Nikolai Slawenka's Story

For once Nikolai actually returned from his daily hunts earlier than expected. For once luck was on his side, and he was able to fill up his sled with moose meat before any of the other hunters got their hands on the lonely fella. It was a competition after all.

The small trip back to the stairs only took about an hour as the moose had been wandering around relatively close to New Moscow. He could see tracks from other hunters, all of the parallel lines from skies going in the wrong direction. Towards where the animals were most likely to be, but they didn't think of the fact that there would be allot more predators there as well. But most of the other hunters were young, somewhere around 20-25 years, they didn't have the necessary experience yet.

Nikolai continued to think about the beginners sharing his profession for a little while, some of them could become good, but they were still a long way from possessing the same skills as himself. All of them acted like they were the best, kept on bragging about their biggest game, never shutting up about how brave they were for going out "there" for the benefit of "everyone."
Nikolai sighed of the thought. In fact on days like these, whit almost no wind, actually no snow, and some stars being close enough to deliver the same kind of light as the moon once did; it could almost be described as cosy. But it wouldn't last long. In a couple hours it would be a storm outside as usual.

Reaching one of his favorite stairs, the one in the old "Moscow Hotel" where about 5 floors of the old skyscraper shot up through the massive ice. One of the windows were crushed, and it was this one Nikolai used to get in and out from the building. The ice reached almost halfway up on the frame, so Nikolai took of his skies and threw them inside first, before grabbing the rope which attached him to the sled and sliding on his back into the hotel-room, pulling the sled after him.

It wasn't much warmer on the inside, so he just did the usual thing of hiding the skies and sled in a closet in another room after moving the meat from the sled over to a leather backpack he used to carry the bloody mass around in New Moscow. Then he started walking down the 14 floors to ground level where he could enter the icy tunnel called Main Street and start on his tour around town, delivering the meet to the different shops he had a deal with.

Nikolai had to unbutton his grey jacket as he walked down Main Street. The temperature here was kept at a steady 9 degrees Celsius, but because of the coldness of the ice, it didn't drip any water so to say. If it did, New Moscow would soon have a flood problem. The temperature made it quite warm for a guy dressed for the outside, and if you combined the German uniform jacket, the bloody backpack, the huge knife hanging from his belt and the rifle slung across his shoulder, Nikolai stood quite out in between the other citycents, given that most of them didn't carry a weapon. If you added the fact that he stood almost a head taller than most others and that he looked genuinely angry... People avoided him as much as they could.

Nikolai just sighed as he walked, already looking forward to today's drink. But first he had to make his round.

The first shop he entered was one owned by some ms.Hilbito, Nikolai never cared to learn her first name. Unfortunately her daughter the only one behind the desk as he entered. "Morning" Nikolai said with an indifferent voice "Brought today's meet" He said and placed the backpack on the desk before opening it and starting to take out a few pieces of bloody meet. "15 pounds right?" He asked the young lady with a tired voice as he waited for her to confirm.

It felt weird after leaving the box to the bellman to see three other people. They didn't really dress like how other people do in which they stood out. The two people Bahm sees now are very...foreign but he shook it from his mind. He moved to the bar in which a bartender greeted him with a warm grin on his wrinkled face.
"Got any of 'em sweet pops?" The bartender ask as he handed Bahm a small box.
"Of course," Bahm replied "as long as you give me a Snowflake." When the deal was made, Bahm places a small glass of soda on the table and the bartender slid a frosty glass box filled with glowing blue liquid. Snowflakes were mostly meant to ease pain but they help Bahm in running faster.
"Don't be stepping into that Snowflake in here" The bartender pointed to him with a bony finger, "we don't want to be covered in snow while drinking."
With a nod and watch the man drink down the sweet pop, the young German left but not without bumping into someone. The dark blonde was at least 6.36 feet with a face that reminded Bahm of a polar bear, this sent chills down his spine.
(Sorry for being short, my stomach is feeling horrible trying to type on a bus)

Shina was zoning out. Again. Not many people had stopped by shop today, so, like any day that's not keeping her busy, she was itching to go do something. Anything. But her mom wasn't feeling well, and Shina, being so wonderful, was helping. It might as well be her shop at this rate, with how often she takes care of it herself. Muttering, she glanced around and saw no one was around.

Slipping away, she went to her "house" (it looked a bit to run down to actually be called that) to check on her mom real quick. Going inside, she saw her mom asleep, laying in bed. A sigh escaped Shina's lips. "If she's sick again..." Shina shook her head. Her mother was not sick. She couldn't be. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she went over and adjusted her mom's blanket, which had slipped some from turning in her sleep. She then went back out to the shop, seeing no change of costumers.

However, after settling back in her seat, she saw Nikolai coming up with meat. A small grin spread across her lips, though it shouldn't have. He had a dangerous aura about him, but with her fascination in hunters, she couldn't help it. Even if he wasn't the nicest man, he had her dream job.

Dropping several pieces of meat on the counter, he asked if he had the right amount. She gave a small nod, quickly handing him payment. But before she took care of putting away the meat, she looked at him curiously. He didn't seem very happy. Or angry, which would be normal. She was also sure he had no idea who she was, but most knew him. After a pause, she decided to risk the question.

