Flashback One Unique Snowflake [Eshe]

[Ollic Rimesage]

18th Day of Winter, 502 AV


"Ollic, will you please go outside and play? It's a beautiful day, and you have had your nose stuffed in that book for the past several bells," Ollic's mum chided to her son.

Ollic shut the book he was studying to look intently at his mother and her furrowed brow. "Mum, there is nothing that could possibly interest me out there." With that said, he opened his book, flipped to the last page of which he had been reading and buried his nose into it once again.

Suddenly the book was taken out of his small hands and slapped onto the floor at his feet. "I'm serious Ollie," she said to him.

Ollic spread out his legs from their curled up position, knees previously up to his chin. "But why? You know I have problems with people," he whined, his head lolling to one side in an action to portray personal agony.

She rolled her eyes, retrieving her white cloak and walking back to her son, who lay crumpled on the floor, eyes wide with misery.

"You aren't playing that trick on me today."

But Ollic was very persistent, wanting a better explanation out of his mother as to why he had to go outside on this specific given day. His glare directed at his mother showed his defiance.

"Because Ollie, there is plenty of fresh air out there!" She shouted with elation, her arms being thrown into the air to show how excited she really was. "Besides, I have to go to work in a little while and I need you to get your exercise in while I am home."

Now it was time for him to roll his eyes. "There is plenty of fresh air in here, mum. Besides," Ollic got up and jumped up and down for a few seconds before falling to the floor again, "I can exercise in here all I want." But part of his mind was contemplating his mother's words. Could he die if he didn't go out of the house? He hadn't in what felt like years, it seemed. Would he get fat if he didn't go outside and run around or play in the snow?

"Oh, but my dear Ollie," his mother's voice got eerily quiet, filling up with a strange darkness. "If you don't go out every once and a while, you're mind will become clogged and your breathing ragged. It will be harder and harder to breath because you will be inhaling the same oxygen every time you do so."

Ollic's eyes widened to such an expanse that they looked as though they were about to fall out of his head any second.

He jumped up and rushed around his mother to his coat that hung on a peg near the front door. "I'm not going to die in this house, mum. There is no way my mind is going to be clogged as you say."

The door unlocked, Ollic's arm swinging it open to reveal crystal objects falling at a very lackadaisical pace. A soft glow meditated around the particles of snow, giving it a ethereal appearance.

Ollic turned back to his mother to see her grinning, before he shut the door with great hesitance.

What was he going to do now? He didn't like to talk to people and making friends was hard ever since he could remember. He hadn't thought of sneaking a book out with him in the pocket of his coat, so he had nothing to occupy his time while he was nearly locked outside the saftey of his house.

Seeing the snowflakes fall had given him an idea that he truly wanted to dive into. He had always been fascinated with the anatomy and structure of such a crystallised piece of weather, yet he had never had such a given time as he did today to observe them.

He ran over to one that had fallen on a rock to the left of his house, leaning in to take a closer look at it’s perfections and flaws. The object was perfectly symmetrical, the edges all pristine as if the gods had painted it with fair brushes of art. However, as soon as it had landed, it had melted, Ollic’s heart faltering as a hint of disappointment settled in.

More snowflakes were falling all around him, yet that one had intrigued him to such extent that a glowing sensation had sprouted its wings around his soul and enflamed his mind with such warmth that it felt like the simple object of ice was his only son, recently deceased.

Ollic got up from his crouched position and looked up to see the flutters of white cascading down in a slow rhythm. But then, he saw something that wasn’t of weather origin; something that made his breathing shallow and ragged, like he was dying in his house like his mother had warned him about.

He saw a young girl, standing completely still, staring straight into his crystal blue eyes, now gone a cat’s hazel green in means to portray anxiety and fear.

