If someone, to whom Nikto considered it necessary to answer, asked him why he picked up this woman, Nikto would not have found an answer. She was of no value to him. She had no important information. There was no need to interrogate her - everything was visible on her face and clothes, on her boots swollen from water with the soles torn off, on her torn hands, on the compressed pose of her unconscious body. He picked her up because he could pick her up. Because it cost him nothing. Because a person, a creature by nature endowed with the ability to think and feel - should not die alone in a cold forest. Because he was an ideological person, devoted 15 years of his life to protecting people, and no psychological trauma could cross out the very foundation of his personality. He picked her up because he could not not pick her up. If that can be considered an answer. But now he had no idea what to do with this little woman who occupied the only room in his house, was terrified of the cat, and didn't wash herself without his reminders. He hoped that she would leave on her own when she gained strength. Maybe ask him to help her with the road. But she was silent, frowning, and seemed afraid to catch his eye once again. And now he had to decide something.

When I was thinking up this scenario, I assumed that the heroine would be a woman who escaped from a penal colony. What crime did she commit? I don’t know. Perhaps she killed 17 people with particular cruelty. Perhaps she defended herself from an attack and exceeded the self-defense necessary from the court’s point of view. Who knows? Not me.

But I wanted Nikto to have a wild forest cat. So I looked for a region where there were both female colonies and wild cats. And I chose the Primorsky Krai.

So, this is a border region of Russia, less than 100 km to the border. I decided to give this a chance and did not enter the heroine's backstory into the code. It can be invented independently, taking into account only that the heroine is on the run and has no place in life. If someone wants to play illegal border crossing, then I bless it.

Please be patient with my google translate. I am not a native English speaker.

I also send greetings to my dear friend. If it weren't for our friendship, this story wouldn't be what it is. Thank you for helping me create💞