"Now, there is a holdout of what I believe are bandits of some kind just north of the village. I'm not certain how far, but they are there. I believe that they will provide good practice for you." Elaborated Dietrich. The two had spent the better part of the day sharing information and learned skills between each other while watching and studying the village and it's inhabitants.
"I say that they are bandits because they look and dress the part: tattered rags and armor, wielding makeshift but deadly weaponry. They had a skull attached to a banner of some sorts. It almost seems as if this comes directly out of a child's book, and I know the direction is north because it does appear that sun rises and sets in the proper east and west positions." Said Dietrich. The sun was beginning to set and the two would not remain on the ridge for much longer.
"It does appear so, my German counterpart. They live as if it was the 15th century. I have noticed something peculiar." Said Katya. Dietrich waited for her to speak, and that she did.
"When using your binoculars, the etched rangefinder provides me with some knowledge. They have measured out streets. Each road is roughly three and a half meters wide." Said Katya. Dietrich raised a brow.
"So, you've taken the time to measure their streets? Why?" He asked.
"Surely, this Soviet has a higher reasoning for such...petty information." Pondered Dietrich.
"The distances do not make sense in meters. Why have the half increment on the road? Now, they are a smaller size than us, but listen to this: I measured a building out, three actually, and all of them have uniform measurements with half increments. I measured those cattle carts as well and found the same thing." Said Katya. Dietrich scoffed.
"So?" He asked, not sure what she was getting at.
"The measurements do not make sense in meters because I do not believe that they measure in meters. However, I think that they are measuring in arshin's! Five arshin's across for the street, two arshin's height for the ground floor of their building. Whole numbers! We now know how they measure things!" She exclaimed. Dietrich's eyes widened.
"Katya...that is brilliant! I would have never thought...I have much to learn from you." He stated. She looked to him.
"I have much to learn from you, as well."
XXX
The pair watched as the sun set, casting the village ahead of them in amber light. Dietrich had broken into his small stash of rations, giving some to Katya. She had only a few snack items as well, and the two enjoyed a dinner of crackers, dried meat, rock hard bread, and water.
"Perhaps we should steal some food on our way to the bandit encampment?" Proposed Katya. Dietrich shook his head.
"It is a reasonable request. We need the food to survive. However, I am sure neither of us want to eat crops for the rest of our lives. We will need to find a source of protein soon. Let us wait for the bandit camp tomorrow and see what bounties await us." Said Dietrich. He heard Katya put what little food she had away.
"Why wait for tomorrow? Surely we can sneak around during the night? I yearn for a hot meal with actual chunks of fresh meat, not the rations squandered by our commanders." Hissed Katya, tapping her bread bag angrily. Dietrich looked at her incredulously.
"We shall wait because...well..." The more that he thought about it, the more he realized that there truly was no reason to wait. Even if he wanted to be careful and play things safe, he would be lying if he was to say that he didn't need a freshly warm meal.
Dried meat and crackers had certainly left him wishing he could sink his teeth into a hearty pig leg or deer back strap. He had even pondered eating horse or dog; anything warm to break up the same monotonous slop he had been eating for months back to back.
However, Dietrich was not about to let the wish of a hearty meal stop him from achieving his goal of staying hidden.
"I just want to be careful, Katya. I terribly need a warm meal now more than ever but I do not want the cost of such a meal to be my life." He said. He noticed that Katya seemed to agree with him if her nodding was anything to go by.
"I understand. I am just so very tired of the same scraps I have been eating. We can be nice and quiet, but perhaps we can carve some time to forage for better sustenance?" She proposed. Dietrich looked at her weathered face and understood that she most likely wasn't exactly volunteering to accept the soldier's life of hardship unlike he was.
She was likely forced into that uniform to defend her country from him. And so, in taking a brief moment to act as a normal human should, Dietrich nodded with a slight smile.
"Count on it!"
XXX
"Now remember, Katya. These bandits are no humans. Their senses are sharper than ours. They are cats. Good sight and smell guide their actions. Remember that they can see in the dark better than we can. Do not underestimate them." Reminded Dietrich. The village was now just behind them. He and Katya had spent the better part of two hours going around the village through the woods, over a river that they did not know was there, and then through some intensely thick deadfalls.
The sun had fully gone down and now the night sky shrouded them in darkness with only the light of the moon to guide them.
"I understand. Are you aware of how far those bandits are from here?" She asked. In the moonlight, Dietrich was just able to make out the imprints of paws in the ground from where the bandits had walked one night ago. In fact, they appeared to be using an old game path that had been thoroughly weathered into the land itself to travel.
"I do not believe that they are far. They seemed to only travel on foot, not needing a carriage or a cart. It cannot be too much distance." Said Dietrich. He heard Katya grunt in agreement and they began to crawl through the forest underbrush.
