Two horses stood in front of Todd. On their backs they carried an assortment of goods. Todd could see the handle of a pot peeking out of the canvas bag strapped to the large grey horses back. Sasha had already claimed which horse she was going to ride, so Todd hopped on the other one and they began traveling North. 

The weather was getting colder as each day passed. It was still warm compared to the chilly winter nights he had to endure living in Boston. Trees surrounding their path had lost their vibrant green hue, replaced with dull browns and oranges. Leaves trickled down onto the ground covering the floor. Naked tree’s shivered as snow slowly blanketed them.

Weeks on the road had passed, the dull monotony of riding all day was starting to affect both Todd and Sasha. Occasionally another traveller would pass, returning a small bit of their sanity. Todd was more irritable than usual and Sasha seemed exhausted and burnt out by the travel.

They were glad when they reached small cluster of houses on the trail they were travelling. It wasn’t shown anywhere on their map and it could hardly be called a village. It was more like a tiny tight-knit community. Any break from camping in the harsh cold weather was a welcome surprise.

“Hello, my name’s Vanessa. Welcome to our community. It’s rare that we have visitors and this is such a special treat! I encourage you to stay for the night,” said the pale skinned women who was tending the garden in the front of the house.

“We’d love to” Sasha quickly responded, glancing over at Todd to see if he agreed. He definitely wasn’t going to argue that they should sleep in the cold rather than in a warm bed.

“Perfect. Come inside and I’ll treat you to some dinner. Darrel will be back soon, I’m so excited to show you off to him.”

“Yum.” Todd responded. He was a little weirded out being framed as a possession . These people seemed oftly nice, it almost seemed too good to be true.

Venessa’s home had a very homely feel to it. The rustic wood flooring and cozy brick fireplace comforted Todd. If he ever bought a home of his own, he would try to emulate this house. It beat the cold modern style of house design that was popular where he was from.

Todd and Sasha took seats on the stool under the kitchen bar. Vanessa was in the kitchen cooking tonight’s dinner.

“If you don’t mind me asking where are you headed?” Vanessa asked

“We’re heading up to Humbridge. We’ve heard there's been some turmoil, but we think we should be fine if we stick to the countryside.” replied Sasha

“I’ve heard winters up there bring long nights. It’s always nice when the sun isn’t shining and the stars are out in the sky.”

“I don’t know. I really like it when it’s sunny. On our way up here, we were stuck in a mild snow storm which pretty much blocked out the sun.” Todd said with a frown

“I bet you’ll like it up there”

“I think we will.” said Sasha

“How’d you end up living up here?” Todd asked Vanessa.

‘Well, we’ve been here for a long time, but many years ago we were ostracized by the people up in Davesh. We came down here to make a life for ourselves and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

‘It seems like you’re doing well,” said Todd.

“We get by. Sometimes it’s hard to get enough food, but lately we’ve had plenty.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Sasha said “What’s for dinner.” 

“Oh! We’re going to have blood sausage and yams I’ve been growing in the back. I’m not much of a vegetable person, but it’s good to have them for a balanced meal.” Vanessa said.

As the night grew dark, the chatting continued and the dinner was nearly ready. Todd set the table and Sasha redid it because apparently he didn’t do it right. Todd disagreed with her on this, but didn’t care enough to argue about it.

The three of them were just about to sit down when a man walked in the front door.

“Why didn’t you-” Darell was cut off by Vanessa.

“We have guests honey. We were just about to have dinner. You are right on time as always,” Vanessa responded calmly.

“I’m sorry. That was very rude of me. I’ve had a long day. I hope you can forgive me.” Darrell said as he looked at Todd and Sasha

“No problem,” they said in unison.

They all sat down at the table and promptly served themselves. Both Darrell and Vanessa went light on the Yams, piling their plate high with blood sausage. Todd was fine with this since he was a big Yam fan. He didn’t care much for blood sausage.

Darrell was stoic during dinner. He never asked a question or responded to anything asked by Todd or Sasha. Vanessa continued to talk to the duo, prying into their lives. She seemed fascinated with the world outside her little community.

Supper ended and Vanessa showed Todd and Sasha where the guest bedroom was. They only had one, so they were forced to share it.

The room had a single queen sized bed in the middle of the room. The walls were wrapped in an ornate wallpaper that had various shades of red in it. The sheets on the bed were red and black, with big white fluffy pillows. It was probably the nicest room Todd had stayed in since coming to this world.

They briefly argued on who got what side of the bed. Todd and Sasha both wanted the right side of the mattress. After a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors; Sasha won and claimed her prize by jumping under the covers.