Einsamkeit – Chapter 1
[-Author's note: Hello, and welcome to my first fanfic! C: Enjoy!]
Ludwig contemplated his thoughts as he placed another small log into the fire. It was getting late. "I should probably get more firewood, but there's really no point..." Ludwig sat in silence as the wind cooed through the partially cracked window. Ludwig had been alone for so long, he felt the need to light his fireplace so his cabin would seem livelier at night, but it only made him feel more forlorn. "It's not like it would be lively even if the fire is lit..." he thought to himself, "...but I don't have anything else to do but get firewood at night." Ludwig sighed deeply with fatigue, and stood up to retrieve his jacket and protective hunting dagger. With a final oggle into the crackling flame, he left.
After several hours throughout the woods, Ludwig ended up taking a stroll instead of getting more firewood. He exhaled sharply towards the stars, and slouched onto a nearby tree stump. Gazing up into the lunar luminosity of the full moon, he howled softly. Suddenly, his hushed melody came to a halt as the bushes surrounding him crunched the branches within them. Silence became a sharp shriek of terror as Ludwig lunged into the bushes, his dagger in hand ready to strike. To his surprise, a small fox lay underneath him with the face of trepidation. Ludwig immediately lowered his dagger, investigating the strange appearance of the fox, to which he had never seen another animal look like before. This fox had eyes like amber maple, sparkling perfectly in contrast to the moon's light. Ludwig didn't understand the strange feeling that enveloped within him, but his thoughts were quickly shattered as the fox squealed piercingly.
"V-VE! A WOLF! PLEASE don't kill meeeeeee! I-I'M SORRY! I was just t-trying to hide from that cursed mountain lion! He was trying to eat me! I'm sorry!" "O-..Oh...Sorry...I-" Ludwig's words were interrupted by a roar of anger. "HEY! What do you think you're doing with my lunch?!" Ludwig stood, and turned to face a large *Kemonomimi mountain lion growling with exasperation. The fox jolted with terror, and scurried frantically behind Ludwig. "Your lunch?" Ludwig snorted in opposition. "I think you mean MY lunch; you pathetic excuse for a cat." Despite that Ludwig wasn't really going to eat him, the fox whimpered to the thought of being eaten either way and straddled back into the bush Ludwig discovered him in. The cat stammered in disbelief to the rude reply, exposing his immensely sharp claws, as if a bluff to attack. "You think you're so cocky? I'll show you!" Ludwig smirked.
Within 5 minutes of pathetic threatening shouts and punch landings, the lion lay bruised with defeat.
"Y-You think you're so tough? I went easy on you! I-I'll be back, you GERMAN BASTARD!" The thick eyebrowed cat bolted as fast as he could up the mountain pass. Ludwig sighed, and wiped the remains of dirt off of his jacket before searching the bushes for the fox. When he finally found him, he was sleeping soundly with a gentle expression of innocence and dried tears on his cheeks. Ludwig gently seized the smaller creature onto his back in a piggy-back position, and headed back to his cabin for the night. "...Jeez...you really are a piece of work."
*yawn* "Mmm...Ve...Where am I?"
