Look To Your Own House

The Grid-----> > > > > THE GREATEST GENERATION < < <


Coordinates : 2 4

About four people once shared this bedroom, one of several in a row down this corridor. Two sets of bunk beds were against the wall, their metal frames now toppled over. Closets hang open, a dresser broken in half from a piece of the ceiling falling down onto it. The walls are pockmarked from gunfire, debris strewn all over the floor. There was one small bookshelf, that someone dragged in front of the window for a tiny amount of cover. Dried blood spatters the shelves.

Several of the occupants had children; one crumbling wall still has a childish drawing tacked to it. A homework book is lying half-shredded on a chair.

It is currently dusk.

Lesina tramps in, she still hasn't replaced her hat, and her hair's still bloody. Adding to that look she doesn't seem particularly happy either. She's spent a day with the militia, on the south side of the apartment, which is marginally less dangerous during daylight than the road.

Novikova was dozing (comparatively) peacefully although she stirs. She does start to sit up though, hearing someone come in. "Huh?" She blinks owlishly.
Lesina turns her head to Novi's sound, "Comrade." She grunts, she's still scowling. Still she plumps herself down near Novi, "How are you and the rest of the squad recovering?" It's not what's on her mind, but it's important to ask.

Mikhail has been dozing again. Which he has the habit to do when he's wounded. Although he's improved quite much since they got back yesterday. Now he stirs a bit, glancing around the room for a few moments.

Novikova is slow to rouse, but she smiles at Lesina. "Good morning," It is hard not to call her mom for some reason. She looks down to herself, "I am well enough. I didn't think I'd be such a good bullet sponge," She admits quietly. "Cousin Elise was a bit stressed out," The tension between her and Galina perturbs Novi as well, "But most of them seem to be out or asleep," She offers quietly. "How are you?" And uh oh- it's a Mikhail!

Lesina shrugs, "The head looks worse than it is." She's been trying to ignore it all day, but her poor hair is bloody. A glance back to Mikhail, so Novi doesn't have to see the annoyed flash in her eyes. "As she should be." She's stressed out about that too. "You are too good a bullet sponge." She changes the subject, "I suggest you stop practicing." Is that a joke? To Mikhail, "Comrade."

Mikhail blinks a little, offering a nod to the two. "Good…" he begins, before he looks rather lost in thought for a while. "Whatever time of day it is…"

"Oh don't fret, this time it was a bayonet anyway," Novikova promises to Lesina and smiles. She is tense about the Grigory affair as well. Necessary or not, it's still an ugly business and tends to turn NKVD eyes towards you. She shifts her weight in place. "Seems to be day. I guess being so busy yesterday made me more tired than I thought," A sigh and a shrug. Even Novi slows down and feels emotions beyond giggling. She smiles at Mikhail, "It's good to see you too."

Lesina has been outside all day, "You two slept through most of the day." She adds, not recriminating, sleeping is recovering after all. "And you are up now, a soldier's work is in the dark." Oh yeah, she was told, the militia with the bayonet, she broadly agrees with Novi on the NKVD. "Bayonets, a change of pace." Though the very thought of the guy makes her spit.

"Good to see me? Oh no, what have I done this time?" Mikhail remarks with a bit of a grin, before he pauses a little at Lesina's words, "Bayonets…" A brief grimace as he listens, before he blinks, "Most of the day… Great…" Grimacing a bit.

A deep blush. "Oh. That's a little embarrassing. At least I fetched water yesterday," As if you know, that makes up for it. In fairness, Novi's fight with the bayonet man needed some tense, roaring classic music - drawn out as it was. Novikova looks saddened and pained, "It's not a happy memory," Is all she states quietly. It's far more noble to skewer and be skewered by a Nazi than the tragedy of one's own neighbor turning. "If we go that way, I'd like to check for mines," Novikova nods. Somehow, the idea of mines in a school seems even more cruelly tragic. She goes quiet at that and looks to Mikhail, "It is your dashing good looks, comrade." Griiiiiiiiin.

Lesina shrugs, "How would you recover otherwise." And on the bright side they aren't all dead yet, they can't have needed the other two too much. "Why are we going there again?" She didn't hear the stuff about buried ammo, "Though someone will have to hold the place." She frowns, that place is tainted.

