Please sit back, und ENJOY.
They headed for the enormous dining cave Feliciano had seen earlier, and he noticed that wasn't dark anymore: four oil lamps hanging from the ceiling with impossibly long cables had been lit, as well as a few lamps by the stony walls and pillars. The duo neared the two people who were standing by a stone fire place, which was near some contraption that looked similar to an oven. Both cooking facilities seemed to have been carved in the rocky wall itself by an improvised mason.
"DRIVE THE HEATHEN AWAY FROM THE KITCHEEEN!" Mathias screeched bloody murder popping out from nowhere, making Feliciano jump a meter or so in the air.
Arthur had been surprised too, but he quickly composed himself: he was used to the Dane's antics when he stepped near the cooking area. "What the bloody hell, you git! I was just going to sit over there, relax." Arthur complained, gesturing to the chairs and sofas in the middle of the wide cave. The chairs and sofas, plus a fairly large pillow lying on the ground that Feliciano had not noticed earlier were arranged in a circle around the low wooden table.
The tall Dane looked reassured enough. "Yes, you just go…and sit, there. Away from the kitchen, please. We don't want you to go near it ever again." He muttered the last part quickly to himself, and Feliciano only heard him because he was standing so close to him. Arthur left him with the Dane, and Feliciano was a bit unsure whether he should follow the Brit or stay there. But then, Mathias hugged his shoulders with a long arm, leaving him with no choice but staying. "Hej there! So, did you pass?" He asked with a wide grin.
"Pass what?" The Italian wondered.
"Yes, he passed, you wanker." Said Arthur, his voice coming from a sofa.
"Hell yeah!" Mathias cheered, tightening the grip on the Italian's shoulders. "You passed Arthur's medical check! We now know that you are not a Nightmare or a RED. Now we can officially state it:" He released the hold on Feliciano, stepped in front of him, and grinned broadly. "Welcome to the Rock family!"
"Oh, so it was about that!" Feliciano laughed, feeling relieved he had passed this supposed test. "Grazie!"
"Guys! Guys! Feliciano passed!" Mathias exclaimed, dragging the Italian with him to the blonds standing in the stone 'kitchen': Berwald and Tino.
"I heard, I'm so happy for you!" Tino clapped his hands together with a wide smile. "You are now part of our family, heheh!"
Berwald nodded, his expression as stony as when Feliciano had met him. "Hm. W'lcome."
"So, how's the cooking going?" Mathias asked, nearing the fire place, where a black cauldron had been positioned over a snapping fire.
Tino shrugged, his expression falling a bit, gesturing to the stone fire place. "I'm doing what I can, but vegetable soup will still be plain vegetable soup… I'm sorry I can't make anything fancier right now to celebrate your welcome, Feliciano." He said, his shoulders slumping.
Feliciano shook his head. "Don't worry, thank you anyway. I bet it will be a fantastic soup." he smiled, trying to lift the Fin's spirits a bit.
Tino's expression lightened up a bit, but suddenly it became worried as his eyes fell on the Dane standing beside the Italian. "Mathias, I don't like it when you have that look on your face."
Indeed, Feliciano turned, and he saw Mathias staring at him with a thoughtful look as he rubbed his chin with one hand. Then it seemed as if a light bulb had appeared over his head, and he snapped his fingers.
"I get it!" he said with a smug look upon his face.
Tino sighed. "What is it?"
"Don't you get it? The guy is totally Italian! I remembered just now where I had heard that accent before!" Mathias said.
"So?" Berwald asked, not sounding impressed.
Mathias sent them a 'don't you guys actually understand? It's so obvious' look. "Duh, guys. Italian equals wonderful cook." He said, grabbing Feliciano's shoulder with one hand.
"W-what? Me, Italian?" Feliciano pointed at himself. Again, after his initial bafflement, the concept of 'Italy' unveiled itself in his mind, and he immediately knew that Mathias was right. The land in the form of a boot, its coasts washed by the Mediterranean sea. He was... Italian.
