Tír na nÓg
Begin Exploring
X-x-X-x-X
After a rather disastrous mass, a sighing Feliciano hovered in front of the door to Lovino's bedroom, his hand tentatively floating above the varnished oak. "Fratello?" he called out.
"Go away," Lovino grumbled. There was a faint shuffling from behind the door. Feliciano shook his head, his mouth a thin, worried line. He knocked, a gentle tmp-tmp, against the wood.
"Get the fuck away," Lovino replied, more viciously this time. The younger brother cringed and took a step backwards, placing a slender hand over the cross that dangled from his neck.
"The Guide is going to be coming any minute now to take us for the Exploration. You need to get ready, that is all," Feliciano stated. He crossed his arms, nervously adjusting his weight, waiting for a response.
"Va bene, ora lasciare, fratellino," Lovino shot back. The younger brother heaved a relieved sigh, at least he didn't sound so vicious this time.
"Sì," Feliciano said with a nod and turned around, walking down the hall to his own bedroom, his footsteps echoing throughout the spacious corridor.
X-x-X-x-X
Bright sunlight and a breeze tinged with the floral scent of violets, geraniums, roses, and lilies greeted Feliciano as he closed his bedroom door behind him. Shimmering gossamer curtains fluttered with the playful wind as it gently gusted in through the open window. Softly smiling, the young priest strolled over to the window and looked down- gazing at the verdant garden sprawled out below him. Amongst the fuchsia dahlias and mauve irises, a couple of Priests wandered around, silently admiring the beauty of the Cathedral's garden.
With an exuberant smile and a cheery "Ciao!" Feliciano waved at them. Surprised, the old men looked upwards, shielding their eyes from the sun's glare. Seeing the young Priest, they beamed and returned his greeting.
"How's it going?" the Priest on the left asked, his wispy silver hair swaying in the wind. Feliciano chuckled, resting his elbows on the windowsill.
"It's been a bit rocky so far, but I'm more than confident that the rest of the day will go well!" the young Priest replied. Both of the old Priests shook their head, looking rather amused.
"So we've heard. How is your fratello faring after his meltdown with the Archbishop?" the one of the right stated, clucking his tongue with a certain amount of disapproval. Feliciano's smile wavered. He drew back slightly, taking his elbows off the windowsill.
"He's rather surly about it," Feliciano answered with a tristful sigh.
"In other words, he just fine," the Priest on the right retorted, rather drily. The other Priest snapped his gaze to him, his watery grey eyes widened in shock.
"Luca! Tenere la lingua!" he snapped, scowling at the other man. Feliciano smiled ruefully, placing his hands on the windowsill and looking up at the sky, rolling his eyes. He was far too aware of Lovino's reputation to be really fazed about the other Priests' biting remarks about his older brother's behavior, and it really didn't bother him quite as much as it used to...
"Yes, please. He is still a human, and as such, has his own faults. Same as you, Signore Luca. What was it that God said about judging other people?" Feliciano chastised, folding his arms and giving the older Priest a slight frown.
It still warranted a lecture, though.
Luca hung his head, rather abashed at being scolded by a mere child. "Scusate," he mumbled. Feliciano nodded his head, giving the old man a reassuring smile.
"No, it's fine. As I said, we have our own faults."
"Indeed," the other Priest said tersely, shooting Luca a dirty look. Luca glared at him, his wrinkles deepening. Seeing the black look, the other old man rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Feliciano. "Isn't today a big day for you, by the way?" he asked, cocking a curious eyebrow.
Feliciano laughed and waved his hand in an airy gesture, "Ve, indeed it is!" he exclaimed, grinning broadly. The Priest smiled, shaking his head amusedly.
"Should you not be getting ready for it?"
"Damn right he should," a churlish voice snarled to Feliciano's right. Startled, the young Priest jerked his gaze in the direction of the voice, to find Lovino glowering at him; dressed in a simple white tunic that came down to his mid-thighs, red woolen leggings, and ankle-high leather boots.
"Ve! Fratello!" Feliciano yelped, hastily stepping back from his scowling older brother. Lovino snorted and folded his arms, cantering his hips sassily.
