Traveler's Inn

Feliciano smiled softly and rested his head on the blonde's shoulder for a few moments, grateful for Ludwig's encouraging words. Somehow, the man seemed to believe that they could handle the situation somehow, and although Feliciano wasn't sure that they would succeed, his confidence was more than appreciated.

The show of Ivan's magic made him lift his head once more in surprise.
"Oooh, that was amazing, sir!" he clapped his hands in admiration.

Even if he was used to magic, it was the first time he saw something so pretty. The spell the magician used was pretty different from what he had seen so far. He glanced at him; the man surely seemed willing to help, but he wondered if they could trust him completely - he still looked pretty scary to Feliciano, and he didn't mind as long as he looked scary to his enemies as well, but...

Ludwig gave Feliciano an encouraging squeeze as he watched Ivan cast the wards on the door. "That's impressive. I have no magical ability, myself." He eyed the pale-haired man carefully, not sure just yet whether he could trust him.

"Essentially, we need to get word to both countries to ensure war doesn't happen." He sighed. "I think we might be safer to go to my uncle's and we may be able to send the message from there to your family, Feliciano. Uncle used to be close to your grandfather, I believe, so he may have word on how things are going."

“Hm? You want me to…” Matthew looked from Gilbert to Ivan to the spot next to Gilbert, the only actual seat left in the room. Then he understood completely, sitting next to Gilbert even though Ivan seemed to be fine against the door. After all, Ivan could very well change his mind and besides, the floor had stopped being comfortable enough a while ago.

Matthew looked over to Ivan only to feel inadequate after his display of magic. Ugh, wards, why hadn’t he thought of that? Though this also served as motivation for Matthew, who now, more than ever, wanted a chance to prove his worth. But for now, he could only hope that Ivan was really on their side.

He looked at Feliciano and Ludwig and couldn’t help but smile a bit. Now that he thought about it, they weren’t as an unlikely couple as Matthew had initially thought. Though he wondered if Ludwig would regret what he was doing at the moment once he was completely sober.

Ivan cocked his head to the side and listened. This story was completely different than the ones that had been reported to his king. The situation was more dire than he thought. It seemed like someone was trying to put the whole know world at war. Or maybe they were lying. He couldn't be sure. He will reserve his judgment until further notice.

"So what do we do now?" Ludwig asked. "I told our cousin to meet us here, so we can't really start on our trek until Roderich arrives. I am sure, with his desire to handle situations and fix them, that he will have left his home already."

He rested his cheek against the top of Feliciano's head. It felt so good. And if the smaller man was horrified later, he could blame this on the alcohol. Not that he wanted to, since that would be a lie. The alcohol just made it easier.

Feliciano was a bit surprised when he felt the prince leaning on his head - wasn't it a bit too sweet for that tough warrior? Not that he minded it, to be honest. The contact with Ludwig made him feel safe, safe and warm. He yawned softly, the head was still feeling heavy and he had begun feeling sleepy as well.

"Well... if we have to wait for your cousin here... why don't we take the chance to rest a bit? I wouldn't mind taking my nap~" he answered.

He wondered how much time would pass before they could have the possibility of sleeping in a bed again. He wondered also how the next city they were going to would look like. Ludwig and Gilbert's uncle was going to provide them with a big room, and food, and, maybe, they would be able to send a message home. Most important, hopefully none of them would get hurt, in the meanwhile.

He sat up and leant towards the others. "I'm really grateful for the help you're giving." he simply said with the most sincere smile.

Gilbert felt the corners of his lips twitch upward at the small man's appreciation. Humans could be such simple animals, and it was those times of simplicity Gilbert felt he liked most about them. He allowed himself to smile at the young prince in return.

She would have liked this one, he thought.

He glanced over at Feliciano and smiled. The young prince was such a joyful presence. "We will need to find some horses we can purchase here, unless you're willing to let someone ride on your back, Gilbert, and that dragon can grow twice its young size."

