The tall trees that dappled the surroundings of your home were barren, stripped of the lush leaves that decorated them, in their places tall, spindly arms that waved within the winds. The green fields that were so full of life in this cozy little countryside were coated in white with occasional, dead plants peering through.

Wintertime is here. It always felt eerie when it finally arrived. Every year the color of life gave way to the desaturation of the cold, taking the warmth away with it, turning the Earth into what felt like a long-forgotten corpse. It didn’t help that out here there wasn’t a neighborhood. The nearest neighbors you had weren’t even visible from your house. None of this is to mention the more pressing issue of financials and work being made harder in such conditions.

So naturally when you heard there was money to be made this year from housing travelers temporarily as they journeyed through, you took it.

This is what led to you meeting an odd man. You didn’t know much about him aside from him being a ‘big deal’, some kind of bigshot from the Fatui. Sure, you heard their reputation and rumors, but money was still money, right? Just show respect, keep him a few days in your home while he did… whatever it was he needed to do, and you’d be getting paid enough to get through this winter safely and then some.

Just ignore how having him here only made you feel more isolated, how he’d always keep to himself, how he spoke in such a polite manner that constantly had such a cold, uncaring tone to it, how he made your heart race just a bit more with unease.