whom he at times thought to be a wee bit too distant, to be the only person in the room.

[Anastasia]

The door swung open wide and a familiar booming voice came through. The phrase, she was ashamed to admit brought a smile to her face, leaning forward and looking toward her shoes, strands of her dark hair fell forward. Several moments had passed before she looked up again, arms crossed in front of her.

Their professor strolled in behind the boys, pushing them quietly out of the way. Sasha stood straight at attention and waited for the command to be seated, or something... then again this wasn't the typical day to day deal, they weren't there for a lecture, but more specifically a field trip. Relaxing slightly, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Доброе утро, Руслан." (1). Sasha's voice was calm, almost sweet, she did her best to hide how amusing she found this, for no actual apparent reason. It was typical of him, it was who he was. By the looks of it he was most likely more than a little hungover, he and his boys had most likely waited until the last minute possible to pack and set out, yet to her amazement they were on time.

Not even on time, but early. Irina Nikolaevna nodded at Sasha and flashed her usual smile. She was way too happy about this trip, then again... so was Sasha. Trying to remember, there should be another handful of students arriving, maybe two or three. The exact number seemed to escape her.

The three that came with Ruslan were his closer friends, all in their class as well. Two of them she recognized, the other she had hardly known, their cadre was a little larger than most of the others, it was understandable to think how someone could so easily get lost... or just go unnoticed.

Setting her phone down in her bag, she watched her professor, and the other boys, shaking her head.

------
1. Good morning, Ruslan.

[shxt]

Ruslan went quiet for a few moments out of surprise, but then stuck a smile into the corners of his lips and gave Sasha a greeting nod. "Утро-то это да. На счёт доброго, пока ещё не знаю..." (1) The further the morning went on, the more his body felt the hangover's effects on itself. Letting out a tired sigh he dropped down on a chair and laid his head down on the desk, shutting his eyes carelessly. His buddies sat around and Evgeniy began a debate with Vlad about the importance of flow in dubstep, claiming that it was not all that much about the heavy distorted basses but the bounciness of the bassline, while Vlad stood by his point about the necessity of "dirty sounds".

About seven more students came into the hall, most of them girls. Everybody took a seat at random, some held conversations, others silently checked their phones... Finally the teacher tapped her legs to get everybody's attention and spoke out, "Well, it seems like we're all gathered here. Nobody's missing, I think? Let us head out to the bus that is parked around the principal exit." She stood up from her seat and headed in the direction of the exit, leading the way for her students.

Oblivious to the world outside of his head, Ruslan was still sleeping...

---

1. Yeah, it is indeed a morning. I'm not sure about "good" yet though.

[Anastasia]

Sasha held back something of a laugh as Ruslan had acknowledged her. The two were never the type for conversation, at least not with each other. Letting her smile fade softly as she rested on one of the tables, waiting. The men seemed to be having themselves an animated conversation on a subject she knew little about, other than what she heard in the clubs, though to speak on such matters authoritatively was well beyond her level of comfort or determination.

Several other women piled into the room. Sasha sat up from her place and smiled quietly at one of them who immediately approached her and began discussing the previous evening. Most of which the girl was unable to remember, though her recounting the details of waking up in a stranger's bed were most vivid. The girl was Natal'ya Dimitrievna, their parents had long since been friends, and they had known one another since childhood.

As their professor herded them together, she grumbled and put her arm around Natasha, and gently pushed her, commenting on her own events and the usual things they exchanged. Looking over the grounds of the campus, it was beautiful, the time of year was perfect, and yet they were leaving civilization all behind them. None of this would be there in a few hours, and that was a beautiful thought.

The bus was smaller than expected and the students had to crowd around, Natasha left her side instantly to sit beside one of the boys, who she had been after for the past few weeks. Sasha couldn't help but laugh quietly, and then the opportunity to arose, Ruslan was seated, and moving in before his friend even had the chance, she sat beside him. An attempt to simply be social. After all they'd be stuck together for the next few weeks in rural Russia.

"Still hungover, still asleep, I'd venture... правильно (1)?"

----

1) Correct.

[shxt]

Floating about in his half-hungover half-still drunk mind, Ruslan sat down in the bus almost first, staring into nowhere with an empty look in his eyes. Yesterday he was DJing at a club and as it usually happens with such events, the club's manager pays him not only in money but also in alcohol and drugs. Ruslan knew that the morning would be brutal, but does anyone really care about the morning when they're about to go party?

The sound of somebody dropping next to him brought him back to reality and he looked over. It wasn't either of his friends, it was Sasha. Caught by surprise, he didn't reply quite right away and stared in silence for a good few moments. Was it because of the after effects of alcohol that he had noticed her good looks only now, or did he simply never pay attention to it before?

