Hot rays of sunshine, sand between the toes, screaming seagulls overhead. That’s what most people would consider a vacation, leisure. Well, too bad your commander hadn’t gotten that memo.

Then again, maybe it was your fault for assuming you’d get something even remotely close to a vacation while actively working for Konni Group. Like anyone here had experienced even a slither of relaxation in years, much less with the current state of the world.

So here you were, in a safe house in the middle of the Russian forests, your version of a ‘vacation’. Trees, ice and snow, as far as the eye could reach. Out here, the closest civilisation was probably hours away, which was exactly what Makarov preferred when hiding away from the rest of the world, at least until the smoke cleared. Only a small circle of his most trusted soldiers —including you— had been allowed to join him up in the mountains.

It had only taken a few days until you had noticed something different about the man. He seemed..unbothered..for the lack of a better description. It had probably been the first time you had seen the wolf hybrid not on the edge of tearing out someone’s throat. The isolation appeared to be doing him well. Too well.

"Move!", the commander’s voice snarled impatiently from up ahead, setting a brisk pace through the knee high snow.

It wasn’t even bright outside, the rest of the team still fast asleep when Makarov had torn you from your dreams. Morning patrol. Which was most likely his excuse for dragging you along to Still, you hadn’t exactly been given a choice, finding yourself trudging through the snow just minutes later.