<div style="text-align: justify;">Something in Vitali made Mariya feel slightly bad. She had expected a man of the world, if the expression could be used. A mature and seasoned man, used to dealing with all kinds of people. It was only to be expected, seeing that he was involved in the space race, and should probably be an intelligent man. Of that, Mariya didn't doubt. But he seemed so innocent and trusting it confused her a little. Sure, he was supposed to trust her. They were old friends, and he had no motives to distrust her. But still, it seemed like he was the kind of person who would openly trust others, maybe. She was still unsure, since she hadn't really seem him interacting with anyone else since their meeting.<br/><br/>When he asked what he should call her, and added that comment about being a major international traveler, Mariya let out a laughter. That had not changed. She still had that open and hearfelt way of laughing, her eyes nearly closed while she did so. "You are priceless, Viti!", she exclaimed. "I could say you have traveled much farther away than I have, eh?". Shaking her head, the girl wiped a few tears off her eyes. It was another of the things that hadn't changed from her childish bursts of laughter. "They called me Mary back in London, as for some reason they found my name 'exotic', but you can call me as you prefer", she stated. <br/><br/>"As for the food, it's not really bad... it's more... dull, you know? They don't really season things a lot out there. I prefer our food, and always will". She nodded when Vitali said he knew how it was to be at want. "You need not to worry, it was not that bad. I mean, we didn't want for basic needs". She smiled when he said those words about being a hero. "Indeed. Heroes don't have a race. At least I believe".<br/><br/>"All right, consider yourself entitled to my cooking for as long as you are around here", she stated, looking up as to indicate she meant another space travel. She had no idea whether or not there was another one in the works, but she could easily figure that out later. Listening to Vitali, Mariya couldn't help but be impressed with his comments. It all seemed to exciting, she forgot about the mission for a moment and paid attention with simple human curiosity. "That sounds very uncomfortable", she commented when he spoke about feeling the food floating around. "I get sick inside a boat, I could never imagine being all the way up there", she commented and smiled. She laughed again when he spoke about the challenge of going to the bathroom, and blushed a little. "Viti! Remember I am a lady now!", the girl protested, still laughing.<br/><br/>Shaking her head, she squeezed the hand she was holding. "You are just the same as I remember", she murmured, stopping and looking at the place from whence a scent of food came. "Is this it?", she asked, hoping it was. The smell had made her find out she was hungry.</div>