Borderlands of Rhynland

The warrior smiled at Feliciano, surprised at how easily that came to him around the other man. As the fish wriggled out its last movements, he feared Feliciano would drop the trout, but thankfully, he held onto it tightly. He looked back down at the water, once he was sure their dinner was not making a getaway.

"I think most things are good with potatoes, but it could be that I ate quite a few growing up." He saw the odd movement from Feliciano to the fish. "Some cultures pray over their food to thank it for the nourishment it has given them, if that makes you feel better about eating them."

He saw another trout swim just close enough that he was able to spear it as he had the last. When it came to fighting or hunting, he didn't question his skill. However, his ability to make Feliciano feel better about what had happened, that he had no faith in at all. The only thing he felt he could do was offer him some protection. It sounded as though his country was going to be dragged into this political scandal regardless of whether or not the fighter had realized who Ludwig was while they were fighting.

That aside, he had to admit that a part of him wanted to protect Feliciano. The man seemed so completely helpless sometimes.

With a second fish quickly speared, just as the first had been, he only barely noticed a large fire starting then quickly shrinking. It looked as though Matthew was experimenting with magic. All the better, the warrior thought, as it couldn't do anything but help their situation.

"Here, Feliciano. Another fish."

After a while, when he was absolutely certain the fire wasn’t going to go out of control, Matthew sighed with relief. Even though everything turned out fine in the end, he didn’t plan on trying the spell again in the future. Or at least until he remembered what the extinguishing spell was and how it differed from clothing spells. Speaking of which, it occurred to Matthew that he made the right decision when he kept his mouth shut about the spell. At the moment, Ludwig had enough problems as it was. He really didn’t need to add the problem of clothes catching of fire.

He felt like something was missing, somehow, and realized he burnt off the single, stubborn strand of hair, which was usually in front of his face as if its only purpose was to annoy him. For ages, he had tried to get rid of it, and couldn’t even yank it out. But instead, this problem had been solved accidentally, and in a matter of a few seconds, no less. Matthew laughed at the irony (though he stopped when a new hair quickly came to take its place).

Matthew started to think of anything else he could do while Ludwig and Feliciano were away when his attention turned to the fire once more, which was already decreasing in size. Panicking, Matthew practically jumped to his feet, hurrying back for more wood and possibly dried leaves. He had no intention of starting another fire any time soon, so he wanted to do his best to keep this one alive and burning.

A couple of trips back and forth later, Matthew wondered, exasperated, whether it would have been easier for him to have tried fishing instead.

Feliciano grabbed the second prey, this time without any problem, and folded his tunic in order to keep the fish.

"No, it's not that." he answered to Ludwig's mention of praying over the food. "I just thought that we're like the trout." He looked at the fish in his lap, which was staring at him with wide-open and empty eyes. Well, at least <i>they</i> weren't dead, right?
"W-well, what I mean, is that I have no idea of who is trying to kill me, at all... and I don't know how powerful they can be." Depressed, he looked at the water.
"They sent that rider after me because... well, because it was me." he reasoned, trying to put together some pieces of what seemed a much wider and more complex frame "But now that they discovered who you are, I fear they can send against us something... uh, something... really scary and dangerous!"
Of course, the warrior was dangerous enough for Feliciano alone, he knew that, but Ludwig had managed to face him quite easily. This time, at least; he couldn't even think of what could await them next.

A bit nervous, he looked back at the place of their camp, only to see Matthew disappearing in the wood once again. Luckily, he was back only a few moments later.

Ludwig ignored the fishing for just a moment and looked at Feliciano. "It isn't easy not knowing who your enemy is, but we will be prepared. And if we must, I can call on my family's support. Someone wants to start a war, killing you in my country's lands, or perhaps now, killing me and letting you take the blame. It seems like someone thinks they can profit from a battle between our people."

