It was as if the snow was never there in the first place. 

Apparently, there were warm breezes all throughout the night, so the snow melted at record rates. By the time Dimentio woke up, the only thing that remained were a few puddles. Seasons seemed to shift in reverse, going from winter to fall. 

Dimentio decided to go outside early that morning. The ground had been frosted over, giving the grass a sparkling glow. He didn't quite understand how the snow could have possibly all melted, yet somehow leave behind that morning layer of frost. 

Some things in life were too complicated to understand, he supposed. There was probably an explanation somewhere, but he didn't particularly feel like finding it. 

He decided to take a walk in the forest instead. He didn't plan on going too far since his legs were still sore but wanted to take the opportunity to explore before the snow came back and made walking difficult again. 

The woods weren't scary when he was with the rest of his team. In fact, the way the trees reached down to him had made him feel like he was walking through a tunnel on a golden path toward a happy place. Now that he was alone, he was starting to feel a little differently. The empty branches were reaching toward him and the wind moved like whispers through the dead shrubs surrounding him.

It wasn't all that frightening, though. He was able to put himself back at ease as his attention shifted to the slightly cloudy sky. The sunlight behind each fluffy white cotton ball up there made them glow. It looked like someone used chalk to draw a golden outline around them. The leaves below him were practically molded to the forest floor, smooth and damp after being crushed by the water and weight of the snow, so they didn't make the faint crunching sound he expected them to as he walked over them. He hadn't noticed the day before, but brown vines hung from each of the trees, like swings. 

It felt like something he would have noticed, but when he looked back through his memories he couldn't see them. 

"Lovely, isn't it?" Count Bleck asked.

"Yes," Dimentio muttered, reaching out toward one of the vines and carefully pushing, making it swing slowly back and forth. He wasn't surprised by Count Bleck's sudden arrival. This seemed like exactly the kind of place the count would go during his own personal time. Yes, the count spent a lot of time working with his team, but he also liked to find calming places to reflect. 

There was silence after that, but it wasn't awkward. One of Dimentio's favorite things about his boss was that while he was good at maintaining a conversation, he was even better at maintaining a comfortable silence. It was something very few people were great at. Sometimes, people would talk and talk just because they feared the silence, but Dimentio enjoyed the quiet. 

The two walked side by side, enjoying the peace that came with the moment. The tranquility was almost overwhelming, like he was being suffocated by it. 

"These remind me of my childhood," Count Bleck breathed, reaching his hand out to the vines as he walked. Dimentio noticed him smiling slightly as each one slipped from his grasp while he continued to walk. "My house was on a hill. There was a big oak tree with large vines growing from it. My father and I made a swing from it. Until that broke. After that, we simply found some rope and made our own swing."

"You made a swing?" Dimentio asked.

"Well, my father did. I wasn't exactly crafty," he laughed. "I tried helping, but was probably just in the way."

The two continued walking as Count Bleck pointed toward different landmarks surrounding them. "When I was about six, I'd jump around on rocks like that one. Until I fell one day. It stung for a few weeks. But the good kind of stinging, you know? My dad helped patch me up. Even now whenever anything starts to sting, I think back to those times."

"Good old days," Dimentio nodded.

He started to wonder if he had any sweet childhood memories like that. Significant moments that made an impact on his life. People he cared about, places to think of when feeling small.

He couldn't come up with anything, though. 

Not one memory from his childhood came to mind. 

In fact, he couldn't even remember himself as a child. How old even was he? It must have been a long time since he was a kid if he was already forgetting everything. 

For a fraction of a second, he felt a little jealous. Why did the count get to have all these picture-perfect memories of his golden childhood, yet he didn't? Did he do something wrong? Or was his childhood just that unimportant? Maybe it was nothing special to begin with. Maybe he forgot it because that's all it was - forgettable. 

He supposed he couldn't blame anyone for that. The world was simply unfair. There was no use in getting upset over it. Not everyone could be like the count - blessed with a loving parent and memorable moments. Besides, the past didn't matter anymore. It was already done. 

Count Bleck and Dimentio continued walking for about forty more minutes. They didn't really have a particular destination in mind. According to Count Bleck, he was just trying to get away from the rest of the group for a while. Dimentio asked the count if he wanted him to leave, but Count Bleck immediately assured him that his presence was fine. From that, Dimentio could put together a pretty clear picture of what was really going on. The count wasn't trying to escape the group. Just Nastasia. Not because he didn't like her - he loved her. It was just complicated. It always was. 

Dimentio made a mental note to hang out with Nastasia later, just to make sure she was alright. It must have been hard, constantly being friend-zoned day after day. Besides, Dimentio didn't mind Nastasia. She was what he liked to think of as a low-energy friend. She didn't ever require much out of him outside of work. During work, she was a nightmare, constantly assigning tasks and such. He never held this against her, though. She was just doing her job, and boy was she good at it. 

