Antonio's home in the woods

Antonio had gotten so lucky to be able to buy this little cottage in the middle of the forest. It was quiet and removed from the urban centers and the people crowding them.

Despite having a warm and cozy home, full of many things needed for his craft, Antonio felt confined. He needed to get out into the world and practice his magic. It was time to...wander the land. And so he decided to start preparing the things he would need for his voyage. He secured his little cottage and left all his plants outside for sunshine and rain.

The day arrived early. He stepped outside, locked his door, and started walking.

Criminals-actually pretty good informants when you needed to know about things happening in other kingdoms. Always seemed to the bits of information that even royal spies managed to miss...though this wasn't a surprise, since knowing things meant being one step ahead of the hangman's noose.

The secrecy however he could do without. You'd think that as much as he payed these people they'd actually come into the city, but no he was stuck wandering the damn woods. On the upside, by the time he found his way back he'd have an excuse as to why he'd been missing for hours on end....

Antonio hadn't walked very far from his cottage when he bumped into a young man. He was slim, brown haired and if Antonio was a really good judge of character, he seemed lost. He was also scowling. Now he got curious.

He got closer and he noticed for the first time, the curl. As soon as he did, he went down on one knee prostrating himself in front of the youth. "Your Highness."

Lovino scowled at the man on the ground. Really, what was the point in not dressing like royalty if people recognized you anyway?

He considered his options. Admitting who he was definitely wasn't a good idea, running probably wasn't in his best interest-lying seemed like the best bet. He ran a hand through his hair subtly tucking the curl behind his ear and giving the man a disgusted look. "What the hell are you talking about?! Get up, you look like an idiot"

The voice that was berating him sounded beautiful and angelic. Antonio looked up and there was no curl. He blinked several times and the curl didn't appear at all. He quickly got up, dusted his knee and bowed to the young man.

"I beg your pardon. Please ignored what I just said. It is no importance." He genuinely smiled at the young man. "I live in these woods. Are you lost by any chance?"

For a moment he thought it wouldn't work, staring anxiosly at the confused look on the others face and reconsidring an escape attempt. He let out a sigh of releif when the man finally got up and snorted. "I'm sure it wasn't"

Lovino had to resist the urge to return the smile, gloweringat the stranger instead. "No, i'm not, thank you" he grimaced at this "...well, maybe a bit..."

Antonio was surprised at the reluctance. He immediately went on the defensive. This young man didn't seem right. He seemed edgy and upon closer inspection, he also seemed to be on guard. "Perhaps I can be of assistance then. Where are you going?" He smiled again.

This guy was too friendly, helpful and constantly smiling. That, combined with the fact that he just happened to be ot in the middle of the woods, that he apparently lived there, made him suspect.Great-he'd probably run into some kind of bandit or something. "No where that concerns you"

The young man reminded Antonio of a cornered kitten. All he needed was a pair of twitching ears and tail. Antonio shook his head to get rid of the images and the big smile that threatened to blossom on his face.

"My name is A-Adarine. Yes, that's my name." Antonio chuckled. He hoped the young man hadn't noticed the hesitation. Names had power and he should have known and been prepared to give an alias. "So," he hesitated again. "I live in this forest. If you tell me where you're going, maybe I'm going that way and I can guide you." He smiled again in the hopes of making the other feel more relaxed around him.

"Adarine, righhhhht" Even he didn't sound like he was sure about the name The idiotic grinning, the suspicious head shaking...it was so obvious. He wasn't a bandit, he was one of those mad people. The kind who got locked up for doing crazy things and hearing voices that weren't there and trying to kill pople. Just his luck.

Lovino glanced around him, trying to plot out the quickest means of escape and mentally kicking himself for not doing it before hand. "Yeah..." he gave "Adarine" a nervous look and took several steps backwards. "I doubt that bastard..."

Antonio had been told time and again that he was too defenseless, too carefree, too trusting of strangers. He was ready to trust the young man in front of him, whose name he still didn't know and hadn't been offered either. Maybe he should ask him.

He ignored what he was saying. "What's your name? Where do you live?" He took a step closer to him.

All right, he was being tuned out now-that was bad. It was time to get away from Mr.creepy bastard now. He glared at the man and took another step back.

"Romano-" Like hell was he giving him his real name. "I live in the city-point me in that direction" not that he expected him to ell the truth. Nope, as soon as he got the directions he was running as fast as possible in the other direction.

"Romano...that somehow rings a bell..."

Antonio extended his hand to shake the young man's. "Greetings, Romano. The city is in that direction." He pointed with his free hand while waiting for Romano to shake his hand.

Lovino looked glanced down at the offered hand, considered it for a moment and chose to ignore it. "Mhmmm...thanks bastard" He looked back the way Adarine had pointed, turned on his heel and took off in the other direction.

