It was unbelievably dark out. Even with their flashlights (about four among them) they could only see a couple of feet in front of them. The trees that towered above them had branches so thick that the moon couldn't shine through and give them any additional light. They kept barreling forward though, whispering excitedly to each other, being outside when no one else had was a big deal for them. They had hardly ever gone anywhere without their parents by their sides. Alfred was first in line, leading the pack, while Ivan brought up the rear and made sure that no one fell behind.
"Man who knows what we'll find! This is so cool!" Alfred yelled, figuring that he was far away enough from his own house and other people to where he could be loud and no one would care.
"Lovi I'm scared!" Feliciano cried, clinging to his brother. Lovino scowled, trying to pry Feliciano off the back of his shirt.
"There's nothing to be scared of," Lovino said, biting back a curse. Kiku gently patter Feliciano on his back. Feliciano calmed down somewhat.
"The woods are scary though! What if something jumps out and attacks us?" Feliciano asked worriedly, making everyone stop and try to think of a response.
"Then I shall take care of them, da?" Ivan finally said. Everyone looked at him before they shakily nodded and went along with his answer.
They began walking once more. This time though it was more quiet and measured, with the occasional question here or there, mainly all directed at Alfred about where they were and the perfect are we there yet question. Yet no matter ow many times they bugged him they just couldn't bring down his spirit and conviction that there was something worth finding in these woods.
"Alfred-san, maybe we should turn back. We've been out here a while," Kiku said after what felt like hours of walking. Other's nodded in agreement, but Alfred just smiled.
"Just a little farther guys! I'm sure that there is going to be something really cool right around the corner."
Alfred was right to. Just that it wasn't right around the corner. It seemed like miles and miles away to them, but really it was just a couple of hundred feet. They turned around a couple more times, passing through trees when they suddenly found a pathway. It was covered in branches that had fallen over the years and grass that had tangled in clumps. With renewed interest they walked together up the path, wondering where it could lead to. Just when it seemed like the path would lead them to a dead end, it opened up to a clearing.
The clearing was wide and spacious, and if there wasn't something in it then it would have been a wonderful meadow. Instead there was a park, what looked to be an old park that they would have back in the days when their own parents were young. It looked as though it hadn't been touched in years though, vines had taken over the slide, there were no swings on the swing set, and the sandbox just had dirt in it. Lovino, Feliciano, Alfred, Kiku, Matthew, and Ivan moved together through the old park, looking at everything and wondering what they should do with it.
Right in the center of the park was something that caught the attention of all of them. It was a carousel, worn down by time and nature. It didn't have unicorns and horses like the carousel did that they had back home in the mall, but instead it was filled with creatures that they had never seen before. There were half bird half lion things, and giant black ravens, things with tentacles, and most importantly and most common, were these half men half horse creatures that were obviously meant to be a substitute for the lack of horses.
"My mom told me about those, she called them centaurs. She says that they are really wise and smart," Matthew said, the first thing he had the confidence to say since they left the house. It broke the spell that seemed to fall over the rest of them, and they all began to talk about the creatures they recognized.
"That's a gryphon, I heard they like to eat people."
"Those are harpies, and nono said that they would lure people to death with their singing."
"The thing with tentacles looks like a mermaid."
"Does not! It has to have a tail."
"Does to! Mermaids don't have to have a tail."
"Does not!"
"Does to!"
"Does not!"
"Does to!"
And so a debate broke out between them. Lovino, Ivan, and Matthew thought it was a mermaid, while Alfred, Kiku, and Feliciano eagerly argued back that it was some other kind of creature. Neither were getting any kind of leeway over the other and it seemed like this was just never going to end, well that was until something distracted them all.
"I like this one the best," Matthew said suddenly, his quiet voice somehow managing to slip in between their argument and distract them all.
Matthew was standing in front of one of the many centaurs that decorated the carousel. The centaur was one of a man, who had silver hair, red eyes, and a large grin on his face. Everything about him was worn down, and it looked like nature had hurt him a lot. There was chipped paint and scratches, but underneath that there was skin that looked to pale to be normal, and his lower half that was a horse was a beautiful creamy white and he had a saddle that was a white color that was almost gray from the abuse of nature and dust that had settled on it. It was quite a contrast from the paleness that was him, but it complimented him nicely. He wore a Prussian blue dress shirt, the dark color contrasting well with paleness of his skin. Matthew just smiled up at the centaur, a small blush on his cheeks. Everyone else started looking at the other centaurs, picking out their favorites.
"This one's my favorite," Kiku announced with certainty, making everyone turn to him. It wasn't very often that Kiku announced his opinion openly like that.
