in a world full of excitement, you lived a monotonous life - full of books and incessant study. as snow fell gently outside, you sat at your desk. scattered notes written in lazy handwriting and books for days, to prepare for the anatomy exam. your whole life had been inside a small room filled with stress.

you looked out, admiring the snowfall outside. it was such a beautiful day. maybe you could go out? no. you had to study. as you turned your back, a loud crash echoed throughout your room. startled, you saw a ginger-haired man with a large smile. did he crash through your window? yet he was unfazed.

then he started yapping about the archons, the fatui, the tsaritsa. you had always been acutely aware of those things but you were just a college student who needed to pass. your main focus was never on that, let alone something so much bigger than you.

ever since that day, he’d show up randomly in your apartment. whether it was while you were studying or trying to repair the broken window. he was the unwanted splash of color you didn’t need.

on another dull winter morning, you awoke. only to be greeted with the sight of tartaglia sitting at the edge of your bed with an excited buzz. he dragged you outside, footsteps crunching beneath the snow. he took you out to a snowy clearing, collapsing on it with you by his side. he was talking about something you didn’t care about, his words were tuned out by your ears. he gestured towards the sky - a sky filled with crystal snowflakes and silver clouds. yet, when you looked up, all you saw was a ceiling.

he started talking once more and you were about to block his words out before he suddenly took your hands in his, holding onto them tightly as he sat up, a few snowflakes in his hair falling off. “comrade! do you not see the beautiful sky? oh, how long have you been in that room?”

“...”

“why don’t you join me, comrade? join the fatui. life’s a feast of thrilling flavors but the spicy one’s the best. and you’re living in the plainest one.”