p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="center"The curtains hanging in front of the opened window danced in the breeze, parting to let in moonlight that kissed Lovino's face, even the bandages and compress adhered to his skin. His eyelids fluttered, then opened slowly, still lulled into the serenity that sleep promised. Gazing up into the beams and metal sheeting of the ceiling, Lovino waited out the fog of sleep his head swam in. It was all a blur until he remembered the blinding lights and the sting of alcohol and stitches, the turbulence of the hovercraft he rode in, the dark blood pooling around the Pictonian's still body, and the overpass, and… and…/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left""Lovino?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left"He didn't bother to turn his head to the bed next to him, didn't bother to swipe away the tears running down his temples and soaking into his pillow. He focused on the dust motes doing a lazy dance above him. "What?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left"He could see out of the corner of his eye Ludwig easing himself onto his side to face Lovino, hear the shift of the blanket and sheets. And Ludwig's eyes, all the red puffiness was still there./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Ludwig's voice was shaky as he asked, "Are you… are you okay?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left""Does it emlook/emspan style="font-style: normal;" like I'm okay?" I/spanspan style="font-style: normal;"t made/spanspan style="font-style: normal;" Lovino /spanspan style="font-style: normal;"feel shameful/spanspan style="font-style: normal;" at how /spanspan style="font-style: normal;"weak/spanspan style="font-style: normal;" his own voice came out. He meant /spanspan style="font-style: normal;"to yell, to hiss, to have his /spanspan style="font-style: normal;"tone/spanspan style="font-style: normal;" bite Ludwig and hurt the kid as much as Lovino is hurting, because if it weren't for Ludwig messing up, if it weren't for/spanem himself/emspan style="font-style: normal;" messing up…/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"His hand, set in a wrist brace and lying across his stomach, gripped the blanket. "They got Vene..." His face twisted just as tightly as his grip on his blanket. He closed his eyes and let the tears really come now. His hiccups and sobs filled the bunk room, causing some of the sleeping occupants to stir in their beds, and the awake ones to curl up in their beds and weep, too./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Over the din of misery, Lovino heard chaos taking over outside and consuming the late night. From here, it sounded like a fireworks show: crackling, popping, whistling, and voices that, because they were so far away, Lovino could easily imagine that they were shouts of awe and excitement and not battle cries and gut-wrenching wails from soldiers watching their allies fall. The medical shelter must have been dozens of kilometers away from the heat of battle, and even then, Lovino could feel the shock waves crash to them and gently rock the metal frame of his bed./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Veneziano was out there./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"His chest hitching, Lovino thought he was going to be overcome with sobs until he tasted a burning sourness in the back of his throat./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Ludwig gasped and shot up in bed. "Lovi-"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Lovino threw himself to the edge of the bed and vomited. Ludwig yelped and jumped back, though in the tiny space, some of the bile splashed onto his toes. Lovino's throat stung; the sudden weight of his body on his injured arm set his entire being on fire, and the splattering noise and pungent scent made him even sicker. A metallic creak of a swinging door rang louder than the wheezing heave of his body preparing for more disgorging./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Lovino could hear a hushed "Oh, shit!" through Ludwig's "Over here!" Thick boots pounded across the ground and fabric shifted as more occupants sat up in their beds to watch the ruckus. The person yanked out a piece of plastic and shook it open. She helped Lovino to sit up and held the bag under his coughing mouth./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left""It's okay, son," she murmured. "It's okay." Once the second wave was over, she took the vomit sack away, zipped it up, and handed the child a baggie of mouth rinse. After he cleaned his mouth, she tossed the rinse bag away and handed him an anti-nausea tab. It tasted like bittersweet chalk, and the bittersweet minty combination of flavors had Lovino's face twisting up even more, but it immediately stopped the gagging and nausea. Lovino sat still as the medic checked his pulse and temperature, staring at the tiny bumps of his feet through his blanket./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"The medic handed Lovino a nutrient-rich water pouch and rubbed his back. He took tentative sips from it as his eye caught a twinkle of light. The medic's badge, one of three that adorned her breast pocket; the one catching the moonlight the most was a red triple chevron, bordered in gold with a gold sword pointing downward in its center. It was the same type that sat on