"Dammit, si idiota!" Lovino stormed. Feliciano paled, taking another step back. "You come and harass me about getting ready, but when the Guide actually arrives, I come find you not even changed yet!" he continued, his face twisted in a murderous expression. Feliciano's jaw dropped.
"Th-the G-guide? H-he's… h-here?" Feliciano stammered, looking at Lovino with a mixture of horror and confusion. The older brother hissed and nodded his head vigorously, baring his teeth as his scowl deepened.
"You heard me, stupido!"
"V-veee!" Feliciano cried, rushing over to his closet and throwing the doors open. Carelessly throwing clothes on the floor, he stripped down to his underwear with lightning speed. Lovino watched him with an incredulous expression.
"Incredibile…" he muttered under his breath while Feliciano hopped across the room, struggling to pull his leggings up. Hurriedly, his younger brother slipped his tunic over his head, messing up his hair and slapped the belt across his waist, securing it in a lopsided fashion.
"L-let's go!" Feliciano yelped, grabbing a small leather satchel and scrambling out of the room. Lovino smirked, following him down the hall.
X-x-X-x-X
"Ve! Sorry we're late!" Feliciano babbled as he skidded to a halt in the entrance hall. The Guide- a mild-looking man in his fifties with wavy brown hair and warm hazel eyes flecked with gold- smiled and shook his head, stepping to the side to reveal the other people accompanying him. A young man with silver-white hair and cool violet eyes, and the blonde from the mass, stared at the Vargas brothers.
"I saw you two today!" the blonde exclaimed, flashing both of them a goofy grin. Feliciano shook his head, looking rather embarrassed. "Nice show, both of you!" he continued, blue eyes sparkling with a giddy enthusiasm. Lovino stared at the blonde, disgusted, a vein in his forehead throbbing.
"Alfred," the Guide sighed. The blonde turned towards the older man, tilting his head with a puzzled expression. The Guide stared at Alfred for a moment, his mien serious, before saying "Shut up."
Alfred turned away, pouting. The silver-haired male snorted, blowing his bangs out of his eyes and held his hand out to the Vargas brothers. "I'm Emil Steilsson, currently of the Keeper Vocation," he said rather formally. "I'm currently doing my Exploration Right, just like you two are about to do."
Lovino curtly nodded, but Feliciano beamed and threw his arms around Emil, hugging him. "I'm Feliciano Vargas of the Priest Vocation!" he informed zealously. Emil deadpanned and pried himself away from the overly-friendly Feliciano.
"And you?" Emil enquired, aiming his question at Lovino, who snorted and shrugged his shoulders dismissively.
"Not much of a talker is he?" Alfred observed, adjusting his glasses. "He wasn't this way during the service." The Guide groaned, burying his face in his hands.
"I still can't believe you actually went and did that."
Alfred smiled lazily, brushing the comment away. "But really," he said, turning to Lovino. "What is your name?" Lovino glowered at him, but otherwise, remained tight-lipped as ever. Feliciano sighed and held his hand out, gesturing at his brother.
"This is my fratello, Lovino Vargas. He's currently in the Priest Vocation as well," he stated, his eyelids fluttering shut before opening. A warm smile crossed the Guide's face.
"So, the Priests will be getting two Vargas's this year? I'm sure they're happy… The difficulty of their Initiation finally seems to be hitting the Vocation hard," the Guide mused. "We all knew it would come to this day," he continued, "between the Mages and the Priests, most of the young ones who have the ability to continue oftentimes pick the Mage Vocation-"
"I can fucking see why," Lovino snarled, "and who says I'm becoming a true Priest?" he added vehemently. The Guide stared blankly at the older brother.
"But aren't you a Vargas?"
Lovino let out a hollow laugh. "Just because my family has been doing it since before the invention of the wheel, doesn't mean I have to do it. I certainly don't enjoy hearing all those old farts ramble-"
"Fratello, smettere," Feliciano mewled, clutching his brother's arm. Lovino hissed and attempted to rip himself free from his younger brother's grip, but Feliciano held fast. "I'm sorry," the younger brother laughed feebly- his attention diverted back to the other three. "He has his days where he thinks about leaving, but he'll get over it soon enough."
