"You most certainly may not come in!" a man's voice spat, one green eye glaring out from behind the slightly open door.
The assembled group had arrived at a nondescript building at the edge of town. Its only notable feature was its odd placement, at the end of a winding dirt path that led into the forest. Both the house and its path were overrun with plant life. Shrubs and grass had all but overtaken the dirt path, and prickly bushes surrounded the house, with ivy carpeting its walls.
Despite the late hour, the forest was very much awake. Insects and animals cried out into the night, creating a ruckus that defied the sleepy glow of the moon.
"Do you know what time it is, you filthy bloodsucking frog?" The voice chided, his tone harsh with annoyance.
Francis smirked, struggling to ignore the insult. "But my dear Arthur," he said grandly with a sweep of his arm, "I brought friends!"
The green eyes didn't even flicker to the others behind the vampire. "I'm well aware of that," he snapped. "There are not one, but five beings outside of my home with no concept of time."
Before Francis could respond in a manner that would have undoubtedly made the situation worse, a very undignified wheeze came from behind the door. The green eyes disappeared, only to be replaced by a pair of deep blue irises.
"You have friends?" a high, excited voice asked, clearly surprised. The eyes darted around, quickly scanning over the visitor's features before widening. In a moment, the oceanic irises were clouded by an inky blackness, and the eyes stared out at them with unfathomable pupils. "Ooh," the voice hummed with understanding, sounding pleased, "weird friends."
Lovino stared. Under the darkness provided by the overhanging trees, he was having a difficult time making out figures even a few feet in front of him. The amount of creatures around him with night vision only served to make the Italian more uncomfortable.
The door slammed shut.
Before anyone could react, it swung open again to reveal a smiling, pupiless blonde man. He smiled brightly – holding the green-eyed man at arm's length. Even though he wore a pair of loose, thick cotton pants and a wrinkled white t-shirt, it was the man behind him who looked disheveled. The other man was wearing stiff pajamas, but his collared shirt was askew and his hair was messy from sleep.
"Come on in!" the friendly blonde invited as the man behind him stepped away in defeat. He attempted to straighten his shirt, and managed to glare somewhat imposingly at the intruders.
"Onhonhon," Francis chuckled as he stepped through the doorway, his eyes roaming appreciatively over the casually dressed blonde's form. "I didn't know you had a roommate, Arthur."
Arthur, the scruffy, green eyed man, furrowed his bushy eyebrows and sighed. He rubbed the side of his head with his fingers in an effort to deter his impending headache. "He's not…no. Alfred is the product of a spell gone very, very wrong," he corrected exhaustedly. He returned his glare to the man in question. "Now," he ground out pointedly, "I have been unable to get him to leave."
Alfred laughed, unabashed. "If you're going to try to summon a being from the dark realm, make sure you know what you're doing," he guffawed. "It's not like you can banish a demon."
"It's not for a lack of trying," Arthur spat bitterly.
"Demon?" Feliciano murmured, shifting slightly to hide behind Ludwig. The blonde stayed silent, taking in all of the new information.
"What do you mean, 'a spell'?" Lovino recalled, looking between the two blondes.
"Oh sure," Alfred replied, grinning as he yanked Arthur close under his arm. "Arthur here is a wizard – but honestly, he's more of an old hang in spirit than physical features, don't 'cha think?"
"Hey!" the magic user in question squawked, yanking himself out of Alfred's hold. "I am not a hag!"
At that moment, the door behind them closed with a click. The group turned their collective attention to the culprit, another blonde man with soft, wavy hair. Like Arthur, he was wearing a set of collared pajamas, though his were neat and black. Under the sudden attention, he flushed lightly and shrunk back.
"Ah, Matthew," Arthur called, sounding relieved. "Please show our guests to my study. I'm assuming whatever it was that brought them here at such a late hour must be ever so important," he intoned tartly.
"Yes, Master Arthur," the man responded quietly, his voice like a sigh. He turned and walked widely around the group, turning to face them once he stood before a winding staircase. "If you please," Matthew directed, signaling for the other to follow him upstairs. Francis immediately pushed to the front of the group, moving to introduce himself to the unfamiliar face.
As the quiet blonde flushed and politely deflected the vampire's inquires, Lovino wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Ugh, is he going to try and suck his blood, too?"
"He most certainly will not!" Arthur called pointedly, watching from the back of the group.