a tiny velvet pillow, among a row of badges in pillows in his grandfather's display case. Toni talked about those badges and the services attached to each one ceaselessly, boasting that Lovino will have a big brother who isn't a mere trainee stuck on wall guard duty. That someday, Toni will be fully decorated./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Lovino wanted to scoff at the memory of those easier days, he wanted to yell in the face of the man who couldn't even keep his brothers safe. But the more the spark grew in his chest, the more he realized that it wasn't anger, at least not anger directed toward Antonio./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"After the medic went around the bed to sprinkle scented powder into the vomit and swept up the leftover chunks, she left the bunker in ringing silence. Lovino still sat up in bed to properly drink his water, and Ludwig sat up with him in his own bed, his tiny legs swinging slowly and the heels of his tiny feet thumping against the bed frame. Lovino could taste the medicinally sweet taste of the water in the back of his throat, could still smell the nauseating lavendar-bile scent from the floor, could still see the dancing dust in the stream of moonlight. But all he heard were Veneziano's screams. All he saw were flashing gunfire./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left""...Vene's gone," Lovino murmured, absentmindedly squeezing the pouch until water spilled from the mouthpiece and ran down his fingers./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left""They're going to get him back!" Ludwig started to rise from his perch, but sat back down at the shake of Lovino's head. With his hands twisting the blanket and sheet on either side of him, Ludwig repeated, "They're going to bring him back. They have to. They have to protect us."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"emThey have to protect us/em left a bitter taste in Lovino's mouth, overpowering even the taste of the nutrient water. His hands shook. Antonio was supposed to protect them, and his protection amounted to shoving a gun in a kid's hand and tucking them all away in a run down overpass, before running off to a fight that a wall guard – a wall guard emtrainee/em – was ill prepared for. Lovino stared at the stain on the floor, seeing the terror on his brother's face, and buildings toppling and citizens stampeding for safety. Alien warcraft hovering over them. Gunfire flying everywhere. Bodies falling. The extraterrestrial brute towering over them./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Among it all, Lovino saw the medic's badge./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Even though his voice amounted to a dry, croaking murmur, even though his hands shook so relentlessly that the tremors traveled throughout his tiny body, he said, "Ludwig, I have to join the GHM."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"-/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Anime protagonist backstories be like./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left""Lovino?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left"He didn't bother to turn his head to the bed next to him, didn't bother to swipe away the tears running down his temples and soaking into his pillow. He focused on the dust motes doing a lazy dance above him. "What?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left"He could see out of the corner of his eye Ludwig easing himself onto his side to face Lovino, hear the shift of the blanket and sheets. And Ludwig's eyes, all the red puffiness was still there./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Ludwig's voice was shaky as he asked, "Are you… are you okay?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="left""Does it emlook/emspan style="font-style: normal;" like I'm okay?" I/spanspan style="font-style: normal;"t made/spanspan style="font-style: normal;" Lovino /spanspan style="font-style: normal;"feel shameful/spanspan style="font-style: normal;" at how /spanspan style="font-style: normal;"weak/spanspan style="font-style: normal;" his own voice came out. He meant /spanspan style="font-style: normal;"to yell, to hiss, to have his /spanspan style="font-style: normal;"tone/spanspan style="font-style: normal;" bite Ludwig and hurt the kid as much as Lovino is hurting, because if it weren't for Ludwig messing up, if it weren't for/spanem himself/emspan style="font-style: normal;" messing up…/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"His hand, set in a wrist brace and lying across his stomach, gripped the blanket. "They got Vene..." His face twisted just as tightly as his grip on his blanket. He closed his eyes and let the tears really come now. His hiccups and sobs filled the bunk room, causing some of the sleeping occupants to stir in their beds, and the awake ones to curl up in their beds and weep, too./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Over the din of misery, Lovino heard chaos taking over outside and consuming the late night. From here, it sounded like a fireworks show: crackling, popping, whistling, and voices that, because they were so far away, Lovino could easily imagine that they were shouts of awe and excitement and not battle cries and gut-wrenching wails from soldiers watching their allies fall. The medical shelter must have been dozens of kilometers away from the heat