𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗙𝗜𝗚 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘ᵀᵁᴬ

ＰＲＥＬＵＤＥ

Laika Zaitsev thinks of herself in two halves; one before the night, and one after.

Night-Laika still lives with her family; she'd name them all, but she doesn't quite remember. Night-Laika's family would sit around the dinner table at nine (not a second later), and pray before eating.

Laika does however remember this tradition as she still carries it on.

Once they'd cozy-d up in their beds, the family sleeps peacefully through the harsh winter nights of northwest Russia.

Until the bullets coming from their dreams turn into real-life nightmares, one bullet to the head for each.

Except for Night-Laika.
Little Laika who still sleeps peacefully through the horrors.

But that doesn't stop the screams and other horror sounds from creeping into her nightmare.
In her nightmare, the bullets merge with the sounds of bombs exploding nearby— a now normalized sound in Russia since last year. (1942)

She asks to sleep with her Mama, as any sane two-year-old would.

After that night, Laika won't stay sane for very long.

And as the sun rises and wakes from beyond the horizon, so does Day-Laika.

Not Laika Zaitsev anymore, just Laika.

(But don't get misled; just because the day is brighter and warmer than the night, doesn't mean that Laika is too.)

Day-Laika believes that her parent's deaths were related to the war. That the filthy Americans and Germans murdered them in cold blood as any other innocent Russian citizen.

She also believes that The Handler— also known as her mother, has saved her from her fatal destiny of war casualty and taken her to her home.

The lies that The Handler fed the girl became too much, but Day-Laika refuses to throw them up.
She's still hungry and begs for more, and as her throat itches from it, she cries about how unfair it all was.

Doesn't she know it was exactly what she asked for?

As her throat closes up, The Handler has no other choice than to cover Laika's eyes and ears with the words, which becomes a red blanket of comfort.

More placation than comfort, but after all these years Laika doesn't seem to know the difference.

The handler knew that Laika wasn't anything special, and yet, she loved her so dearly.

So dearly that she went out of her way and gave her Marigold to make her special.
It didn't work. Well, she did receive some 'enchantments', but they weren't very useful in combat.
Just another failure of a daughter added to the list.

And yet, after every day another night comes by.

Hi!!!!!
So I basically wrote this prologue to prepare you for my ugly writing and kinda introduce Laika's backstory😋
(Although it's kinda extra in this prologue)

I had to do tons of research about the whole USSR history so I hope you can appreciate the effort I put into this story!!<3

Also, I'm not sure if I should disclaim this, but I am NOT romantizing or justifying that whole period of time and stuff.
Every thing I write about the ussr and wars is purely out of the POV of Laika and what she thinks of it. Thanks for your understanding 💗