"You're interesting" it was a declaration that didn't pass by the man, nor did the appearance of the other figure go unnoticed. In fact it caused the man to stumble back in surprise. Yet, he didn't fall. The second figure smiled at the man, looking at him in curiosity. The man was interesting. Everything about him was dark, earthy green. His eyes were dark and piercing, they didn't waver in their stare. That same dark rain forest green. His coat was slightly lighter, wrapped tight around his body, moving out slightly at his waist. His skin was pale and fair, but his features were serious and guarded. Even his hair seemed to have a green tinged darkness. His top hat sat balanced on his tousled locks, heightening his already tall standing. He was beautiful and… interesting.

"Who are you?" The man asked, his face contorting as if he felt threatened. The second figure flipped upside down, his legs hooked over one of the branches and their eyes were level. Trees stood tall and disapproving all around them. The leaves rustling in the occasional wind.

"I am me, who are you?" The second figure began to swing playfully and the man noticed how his little scarlet hat stayed perfectly in place, even though his hair was flowing with the force of gravity. How strange. The man stuck his hand out to the second figure.

"I'm Dimitri" he didn't add a last name, as he didn't think it was necessary. All he intended to do was ask for directions and promptly leave. There was no need for too many pleasantries. The second figure looked at him in surprise, as if never a curtsey had been made in his name. Hesitantly he took the man named Dimitri's hand and shook it with renewed vigour.

"Then I am Fane" the corner of Dimitri's mouth twitched as he thought just how childish this man was. He was essentially just a child. He released Fane's hand and it took a second for the second figure to do the same.

"Would mind telling me the way out of here? I seem to of lost my way" he asked uncertainly as the second figure climbed down from his perch in the canopy of branches. Once he set foot on the ground Dimitri was far more capable of making out his features. It seemed that he was as red as he was green. His hair was a light auburn and his eyes almost scarlet. His coat was closed to his waist and almost reached his ankles. The cuffs of his coat were striped ruby and white and one of his ears had a string of ear piercings. The boys grin widened as he also gained a better view, two of his teeth were longer than they ought to be.

"I would, but I was about to ask you the same thing"

"Oh" Dimitri said sadly. All he had wanted was a walk, barely even that. A stroll, but then he had never been good with directions and he had soon been unable to recognise anything. That had been hours ago and he had been living off the candies from his pockets. And he so tired, he was just ready to sit down and never get up. Maybe that was what he would do, it was already late evening and sleep was gnawing at him. He could always restart he search for organisation tomorrow, it wasn't like he was pressed for time or anything.

"How long have you been lost?" Fane asked as he lent against the tree and Dimitri looked around for somewhere to lie down. He was very good with exertion.

"Too long to bother thinking about" he muttered, almost to himself.

"Hey, me too!" Fane certainly was a bouncy one. That was for sure, Dimitri look about, trying to fully take in his surroundings as worrying as they were. All he could see were trees, some close and some far, all of them leading to nowhere. The world was dim, and he could on lightly see anything. The two of them stood at the edge of a small clearly, just the space where a tree should of been really. Still it was a place where he would be able to see the stars. He knelt down where he planned to sleep, slowly unbuttoning his coat so that he would be able to use it as a pillow.

"Would you like some candy?" He asked, removing his hat and taking the now slightly depleted bag of candies out from the pocket of his pants. The red eyed boy jumped up at the prospect of food. He knelt down next the green man and Dimitri let a few of the sweets trickle through his fingers into the expectant boy's cupped hands. "You can have some more in the morning" his older sister had given him the candies as soon as he had declared that he was going away. She had said something about every traveler needing a snack.

He had never quite enjoyed candies, but he always kept his pockets stocked out of loyalty, plus the were nice on long train rides across the country. Now, he had never happier to have them in his pockets.

Fane had greedily gulped the candies down and Dimitri suppressed the urge to scold him. Instead he simply folded his coat until it was an uncomfortable pillow. With a deep, almost annoyed sigh he lay down so that he was looking at the stars. They were like pinpricks in a black fabric held to the sun. He had always felt a certain clarity when faced with the stars. They had always made his problems feel so much smaller and so much easier to overcome. If he had it his way he would be nocturnal, but unfortunately he still needed to communicate with the human race and the human race was a lot more interested in sunlight than he was. He loosened his tie until he could take it off and with slow methodical movements he wrapped it around his wrist so he wouldn't loose it.