Mathias rolled his eyes. "Ja, you. Did you hit a wall with your head or something? You definitely are Italian. It took me a while to realize it, but now there's no mistaking it."
"B-but… I'm not even sure I can cook…!" Feliciano weakly protested, shuffling his feet as he felt three pair of eyes staring at him.
Mathias cast him an incredulous look. "...What do you mean, you're not sure?"
Feliciano's eyes travelled down at his feet. "I-I…I lost my memory…I can't remember anything before this afternoon…" He admitted. Even if he now knew where he came from, he still had no other memory of his past. It gave him the chills that his life up until that day had been practically thrown in a dark well, and that he occasionally could fish out some bits and pieces of basic notions, like where Sweden or Italy were. But cooking? Who knew if he had been capable of that.
Mathias blinked, and then shrugged. "Oh, so that's it? That's okay Feli, so you just really did hit a wall. Don't worry, Italians are innate in cooking, just try!" he said, shoving him near the fire place.
"Wh-what! But it's Tino's soup!" The Italian protested, feeling as if he were interfering. He was also actually a bit afraid of what would happen if he failed.
But the Fin shook his head. "I'm not that good, and that soup probably can't get any worse. Maybe you can make it better." He laughed.
Even the Swede nodded approvingly from above.
Feliciano turned around and around and only saw approving eyes. He then sighed, giving up. "Ok... I'll try the best I can." Feliciano said, inhaling deeply. A small realization dawned on him, that the three Nordics did not care if he had lost his memory. The tiniest of smiles ghosted over his features as he straightened his shirt with an instinctive movement. As if he'd been wearing an apron, he realized with a small shock.
Tino conjured a few little jars from a cupboard near the fire place. "Alright. So these are the spices we could retrieve from the city. It's not much, I know, but it's all we have."
Feliciano inspected them one by one, feeling the three men's eyes boring into his back. He read the etiquettes and looked at the contents. As he read the third etiquette, something yet again clicked inside his head. He recognized all the names, and he even knew how they were supposed to smell before he even opened the lids. He suddenly realized, he knew how to do this. He knew how to cook.
He put down the spice jar he was holding and turned towards the fireplace. "...What is in the soup?" he asked, lifting the lid covering the cauldron, smelling and peeking at the contents.
"Pretty much the only things we can grow in here, as all that was in the city has been already taken or has rotten away. Carrots, spinach, onions, potatoes and some mushrooms." Tino answered.
Feliciano thought a little, considering what he could use to enhance the flavours of those vegetables. He then opened each spice and sniffed the smells of them. Oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, sagebrush, rosemary and then salt, pepper and dried chilli pepper. He could do pretty much what he wanted with that soup.
He picked up some basil with his fingers. The fine dried powder sent a powerful smell to his nostrils. It was familiar, in some way. It reminded him of…someone? He looked at the powder in the palm of his hand. Yes. It was definitely reminding him of somebody. But he couldn't remember clearly who. However, something also felt wrong in his head. No, basil wouldn't do good in that soup. It would only interfere, not enhance flavours. He shook his head and put it back, before picking up another jar. Would oregano work, or rosemary? He swiftly went from jar to jar, smelling and pondering, before putting the chosen aroma in the soup. He was totally lost in his work, and had forgotten that the three Nordics were staring at him while he tried to improve the soup.
"You see? He'll make a five star meal for us in no time!" Mathias triumphantly proclaimed, grinning.
Feliciano walked up and down many times from the cauldron to the jars. He thought hard, and worked hard, perfecting the soup. After some minutes, he asked if he could ask for some more onions.
"S're." Berwald grunted, walking away and returning soon after that with two small brown onions, which were immediately peeled and sliced into pieces by a surprisingly steady and fast knife-wielding Italian hand.
Mathias, Berwald and Tino felt as if they were watching a TV show about cooking. The only differences were that Feliciano did not talk or explain any of the decisions he took, as he was completely absorbed in his task, and that they could smell how the soup got better and better.
