Borderlands of Rhynland

When Matthew woke up still tired, unsure of how much time had passed. Sure, it would have been easy enough just to open his eyes and take a look, but then he’d feel obligated to get up if it was morning. So he stayed there with his eyes closed for a few minutes until he realized he was being ridiculous and got up to take a peek outside. Sure enough, the sun was rising.

Thinking that he could perhaps go back to sleep for a while until his companions woke up, he looked back at the other two. Feliciano must have moved closer to Ludwig in his sleep, which made sense; Matthew felt like he had more room to himself than he had expected. He didn’t think too much into it (or about anything, really) at the moment.

Matthew realized it would only be harder to wake up a second time and decided to leave the tent like he originally planned. There were no white bears, or any bears to be found this morning, so it was a good start. He figured that washing up in the stream would make him more awake. But as it turned out, he didn’t even make it to the water, as he fell asleep once again, a few feet from the tent.

Feliciano didn't exactly remember how or when the dream started, nor if he was already dreaming about something else, before. Actually, he wasn't even aware that he was dreaming, so it didn't really matter.

Everything he knew was that he had found himself in this empty, dark and wide kitchen, where his shy steps on the stone of the floor were echoing among the walls hidden in the shadows. He was wearing an apron and holding a broom; he had been captured, he could remember that now, because he didn't deserve his throne. He had been put in that kitchen to cook and clean everything, that was his place, they had told him.
He looked around, walking slowly next to the big fireplaces built in a dark type of stone; he was alone in that huge room. Alone and lost. He couldn't recall the faces or the identity of the people who captured him at all, the only two faces he was thinking of were the ones of his companions, but neither Ludwig nor Matthew were with him now.

He held the broom handle tight, in anxiety. Where were they? Were they also being imprisoned somewhere in that place? Were they searching for him?

There was a door in sight - a large door made of dark wood and iron - and he run next to it, but its wing was hermetically closed, and he tried to pull the handle many times without result. He sighed, turning back: that kitchen was so huge that it must have another entrance, or a window, to go out.

Suddenly, a blow of cold air run trough his spine, and he felt goosebumps all along his neck. He could almost feel a presence, behind him... shivering, he held his broom tighter: had someone just opened that door...?


Actually, the cold blow was anything but the fresh air of the dawn that penetrated the tent as Matthew went out of it. And Feliciano wasn't holding any broom, of course; instead, he was clutching Ludwig's arm.
He muttered something about the fact that nobody should kill him since he could cook good pasta, and squeezed Ludwig's arm tighter.

Ludwig couldn't really remember much of his dream, but he woke up with the presence of someone at his side, clinging to his arm. He saw Matthew was already gone, as he opened his eyes and got a good look around. Only Feliciano was left, holding him. He didn't move the arm that the smaller man held, not really wanting to lose that presence, again evoking thoughts the fighter just didn't want to deal with. He knew Gilbert would be having a field day with him if he knew the sort of reactions that the smaller man was somehow bringing out in Ludwig. It was even more wrong because he knew the other man liked women, so it was wasted and unwanted ... attraction? He supposed that was the word for it.

He felt as though he couldn't be more screwed up.

"Feliciano," he said softly, shaking the man gently with his other hand. "Feliciano, it's morning."

He was close to the other man's face, closer, really, than he probably should have been. "Time to wake up and get to town for real food and real beds."

And he again flushed at the mention of beds, remembering perhaps a bit of the dream from the night before and feeling painfully awkward at the moment, as his eyes roamed over the other prince's face, tracing forehead, nose ... lips. He really needed to stop this. It was a passing fancy, maybe a tell of his own preferences, but nothing more.

As it turned out, sleeping directly on the ground wasn’t as appealing as he’d originally thought. It wasn’t as deep a sleep as usual and Matthew found himself waking up after a minute or so. In a way, he was worse off than before; in addition to being tired, he now had dirt on his face and hair. Groaning, he stood up, and made his way to the stream.

Bathing had turned out to be a good decision. He had found a nice spot which was private enough, yet not far from the tent in case something happened. As he’d expected, the water was cool enough, especially in the morning, to leave him feeling more awake. Several minutes passed by before he re-dressed and started walking to the campsite.

