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The pale, and going paler man stood awkwardly at a far off bus stop, silently cursing himself. He'd just had to arrive here a day early thinking it'd be more relaxing than his small, cramped apartment. Next thing he knew, he was stuck sleeping on the bus on the way here because of that blizzard.

Why, oh why did he agree to this trip? 'Great scenery,' they said. 'Awesome way to meet new people,' they said. And 'lots of fun!' So far, it was none of these things. The mountains were annoyingly dotted with so many skiers and buildings, Warren found it sapped the beauty out of the majestic peaks. Half the people he met were either hyped up fakes or total snobs. The rest were happily with their families or too young to bother with. And he didn't understand how someone was supposed to have fun in such frigid weather along that blazingly bright sun in their eyes. To top it all off his colleagues had bailed out at the last minute leaving him there all alone.

Twenty minutes had passed since he had gotten off the bus and Warren was still fuming at his luck. At least I have that cabin to go to... and I maybe I could find some beauty here afterall, he thought as he spied a family of snowy owls off in the distance. Probably getting back to their nest, Warren concluded with a flicker of a smile.

Now a tad more optimistic and upbeat, he realized he was starting to become a snowman. His black winter coat was sprinkled in a light coat of snow. His gloves fingers were already numbed through and through. The fake glasses perched on his nose were even getting fogged up. If Warren didn't get some warmth soon he feared he might catch a cold, or even frostbite! Maybe getting some hot chocolate and scones would help with that.

But first things first; he had to procure the key to his cabin. Those colleagues that had bailed out on him had thankfully paid their share ahead of time, so he wouldn't be sleeping in a strange place tonight. At least he hoped it wouldn't be strange considering his friends' tastes...

According to the directions given to him by one of those flaky colleagues he was scheduled to meet the 'mysterious landlord,' of cabin B yesterday at noon sharp in the MoonRock Cafe. Warren could only hope that mysterious landlord would be there today. Might as well go there now and be a few hours early rather than wandering around half frozen, the man thought as he picked up his light baggage and started in the direction of the establishment.

The place was almost jam-packed. It was rather surprising that such a small semi-formal restaurant could have so many people at such an early hour. Warren had figured it for more of a casual artsy musical cafe with some sort of small book store implemented within.

Due to how busy all the employees seemed to be, rushing about and all, the man stood in the entrance way waiting politely for someone to come over and seat him.

A few good minutes passed like that. But at least he was warm. Of course, it really wasn't helping his mood to be so near food with his stomach making embarrassing noises.

Just when he was about to approach a waiter for help, a cheerful couple whisked by him and took their seat at an empty table. Did they have reservations or something? He watched the couple for a second longer, then figured he might as well try the same thing. If he was stopped then back to square one, if not then he'd feel stupid but happy to actually get some real food.

Warren waited another beat, then oh so very casually walked to an empty table in the corner. A perky waitress was walking over now. Was she going to ask him to leave? His body tensed at the thought of it.

"Good morning sir, how are you today? May I take your order? Or are you waiting for someone?" she said with a suggestive wink as she handed him a menu.

Thank you, Lord! But in this situaton, there was no way Warren couldn't have felt not like an idiot.

"G'morning, I'm fine. And I'll have..." he paused to peruse the small breakfast menu. "A medium hot chocolate, a cheese omelet, and a blueberry muffin," he ordered. "I am waiting for someone, so if a Mr. Revnik asks for a Warren Zheng, please tell direct him to my table, thank you."

The waitress nodded and smiled while writing something down on her notepad. "Alrighty, I'll be back with your order in five minutes and inform Mr. Revnik if he arrives, you're very welcome," she replied before hurrying off.

If the cabin owner didn't come within the next hour, it should be too hard to ask around a small town like this for someone with that man's description.

Warren had finished off most of his breakfast while he was waiting. The only thing left was the mug of hot chocolate he'd been nursing for the last few minutes. The cafe had a nice, cozy atmosphere despite the amount of traffic for the small building. Although the uncertainty of his wait, the man grew anxious. It was a very familiar feeling, but it didn't mean he'd have to like it.

Suddenly, his third eye twitched, ached, throbbed, then subsided once more. What the hell was that about? A fuzzy memory of a similar situation floated just out of his grasp. ...It was likely not all that important since he couldn't remember and he was living in peace now. Too bad he couldn't seem to shake the feeling of it being significant somehow.