[Eshe Czardas]

Winter. Oddly enough, it was warmer than the other seasons, since the goddess Morwen travelled around the continent. However, for Eshe, born in warm Zeltiva, it was freezing. Her mother had bundled her up in two coats, a skirt over a pair of trousers and heavy boots, not to mention oversized wool mittens. The poor seven-year old was miserable, but warm. She felt like a waddling, flightless bird. The girl remembered the conversation between her and her mother. "Now now Eshe, you're not going out there until you've got another layer. Quit squirming and let me put this skirt on you!" "But mommy! It's snowing out there!" "Hold still! Just... Oof! Okay, now you can go out dear. Don't forget your mittens and come inside if you get too cold, okay? A kiss was placed on top of her head and the child had raced outside, only to trip and fall in the snow a few feet from the door. She had some trouble getting up, and proceeded to waddle the rest of the way. Her blonde hair had gotten in her mouth, and she pulled it away. The mittens were much too big and she yanked them down as far as they could go. Eshe spotted a young boy, with dark hair and changing eyes. She emitted a tiny squeak, hiding behind one of the buildings. He was looking at a rock, or more specifically, a snowflake on a rock. Her breath clouded in front of her, and her own eyes matched the snow. They didn't change, but they were so pale. She hadn't realized that he was staring at her, his eyes green instead of blue. Eshe stared back. Well this was embarassing. A snowflake landed in the girl's eye, and she blinked madly. Rubbing at said eye, she hunched over. She really hoped he'd stop looking at her weirdly. She took a step and tripped over the long skirt, landing facefirst in the drift. Her head came up covered in the white crystals, bits of it clinging to her eyelashes as it melted.

[Ollic Rimesage]

As soon as the two had made eye contact, things turned frigid. He tasted the bile, the blood, the unnatural fluids in his mouth as his stomach contorted into a frenzy of butterflies. He was sure one of the pesky insects was close to flying out of his mouth, attracting the vomit to its dusty wings.

The girl rubbed her eyes ferociously before falling to the ground, wrestling with the skirt that was far too big on her, hanging in weird angles and flaring out near the end. She was close to tears by the looks of it as Ollic’s mind tumbled as did his stomach continued to do.

He had studied all sorts of things in the health field and his parents had knocked in some very clear sense about how he should help everyone he were to meet that were in desperate need. This child, close to his age, yet still younger, was in need of some help, and possibly healing by the look of her red eye.

He briskly, but still tentatively, walked over to the fallen girl, her arms spread out as if she were occupying her “humpty, dumpty” time on the ground by creating snow angels with her arms. Of course, this wasn’t the time she would be having fun, for her face was littered in the heavy white flakes of snow.

He gentle brushed off the white fluff with his bare hand, brushing the girl’s face softly in the process, an electric shock evolving in the pit of his heart. The girl’s silent whimpers soon turned into a sign of awe as she looked up into Ollic’s eyes, changed from the shade of orange he had initially had from the surprise of seeing such a girl so close to him, to a dark seaweed green for the determination and dedication he would give to help this girl back up on her feet.

Ollic still didn’t say a word, keeping his mouth shut into a tight line and he grabbed the girl’s left arm and hoisted her back onto her feet.

She was overdressed for such a beautiful snowfall, her body looking similar to the sun than one of a human child. She was wearing layer upon layer of clothing, her mittens as thick as he’d ever seen, her skirt caressing the ground she stood on.

Ollic turned his back on the girl, seeming satisfied with helping her up, but still shaking from the interaction with a stranger. He needed to get away and to calm down, but the girl wouldn’t let him, for she had a hand on his arm.

[Eshe Czardas]

Eshe could only stare at the boy, his bare hand brushing off the snow. She didn't even know his name, and yet he grabbed her arm and helped her up. He was criticizing her clothing, and she blushed a little bit. Aww, why did Mommy make me wear so much? Her own hand was on the boy's arm now, the positions oddly reversed. He was shaking. "Thank you. My mommy taught me to say thank you to people when they did something nice for you, even if they're strangers. So thank you. What's your name?" Her high voice was a bit nasal, a cold already developing. Eshe's mother would scold her for that. He was older than her, a couple years at most, but not too many. And a Vantha at that. She loved the Vantha, especially their eyes. Her Vani was a bit rough, though, having only been in Avanthal for a season. It wasn't as musical as the native-speakers. She practiced when she could. Asking him what his name was would be the perfect chance to test out her accent.

[Ollic Rimesage]

Her voice was soft and sweet, but a hint of fault spewed into her voice from where the snow how been. She was most likely turning ill from the cold, bacteria or virus spreading up her nasal passage way and down her throat.