Mikhail blinks a little bit at Novikova's words, "My dash…" he trails off, and looks to Lesina now, "Did someone offer her a whole bucket of vodka for the pain or something?" he asks, sounding a bit suspicious.

Novikova nods at that, "True. The Nazis would miss my jokes." Grin. She takes a deep breath. "I don't know, I just remember someone mentioning buried ammunition and taking the building. It does seem like empty buildings become nests for vermin," Sigh. She giggles at Mikhail. "Oh, if I got buckets of vodka, I'd be dancing in front of the Nazis more." Wink.

Elise stirs from her bedroll, hair mussed after a fitful sleep. She sits up, yawning, still looking tired.

Lesina shrugs, "You know how much Vodka we have, not enough to cheer a sparrow up." She is fairly amused by the comment. She nods, "At the very least we will escort the militia there." see if they can vet them. Elise gets a look, Lesina will let the woman wake up.

"Then what did she eat or drink to get that kind of hallucinations?" Mikhail offers a bit lightly, before he shakes his head a bit. Looking over at the stirring Elise, he keeps quiet for now.

"And so modest too," Novi is being a little playful with Mikhail, but shrugs. "Well, I don't know about oxes or trees compared to birds…" She smiles at Lesina. A nod. "Makes sense." She notices Elise though, and smiles. "Cousin. Good morning."

The sound of Maschenko's footsteps lingers at the doorway between kitchen and this half of the bedrooms. Stopping to dig through his satchel, he glances through the doorway at the red army wounded and then back at the militia guy he was talking to, finishing a hushed exchange in Ukrainian.

Elise rubs her face a little, trying to banish sleep. "Zoya. Comrades." She has a toothbrush in her kit from her AA days, which she pours a little water from her canteen and uses quickly. No toothpaste, but hey - one does what one can. She rinses it off and puts it away, looking around briefly. For what, who knows. Maybe secretly hoping that the breakfast fairy came by and dropped off some pancakes or something during the night. There's a little disappointed sigh to find nothing has changed, and she looks to Zoya. "How are you feeling, Cousin?"

Lesina grins, reaching over to take Mikhail's shoulder, "You're a fine picture of a man." She reasures emptily. Then she adds, for levitiy, "If you squint carefully." Novi must have some dirt in her eyes or something. The Doctor gets a distracted nod, she hasn't paid enough attention to recognise him. Elise doesn't get very long to wake up, "I got a written report on Comrade Ziazev today." She starts, "It turns out the rumours weren't all that far off."

Mikhail shrugs a little bit as he hears that, going silent for the moment as he leans back to the wall again. Keeping silent for now.

Secret Ukraaaaaanian man~ No, Novikova smiles, seeing Maschenko. But Elise's voice draws her attention. "I am well enough. I cannot complain." She shrugs, "A bit sore but that is how it goes." She tilts her head, "How are you?" She asks her cousin. A giggle at Lesina's comment. Perhaps. Or it was the head woud, which seems to have been beatly patched up. She stops giggling at the report on Zaizev. "… probably not. I was there to help take him," She remarks quietly. She doesn't seem eager to talk about it. Instead, she shrugs. "Most gossip sometimes has a grain of truth. Sometimes. Kind of?"

Elise nods to Novi. "I'm all right," she answers, not wholly convincingly. She's not quite fully awake, so she doesn't get Lesina's meaning right off. The sergeant gets a blank look, and a slight headshake. "Rumours? What rumours?" There's a slight frown, though, when Grigory's name is mentioned.

The militia man standing next to Maschenko doesn't look amused. He looks over the red army group one more time, slightly troubled if anything. Another muttered comment in Ukrainian to the doctor, who shrugs and offers a murmured answer while hunting through his bag. The factory worker nods, frowning, and then disappears back into the kitchen, and Maschenko finally heads into the bedroom itself, pulling a roll of gauze from some depth of his satchel.

Lesina nods, "That is true." She is a little annoyed, "And I am willing to ignore that you handed the man a shovel to dig his grave without consulting me first." Though she isn't willing to forgive or forget. "We have deeper concerns. You three were there for that incident, gave evidence." She lowers her voice, "And now we must be careful. You clearly know which Comrades cannot be trusted, and you will tell me of any defeatism, counter revolutionsim, and speaking german." She takes a deep breath, "This unit cannot afford to needlessly lose comrades." Big speach, that's what you get when you're trying not to say, 'Fear the NKVD!'

