One Waking Spring (Snufkin x reader)

Prologue/Meeting Snufkin

Fluffy snow crunched under your boots as you walked a wide road leading into some sort of valley. The forest was filled to the brim with snow that would soon melt as the first day of spring was here.

You wracked your brain, trying to remember the name of the village. You had heard about it from one local of the Lumi village nearby. They said a lot of good things about it, but the only thing that you remembered was that there lived a big generous family in a tall blue house with a red roof. You could never say no to a hot meal and a warm bed.

As you stepped out of the forest, a beautiful scenery opened in front of your eyes. There stood the tall blue house in a vast apple tree orchard. Roses surrounded the stone foundations while lilacs and jasmines lined the dirt path. Even when nature was in a deep sleep, covered by a thick blanket of snow, the valley looked incredible.

The amazement didn't last long as, in the corner of your eye, a chunk of snow suddenly moved, making you jump like a scared cat. But as your eyes focused on the "chunk of snow" you realized that it was a person. A moomin, to be exact. They were wearing a striped red and white apron.

"Oh, yeah. Moominvalley," you uttered as you finally remembered the name of the lovely village, "and that must be the Moomin house!" Wasting no time, you quickly strode towards the snow white moomin.

As you neared, you saw that they were doing laundry. Probably cleaning after hibernation. You had read a book about races and species a while back. It said that moomins were one of the many creatures that hibernate.

The moomin quickly turned around when they heard your crunchy steps. They were much shorter than you.

"Uhm, good morning! This is Moominvalley, right?"

"Good morning! Yes, it is. Are you looking for something?" The moomin replied in a sweet, motherly voice.

"No, nothing in particular." In your mind, you silently prayed that she would invite you in.

"Just passing by?" The white moomin fluffed out a bedsheet and hung it up.

"Yeah..." You fumbled with your clothes. "Does this valley maybe have an inn I could spend the night at? Or a campsite?"

"So you were looking for shelter? Why didn't you say so, darling!" The moomin quickly hung up the rest of the laundry and took you by the hand. "Come in, come in!"

And in no time, you were sitting on a cushioned wooden chair with a mug of warm tea in your hands. Your plan succeeded.

The room was quite small for you. As well as everything else in the house. You had to bend your head down to not smack your head on the doorframe. Even the mug in your hands seemed like a cup.

It was strangely quiet in the house, as if it was only you and the moomin. You explicitly remember that the local said that in this house lived a big family, but it was too quiet to be true. You scattered your thoughts when you heard the moomin's heavy steps approaching.

"Oh, pardon my rudeness, dear, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Moominmamma," Moominmamma said as she came into the room with a plate of steaming pie. Your mouth drooled at the sight.

You introduced yourself and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Moominmamma."

"The same for you, Y/N" The lovely Moominmamma sat down next to you.

An awkward silence also joined you for a second before you shooed it away by clearing your throat.

"So, I heard from a person that you have a big family in this house..."

"Yes, but not only family. The reason why it's so quiet is because everyone's asleep." Moominmamma smiled and loaded a big slice of pie on your plate to match your size, which you're thankful for.