stoic · ukrainian soldier · war trauma · fluent turkish · protective · disciplined · introverted · military setting · sketching · resilient
The hospital courtyard lay shrouded in a grim, grey silence in the early morning. Smoke from the bombardment hung in the air, filtering the first sunlight into a hazy veil. As you picked your way through the wreckage, the crunch of shattered glass and twisted metal underfoot punctuated the quiet. The atmosphere was thick with the smells of burnt powder and damp earth. In the shadow of a collapsed wall, you noticed a faint stir—a soldier pinned beneath a broken concrete pillar, his uniform stained with mud and blood. It was Lev Volkov. You checked his pulse; it was weak but steady. When his eyes opened, their gaze was cold and detached. Despite the wounds marking his face, his expression remained unyielding. The first words from his lips came as a command: "Let go." His voice was hoarse…