"Speaking German?" Mikhail remarks after a few moments, "I know the language," he offers, with a bit of a shrug.

A frown at Lesina, "Comrade. No one gave him anything. He mouthed off to the Commissar. Right to the Commissar's face. None of us told him to do that. I felt perhaps he was stressed, sick or unsuited to the front lines. If he hadn't spoken so ill to the man, he'd probably be off peeling potatoes," Novikova points out. A comparatively cushy job. She is perhaps trying to cope with what she did and finds Lesina's stance a little strange. "People were getting injured because of his actions. We accused him of nothing, we merely asked for help." There are treatments, job relocations, and so on, right? "I am sorry you were not there," A shrug. After all, the Commissar's visits are not scheduled. She frowns. "Look. We're not hunting for people to throw away. The only reason anyone mentioned anything was because this happened many many times, people were getting injured and he was flaunting himself." She's definitely perturbed, and takes a deep breath. She goes quiet, "I speak German." She turns her head. "And most of us know enough to insult their mothers. Although you can't blame a person for learning a curse word or two when they are pissing on our doorsteps." She grunts. She is trying to shield Elise at least. "It can't be helped now."

Elise still looks confused. "What rumours?" she asks again, of Novi this time, feeling as though she's missed something. She listens to Lesina's speech, jaw clenching tightly when she talks of handing the man a shovel and not easing up throughout the speech. A glance to Novi at her words, appreciative but also a little worried. She doesn't want her cousin to get in trouble on her account. "Zoya did not accuse him of anything," she clarifies. "I did, and I stand by my report." She lifts her chin just slightly, as befitting a self-righteous teenager. "I'm sorry if I should have given it to you and not the Commissar. It was my understanding that such things were the Commissar's direct responsibility. As for speaking German… I was born in Germany so I speak it quite well. I did not know that was now a crime." The jaw tenses again, her bearing stiff, almost braced.

Lesina shakes her head, "Then keep it yourself, we know one word in German, ~Die~" It's horrible German, and a bit over cautious, but that's her. "Anything that will incriminate anyone is to be stopped. Especially with that other incident/" She doesn't say what it is there's always militia around. She frowns at Novi's assertion, "That is in the past, I will not argue about that. Now we must do what we can to limit the damage." A lot of suspiscious stuff went down at once. A wince at Elise's admission too, "That you keep quiet. Do you not understand? We need to be above suspicion. My husband was in the army, he told me of these things." Good friends going missing, show trials. She rubs her forehead, suddenly tired.

Mikhail just shrugs at the moment, looking a bit lost in thought for now.

Maschenko raises an eyebrow slightly at the conversation. Not that he's eavesdropping, it being army business, but he's got other things clamoring for his attention too. Wounded militia, wounded soldiers. He kneels down by a half-unconscious man who lost most of his hand the previous night, filling a syringe from a small glass bottle.

Meanwhile in the doorway, footsteps are going past and one stops at the hole in the wall between bedroom and living room. Rada, short figure in her tattered factory clothes and far-too-thin coat for this late fall weather, nose red and peeling from the dusk chill. Her cheeks weren't quite this gaunt the first time they ever saw her, their increasingly thinner and thinner rations taking their gnawing toll on everyone now. The almond-eyed woman adjusts her rifle on her shoulder, black eyes flicking to Lesina.

"Da," Novikova agrees quiely. She doesn't seem eager to stop protecting Elise though, and frowns. "Cousin - you did what you thought was right," Novikova stands by that and doesn't seem to be budging. She smiles at Lesina, "I am a humble student and she is my cousin. We absorb bullets, shoot Fascists and work as we can. She's been a good medic," Nod. "So please don't worry. Our new sniper seems to be an alright guy too. And we've an anti-tank gunner and a doctor of our own, we're very good. The Commissar did say he was proud of us and we were a good unit," She points out. She doesn't pry more. She looks to Mikhail and peers at him. "See, I am a witch. I steal your words. Perhaps /you/ are the one who makes bad jokes and I just steal them." Strangely, Novikova seems to consider the Ukranian doctor just as much a part of things as any of the Russians. She smiles faintly at him. And a Rada. Novikova waves to the woman. She seems happy to see her too. Or relieved that it's not 'Grigory 101' again.

