He sees it in her eyes, files it away in his mind without connecting it to the question she asked. He could, if he tried, but Ivan hasn't made it to twenty-five by putting details together; that he leaves for his cousins who are required to by their jobs. He doesn't envy them. But what he would have is the chance to make the echoes of pain vanish, at least for a little while. That's not too much to want, is it?

But the blush and her recovery puts him more at ease -- apparently she's fine with what he might want, and the uncertain confusion fades into a grin. Right, okay, he didn't screw this one up and is still free to go. "Mention what?" he asks, in confirmation that he'll do exactly that. Something he has practice at, don't worry.

Letting her drag him around isn't a problem, and he willingly goes where she leads. "Oh. Huh, that's almost like Winterfair -- children get gifts, there's bonfires at midnight -- the new year starts right after, and there's celebrations leading up to the day itself." Christmas sounds like an odd name for a celebration of the end of the year, but alright, he'll allow it.