Realizing that he might be starting to look dumb, Ruslan put on a half smile and gave her a nod. "To be honest, I've no clue of what you just said, but I agree with all of it. Have a seat, feel like home! Would you like a drink, tea, coffee?"

The bus moved...

[Anastasia]

The bus began to move and the scenery began to pass, it was still a glorious urban landscape. Everything she had ever known within the limits of this city, and suddenly it was all flying by, all too quickly for her taste. But it meant an adventure was about to begin.

Had it been an ordinary weekend, Sasha might have found herself in a similar state as Ruslan, though knowing what today would bring. Instead, she refrained and simply stayed at home, glancing over as he finally brought himself to respond to her. A polite laugh escaped her pallid lips followed by a quick shake of the head. Picking the pair of aviators which sat atop her head off she put them on him.

"That should help a little... the light is undoubtedly not your friend today. It's also hard to feel at home on a bus, though if you're going to offer me a drink, I'd probably take it."

This was probably the most she had said to Ruslan in the entirety of their history which mostly consisted of passing glances as they moved around and had shared several classes together. It was somewhat pathetic, she thought. Sasha had hardly known anyone in her program. Leaning back in the seat, stretching her legs out she wrinkled her nose for a single moment.

"Come now, don't look so excited for this trip."

[shxt]

Ruslan let out an involuntary smile as the glasses landed on top of his face and lowered them down his nose a little bit, giving Sasha a serious look. "Wait 'til you land in some old hag's hut in the middle of Siberia, you'll wish this bus could have been your home." He chuckled, but in a grim fashion, "I couldn't be more excited than that, I don't see why you aren't... Every day I dream of living in a wooden house, visiting old-ass wooden churches that all look the same and smoking cigarettes that taste like wood."

He kept his lips in a serious line for a couple moments, before putting the smile back on, which now had a tint of sarcasm. "On the bright side, I didn't forget my cards this morning and from what I heard the alcohol out there is a crazy experience. Also bears..." Ruslan mysteriously looked down at his bracelet and watched it as he rolled it around his wrist for a few moments, "You like bears by any chance?"

The drive was on. Some were sleeping, some were speaking... Only in about five hours would they finally land at the beginning of their actual trip in the Russian countryside. For now, it was the comfort of a bus: no A/C, hard benches, hardly any motion of limbs for hours... Enjoy.

[Anastasia]

Sasha shook her head as he lowered the glasses to the bridge of his nose, biting her lip at the rather serious look her cast upon her. Running her fingers quickly through her hair and leaning back in the seat, she thought for a moment about what to say, how to respond to his comments, she hadn't any idea why it was so difficult.

"This isn't Baba Yaga, you know. Besides, I've stolen my Domovoj and keep him in my bag to guide my way through the forests and occasionally steal things like my keys."

This was her small attempt at a joke, looking past him she gazed out the window at this point there was nothing, simply trees and road. They flashed past in constant streams of green, brilliant greens, some as bright as the day and others as dark as the night itself. It was nothing like what one could see in Moscow, it was simply breathtaking.

"So you have an obsession with wood. You're excited for rural drunkenness and you appear to have an interesting relationship with bears. Yes. I love bears. Bears are Russia, are they not?"

Sasha asked quickly, quietly and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment, snapping back to reality a moment later, realizing this was not something she should be doing. They would arrive at their destination within the hour, or so Irina Nikolaevna announced.

[shxt]

"It's a complicated relationship," Ruslan replied with a serious tone, obviously joking. However all his humour was wiped away as he was left dumbfounded by Sasha suddenly leaning her head on his shoulder. The quiet question that creeped into his ear added on to his surprise as it almost made the whole thing kinda intimate. He was used to affection from women, but only when everybody was drunk and out at a nightclub. Ruslan blinked in silence and forced a smile to the rescue of his face and the situation: "Here I am, from being in a relationship with bears to being a teddy bear to sleep on. Don't worry bout it tho, sleep on, I think we still got a while..."

He glanced over his left shoulder, through the seats, at his friends who were seated at the bench right behind them. Evgeniy caught his look and gave Ruslan a suggestive eyebrow wiggle, followed by both him and Ivan laughing. Rus turned away, forcing himself to contain a chuckle of his own and briefly turned his attention to the world speeding past outside the window.

Civilization was gone... The last couple of nine-floor apartment blocks were left behind in the last major township on the outskirts of the outskirts of Moscow (which is pretty damn far away now). The road was cutting through forest and fields, wild Russian nature surrounding speeding cars. On the horizon, the sun was slowly approaching the finish line and surely by the time they would arrive to their destination it would be night... mosquitoes.

Ruslan let out a sigh and slid his phone halfway out of his right pocket, briefly glancing at the time.