"You okay? You look beat," she said, voice sounding careful, almost like you would speaking to a dangerous animal. But she wasn't that scared. He was human after all. But she had to admit he was a bit... intimidating. Even his height.

After asking, someone else passed by, but he wasn't a costumer. Just a blue haired boy. A blue haired boy who bumped into Nikolai. Biting her lip, she hoped Nikolai wasn't in a horrible mood, so he wouldn't get angry at the guy. Speaking of the guy, she wasn't actually sure she knew him. He looked familiar, but she couldn't put a name to a face.

"huh?" Nikolai hadn't really expected any questions from her, therefore hadn't he really paid her any attention after receiving the money so he didn't catch what she said at first. "If I am or not is not really your business is it well girl?" He answered nonchalant when her question finally sunk in, not looking her in the eye as he spoke, focusing on closing the backpack. Em I fine? Nikolai thought, he usually didn't get questions like that. To heck with it, I'm in a good mood today, I could might as well be "fine" Not that anyone else would think he was in a good mood by looking at him, he just seemed a little less grumpy, that was all.

"But today was a good day, so I guess I'm 'fine'" He added to the earlier answer after considering it for a few seconds. Nikolai didn't try to say anything more than that. Then Nikolai suddenly was 'tackled' (as Nikolai later would describe it) by some rude, blue-haired brute, the impact made the loosely hanging rifle slip of his shoulder and hit the ground with a loud "crack" from the scope. "Let me correct myself" Nikolai said, his voice suddenly back at the usual angry tone. "I was in a good mood" He could see that mr.Brute here was scared. At that moment, Nikolai didn't give a rat's ass about the kid, right now, his little "baby" deserved all the attention.

The scope was broken, no doubt about that, but as he inspected the rifle itself he got this little bright idea about learning the kid a lesson. "That, you should not have done comrade" Nikolai said, an evil grin spreading across his face. "I'm gonna give you exactly what you deserve" He said as he pulled the bolt back and took out a cartridge from his pocket, little could the boy know that it was only an empty shell, because Nikolai made sure to cover the place were the bullet should have been with his hands.
"It was nice knowing you" He said ironically as the shell was placed in the chamber and the bolt pushed in place. "Need to make sure it still shoots you know" He said with a shrug. The rifle was in position less than a second after the last word was pronounced. The boy found himself on the wrong end of the barrel.

Nikolai slowly squeezed the trigger, rising the tension bit for bit before the firing pin finally hit the shell with a dry "click" as Nikolai said "boom" with a low voice. Just a second later Nikolai had slung the rifle back over his shoulder and he grabbed the backpack as he walked out. "Dasvidaniya" (I think that's Russian) Was the last thing he said before he walked out on the street again to continue his round.

Bahm stood in shock as he watched the older man walk out, he shook in his boots. This was the closest he has ever been to death, other then the time he fell though the ice into the cold-biting water. A low murmur filled the room as he ran his hand through his blue hair. Thinking back on it, that man had a rifle and those are only made in the South.
The South.
It took months to get there, and Bahm caught up to the fact that he broke the scope to the rifle, causing his boyish face to turn white. He must apologize to the person in case he desides to come back and put Bahm more into a debt than he is already at.
So with the Snowflake in hand, he walked out the door as the woman ask where he was going. The cold wind bit at his cheeks and nose once the door shut and the snow gathered on his thin shirt but Bahm didn't care. His body was built for the cold but he still craved for the warmth in the.South. His eyes wandered the tunneled city, trying to see past the darkness that already settled in the quartiere, so he started to run. His second oldest brother Duncan was quite fond of the cross country teams long before the world became to this, so he basically dragged Bahm into the running games. Short breaths, long strides, keep your arms close, he could run for miles if it wasn't for the cold.
Soon a figure came up, large and strong, giving Bahm the sigh of relief but it was still to far away. The young boy did as how Duncan told him, relax the muscles in his shoulder and quickened his steps, and now he was at least 15 feet from the man.
"S-Sir!" Bahm yelled, "Sir I need to apo-" He fell backwards, trying to stop his speed. He mistaken him for another person.
A drunk to be exact. He walked sluggishly toward Bahm, twirling a small knife it hand.
"Stupid kid, so damn loud" His words were sluggish caused by alcohol and body stiffens before he lunged at Bahm, barely missing with only having the weapon dig deep into the side of Bahm's frail body. The blue hair covered it and ran around him and forwards but knew the drunk was past out on the ground.
**Quartiere(Italian)=Neighborhood.

Lore had completed another task that took her across New Moscow. With a sigh, she wondered if maybe she should raise her fees with how much she is required to run around. Sure, it wasn't constant work, but almost everyone knew her face and has required her service at one point or another. With a reputation like that, life was sure to be interesting. A few times in her short career she's been tied up in the knowledge of New Moscow's Hot Spots and cooling bodies. Despite her thirst for adventure, Liesl was more than a little thankful that her jobs had fallen along a slightly more legal track.

