December 30th, 2026
???, Russia
In Vale's unsurprisingly loud anger towards her father, she made it clear that she wanted to go home and that him sending her to colder places is starting to piss her off. New Year's was in two days...one day...no, two days from now! And she didn't even get to open any of her presents yet at home! Where even the hell are they?!
Vale ended up having to put on a heavy coat and have a heating spell cast on her to keep her from withstanding the frigid cold that was Russia. Was there even a warm place in Russia? Isn't it all just a land of ice and snow? Vale was just glad she didn't live here. She likely wouldn't be alive to tell the tale right now.
"Don't tell me this is another abandoned potions workshop of ours, dad! The hell have you been doing all your life?" She snipped out from her scarred lips.
The man ahead of her only made a nervous smile,
"Uh...avoiding your grandfather?" He waved his hands out. Vale only raised a brow before scoffing, she was absolutely correct in her assumptions that her father was going to waste her holiday break from school to do 'family business training.'
"Don't worry, this'll be our last one stop, then we go home. You see, the Morte family are more tolerable people, you see! The Vorona-Russos, however, er..." Vale only a noise of frustration.
"You said that about the Morte family, but their eldest had a paintbrush for a head! And the father seemed kind of mean to his children." Vale looked down with a frown,
"Well, I suppose he has to be. Look at what kind of business they're running. It's not safe for children to not know the ways of a brutal world."
Vale let out a mutter,
"But you're not mean to me..." Soon, they came to a halt when they all made it to a small field of golden roots. They looked like dandelions to Vale. They made Vale wonder if her brother truly was collecting herbs across the world besides
the ruthlessness he caused to many people. Maybe she'll ask her father about it later.
"If you behave for this one, we can go see Rasgorod. See the shopping mall there." Rasgorod, 'the Split City', Vale has partially heard about it. (No irony intended.) That kept Vale quiet, if only for a moment. Now then, to see about this 'Vorona-Russo' family.
Vale's father waved out his wand, and with quick words and casting, a massive stone building appeared. Vale grimaced. So it
was another abandoned potions workshop.
"Guess we didn't need this one anymore either?" "Think of them as little homes for me away from home, for a while, back in my youth."
Their bodyguards, covered in black robes, soon surveyed the area, scanning for anything unusual before standing guard outside, all except for one carrying a massive trunk on her back. The tallest, a man, made a small grunt of approval to Vale's father before they entered the stone cabin. The woman followed suite, placing the trunk inside before nodding, taking position with the other guards.
Vale's father grabbed her shoulders. His dreadlocks barely covered his eyes from Vale's.
"I brought you to the Morte family first because they are more forgiving. The Russos are not. Not as much as I recall. I want you to see how you can tell your friends, mutual allies, and even enemies apart. Just, behave yourself, treat them with respect and don't..." He took a breath,
"Don't call any of them paintbrushes, even if they got paintbrush hairstyles." Vale groaned,
"Fine dad. I don't see what the big deal is. Aren't we the biggest sharks always?"
A small smile plastered on his lips. He hugged Vale's head before moving to the trunk, unlocking it with a spell before preparing for a deal unlike any.
"We're always the biggest sharks. That's why we gotta consider what the fish in the sea think too." And with that, Vale prepared herself, stepping off to the side as their tallest bodyguard entered into the space with a small groan, having to duck his shoulders upon entering. He stood next to Vale, with one of the other guards also following him, standing to the side looking out a window of the newly unhidden space.
Apparently, their visitors were finally here.
@Theodore Alexei Vorona-Russo
OOC:
Thanks for roleplaying with me (Ophelia)! So sorry for the long wait; I got caught up with some things. I tried to keep the writing interesting, but if it's too much, please let me know- I'll gladly change it around! 