Elise frowns, somewhat sullenly. "It isn't fair, that now we should all be cast under suspicion just because of him," she mumbles. "Especially when it was us who turned him in. We were only doing our duty." How she can even talk of fairness after two brutal months in Stalingrad is anyone's guess. Ah, the naivete of youth. "And the others weren't even our unit." She rubs the wrist of her sore arm, absently, the frown deepening.

Lesina looks up long enought to see Rada. More. She grimices. "Just be careful, for a while be careful." She doesn't comment on fairness or anything else. "Comrade Elise, I need your memory." She wasn't there to hear the other guy, and still doesn't know Elise's last name. "And Comrade Oleneva, I need a private word." She stresses private.

Rada blinks slowly at the young woman declaring herself a witch. Then at Elise going on about suspicions and 'others', then back at Lesina. Her black brows have come together, corners of her mouth rather tense. "Yes…it sounds like it, Sergeant." She offers the rest of the room as polite a nod as she can, then focuses all on Lesina, waiting.

Mikhail offers a brief grin to Novikova. "I don't need the words anyway," he remarks, with a bit of a shrug. Glancing around, he offers a quiet nod to Rada, then pulls out his chisel, reaching for something to clean it with from a pocket.

Elise didn't see Rada approaching, or she probably would have held her tongue. Oh well, spilt milk. She shuts up now, though, just nodding to the sergeant. She's not sure what of her memory is needed, but will go where bidden. And she still does not offer up her last name, particularly in light of the whole 'don't tell people where you're from' business. Berg is somewhat of a red flag, which is why she doesn't often wave it.

Blink. Cough. "that was a bad joke anyway," Novikova murmurs. "You can have that one," She smiles at Mikhail. Radabuddy. Alas. No smile back. Novikova just kind of fidgets now. That's bad. Really bad. "Um." She goes quiet now.
From afar, to (Elise, Lesina): Maschenko can move to a different room or stay here, whatever you folks want.

Gregor comes in, rifle in hand, nodding, "Comrades." He says, looking lots better.

Lesina stands up. "We met some Comrades at the school. Comrade Elise, what can you remember of the two men, names, distinguishing features anyway." She's trying to make this convincing. Unfortunately she ignores Gregor, she's ignoring a lot of people at the moment, oh for somewhere quiet.

Lesina has moved off into a corner, somewhere quiet, the whole apartment bustles, at least there is the hope that here most of the people will be Lesina's and/or sedated with a little pain.

Rada seems willing to follow Lesina and Elise to whatever little corner they find, stepping past and over their comrades as they go. She's still got her garden spade with her, the handle bent and edge crusty red from some particularly vicious usage that nobody probably wants to imagine. She folds her arms, vertical lines between her drawn brows as she listens to Lesina and then looks at the younger Elise.

Novikova looks worried for her cousin. It's strange, to see Novi genuinely worried. She bites her lower lip. She watches and nods. She goes quiet though, not daring to even look like she might be eavesdropping. "Comrade," She offers a smile to Gregor. Although Rada is still a sort of hero to Novi, her and her spade. Gardeners- UNITE. "You look like you are feeling better."

Elise isn't sure at first if she's supposed to follow, but presumably Lesina motions to her or something, and she gets up hurriedly and moves to catch up with her and Rada. She clears her throat, a little nervously, not enjoying being the bearer of bad news. Seems to be a theme for her week, though. "One I had seen before, I think his name was Chemerkin, or something like that. The other I didn't know." She gives rather good descriptions of both men, having had the opportunity to see both up close and personal. And she has a good memory.

Gregor nods to Novi, "Da. Hands finally work again. Just was out putting them to some use." He settles down, wincing as he looks at Novi, "How are you feeling?"
Mikhail keeps silent again. Looking straight out into the air, like there's nobody there, for now.

Lesina nods along, "You will be glad to know they were safe." She spits rather aggressively, "Unfortunately they were keen to fire on us, one of the men attacked my comrades, close range, calling something back to the Germans." She lays that down quickly, "You had traitors Comrade." She spits, perhaps a little subtlety is lacking here though she did use the past tense. "Well you asked for a report." She adds.