After ten minutes or so, Feliciano tasted the soup with the wooden spoon, clicked his tongue disappointedly and threw some more pepper in it. He then nodded approvingly, turning to the Nordic public. "Fatto! La cena è servita."
"Say again?" Tino asked, looking confused.
The Italian smiled, proud of his work. "Done. Dinner is served!"
"Sweet! DINNER, EVERYBODY!" the Dane shouted so that everyone in the Rock could hear it, no matter where they were, as the caves carried his voice everywhere. He even added a sound effect by loudly banging the side of the cauldron with a metal ladle.
Tino seized the ladle out of Mathias's hands with a disapproving look, and then filled seven bowls. Mathias, Arthur and Feliciano helped bringing them to the table in the centre of the cave, while Berwald disappeared somewhere to retrieve a seventh chair for the newcomer. Kiku and Ludwig came out from one of the many doorways and joined them.
"Oh... What is this powerful smell?" Kiku asked as he sat on his knees on the pillow, probably being used to sitting the Japanese way while eating.
"It's Italian veggie soup!" Mathias snickered, handing him a bowl.
"Italian…?" Ludwig asked sceptically, raising one eyebrow while sitting on his chair.
"Kyllä, Feliciano cooked for us." Tino smiled happily, giving him a bowl and a spoon.
"And, for your information," Arthur said as he took one bowl for himself, "Feliciano passed the medical check. He's one of the family now."
"Really? Congratulations, Feliciano-kun!" Kiku said, smiling and bowing his head a little to the Italian.
"Thank you Kiku," the Italian replied, sitting on the chair Berwald had just brought in for him.
Ludwig said nothing, remaining stubbornly silent.
"Well then…bon appétit, everyone!" Mathias proclaimed, officially declaring that everybody could start eating, also earning a glare from Arthur, because apparently he hated French. At least, that was the explanation that Tino whispered in Feliciano's ear.
They all tasted the soup almost at the same time. And it was... delicious. Everyone had stunned looks in their eyes, as their taste buds where suddenly overwhelmed by food that tasted almost as good as before the Disaster. Everyone also had something to say immediately.
Mathias. "Oh my god, Feliciano, this is fucking delicious!"
Tino. "... Did you really transform the dull soup I made into... this?! It's incredible!"
Berwald. "Hn. V'ry good, ja."
Arthur. "Yes, I agree this is much better than the soup Tino made."
Kiku. "How outstanding! So many flavours in one soup! Feliciano, you are…terrific!"
Ludwig. "I admit it. This is good."
Feliciano was almost literally glowing with joy. He was so happy he had made everyone else happy with his food, and that he had not screwed anything up.
"Thank you! Grazie davvero!" He blurted out, staring at the bowl in his hands.
"Hey Feli, no need to start crying now, hey? It's a wonderful soup, great job!" Mathias laughed, putting another spoonful in his mouth.
"I think it's the onions…" Feliciano sniffed, rubbing his eyes. And everyone except Ludwig cheerfully started to laugh.
The days passed by quickly, and soon became weeks. Feliciano learnt to cook better and better every day – or maybe he was remembering more and more every day, he wasn't quite sure – and since he had such a good start the first day... everyone was looking out for dinner every evening.
The Italian slept in a room with a mattress in a room-cave all for himself, which was considered a luxury at the Rock. But even so, after just a couple of days, besides the fact that he didn't even remember sleeping in any other bed, he somehow did not feel comfortable sleeping in there, alone. He had these dreams where nothing else happened besides him falling. And falling. And falling. Over and over again. So, even if the mattress was comfortable, he did not sleep well.
But save the nightmares, he was having a great time at his new home and family. The Rock and its inhabitants were ever so polite and gentle as random.
