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Anatoliy was standing outside of the weathered wall, it was tall, and well built. He wondered who built it and even more importantly… [i]why[/i] they built it. This was not a place for regular folks and he assumed everyone here was a child of a god. Winter had dug in deep — frigid air gnawed through his coat and it might not have helped that he decided to take a freezing cold ice bath. Another thing he noticed was his breath came out in thick white plumes. It reminded him of how the smoke of trains came out in childhood story books. 

Everytime he shifted his weight, he could hear the crunching softly under his hiking boots, and the more he stood there, the more it felt like his whole body was being dusted with a frost. A frost that wanted to enter his skin and freeze him to his bones. Then he noticed an olive skinned man walk past him and enter the gates. They locked eyes only for a second before Anatoliy looked away because he didn’t want to bother him. Then the gate shut and he wondered if he should go in. How could he talk himself into moving? He looked back at the tall wall and swallowed dryly. 

At first, he thought nothing of it, and continued to ponder about this camp and what he should do. Then a few more people stood outside of the camp, didn’t say a word to each other, and continued to walk through the gate before disappearing into the camp. His brows furrowed with confusion — [color=8A9A5B][i]Are all these people new?[/i][/color] 

[color=8A9A5B][i]No… there is no way. They are walking in like they know exactly what they are doing. Why aren’t any of them saying anything to each other?[/i][/color] This concerned Anatoliy for a variety of reasons. The only person that glanced his way was the first man… everyone else… not a single glance his way, not a nod, and not even a wave. This was disruptive for him internally. [color=8A9A5B][i]They must not be a friendly bunch…[/i][/color]

The next individual that walked by, Anatoliy tried to smile but it came out way too tentative — but it vanished into the air like his breath, ignored. He pulled his hands deeper into his sleeves and his brows creased together in thought. [color=8A9A5B][i]This is strange,[/i][/color] he thought. [color=8A9A5B][i]You’d think someone would at least acknowledge me. Something. Anything.[/i][/color] 


Everyone was showing anti-social behavior and he was beginning to feel like he would not survive in camp. It was the first day, maybe everyone was nervous like he was, but he doubted it. If everyone was so self absorbed or unwilling to interact, he was going to have to make the miles and miles worth of hiking back to civilization to get some form of attention from someone. That sounded awful. Spending almost a quarter of the day traveling to at least get some small talk. 

He looked around again, rubbing at his stiff fingers through fabric. Maybe they were all new to the camp too or maybe they were hardened residents, long past the point of welcoming strangers. It was hard to tell beneath the hoods, scarves, and whatever else they were wearing. 

Still… [color=8A9A5B][i]If we’re all new,[/i][/color] he thought. [color=8A9A5B][i]Couldn’t hurt to wave or glance.[/i][/color]

But no one did. 

'[color=8A9A5B]What do you think Ip?[/color]" he whispered while looking at the front gates where most people wandered into and noticed a few others standing outside of it. 

'[color=white]No clue, Ana![/color]' Ip responded while crawling out of his shirt pocket. 

Anatoliy nodded his head, '[color=8A9A5B]I think we should head back to civilization. This is reminding me of those National Geographic episodes that deal with cannibalistic tribes,[/color]' he explained to the little vole that appeared to be very confused. 

Some squeaks could be heard, '[color=white]What?[/color]' 

'[color=8A9A5B]Nothing... It just means I feel like these people are crazy and dangerous.[/color]" he added his opinions before stepping further away from the gate and wall. Slowly. Anatoliy was trying to be invisible now. Already planning the quickest route back to civilization and staying off any major paths to avoid crazy and dangerous people. 
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[center]Interactions: None - Mentions: Elysium, Elena, Osee, Ace, Chariselle, Azariah, Marlen - Collaborations: None[/center]