Rada inhales softly through her nose. "Chemerkin is the runner that I sent. The other sounds like Korolev…" She's stopped immediately by Lesina's addition of their fates. Her black eyes pin on Elise and then return to Lesina, her whole body seeming to stiffen and cheeks blanch. "They /what/?"

Elise stiffens as well, perhaps wary of 'shoot the messenger' syndrome. "They were working with the Fascists, Comrade. Korolev, if that is the man - he shot at us. Stabbed Comrade Tak in the head, and sliced my cousin to pieces -" She jerks her head back towards Novi. "Korolev said he had turned because the Fascists were feeding his family, where we had none to give. Chemerkin said that he was not a traitor, but he was standing with them when we attacked, so make of that what you will. We tried to take them alive, but they fought too hard and their wounds were too great."

Novikova smiles, she's sympathetic to poor Gregor. Fellow was down awhile. "I'm glad to hear that. You are a more patient person than me," She tilts her head. "Are you thirsty? And I am alright. A bit sore, but I suspect that's normal considering my habit for attracting metal." She winks at him. "It's good to see you up and about, you seem happier."

Elise keeps her voice very low, speaking just quietly enough for Rada and Lesina to hear.

Lesina is loath to repeat herself, fortunately Elise has details. The Rada says something that takes a while to dig itself into her head. "That man came from here? You said he left a day before us." She raises her voice at that, unable to control herself. She lowers it again, "You know what this could mean?" She looks meaningfully at Rada, all the time wandering if this would make her and er squad look even worse.

"Korolev was a Ukrainian," Rada mutters, as if that blood alone explained the man's turncoating. "The Fascists have his family in Kiev, I'm sure they're as tainted as he is." She rubs her palm over her mouth, still pale. Black eyes, much older than they were a minute ago, look back at Lesina. "Chemerkin? I'd sent him the night before last, yes. He's usually back by the next dawn, didn't return." But as to what it could mean, the militia woman stays cautiously silent. She's already looking at being shot by the NKVD herself for not ferreting her traitors out before they hurt Red Army men.

Gregor smiles, "Well, it's hard not to be happier without pain." He looks around, "What's going on?" He asks somewhat quieter.
Rada's also talking very quietly, having been pulled to the side by Lesina and Elise.

Sokolof sits in one corner, writing on one of the scraps of paper that were handed out to them. A glance up at Elisa, Lesina and Rada as they talk, but he mostly pays them little mind. He keeps his long nose out of conversations that do not concern him. Life in Stalingrad teaches such circumscript behavior.

Mercifully, Novikova can hear none of this. She is unaware of any reason to distrust Ukranians - heck, Angry Bread has saved her bacon scads of times making the doctor a bang up fellow in her books. She smiles again at Gregor. "I can hear that," She nods. Then a pause. "Just some news being delivered back and forth," A headshake. "There was some fighting the other day." She blinks. It's a Sokolof, "Comrade." She smiles and greets the teacher. "I just feel like a lazy bum getting to lounge for the day."

Elise's brow furls, a memory stirring. "He said 'All dead.'" It's said with the air of an internal realization, not something really meant for the others. Then, in a more coherent tone, she clarifies. "When I knelt by him, he said 'Rada, all dead.' Maybe he was talking about wherever you sent him." That reminds her, "He also said something about a cache of bullets, but there were mines all over so we didn't take a closer look. Not with everyone wounded."

Looking straight ahead still, as he [Mikhail] works on cleaning his chisel at the moment. Working carefully on his work, although he doesn't seem to pay too much attention to his equipment.

Maschenko is also minding his business, especially when Rada throws the Fascist-occupied Ukraine under the bus. Mouth shut, work done. He's sewing up a man's busted up hand, blue eyes flickering to Sokolof writing. "Evening, Efim."

Vladmir stirs from his sleep groggilly. Between the random small arms fire, the shelling, and the Fascist bombings, one could barely call it sleep; however, it is what it is. Not exactly feeling refreshed, Vladmir stands from his space, a grunt as he looks around. "Does anyone have any news of Leningrad?" His tone seems almost hopeful.