After the walk, Dimentio did as he told himself and visited Nastasia. Her cabin was noticeably smaller than his own. He silently wondered if she chose this for herself or if it was simply random. She seemed like the kind of girl who preferred smaller spaces. Her cabin was also significantly darker than his, due to the location closer to the trees and the fact that all her lights were off. 

At first, she pretended to act like she didn't have time for Dimentio's visit, but that was clearly a lie. It was vacation, and Dimentio was fairly certain that Count Bleck ordered her NOT to spend her free time working. Otherwise, she'd have her cabin filled with different schedules and tasks to manage. 

Eventually, she gave up and let him in and they had tea, which Dimentio didn't like but pretended he did. It was far too sour, and Nastasia didn't have any sugar. He could never understand how some people drank tea without sugar. It was far too bland. 

"He's avoiding me," Nastasia breathed, holding her practically empty teacup and sitting down on the rocking chair placed by her lit fire. 

"I'm not here to play relationship coach," Dimentio admitted, pacing and stirring his still-full teacup. "I'm bad at that. If you want advice, go to someone else."

"I know, but if I talk to Mimi about this, she'll make fun of me. And O'Chunks... he always tries too hard to help, and sometimes I don't really need that. I just need someone to listen."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" the jester asked, amusement lining his tone. 

"Dimentio..."

"Sorry, sorry," the jester chuckled. That might not have been the best timing on his part. "If it makes you feel better, I understand. I just came to check and see if you were alright."

Nastasia twirled her cup slightly, turning her gaze toward the crackling fire. Dimentio noticed that it was starting to die down. It was rather dim. Maybe she had it like that on purpose in order to keep the rest of the room darker as well. The way the shadows danced around the floor surrounding the flames seemed like the kind of thing Nastasia would enjoy.

"That's unlike you," she breathed.

Dimentio felt his shoulders tense slightly. 

Why would she say something like that? He had always been helpful. Was that not how she saw him? Was that not how everyone else saw him? He couldn't remember a time when he wasn't playing middle-man and making sure everyone around him was alright. 

"Is it?" Dimentio frowned.

"Hmm," Nastasia hummed, her eyebrows drawing together slightly. "No, I suppose you're right. You've always been like this."

He felt his body relax. He wasn't quite sure why he reacted so quickly to her words. There was just something off-putting about them, he supposed. 

But it was over. She corrected herself. All was good again. 

"That's my job, right?" he chimed, bowing slightly. "The jester's duty is to bring smiles to his audience."

"I'm not smiling."

"Well, let's pretend you are so I can feel good about myself," he chuckled. 

Nastasia rolled her eyes and drank the rest of her tea. However, he did see that same brief smile she used while sledding, so he considered the visit a success. 

He went back "home" early that day, thankful that the count didn't have any group activities planned. Yes, Dimentio enjoyed those activities, but it wouldn't feel quite like a vacation if every day was planned out.

He decided to treat himself to some relaxation time. He planned this to include starting a fire and snuggling up by the fireplace with a good book, but he quickly realized that he didn't know exactly how to make a fire. He knew that wood was involved, obviously, but he didn't know if there were strategic ways to place the wood for maximum warmth or something. He didn't want to make a mistake and accidentally burn the whole cabin down. Doing so would most likely mean bunking with O'Chunks, and he snored, so that was a big no-no. 

Instead of the fire he simply snuggled up in his bed with the first book he could find. None of the books in the cabin were all that interesting, so he made a mental reminder to check out the town library the next day. He would have gone right then, but he was already comfortable and didn't like the idea of walking anymore, so "A Beginner's Guide on Lumberjacking" was going to have to do. 

The book wasn't as horrible as he thought it would be. Well, it would have been horrible, but each page had pictures to go along with it, so that really helped with the whole learning process. 

It turned out Lumberjacks were real people. It wasn't just something made up for shows or stories. Some people's occupation was actually "Lumberjack." How crazy was that? A small part of Dimentio wanted to meet one someday. Especially if they looked like the examples in the book. 

Not that the examples were attractive, but they one hundred percent were.

"I bet Mimi would enjoy this book," Dimentio chuckled quietly to himself. He almost convinced himself to leave it at her doorstep after he finished as an early Christmas present. She'd probably act mad at first, but end up getting a real kick out of it. It was one of the ways the two of them bonded.

On the other hand, he could give the book to O'Chunks. Dimentio wasn't sure if he knew how to read, but if he did, he'd probably take the lessons to heart and end up becoming a real-life lumberjack. Maybe THAT could be Dimentio's Christmas present to Mimi - turning O'Chunks into a lumberjack! Family fun for everyone! Dimentio could even drop the book off anonymously, that way no one would know this was all his doing!

He laughed quietly to himself and shook his head. The idea was fun, but it would never work. There was no way he could do something so secretive. Pulling the strings like a puppet master wasn't who he was. A life of secrecy was no life for him.