Low and slow, they snuck through the quiet and serene woods, careful not to make too much sound. The game path theory had proven correct and after traveling roughly two and a half kilometers on their hands and knees, the two humans found themselves laying down on a large granite formation overlooking a small outcrop of wooden buildings.
There were only about six, all having various shapes and sizes. No building matched another upon their quick inspection. One was two story and was the center of the small outpost, and on either side of it were standalone shack type buildings. Another one looked to be a barn and the last two buildings were long and rectangular, parallel with each other.
From where they were observing, the rectangular shacks were closest to them. The barn was on the opposite side of the village compared to where they observing. The two story was a short walk from the two rectangular shacks, with one of the smaller buildings between it and the rectangle buildings.
"I believe these two buildings are barracks." Said Dietrich, his voice somehow below a whisper. He pointed a gloved finger at the rectangular buildings. Katya nodded.
"I do not believe we need to whisper. They sound like they are having a party of some sorts." Said Katya. Dietrich nodded. Katya was right. Multiple animal people were walking around the encampment, drinking what was to believed alcohol from various mugs and glasses. They slurred their guttural speech of meetings and harsh tones, stumbling around aimlessly as a drunk would.
"Movement. At the barn." Directed Katya, quietly. Dietrich focused on the barn and realized he could see something, but not close enough. He brought up his binoculars and peered through them.
At the barn, two of the felines appeared to be harassing another. The harassers were softly kicking and punching the other, who was rolled up in a ball on the ground. Dietrich was able to peer into the barn, and saw a few more of the animals caged and chained in various ways.
"They are keeping prisoners in the barn." Said Dietrich. He re-focused on the scene out front. The two bandits were obviously stuck in a drunken state, and their 'beating' didn't actually appear to be hurting the one who was crumpled on the floor. It was alive, however, as it sometimes adjusted it's arms and legs to block whatever blows it was receiving.
"Odd clothing on the one getting beat." Said Katya. Dietrich took the time to notice the strangely colored robe that the prisoner was wearing. It was red all over with purple accents trailing the borders and a blue lower part that extended down past his knees. Suddenly, there was a loud howl and out stepped the same supposed bandit leader from before.
"Katya! Look! That is who I believe to be the bandit's leader! The one with no shirt and the pelt full of black spots!" Whispered Dietrich, offering her his binoculars. She took them and he resumed looking at the scene through his rifle scope.
"Huh, look at that. She seems to be saving that one from being beaten." Said Katya. Dietrich saw that his counterpart was telling the truth. The leader appeared to berate the other two before hastily picking the other up off the ground, dusting him off and checking him over like a mother would to a kid who fell off their bicycle.
"Hey! They're going inside the barn." Said Dietrich. He watched as the leader and the prisoner walked into the barn, with the leaders arm draped over the prisoner's shoulders in a very intimate manner.
The drunk felines, however, proceeded to stumble towards the two. They managed to make their way to the front of the barracks buildings, where it appeared that they were standing guard.
"When the time is right, we will grab those two." Said Dietrich. Katya nodded and slowly handed him his binoculars. Ever so slowly, the lights from the outpost began to turn out and the bandits began to filter into what Dietrich assumed would be their sleeping locations. The barracks began to get filled by many bandits, more than what he assumed. He counted nearly fifty enter the two buildings alone, and he wasn't certain how many more resided in the other houses.
Finally, a small light began to move through the outpost all the way until it was in front of the two drunk guards. It was the leader bandit, and she was carrying a torch as she walked. She moved all the way to the front of the barracks where the two drunken guards stood swaying as if they were unsupported grain silos. She berated them once more, cuffing one of them on the ear before turning to walk towards the two story building.
"How beautiful! Truly a magnificent coat. I have only seen such patterns in the expensive shops before the war." Thought the man. His eyes fixated on her backside as she walked. Through his scope, he could see how her fur pattern almost glistened in the night, reflecting the illumination of flames beautifully off of her back as she moved.
The muscles in her back stretched and writhed under the beautiful coat and Dietrich felt the primal urge to kill once more.
"Did you see the leaders fur, Katya?" He asked. She nodded, looking at him. His lust for blood grew with the thoughts of being able to use the skills he had perfected once more.
"I am going to take her skin, Katya. It will serve as a reminder that we are and always will be the most dangerous game. But we will not start at the top. No." Said Dietrich. As he spoke, he saw Katya's discomfort grow as she displayed it on her face. He reached out a hand and grasped her shoulder, pausing his speech to do so.
"We will sow fear into the very hearts of these animals. We will take them one by one and let that fear grow until every single bandit is gone. We will fight tooth and nail to the very top of this food chain." He growled his last few words, seeing Katya recoil softly under his harsh glare. He took his hand off of her shoulder and pointed at the two drunken guards.
"And we will start with them."