The study turned out to be more of a sprawling library. Each wall was lined to the ceiling with towering bookcases, and the air around them was musty with the smell of old tomes. Arthur entered last, and Matthew closed the door behind him. The attendant moved to stand in front of the door as the assembled group found their seats.
Alfred blinked through existence before their very eyes, reappearing perched on the desk that Arthur sat down behind. He grinned mischievously at the shocked reactions he produced from Lovino, Ludwig, and Feliciano. Ludwig was standing next to Feliciano's chair, and he gripped the back of the plush seat protectively. For his part, Lovino registered the strangeness with apprehension. The continued onslaught of strangeness was becoming exhausting.
"What seems to be the problem?" Arthur asked flatly, surveying the group. "It seems to me that you've accumulated quite the diverse group here, Francis."
The vampire regarded the disgruntled magic-wielder from under his eyelids with amusement, though his relaxed posture in the velvet chair didn't change. "I haven't accumulated anything," he hummed. "These are friends of Antonio's. I am only an acquaintance, I'm afraid."
Arthur looked at the dark haired Spaniard strangely, as if taking note of his presence for the first time. He frowned. "I don't believe we've met," he said, sounding unsure.
To the general surprise of the room, Antonio seemed strangely serious, and he tilted his head curiously as he squinted at the blonde. After a moment, he seemed to shake off his tentativeness. "I'm Antonio," he confirmed simply, shrugging and smiling with a forced casualty.
"Really," the Englishman responded flatly, narrowing his eyes. "And what, exactly, are you? There's a powerful signature on you. Perhaps I knew it once, but if I did I can't remember."
"Señor," he began, visibly relaxing, "it may be better if you don't know."
A tense moment passed where Arthur looked very much annoyed. "Fine," he decided, a response that made Alfred look back at him in surprise. "What do you want, then?"
"My friends here were attacked by a werewolf yesterday," Antonio explained, nodding towards Feliciano and Ludwig. "The attack turned them both."
Arthur's bushy eyebrows raised in surprise as he turned to look at the new werewolves. "Both of you are werewolves as of only last night?" he asked, baffled.
"We were attacked last night," Ludwig clarified. "We woke up this morning this way."
"That's impossible," the blonde said disbelievingly. "Most victims of werewolf attacks will not turn into the beasts themselves...but on the other hand, it's rare to see two human survivors at all."
"It's true!" Feliciano piped up. "Fratello and Antonio came and saved us."
Arthur glanced at Antonio again with some suspicion, but the other man only smiled brightly.
"Right." The blonde concluded reluctantly, returning his attention to the two werewolves. "In any case, it doesn't do the world any good to have three renegade werewolves roaming around."
"Three?" Ludwig echoed, looking confused.
Arthur raised his eyebrows again. "Yes, three. The werewolf that attacked you is just as dangerous as you are. Werewolves live deep within the forest, and they always live in packs. Any renegade werewolf is dangerous, because that means it was rejected from the community."
"Well," Antonio cut in cheerfully, "I don't think Ludwig or Feliciano would hurt anyone. And don't worry about the werewolf that attacked them. He won't be hurting anyone ever again."
Feliciano and Ludwig looked at Antonio in surprise at that, but Lovino just looked annoyed. He had seen firsthand what Antonio did to the werewolf. If there was anyone who was dangerous, the sullen Italian thought bitterly, it was him.
"Okay, cool," Alfred piped up, looking impressed. He looked back at the surprised wizard behind him. "So you have a cure or something for them, right Arthur?"
The other blonde looked pensive for a moment. "I might have an idea," he admitted, sounding unsure, "but I would have to look through my books first. In the meantime, you may reside here for the night." Arthur stood and gestured towards Matthew, who had been waiting in front of the door. "I am afraid we don't have very many guest rooms, but Matthew will arrange your lodgings. We will reconvene here in the morning."
Arthur turned away, walking to the bookcase at the far end of the room and beginning to search, dismissing the assembled group. Alfred disappeared from the desk and reappeared next to Matthew. "C'mon guys, hurry up!" he urged, "I'm sure at least some of you need sleep. So does Arthur, but I'll deal with him later."
The wizard bristled, but otherwise did not acknowledge his unwanted houseguest's words. As Alfred helped Matthew herd everyone out of the room, he took the opportunity to survey his guests while their attention was drawn away.