Every Rock family member came from a different nation – Ludwig from Germany, Kiku from Japan, Arthur from England, Tino from Finland, Berwald from Sweden, Mathias from Denmark, he himself from Italy – and Feliciano soon discovered why, during a conversation with Kiku.
"The Disaster caused many people to die at once because the Sentient Nightmares targeted the greatest cities, so the survivors would flee as soon as they could to non-infected areas. Soon small cities or villages would be filled with refugees, survivors, people from all across the world. And as soon as those were infected too, the survivors would just flee again, travelling from place to place, in search for safety. After a while of course, there would be no place left to run, and then… it would be survival of the fittest, or the smartest. And that is why you, an Italian, is living with a German, a Japanese, a Brit, a Fin, a Swede and a Dane."
"It almost sounds like the beginning of a joke!" Feliciano chuckled. He wondered how he even knew that. He surely didn't remember any jokes. Or maybe…something in his mind whispered: A German, a Japanese and an Italian walk into a restaurant… But he didn't remember how it ended. However he made a promise to himself he would, mostly because he thought it would be fun, having him, Ludwig and Kiku in one joke.
Once a week a couple would go out and scavenge for supplies, either for food or for other important things that were needed. It was either Ludwig and Kiku or the Nordic trio who took turns. It was a very difficult task: you had to turn every rock and move every boulder of the city to find something, because it was probable that the entrance to some store or house or apartment would be buried and hidden beneath it, and most of the times there was nothing interesting to be found anymore. The electronics were useless, most of the needed supplies could have already been taken by somebody else even before the stalemate-phase, and often enough the food that was found was spoiled. And then one of the team had to stand guard against the day-Nightmares. Tino explained to him that the Nightmares preferred to roam around during the night: the sun hurt them. But, of course, there were a few exceptions. There were those who woke up earlier just before the sun went down, like the one that had attacked the Italian, and those who were completely unimpressed by the sun and roamed during the day. They were very rare, something around 1 day-Nightmare every 100 Nightmares, but they still existed. So someone armed had to always stand guard while the other searched through the debris of the city.
Tino told him also that they had lived almost thirteen months at the Rock, exactly the time after the last Sentient Nightmares' attack. The Rock family had explored thoroughly almost the whole of the city, and they knew there wasn't much left to find.
"The discovery Kiku made with the ammunitions was impressive. We didn't expect that at all. But still, those don't spoil, medicine and food do. It's become kind of difficult to find something to eat lately… Arthur was some sort of leader while we were running away from the cities and the Nightmares, and he made a very wise decision when we found the Rock, about a year ago: he came up with the idea of creating a field here. I'm sure you have seen the cave that has a hole in the ceiling big enough for some sun to come in, right? That little patch of sunlight is multiplied and made even bigger with a combination of mirrors that Berwald created, hanging fairly-sized shards by the edge of that hole." Tino explained. "We take care of the field very carefully, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to survive this long." He said proudly.
Feliciano nodded as he remembered said cave: he had come across it one day; the spectacle of mirrors was dazzlingly wonderful.
During the long evenings they would either talk, or someone would read a Disaster-surviving book aloud to all the others, or everyone would simply mind their own businesses. Most of the time however, they would play cards. Arthur knew an awful lot of games, plus he was a good teacher, while Feliciano was a quick learner. The Italian swiftly learned how to play as a real professional in almost all the games that Arthur taught him, and the Rock family discovered soon at their own expense that he had actually discovered how to cheat: it was a harmless and good-natured cheating however, because Feliciano just wanted to prank everyone or mess a boring game up so that all hell would break loose.
Kiku and Arthur spent time together to teach the Italian about Nightmares. Those monsters might have looked all the same, but there actually were extraordinary differences between the species.
"For instance, Feliciano." Arthur started one day after lunch, conjuring a quite worn-looking notebook with yellow pages. As he opened it, pictures and drawings of Nightmares appeared before the Italian's eyes. "This is a typical 'newbie' Nightmare." He said, pointing at a photo, picturing a creature that resembled the Nightmare that had chased Feliciano the first day he remembered. It had an insect-like shape, big jaws, hairy paws and a black armoured body. Its extremely large eyes were toxic-green, as were the many, evident glowing weak spots that dotted its body.