"Ah, um, yes. Yes, I am," Warren managed to say with an uneasy smile. The... from his accent, Russian man standing before him was a sight to say the least. The nearly white hair with those blue highlights looked nearly electric. And that pale skin! His skin was even paler than Warren's. Along with that white jacket, the man could easily blend in the all the snow laying about. Maybe he was a part-time designer of sorts.

"Please call me Warren; I hear 'Mr. Zheng', all the time from my students. And this is supposed to be a break from them," he laughed, becoming more relaxed. "You must be Mr. Viktor Revnik, the owner of the cabin my friends and I booked." He took this opportunity to shake the snowy man's hand in two short pumps. It was a standard, business handshake except for the cold as ice hand and the tingly feeling Warren was left with. The weather must be to blame.

"Shall we discuss things over a warm drink here, or do you prefer to get this over with right away?" The question wasn't meant to sound as blunt as it did. There was just no other way he could think of to make it sound to the point and somehow delicate at the same time. This was probably why half his students hated him, and the other was so enamored.

Drive up? Warren didn't exactly come up here with a car, or even own one. Though being a high school art teacher was very fun for the most part, the pay was atrocious. Bicycling was the way he got to work, or by bus if it was too cold. Did Mr. Revnik have a car? If the man lived nearby, it was unlikely. In such a small town there would barely be a need for a car unless he traveled down the mountain a lot. Maybe he'd find someone else and pay them.

Two miles of snow up a mountain... that didn't sound too good. It'd be at least a 40 minute walk if nothing went wrong. He'd have wanted to start right away if Mr. Snowy didn't look like he wanted to wait a while. A man that freezing must want to warm up a bit before going out again.

"Ah, yeah, of course," he said nervously before sitting back down. "Sorry about my manners, I seem to be doing everything in a backwards manner. Would you like something hot to drink or eat?"

Leaning back into his chair, his dark eyes roamed over the other's figure. Every detail was analyzed and scrutinized. This was a habit of his to do with everyone he met after the initial impression. You could always find out so much from the things they wore and the way they moved. It was almost like a tiger stalking it's prey.

It would take a while for him to finish. But in the meanwhile, it'd be odd not to talk. Talk of the cabin and rules would be better spoken at said cabin. Casual talk it was! "So, how long have you lived here, Mr. Revnik?" Why would you live in such an out of the way place? That was what he really wanted to ask. Too bad he was too polite, for now. "And... why are you wearing so much white? I know it's a kinda personal question, but that's how you're supposed to get to know each other right? It'd be great if we can become friends," he said with a gentle smile. Was he saying too much? Warren was being wayyy more friendly then he usually would. Must be the mountain air or something.

This conversation was beginning to feel a little like an interrogation. Mr. Revnik's answers were straight and short to the point. Very much like how he'd answer an officer if he ever got into any trouble. Perhaps the other man was the type to not say much unless throughly questioned.

"Twelve years," Warren murmured thoughtfully. Did the man ever miss his country? Maybe his family? And maybe even the smaller things like hearing Russian spoken everywhere. All this was too personal. He, himself wouldn't want a stranger asking him about this. Even the thought of someone else missing what was lost made him feel a little down. "Sounds like a long time..." I only hope they were full of happiness, he thought suddenly. Geez, what was up with all of this over caring? There was a personal limit to these things. Boundaries and all. But it was normal, right? To wish someone happiness? Damn his stupid screwy past relationships. And all that time in darkness didn't help one bit!

"Ah... um... liking a color is a great reason to wear it," the man replied awkwardly, nervously. "But with all this snow, would it be a little dangerous? Then again... you'd probably take precautions against those things..." Warren seemed to have a habit of half talking to himself half the time.

While taking a sip from his hot chocolate, he kept his eyes on Mr. Revnik. There was something off about him. As if the edges of him being was frazed by some invisible force. At this thought a sharp pain shot through his third eye. What..!! Was it trying to unseal itself?! His hands were shaking so badly some hot chocolate splashed over the table. "I-I'm sorry. About all this... I've... I've just been stressed out lately," he promptly made up. A few pieces of napkins were used to mop up the mess on the table and his hands. It was still hot enough to scald, but he didn't notice.