Kiku stood in front of a centaur with a small smile on his face. The centaur himself had tan skin, wavy brown hair, a plain white t-shirt, and a soft calming smile. His eyes were closed, unlike the one that Matthew was staring at. His horse half was the same color as his hair, and was full of muscles. He had a saddle that was pure gold, and tassels that were a wonderful shade of brown. He had one arm up and crossed over his chest, until the hand rested against his heart. He looked so calm and at peace, like he could sleep for centuries and nothing would wake him up. He looked just as torn up as Matthew's centaur did, with chipped paint and scratches everywhere. Kiku just stared up at him, a content smile on his face.
"This one is obviously the best," Ivan claimed, gesturing to the centaur in front of him.
The centaur that Ivan was staring at was that of an oriental. He had shiny dark brown hair that was long enough to be pulled into a pony tail over his left shoulder. He was wearing a wonderful yellow oriental styled robe, with sleeves that were to big so that they came down past his hands, which were crossed over his chest like how they would place people who had died. The saddle that he wore was a bright red, that had gold and orange tassels and ropes hanging off and decorating it. Obviously, this centaur that Ivan liked so much had the best and most decorated saddle. His chocolate eyes were open, but he looked sad, as if he had seen to much and witnessed things that no one should have to. The horse half of him was white, but more of a dusty white that looked as if he had gone running through the desert. His legs were a dark black that gradually changed to white. Ivan seemed to really like this one.
"Che, I guess this one's all right," Lovino spoke up, a light blush on his cheeks.
In front of Lovino was a centaur that was even more tan than the one that Kiku had been looking at. He had chocolate hair that was curly and wavy, and he held a light smile that let people know that he was one to be happy all the time. He had forest green eyes that were smiling as well, and he was wearing a gorgeous red bull fighting outfit. On his back was a green saddle that complimented well with his skin tone and red shirt. Unlike the others, he didn't have any tassels on his saddle, but instead he had a rope that connected him from the front to the back. The horse part of him was a brown that was tinted with a beautiful shade of red, giving him a wonderful exotic look. Romano was blushing at the sight of him, trying to be discreet about it but it was obvious that he really did like the centaur that he was staring at.
"Ve~ this one is my favorite," Feliciano exclaimed, taking the attention off his brother.
Feliciano looked up at his centaur, smiling as brightly as he could. His centaur was not nearly as pale as Matthew's but it was still a lot paler than everyone else's. He had gorgeous blond hair, but he had a serious look on his face that took away from his other features. His hair was slicked back, and he wore a dark green military shirt with gold beading on it. The saddle that was on him was black, and had silver trim along the edges and even had silver tassels. He looked to be an array of color. His horse half was a nice gray color, with specs of black along his legs. His arms were muscled, along with his chest, and they were crossed over his chest in a movement of disapproval. He was the lease chipped of all of them, and it was obvious that he was the least ridden when the park was alive and kicking. Yet out of all the centaurs that were there, it was a shock that he had chosen that one.
"This one though, is just...amazing," Alfred said quietly. Everyone turned to him, wondering what could make the normally loud buy so quite and awestruck.
In front of Alfred was a centaur that was in the worst shape out of all of them. He looked torn and beat, as if he was out into the middle of a storm. He had messy golden hair, with eyebrows that were just to big for his face. Alfred didn't mind that much though, he was trying to take in every other detail that he could. The centaurs arms fell in front of him, until his hands were resting together in front of him. Also he had his eyes closed, so Alfred couldn't see what color they were. His outfit was unlike all of the others as well, he wore a bright red long sleeved dress shirt that had beautiful gold lacing and cuffs on it. His horse body was decorated even more than his upper half. His fur was a golden color, almost as light as his hair. His saddle was the same red as his shirt, with gold lining and straps that went from the front to the back. On the straps were clocks hanging down, and on even closer inspection they were all set to the same time. If one even looked closer, they could see how the seat of saddle was a light blue color. Finally his last decoration were red sleeves on his horse legs.
"It looks like we all have our favorites, eh?" Matthew said. Everyone turned to their centaur, smiling a soft smile.
"Now what do we do?" Feliciano asked, turning away from his centaur and looking at his friends. No one did seem to know what to do.
"Let's fix up the park. We can start with our favorites," Lovino suggested. Everyone smiled.
"Ya, and then this can be our special place," Alfred felt all his energy and joy returning.
"Where will we get all the supplies though?" Kiku asked.
"Leave that to us," Lovino responded. It was known that his family was a lot more richer than the rest of them.
"So were going to do this?" Matthew asked. He was smiling a lot more than anyone else had ever seen before.
"Yup!" They all laughed and cheered, thinking about what was to come.