Lovino rolled his eyes, finally yanking his arm away from Feliciano. "One good Vocation will be all that it takes," he muttered in an undertone.
"So..." Alfred trailed, sticking his hands in his pockets. Everyone stared expectantly at him, waiting for the next stupid thing to fly out of his mouth. Much to their surprise, it was a simple and reasonable question.
"So, what's the next Vocation?" the blonde asked, raising his eyebrows. The Guide nodded his head and adjusted his suit's collar.
"Well, I have a kid from the Farming Vocation to pick up, so that is where we'll be visiting," the man replied. Lovino hmphed, Emil nodded wordlessly, and Feliciano bobbed his head up and down eagerly.
"Va bene!"
X-x-X-x-X
The Farmer's District, located near the bottom of the multi-leveled city of Tír na nÓg, was a vast expanse of fertile land, dotted by charmingly rustic log houses. A bright sun shone down on the small group as they navigated their way down a winding gravel road, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
All around them, people were working- scything the wheat, plucking tomatoes off the vine, and tilling the soil. Dressed in tattered denim, they appeared more than a little weathered, yet, they were still happy. Lovino looked upon them with a guarded interest. It seemed like a fairly pleasant Vocation, but they were tanned and burly from working in the fields and their clothes were a sorry state. He remembered hearing that while Farming was one of the harder Vocations to get kicked out of- as long as you met the city's quota, you were good- they were also a poor Vocation.
"Here we are," the Guide announced, stopping in front of a tipsy-looking two story cottage with stone walls and several fat brown chickens milling about in the yard. Emil and Feliciano stared at the chickens with fascination, never before, have they seen a chicken in person. Lovino crinkled his nose as he watched a chicken poop.
The door flew open before the Guide got a chance to knock. A blonde male with abnormally thick eyebrows and lime-green eyes stood in the doorway, his tweed suit rather rumpled and a scowl etched onto his face. "No! You can't come, Pete!" he roared, his head snapping back to deliver the message.
"You jerk!" A young kid with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes stormed up to the green-eyed man, his face as red as a tomato.
"Sorry about this," the older blonde sighed to the small Exploration group before turning to face his younger brother. "You can't come because you're not old enough, Pete," he snapped, bending over to poke the child on the forehead. "Now, why don't you go harass David or John?"
Pete pouted, crossing his arms. "They're too busy with work to be bothered with me!" he retorted bitterly. His older brother snorted and placed his hands on the young boy's shoulders.
"Then go help them, you ninny," he said and turned Pete around, giving him a gentle push in the back. The young boy stood there for a moment, sulking, then turned around, sticking his tongue out at his older brother before reluctantly trudging away.
"Once again, my sincerest apologies for that little git's behavior," the Farmer grumbled, placing a hand on his head and inhaling deeply. The Guide shook his head, appearing rather amused.
"It's all fine, we've seen worse."
Lovino huffed petulantly, murmuring something under his breath.
The Farmer grimaced and held his hand out. "I'm Arthur Kirkland of the Farmer Vocation, though I do hope to become a Mage." He smiled at the last word. Feliciano frowned and took a step back. "What?" Arthur snapped, narrowing his eyes at the Priest.
"They're both Priests, dude," Alfred chimed in, eagerly grabbing the Farmer's hand and shaking it vigorously. Arthur gaped incredulously at the group. "So yeah, they'd like hate your guts if you became a Mage," he continued.
Arthur snorted and pulled free from Alfred's grip. Feliciano sighed, "We wouldn't hate you… We'd just-"
"Disagree with everything you say," Lovino continued drily with a dark smirk on his face. The younger brother sighed, throwing his hands up to the heavens.
"Don't mind them," the Guide said, placing a hand on Arthur's shoulder and guiding him outside. "The tension between the Priests and the Mages are not nearly as bad as other Vocations make it out to be," he said, shooting both Lovino and Alfred a warning look.
Lovino, of course, ignored him. "Not by too much," he drawled. "I mean, there was the war between them-"
"Which was three hundred years ago," the Guide snapped, a dark shadow crossing his normally-kind face.
