Although Luhan had everything packed the next day, his parents had insisted he stayed for his birthday. 

“It’s not every day a boy turns eighteen” his mother had told him with a sigh the morning he tried to leave. “And I already ordered your cake from the bakery. There may be no wedding anymore, but your birthday party is still on.” Luhan zoned out, disappointed as his mother carried on about the ‘embarrassment of letting your kid run wild on their own for three years. THREE YEARS for goodness sake.’

He often sat on his bed staring at his pack of belongings. 

But finally, his birthday had come. Eighteenth birthdays were something the whole village celebrated. Well, Luhan’s small village did. 

Soon enough, his birthday passed, and the next morning he kissed his parents goodbye, a basket full of food his mother packed for him, and set off on Velvetier. 

Luhan rode around the town, wanting to avoid any interactions that might happen with the other villagers. Nosy people and dissaproving glares were not something Luhan wanted to start his journey. He could hardly contain the excitement inside of him as he rode farther away from his village than he’d ever been on his own. His plan of voyage was to first travel east. Although the East was an area to avoid, most roads towards the north and south were to the east of his village. It wasn’t too long of a journey, but he wouldn’t be able to make it without a few stops. 

As Luhan rode along the dirt paths, he spoke to Velvetier. Luhan didn’t fit well with the other people in his village, and his timid and shy nature made him adaptable to simple relationships. He honestly considered Velvetier to be his best friend, even though conversation was one-sided. Riding along until mid-afternoon, Luhan rambled about his excitement of meeting new people. He hoped, he might find people who he fit better with, than in his home village. His first stop though, didn’t fulfill his expectations. 

Although this was the fifth village Luhan passed through, he hadn’t had any need to stop until now. He had been eating his meals while riding, and now that the sun was almost down, both him and Velvetier needed rest. 

The villages inn wasn’t very hard to find, luckily for Luhan. He tied Velvetier in front of the house as he went inside. Sitting at a poorly-lit table, covered with stacks of paper, was a large, sleeping man. Luhan cleared his throat, not knowing how to handle the situation. He carefully tiptoed towards the sleeping man, and cleared his throat a little louder this time. A loud snore made him jump. 

“U-Uhm, e-excuse me” he spoke nervously, in a quiet voice. 

He tapped the sleeping man lightly on the shoulder. The still response confirmed his attempts were unsuccessful. So, afraid to do anything more, he stood and stared at the man as he thought about what to do. Suddenly,though, he heard a loud guff from the man, and a loud, gravely voice spoke. 

“Stop staring, buy a room, or get out.”

Luhan nearly jumped out of his skin. He fumbled to get words out as he watched the man sit up straight. 

“S-sorry- Rr-oom- One- Aa-nd a-a horse- p-please” 

The man just snorted and held out his hand. Luhan shoved his hand in his pocket, shakily counting out his coins and dropped them into the large hand in front of him. Without the exchange of words, the man got up from his chair and made his way towards a room, and Luhan followed. The man turned around and looked down at him. 

“Usually I have a list of rules to go over, but I don’t think I’ll need to with you. I’ll put ‘yer horse in the stable, you can get ‘em in the morning.” 

His heavy hand pounded Luhan’s back, as he patted the boy into the room. Although it smelled a little funny, it looked clean. He heard the door close behind him as he stood there, still shaking. Trying to calm himself down, he pulled on his pajamas and got in to bed as quickly as he could. He was exhausted, so luckily sleep found him quickly before he had the chance to worry about anything else.

The next morning, Luhan woke up from his typical dream. He couldn’t help but long to know who the little boy was. He laid in the bed, collecting his thoughts and working out his plans until he remembered Velvetier. He got dressed quickly and packed all his things, heading out of his room. He passed the man, still sleeping on the desk, and slipped out of the inn. 

He only had to glance outside the door to notice the small stable around the side of the building. The streets were already filled with passing people. He made his way over to the wooden stable, pushing open the creaking door. There were a few other horses in the stalls, and two rowdy boys were in the process straddling the horses, in between playful shoves and laughs. Luhan tried to avoid their attention, and easily spotted Velvetier. The horse gave a happy neigh as Luhan straddled her up again. He led her out of the stall and decided to take a walk through the village. 

Luhan led Velvetier through the cobbled streets. It almost felt like he was back at his home. Though, many more people lived in this village than Luhan’s own, and unlike his village, no one recognized him, and no one spoke to him. 

After Luhan had stopped at a few stalls and bought a bit more food for his journey, he mounted Velvetier and went off for the next village. As he rode, he couldn’t help but run over a strange occurrence that had happened while he was shopping. 

A commotion had started at a fruit stand Luhan was picking out apples at. The owner was shouting to someone about seeing them stealing an apple. Luhan stared, wide-eyed as the scene had unfolded in-front of him. The man who was running the stand had moved to the street, and was grabbing the collar of the accused thief, a hooded male, and he realized it was one of the boys he had seen while getting Velvetier earlier this morning.

“ -a good for nothing thief!!” he heard the man shout at the other. 

Luhan couldn’t stand watching the scene, feeling bad for both parties. Though, he felt a pang in his heart, looking at the accused. They looked like a traveller, their clothes were slightly ragged and dirty. Taking in a deep breath, he started walking towards the yelling man, with the male still in his clutches. 

Though, just as he approached, the hooded traveller turned his head towards Luhan. His breath caught in his throat, even though he had hardly even seen the male. He had just caught a glimpse of glassy eyes inside the dark hood when their head suddenly turned back to the angry vendor, and dropped a shiny red apple from their pocket. Then, they took off in the opposite direction. 

Everyone, Luhan, the vendor, and the crowd that had gathered looked at each other confused. Though, most people quickly shrugged it off and went about their ways. Luhan, though still baffled by the event, moved on his way as well. 

That’s all Luhan could think about as he rode down the silent forrest paths. As much as Luhan enjoyed silence, it was times like these that he hated it. The questions swimming in his head would not quiet down no matter how hard he tried. He told them to Velvetier, but that didn’t quiet them either. 

He had no clue who had been under the hood, yet the small glance had made him freeze in his tracks. Why had he reacted that way? And why did he feel like the traveller had some type of familiarity about them? Luhan’s head wanted to connect it to the little boy he had seen so many years ago, but, wouldn’t that be too much of a reach?

After all, what were the chances he had run in to the same boy who had been occupying his thoughts the past many months.