Translator: DC    Editor: N/A    Proofreader: Matty    TLC: Flowingcloud

　　прелюдия - Prelude

　　Очиалый - Scarlet eyes

　　"A rainbow creek……"

　　In the freezing night, there was a hazy mist.

　　On a snow-covered balcony in an old castle, there was a child.

　　The young girl stared up at the full silver moon.

　　"A lake of dreams……"

　　She was dressed in a worn-out, faded crimson coat one size too big.

　　She had limbs slender enough to snap like a twig.

　　She had translucent white skin like that of porcelain.

　　She had asymmetric yet lovable fangs like a fox's.

　　"Marsh of death……"

　　Spinning slowly she sung an ancient song, line-by-line.

　　"Stormy ocean……"

　　Her jet black hair fluttered in the wind, exposing her pointed ears.

　　"Sea of steam……"

　　The girl unfastened a small jewel necklace from around her neck and held it up towards the moon.

　　Amongst the transparent crystals, a spotless pale light shone.

　　The moon came into view, and the blue and green aurora emerged.

　　Her light pink eyes took on a deep crimson color.

　　"……My dreams……"

　　The night wind whispered through and disappeared into a burnt-down forest.

　　She joined her hands and fixed her gaze upon the moon above. She said a transient prayer, quietly and to herself.

　　☽☽☽

　　Очииндиго - Indigo Eyes

　　In a room decorated with numerous wooden fighter [aircraft] models, a young boy with ashen blonde hair was having an injury g treated by his mother. The boy, who longed for the sky, had leapt off the roof with self-crafted wings of wooden rods with cloth, and crashed into an western photinia (aronia) bush. [1]

　　The boy's mother looked like a demon as she scolded him about his foolish action

　　"If you keep doing stupid things, Nosferatu will come flying to bite your neck!"

　　"Stop……!"

　　The boy s.h.i.+vered and s.h.i.+elded his nape with both hands.

　　The Nosferatu were a frightening vampiric race that featured in folklore of the Republic of Zirnitra. Additionally, there were many other mysterious blood suckers such as the Upir, Nelapsi, and Strigoi; all of these creatures were basically non-existent except for one of these. Children shrunk at the mention of the name. [2]

　　His father and mother took the opportunity to drink nearby distilled spirit (Zhizen). [3]

　　" Being a pilot is but a pipe dream for cowards scared of vampires"

　　"T-there's no such thing!"

　　"Well then, what do you think happens when Nosferatu takes flight throughout the night?"

　　"Eh……"

　　The boy imagined a scene where he was confronted by a monster in the sky with a millet colored body. [4]

　　"Haha, are you scared?"

　　"I'm not scared!"

　　The boy objected as his face turned beet red.

　　"Eat garlic everyday, wear a necklace with a cross, and you'll be okay! Besides, I'll shoot them down if they decide to come!"

　　His mother and father exchanged looks and laughed.

　　"Why are you laughing?! d.a.m.nit. When I grow up, I'm going to be a pilot and travel to the moon's surface, and the two of you won't get a ride!"

　　"A trip to the moon? That's decades away."

　　"Come to think of it, isn't there a legend about a vampiric race which live on the back of the moon?"

　　"N-no way! I'll go to the moon and prove that's a lie!"

　　The boy looked up to the moon which was rising in the window beside him. His indigo eyes twinkled from its s.h.i.+ne.

　　"I'm definitely going."

　　Footnotes:

　　1. Aronia: It's chokeberry lol. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aronia

　　2. So, this one was a bit tricky though I understood the underlying theme: they were all slavic vampire-related creatures.

　　3. Spirit basically just means alcohol-particularly things like rum, whiskey, and brandy.

　　4.