This was going to sound a little crazy, he knew. But he had a feeling Mr. Revnik might be able to relate. Even with something as weird as this. "I... I mean, have you ever had the feeling that you were being watched? Not by aliens or anything... but by someone from afar?" It was a huge jump from personal choice of attire to something that sounded so much like paranoia.

Warren had recovered his composure by now, though he was still having a hard time with his trembling hands. He'd stuff those in his pockets. Coal black eyes now locked onto icy blues as if in a testament of his sanity. "I'm not asking for help or anything, I just want to be assured I'm not completely alone in this. And I apologize if this offends you in any way. I'm entirely sure myself, on why, or how you'd understand..." Honestly, he wasn't sure of what exactly he was even asking. He was hoping Mr. Revnik would know.

Thank goodness! If the other man had denied it, he wouldn't have known what he would have done. Most likely brush the whole question off as a joke even if it was very apparent it wasn't.

"Not exactly not there... more like, shouldn't be there," his body shivered involuntarily, perhaps in remembrance of whatever had happened back then. He'd always hated the fact that he could barely remember those days, especially when he wanted to.

"If only they weren't there, I could live normally, but ever since I've had any measure of peace from my once chaotic life, I've noticed an extra presence somewhere, whether or not I'm alone, it doesn't seem to matter. Right now, it feels like there's a set of very angry eyes are boring holes into the back of my head. And I know no one's behind there since we're in corner..." Warren explained as best as he could, sounding a little exasperated. Just to be sure, he even took a glance behind him. Sure enough, nothing.

Biting down on his bottom lip, he turned back to Mr. Revnik. "I suppose before we even start out snowy trek, I should warn you that weird things happen around me rather frequently. Nothing all that dangerous, just a little on the weird side. Like lights turning out at the randomest times, or new electronics suddenly breaking, to say a few." The strangest one was how shadows seemed to lean in towards him regardless of what position the sun was in, in the sky. That was the one thing he couldn't suppress. Not even a little. He was lucky hardly anyone noticed.

Though Warren wanted to confide a small part of his true secret to Mr. Revnik, he was still cautious of being called insane, especially since that man held the keys to sleeping quarters for the next few days. "Maybe I'm being haunted," he joked. "I just rather not drag you into this, if something bad is going to happen. So, if you think anything weird is going to happen-- even weirder than my normal weirdness-- please stay as far away from me as possible and stop talking to me, even if I want to talk to you." It was an odd request, but he'd said the same thing to all of his new friends. Some of them even stuck by him. Maybe something weird is going to happen seeing as all of his friends had bailed. But they all gave valid reasons. Plus, he'd told them to tell him if anything was wrong with him.

"Ah, I think we should go back to more normal topics if you still want to talk to me." It was unlikely he'd be kicked out for this reason, but it didn't mean Mr. Snowy would want to be friends anymore. What a depressing thought that was.

Mr. Revnik wasn't letting the subject drop. Even though this encouraged him to say something more, he just couldn't. His common sense told him to be cautious, while instincts told him to spill everything. Unfortunately, he'd never been one to completely trust his gut. Warren almost wished he'd never said a thing. Much too late for that now.

"What sort of strange things have happened to you?" he questioned, looking puzzled. Was this the reason Mr. Snowy lived in such an isolated area? These strange occurances had kept him from living in the city or even near a small community. The commute from home to work was an hour by bike. Luckilly for him, the countryside was a very beautiful place. Full of life and light and wonderful sounds... Was he homesick already?

By now, he'd finish his appraisal of the man sitting across from him. The fuzziness around the edges of him hadn't gone away. All that while might be causing it, but he had perfect vision, even with such a blinding color. To be absolutely sure, his glasses were taken off and stowed away in his jacket pocket. Still fuzzy. It'd be plain rude to ask about it so suddenly. Even the guy's hair was like that. What if he touched it? Would it feel tingly again? "...Can I touch you?" Oh no! It slipped out! So so stupid! This was way worse and it sounded so wrong! He hoped to God that Mr. Revnik didn't have nearly as dirty a mind as he did.

Warren looked away in embarrassment. "I.. ah, I meant: can I touch your hair? It looks soft around the edges... and was wondering if it was really like that." Yeah, that sound work. At least now Mr. Revnik had to change to topic. At least for a while. Every black cloud has it's silver lining...