Antonio was left with his hand in the air. He was taken by surprised when he was called bastard. It was even more surprising to watch Romano run in the opposite direction of where the city was located. "Wa--Wait! It's dangerous that way!" Antonio knew these forests like the back of his hand. He knew what lurked there the deeper you went. Even the city and village folk knew to stay away from there. He started trotting after Romano in case he got into trouble.

He snickered to himself at the surprised look on the mans face. He didn't stop, in spite of the yelling-really, the jack ass was probably lying anyway-he wasn't that stupid. Though none of these tree's looked familiar,but that wasn't all that surprising. This was definetly going to be the only outing he ever made into the woods...Fuck, that guy was following him. He shot an evil look over his shoulder and sped up.

"Ro--" Antonio was now out of breath. "Romano! Stop! The city isn't that way! There's danger in that direction. Wait!" He got a stitch in his side from running. He continued walking. He hoped he'd be able to catch up to Romano.

This bastard just did not give up. Most sane people with a good reason didn't even bother to chase after him this long. "Like hell I will!" Lovino kept running, turning his attention back to what was in front of him just in time to run headlong into something large and furry.

Antonio watched Romano go down. He was sure it was a bear. Maybe. Okay, he wasn't sure. He sprinted the rest of the way only to find the clearing empty save for Romano who was passed out on the ground. He kneeled next to him and tried to revive him. He was either dead, which would be bad since he didn't know where Romano lived, or he was dead. Either way, Antonio was in deep.

He picked him up in his arms, princess-style and carried him back to his cottage. It was best to see to his well-being than abandoning him in the middle of nowhere. Specially when he got confused by his directions to get back to the city. He laid him on his bed and checked for any blood or broken bones and found none.

Bears. Wonderful-he could add getting eaten to the list of bad things that seemed to keep happening to him. Lovino did not scream like a girl and faint, no he screamed like a girl, fell and knocked himself out...which actually wasn't that much better.

Something was touching him and his head hurt. He blinked, finding himself in an unfamiliar place with creepy bastard standing over him. His eyes narrowed and glared at the man. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Antonio was surprised by the angry voice that spoke to him. He almost jumped a foot in the air. With hand over his heart, "I was checking for blood or broken bones, but you're okay." He sat back on his haunches and simply looked at Romano. He looked. And he looked. He wanted to make sure the curl wasn't there. If it was there, he would be in mortal danger of not only having confused a member of the royal family but quite possibly harmed him. All through no fault of his own.

"How are you feeling? You walked into something big and hard. It's a good thing you're alive." He smiled.

Lovino snickered at Adarine's reaction, he was jumpy for a creepy bastard living in the middle of nowhere. He rolled his eyes."Of course I'm okay-so keep your hands to yourself." He shifted uncomfortably at the mans scrutiny blushing slightly and shooting him an irritated look. "The fuck is your problem?! Stop staring at me!" He huffed angrily, crossing his arms.

"I'm fine." He rubbed his head where he'd hit it and grimaced.Bastard apparently didn't intend to kill him. Didn't make him trustworthy-but it made him (a little) less creepy. He glanced around the room, noticing the unfamiliar surroundings for the first tie. "Where are we?"

Antonio pulled his hands back as if he'd been scalded. Romano seemed to have quite a temper. Maybe he was like that after waking up. "I don't have a problem." Antonio blushed. He had been staring at Romano, but only because he wanted to see if the curl reappeared. "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to stare."

He watched him rub a spot on his head where he probably hit the monster. He almost reached out a hand to check when Romano spoke again. Antonio smiled, "We're in my cottage. This was the only place I could think of bringing you. I couldn't very well leave you on the forest floor. That area is dangerous for those who are not familiar with it."

"I'm sure you didn't" Lovino muttered sarcastically. Really, what was wrong with this guy? At least he had enough common sense to apologize.He tacked an "Idiot" onto the end of the sentence as an afterthought. He sighed in an annoyed manner, shaking his head and unnoticedly dislodging the curl from its hiding place.

"Dangerous, yeah-Riiighhht" This Adarine guy obviously thought he was stupid, if he really expected him to believe that someone so dense would still be alive there if anything in the general area was more dangerous than a fork. "I would have been fine"

Antonio was listening to Romano speaking when the curl suddenly reappeared. He watched it bob in the air. He wanted to reach a hand out and touch it but Romano's tone of voice stopped him.

Suddenly he realized again, belatedly, what the curl meant. He went down on hands and knees and touched his forehead to the floor. "Your Highness! My deepest apologies for bringing you to this dirty cottage. Please allow me to escort you to the castle. This is really not a safe place for you."