Though he probably looked ridiculous with his hair almost like a wet mop on the top of his head, Matthew was in a good mood nonetheless. He wondered how his companions were faring, and if they had woken up yet. It would be great if they were already awake, for the sooner they got moving again, the sooner they’d get to an actual town. It would have been hypocritical of him to expect this of the two, though. After all, only minutes before, he’d had levels of energy and enthusiasm rivaled only by a sack of potatoes.

Ludwig's voice reached Feliciano through the mysterious door that was opening behind his back in the dream. So it wasn't any scary monster or person, it was Ludwig, he had found him!
He turned to greet him, opening the eyes he had held closed for the fear - opening them for real, in the semidarkness of the tent - and the first thing that he saw was Ludwig's face, right beside him.

"You came to save me!" he said, his voice still a bit throaty after the sleep. Still upset, he threw his arms around his neck, hugging him.
"This place is so scary and I don't... uh?"
It took him a few moments to recognize that there was something wrong with their position. Why were they laying on the floor? And he could something hampering his movements - a blanket? Blinking, he looked around with a puzzled expression trying to understand what was happening. Oh, yes. The tent. Right.

"Ve, that was a dream." he stated, a bit relieved. "Good morning, anyway~" he smiled to Ludwig, tightening the hug for a few moments and letting him go.

To say that Ludwig was shocked as the other man's arms flew around his neck would have been an understatement. His cheeks turned incredibly red while he tried to determine whether or not he should return the embrace. He could admit to himself that it felt nice, but to return it would be too out of character. It would be too... personal.

What was Feliciano talking about, anyway? About the place being scary? Of all the places that Ludwig had traveled thus far, this was probably the most relaxed, even following the attack by the warrior.

The hug still didn't end, and Ludwig almost returned it before he heard Feliciano say it was only a dream. A bad dream. That explained so much. And the blond waited for the auburn-haired man to let go once he realized his life wasn't in danger. But once again, Feliciano surprised him, tightening the embrace. The blond decided to take a page out of Gilbert's book and return the hug. It was, after all, as much as he was likely to ever get from the other man. He knew, though, that he should say something, but nothing came out. His brain didn't seem capable of processing, let alone his vocal chords producing.

Then Feliciano let him go.

"Good morning," he managed finally, after discovering that his voice had not failed him. He slowly stood and offered a hand to help Feliciano do the same.

As he sat on a log near the tent, Matthew couldn’t help but overhear what sounded like a one-sided conversation from Feliciano. It was mostly murmuring, but he could make out the words ‘save me’ and ‘this place is so scary’. Matthew raised an eyebrow (he was inside a tent, after all), but he realized the shorter man must have had some sort of nightmare. Strange, Matthew thought, he didn’t sound like someone talking in their sleep.

Matthew had thought Ludwig was awake already, so he was puzzled when there was quite a long pause after Feliciano had said ‘good morning’ to him before he returned the greeting. It was a bit unusual and curiosity had gotten the better of him. Matthew peered into the tent to see Ludwig helping Feliciano up. Nothing unusual about that. Well, maybe Ludwig’s face was a little red. Or very red. Matthew had the feeling that he’d missed something.

“Good morning, everything alright?” Matthew asked with a look of curiousness rather than concern.
He doubted he’d get the answer he was looking for, but it was worth a try. The doubtful part of his mind was telling him nothing had happened. After all, it wasn’t the first time he saw Ludwig blushing. But the nosy part was noticing a pattern of when it happened. Either way, he decided it was none of his business. And within a few moments, he had forgotten all about it.

He held back Ludwig's hand happily.
Had the warrior just returned the hug?

He decided he liked embracing Ludwig, his broad and strong shoulder were just so huggable. He looked at him, and with a smile he realized that the prince's cheeks were all flushed and red. Despite his courageous nature, the warrior seemed to have his cute and shy sides, after all.

"Good morning Matthew!" he chirped, now totally awake. He noticed that the other's hair was wet, and then he remembered of the creek and the pan he had left next to the fire.
Although he was looking forward to have a hot bath as soon as they would find a suitable inn in the town, going to wash himself down to the creek sounded like a good idea.

He went out of the tent and noticed that the day was going to be again sunny and hot. "Look, the weather his soooo nice!" he said watching at the sky. He hurried to retrieve his pan and went to the creek.