The mere idea made the warrior angry. He didn't like the political mechanization, which is why he had left his role as prince in the first place. He took that anger out on a passing fish and speared it a little too hard, getting the stick caught in the creek bed.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you or war to break out. I promise you that,"he said before jerking the stick free of the rocks beneat the slowly trickling water.

Matthew wondered idly if setting up camp meant that they would be staying there for the night. But he didn’t know for sure, and besides, he didn’t know where Ludwig had put his tent if they did intend to stay. Plus, he would feel awkward rummaging through someone else’s things. He figured that if they were staying, he’d do it when they got back. In hindsight, he should have asked Ludwig before the other two had gone fishing. Speaking of which, Matthew glanced over to see if they were doing alright and they seemed to be fine.

While tending to the rather high maintenance campfire, he kept playing the ‘what if’ game with himself, working out the worst-case scenarios of this journey in his head. The value of his companion’s lives suddenly occurred to Matthew; it would cause a rather large incident if either of his companions died. But if he himself died, life would go on as usual.

Well that was certainly depressing. He shook his head, sighing, adding more sticks to replace the ones that had burnt quickly to ashes. “What am I thinking? Nobody’s going to die,” he muttered aloud. He wished he had the naivety to believe himself. But their outcome really only depended on them, and whoever it was they were up against.
“Well, won’t this be fun?” he said dryly, sighing to himself.

As he looked up to the other, a grateful smile slowly found its way on the prince's face, even if Ludwig's words were not enough to really reassure him completely.

Someone who wanted war between their two countries... His grandfather used to have a thing for conquering and defeating, but the time for that had passed, and their kingdom was peaceful now, in good terms with the neighboring countries, and the last thin that Feliciano wanted as a prince was the beginning of new enmities with the other states.
He had never understood too much of political issues, but he could understand that anyway the danger they were facing went well beyond fighting against an enemy or two.

However, Ludwig seemed still sure he could handle the situation, and that was enough for Feliciano to clm down, at least for the moment.
He stretched out a bit to grab the last fish the warrior had caught "Do you think we have enough fish now? These are pretty big." he asked. He was also hungry again, and quite eager to start cooking their dinner.

"I think we should be fine," Ludwig told him as he hopped back onto the creek's bank. He gathered the armor he'd discarded under one arm and looked back at Feliciano. "Matthew will likely think we have abandoned him by this point." He looked at Feliciano's full arms. "Can you carry them back to camp or do you want me to take some of them for you?"

He wasn't sure how big this situation was, which troubled him. He liked to be in control of a situation, but there was no being in control of this one. All he could do now was to protect Feliciano, keep Matthew safe as well, and try to stop this before it started.

Speaking of Matthew, he realized that he'd forgotten to tell him to set up the tent. Since he was the only one with one, he assumed they would be sharing it once again. And as long as Matthew's familiar-slash-mindbear didn't join the party, it wouldn't be any more crowded than it had the night before. Ludwig made a mental note to himself to ask the blond about the bear.

Just as Matthew began to tire of his own company, he glanced in the direction of Ludwig and Feliciano and saw that they looked like they were about to return. He smiled and happily gave a frantic wave, not caring in the least if he seemed a bit childish. Even though they hadn't been terribly far away, their entire situation had made Matthew incredibly nervous, though he hadn’t known how bad it actually was until he had time alone with his thoughts.

He noticed Ludwig carrying his armor and Feliciano with an armful of fish, wondering if they needed him to lend a hand. “Do you need help with anything?” Matthew called out to them through cupped hands, doubting his voice would carry otherwise.

Looking up at the sky, he noticed that the sun was almost about to set. It made sense, though, especially since so much had happened. Unless Ludwig was planning on risking traveling through the forest at night, Matthew was pretty certain now that they planned to stay the night. He’d make sure to apologize for forgetting the tent, then.

"I'm fine, thank you!" he answered to Ludwig.

