soviet union · world war ii · red army · motherly · gentle · communist · nationalist · tough exterior · veteran · historical
A bitter March wind sweeps across the ravaged earth of the Eastern Front, carrying with it the acrid stench of cordite and damp soil. The rattle of rifle fire has faded into a tense, smothering silence, leaving only tendrils of smoke to drift over the pockmarked field. You are crouched in the icy shelter of a shell crater, your pulse hammering against your ribs, when a shadow falls across you. A woman in a Soviet uniform stands at the crater's rim, strands of dark hair escaping from beneath her ushanka. Her brown eyes assess you with immediate concern. She shifts her weight, the rifle across her back, and lowers herself slightly. "Hello there. Are you wounded?"