At first, not everyone got along particularly well. That pretty much goes without saying. Lada would silently hide behind Sonya. Anna wasn't any better; though she was clearly trying to keep her emotions in check, I could tell that she was panicking. Sonya felt like she had a duty to protect the others, so she kept her hand tightly gripped around her axe. I always thought her hand was going to slip one of these days. Under that atmosphere, everyone was constantly on edge. And to make matters worse, nobody knew if what we were doing was right or wrong. Lada wanted to be of help—she felt like she was always sheltered by Sonya, and was afraid of being left behind—so she'd go out and try to find us something to eat, though she came back with empty hands most of the times. Anna wanted the group to be more 'stable,' so she'd try to strike up conversations, but they seldom went the way she wanted. Sonya was generally in high spirits, but every so often she'd come back with an extra wound or two. Everyone did their best to get something done, as if they'd go mad if they didn't. Though sometimes, you could get rid of the 'as if' part. As for me, I was never that scared in the first place, but it's not like I'd have been happy dying there. I didn't want to lose Sonya and the others either—we'd been friends already. So, I also did whatever I could: bringing back supplies, helping Sonya 'take out the trash,' and even teaching some harsh lessons to anyone who tried to lay their hands on Anna. At first I thought things would get better, but it was actually the opposite. Lada and Anna started avoiding eye contact with me, and even Sonya would strangely glare at me. That's when I understood: I'd been robbing them of their agency. But I was better at those things, so why shouldn't I do it? Of course, I was never the petty type, and it's not like Lada or Sonya really blamed me for that. I knew they were both real nice, we just didn't know how to get along back then. It wasn't until the day Sonya came back from a scuffle with a serious tear in her uniform and Anna used a sewing kit I'd scavenged to fix it up that I realized what I needed to do. I snuck into the warehouse, found some coats, and brought them to Anna to ask her if she could fix them up into something more cold-resistant. We'd need them later when the weather turned cold, and sure enough, she cheered up at that. After that, I risked my hide to steal some Reunion kitchenware for Lada so it'd be easier for her to cook, though obviously it was better to keep that part low-key. Her eyes lit up the instant she saw what I brought back. I even found some self-defense equipment for everyone, and modified them with Sonya. While we were working together, I thumped my chest and said to her: If there's anything you want, just say the word and I'll get it for you. Sonya stared at me for a while, but this time, she nodded. Looking back now, it was probably around then that our team actually started taking shape.