I apologize for that delay! But here's the next two chapters. Hopefully I can get another two done soon. Enjoy!
A couple of hours had passed and the sailors were about to start a little fish fry. "I'd like to invite Feli" Lukas said as he gazed into the slowly growing fire. "I...I don't know if he would like fish or not. Well...I think you can guess why I doubt." Mathias said as he put more wood on the flame. True Feli was a mermaid, which made him half fish, but would eating cod make him a cannibal? It was a difficult question to answer.
They figured that the worst Feli could do was say 'no'. Mathias stood up and walked to the edge of the water then cupped his hands around his mouth. "HEY, FELI! NORGE WANTS YOU TO EAT WITH US!" The Dane shouted as loud as he possibly could. Feli would be sure to hear, he thought.
FELI'S POV
I heard the Whale Man cry out. He wanted me to join them at dinner? That's what it sounded like he said. I came out of the water and hauled myself onto the sand. They had a fire going, which meant they probably were going to cook some fish. I've never had fish cooked before, so I was rather interested in trying some. And no, I'm not a cannibal. Mermaids are not fish.
"Do you want me to get the cod?" I asked whale man. "If you want. You don't have to" He replied. I rolled my eyes. "you want fish or not?" He nodded a little and I went back to the edge of the water. Using my magic, I lured the fish to the shore and the humans took them to the fire.
I watched as the fish were cooked over the fire. Round and round they turned on a stick that the Dane had brutally stuffed through their bodies. I had to admit that even though the sight wasn't very pleasant, the cooking fish smelled rather delicious. It was then that a question arose inside me.
"I've been a jerk. My brother paralyzed you. How could you possibly love me?" Those were my thoughts, but I never spoke them out. All I made audible was a much simpler question. "Why did you invite me to eat with you?" I asked, looking up at Lukas' soft face. He looked at me and slung his arm around my shoulder.
"Because. It's nice" Was all he said as an answer. All I could do was blush and snuggle into his hold. It felt nice to be hugged by humans. Felt like I belonged with them. In fact, I feel more at home with these three humans than I ever did with any mermaids. Very weird, I know. It boggles my own mind to think about it.
Emil came back with some pitiful looking fruits. I supposed they were the same ones that they had picked when they first came here. "You sure gathered a lot" I commented. Emil laughed. "Mhmm. We made good use of Denmark's fat arms" He said, looking up at the Dane with a smirk. "So mean!" The Whale Man said with a fake frown.
Emil's face turned from a demonic smirk to a soft and caring expression. That was the first time I'd seen a look like that on his face. "It's the truth; but I know that bigness is all muscle" He said nicely. Mathias had a big—and I mean BIG—smile on his face. "Yeah, it is!" He shouted with pride as he showed off his guns.
"I hated when those muscles were used to hold me down though" Lukas mumbled. Why would Whale Man do that? Did I miss something while I was in the ocean? "What? When?" I asked, now interested. "Your brother used Denmark's body to hold me down" Lukas explained. Ah, so that's what happened.
I have to admit that my brother can work wonders, but to make a man turn against his best friend...well that means that Mathias must be really dumb in the head. I started to laugh, but I was alone. Nobody else laughed with me. "come on, it's hilarious!" I said through a smile. Lukas shook his head. "No it's not"
I assumed that he probably thought I was laughing at him being held down. That wasn't, in fact, what I was cracking up about. "Yes it is! If Romano did it that easily, that means he's pretty stupid!" I jested. Mathias looked angered, but it was all Lukas could do to contain a smile. From there on, we started making jokes about Whale Man. He sure deserved it.
"That hair must be bigger than your brain!" Even Emil laughed when I said that. "Ice, why are you taking sides? Not cool!" Mathias said in shame. It was unusual to see the Icelander laughing so hard and I couldn't help but to stare at him for a moment. As soon as he saw me watching, he cleared his throat, stopped laughing, and looked away. So maybe he's not a tough as he tries to be.
"Why am I the one people always laugh at!?" Mathias asked aloud. "Because, everything about you is comical" Lukas said, trying not to burst into hysterical laughter. I have to say that he can control himself pretty well for a human. I'm a mermaid and my side was hurting from laughing so much.
Mathias was being a poor sport and huddled away into the hut, leaving the other three of us alone on the beach. Seriously though, I had to ask, why was Denmark's hair so darn spiky? "Genetic. And hairspray overdose" Lukas whispered in my ear. Another smile grazed my face. "Amazing. Simply amazing. He must spend a fortune on hair spray" "No...Not really" That was...surprising.
