Something was different about today.
My room was the same as always. The walls were the same shade of blue as always, the furniture was all in the same place, my roommate still asleep in her bed and the two other beds empty as usual. It's the same room in my tribe house I've gotten used to.
And yet somehow, I felt different today. I felt that something wasn't the same as recently. That something has changed since yesterday.
I got up from my bed, unable to shake off the feeling of something being different. Then it hit me. Could it be...?
I slowly approached the room's window. I was feeling greatly excited, but at the same time afraid of disappointment. Finally, my paw shaking, I pulled the curtain of the window open.
As soon as I saw the view outside, a wave of joy washed over me. It was what I was thinking after all!
- Danny! Danny! Look! It's here! It's finally here! - I ran over to my roommate and started shaking her, attempting to wake her up. - C'mon, wake up! Look! It's finally here!
- Wha- What's happening? - my roommate Daniella slowly rose up - What's here?
- Winter! There's snow outside! It's finally winter!
- Oh, nice - Daniella yawned - Can I go back to sleep now?
- Oh, c'mon! At least look out the window!
Daniella groaned slightly. She got up from her bed, put her glassed on and started slowly walking towards the window. I pulled her by her paw, dragging her closer to the window.
We both looked out, me with great excitement, Daniella without much interest. The tribe house's front yard yard was all covered in snow, with several snowflakes still twirling in the air. We stared at the view for a couple of seconds.
- Alright, everything's covered in snow, cool. What's so exciting about it though?
- You just don't understand.
- You're right, I don't - Daniella turned away from the window and headed back towards her bed - Now just let me lay here for a few more minutes, alright?
- Aw, come on - I whined. - Don't you like the view at least a little bit?
- The view is kinda nice, but winter isn't really my thing. Eira, you get super excited over snow every time you see it, and that's fine. But I just don't like how cold it is. I'd prefer a nice, warm summer afternoon spent under a tree near a river reading a book. Or perhaps drawing something nice.
- Well, I like it when it's cold outside.
- Look how much thicker your fur is than mine though. No wonder the cold doesn't bother you.
We both laughed a little. She did have a point.
- Alright, fine - I said to her - I'll be going outside now.
- If that's what you wanna do.
I opened my closet and took out two items that have been waiting there for - in my opinion - far too long: ny red bobble hat and my red and white scarf. I put them on and headed to the door.
- See ya! - I said to Daniella.
- Have fun!
I walked out of the room and headed down the tribe house' stairs. There were a few mice in the main room chatting about some things that I simply didn't care about at that moment. As I was passing by the tribe house's canteen, I stopped for a second. It's not necessary for a mouse to eat to be alive, but man mice - myself included - simply enjoy doing so. That being said, I really wanted to go outside as soon as possible to enjoy the snow. I stood there for a moment, wondering what to do. Finally, I decided to run into the canteen, quickly grab a handful of cookies and stuff them into my Pocket (it's a little space in the Inventory for personal things) before heading to the exit. Excited, I opened the door and stepped outside.

Everything looked even better than it did through the window. Everything around me was covered in snow - ground, trees, the fence separating the tribe house's yard from the rest of the surrounding area, the swings put there by the makers of the tribe house for entertainment. It was all white every direction I looked.
I ran forward, feeling the chilly air around me. It was an amazing feeling, one I was missing for all those months without snow.
I picked some snow up and made it into a snowball, which I then threw at a nearby tree. My aim was still as accurate as always. With time, I've gotten pretty good at throwing snowballs (much to the annoyance of arrogant pros present in the same room as I).
For a moment, I stood in place, wondering what to do. There were just so many things to do in winter that I simply didn't know what I should start with. Finally, I decided that for now, I'll just go for a walk and see how the surroundings have changed.
I walked through the gate to the tribe house and kept going forward, admiring the beauty of the surroundings. Everything looked so much more pretty while covered with snow. I loved the feeling of being able to look around and see snow everywhere. I can't explain why, but I felt calm whenever I saw snowy landscapes.
Walking around, I finally got to the nearby entrance to the Gameplay. Even the white bulding was covered in snow, making it even harder to see while looking around. However, most mice who entered the Gameplay through here probably knew this place like the back of their hand. I wasn't really interested in collecting cheese right now, but I decided to enter the building to look at the update board.
The building was filled with mice as usual, all entering or exiting portals to the different Gameplay modes. Many of them have already put on winter clothes. I walked up to the update board to see if the Admins have changed anything recently. There was an announcement that definitely wasn't there yesterday. One of its points in particular got my attention.
"Most vanilla maps have been temporarily replaced by winter-themed ones.”
Winter-themed vanilla maps? Aside from the event maps which appeared on vanilla once in a while, there was rarely anything related to winter. It was as if vanilla (and the whole Gameplay) was a different world altogether. So naturally, if something winter-themed has happened, I had to check it out.
I turned away from the board and ran straight towards the vanilla portal. Trying not to run into any other mice, I made my way to the portal and jumped in. For a moment, everything turned the familiar shade of purple-gray. I then appeared on the invisible platform that lets mice see the whole map after they either get the cheese or fall off.
And then I saw it.
The whole map was covered in snow. What used to be blocks of wood was now ice, and the background... It was a beautiful winter landscape with a tree, some presents and a few houses. It was breathtaking, especially since I've never seen vanilla like this.
The bell rang, signalising the beginning of a new round. I appeared on the map, along with other mice. Most of them dashed forward, all hoping to be the first to get back the the mouse hole. I didn't run with them, I decided to take a while to look into the distance instead. The view was so pretty I could stare at it all day. But there were other things to do there after all. I walked forward, following the other mice.
It was time for some winter fun!