Feliciano awoke to silken sheets of a soft mattress, and the scent of summer blossoms and a warm breeze. "Ve! Where am I? Such a beautiful cabin!" Excited by the changed scenery of a prickly bush to a gorgeous bedroom, Feliciano sprang out of bed and skipped happily out of the door. As soon as he emerged from the bedroom, an explosion of crispy salmon and cooked vegetables ravished his nostrils. As if he had been seduced by the mouth-watering smell itself, he swayed in the direction to where the scent was coming from; the kitchen. As soon as Feliciano entered the kitchen, he noticed the familiar rather tall well-built wolf Kemonomimi that saved him the previous night. He was cleaning dishes, as well as placing silverware on the table to ready the meal he cooked for breakfast. "G...Good morning." Ludwig twitched in reaction to the sudden greeting, and turned to face Feliciano with intent to greet him as well. "Oh. You're awake. I-I..." Ludwig's pot he was cleaning slipped out of his grasp lazily, crashing to the floor. "What the hell is wrong with me?" Ludwig thought. "What am I acting so stupid-nervous for?" "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" exclaimed Feliciano as he leaned down to place the pot on the counter. "N-No...it's alright." Ludwig coughed to refrain from stuttering again, thus regaining his normal voice. "I made breakfast to start out the day. I don't know who you are, but there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you, so I don't mind if you stay for a few days just as long as you don't mess with anything. If you want to know, my name is Ludwig. I hope you don't mind salmon." Feliciano smiled warmly, and lunged into Ludwig with a blissful embrace. "Thank you so much for saving me! My name's Feliciano! Thank you! And I LOVE salmon!" Ludwig's stutters intensified harshly as his face heated true scarlet.W-W-WAIT! WHY ARE YOU HUGGING ME?!" Ludwig's balance proved incapable of withstanding his embarrassment and Feliciano's forced weight, and they both toppled over onto the kitchen floor.
"Teehee! Nice to meet you, Ludwig!"
Feliciano sat in awkward silence on the couch, fidgeting his white wool sleeves with boredom and impatience, and Ludwig was cleaning the table after they finished their breakfast. "Ne, Ludwig…what do you do for fun around here?" Ludwig disposed of the dirty cloth he was using into the sink, and washed his hands to remove the leftover waste from the cloth. "I don't have any games to play, and I usually spend the day cleaning, or maybe going fishing down at the lake on rare occasions." Feliciano's face riddled with confusion. "What? You mean you've always been alone in this cabin?" Ludwig mumbled inaudible words; clearly suggesting what Feliciano asked was true. Feliciano glared at Ludwig with astonishment, another one of his warm smiles emerging as he jumped from the couch to grasp Ludwig's arm. "We need to do something fun. You can't spend all day in this cabin by yourself! Being alone makes people sad!" Without letting Ludwig protest, Feliciano tugged Ludwig outside to explore the outdoors. For hours and hours on end, Feliciano picked velvet lilacs and yellow lilies as they wondered into the beauty of the woods that Ludwig didn't notice when he lived alone. From time to time Feliciano would get terrified and cry from random insects pestering his flowers and buzzing in his ears. Ludwig would sigh with exhaustion and shoo the bugs away, having to pat Feliciano's head and rub his fuzzy ears to calm him down. After spending half the day experiencing beautiful sites, (and annoying whines from Feliciano), Ludwig looked at the sky as the sun began to set over the horizon. "We should head home Feliciano. It's getting late." "Ve? Oh. Okay!"
After dinner, Ludwig repositioned his pillows and blankets and set his alarm to exactly 7:00 a.m. Same time, every morning. Get up, take a shower, brush his ears and tail, make breakfast, clean the house, perhaps read a book if time could be spared, prepare dinner, and go to bed at exactly 10:00 p.m. Until recent events concerning his new guest, it had always been the same. His schedule never changed, and his days were always alone. That's all Ludwig knew; was how to live life alone. Ludwig changed into a black tank top and boxers. He slipped into bed and turned off his lamp, lying alone in the dark thinking to himself. "Why did I save him? How long is he going to stay here?" Ludwig's mind trailed off as he drifted into his quiet slumber. No more than a few hours later, there was a faint thud, awakening Ludwig instantly. He looked around the room, assuming everything was the same as before he fell asleep. Just before he layed back down there was a soft knock on the door. Ludwig sighed, (because he knew it could only be one person), and spoke with a low, sleepy grumble. "Come in, Feliciano." Feliciano did as Ludwig said, holding one of the silken pillows from the guest room wearing nothing but his boxers and a light blue buttoned shirt that was obviously too big for him. "H-Hello Ludwig.." Ludwig groggily lifted his head to address his sudden visitor. "So? What is it? What do you want?" Feliciano's grasp on his pillow tightened as he blinked his gaze to the floor. "Vee...M-May I please sleep with you?" Ludwig's eyes widened slightly to the strange request. "What? Don't you have your own bed to sleep in?" Feliciano bit his lower lip, obviously saddened that he hadn't heard a "yes" or "fine." "B-But I'm scared of sleeping alone, and I promise I won't be a bother! P-Please?" Ludwig was too tired to argue, so he nodded in approval and returned to his original sleeping position.