Ludwig waited until Feliciano was out of the tent to begin dismantling it and sorting out everyone's things. He saw the smaller man headed for the creek, presumably to do dishes, perhaps to wash up. The warrior decided that if it were the latter, he would prefer not to go down with him. He was barely getting the pink to fade from his cheeks. The very last thing that he needed was to make a fool of himself while the other was washing. He had cleaned himself off yesterday. It wouldn't be the worst thing if he put that off until they were in town.

It went against his nature as a griffin, preferring to be neat and clean whenever possible, but it wasn't his griffin nature he was troubled by. It was some other instinct that was misfiring around the small man.

"I have additional supplies in my bag," he told Matthew. "If you want something for breakfast. Just dried fruits and meat, though. It won't be anything compared to the food last night." Nothing probably would be. It still amazed him that Feliciano had turned that fish into something almost decadent. "Aside from my water skein and some spare clothes, that should be all I have in my pack right now."

He didn't want to let the other blond thing it would be intrusive. Ludwig kept his gold on him or near him at all possible times while in human form, so even if he didn't trust the other man as much as he did, he knew there was nothing Matthew could harm by looking through his things at the moment. "I don't know what Feliciano has that might be edible, but you can feel free to set out the food pack for all of us."

He thought it best not to add that what Matthew had been eating yesterday for breakfast had looked less than appetizing, as though it was a little stale. Just a few hours from town, it didn't make much sense to make him eat another days-old meal.

Matthew had been going through his own bag and had failed to find anything that still looked remotely edible. He didn’t think he’d been traveling around these parts for such a long time, but days of uneventful walking tended to blend together and he’d lost track of time. Needless to say, he was grateful for Ludwig’s offer.

“Are you sure? Thank you!” Even though Ludwig appeared to have no problems with him going through his bag, Matthew was a bit hesitant. Yet just as Ludwig said, the only other items in the bag were other supplies. He took a bit of the food before handing some before handing some out to Ludwig as well; it was his, after all.

“You said it’d be about another day’s worth of travel, eh? Then how much longer until we reach the other end of the forest?” Matthew asked. It was true that it wasn’t half as ominous in the morning as it had been at certain times the previous day, but Matthew wanted to get away from this large clump of trees nevertheless. As much as he was used to forests, he associated this one with their dangerous encounter and it made him uneasy.

It gave him a bit of a scare when he looked around and noticed Feliciano’s absence. Then Matthew remembered that he’d gone to the creek. Even still, it took him a moment to calm himself down. Yes, he definitely wanted to get out of the forest.

Feliciano took the pan and went all jumping and happy down to creek. He stopped half of the way to see if Ludwig was coming with him, but it looked like the warrior was beginning dismantling the tent and stuff alike, so he went on alone.

First of all, he thought about the pan, washing it in the water and looking amused at the fish that swam away scared by his movements. The water was cold but clear, and the sun was just rising above the top of the trees of the forest.

Without bothering to search for a more private spot, he took off his tunic and shirt, plunging his head in the cold water.
He shivered, as the cold water run over his chest and shoulders, but the feeling was anything but unpleasant. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the forest around, wondering if the unlucky encounter of the day before could possibly be only part of his nightmare. He well knew it wasn't, but he wasn't feeling as scared as he had felt the night before.

Looking at the river, he saw a part of the bank where the rocks were placed so to form a small pool, where the water seemed deep and quiet enough to bathe.
All pepped up, he took off what remained of his clothes, not really caring to be in sight.

"Veeee, come here! We can bathe together!" he shouted at the others before immersing himself in the water, all shivering for the cold.

Ludwig was beginning to get things finally packed things away. He began getting his things together for the day ahead, enjoying for a moment the shade of the forest. It was normally such a relaxing, nice place, and the fact that he knew that was probably the only thing that prevented him from seeing it in a different light after that encounter yesterday.

He sat on a nearby rock and began to eat a bit of the food Matthew had set out for them. He thanked the other man for setting some out for himself as well. "Feliciano seemed to have some good food in his pack, but I will leave mine out in case he should need it."