She thanked him, although that was the least he could have asked for. All he did was help her up, which is something she could have done herself if she was motivated enough to do so. And then her voice changed, a sing song voice spilled out from her mouth, passing her teeth and entering Ollic's ears.

Her tone of voice was slightly off as he heard her speak in the tongue of the Vantha. Perhaps she was part Vantha, for she wasn't complete, her eyes never changing colour from the way she fell down to the moment she got up.

He easily comprehended what her questioned was, turning around and looking into her pale blue eyes. She was asking him what his name was.

Her hair was bright, almost white it was so blonde, and the way it fell onto her shoulders made it look like golden rivers of honey flowing down a narrow passage way past plains of pale skin and boulders of crystal blue eyes.

Ollic couldn't help but smile as his anxiety melted away like the snowflake he had seen not too long ago. "You're pretty," he told her, his boyish instincts getting the best of him.

A blush was forming as he retreated inside his shell only after realising what he had said. Why was he acting like such a dork?

"My name is Ollic, but you can call my Ollie. I like Ollie," he told her, his own voice soft and serene, like raindrops pattering on the window sill of his cottage.

"You look cold," he mumbled, removing her hand from his shoulder and placing it in his own hand. "Let's wash you face with warm water and make you some tea to help with your nose."

He led the way, as if he had known this girl his whole life. Something sparked inside of him, giving him an internal thrill. This girl was someone he had just met, yet he felt oddly connected with her. He liked her and for some reason felt calm around her as if they were long lost friends.

"Ollie. My mum calls me that," he continued, stepping up to his door of which was merely a few feet away. He pushed it open to reveal a warm welcoming house, a fire place lit in the centre of a large room. "What's your name?"

[Eshe Czardas]

Oohh, his eyes changed again! And he called her pretty... How nice of him. Eshe beamed, a gap where her lost canine was. She had lost it only yesterday, and the gum was still soft. "Thank you!" She wasn't sure how to respond to that, but he was nice. How did Vantha survive these climates? Her ears were already cold, and her nose was getting there, cheeks already red. He said his name was Ollic, but she could call him Ollie. "Okay, Ollie! And yeah I'm pretty cold. How d'you guys live out here? It's freezing! I feel like an icicle!" Her young mind thought it to be just friendliness when he put his hand in hers, and she smiled even brighter. "I'm Eshe. I don't have a nickname, my mommy just calls me Eshe."

[Ollic Rimesage]

Ollic had thankfully done right as the chilled looking girl appreciated the compliment he had made to her about her appearance as beautiful, for she was with her hair as blonde as dandelion fluff and her eyes as blue as the sea. It was hard not to look at her, and for such a young age she already looked somewhat older and mature, having Ollic think twice about how old she must have been.

Eshe. Even her name was gorgeous. A unique name for a unique girl, the way Ollic ran it through his mind made it seem as soft as her facial features.

"Eshe," Ollic mumbled. "Eshe." He was testing out her name, begging to come up with a nickname for her like she had said to him. However, he found that Eshe was perfect the way it was.

"We Vantha like it here. We like the cold. I think we just bundle up and get used to it. You aren't from here are you?" Ollic said, ending his explanation with a question, closing the door to his home behind him.

They were sealed inside, a rush of warm air kissing the two children on the tops of their heads. He knew that Eshe would be miserable in a few moments due to the sudden temperature change so he quickly helped her get rid of her layers beyond layers of clothes.

"Let me help you take that off. Why did you mum put so much winter wear on you anyways?"

Stripping Eshe of her coat, Ollic's social anxiety was complete desecrated, flown away along with the snow drifting outside. He wondered why this could be. Could he not have the social anxiety his mother and father had labelled him to have? Did this girl have some sort of power over him that made him feel safe? Had he outgrown his hatred for speaking to people for fear of their reactions towards him?

"Now what to do about your forming cold," Ollic whispered more to himself and the room than to anyone in general.

As he waited for the girl to answer his questions, he timidly snooped about the kitchen for any materials of ingredients he could find to help his new friend with her soon to come sickness.