He had known Francis for a long time. The vampire was a threat, but a manageable one. Both of the new werewolves seemed pleasant enough, so he wasn't to terribly worried about them rampaging out of control. As for Antonio, he wasn't nearly so comfortable. Something about the Spaniard set him on edge. His ability to read the signatures that all magical beings radiated had never failed him before, and he was surprised that he was unable to identify one as strong as Antonio's.
As the room cleared of the strong aura, Arthur expected to relax. Yet after he felt the last powerful tendrils leave the room, there was still a heavy sense of dread surrounding him. He looked up, and found that the other brunette, the one who was not a werewolf, was staring at him.
"Can I help you?" Arthur asked, a combination of annoyance and confusion lacing his voice.
Lovino advanced on him. Now that he was paying attention to the human, Arthur could see the traces of exhaustion in his face.
"Do you know what Antonio is?" the brunette asked suspiciously, almost bitterly, with narrowed eyes.
The Englishman raised both of his bushy eyebrows in surprise. "I'm sorry?"
"Don't be stupid," Lovino snapped, venom in his voice. "I saw what he did to that wolf. He's hiding something from me, and I've been through enough shit today. I deserve to know."
Understanding dawned on Arthur's face. "You're Feliciano's brother, Lovino? You saw the werewolf attack?"
"I did," the brunette confirmed. "I knew something was wrong, but I had no idea…" The Italian faltered, looking overwhelmed.
An intrigued look appeared on Arthur's face. "Please," he suggested, gesturing towards the chair. "Sit down."
Exhausted, Lovino allowed himself to flop down into the seat. His face had turned bright red. Against his will, overwhelmed tears began to fall from his eyes.
Arthur took his seat behind his desk. "Now please," he began, leaning forward, "start from the beginning."
In the hall, Matthew and Alfred led Francis, Antonio, Ludwig, and Feliciano to the guest rooms. "I'm afraid that we only have two rooms available," Matthew apologized softly.
"That's okay!" Feliciano cheered, the contrast in his loud voice enough to make the wispy blonde jump. "I'll just share a room with Lovino!"
Antonio paused in his conversation with Francis. "I don't care where I sleep," he added good-naturedly.
Ludwig looked at the vampire with obvious reluctance. He didn't want to share a room with Francis.
To his surprise, the troublesome blonde only smiled at him knowingly, showing his fangs. With a conspiratorial wink, Francis turned to Matthew. "I would actually prefer to sleep in the basement. Now, I've been here before, but I'm not sure that I remember where the entrance is. Matthieu, would you mind showing me the way?"
The blue-eyed attendant's skin flushed. "Oh, well, of course I can," he agreed quietly. He looked around the rest of the assembled group. "Will you all be able to settle in okay? There are extra nightclothes in the dresser drawers if you need them, and if you would like me to do your laundry please feel free to set your clothes outside the door."
"I'm sorry," Antonio cut in apologetically, "but where's Lovino? Didn't he leave with us?"
Alfred scratched the back of his head. "Y'know, I don't know. Mattie?"
The other blonde's eyebrows furrowed together. "I don't remember," he admitted, looking concerned.
"Well hey," the American offered cheerfully, "I was gonna go back and try to get Arthur to go to bed anyway. We'll go back and check."
Arthur waited patiently for Lovino to finish talking, listening attentively as the Italian vented about the day's events. His eyebrows knitted together in concern as the brunette went on. When Lovino finished, the Englishman was silent for a minute, thinking.
"I think I have an idea about Antonio, but there's a more pressing issue at hand," he began, his tone serious as he stared at the other man.
Lovino glared at the blonde, frustrated and impatient.
"Tell me," Arthur prompted, tapping his fingers on his desk, "are either of your parents magic wielders?"
The brunette collected himself, staring suspiciously at the man sitting before him. "I wouldn't know," he bit out, his voice curious, "Feliciano and I grew up in an orphanage."
"Oh," the Englishman responded, looking perturbed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't waste your time," Lovino snapped. "What are you getting at?"
"Well, I…" Arthur began reluctantly, stepping around his desk and moving carefully towards Lovino. "Do you mind if I try something?"
Alfred moved away from the door to the study. It was cracked open just enough that he could look through, but after snooping for a minute he pulled away with a frown. "I have no idea what they're doing," he admitted.
"What do you mean?" Antonio asked worriedly, squeezing past the blonde so he could get a better look.