"-Not to mention," Lovino plowed on, "Just two weeks ago, the Archbishop received a letter from the High Mage, addressed to the Pope, demanding access to the Sanctum Ruins, and threatening to take it to the Council if the request was denied." A humorless laugh escaped Lovino, "Man… The old geezer went ballistic and sent the Mages an equally nasty letter, mind you, it was all very polite and friendly… for a subtle death threat. Talk about friendship and acceptance."
The Guide scowled, clapping a hand on Lovino's shoulder and squeezing it. "Ow!" Lovino yelped. "What the hell, old man?" He slapped the Guide's hand. Feliciano cleared his throat nervously, turning towards Arthur.
"Really, it wasn't that bad… Those sort of things don't happen too much," he said hastily. Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Well, my family may respect the Priests for their blessings, but I truly don't care either way," he retorted drily. Lovino snickered, rubbing the back of his head.
"You really shouldn't," he snarked, earning a withering death glare from the Guide. Feliciano slumped his shoulders, covering his face with his hands.
"So, what do you do each day in the Farming Vocation?" Emil piped up, mercifully changing the topic. Arthur snorted, rumpling his already messy hair, and gave his house a deprecating look. Everyone stared eagerly at him, waiting for a response. Arthur stole a glance at the Guide, who nodded in return.
"I don't know if I can explain it really well, since I particularly dislike my current Vocation," the Farmer sighed, "but, we pretty much farm during the day to provide food for the city, and then at night, we unwind and tell stories and hang out with our family." He looked away, furrowing his brow, "I particularly hate the night," he continued, "my brothers make it a hell for me. Pete's not too bad, but he's still a cheeky little twat. Mercifully, Patrick- the one who pranked me all the time- left for the Brewer Vocation, but John and David decided to stay." He rubbed his forehead, "They're incredibly bossy and condescending, and always find a way to make me feel like an outcast."
"So, you're a lonely and jealous child who is suffering from angst, 'cause no one likes you?" Alfred enquired. Everyone turned to face him, their expression ranging from shocked to plain murderous. "What?" Alfred's eyes widened in confusion, "I was just asking a question! What did I say?"
"Are you slow or something?" Lovino asked with an incredulous note to his voice. Alfred stared dubiously at the Priest. Arthur's eyes flashed, throwing white-hot daggers of pure hate at the blonde. Alfred cringed, taking a step back from the Farmer.
"If I had a pitchfork, I would stab you right now," Arthur snarled, his eyebrows crashing downwards.
"Huh?"
"I need to pick up another person at the Marine Vocation, so we need to go," the Guide interjected, giving Alfred a venomous scowl.
"Seriously dudes, what did I do?" Alfred queried, his voice rising in pitch. Feliciano and Emil remained silent, their expressions impassive. Lovino snickered and the Guide growled lowly. Arthur, however, answered.
"You did everything," he spat.
And that concludes ch2 of this lovely little story! Poor Alfred… he really can't keep his mouth shut, meanwhile… Feliciano is thinking something along the lines of "Getting real tired of your shit, bro," but he's too polite and sweet to say it aloud. The Guide is currently struggling not to murder Lovino and Alfred, while Emil (Lovely little Iceland) is all cool and composed and just going like, "What?" And of course, Arthur has an adorably dysfunctional relationship with his little bro- Peter, and all sorts of fluff abounds! XD
I think I'm butchering Lovino… I really believe I am… He's a lot more dry and sarcastic than normal (I think)... But...I don't know. Now, you're probably wondering why Arthur isn't in a Vocation related to ships… I just wanted to make the dude's brothers a bunch of Farmers, ok? Just wait until you see Poland next chapter… (I really wanted to introduce him this chapter, but I'm way too lazy. Trust me, it's pretty hilarious and cringe-worthy)
What have I done?
Anyways, thanks to all the people who have faved, followed, and reviewed this story! I'm really enjoying the Hetalia archives! The people here are nice and supportive and some of the stories are quite incredible!
Reviewer replies:
randomobsession123: Of course I'll update! Here you go!