[Eshe Czardas]

Vantha were crazy! They liked the cold! Eshe giggled at his question. "Does it look like I'm from around here, silly?" It was an obvious answer, since her hair was much too pale and her eyes never changed. They were inside now, and the heat was getting to be unbearable. He helped her shed the coats, for which she was grateful. "Mommy doesn't want me to get a cold, or frostbite. What's frostbite?" Her mother had said the word, but never explained what it was. It didn't sound friendly, though. Eshe stepped out of the skirt, pulled off two pairs of trousers and stood in leggings. She sniffled and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her shirt, then sniffled again. The girl waited patiently for Ollic to finish whatever he was doing.

[Ollic Rimesage]

Finding no specific herbs or medicines bluntly stating the use of curing colds, Ollic returned to his friend, whom had now earned the name of former patient.

She certainly did not look like she was from around here and as true to her word, it was apparent in the way she acted towards the snow. She wore too much clothing, her coats having her look like an overgrown pumpkin. Her hair was too light for a Vantha, her tone of skin far too pale. All of these assumptions that had once been in question were now as clear as day, made correct from simple observation.

She sniffed and wiped her nose, defeat straining Ollic's throat, biting him in the heart. He could have saved her from this illness!

Tears started to well up in his eyes. He had failed this poor girl who went by the name of Eshe. He let her waste away, already exposed to the germs that were eating at her body's white blood cells.

And then an idea struck him as he realised that it might not be too late after all. His eyes from a dark, stormy blue had radically changed to a deep, elegant green. His determination was frightening as he ignored Eshe's question about the definition of frostbite, and starting mowing down cabinets in search for home remedies meant to help with simple sicknesses such as a runny nose and eye irritation.

Opening a drawer, Ollic took out a small glass. Going over to a preserving kit, he reached in and retrieved two small lemons.

His mother had a fragile-looking cup of hot water she was going to use to make tea with, but Ollic found human survival more essential than a casual beverage, so he cautiously removed it from the burning element and squeezed the lemons into it.

He stirred the beverage with a spoon and handed over his concoction to his patient, looking intently on how she was going to handle drinking such a hot cup of lemon water.

"Frostbite is when you get so cold you can't feel your limbs. Sometimes, my mum says they can fall off." Ollic tried his brain for any signs of error. Or was that hypothermia?

"I'll get you some honey. That should help both your throat and nose." Turning, the sneakers he had never managed to take off squeaked on the hard wooden floor. He dashed back into the tiled kitchen and stole the bottle of honey from the shelf that hung over the stove.

Knowing exactly where everything was, Ollic reached into another draw to pull out a small spoon was an enormously long handle. He squeezed the bottle of honey over the spoon and saw the gooey liquid cascade like a waterfall onto the silverware.

Returning, with a proud smile on his face, Ollic handed Eshe the spoon, realising that she had still yet to drink the hot water, now slightly cooled.

"You need to drink and eat these to become healthy again. I can't be held accountable for someone dying," he told her, no hint of playfulness hidden under his breath. He believed that a cold could kill someone, his parents not yet telling him any different.

He watched the girl's eyes bulge to uncomfortable sizes before he saw her gorger herself on the house made remedies he had supplied her with.

[Eshe Czardas]

Was he starting to cry? It looked like it. Eshe tilted her head in confusion. "I'm alright, silly! It's just a cold. I'm used to 'em." He turned, eyes changing again. Now he looked like daddy did when he went out hunting. Like he was going to stay out in the snow until he brought something down. It was almost scary. He was trying to find something, and grabbed a glass from a drawer. Two lemons, as well. Eshe liked the smell of lemons. She'd never tasted one, though. Mommy said they tasted bitter or something like that. A cup of hot water with lemonjuice was handed to her. Frostbite sounded scary. He had run off again, returning with a ladle. She was going to die if she didn't drink!? Eshe blew furiously on the water, eyes wide. Downing the lemon water with a few large gulps, she made a face. It didn't taste good! Taking the ladle of honey, and hoping that it tasted better than the lemon water, she finished that too. It was certainly sweet, and her taste buds decided to revolt. First too bitter, now too sweet! The girl almost choked on how sweet it was, and struggled to swallow the thick honey. She managed, and licked the last of it from her mouth. What she couldn't get was wiped away with the back of her hand and eaten from there. "Thank you, Ollic! I feel better already." The child supplied the thanks with a bright, sticky smile.