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On the one hand, it was New York. American cities - cities, specifically - had a high-energy current to them that didn't really match what she'd grown up with. Eastern European cities had a buzz to them, but it wasn't the same.
On the other hand, Irina Mladen was in New York. She'd grown up with the stories of how Americans got on in this city, both good and bad, before she'd even seen the Oath for herself.
That most of the candidates for the Invitational weren't even from NYC, nor the mentors, did absolutely nothing to hide the culture. And only the most social-averse of the wizards were trying not to partake in said culture.
Several locals had tried to catch her ear, and they had been trying to catch a break from shoptalk. Tales of what had gone down in the City That Never Sleeps, once upon a time.
Irina let her parakeet nibble at her hair one afternoon, blinking sleepily same as Sasha, trying to make sense of the latest conversation she'd just walked away from.
Dinosaurs. That precis had been memorable, and not just because of the required time patching.
New York City held a lot of stories, that was for sure.