As they approached the camp, he saw Matther waving at them, asking if they needed any help.
"No, no! It's alright!" he said, waving back at the other to greet him, but almost dropping the fish in the meanwhile. Luckily, he managed to hold to it again.

Matthew was sitting next to a very nice fire, and Feliciano suddenly realized that the flames looked so bright also because the shadow of the forest were becoming darker and deeper, while the sun was quickly setting somewhere beyond the trees.
Once again, and more than ever that night, he was grateful he wasn't alone anymore.

He hurried up where he had left his backpack and, holding carefully the fish still folded in his tunic, began to unpack his bag, rummaging in it until he found what he was searching for: a pan and a knife.

"Can you give me the herbs you found, please?" he asked Ludwig, sitting on a rock next to the fire and beginning cutting the fish to remove the fishbones and the scales.

Ludwig smiled at Matthew. "Thank you for getting the fire ready," he said, though, as he was about to put his armor on the ground beside his bag. "Though... did it get a little out of hand earlier?" He couldn't help but notice the faint halo of blackened earth around the fire.

He went back to looking through his bag, first for the fabric-wrapped herbs that he'd gathered from around the area before Feliciano had nearly swallowed a bee. He smiled to himself, slightly at that. He handed the fabric over to the other man. "I don't know if anything in there will be of any use, but I tried."

He returned back to the bag and began removing the pieces of his tent. "I hope you don't mind setting up here. I assumed it would be safe enough with people close by." As long as he was busy working on something, it was better. IF he was given time to dwell on it, he would only have gotten angrier. He just... the simple idea that he was being dragged into a political mess, and that Feliciano was as well, infuriated him like nothing else. He liked the two men he was traveling with, and he intended to make sure nothing happened to either of them.

So Ludwig had noticed, though to be fair, it was rather difficult to miss. Matthew wondered why he even thought that they wouldn't. “Well,” he said the word slowly, “I guess you could put it that way.” It was a bit embarrassing and he preferred not to fully explain the situation. He was thankful when Ludwig changed the subject.

“I don’t mind it at all. I actually like this spot, it definitely feels safer than the areas we were traveling in,” Matthew said. The sense of security probably came from having other people nearby, like Ludwig had said. If anything happened, a reaction from other travelers might give them a warning beforehand. And the creek was certainly another plus. He didn’t think they’d be able to find a better spot to stop, at least in this forest.

Matthew looked over to see Feliciano preparing the food before turning back to Ludwig who was beginning to set up the tent. “I’m sorry I didn’t set up the tent while you were gone, but I could help you now, if you’d like,” Matthew said. He wanted to distract himself from worrying too much by keeping busy and also wanted to feel useful as otherwise he'd feel like the only person who wasn't doing anything to help out.

Feliciano didn't put much attention to the fire - the fact itself that there was a fire was more than enough for him - and went on with his work.
He took the herbs, unfolding the fabric and sniffing the content; Ludwig had done a good job, there was some rosemary in there, and some other herbs that he could use.
"No, they're perfect, thank you!" he answered happily.
He put the fish cut in pieces in the pan, spread the herbs on it, and then held the pan over the fire, using the knife to turn the pieces so that they wouldn't get burnt.

Well, he wasn't going to feel really safe there, he guessed, but again, he wasn't probably going to feel safe anywhere until that big mess was over. And it would require a lot of time and luck for that, so yes, that place was fine: they had fish, and a tent, and a fire, and other travelers nearby.

He moved his fingers slightly over the pan (the herbs were good enough, but adding some extra flavor wouldn't hurt); he was regaining his usual good mood. They had just fished their dinner, the evening was quiet and the sky was painted in the slight orange of the sunset. He could hear some of the voices of other people coming from beyond the trees. It could have been some sort of pic-nic, really. He smiled to himself, thinking that maybe the situation wasn't as desperate as it had seemed before.

