(A/N: This story will go on for a long time. How long? I am not certain just yet. I have planned over ten chapters, at least. But the genre, oh, that is a complicated issue. I will take a shot in the dark and guess that Friendship/Drama will best describe it overall.)

A tense silence filled the antique shop that afternoon.

Mistel was upstairs, sitting at the dining table in the centre of the room. His eyes were focused on the project in front of him; until he heard the door downstairs open.

Mistel twitched. His silence was ruined, and he wondered who dared disturb him.

He could hear the voices of the intruders;

"Where is he?"

"Maybe upstairs."

Fritz and Raeger.

Mistel turned to the stairs and waited for them to appear. He had already prepared for them a deathly glare that he thought for sure would fill them with dread.

"Hey, Mistel! Are you here-"

Fritz reached the top of the stairs first and was startled by Mistel's glare.

Raeger arrived next and was surprised too.

"...Uh, hey. We just dropped by to tell you the festival's going to start soon," Raeger said.

"I know," Mistel muttered.

"So… are you coming?" Fritz asked.

Mistel let out a heavy sigh. He would have thought the answer was obvious, but apparently not. "No," Mistel answered harshly.

The silences after Mistel spoke were painfully awkward.

"...Why not?" Fritz asked.

"I'm busy," Mistel replied, gesturing to the project in front of him. A moment later, he remembered that his project was secret, so he folded the tablecloth over it quickly to keep it hidden.

"So... where's Iris?" Raeger asked.

"She's already gone to join the festivities. And she already tried to convince me repeatedly to go with her, so you're wasting your time," Mistel said, his words becoming harsher with every syllable.

Fritz and Raeger glanced sideways at each other, both wondering why Mistel was so angry.

"But you seem so tightly wound. Come with us to the festival! It's the perfect opportunity for you to kick back and relax!" Raeger suggested.

"If you don't get out of here in the next three seconds, I'm going to make you regret you were ever born," Mistel swore.

Fritz and Raeger both jolted.

"Woah! That's a little extreme, don't you think?" Fritz said.

"One..." Mistel began counting.

"Let's just get out of here. He won't listen to reason," Raeger said, dragging Fritz along with him to the stairs.

As they were about to leave, Raeger murmured, "I can't believe I ever considered you a friend."

~Mistel began howling with laughter.

"You considered me a friend?! You fools! Do you even know who I really am?! To me, you are both merely puppets!" Mistel boomed, and then cackled loudly.

Raeger and Fritz stood staring at him, paralysed to the spot.~

Suddenly, Mistel snapped back to reality.

Thank goodness I didn't really say that out loud, he thought to himself as Raeger and Fritz left.

Raeger and Fritz arrived at the trade depot, still on edge after their encounter with Mistel.

The festivities commenced soon enough, and as everyone got settled, Raeger took the chance to move over to Klaus and talk with him.

"You hang out with Iris a lot, right?" Raeger began.

"Yes?" Klaus replied, wondering where this was going.

"So then, how do you put up with Mistel?" Raeger asked.

"...We actually get along quite well," Klaus said.

"Are you serious?! How do you do it?" Raeger questioned. Fritz had joined them, and he looked just as curious as Raeger to know the answer.

"Well, uh… hmm… it's more a matter of tolerance. We tolerate one another, and therefore we have no problems," Klaus said.

Raeger and Fritz stared confusedly at Klaus. "That doesn't sound like you get along," Fritz said.

"Trust me, it is. You don't want to get on the wrong side of Mistel. And he understands that I am not someone to be messed with as well," Klaus said.

"Nuh-uh, that's no good! Friends have to bother each other!" Fritz replied.

"Yeah, friends get on each other's nerves sometimes," Raeger said. He was clearly talking about Fritz at that moment, but Fritz didn't notice.

Klaus wondered how they could be so foolish. He looked at them seriously and said, "I highly recommend that you do not pester Mistel. As long as you stay out of his way, he'll stay out of yours."

Raeger and Fritz glanced sideways at each other, like they had before.

Both had the same thought in their mind.

Wanna mess with Mistel?