It must be something about the season. Vasiliki wasn’t all that enthusiastic about being cooped up inside for days at a time. There were so many experiences to have outside of the home that it felt almost like a waste to be trapped behind so many walls. So why did it feel nearly impossible for her to break herself out of this confinement?

’It’s just a funk from the cold. It’ll pass.’

But ‘funk’ sounded like it was just some goo between her toes. Unpleasant and disgusting, yes, but hardly worth not leaving the house for. This was more crippling than that. It wasn’t as intense as some of the depressive episodes Liriope had had on her world, but the sinking lead in her gut felt uncomfortably reminiscent of it. It wasn’t the same. It wasn’t anywhere close, but it felt like it could encroach upon it, if left to fester.

And there was really no need for that, no need! She absolutely would not stand for it!

Her tasks as one of a small myriad of Eagun’s housekeepers were completed for the moment, so Vasi was permitted to get up to whatever she wanted, and in the moment, she decided she would muster the wherewithal to not be inside. She filled a tall thermos with hot tea, donned a thick down jacket and a pair of mittens in preparation for what awaited her, and headed through the back patio.

She’d barely shut the door behind her when the screeling of children tore through the air. A pair of them tumbled about playfully in the snow. They were Eagun’s… niece and nephew? Or grandchildren visiting on their holiday break? Honestly, Vasi could hardly keep up, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, so she didn’t intend on interrupting them. Especially since, for all the unwelcoming atmosphere, the joyous sounds of youngsters wrestling and hurling snow at each other was weirdly… warming? It was nice to see someone having a good time.

“Hm? Oh, hello, dear.”

Deer?

Vasiliki’s head immediately swiveled toward the sound of a woman’s voice, where the mother of the children sat perched on a bench in Eagun’s garden, watching the kids play. Vasi tossed a glance quickly behind her. Deer. Her tail? Her ears? Had she forgotten the glamor? She was prone to doing so, but Tarra always caught and corrected her in a timely fashion…

But, no, it seemed the woman was just expressing some kind of endearment. Vasiliki smiled sheepishly and gave a tiny wave before hesitantly approaching. She didn’t know the woman well, just knew it was some relative of Eagun’s, and Vasi was just ‘the help,’ so she didn’t want to intrude. “Hello, ma’am. Is everyone enjoying the weather?”

“Ophelia,” the woman reminded her, because surely Vasi had been told her name before. “The cold’s not for me, but I’m happy as long as we aren’t traveling in it! It doesn’t snow where we’re from, so it’s nice that the kids get to play in it every now and then.”

Eh? Somewhere it didn’t snow? Like Vasi’s world! That was surely a much more enjoyable place to be! “Where is that at? How far away?”

“We live near Fort Lauderdale, on the beach. It’s a long drive, like thirteen hours, but it’s not so bad to take just once a year. Easier than flying with two kids, and a pretty nice drive once we’re past Atlanta.”

It didn’t mean much to Vasiliki. She didn’t know anything about Atlanta or Fort Lauderdale, but to live on a beach where it didn’t snow? It sounded like it would be more like her home than here was. She took a small sip from her thermos, fingers lightly tapping the side of it. So much on Earth to see and explore, and such different places just a handful of hours away from each other…

They talked for a bit longer, with Vasiliki inquiring about what Ophelia’s beach was like. She didn’t prefer to divulge too much about herself, but admitted that she missed living on a nice warm beach.

Eventually the kids were ready to go inside to enjoy some cocoa and warm up out of the snow, so their mother took them in with a wave to Vasi, who stayed outside on the bench, sipping her drink.

[WC: 721]