"...It looks like the one that chased me on the first day," the Italian muttered, feeling a slight shiver.
"Exactly." Kiku nodded, remembering the creature, "This kind of Nightmare is what we call a... 'newbie'. Either it has just recently been infected, or it has had a very pacific and inactive life. You can immediately recognize them for their many and obvious weak spots, plus they have that distinctive sick green colour."
The Brit continued, moving his finger across the picture of the Nightmare. "That black armour on their bodies is harder than steel, so don't even think of going through that: it's impossible. In the first battles against Nightmares, armies tried to use tanks against them, but even that much force did not break that armour. The only way to eliminate a Nightmare is to shoot right at the weak spots, which include the big eyes. It's not like they have vital organs hidden under those weak spots, at least that we know of, but they simply die of blood loss."
"Green spots, eyes, harder than steel. Got it." Feliciano repeated, almost as if taking notes with an invisible pencil.
"Hai. I know it almost sounds like the weaknesses of monsters from videogames, but... sadly, this is reality." Kiku shook his head, and Feliciano scratched his head trying to retrieve the concept of 'monsters from videogames' from his memory, sadly not succeeding. He did not voice this trouble however. "Also,
Feliciano-kun... I thought a lot about it, and I think you could use some training. After all, we all have to be able to defend ourselves." Kiku continued, a hint of graveness in his voice.
"Eeeeh?! W-w-wait a second, I don't want to fight!" the Italian stammered, surprised at the Japanese's words. "I don't want to go out, or fight! Arthur is the medic, right? So... can't I be... I don't know, the cook of this group?"
Kiku shook his head. "Arthur-san knows how to defend himself. Am I wrong, Arthur-san?"
As on cue, Arthur pulled out a dagger from inside his jacket with incredible speed, made it glint in the faint light a bit by twirling it in his fingers, and then put it away again. All in a few, swift motions.
"Psht. Showoff." Mathias muttered, smirking, while walking by while carrying some unidentified boxes.
Arthur simply rolled his eyes.
"Wow... Do it again! Please?" Feliciano's eyes were sparkling with admiration.
"Feliciano-kun, I think you're missing the point. You have to learn how to wield a weapon. We each specialised in one close range weapon and we can all use guns. I think…it's better for you to start with guns." The last part he murmured to himself.
Feliciano's eyebrows shot up, as he totally ignored the first and the last part of the sentence. "You all can use weapons? Che figata! Do you use one of those Japanese swords?" How in the heavens did he not remember videogames, but managed to remember this little piece of information? The brain works in mysterious ways.
Kiku sighed. It was better just to answer the demanding Italian. "Hai, I am expert in using the ways of the katana."
Feliciano looked at him in awe, his brain somehow concocting an image of a samurai, with Kiku's face. "That's… amazing. What about the others?"
Arthur cleared his throat. "It doesn't matter right now. Let us continue with our lesson, shall we?" he offered instead.
"Oh, yes, of course." The Italian nodded.
Arthur coughed. "Well, yes. Alright, so these are all newbies." He pointed at the first pictures. "However, after having eaten enough, or after having fought a lot, Nightmares have the nasty habit of…evolving." He flipped the page over and pointed to a new picture.
The Nightmare in it was slightly more frightening. It was still clad in pitch-black armour and did not look much different from a newbie, but its weak spots were of another colour, and less open. The Nightmare's eyes had too become less big and bulging, less insect-like. As Feliciano flipped through the pages of the book, the weak spots became less and less, and the Nightmares changed in form. Some got smaller, more human-like. Well, sort of. They walked on two legs, but still were black as night and had two or three sets of arms, paws or occasionally wings. "Those," Kiku said, "were humans once. These, on the other hand…" he pointed at the Nightmares who actually grew in size, and changed shape into something that looked like a hybrid between a normal animal and a black insect, sporting wings or enormous tails and claws. "…were animals. Both species are very dangerous. Animal Nightmares are more destructive, but Human Nightmares develop some kind intelligence."