"We should reach the town around midday, hopefully before evening, if we can convince Feliciano not to stop for a nap and we eat our lunch on the go." He hoped Matthew would be amenable to that, but he wasn't entirely sure what the other man would think. "That should mean real food with real supplies and an inn. I can also dip into the banks, once I show them my insignia, so we can stock up or stay for some time."

Then he heard the sounds from the creek, of Feliciano inviting them all to bathe. He fought, probably unsuccessfully, the blush. "If you'd like to," he told Matthew, "you can. But I will stay with our supplies."

“I think once is enough for right now,” Matthew told Ludwig before calling out to Feliciano, “That’s okay, thanks!”

Matthew had almost offered to watch their supplies if Ludwig wanted to join the other man, but he could tell that Ludwig looked uncomfortable as it was. He himself found it a bit odd how Feliciano had no qualms about nudity in front of people he had only met two days before. But it was funny how Ludwig was the one who looked embarrassed about the situation. Not that Matthew would give any hint that he thought so; that would be mean of him.

So instead, he changed the subject. “That’s not far at all, eh!” He thought for a moment. “As long as nothing else happens, that is.” Matthew didn’t think that whomever it was who had sent out an assassin the day before would act so quickly. However, he had no idea who they were up against, so there was no way of ruling out the possibility.

He preferred not to think about it, so he wouldn’t. For now. “But I can’t wait until we get to an inn. It’s been a while since I’ve slept in an actual bed or even inside a building.” He’d gone to plenty of inns on his months-long journey, but had spent many nights outdoors as well, especially recently. And though none of his sleeping arrangements had been as comfortable as what he remembered back home, it was a relatively small price to pay.

Feliciano shrugged his shoulders, it was a pity if none of his companions wanted to enjoy the fresh water, bathing was always funnier when done together with others. He remained for some time in the water, splashing around and trying unsuccessfully to catch a small fish that had decided to swim next to him.
Eventually, he decided he had enough of the creek when a big firefly came whirring menacingly in his direction. He hurried up out of the water, almost stumbling on the rocks of the bank, only to see the insect fly towards the other side of the river.

The air was fresher than ever on his wet skin, and he enjoyed the feeling for some moments, before starting feeling cold. If the sun was higher in the sky, it would be the perfect time for sunbathing, but it was still too early.

He collected his clothes and walked back to the camp, without bothering to put them on again - he would let his skin to dry in the air, without soaking his pants and tunic.

While approaching the others, he noticed that the others were already eating breakfast, which reminded him that he was hungry. He should have some nougat, if he remembered well. He reached his backpack to put the pan inside again and searched in it until he found the nougat. There wasn't much left, but since they were arriving to the town, it shouldn't have been a problem.

- Anyone wants some of this? - he asked to his companions, one piece of nougat already in his mouth.

"Oh, right," Ludwig said. In his embarrassment, he'd forgotten completely that the other man had already washed off. He was becoming obvious, he knew and this wasn't a good thing. He began eating some of the dried pork and a bit of the dried apricots. He was looking forward to another meal like they had the night before.

He continued to eat his food, but nearly choked as he saw Feliciano coming to the camp completely nude. "What are... why aren't you dressed?" He finally asked as he looked down at the ground, knowing he was definitely several shades of red. He glanced up just a moment taking in the sight of the other man and then looking down at the ground once again.

The other man's body was small, lean, but with a faint golden tan everywhere. It was fairly obvious that the other man had no issues with nudity or the sun. There wasn't a tan line anywhere on his body.

He shifted uncomfortably on the rock and tried to fight away his body's faint reaction. He took another bite of food and kept his eyes averted from Feliciano.

“I’ll take one, thanks,” Matthew said, taking the time he spent chewing on the piece of nougat to think of a way to handle this situation without embarrassing Ludwig further. The poor man was almost as red as a tomato; there was no hiding that. Matthew didn’t want to jump to conclusions about the cause, though. It was more likely than not something other than what he was thinking of, it could just be a cultural thing, after all. Once thing was certain; he’d give anything right now to be able to read minds.

“What he means is, um…” He had an inkling of where he was going with this, but that was all. “That it’d be better if we get ready and get everything together and packed quickly so that later we’re not in such a rush to reach the town in time. You know, in case our plans are delayed or something.”