Asking another griffin to transport was an insult, treating them as labor animals, so suggesting such to one of the townspeople would be dangerous. It was best to leave something like that for a griffin to suggest.

"She is a normal sized dragon...she just does not like showing off in front of strangers....and she likes to fit in my pocket. But I am afraid that she vill not let anyone but me ride her. But she vill carry things...sometimes.." Ivan blushed lightly and patted his pet on the head. "She is very temperamental..."

Gilbert scowled a little at the suggestion, but nodded without complaint.

"One of the two little ones would be acceptable. I'd rather not break my back." He crossed his leg over the other, the ankle resting on his knee. He picked a small piece of lint from his socked foot--the sock was a bright purple--and lowered his foot to rest on the floor beside its partner.

"And no boots." He waggled his finger to the two men.

"I stain easily."

Feliciano blinked, a bit disappointed when his mention of rest and taking naps was totally ignored. Normally, at home, when he mentioned that he was going to sleep for a while, everyone else would disappear from the room to let him rest - of course, he wasn't expecting anything like that from his companions now, but... what did those people have against naps, seriously?
Anyway, he didn't mind sleeping with other people around, so he simply laid down on the mattress, eyes half closed, still listening to the others' conversation.

He was uncertain if the fact that she wasn't happy with people riding her was something good or bad - riding a dragon would be an amazing experience, but maybe not the safest ever - especially considering the dragon's strong character.

Then he turned to Gilbert and then to Ludwig. "Does this mean that one of us can ride on your back as well?" he asked the blonde, curling on the mattress next to him.

"I wouldn't mind it," Ludwig said, running his hand over Feliciano's arm as he rested next to him. He wouldn't mind Matthew because he was his friend, for all intents and purposes. And he certainly wouldn't mind Feliciano. He had to admit, looking down at the slumbering man, that the idea of a nap had some promise.

"Well, we can feel what we want to do for now," he said. "We have two rooms at the inn where we can wait this all out."

Two little ones? Matthew was pretty sure that the only small one was Feliciano. A bit confused, he looked at Ludwig, then at Ivan, before finally considering himself. Oh. Well, compared to them....

From what Matthew knew about griffins, he knew that they rarely if ever let others ride them. Though in this case, when the situation may be dire, it would be more convenient than getting horses for each of them.

He considered what Feliciano said about a nap earlier. Although he rarely if ever took naps like the other, right now, he wasn’t completely against the idea. Something about seeing someone else tired and ready to go to sleep made Matthew feel tired as well and he did his best to stifle a yawn.

Gilbert once again flopped back into the bed to lay down. A large yawn escaped his mouth as he closed his eyes. He listened to those around him speak, not falling asleep himself, simply resting.

Truth was that he never really minded carrying humans--unless they were rude. He used to carry--

He opened his eyes and shook his head, glancing about the room calmly. He had just started to drift off and he didn't feel like dreaming.

Ludwig found himself shifting his position, with the excuse that it was to make Feliciano feel more comfortable, but he could feel himself getting a bit tired as he relaxed there. "Perhaps for once Feliciano makes a good point. Roderich might be here by nightfall and we could start out by the cover of night to get to Uncle's, in that case. A little rest could do us well."

"You all sleep~ I vill vait up for your cousin." Ivan wasn't anywhere near tired and fished an apple out of his pocket to occupy him. The thought of the two humans riding a griffin was highly amusing but a thought best kept to himself. His pet took a bite out of his apple while he was not paying attention and curled up on his shoulder to chew. She stared at the pretty while griffin and contemplated how he would react if she flew at his face.

Feliciano stretched as he made himself more comfortable on the bed. He glanced at Gilbert, who was lying down on the other bed as well, and then at Ludwig. The blond prince looked a bit tired as well, he thought - well, no surprise in that. Ludwig was always taking care of everything, making plans and worrying that everything would work. He surely deserved some rest.

"You really look like a nap would do you well~" he said as he tugged his sleeve gently "You can lay down here." he suggested patting the mattress next to him.
The bed wasn't really big enough for two, but it would do, Feliciano decided as he shifted on one side to leave some space for the other.