of battle, and even then, Lovino could feel the shock waves crash to them and gently rock the metal frame of his bed./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Veneziano was out there./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"His chest hitching, Lovino thought he was going to be overcome with sobs until he tasted a burning sourness in the back of his throat./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Ludwig gasped and shot up in bed. "Lovi-"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Lovino threw himself to the edge of the bed and vomited. Ludwig yelped and jumped back, though in the tiny space, some of the bile splashed onto his toes. Lovino's throat stung; the sudden weight of his body on his injured arm set his entire being on fire, and the splattering noise and pungent scent made him even sicker. A metallic creak of a swinging door rang louder than the wheezing heave of his body preparing for more disgorging./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Lovino could hear a hushed "Oh, shit!" through Ludwig's "Over here!" Thick boots pounded across the ground and fabric shifted as more occupants sat up in their beds to watch the ruckus. The person yanked out a piece of plastic and shook it open. She helped Lovino to sit up and held the bag under his coughing mouth./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left""It's okay, son," she murmured. "It's okay." Once the second wave was over, she took the vomit sack away, zipped it up, and handed the child a baggie of mouth rinse. After he cleaned his mouth, she tossed the rinse bag away and handed him an anti-nausea tab. It tasted like bittersweet chalk, and the bittersweet minty combination of flavors had Lovino's face twisting up even more, but it immediately stopped the gagging and nausea. Lovino sat still as the medic checked his pulse and temperature, staring at the tiny bumps of his feet through his blanket./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"The medic handed Lovino a nutrient-rich water pouch and rubbed his back. He took tentative sips from it as his eye caught a twinkle of light. The medic's badge, one of three that adorned her breast pocket; the one catching the moonlight the most was a red triple chevron, bordered in gold with a gold sword pointing downward in its center. It was the same type that sat on a tiny velvet pillow, among a row of badges in pillows in his grandfather's display case. Toni talked about those badges and the services attached to each one ceaselessly, boasting that Lovino will have a big brother who isn't a mere trainee stuck on wall guard duty. That someday, Toni will be fully decorated./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Lovino wanted to scoff at the memory of those easier days, he wanted to yell in the face of the man who couldn't even keep his brothers safe. But the more the spark grew in his chest, the more he realized that it wasn't anger, at least not anger directed toward Antonio./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"After the medic went around the bed to sprinkle scented powder into the vomit and swept up the leftover chunks, she left the bunker in ringing silence. Lovino still sat up in bed to properly drink his water, and Ludwig sat up with him in his own bed, his tiny legs swinging slowly and the heels of his tiny feet thumping against the bed frame. Lovino could taste the medicinally sweet taste of the water in the back of his throat, could still smell the nauseating lavendar-bile scent from the floor, could still see the dancing dust in the stream of moonlight. But all he heard were Veneziano's screams. All he saw were flashing gunfire./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left""...Vene's gone," Lovino murmured, absentmindedly squeezing the pouch until water spilled from the mouthpiece and ran down his fingers./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left""They're going to get him back!" Ludwig started to rise from his perch, but sat back down at the shake of Lovino's head. With his hands twisting the blanket and sheet on either side of him, Ludwig repeated, "They're going to bring him back. They have to. They have to protect us."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"emThey have to protect us/em left a bitter taste in Lovino's mouth, overpowering even the taste of the nutrient water. His hands shook. Antonio was supposed to protect them, and his protection amounted to shoving a gun in a kid's hand and tucking them all away in a run down overpass, before running off to a fight that a wall guard – a wall guard emtrainee/em – was ill prepared for. Lovino stared at the stain on the floor, seeing the terror on his brother's face, and buildings toppling and citizens stampeding for safety. Alien warcraft hovering over them. Gunfire flying everywhere. Bodies falling. The extraterrestrial brute towering over them./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Among it all, Lovino saw the medic's badge./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Even though his voice amounted to a dry, croaking murmur, even though his hands shook so relentlessly that the tremors traveled throughout his tiny body, he said, "Ludwig, I have to join the GHM."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"-/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" align="left"Anime protagonist backstories be like./p