"What are you doing, Dimitri?" Fane was still kneeling down next to him, eyes shining with curiosity like the taller man was the first thing he had seen other the trees in years.

"I'm going to sleep" Dimitri murmured, closing his dark eyes.

"Why?"

"Because I'm sleepy"

"That's not a very good reason"

"It's the only reason"

"Well, it's not a very good one"

Dimitri opened one eye and slid it over to the suddenly frustrated boy, his soft frown never faltering.

"Go to sleep, Fane"

...

Sunlight filtered into his eyes through his eyes lashes, making them sting with early morning crispness. His breathing was as slow and deep as normal as it was when he slept. His throat was dry, but he knew there was nothing to drink. Still, he might as well try and find some. It would of felt like betrayal to his sister to give up now. After everything he had been through, to die of thirst just felt like forfeit.

He stared up at the sky that had changed from his favourite view to blue, the sun barely awake. It was still dim in the trees' shadow. The sun was bright, but in no way hot. He shivered as he remembered he was only in his shirt and waistcoat. He could hear a loud snoring from somewhere to his left, but it barely registered. He would get up, he knew he would, he just wouldn't get up yet.

Fifteen minutes later he stood, brushing himself off with a neutral expression, noticing uncomfortably that his back was quite painful. He was so done. As he saw it he wanted the day to end almost as soon as it started. Still he picked up his belongings, placed his hat back on his head and walked over to the tree his smaller companion was sleeping in. Fane had his back against the trunk of the tree, his red coat covering his legs, that were balanced on one of the branches. Dimitri knocked politely on the trunk, like some sort of alarm bell.

"Fane? Wake up" the boy started immediately at the sound of his name, scarlet eyes jolting open. For a second there was only sharp alertness in his eyes, but in an instant drowsiness seeped into his eyes.

"Wha?" He mumbled rubbing his eyes, before dropping back off to sleep. Dimitri had never met someone who could fall asleep so fast. It was astounding. Still, he had no hesitation in reaching up and punching his shoulder. Fane fell immediately out of his tree and landed on the ground with a thump. He yelled out in surprise, but Dimitri's expression remained unchanged, he was merely unimpressed with his companion's lack of vigour. The scarlet boy looked up at him in accusation and anger.

"What was that for?" He growled, rubbing his head to sooth the pain. He pouted, his bottom lip jutting out.

"I have candy" the boy immediately brightened as a few more of the small, sugar filled sweets trickled into his palm. Dimitri threw the same amount into his mouth and collected the scarlet coat, planing in using it for bargaining to get the boy to move. As he wished Fane tottered after him, after seeing that his faithful coat had left his side.

"Hey, why did you share the candies with me? You even had the same amount as me even though your bigger" Dimitri slid a surprised glance over to the boy at his side as he passed the coat. He hadn't really thought about why he would share.

"Because you would get hungry" it was the best answer he could think of as they strolled together. Both of them knew something had to be somewhere and they had to come upon a stream eventually. Neither of them wanted to think about what would happen if they didn't.

Fane thought about this at his side. When he had been little he had been tall for his age, but the man who seemed to be keeping him alive was taller than he was. In his defence the man also looked older than he was and his hat probably made him look taller than he really was. To check he reached up and snatched the top hat off his dark mossy hair. He did indeed look shorter, yet not quite short. Fane only came up to maybe his ear. This annoyed him to no end. Dimitri looked down at him in surprise and Fane played with the hat shyly in his hands.

"Thank you… for the candies"

Then, of course, they were immediately attacked by people with daggers.

Author's notes:

I love starting a new story, it just feels like a new beginning. This, if you don't already know, is a Romaniaxbulgaria story, because they really don't get enough. I haven't read many fan fictions with these guys in them, but this is my take on their personalities. I really hoped you liked reading this. Cheers!

much love,

Clementine