A slow wave of a snowflake

touches his soft lips,

was enough to keep his world

from a land of winter.

Dmitri's ankles burned from these long walks. At least, the breeze repelled the sweat off his face and kept his neck cool and refreshed. The new scent in the air made it true to him that he stepped into new territory. The roads were rugged, because of the steep hills and mountains that surrounded. Despite how dangerous it looked to him, Dmitri appreciated these little things. After all, this was no longer Kiva. He felt so small, overlooking down the large cracks and edges of cliffs that end in an endless black emptiness. Dmitri kept moving along after a few more sightseeing. Vlad paced with him, he didn't mind where they go, as long as he was around Dmitri, he was content.

Dmitri could taste it in the air. The scent of the roasted meat made his mouth water. He hadn't eaten a full meal for many days. His stomach felt so tight as if the walls of his insides rubbed every time at every movement. Dmitri longed for the day he could sit down to a full meal. It was torture that someone was definitely cooking. Though, it was an indication to Dmitri that there should be a village somewhere nearby.

Vlad stopped for a moment to think. He looked up to the sky and turned towards the sun. From that moment, Vlad knew there was something wrong about this place. Before Vlad could think even further, Dmitri, being a simple-minded child, already went ahead to the village to look for the source of the scent. As Dmitri reached the village's wooden arch gate, his large eyes brightened. He had never seen people that appeared so similar from each other, yet different and strange from what he had known to be common.

Dmitri couldn't help but feel exposed. He was accustomed to being a sheltered small village. He thought that the people back in the village of Liptinskov were already different from each other. Some people back in Kiva had silver hair, some had red or blonde. In this new village, most -- maybe even all -- the grown-ups and the children had pitch black hair and eyes. It was uncommon for the people in his own country to have even have had a sliver of hair to be that dark.

The clothing they wore looked was also strange to him. The layered long sleeves looked unnecessary and hard to move in. However, they were elegant, especially the dark local ethnic patterns sewn along the trims. They were different compared to the patterns done in his own woven fabric.

Something struck him, he had to turn around to see what it was. Something didn't feel right after he left the roadside. The village felt cold, the gust felt brisk and hostile than before. The village's flat-angled roofs and ground were fully blanketed in snow. The trees looked charred dead with no leaves clinging on to any of the branches. Dmitri was puzzled. It is still summer, right?

To Vlad, humans were giants. Dmitri's frequent wandering never made it easy for him to navigate. Most of the time, he had to be aware of the steps the people made. The matters were made worse when he was suddenly stopped by blushing young maidens. Two of them. The girls had to kneel down carefully on the ground. Even if they lowered themselves, Vlad still had to look up. Obviously, these girls have never seen something like Vlad. They were eager to poke and coo at his soft, plush body.

"Where are you from?" A young lady smiled.

Vlad was a white plush doll Dmitri created as a companion. He wasn't very good at crafting things and attempted to sew a cat. Due to Dmitri's lack of skill, Vlad resembled more of a midget ghost, with two horns rather than animal ears. He had beady black eyes and a small stitched mouth. Dmitri wasn't too disappointed at what he created, at least Vlad looked adorable despite how disturbing it seemed that a plushie could move.

"What's your name, little guy?" the other girl chuckled, pressing his spongy hand.

Vlad didn't reply. He couldn't talk, after all.

After a few more rounds around the village, Dmitri finally found Vlad. He hooked his thumbs and fingers in between Vlad's armpits, lifting him up to the sky.

"By Rodin! I thought you were gone!"

Vlad simply looked back without a wink.

Seeing this suspicious stranger, the two girls backed away slowly. Their faces were stoned with fear as they kept their eyes on Dmitri. He looked back with worry and concern, did he do something wrong?

Dmitri has been too focused on looking for the source of food to notice the eyes directed at him. Everyone else glossed the same expression as them. Fear. It looked like as if he murdered their families with just a gaze.

There were men, clad with dark wood armor and flat-blade swords that marched towards him. He picked up Vlad, pressing him close to his chest. He shuffled back slowly as he watched the men come closer and closer.