"Since we're talking about hair, how does yours do that?" I asked as I lightly rubbed across Lukas' hair curl. He let out a little gasp. "How does it do what?" He asked in response. "It's not attached to your head." He paused for a moment and slowly pushed my hand away. "I don't really know. Some people say it's somehow connected invisibly," He explained, "Some even believe it's attached straight to my brain. That's why it does weird things when touched certain ways"
So, that did make sense. It would explain the whole paralyzing deal. If someone tugged on my brain, I suppose I would lose some sense too. "It's happened before, but I don't remember how long ago. Somewhere in the medevil ages I believe" He said, recalling his past. Wow...that was a long, long time ago.
He went further and explained the circumstance as if it only happened yesterday. "I was captured and tortured in a science lab. They couldn't figure out why it does what it does" He told me. That reminded me of a time that a scientist—a much more modern one—had captured me. I remembered how scared I was and how awful it felt to be tied to a bed and tested.
"Not fun at all!" I said, taking pity on Lukas. "Especially when they get their tools" He added. We both shuddered at the mere thought. Why would a man want to do that to another living soul? Put an innocent creature through so much trauma? Science apparently. We can all blame science.
I told Lukas about the time that a scientist wanted to cut my tail off. He looked devastated by the idea. "Why would he want to?" He asked. "Well, I have two hearts"
"What?"
"I said that I have two hearts"
"How?"
"That's what that awful scientist was trying to figure out"
"I would have taken an X-Ray."
"He obviously didn't"
Our conversation fell silent for a moment. I noticed that Emil was listening with great interest and wanted us to continue. "So how did you get out of it?" Emil asked, wanting desperately for me to finish the tale. "I screeched and broke his glasses. Glass in the eye is debilitating" I said.
"The only one who I know of that could relate is Sweden" Lukas told me. Sweden, huh? Was that another personified country? "yeah, his actual name is Berwald" Emil said. That's a nerdy name. "You can blame his parents" he added. That's when I paused. Parents? Countries have parents? I had to ask about this. I was becoming very, very interested now. I just had to know how this whole personified country thing worked.
"Well...its difficult to explain" Lukas said with his hand on his chin. He was pondering on how to tell me what he needed to say so I could comprehend it. At least, that's how it seemed. "It's hard to explain without giving the whole creation story" He said. I readied myself for an interesting tale.
He finally explained it to me in a comprehensible and very dramatic way. He was a good storyteller. He said that there were nations called the founders. First to come was Miss Israel. A nation that was cunning as a snake but harmless as a dove. Out of her came other founders, such as Holy Rome and Greece. They founded other nations, which was why they were called founders.
The first nations they founded were Germany, China, and Spain. These nations were defiant and spread out in different areas of the globe to make their home. China settled in the east, Germany settled in the North, and Spain settled in the South West. These founders had the most hardships and had to make sure conditions were right to make their own branches. Harsh.
From Germany came all the Europeans, Nordics, and Slovaks. From China came all of Asia and a small portion of Europe and Alaska. From Spain came all the Latins, Americans, and Hispanics. Some of them mixed, creating cultural blends. Things went on until the world became as it is today.
"Sadly," Lukas said, "The two most important founders have been forgotten. Miss Israel and Holy Rome have been mostly forgotten, but it is said that they still live on somewhere in the world" And there is where he ended the story of creation. His storytelling had captured my heart as well as my interest. I wish there had been more to tell.
"At least I have my grandpa looking after me" I said. The idea of striving alone just to survive was touching. "Is he a good grandpa?" Lukas asked. I nodded. Very good grandpa. "I'd like to meet him sometime" Lukas said with a smile. I thought he was joking at first. My grandpa hated humans; personified country or otherwise. He would for sure shred Lukas up in an instant, no doubt. At least since he knew that Lukas had hurt his babies.
"If he sees you, he'll stab you through with a swordfish. I promise you it wouldn't end pretty." I said to him. And I also explained that swimming in the water would be very unwise at the moment. Romano probably went and told about Lukas, so if grandpa saw the slightest glimpse, myswell say goodbye to my friend. Wouldn't want that to happen, so I made sure to emphasize the 'Do Not Swim' part.
