Sage, Luna and Aurora are heading home. They need to visit the settlement of The Warren to rest and report on the results of the mission.

Sage, Luna and Aurora set off on their way back to the territory of the settlement of the Warren.

The journey through the wastelands took quite a while…

Thanks to Luna’s developed hunting skills, they managed to avoid several dangerous encounters during the journey through the wastelands.

Attentiveness, caution, the ability to cover their own tracks and… a few shots from a semi automatic sniper rifle from a long distance into the heads of the most dangerous-looking raiders…

These gangs were small: when shards of skull and bloody pieces of brain of the gang leader were flying in all directions, the aggressive enthusiasm of the other raiders clearly diminished and they preferred to quickly find cover from the sniper’s attacks.

Perhaps, for Sage and Aurora, this method of "communication" in the style of "first headshot - then chat" was a little uncomfortable and discouraging.

However, they both had to agree with the categorical opinion of Luna, who had much more experience in traveling through wastelands and in hunting.

Luna silently did her "headshot's work" and thought: "Without me, these two chatterboxes would hardly have been able to avoid trouble ... Sage overestimates the importance of diplomatic chatter ... And Aurora often shows inattention and gets carried away by thoughts about her so-called "art" ... Of course, they both have weapons, but their combat skills leave much to be desired ... "

Occasionally, Luna's gaze fleetingly slid over the main weapon of Aurora with a certain amount of envy.

This is not surprising ...

Rocket launcher.

Portable handheld rocket launcher.

This is a powerful and high-tech weapon, which is one of the most valuable ancient artifacts. Many scavengers would dream of finding something like this in ancient ruins. But the vast majority do not succeed. Such luck is granted only to a few. Rocket launcher also requires rare and valuable ammunition.

Luna thinks that neither such a weapon nor such ammunition can be made in the modern world.

So - Aurora was the luckiest scavenger in this region of the wasteland? Was she experienced, agile and lucky to such an extent that she was able to find a rocket launcher in the ruins?

No.

The reason is completely different.

And this particular reason provokes envy and irritation in the mind of Luna.

The reason is that the family of Aurora is one of the most influential and richest in the settlement of The Warren. Her family is distant relatives of elder Rynok (her father is a cousin of elder). When their wayward daughter Aurora expressed a categorical desire to start participating in scouting missions - what did her dad and mom do then?

They bought her the most expensive and effective weapon possible from one of the large trade caravans.

Rocket launcher.

Aurora is the least experienced of the trio.

She is young, naive, willful. She loves her art. She loves beauty to such an extent... that she finds beauty even in the landscapes of wastelands.

But Luna looks at all this with cold pragmatism: "The main thing is that this daughter of rich parents does not create a situation with her behavior. Which would become a danger for our group..."

Luna continues to vigilantly examine the surroundings and move forward, clutching her semi automatic sniper rifle.

This weapon did not come to Luna in an easy way...

This weapon is a trophy.

About four years ago, in the depths of the ruins of an ancient underground bunker, two groups of rabbits-scavengers accidentally met...

The members of these groups were representatives of different tribes of rabbits-nomads.

Each of the two groups wanted to take all the valuables for themselves.

It was a question of fighting for survival.

Sentimentality and naive moral sanctimonious reasoning were inappropriate then.

On that day, only one person came out of this bunker alive - Luna.

The scars on her chest still hurt a little...

But she is clearly aware that her weapon and everything she has is the result of her own efforts, diligence and blood...

Luna continues to purposefully move forward.

Behind her comes Sage, who keeps her weapon at the ready. In her hands are twin semiautomatic pistols. She received this weapon through barter about a couple of months ago. Then a human trader came to the territory of the Warren, who needed medical help (this guy was not feeling well - the ulcers on his body were starting to fester). He had a lot of goods and good security, but his guards were completely incompetent in matters of medicine. It took Sage three days and many potent medicinal solutions from mushrooms and steppe herbs to cure this guy. As payment, he gave her what is now her most effective weapon - twin semiautomatic pistols in her hands (and also - a large supply of ammunition). Sage tried to practice shooting from this weapon. But, in her thoughts, she honestly realized that her skills in shooting from firearms are underdeveloped. She was always much more interested in medicine or communication than in shooting. Sage is followed by Aurora, who is looking at the wastelands landscapes with too much enthusiasm. Her interest is clearly... not related to pathindering, tracking or survival. Her gaze is clearly purely artistic. She is thinking about how to depict what she saw in the form of a picture.

And there are also some slightly arrogant thoughts in her mind, which she tries to hide from outsiders: "Sage... What she did with that merchant in the Burnside settlement... It's shameful and disgusting! I didn't see it... But the smell and the sounds! She, like dirty whore, fucked with this scaly-faced mutant-guy! Doesn't she have a drop of self-respect?!"

Sage's actions clearly shocked the moral principles of Aurora, who is accustomed to completely different norms of behavior. Her upbringing and the principles of her family clearly encourage her Aurora to feel disgust and contempt for Sage's actions. But on the other hand: these same rules of conduct do not allow expressing complaints and dissatisfaction in an open form. Instead of an honest conversation, Avrora will simply show **** restraint and coldness in communication with Sage.

So, after a couple of days of travel, the trio of girls rabbits-scouts returns home.

All three enter the territory of the underground settlement The Warren...

They immediately go to chief-researcher Zephyr to report on the results of their scouting mission, which took place in the southwest direction from the settlement.

Chief-researcher Zephyr listens attentively to all three and occasionally asks clarifying questions.

The successful outcome of the mission to scout the area and establish trade relations with the settlement of Burnsyde contributed to the fact that chief-researcher Zephyr rewarded the trio of girl rabbits. Each of the three was given a rare and valuable outfit - a bulletproof vest. These items, which are artifacts of an ancient lost civilization, are extremely useful for protecting the body from attacks by small arms and more.

Unfortunately, in the settlement of The Warren they have not yet learned how to independently manufacture something of a similar level of protective effectiveness. To make bulletproof vests, rare materials and reliable equipment are required. The inhabitants of The Warren so far know how to make only homemade leather armor, which, if possible, is reinforced with small metal elements.

Rest and entertainment among friends and relatives lasted about one week.

The family of Aurora happily welcomed their wayward daughter. Her mother tried to persuade her to give up her intention to go on a scouting mission again. However, Aurora insisted on her previous decision: “I need this for inspiration! I can’t just sit at home! I want to see the vastness of the world on the surface, the endless steppes, the picturesque ruins and the nature of the wastelands!”

Sage is hanging out with her many friends and chatting with her brother, who works at one of the underground mushroom farms (he, unlike his sister, is a homester who is not at all interested in exploring the terrain on the surface).

Luna, visiting a bar and drinking a little ****, is chatting with several of her hunter friends who stopped at the Warren for a short rest. She has few friends. And she has no relatives left (at least she thinks that hardly any of them survived). But she does not strive to please anyone and be the center of public attention. Luna can quite find advantages even in the feeling of loneliness.

Pleasant time lasts...

However, time passes with rapid speed when life is filled with pleasant things...

After a week, chief-researcher Zephyr sends Sage, Luna and Aurora on a new mission...