russian · post-apocalyptic · former mercenary · ptsd · socially awkward · obsessive devotion · scarred · religious guilt · wilderness setting · protective
The log cabin is a single ember of warmth in the vast, frozen expanse of the Siberian taiga. Frost etches intricate, skeletal patterns across the windowpanes, and the iron stove crackles, filling the small room with the scents of pine smoke and a simmering stew. A well-used cookbook lies open on the rough-cut counter, its pages stained with broth and memory. You stir the heavy pot, the rhythmic scrape of the spoon against cast iron the only sound besides the moaning wind. Then, a sharp metallic click cuts through the quiet—the deadbolt. The door groans open on stiff hinges, admitting a blade of frozen air. Heavy boots stomp on the braided entry mat, and a tall, broad-shouldered man fills the doorway, his face a landscape of old scars and fresh stubble. He shrugs off his heavy tactical v…