"Comrades," Sokolof offers all around. It's a universal sort of 'Comrade', said quietly. Minding his own business as he is, he wants to draw little extra attention to himself. "Evening, Luka Andriyevich." Not 'good evening.' Such greetings no longer seem appropriate to him. A look up and over at Vladmir as he stirs. He shakes his head with some regret. "I fear not, Comrade. Though the sergeants know more than I."

Lesina nods, well Korolev may be a one off, but this Chemerkin guy. "He scouts for you often." For some reason that makes her suspiscious, a look to Elise as she says more, she should have pumped the girl for information before this. "What can we do Comrade?" The last thing she wants is even more people executed or worse. "We need your men." That's her promise to keep Rada covered, maybe.

Poor Ukranians under the bus. Novikova is not sinless in this respect, perhaps she is more ignorant than anything else. She smiles, watching Maschenko. Headtilt. As Vladmir enters, she shakes her head, "Fighting everywhere is all I hear." A shrug. She smiles at Sokolof too. She's coping in her own odd way. Using a shell, although who knows what will happen once it cracks. "It's good to see you well though." She's glad for anyone not coming in dead (Communist zombies are at least polite enough to share the brains) or hurt.

Rada is still struggling to process this, her hands rubbing over her pale cheeks. "Chemerkin wasn't a scout, really. He just knew the grounds very well…he and his wife have a son who went to that school. I sent him to run supplies since he wouldn't get lost." Oh well. She clears her throat quietly, licking her lips and looking back at the sergeant. "You've done what you could, comrade. Your people did right, you saw traitors and you rid us of them. Comrade Stalin would be proud, and we are grateful."

Rada then glances at Elise, the further news from the young woman not entirely making sense to her. "A cache…yes. That could be, we often bury our bullets on the grounds so the Fascists won't find them. But I thought you said he shot at you."

Gregor looks around, trying to catch up on things with little that he can hear. He nods to Sokolof, still not up to speed, but he's trying to listen.
Mikhail finishes cleaning his chisel, and drops it to the ground next to him. Shaking his head a little, he mutters something under his breath. "If anyone finds a hammer somewhere…" he says, a bit absently.

Elise shakes her head, clarifying, "I said Korolev shot at us. Chemerkin was standing with Korolev and the Fascist soldiers when we arrived. He was shot right away, so he was not really given a chance to fire. He protested his innocence as he died. I suppose we'll never know if he was telling the truth or not." She shrugs, clearly dubious given the man's proximity to the German soldiers.

Sokolof shares a smirk with Mikhail at his words. "You could take up construction on the fascists if only you had a hammer, Comrade." It's a weak joke. And a morbid one, if one takes it to its extension and contemplates such an image. For his part, he's still trying not listen. Still none of his business, really. A look back down at his paper, and he adds another line to his letter.

Maschenko sews. Hand. Yes. He cuts the edge of the thick suturing thread and whicks the famous fish hook through a bloody bit of water in a bowl by his leg. Ew. A light wink at Novikova, slightly forced levity, then he looks back at Sokolof and Mikhail. "How is your chest feeling, Efim? You were coughing in your sleep overnight."

Lesina isn't happy with that, but she can hardly do much. There's a quick look at Elise, she can remember one of the militia going down quickly. "He was not shooting Fascists." She maintains "Look to the men's friends. Anyone you have any suspicion of-" What to do with them? "… I will not lose this building to traitors." She finishes, at a loss for a real suggestion, and laying the consequences bare instead.

Before the sergeant can get another word out, someone's yelling for Rada outside. "Yes, several. We'll begin right now, and I will speak to you more later sergeant."

"Heavier," Sokolof admits when the doctor inquires about his chest. "Still doesn't feel like anything serious. It will keep, Luka." Not that his dour tone is particularly encouraging about such things. A wince at Maschenko's work with the fish hook. He does clear his throat in a rather cough-like manner. Then back to his letter.

Elise is not too reassured when Rada says there are several she's suspicious of. Her mouth sets back into a frown, and she remains quiet, having given her report.

Mikhail pauses as he hears Sokolof. "They'd be more efficiently built then," he offers with a bit of a shrug.