He hoped Feliciano would take the hint. And if he didn’t, well, then Matthew gave up. He went over to his own bag to put away the items he had thrown aside moments earlier in his failed attempt to find food. It was his way of avoiding the awkwardness of the situation, not that it helped much.

"Why...?" Feliciano looked at the other with a puzzled expression. "Because it's just nice to let the air dry your body after a bath, isn't it?" he couldn't see the problem, really. Anyway, he heard what Matthew said, and began putting his pants back on.

He kept staring at Ludwig in the meanwhile though; the other man's face was becoming redder and redder, and Feliciano's expression turned slowly from surprised to worried. He ad already noticed that blush when they had woken up, and now it was even more evident. He rubbed the back of his neck, a little bit worried. Was the other alright? Maybe, the day before, he had performed his ealing spell in the wrong way and maybe the wound wasn't really healed (there would be no surprise in that).

"Are you feeling alright?" Normally, when someone's face turned this red it meant that they had fever or something like that. "Did you catch a cold?"
He sat next to him and touched slightly his forehead; the skin wasn't as warm as it would have been if he had fever, though. "Does it hurt somewhere?"

Ludwig looked to Matthew, immensely grateful for the other man's ability to realize just how embarrassed Ludwig was. With any luck, he didn't know exactly why that was, but even if he did, he wasn't making any comments on it, so it could have been worse. He nearly sighed, relieved as Feliciano put his pants back on.

He glanced up at the other man, once he was at least wearing half his clothes, only to see him staring back in return. "What?" he asked in reply to Feliciano's question. "Alright, of course I'm alright." Then a cool hand was placed to his forehead. "I'm fine, really." He didn't want to admit that he enjoyed the feeling of the other man's hand against his skin. No, that would be stupid.

"I couldn't be better, thanks to your help yesterday," he told the other man. He was doing his very best to will away the redness in his cheeks. Really, he wished he were more experienced in this sort of area like Gilbert, or even Roderich.

"But Matthew is right. We should be getting ready to go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we reach the town."

Matthew looked back at the other two to see that Ludwig’s face was significantly less red as Feliciano had put on pants, at least. He found it a bit funny how Feliciano didn’t seem to notice the cause-and-effect connection between the two actions. And although he really wanted to find out what was up with Ludwig, he figured he owed the warrior his privacy.

He finished packing everything away that needed to be and sat on the log he had been sitting on previously, placing his bag next to him. “I’m ready to go, so whenever you’re ready,” Matthew said to the other two, beginning to yawn halfway through his sentence. He thought he’d made some progress since he woke up, but apparently, he was still a bit tired.

It was helpful to remind himself that the next time he would go to sleep, it would be in a more comfortable place than on previous nights. So he hoped the day would be relatively uneventful so they could get to town as soon as possible. He got so caught up with thinking of what the town was like and how long they would actually be able to stay that he forgot he was sitting on a log and not a chair for a moment. It was only for a second, but that was enough for him to lean back a little too much. Luckily, he regained his balance and avoided toppling backwards onto his back. Oh, what he'd give to be a morning person.

"If you say so..." Feliciano gave Ludwig a last, doubtful glance: the man looked a bit less red now, but he was still acting strange. Maybe he was just a bit tired, he had had to fight that warrior all on his own the day before, so it could have been because of that. Anyway, that was just an additional reason to reach the town as fast as possible, he thought.

Then, he wondered for a second if Ludwig might have been embarrassed for something. Like, the fact that he had come back naked from the creek, since the warrior had to ask him why. But then again, it didn't really make much sense to Feliciano. They were all boys here, weren't they? It was just normal to him to go to bath naked with his brother, none had never said anything about it... really, Ludwig was difficult to understand, sometimes.
Matthew seemed more aware of the situation, instead; Feliciano thought he had to ask him one or two questions, later on (and maybe when Ludwig was not around, he thought - the man seemed already stressed enough).

He put on his shirt and tunic quickly, and closed his backpack.
"I'm ready too!" he announced then.

Ludwig nodded and stood with his pack as well. "Then I suppose we're all ready to go." He grabbed his mace and began walking toward the main path. "We should have an easy route from here now. Well-traveled paths, then roads," he said as he walked ahead.