"I think the help would be nice. I don't like to lose my temper, but I have more than a few times with this frustrating tent," Ludwig told Matthew, though he couldn't help but feel proud he'd picked some decent herbs for cooking fish earlier. He didn't really want to dwell on exactly why having pleased Feliciano made him so happy. That was a thought he'd prefer to push back for another time, if ever.

Instead, he pulled out the last items of the tent and began setting up a flat area for them to sleep on. "If it were a bit chillier, I'd suggest putting some of the ashes from the fire beneath the dirt under our tent, but it's warm enough without doing that."

He glanced over at Feliciano. "At least he's perked up a bit now that he's cooking," he said to Matthew as he continued to prepare the area. He knelt down and ran his hand over the area where the tent would be erected. He wasn't particular about much, but it irritated him if he could do something nearly perfectly and fell short of that. Particularly with building-related activities, which he supposed putting up a tent fell under. His two companions would not have a poor night's sleep that was his fault in anyway.

Once satisfied that the rocks and twigs were out of the way that would cause discomfort during their sleep, Ludwig looked to Matthew. "Could you hand me the main poles there?" He pointed to the larger sticks that would prop the tent up in the center.

For some reason or another, it was impossible for Matthew to picture Ludwig having trouble with something like building a tent. Then again, there had been times when he was certain that tents were designed to give someone a hard time. Perhaps it was for the best that Matthew hadn’t tried to assemble the tent on his own.

At mention of Feliciano, Matthew turned to look at the man. He had to agree with Ludwig, at the moment, Feliciano appeared to be more content than he’d seen him since before the incident. Fearing he might spoil the other’s good mood, Matthew made up his mind not to give any mention to the earlier occurrence unless one of his companions brought it up. For now, at least; he didn’t think there was a need to mention it that night, anyway.

He watched Ludwig as he inspected the area he had cleared carefully. Matthew wondered if everything the warrior did was done efficiently, but already guessed that the answer was yes. His thoughts had almost gone on a tangent from there, but he realized that he’d been asked to do something.

“You mean these? Sure.” Matthew picked up the poles the other man had gestured towards and handed them to him. He’d make sure to pay attention in case he had to do anything else.

He kept his attention focused on the pan and on the fish, aware that the others were setting up the tent, but without giving them a second glance; since he was so focused on the dinner, his thoughts started wandering in a complete different direction. The city should have been quite near, and he wondered if they would reach it the next morning.
He didn't mind so much eating outside, but he wished they could have a proper lunch, sitting around a real table, possibly with pretty maids serving the food and pouring wine... and now that it occurred to him, he wondered also how the wine would taste here.

The following thought concerned the pretty maids, and was immediately linked with what Ludwig had said that morning. The moment after, he pictured some griffins serving their meals, and Feliciano immediately made a mental note to avoid approaching any girl once in the city.

He glanced at Ludwig, observing him for a moment before going back to tend the fish. He had never really see a griffin before, a part from some imaginative and quite improbable illustrations where they looked more like some kind of scary monsters, rather than the majestic and noble creature in which Ludwig had turned into. They could still look scary, though, he considered as he thought of how Ludwig had beaten the rider.

A glance to the pan brought his thoughts to end. "Ehi, the fish is ready!" he called the others.

Ludwig drove in the larger poles by hand, then followed the connecting piece that would go in the middle. This was the easy part. The difficult part was dealing with the heavy canvas that made up the largest part of the tent's structure. "Now for the fun part," he said to Matthew with a grimace.

He asked the other to help him, stretching out the canvas first, then draping it over the braces without knocking them over. With Matthew's help, this went much easier, and he didn't knock them down, not once, let alone the four or five he usually averaged each night. "There is a hammer that came with the tent for driving in the stakes if you want to take two and secure your side," he told the other man. "I'll handle this side."

The stakes were easy enough once he got this far, giving them a firm stomp to drive them into the soft dirt. He was finishing with the last as he heard Feliciano say that dinner was ready. He had been gauging for some time now whether the smell was close to being done, and if he were being truthful, the delicious aroma that had been coming his way had started to get a little distracting.