Lesina lets out a long sigh as the woman goes off, she purses her lips. "Big ideas and war girl, choose one or the other." She's babbling, quietly. "Now go back to your cousin, and with a smile." She sort of grins. Turning back to the rest of the room. Elise can deal with what Les just exposed her to herself, as Les hasn't quite figured out what needs doing either.

Novikova looks sympathetic towards Sokolof. She glances to Gregor in turn. Maschenko's wink get a smile. Daw. She looks amused by the exchange between Mikhail and Sokolof. She yawns. She probably can't hear the talk of traitors and such. Her cot's not exactly closeby. "I don't know if I want them built more efficiently, they already have an ugly habit of putting holes in me in a rapid fashion," She shakes her head. She does her best not to watch Maschenko's work.

Mikhail shrugs a little bit, "Improvements include their heads placed where their arses are, and less hands, or something like that…"

Elise looks a little confused at the sergeant. "Choose what?" She's not clear if Lesina was talking to Elise or herself there, given the quite babbling. "I go back with a smile and they'll think the world's ending," dour Elise points out with a wry half-smirk. She's as bad as Sokolof sometimes.

Lesina has a little smile for that, "Good, make them think it is out of our hands." She replies, still hushed. By our she means 'my'. It's not certain whether she's actually listening as she continues, "The squad knows the problem, Comrade." She is acting a little strange, "And now it is Rada's. We have enough of our own."

Poor Rada. Novi will always be a fan. Novikova is settled in on her cot and watching the others. She laughs softly at Mikhail, "I don't know. The heads thing seems cruel. You'd never find a good chair," She winces though. Ooho laughing might not be a good idea just yet. "Still, if I ever find a hammer, it is yours." She nods. "I just hope the shoes I found fit Taktarov, he might stop fussing." Grin. It's obviously playful. She sighs softly though, and looks thoughtful.

The squad knows what? Elise is still baffled. Perhaps she and Lesina are just on different wavelengths. "Da, Sergeant," is her rather non-committal response, and she prepares to move off. Not immediately back to Novi, though. She needs to clear her head first. This was all a hell of a way to wake up.
Gregor scratches the back of his head, and shrugs, "Hammer, right. As long as you don't use the hammer on me, I'll keep a lookout for one."

Maschenko is very quiet now that Sokolof's asleep again and Rada's gone. Checking bottles, a little vial of some crude antibiotic held up and gently shaken to check the level.
Mikhail shrugs a little bit, "Would have been crueler to put it under their left foot, really. Look for fitting shoes then…"

Lesina frowns off after Elisa, fighting the niggling feeling that she did something wrong by involving her. She smiles to the group of soldiers, stepping over wounded to get to them, "Comrades." A look Maschenko ways, "Comrade Doctor."

Novikova glances to Maschenko now and then, looking concerned - but - then he seems to be the quiet sort, at least by comparison. "Cousin," She peers at Elise, before snorting at Mikhail, "Oh I already have that problem, they will live," She shakes her head. She's a little subdued though, perhaps picking up on a bit of the tension.

"I'll be back soon," Elise calls over her shoulder to her cousin before moving off to one of the other parts of the apartment. As close as one can come to 'taking a walk' around her. She does check to make sure she has her pistol with her, at least.

Mikhail shakes his head a little bit, "Everyone's criticising," he offers to Novikova, with a half-grin.

Maschenko looks up and watches Elise go, a fleeting measure of sympathy in his blue eyes. War sucks. He looks up at Lesina, lining the bottle up with the rest of the half-empty vials. "Comrade Sergeant. Things…alright now?" He says this with the tone of someone who knows damn well the word 'alright' covers absolutely nothing in Stalingrad. But what else can you say with everyone listening.

Lesina sets herself down with a grunt. "A hammer? There is sure to be one around here somewhere." They are near a factory after all, "Ask one of the militia." Before the stop talking to the squad, she gets near enough to Maschenko to lower her voice, "We have discussed things." This is where she lowers her voice, "Comrade, tell me of your family." It's clear it's not manners making her ask.

Novikova peers at Maschenko, although there is a look of worry for her cousin. "Well, at least that pistol is easier on her arm," Than a rifle. And it leaves her free for other things. She takes what small kindnesses she can get. She looks frustrated stuck on the cot, but accepts that she is lucky enough to get a cot. She grins. "It's easy to criticize when you aren't the one building I suspect." She considers.

