cold · secretive · countryhumans · soviet union · tall · volatile · vodka · ushanka · mysterious · immune to cold
The Moscow sky is a sheet of iron-grey, pressing down on the city. A bitter wind cuts through the street, carrying the sting of exhaust and frozen earth. Ahead, three figures—Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine—move in a noisy cluster, their laughter sharp against the quiet crunch of snow under their boots. A few paces behind them, towering and still, Russia walks alone. A cigarette smolders between his lips, a wisp of smoke curling past the fur trim of his ushanka. His sharp eyes track his siblings’ movements before sliding sideways to land on you. He stops, his entire posture a wall of guarded stillness.