"It smells very good, Feliciano," Ludwig said, glancing over to Matthew to see how he was coming with the stakes and if he would need any additional help.

The whole process had gone surprisingly well, though he did find himself holding his breath when they covered the braces with the canvas, almost certain that they’d fall, just to spite him. But it hadn’t, and after he was sure it wouldn’t fall, he searched for the hammer Ludwig had mentioned.

Matthew couldn’t seem to find it at first, and he had gotten sidetracked as he stopped to appreciate the smell of fish cooking. Just as he realized how hungry he actually was, he stepped on something, only to find it was the hammer he was looking for. Luckily, the soil was much softer than what he had to deal with in earlier cases, back when he still had his own tent.

He had finished with the first stake when he heard Feliciano calling. “I’ll be done in a second”, Matthew replied, hastily hammering in the second stake because one, the sooner it was over, the sooner he’d be able to have fish, and two, he’d looked over and saw that Ludwig had already finished.

“And I think I’m just about done, eh,” he said, glancing at Feliciano. At the moment, the food looked as good as it smelled and his stomach growled.

Feliciano nodded enthusiastically, breathing in the scent of the fish: it was promising and so welcomed at the end of that day.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" he encouraged cheerfully, waving at Matthew's direction. They had done a perfect work with the tent, and he found himself looking forward to sleep in it, almost forgetting for once that it wasn't a real bed. All the thoughts he had just had about how much he wanted to eat at a real table and to reach the city and all that sort of thing were already forgotten, their dinner smelled nice and the tent looked even nicer, with its promise of a night of quiet sleep - hopefully.

With the knife he had he took a small piece of fish and put it in his mouth before handing the pan to Ludwig, just to be sure, but... oh, it tasted <i>delicious</i>.
"Aaaah, this is soooo good! You fished the softest and tastiest trout of the creek, indeed!" he commented after having swallowed, waving again, this time in Ludwig's direction. He hurried closer to the other to get another piece of fish.

Ludwig walked over and headed to get some of the fish. "This smells fantastic," he said as he picked it up from the fire and began eating. It was flaky and tender and quite honestly delicious. "You are a wonderful cook, Feliciano," he said as he smiled at the smaller man.

He could not remember the last time he'd had food so good, and he almost lamented that they would be eating at a tavern, rather than another such dish prepared by the young prince. He was doing his very best to refrain from saying something or making a noise that could be somehow embarrassing.

"If you ever wanted to give up your own royalty," he said, "I think that you could easily become royal chef for my family."

After hearing all the praise for the food, Matthew was more than eager to try some of the fish for himself. He abandoned his spot next to the tent to join the other two to get some of the trout. As soon as he tasted it, Matthew understood what the hype was about. He hummed in surprise after taking a bite full; he had expected it to be very good, and it turned out to be even better than his expectations.

Matthew nodded in agreement to Ludwig’s compliment. It got him to think of how strange fate was, that someone who was so talented in other trades was born to rule instead. He tried to form words to describe how good the food Feliciano prepared was, but remained silent as he couldn’t find any.

“This is, without a doubt, the best fish I’ve eaten in my entire life,” he said finally, after a second piece. Having come from where he did, Matthew’s opinion on the taste of food shouldn’t really count; everything tasted better than what he grew up on. Yet this was on a completely different level.

It wasn't until he was no longer hungry and after a yawn that Matthew realized how tired he was.

He blushed a bit at all those compliments - he knew he was a good cook, and people at home used to appreciate his food too, but almost all the food was good back home, while seeing that new people appreciated his cooking was something really gratifying for the prince, because the others did really mean it.
Especially Matthew looked like he had never had trout (a good trout, at least) before.

"Veee, I'm so happy~" he answered, rubbing the back of his head as he felt a bit embarrassed.