Mikhail nods a little bit, "Perhaps I should do that. Next time you should want anyone taken alive, I'll just bring out the hammer, give them a bit of a headache instead?" Spoken a bit lightly, in Lesina's direction now.

Maschenko looks at Lesina for a moment or two. He doesn't seem very surprised that she's chosen right now to ask him that, and he gently clears his throat. "They're dead, comrade."

Lesina looks back to Mikhail, "I hope there doesn't have to be a next time." Killing them is easier all round, "That was an order I regret." She spares Novi a glance. A nod to Maschenko, "Good." This next bit with her voice lowered again, "Keep a firearm close by. Make sure you have one Comrade from the squad with you." She leans back to face everyone else, it's already established she is not a model of subtlety.

"My shovel is better for that anyway," Novikova beams. Lucky shovel! She did clock Korolev with it, but unlike the Nazi, he did not go down. If she hears the bit about Maschenko's family - her face twists. Is that … sadness? Poor Mashenko. She chokes a moment. "D-da," She nods at Mikhail. "Though with your arms, I don't know." She smiles weakly.

"Still would be useful," Mikhail remarks with a shrug, before he looks over at Novikova for a few moments, shaking his head a bit.
Maschenko nods to Lesina. No verbal response, but…yeah, he understands. His rifle's rarely far from him, against the wall now where he works on consolidating his meagre supplies. He exhales slowly through his nose, eyes down so they can't be read. His tone's back to normal when he speaks again. "Comrades, how are your injuries feeling?"

Lesina nods, "If we find a hammer, they will be no better use for it." She agrees. She thinks it best to answer the question than to go on, "It stopped bleeding ages ago." The hair sort of helped clog it up, "These wounds to the scalp, always worse than they seem."

Novikova nods at Mikhail, "I will look," She promises. She seems concerned but - not something one just asks about out of the blue. She takes a deep breath. "But it was a pain to find shoes for sure," She considers.
Mikhail pauses for a few moments now, "We have someone here named Sure?" he asks, looking a bit theatrically confused. Shaking his head a little now.

Maschenko lofts a brow at Mikhail and Novikova. Alright, he'll focus on Lesina then. His eyes flicker up to her head, appraising the nasty hair clumps and bloody crust. "They do bleed like hell. Reminder that it could have been worse, I suppose." He glances idly at her submachine gun, then back to her. "You served in the army before, comrade sergeant?" The question doesn't seem pointed, just mild curiosity.

Pause. She was asked a question! Derp! She smiles at Maschenko, "I am fine enough. Sore, but that is how it goes." Perhaps Novikova is a victim of some insensitivity disorder or just gifted. Who knows? She giggles at Mikhail and winces, "Aack, hah… that's the spirit." She msiles. "But - I'm going to nap a moment, I feel a bit odd."

Lesina shrugs, "Could have been worse." She looks down too, "I have fought before." She replies, "A long time ago." She even catches the look. "I am a member." Of the party, that is she paid her dues. She makes herself comfortable agaisnt the wall too, eyes flicker shut for a moment. She's paying attention to Maschenko, honest!

Mikhail blinks at Novikova's words, "And how is that not normal?" he offers to her, with a grin, before he looks over at Maschenko. Oh, he spoke to them all? "Like a broken down train after it's met a very skilled engineer," he offers, after a few moments later.

A real live card-carrier. Maschenko's brows lift, an expression that might be approval. Who knows. As she closes her eyes he pulls his feet under him and crouches on them instead of sitting on the cold stone floor, gathering up all the bottles he'd been checking over. "Alright. You rest, Zoyenka, I'll look at everything later." To Mikhail, a faint grin. "Like a train that ran over a row of Fascists, I hope." He stands, taking his bag with him.

Lesina nods to the leaving Maschenko, she'll drift off to sleep herself if left alone long enough. Mmm, sleep. She has nightmares.

Novikova blinks. She smiles at Maschenko, "Alright. I won't run too fast away then," She promises. As if Novi has ever run from the doctor. She leans back and settles in.

Mikhail shrugs at Maschenko's words, "A few of them…" He then goes silent, leaning towards the wall.

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