"Like…the Satiated Nightmares?" asked Feliciano, unsure of the term.
Arthur corrected him. "No, not like the Sentient Nightmares. The Sentients actually remember how to speak, act and think as a humans. But those have not been sighted in 13 months now. These things… these Human Nightmares just look a bit human and act smarter, but they do not develop actual thoughts."
"Creepy…" Feliciano whispered, looking at the drawings. The Italian had noticed that when he flipped pages over, the pictures became less and less, and all you could find towards the end were drawings and sketches. Mostly, the Italian thought, because taking a picture would have attracted the subject's attention, and the more advanced the Nightmare was, the more dangerous it was to be spotted by them.
Slowly leafing through the pages, he came to the end of the book, where only white pages were. He started closing the volume, and suddenly noticed some more drawings on the very last pages, but Arthur snatched the book from his hands and quickly closed it.
Feliciano blinked, confused. "Hey, wait a second, I think there are more pictures back there,"
Arthur looked very uncomfortable, and averted his gaze while clutching the book's cover. Feliciano noticed that Kiku was also looking elsewhere, specifically he seemed particularly interested in the ground a few meters away from them.
"This…I will tell you about these last pages another time." He quickly excused himself.
Feliciano frowned. "Is it…is it about these REDs I've been hearing about?"
Kiku looked up again and nodded gravely, his expression unreadable. "It is a touchy subject for some of us, Feliciano-kun. Please do not insist on wanting to know. We will tell you, but..." he glanced at the Brit "Not now."
Feliciano looked down at his hands, torn between burning curiosity and the fact that the subject's graveness impied he should respect this taboo for now. "Oh. Okay."
Silence fell in the dining-cave. Heavy and uncomfortable, unlike the sofa Feliciano was sitting on.
Arthur thankfully broke it. "Hey Feliciano, I haven't checked on you today. I need to do that every day, remember?"
The Italian's head snapped up. "Oh, yes! I remember. Andiamo, allora!" he jumped to his feet and skipped ahead of him to the medical room.
"You need to…check him, Arthur-san?" the Japanese man asked, puzzled.
There was a hint of slight mistrust in his voice, but Arthur ignored it and waved a hand absent-mindedly. "Yes, he has some strange form of asthma I need to check every day."
Kiku's frown deepened, eyes darkening, and Arthur suddenly remembered something: Kiku's uncanny ability to detect lies.
He was already preparing some other excuse, making sure he would not make eye contact with the Japanese man's gaze, but the latter interrupted him just when he was about to speak.
"You surely must have a very solid reason for not telling me, Arthur-san, and I will not inform the others about this. I trust your judgement and that the… asthma does not get worse, endangering everyone here." His voice was very calm, but this did not veil the very clear concern and threat.
Arthur understood him very well. They were all on edge when it concerned their safety. Sure, Feliciano was a friend, and a wonderful cook and admirable card player…but Nightmares were like zombies, so if even only one of them got infected, they would all be in danger.
The Brit nodded curtly and quickly left the dining-cave.
The Japanese sighed and got to his feet. "I really hope that everything turns out alright, Feliciano-kun…" he muttered, sincere worry in his voice. He then left, heading for the cave with the hanging mirrors.
That's all, folks!
I hope you're liking the re-writing so far, I'm personally enjoying this :)
See you next time!
Grazie! : (Italian) Thank you!
Fatto! La cena è servita : (Italian) Done! Dinner is served.
Kyllä : (Finnish) Yes.
Grazie davvero! : (Italian) Really, thank you!
Bon appétit : (French) Have a nice meal.
Hai : (Japanese) Yes.
Che figata! : (Italian) How cool/awesome!