"Do you really think so?" he made at Ludwig's statement. The moment after, anyway, he thought that the cooks at his home could make amazing food too, and although he loved cooking, he didn't mind being served the food by others at all... the thought that there was the possibility that he would never have a lunch or a dinner in the rooms of his palace made him a bit depressed again, but before he could say anything further, he yawned. Now that his stomach was full, the weariness of the day seemed to come out in all its weight all of a sudden.

He rubbed his eyes, with a second yawn. At least for that night, he strongly hoped none would try to attack them... but he was too tired to even worry about the possibility.


((That was almost a marriage proposal!!! <333 :'D))

Ludwig tried not to rush eating his fish, regardless of how good he was. Instead, he ate slowly and savored it. He even closed his eyes as he ate on. "I will have to get you to try some bratwurst once we are in town. It will be different from what you are used to, but it is easily my favorite dish, along with some potatoes."

He finished his fish and stood. "Well, time for bed then." He carefully ensured the fire wouldn't spread over the night, then gathered his blanket. Once again, he positioned himself at one edge of the tent, leaving plenty of room for Feliciano and Matthew. It was relatively comfortable, given that the soil beneath the tent was not insanely hard.

He spread the blanket out on the tent floor and lay down on it. He settled down and waited for the others. "If we head out in the morning, we will get to town in time for dinner and an actual inn."

((yeah. that was almost a proposal. Poor Ludwig is gettin very confused about Feli))

Matthew yawned again, nodding. “Um right. Bed. Yes,” he mumbled with a tired smile before entering the tent. It had been an interesting day, no doubt, and it had definitely taken its toll on him. Matthew had all but collapsed happily in the edge of the tent opposite Ludwig. The soft soil felt really nice after a day’s journey.

He wondered if Feliciano would mind sleeping in the middle, but realized that there was plenty of room between them for the other man. Not that he would move if there wasn’t; though it was selfish, he was much too comfortable to move from his current position. It was hard enough for Matthew to have the willpower to simply take off his glasses as to not break or bend them in his sleep.

The closeness of the town now was encouraging and he was more eager than ever to reach the town. Though Matthew wished to say something about how he was looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed, sleep overtook him first, not even a minute after he had lain down.

After having put away the pan - he was going to wash it properly tomorrow, he really felt too exhausted for doing anything in that moment - Feliciano entered the tent after the other two, and saw that there was enough space left for him between them. He laid down, happy to stay in the middle; having the other two at his sides made him feel more protected.

All wrapped in his blanket, he rolled a bit on one side, making himself comfortable.

Like the previous night, and despite of the fact that he was laying on the ground, that tent felt comfortable - he had never been too picky about where to sleep, but the bed he was used to rest in was big, and the mattress soft and comfortable... again, he wondered if he would ever be able to sleep there again.

Feliciano sighed and turned again, bumping into Ludwig's shoulder.
"Oh, sorry." he murmured, yawning again the moment after. He leant his cheek and forehead against the other's arm, somehow reassured by that warmth, and closed his eyes.

Ludwig watched Matthew settle down and waited for Feliciano to take the spot between them. He'd hoped the smaller of the two wouldn't mind the place in the middle. He was glad to see the other blond looked content for the time being. He wished that he could just manage to calm his other companion. He was about to wish the man a good night's sleep only to realize he was out just as quickly as the thought had flitted through his mind.

When Feliciano came into the tent, Ludwig made sure to make room for him, only to feel him bump his shoulder, then apologize.

The blond felt red move to his cheeks and he again cursed his pale human skin. "It's okay," Ludwig finally managed after a bit. He imagined it was okay, though he had the strangest feeling in his stomach and he kept blushing whenever the other man was close. And he was even closer than usual as his forehead and cheek against Ludwig's arm.

He found himself looking at Feliciano as he closed his eyes. He found himself staring, and forced himself to close his eyes. Yet he found sleep didn't come easily or quickly as he kept his eyes closed.

((I'll let you two figure out what condition/position they are in when they wake))