This would make the walking considerably easier, and Ludwig found himself getting lost in his thoughts, given how much he had to think about. Someone was trying to attack his country and Feliciano's. Or rather, set them against one another. The people who would benefit from that would be weapons manufacturers or war advisers. A chancellor or high ranking official, even a cousin, could be trying to work his or her way to the grown. Royals were required to be on the front, and if Feliciano was anything to go by, the royals in the kingdom of the sun were not necessarily trained in that.

And that was something that further baffled him about Feliciano. He shouldn't be attracted to someone who was such a poor fighter. Shouldn't it be someone who can hold his own, or her own? (the fact that it had hbeen a he wasn't uncommon, bu even that took Ludwig slightly by surprise.

He was so lost in his head that he got a bit ahead of the others.

Matthew followed Ludwig’s lead down the main path, and he could already tell that the routes they traveled became easier the closer they got to town. Even so, he wished Ludwig wouldn’t walk so fast. At first, it was an agreeable pace, a little faster than before, but understandable as the path was no longer rocky and was much easier to walk on. But within minutes, Ludwig had gradually sped up to the point where it was just ridiculous.

“Ludwig, do you think we can slow down just a little?” Ludwig didn’t seem to hear him, either because he was deep in thought, or because that sort of thing always seemed to happen to Matthew. Perhaps it was both.

Either way, he decided to walk slightly slower than the other man, even if he ended up a few paces behind. If Matthew had to make an effort to keep up, he wondered how Feliciano was faring. “Are you keeping up alright?” he asked him.

Feliciano tried keeping Ludwig's pace, but he gave up after a while. The blond warrior didn't seem to care about them, and went straight on the path, without even turning to see if the two of them were still following. The day before, instead, he had seemed all so concerned to keep an eye on them.
He wondered if maybe the prince was pissed off for some reason. Maybe, it could be somehow connected with the strange behavior of before.

"Well, more or less." he answered to Matthew, who also seemed to have problems in following the other. He hurried up a bit to reach the side of the other man, looking alternatively to him and to Ludwig, questioning.
He slowed his pace a bit - they were already far from Ludwig, but just in case - and grabbed slightly Matthew's sleeve, to draw his attention and to make him slow down too.

"Do you think I made something wrong earlier? I mean... do you think he's angry?" he whispered, always looking at Ludwig to make sure that he kept going straight like he was.

Ludwig realized his companions were almost out of sight as he finally glanced back at them. He continued moving, but made the effort to slow to a crawling pace. He didn't want to lose the two. He just... he'd been lost in thought and he was unaccustomed to having companions, let alone those who couldn't keep up with him.

This couldn't continue. He needed to find a way to calm himself, to clear his thoughts. Hell, maybe he should be the one flirting with the waitresses once they reached town.

He stopped a moment, pulling his water skein from the top of his pack. He would let the others catch up to him, then apologize for getting ahead of them in the first place. It was unfair. He was taller, so had a longer stride, more athletic, so a faster one. He was usually so good about control. Keeping their pace was an excellent exercise in it, if he would keep his head out of thoughts of Feliciano's body or the feeling of his hands. His cheeks flushed again.

Matthew shook his head. “No, I don’t think he’s angry.” He kept his voice at a whisper as well, although Ludwig appeared far enough to be out of earshot if he spoke at normal volume. But Matthew had a feeling that the warrior’s hearing was better than an average human, so even whispering he watched what he said, not that he wouldn’t, anyway.

And although he was sure part of this behavior was due to the nakedness ordeal right before they left, there was no use upsetting Feliciano either. “When I was able to keep up with him looked kind of spaced out, if anything,” Matthew explained, “It’s easy to tune out everything besides your thoughts if you think too much about it. Trust me, eh! It happens to me pretty often.” As he said this, he looked ahead and saw that Ludwig had stopped.

“See? I think he noticed we fell behind, so now he’s waiting for us,” Matthew told Feliciano, quickening his pace so that they wouldn’t leave Ludwig waiting long. Not being able to keep up was a bit embarrassing for him. At least Feliciano had an excuse; as for Matthew, there was little difference in height between him and Ludwig, if any. It was most likely the consequence of living as nobility for nineteen years, and he had a feeling it would have been worse if he hadn’t been travelling on his own for five months.