Feliciano's sadness evaporated as his ears and tail twitched with excitement. "Really?! Arigatou, Luddy!" Ludwig prepared a "Ja, whatever," but instead a stunned gasp escaped his breath as Feliciano embraced Ludwig, totally crushing Ludwig's tail. "OW! *GOTT VERDAMMT!" Feliciano realized his mistake, not knowing what to do, and not wanting Ludwig to kick him out. In a trembled panic, Feliciano began to cry. "Ludwig! I'm so sorry! P-Please don't kick me out! I-" Without thinking Feliciano lunged into Ludwig with so much force that they both tumbled to the ground, accidentally sending his lips against Ludwig's. The spark of warmth caused everything to go white and Ludwig's mind lit ablaze in total mystification, as did Feliciano's. Within seconds the kiss was broken, but even though it was a short time both participants felt it lasted for eternity. Feliciano's tears had stopped flooding his cheeks, but his face still scorched a flushed pink. Ludwig's mind was still processing it all, unable to discern any word besides a slowly executed "Wha..." His face and body stiffened in shock and his cheeks boiled as red as tomato soup when his mind came to.
"Feliciano...k-ki-..ssed me?!"
"Ludwig? ...LUDWIG!? A-Are you okay?! I'm sorry! I-I just didn't know what to do!" Feliciano trembled as he reached for his pillow to return to the guest bedroom. "I didn't want you to kick me out! Please don't hate me! I'll sleep in my own bed, so please-" Suddenly Feliciano felt a firm grip on his wrist tighten and pull, sending him flat onto the bed. "Uwah!" After opening his eyes he was gazing into a sea of welkin blue eyes hovering above him, just inches away. Ludwig's eyes were blazing with intensified lust, but they quickly cooled as he realized what he was doing. "...ah..." With a swift move, Ludwig was the furthest he could be from Feliciano, sitting dazily on the edge of the bed. "What the hell am I thinking?!" His back was now facing the little fox as Feliciano layed there, silently gasping for air from the cold breeze that intercepted just as fast as the close contact had appeared. Ludwig's voice quaked an almost unintelligible whisper. "S...Sorry." After a few uncomfortable moments of awkward silence, Ludwig retrieved his pillow and stood to leave. Feliciano jolted up and off the bed, halting the German with a gentle yank to the hand. "W-WAIT! Don't leave!" Ludwig hesitated. "...I..." Suddenly there was a deafening crash from the living room. Ludwig dashed out of the room to investigate, and Feliciano followed. To their astonishment, the living room door was completely destroyed in pieces, and an enraged fox who looked a lot like Feliciano was soaked in rainwater, panting harshly with anger and exhaustion. "FELICIANO?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
To the man's sudden surprise, Ludwig and Feliciano emerged from the darkness of the cabin where the moon's radiance didn't glow through Ludwig's destroyed front door. Ludwig remained completely perplexed, while Feliciano calmly walked forward, his eyes drowning in tears but his face ensuring an expression of unbelievable joy.
"L-Lovino?"
[Author's Note: *Kemonomimi – a Japanese word meaning body of a human but ears and tail of an animal. *Gott Verdammt – German phrase meaning "God Dammit!"]
Sorry to those who hate curse words! 3;; Hope you enjoyed reading! C: Hopefully Chapter 2 will come soon!~ Until then; *turns into potato and flies through the skies with her rainbow jetpack* Criticism is always welcome, but please be reasonable and fair. o3o