After strolling around town for an hour, she had almost given up hope on another job. Her busy hours had passed and she hadn't been charged with any reconnaissance lately. Lore was completely satisfied with that. Gathering information herself tended to involve crouching in one place for a terribly long time. 'Boooooring' Lore thought to herself.

Deciding to spend some of the cash she earned, Lore decided to track down Nikolai to splurge on some meat. Normally, her family would go with out as they couldn't afford such luxuries, and even if they could, they were still wary of the other citizens. However, Nikolai was one of the few Russian men from who the German Quarter would buy their meat, though not often enough to be on his regular rounds.

Eventually, the blond headed man was captured in her view. A smug smile tugged on her face as pride filled her. Her tracking skills were just as keen as ever. Taking off in a jog, she called out, hoping to get his attention, "Hey, Nikolai!" She could easily over take the older man, but sometimes she enjoyed going slow. After a short while, she caught up to the blond and said, "You have any meat left?"

As usual Nikolai was walking in his own thoughts, mostly about how the hell he would get a new scope. The rifle he had used today was one of the smaller calibers, so the other scopes he owned wouldn't fit it. He had another low-powered rifle, but he only used that to get parts for the one that was slung over his back, so it had no scope. "Chyort voz'mi" Nikolai mumbled in Russian, should charged the blue punk for some god damn money! Too late for that now. How the hell will I get a scope?

He could go to one of the arms-dealers, but they usually just sold complete weapons or ammunition. It was self explaining that a complete rifle would be much more expensive, not that Nikolai was short on money, far from it, but he didn't want to spend more than he needed to. But he didn't really have a choice either. He needed a new scope, simple as that.

It would take time to talk to all of the arms dealers in New Moscow, time he didn't really have. "Hey Nikolai!"
Seemed like today was his lucky day. The answer to his problem came walking straight up to him. "Morning" He replied while he turned around and waited for her to catch up. A small curve on his lips that was the closest he would ever get to a smile, but the scars made it seem more like a snare than anything else. "you have any meet left?" Lorlei asked.

It wasn't the first time they had met. Nikolai had traded meat with her before. "Meat? yeah I got a few pounds Fräulain" Nikolai said. The last word was more or less a joke, but he didn't really care. He really liked the German language, he just never had the time to learn it. "I can spare one and a half pound" he said and took the backpack of his shoulder to get the meat "Do me a favor and its yours" Nikolai spoke while he pulled out two bloody chunks of meat and offered them to her. "Ask ms.Putin at the saloon if she have a rifle scope that would fit a 308., just the scope. You know the procedure right? Come to me if she have one" Nikolai was talking about the rifle on his back, but he didn't expect her to know which caliber it was. The remaining two Arms dealers he knew about he would check himself. But they had never been as well-stocked as ms.Putin.

Shina just stared in shock as the hunter pretended to shoot the blue haired boy. At first she was mad he'd scare the boy like that, but then decided it was better than actually shooting. The hunter exited the area, and she was going to check on the blue haired one but he also ran off before she could utter a word. What was with people? Rushing about so fast.

Shrugging it off, she decided to close shop after storing and locking up all the goods they had. She had forgotten the lock part once and they'd nearly starved after being robbed. Her mom wasn't really angry, Shina thought she was too hungry to be angry. Before leaving the shop however, she took the small dagger like knife she'd had with her basically since moving to this town. She kept it on her always, and no one could really blame her. It was dangerous. Not just from animals either.

Instead of going home like a smart girl, she decided to go on a walk around town before the sun was completely gone. She wandered around a bit, no longer bothered by the harsh cold air or slippery ice that would trip her up as a child. Shina wished she could go somewhere warmer one day, like places she'd heard about only from whispered gossip. Not the extremely hot place either, just warm. But she knew it wasn't going to happen. So she stuck to her first dream. Being a hunter.

Her inner thoughts of dreams was cut off suddenly by what sounded like a struggle near by, but she didn't really see anyone. Since she didn't see anyone, she decided to carry on as if nothing happened. Better to not stick her nose where it didn't belong, or she'd be the one getting really shot. When she saw blood though, she slightly changed her mind. It seemed like it was recent, so she couldn't help but call out.

"Hello? Is anyone around here?"

Lore repeated his words out loud, committing them to memory, "A rifle scope that will fit a 308, got it." As a second thought, she thought to add, "Would you mind holding on to it for me? I think I'll make it a surprise for my mutter. Don't bother looking for me. I'll find you." She accentuated the last statement with a goofy wink. With an exaggerated salute and a large grin, she began her trek to the parlor of the best dancer in town, Arabella.

Finding people is a talent that Lorelei had developed and usually, her kind face could get her just about anywhere. Today though, her baby face was working against her as the bouncers of the saloon were hesitant to let her in. "Guys, I'm just here to deliver a message. That's my job, I'm a messenger. Fred!" She spun to face the larger of the two men, "you know me! I just delivered a message to your mother last week! If you'd like to come between me and a nice juicy piece of meat, you are welcome to continue wasting my time." She only realized later the naughty connotations of her words.

With a sigh of indignation, she finally relented. She had tried to convince these numbskulls, but it was obvious that they tuned her out. "Could you just ask Arabella Putin to come out here then? My business is with her."