Ludwig glanced at Feliciano and nodded. "I am feeling a bit tired." He settled himself in the bed beside Feliciano. It would be tight quarters, but he found in his alcohol influenced mind that the close quarters seemed very pleasant. He glanced over at Feliciano and smiled.

"Thank you for your help, Ivan. Matthew, you can stay here or go to your room, I suppose."

He closed his eyes, feeling sleep overtaking him.

If they had discussed what they needed to, Matthew knew there was no point in him staying. “I suppose I’ll go, then,” he told them, sitting up before going over to retrieve his belongings.

Whether they could see it or not, Matthew gave a small wave before exiting the room. It wasn’t until he closed the door behind him that he allowed himself to yawn loudly. He glanced sleepily at the other doors in the hallway, trying to locate which one was his.

When he had finally found it, he immediately let himself fall face first onto the only bed in the room. Within moments he was asleep, his boots still on and his bag still on his back.

Gilbert casually waved back to the boy as he left, then heaved himself over onto his stomach. With a grunt he buried his face into the pillow. He felt exposed and unprotected at his back. He still didn't trust the new taller male yet, and his brother was practically as useless as the little one he was cuddling with. Gilbert didn't want to fall asleep in such a place with two strangers--well three if you counted the dragon, and frankly he did--and his brother in such a state. His eyes were heavy though, and he found the lack of sleep over the years was hitting him hard today.

With all the yawns passed around, how could he not be tired?

Gilbert pointed blindly to the tall man. "You keep her from scorching my ass in the middle of the night, and we'll be old chums sooner than you can say 'lace panties.'"

Then the albino huffed and wriggled under the covers.

Comfortably squeezed between the wall and Ludwig, Feliciano struggled a bit to sneak under the prince's arm. Once he had it over his shoulders, he sighed and closed his eyes. It felt warm and safe, there, and he quickly forget everything else a part from the soft warmth and the reassuring presence beside him.

His head felt better, now that it was laying down on the pillow, while the rest of his body felt just lazy and tired, although a sort of funny, tinkling sensation seemed to be generating from the points were his legs were touching Ludwig's. It was a sensation he wasn't accustomed to, but it wasn't unpleasant at all.

Ludwig held Feliciano close as he slept. He certainly didn't mind the opportunity for a nap. He turned slightly toward the young prince and smiled as he held him. In a few hours as he sobered up, he might regret it, but right now, he felt at peace.

Ivan was only mildly intrigued about this mysterious she Gilbert was talking about. It was probably a phantom produced by his half drunk and sleep bogged mind. Ivan whispered quietly and breathed into his cupped hands. Almost immediately there was fluttering against his palm and he opened his hands to revile a golden thrush. It glowed dully and cocked its head to the side trilling softly.

He set is on the floor and it hopped around, investigating everything. Sretya slid down his arm and followed the bird around like a lost chick. She turned gold to match the thrush and curled up around it one it found a place to settle down.

In the entryway of the inn, a dark haired man stood, looking around rather irritably at his surroundings. He didn't really believe in the concept of going incognito; he was as flashily dressed as ever, with a billowing blue coat, gleaming sword hilt at his side and riding boots that reached his thighs.

Roderich had had a long, hurried ride from his palace; he was tired, he was dustier than he would have liked and most of all, he was annoyed. Still, his polite nature stopped him from being abrupt with the owner of the inn; he asked for the room his cousin was staying in- or rather, he asked for a tall blond man, since Ludwig was keeping his identity secret- and thanked the man, before heading upstairs.

He paused before the door, double checking that it was the right one, before lifting a black-gloved hand and knocking sharply.

Ludwig was roused from his slumber as he heard the knocking at the door. He found himself so intertwined with Feliciano's body that he ultimately looked up at Ivan. "Can you do me a favor, Ivan? Can you see who it is. It will take me some time to extricate myself from Feliciano."

His cheeks turned a bit pink at the close proximity to the other prince and he began to try to remove one limb after another.