It was another cold night in Hedeon. Snow fell gently, transforming the outskirt village into a wonderland. Taugendt Night was rapidly approaching and the village was alive late into the night as the citizens prepared for it's arrival. A crowd had gathered around the center to listen to a late-night sermon, and was slowly dispersing to return to their homes. Taugendt Night was the most celebrated holiday in the religion of Aionism, marking the birth of the religion itself.

With the cast iron street lanterns lit, children ran from pole to pole to decorate them with ribbons and clusters of glass beads. Several of the larger conifers in the town center had been lit up with gold lights and adorned with tiny glass ornaments.

Mishenka had stopped into the coffee bar to grab a hot drink before surrendering to the sanctuary of the church for his studies. He was disappointed that his plans to get together with Zoe had fallen through. This was becoming a more and more frequent occurance with her. The frequency never dulled the sharp pain of being rejected. After Taugendt, Mishenka would be leaving for southern Kasimir to pursue more teachings. He would not be permitted to see her but once a month, and with her own busy schedule, a once a month visit wasn't guaranteed.

A group of children ran past him and nearly knocked him over. Ah, if only he had taken a to-go cup. He would have gladly seized the opportunity to `accidentally' drop a piping hot coffee on the first brat who slammed into him. "What are you doing awake?" he yelled over his shoulder. His answer was a barrage of snowballs to the face. The group taunted him, celebrating their victory over the young priest. Nothing new to him, today's youth had no respect for the adults. He reached up to wipe the snow off of his face and out of his eyes when a smaller hand pushed his own away. He opened his eyes to see the smiling face of his beautiful Zoe standing before him.

The light glowing from the large window next to them illuminated her softly. Her dark Dierkan markings were set off by her light colored coat and dress skirt. Mishenka always thought her an angel. So sweet and maternal, more than what he had as a child... yet a dastardly mischievous streak in her that drove him crazy. How could he stay mad at her? In that moment, he forgave her for blowing him off earlier. Slowly, Zoe reached up again to adjust the lace around his collar that had been disturbed by the snowball attack. "Nice timing," he remarked flatly. He was watching the door next to them as the handle jolted and a voice laughed out a goodbye to the barmaid.

"Misha, I'm so sorry for earlier, I had to meet with -" Zoe explained gently, trying to not step on her friend's feelings, unaware that he wasn't paying attention to her. His cold auburn eyes met a with short, stout man furiously puffing on a cigarette.

"- the banker." Mishenka cut her off, brushing her hand away to fix his collar himself. The banker was with no doubt another man pathetically attempting to woo Zoe in hopes of producing an heir to the Sharp estate. Mishenka narrowed his eyes at him.

The newcomer looked up at Mishenka and smirked as he took a spot next to the window. Zoe poked at him and cleared her throat, to which he smiled a very toothy grin and winked. "Oi! Pyotr Ili, nice to meet you." He held out his hand for a shake and retracted it when he realized Mishenka was not offering his own. "Alright, not a worry. I know who you are. You do the sermons down at the little church at the bottom of the hill, right?" Pyotr chuckled at the disguised jab. Zoe frowned and looked up at Misha's face as he shifted uncomfortably.

Pyotr slipped his hand around Zoe's own and brought it to his lips. "I have to say, you're a fool for not seeing the beautiful woman in front of your face all of these years," he said smugly. Mishenka clenched his walking cane between his fist repeatedly while clenching his jaw. He had his reasonings for not having a romance with Zoe, and if Pyotr couldn't make the easy connection, he didn't deserve a response to that question. Sheer teasing and bragging had no worthwhile counter.

"I have to go, it's nearly midnight," he quickly replied. He limped off in the direction of the church, fading into the snow. The banker shrugged at Zoe. Whatever Misha's problem was, it wasn't about to ruin the rest of their night. He took the wealthy woman's arm and smiled at her while opening the door to the shop. Zoe looked back over her shoulder in time to see another snowball hit her best friend upside the head. She sighed.

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Another image that netted me a DD on DeviantArt.