This did not turn out the way I was expecting, it's more vague, but still somber.
The night was warm, too warm, as the day scouts returned. There was a pause in work as the small group was debriefed. The night scouts were already speaking among themselves, with Sequoyah translating between Icelandic and Finnish. Ilmari was the first to get up, and move forwards the dispatcher, quickly followed by the others.
"All the Day Scouts have returned. And the news they brought wasn't good." There was a pause as someone translated for those that couldn't understand. "The weather is unseasonally warm, and trolls are starting to stir." Hanna and Francesca, looked wide eyed, while Strelokov looked unmoved. "Tonight we want you to go in pairs, and scout for possible troll nests. But do not engage!" All eyes fell on Strelokov, who mumbled a soft 'fine'. The dispatcher looked between the scouts before her and sighed "I know that there is always the possibility that one of you may not return, but please be careful, so that we don't lose anyone." The scouts nodded solemnly, and then paired off, before being released.
The night was quiet, and the warmth was noted immediately by the scouts as the moved. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary, just crumbled buildings, abandoned cars, and something stirring out of the sight of the scouts now moving between the ruins. The night was quiet, the air still and sticky, nothing made a sound. Sequoyah frowned, and looked over his shoulder at the other scout. They met eyes and a feeling of unease fell between them. An explosion of gunfire from a few blocks over spurred the two back into motion. They can around the corner in time to see the first team, fall beneath a wave of trolls. Bile rose into Sequoyah's mouth as he turned to run, his partner frozen where they stood. Suddenly there was a warm, moistness across his side, and the other scout charging to him. They didn't waste any time getting back to the vehicle.
Three scouts did not return. The ones that did sat in silence, eyes trained on the floor. When morning came, there was a brief meeting to relay what had happened during the night. There was a moment of strange denial among the crew, then their was mournful signed, and sobs as reality set in. For a while a couple of people moved between members of the crew, attempting to cheer them, but to no avail. Soon there was silence as everyone found their own spots to morn. Losing was a hard thing, but it could always happen.