He heard the unpleasant murmurs in the crowd. He should have been used to it, but it still always made him uneasy.

"He's Kivan?"

"Ssh! Don't look at him!"

"Is he a spy? Are they planning on attacking us?"

The stares were still repulsive. None of those eyes emit a sense of pity or remorse or even a sense of curiosity or awe that a foreigner had come. Dmitri didn't need voices to know what they wanted to say to him:

Leave.

Dmitri's body stiffened. Huffing, he sprinted his way around the corners of the village. Snow was slippery and made it hard to maintain his feet planted on the ground. The armored men paced quicker to catch him. He hadn't felt this much panic since he was back in Kiva.

Why are they so scared of me? What did I do? He thought.

It didn't help that his legs felt as if they wanted to snap at every stride. His flushed face turned redder from the cold and the panic until suddenly, Dmitri was pulled from the corner. He yelped, slipping from his boots and rolling across the snow-covered dirt. He tucked his head down, curling his body and pressing his eyes shut while sheltering Vlad in his white tunic. He lost the guards, but he didn't lose the people who resided in the village.

Dmitri could hear the small crunches in the snow. He squinted up to look who it was. From bottom to top, there were cloth-wrapped feet, with shoes didn't understand. The shoes were made of wood, only supported by thin strings attached in between his largest and second toe. He glanced even higher to see a pale, glassy white face, silky black hair, with half of his hair arranged and bundled in a knot. It was a man, but his face was unusually handsome and effeminately soft at the same time. He had an expression that looked like it was frosted over, and not even once did he frown or smile at Dmitri. His clothes were similar to how the other men were dressed in the village, but it looked rather unmaintained. They were greyish and sack-like in texture. His sleeves were hole-torn and stained in the dirt, likely from hard labor. The man hardly looked threatening, he hasn't exchanged a word with Dmitri. All Dmitri could hear was the hushing of the crisp wind blowing through their faces, and the men and women gossiping all around the village like crickets in the distance.

Dmitri slowly rolled up and folded his legs to sit up, facing the seemingly unhostile man. He assumed from the delayed responses that the man meant no harm.

"Thank you," Dmitri said with a nod.

The man walked towards a bamboo-woven basket behind him, reaching into it, then tossing two pieces of neatly-folded clothes. Dmitri looked at it, confused.

"You... you want me to wear this?"

The man didn't respond.

Dmitri knitted his brows, it was uncomfortable that the man wouldn't say anything back.

"Fine, don't talk then."

Dmitri stood up and rolled his tunic off his body, exchanging his ethnic clothes with the clothes provided. The clothes felt rather itchy and the fabric was heavy and thick, however, he didn't expect the clothes to be loose and easy to move around with.

Dmitri slid his red headband off his forehead and tied wrapped hair from the back with it. Dmitri's hair wasn't too long to be made into a topknot, similar to the man's.

"What do you think?" Dmitri asked.

The man didn't have to say anything for Dmitri to know there was something wrong. There was an air of discontent from him.

"It's my face, isn't it?"

The man shut his eyes. Dmitri was right. Even if he wore the clothes, his appearance as a Kivan wouldn't stop the villagers from the judgment.

He had no choice to but to change his appearance. Dmitri took a deep breath and whispered the chants to himself.

"Izhminiem."

Dmitri's hair grew dark and black. His bright green eyes were dulled to a fair shade of brown. He tried to mimic his appearance from how he saw the locals looked like. Dmitri's gut felt pitted from this new appearance. He didn't feel like it was him anymore. However, for the sake of his safety, he had to go through it.

"As long as I keep concentrating, this illusion won't come off," he explained. He looked at the man again, raising a brow. He had to make sure once again, "this... this is okay, right?"

The man didn't respond violently to the sight of magic, but his expression softened. He turned around and lifted the basket, leaning it to his hip.

"Thank you for saving me, I don't even know who—"

"Rin."

Dmitri's eyes widened, then his lips curled into a smile, "Dmitri."