It was so cold out. Even for Ivan Braginski, it was cold. His eyes teared up with the freezing temperatures and tears froze on his cheeks, which stung like hell. He shivered; his breath made little clouds as he walked. The truth was, Ivan hated the cold. He wanted nothing more than to live in a warm land full of sunflowers, where no one owned a coat or even knew what ice was. But no, he was somewhere in one of the frigid Germanic nations, practically freezing to death.
Upon reminiscing on his escapades, he supposed he could have flown. But no, he had taken a damn ship instead. That was helpful until he landed in France and had to make his way back to Russia via road transportation. Now, however, he was walking, trudging through the snow and rain through a little village full of white houses with brown, wooden framing. It looked Swiss. But if he was on Switzerland's property, he'd be shot at by now, wouldn't he?
Damn this freezing weather, it was getting too cold to think. He sunk down to his bottom, his back against the wall of one of the houses. His eyelids were getting heavy, and he was feeling dizzy and tired. It occurred to Russia, just before he fell asleep, that he was in Liechtenstein.
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"Vash!" Lilli sighed in frustration. She really hated being short. She wasn't a child anymore, and she didn't want to have to depend on her older brother all the time. But she was cursed with a short height and the top of the Christmas tree was so hard to reach…
The corner of Vash Zwingli's mouth twitched as he approached his younger sister. "Need help?" His teasing voice, though playful, made her brow furrow in irritation.
"I just want to put up the stupid star," she muttered. Vash chuckled and hoisted Lilli up by the waist like he did when she was little, and somewhat to her consternation, it was said action that allowed her to place the silvery star atop the Christmas tree.
Vash was very frugal, rarely spending money on "superfluous" things such as decorations, preferring to supply his household with things like weapons and ammunition for defense, food and clothing, but Christmas was a different story. Not that they were liberally decorated and sparkling with flashy lights like at Alfred Jones' house, but they celebrated with gifts, sweets, music, and indoor décor, with simple lights and a Nativity outside. All of their fondest memories were during the Christmas season.
Vash gave a small yawn. "I think I'm going to bed now, Lilli. Good night." He walked into his bedroom to don the pajamas Lilli had made for him when she was younger.
"Good night, Vash." Lilli smiled and started to head to the kitchen for a little snack when she heard the familiar "mrowr" of her cat Duchess. She had nearly forgotten to let the poor feline back in from the snow! "Coming, Duchess!" she sang, opening the door. The cat zoomed past her feet and curled in a ball by the fire. Lilli was about to close the door when she heard the sound of someone sighing, and audible shivering.
"Hallo?" She took her coat from where it hung over the side of the couch and slipped it on before heading outside. "Is somebody out there? Are you all right?" She heard teeth chattering and looked to the right, in the direction of the sound. At first she didn't see anyone. Then a bit of platinum blonde hair caught her attention and she gasped. Sitting against her house and shivering with cold was Ivan Braginski, one of the most feared men in the world conference.