---

I ended up spending more time on vanilla than I expected. By the time I left through the portal, the sun was already setting (then again, it sets earlier in winter). There was a portal that can take a mouse straight to their tribe house, but I decided to walk anyway. After all, a walk in the snow is simply nice, isn't it? ...Well, maybe not for everyone. But certainly for me.
As I walked to the tribe house, I thought about everything that happened that day. Sure, the winter themes made it harder to move around the maps (especially if a ground was replaced with ice, which was impossible to climb), but it only made it more fun. Perhaps not all mice liked the change, but I personally thought it was wonderful.
As I was making my way through the snowy plains, I noticed a mouse standing next to the road. Their fur was white, and they were wearing a green and white scarf and a coonskin cap. I immediately assumed they were a souris - a type of mouse which couldn't speak, couldn't belong to a tribe or have a friend list and some other traits. Probably the most different thing between a mouse and a souris was that a souris wasn't a very persistent being and the only thing keeping their body together is their will to live. Once they don't have any purpose to exist, their bodies lose form and they disappear. And since mice rarely want anything to do with them, they rarely had any greater purpose.
The souris waved at me and walked up to me. They help up a Christmas-themed stationary paper with a message written on it:
- Hello, do you have some spare paper to write on?
That only further confirmed they were a souris. I checked their name tag and surely enough, it said "*Souris_411e". It makes sense why they want those - a souris can't speak, after all.
I smiled kindly and reached into my inventory. I pulled out twenty sheets of Christmas stationary paper and fourty of halloween-themed ones (I had some left over from the recent event), then handed them to the souris.
- Here you go - I said. - I never use those anyway.
The souris smiled. If they could, they'd probably thank me. Glad I could help them, I waved them goodbye and headed to the tribe house

