Nova walked through the lobby of the building with his load of supplies, glancing around at the makeshift cots with sleeping furs of all kinds in them. Many had guns, knives, or various other violent accessories at their feet, ready to be wielded at a moment's notice should the need arise. "I wonder how many dream of the pre-war world, when one didn't have to worry about being ambushed in the night or whether they would have enough to eat the next day," he thought silently. His gloomy thoughts were interrupted however by movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned quickly to look, to see one of the youngest furs, a raccoon girl by the name of Riara, get out of bed and stand there looking at him. He stopped, and she walked up to him with a look of curiosity on her face.
"What's in there?" she whispered, pointing at the overloaded backpack, before adding, "And aren't you sleepy?" Nova looked down at her. Her innocence was intoxicating, she was one of the extremely lucky ones who still had a parent remaining to watch out for her.
"Supplies," Nova said after a moment. "There's stuff in here to help furs who get sick, as well as radios so we can keep in contact with each other while we're not together." He left out the part about the hundreds of pistol rounds stuffed in the bottom.
"But why do you have them now? It's sleeping time! It's dark out there!" Riara said, clearly not satisfied with the answer she received.
"Hey, I could ask why you're out of bed yourself young lady," Nova responded with a slight smirk. "Look, sometimes we have to go out when we don't want to. Things need to get done, and we can't always wait until daytime to do them. It's nothing to concern yourself with, just be glad that you're safe in here." He had a rather hard time saying the last part. Before she could interrogate him anymore, he started off towards the stairway in the back. "I can't talk anymore Riara, I'm sorry, but as you said, it's sleeping time and I'm tired. I'll see you in the morning. I think we might have a big day tomorrow." She only looked at him with an even more confused expression.
Two floors up in his private room, Nova finally put down the pack and sat down on his mattress. He could see the moon was descending now through the dingy window, the cracked and barren wreckage of the city sprawling beneath. "We can't go on like this. Something has to change, we have to fight back!" he said aloud, the words echoing in his head, bringing back countless unwanted memories. His whole body ached. "And dammit I need to get some rest..." He lay back on his cot, and without even bothering to cover himself with a blanket, drifted off into a restless sleep until morning.