Fate (Snufkin x Sky COTL! Fem reader)

Chapter 1 - First Encounter

It was late night at Moominvalley. The moon stood brightly in the sky, being accompanied by the stars that illuminates the place in its full glory. The gentle soft breeze can be heard as she slowly passes through the valley like a mother cradling her children to sleep. That being said, that night was so peaceful that everyone went to a deep slumber, except for one fellow mumrik, Snufkin.

Snufkin was wondering around the forest like he always did, being the vagabond who never got tired of the ventures he went. Although he always remembered the routes he went to, he firmly believed that new things can always happen throughout the journey. So here he is, with only the lantern as his company, walking around while appreciating the wonders of the forest.

Meanwhile, his thoughts drifted to his best friend, Moomintroll. He wonders what sort of things they will do tomorrow. Moomin is always so curious of everything that there is no day that makes thing uneventful with his presence. Then there's also Little My, Sniff and SnorkMaiden. Their presence really did something to his life. Although he was not the type to express it loud, deep inside, he really was grateful for their company.

Unknowingly to him, there's a rather foreign object laying near this one huge oak tree just across him. Snufkin did not noticed it from a far, due to its unapparent dark appearance. One could easily mistaken it as any normal rocks- however, this one was rather huge and it sticks out like a branch. Not long later, he did tripped down. Snufkin grumbled at his own carelessness as he slowly stood up back and brushed the debris off his tunic. He was thankful that he did not hurt himself. He then picks up his lantern back and examined what has lead to his crash.

There- on the foot of the big oak tree lies the foreign object. His eyes blinked at what he has seen. He kneels down while approaching it cautiously. After all, he wouldn't want to risk his life in danger while everyone is sleeping. From his observation, it looked strangely in a form of a sleeping human on their sideway, except- both of their hands were covering their face as if they were protecting their face from something. "How odd-" Snufkin thought. The nervousness he felt before was slowly replaced with the feeling of curiousity. He brought his hand to the surface of the object and swipes along to examine the texture. It does feel like a stone. He then brought his lantern closely to the "head" of the object to inspect more.

That was when it happened.

Snufkin panicked. He fell on his back, leaving the lantern flickering harshly near the object.  He quickly brace himself from anything that will happen.

The stone started to emit a bright light. Starting from their head then slowly through out their body. It was not a swift process, more like the glow was forcing its way to unravel their full appearance. Snufkin was right. This object does look like a human.

What was strange was that this stranger did not seem to register that they were there. Their movements were so slow. This was evident from the way they untangled their arms from their face - to the way they sat up and stayed frozen for quite a while. They also hold the lantern closer to their hands. What Snufkin noticed was that, they have a white hair and a dark skin. He haven't seen their face yet.

Snufkin then began to approach closer. The stranger did not realize his presence yet. He decided to start off by breaking the silence.

"Hello there?"

They caught off guard and jumped so harshly on their back. Snufkin blinked, feeling guilty for their sudden reaction.

"No need to be scared, fellow friend" he continued, "I found you by that big tree behind you."

They slowly turned around their head as Snufkin pointed out to the tree. Snufkin was glad they seem to understand his language despite the long silence between them.

Snufkin observed them a little bit longer as they did not gave any response for a while. They have a short white bob hair with a small tie on the right side. They appeared to wear a plain white shirt and short pants. On their back, there was a brown rigged cape that covers their small physique. They also have the same height as Snufkin, though he was a bit taller by a few centimeters. What caught Snufkin's attention was rather the face they have, and a glowing oval emblem that lies on the middle of their chest. Snufkin realized that the face was not their face, but a mask, since it was not the same colour as their skin.

Snufkin's stare came into a halt when he noticed that they were now approaching him. He took the cue that this stranger is a silent one, or rather shy to speak up at the time being.

Tiredness began to creep in and it hit his realization how late the night has already became. Snufkin has decided to deal with them tomorrow. Maybe Moomin and the others would know what to do.

He then offers his hand to the stranger.

"It's late now, I'll bring you to my tent and we can have a rest there."

Silently, the stranger obliged. They offered their hands. The stranger twitched when they make skin contact with Snufkin. One time, Snufkin noticed that their body was glowing rapidly, but maybe it was just his hallucination. He shrugged it off and continue walking, trying to match the slow pace of the stranger beside him. Indeed, it was a silent journey but it wasn't that bad. This stranger seems harmless enough for him.

When they reached the bridge, Snufkin released his grip and motioned them to enter his tent. The stranger hesitated at first but understood once Snufkin gave them a quiet nod. Soon he followed inside, took out an extra cloth and bag for the stranger to sleep with. Carefully, the stranger accepted them and nodded to thank him. They then laid it down on the ground beside him. By then, Snufkin has already lied down in his sleeping bag. The stranger mirrored his action beside him, staring up the whole time. Now, Snufkin wondered- does this stranger even sleeps?

"Good night, little one."

Snufkin's eyelids began to close later on. The stranger move their body sideways so they can look at Snufkin while he was sleeping. The stranger had a hard time sleeping as they were still feeling overwhelm with all this endeavor. It took hours for them until the tiredness finally kicked in.

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