Another day has passed, and once again, I spent almost the entire day on it. I would've never expected such a simple change to vanilla would make me spend so much time on there, but that's how things are apparently. It might seem strange why a change of appearance made it so much more appealing to me, but it doesn't just look different, it feels different. The air is so much more chilly and fresh at the same time. It also works differently as well - with so many things frozen, the whole place is a lot more slippery now - and, by extent, more fun.
Of course, not everyone is happy with the change (after all, what would the world be if everyone's opinion was the same?). Some mice have been complaining that the backgrounds are annoyingly bright, and that the cold, slippery ground "broke" everything. Well, I suppose it's impossible to please everyone. Not everyone likes change, and definitely not everyone likes winter.
As usual, I walked out of the vanilla portal and into the Gameplay building. Once again, it was already starting to get dark outside. Despite that, there were still plenty of mice around. I guess some mice just prefer to spend their night collecting cheese.
I decided to head straight home. Winter is fun, but I was exhausted (who wouldn't be after spending their entire day on vanilla?).
As I was walking down the road, I noticed someone nearby. I walked closer. As I expected, it was the souris from yesterday. They noticed me and waved hello to me. I waved back.
- Good evening! How are ya? - I said to them. They smiled and gave me a thumbs up. At first I was relieved to see they were fine, but then I noticed they were shivering a bit.
- Are you cold? - they nodded slightly. I couldn't help but feel bad for them. They had no place to stay, they couldn't even join a tribe, so they had no choice but to wander alone in the cold, snowy plains.
I got an idea. I opened my inventory and looked through all the things stored there. I finally found it - the campfire. I grabbed the tile-looking object and put it on the ground. Within seconds, there was a campfire burning despite all the snow around here.
- Sit here, okay? - I said to *Souris_411e - I'll be back in a moment.
Despite my exhaustion from spending all day on vanilla, I ran as fast as I could to the tribe house. Finally, I jumped in and headed straight towards the canteen. A mouse named Mali was sitting behind the counter. She joined the tribe about two months ago and since then, she was there quite often.
- Hi there, Eira! What brings you here tonight? - she said when she saw me enter.
- Heya. You think you could make me a cup of hot chocolate real quick?
- Sure thing - she turned around to prepare what I asked for - You must be pretty happy that there's finally snow outside, huh?
- Yeah, it's great. They made a change to vanilla this year too.
- I saw it. It does look pretty nice, though was changing the grounds really a good idea? It does change some things, doesn't it?
- In my opinion, it's fun like that.
- If you say so.
For a moment, we both stood there in silence. Finally, Mali turned around with a mug of hot chocolate. I carefully took it from her hands.
- Thanks.
- No problem. A winter evening speny inside with some hot chocolate sure seems like a nice perspective, doesn't it?
- It does. But that's not my plan for tonight.
I put the hot chocolate in my Pocket and started running towards the exit. I could hear Mali shouting something about the mug behind me, but I didn't really care about that at the moment.
I eventually reached the place where I left 411e. The campfire was still burning. I took the hot chocolate out. Thankfully, the hot chocolate was still warm. The Pocket doesn't seem to follow the laws of physics in a lot of cases. It doesn't really matter though. I approached 411e.
- Hello again. Hope you didn't mind the wait.
411e shook their head.
- Either way, I brought something for you.
I gave them the hot chocolate. They looked at me confused.
- Drink it. Trust me, it's nice.
The souris moved the mug to their mouth and took a sip. I could see a smile spread across their face.
- Pretty good, huh? - they nodded their head. I sat on the snow next to them. - Say, how long have you been wandering around here?
411e took out a piece of stationary paper, put the mug on the ground and started writing. A moment later, they showed me the answer:
- "8 or 9 days, I lost count." - 411e picked up the mug again, drinking from it ocasionally.
I was quite surprised. From what I heard, most souris disappear after a few days or even hours. What could have made this one's will to live so strong?
- And you don't have anywhere to stay? - they shook their head. - Well, guess that means you're a strong mouse, huh? - I paused for a moment. - Well, strong or not, it's really cold outside, especially at night. - I paused again, thinking. - Say, if you really don't have any place to stay when it's so cold outside... perhaps you could come to my tribe house? It's a building where a group of mice called a "tribe" live together. - I added quickly, seeing their confusion.
They looked down for a moment, thinking. I could see they were hesitating. They looked around and noticed it was starting to snow. Finally, nodded their head and got up, agreeing to my invitation.
- I'm glad you've agreed. Now, let's go. Follow me! - I said, walking in the direction of the tribe house.