"What about me? Would he shred me?" Emil asked. I would have busted a gut laughing if I wasn't controlling myself. "I'd do it myself because I seriously don't like you!" I said to his face. "But Denmark would probably be able to swim. He hasn't done anything wrong" I added. Emil looked at me crossly. "NO FAIR!" He shrieked. "Fair? Jump in the water and I'll show you fair!" I said angrily.
Emil stuck his tongue out at me a delved into the ocean. "GET READY!" I said aloud after getting Lukas' approval.
MATHIAS' POV
I heard a loud ruckus and came outside. I saw Feli and Emil in the water, which meant there was about to be a good show. I sat by Lukas and we ate fish like it was popcorn at the movies. Fists started flying, hands and tails were slapping, mouths were snapping, and fingers were grabbing.
Feli finally pushed Emil's face under the water and watched the bubbles float to the top as he screamed. After a short moment, the merman then threw Iceland onto the sand in front of us. He looked badly beaten, but I couldn't pity him. It was his own fault that he agreed to having a spar with a merman, and it was also his fault that he had a black eye. I had absolutely nothing to do with any of it.
"That was painful...but fun!" Ice said, sporting an idiotic smile. I looked a bit confused. How was that...fun? I suppose that sometimes fighting is fun though, even if it's your butt that get whooped. Feli came back onto the shore, looking very satisfied with himself. "It felt so good to punch you in your stupid face" Feli said smugly, looking down at Emil on the sand, "I should have drowned you." "But you can't!" Emil chimed.
Feli snorted. "I can hold you underwater until you pass out and that would be good enough." He said. Iceland stuck his tongue out once more. "You better stop that or I'll get a fish to bite it off." Feli said with a most sinister look. "Most fish don't even have teeth!" Emil snapped. I knew that was true, but there was kind of fish with teeth that were very devastating. Piranhas.
Sure enough, that's what Feli had in mind. "But I taste awful. Sweden's 2p said so!" my buddy shouted. For Bernard to say someone tasted bad meant a lot, but everyone knows that piranhas are no respecter of meat. Food is food.
That's when my little buddy had a clever comeback. "Piranhas are scared of catfish, so I'll go find a pond and catch one!" He said with a smirk of satisfaction. I was internally cheering for him. That was until Feli replied. "Well, fish like me more than you. I can tell it to smack you in the face and it would listen" He said. OOH...SHOTS HAVE BEEN FIRED.
Emil looked at me with the most unimpressed expression. "Give me something to chop him up with." He said. I didn't have anything and he knew it. He was just upset, and perhaps hungry for sushi. Feli looked at Lukas with the same kind of look Iceland had given me. "Lukas, can I strangle him?" He asked. I hoped Norway would say 'no', but he sadly said something different. "As long as you don't kill him." I heard Lukas whisper. A smile grazed both of their faces.
"You said that you guys couldn't die, SO READY YOURSELF!" Feli shouted as he lunged toward Iceland. His hands clenched around my little buddy's neck. I waited for a moment and watched, then I couldn't take it any longer. "Alright, that's enough!" I said, pulling Feli away.
"Let me go, you stupid giant!" Feli said as he squirmed in my grasp. I wasn't planning on letting him go; at least not when he was in this steamy mood. Finally he calmed down, but I still didn't let him go. That's when he attacked me with lethal force. He grabbed my sides and tickled me.
I fell down in a laughing mess. Before I knew it, Feli had wriggled out of my grasp. He kicked Emil in the crotch several times, and only then was he satisfied. Iceland was reduced to a crying ball. "Stop hitting our weaknesses!" I shouted at him. He only smirked at me and sat down on the ground. Emil hid behind Lukas.
"You deserved it, Emil!" Feli screamed at him. My little buddy stuck his tongue out at the merman. Feli, in turn, became rather upset. "How do you put up with these idiots Lukas!?" He screamed. I didn't really like being called an idiot, but between Lukas and Feli, I guess I've gotten used to being called by such names. "Experience" Norge plainly replied. Well...I suppose he'd had lots of experience.
Feli began to walk toward the ocean. "I'm leaving! Those two just lower the IQ levels of the whole place!" He complained. That...cut me deep... The two cecaelias giggled and I jumped. I completely forgot they were even there. When they said "We won't utter a word", they were being truthful.
"Wait!" Norway then called, snapping my attention away from the octopus girls. "What if it was just me and you...alone?" Feli turned back at those words. "Yeah...I'd like that" He said softly as he walked back. Norway stood and smiled, then me and Emil watched as they went into the jungle. I kinda felt weird about them going in there, but I knew that as long as Feli was with Norge, they'd both be safe.