The demon looked uncomfortable when the good natured brunette began to growl, the low noise making his entire body rumble. "Whoa man, are you okay?"
Arthur was crouched in front of Lovino, looking him directly in his eyes with his hands on either side of his head. The Italian flinched, the pressure invading his head causing him some discomfort. When it started to become painful, he pushed the other man away.
"Che cazzo," he cursed, holding his head, "what the fuck was that?"
The blonde, however, was looking past him. When he saw that the door was closed, he shook his head and returned his attention to Lovino. "I apologize," he said quickly upon seeing the Italian's furious expression. "I was just testing you for magic resonance. I couldn't detect it earlier because of the stronger signatures in the room, but I thought I detected a faint aura once we were the only ones here. After hearing your story, I wanted to make sure."
"Magic resonance?" Lovino echoed, looking baffled.
Arthur leaned back against his desk, massaging his temples. "It's very faint, but it seems that you have some sort of magical ability born into you."
The brunette sputtered. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked, anger evident in his voice. "I don't…" his spark of fury quickly dissolved, and the Italian groaned. "I don't want anything to do with this. I want Feliciano to get back to normal, and I want to go home."
His response shocked the other man, but he tried not to show it. "This inherent magical ability doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to," Arthur admitted reluctantly. "You may have exhibited a low level capability with scrying when you were searching for your brother, but if you don't develop your abilities, it may never be anything more than that."
"Fine," Lovino choked out, looking determinedly at the magic user across from him. "I don't want it to." He suddenly stood, wiping his hand across his face.
As he turned to go, Arthur jerked out of his seat suddenly. "If you change your mind," he offered, ignoring the scathing glare that the Italian tossed at him, "I would be willing to teach you."
Lovino didn't respond. Instead he turned to leave and walked out, slamming the heavy door behind him.
Frowning, the Englishman returned to his seat. He sighed heavily, placing his elbows on the desktop and his head in his hands. As a wizard, he placed responsibility upon himself to remain aware of magical threats to the human world, but such a large group of renegade, untrained creatures was the biggest threat of all.
He was going to have to do more reading.
Arthur stood and returned to his bookcase, looking through his tomes on magical identification. He was going to have to put Lovino's potential abilities to the side for now. After talking to the Italian, he had an inkling on what Antonio might be.
Once he had collected a few books, he turned back to his desk.
"Hey Arthur!" Alfred greeted loudly, spinning around in the wizard's chair.
The standing blonde nearly dropped his books, and the demon teleported to him and caught the slipping pile. "Geez, calm down," he teased, placing a hand on Arthur's back to stabilize him. "You're super tense."
"You would be too, if you had any responsibilities," the older man snapped, embarrassed.
Alfred seemed to consider the idea. "Nah," he decided with a shrug, following Arthur to his desk. When the wizard sat down, he retook his place and perched on the wooden surface. "So what was up with," the demon waved his hand vaguely, "all of that?"
"That's a vague question," the Englishman responded flatly, opening one of his books and beginning to read.
"Well for one," Alfred began, removing his glasses and cleaning them on his shirt, "you let Antonio go when he didn't want to tell you what kind of creature he was. You don't just let things go."
"He had an extremely powerful signature," the other man responded tartly, struggling to retain his deadpan expression. His eyes flickered over the demon for a moment before returning to his reading.
The American frowned. "Like, magic?"
"Not necessarily," Arthur corrected, giving Alfred his attention again. "All magical creature have tags on them, like auras. I call them signatures, because once I identify a creature for the first time, it's easy to identify the entire species, even if they've transformed into something other than their natural form. It's rare that I meet a creature that I can't identify. It's even worse when it's a creature that seems so powerful."
"But he seems pretty cool," Alfred pouted. "Even though when we were spying on you and Lovino earlier, I think he was kinda pissed." His eyed slid to Arthur's questioningly.
The blonde frowned disappointedly at his companion. "That could have been dangerous," he commented, pointedly refusing to explain what he had been doing.
Alfred snorted. "C'mon, I don't think that you would hurt anyone."
"That is not what I mean," Arthur said, frowning deeper and closing his book. He fixed the demon on his desk with a stare. "Some creatures are territorial."
A/N: After this chapter, things are going to pick up a little, but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review if you did, your feedback means a lot to me! I might not get an update out in this coming week, but remember...any response at all is great motivation!