It wasn't long before we arrived at the tribe house. Despite that, it was already dark outside, and definitely much colder than during the day. Well, I wasn't really bothered by that, but I could see 411e shivering. I was glad I didn't leave him out in the snowy plains for another night.
I stepped through the gate. I turned around to see 411e hesitating a bit.
- Come on, there's nothing dangerous here! - I said with a smile. Finally, they hesitantly walked in and followed me through the door.
I could feel the warmth of the tribe house the second we walked in. 411e looked around, noticably impressed by the building's interior. We both walked into the living room, which was almost completely empty except for a few mice reading something. They seemd to pay no ettention to us. 411e sat by the fireplace, enjoying its warmth. I suppose that's what anyone would do after spending a while on the cold plains.
Looking around, I noticed Azure, the tribe's leader. She seemed to be walking in my direction.
- Good evening, Eira - she said to me. - I see you've brought a guest?
- Uh, yeah. I don't think there's anything wrong with that...?
- Well, first things first, I asked you all several times to ask one of the tribe's staff members before you give an invitation to someone, didn't I?
- Well, yes, but-
- And you didn't, did you?
- No, but-
- And that aside, why would you bring a souris here? - Azure crossed her arms. - Look, I have nothing against them, but they're usually so clueless that some tribe members might find them annoying.
- But look, they're different. They told me they've been alive for over a week! They must be some sort of exception. And if we give them a place to stay, perhaps they won't disappear like most others do!
Azure sighed.
- Eira, I somehow highly doubt anything would come from him staying here. They might be a nuisance to the tribe members, disturb some important tribe ceremonies or even hurt someone. How do you know they can be trusted? Where did you even find them?
- He doesn't seem like the crazy type, and souris in general are too clueless and weak to hurt someone, Besides, we have that Lua script thing running at all times, so nothing can happen to anyone in the tribe house.
Azure seemed to be thinking about this. I looked at her. She eventually looked back at me.
- Eira, I just don't see a reason for them to stay.
- They can be useful in some way! I'm sure of that!
- You really want them to stay, don't you? - I nodded. - Well, if you're so sure they can help the tribe in a way, then give me an example of something they could help with. We'll talk about this again tomorrow. Until then, try to think of something, alright?
I smiled.
- I will. Thank you.
Azure headed off. I quickly ran up to her.
- One more thing: can they stay in my room for tonight? - I asked.
Azure sighed.
- If you really insist. Who's with you in the room? It's Daniella, right?
- Yes, it's her.
- Well, if she agrees, then the souris can stay there for tonight.
- Thanks again.
I walked up to 411e. The were still sitting by the fireplace.
- It's getting late. C'mon, I'll show you the place where you'll be staying for tonight.
The souris got up, smiling. They followed me up the stairs and into the room. As I expected, Daniella was laying on her bed reading something.
- Hi Danny, I'm back.
- Oh, hello. So, what did you do to-
As Daniella looked up from her book, she noticed 411e. She was rather surprised.
- Oh, I see you brought a friend...? - she asked.
- Yeah, they're going to stay here tonight.
- Eira... - Daniella lowered her voice. - Can we talk for a moment?
I sighed. Another long talk about 411e. Just what I wanted. I reluctantly followed Daniella out of the room.
- Eira, who is that and why did you bring them here? - she asked slightly concerned.
- Long story short, they're a souris that's been alive for surprisingly long, and I decided to bring them here instead of leaving them out in the cold.
- Well, that's... nice of you. But... can we really trust them...?
I was surprised to see Daniella like this. She seemed concerned and even slightly scared.
- Don't worry, they seem harmless - I said in an attempt to calm her down.
- "Seem"... Well said.
- It's going to be okay. I promise.
- I hope you're right.
Daniella walked back into the room. I followed right behind her. I noticed 411e was already laying at one of the free beds. I was happy they didn't have to sit out there in the cold. But that was only the beginning of trouble. I still had to find a way to convince Azure after all.
- 411e, I need to talk to you. - I said at the other free bed. The souris turned around to face me and sat at the edge of their bed. I knew we had to figure something out by morning.

Eira is a mouse who loves winter and snow. She's kind, but usually gets excited easily.

Eira's roommate from the same tribe as her. She's usually kind, but she's not very sociable and has difficulty trusting new people.

Eira's new friend. They are a kind souris with a surprisingly strong will to live.

A mouse from Eira's tribe. Usually sits in the tribe's canteen, serving mice their orders.

The creator and leader of Eira's tribe. She's somewhat mean, but really cares for the members of her tribe.

Transformice is the world this story is set in. It was named after their former ability to transform, which was posessed by them before the shaman feathers started to be used. It is mostly inhabited by mice.

Mice are the main species inhabiting Transformice. They do not age (and the whole physical concept of age isn't a thing) and can only die if some outside factor affects them. Once a mouse dies, their body turns into bubbles. Mice do not need to eat to stay alive (but many do because they simply enjoy doing so).

The in-universe equivalent of the game's gameplay. It is accessed through special buildings that are located all around Transformice, and is split into different game modes (like in the actual game). The same room can be entered through its respective game mode portal from any building around the world, though exiting it will always bring the mouse back to the building they entered through.
As long as a mouse stays in the Gameplay, they cannot die - if they fall off the map or die otherwise, they will be brought back to their state from the moment the round began and transported to an invisible platform that allows them to see the entire map.

The inventory works just like in the game, and allows mice to store consumables in the form of little tiles with an image showing the consumable's effect. It is sort of an "alternate-dimension storage space".
There is a small part of the inventory called the Pocket meant for storing personal items.