Ilya had already been given a warm greeting by more than one person, but the gifts and the note had to be the biggest surprise since he'd gotten here. Twin spikes of anxiety and joy rose up in him; on the one hand, he wanted to be able to let himself believe the best about Hana and imagine having at least one person to speak Russian to. Her writing shows she has a good grasp of the language, after all. It's that fear of being part Chukchi and Siberian and therefore subpar. You didn't have to study Russian long before you got to the Chukchi jokes.

Still, it's just so incredibly nice to have something he recognizes. Granted, the cheese isn't reindeer cheese like in most of Siberia, but it's still instantly recognizable as food and as something he could've had at home. He slowly savors the first one before hiding the other away for later. Even if he's not sure how much she knows about him or how he should feel about this, he wants to thank her in person.

If he's wiping at his eyes a little as he seeks out the kitchen, it's with a small smile on his face.