[center][color=fdc68a]Vaylla always had horrible luck in life.[/color][/center]
That soon became certain to her upon living through various days of jobs falling into shambles, or clients deciding against hiring her at the last minute. Not only that, but with the way her morning began, she had a gut feeling a problem would resurface. Anything to feed her newfound cynicism. The client seemed innocent enough, and although the task wasn't the most demanding she'd ever gotten upon first inspection - she was asked to search for a cat lost in the icy abandoned forests of the kingdom - it ended up being so much harder than she thought. In fact, she wouldn't have even taken the simple quest if it weren't for the completely unfitting reward she was promised afterwards. An entire sum of a hundred coins. It could help her buy a week's meal and even some extra clothing. 

So, comforted by that thought, she simply took her time. The client asked her to call the cat by a very specific name - Petunia - and hold a certain tiny squeaky toy nobody, not even a cat, would enjoy. But as embarrassing as the quest would seem, the peasant didn't really have a various array of choices to choose from, and with such an attractive reward it was hard to say no. Armed with a precious pocket knife that she was gifted by her brother, she had it sheathed on a leather belt around her waist right next to a small pouch of 5 coins. She made sure to grab her blue cape in the process in case the weather got colder than it already was. Then, she set off. 

"Petunia!" She called once she first saw the icy trees signifying her entrance to the silent forest, pretending to thoroughly care about the cat as she called its name though she was sure she couldn't give a damn. Walking about through the snow, she was sure the poor thing wouldn't even be able to stay around for long alone in such a weather, but nevertheless, she kept going. Occasionally, she would squeeze the small toy, wondering if it would actually grab the feline's attention. But nothing changed. At all. She never heard a meow, a purr or even a cry. Utter, deafening silence. 

Hours took hours and her legs were already tired from walking around too much. The trees almost looked the same if not for small details so she thought she knew her way out, and - believing time was on her side - she laid on the snow by a tree, leaning her back against the cold wood. She could barely sleep the night before with the owl by her window, and scaring owls off with a rake meant for gardening wasn't something one would enjoy. So she promised herself. Just a few minutes of a nap in the cold. She had a cape to warm her up, she wouldn't doze off completely. 

But she was soon proved wrong. And time was definitely not on her side.

"Dammit, dammit!" She yelled out in frustration, after being woken up in a rush of feeling cold air hit her face sharply. She was soon on her feet, cat and money forgotten. She never liked blizzards. Sure, she tolerated them in better circumstances, but whenever any blizzard took place she would be in the comfort of her own home. Never before did she try to experience walking through one, and supporting herself was so much harder than she expected. She could feel the hood hit the back of her head with every violent gust of wind and she covered her face a bit as she walked through, hoping none of the snow would burn her eyes. She had to get home. 

But amidst the ever white atmosphere, she couldn't see anything. Nothing felt familiar at all, but at least the trees seemed to be clearing up. She was leaving the forest at last, but she knew the walk back to her house was still a long and tedious one. She would have to find a shelter, just until the blizzard cleared, and she would get back home and ignore the client who gave her the task as much as she could. Fortunately, she did spot a small, run down shack through the snow, and she could even recall the way that lamppost perched. She was in the capital city! But not as close as she would like to her home. 

The shack seemed to be open for business. At least, she was slightly able to make that out by reading the violently strewn about sign that was left hanging atop the shack. Surely she would be able to get inside easily then, slip in until it clears and then leave. Wrong. Holding on to the door, she pushed open the door with all her might, violently cursing under her breath as she tried and tried. Until it opened with a flash, catching her completely off guard. 

"Ah!" She yelped out, the gust of wind blowing her forcefully inside the shack, the door loudly slamming behind her as she fell to the ground, landing flat on her chest with a quiet groan. Panting heavily, she felt the slight but still striking difference in temperatures, and her nose felt like it would fall off. Sniffling a bit, she blinked and wiped some snow off of her clothing, face and hair, weakly sitting up where she fell on the floor until she snapped her eyes up, like a deer stuck in headlights. What a way to make a first impression.