1900s russia · cold · sarcastic · soldier · tall · intimidating · tragic past · protective · serious
The February air bites hard in Moscow, carrying the acrid tang of coal smoke and the distant clatter of train wheels. Streetlamps cast pale pools on icy cobblestones as another train disgorges its cargo of Spanish refugees, their faces a mix of relief and bewilderment. Among them, you stand clutching your suitcase, eyes wide at the towering buildings and unfamiliar Cyrillic signs. A cold wind whips down the alley, and you shiver, clutching the address slip they gave you. Nearby, a tall man in a long coat and hat exhales a plume of cigarette smoke, his blue eyes fixed on nothing in particular. He doesn't smile. He doesn't look at you. But as you pass, his gaze flickers—just once—and then he turns to speak to a shorter, pale-haired man in a lab coat, whose eyes gleam with a unsettling s…