Hello again! Here is the first actual chapter, hopefully I'm a bit better at writing this one.

Ludwig awoke slowly as the sun beat down on his lidded eyes. Where was he? He was *attempting to* fish with Gilbert and then... oh. He fell off the boat, he supposed. So he made it to land? Ludwig attempted to sit up, only to find something rather heavy was pinning his chest to the ground. He looked down only to let loose a scream of terror at what he saw there.

Curled up on his lap was the strangest thing he had ever seen. There was what appeared to be the bare upper torso of a petite man, but where his legs should be, there was a thick rubbery column ending in a tail, with two small flippers at the hips. Actually, for a man, his upper body was rather attractive, with curly auburn locks and a thin, feminine frame that seemed to make him almost cute. And then there were his amber eyes, so bright and...Oh Gott, he was awake! Ludwig couldn't help but shriek again as the strange creature stared up at him.

"Ah, mi dispiace signore! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me I didn't mean to fall asleep on you but I was so tired from carrying you not to say you're heavy but really please don't kill me!" The little man's eyes filled with tears and he started quivering as he hurriedly removed himself from Ludwig's chest.

Ludwig was completely at a loss as to what to say. And really, what was he supposed to say? He had no idea where he was, what had transpired, who or what this little fish-thing was. So he said the only thing that came to mind:

"Are you real?"

The little fish-man stopped blubbering to stare curiously at Ludwig, as if he had asked the stupidest question ever.

"Of course I'm real, ve! Golly I was so worried you would hate me, see, cause I've never met a human before and fratello says all humans are mean and scary and eat mermen for breakfast! But signore, you don't seem scary, you seem really nice! Maybe we can be friends, oh yay!"

With that, Ludwig found himself enveloped by the little thing's arms in a tight embrace. He didn't really understand why, but he felt heat rising to his cheeks.

"Oh! But my name is Feliciano Vargas! Haha Lovino would have hit me for being so stupid to forget to introduce myself!"

Ludwig was by this point completely confused. This little thing, this Feliciano, what was he, and why is he making me feel so strange? He couldn't stop the next spout of words from his mouth.

"I-I...I mean... how-how did I get here? A-and what are you? Where are we? W-what's going on?"

Feliciano again looked at him as if those were completely obvious questions.

"Hehe, silly! I'm a merman, y'know? Nonno says you write about us in fairytales! I think that's super cute. You're here cause you fell off your bot and then it left so I brought you here cause Lovino and Nonno would get super angry if I brought you home and I didn't want to see you die!" There seemed to be no end to the constant stream of words emitted from Feliciano's mouth.

"My...bot? What?"

Feliciano's brow furrowed slightly. "Well, at least I think that's what Nonno called them. Or was it a boat? Does boat sound right?"

Ludwig looked on thoughtfully for a moment, before quietly responding, "Yeah, it's called a boat. But that means I'm stranded here, right?" Blue eyes looked up hopefully into amber.

"Y-yeah. I'm sorry! The boat was gone and I didn't know which way it went..."

Ludwig's hopes were crushed. He was so confused right now, and Gilbert had just driven away? And supposing Gilbert started a search party, how was Ludwig supposed to stay alive that long anyway? And then there were the immediate issues, of this Feliciano creature. A merman? Where those really real? He certainly wasn't expecting Feliciano when he thought of mermen. No bright tails, scales or gorgeous woman, although Feliciano certainly was...pretty... in his own way, and seemed more scientifically possible. Absentmindedly, Ludwig began stroking the side of Feliciano's tail. It felt smooth and slippery, like the blubber of a whale or seal.

He was brought back by giggling. "Hehe, that tickles! Oh but signore, you never did tell me your name!"

"Oh. Ludwig. Ludwig Beilschmidt." He retracted his hand, cursing himself for doing something so weird.

"Oh yay! That's such a nice name! Can we be friends, please? I've never had many friends before, Lovino says it's cause I talk too much!"

Well, Feliciano certainly was a chatterbox. But really, Ludwig's situation was very bleak at this point. He supposed if he became...friends... with this Feliciano fellow, he might be able to aid Ludwig in finding food or maybe even Gilbert. He certainly didn't have anything to lose.

"O-okay. But just so you know, I've never had any friends before, so I'll likely treat you bad."

Verdammt. Why did he say it like that? Oh Gott, he hoped he hadn't scared the poor man.

But Feliciano seemed entirely satisfied with that answer, bouncing about as much as his tail would let him. Suddenly, he whipped around with such a speed that Ludwig would have never anticipated from a large sea mammal, and waded up to his hips into the water.

"Oh, but Luddy needs food, si? Don't worry, I'll be right back!" With that, he plunged under the surface and was gone before Ludwig could reply.

Luddy? He had a nickname already? He had never really had friends before (and this certainly was a strange choice for his first one) so he didn't really know what to expect. Ludwig sighed and tugged at the collar of his button-up, he supposed he ought to look around for some wood to start a fire.

Standing up, he observed the island for the first time. It was small, just a few square meters, but thankfully there was a bit of brush and a tree near the center. It wasn't great, but at least there was a small form of shelter. Ludwig quickly gathered driftwood and sticks, as well as a few sharp stones he figured would be useful. Luckily, Ludwig happened to be a well researched man, working out often and constantly reading how-to manuals, so it did not take long for a small blaze to be started. Just as Ludwig settled back down, Feliciano popped back up with several fish in his arms, wide eyed as he saw the fire.

"Oh wow, is that a fire?! I've never seen a real one before! Nonno always told us stories, but Lovino says they aren't real!"

Feliciano dropped the fish, transfixed on the fire. His tail and flippers slid his body effortlessly through the sand, mimicking the movements of a serpent. Tentatively, he reached out a hand to touch it. Ludwig's eyes went wide, and before either knew it, Ludwig had pulled Feliciano several feet away from the fire, one hand on his wrist, the other around his waist. Ludwig nearly blushed at the position, but it was far more important to educate his friend on fire for now. Ludwig released Feliciano, and turned to face him.

"You can't touch fire. It will burn you, and your skin will peel off and sting."

Feliciano looked crestfallen. "Oh, but it looks so pretty...I'm sorry, I've just never seen one before. Oh but Ludwig, I got you some fish to eat!" He proclaimed, frantically indicating the dropped pile of fish behind him.

Ludwig was stunned that he was able to catch so many so fast. He supposed if that was your form of food, you'd catch on pretty quickly.

"Ah, danke Feliciano. Have you ever had fish cooked?"

They passed the remainder of the day gutting and cooking the fish over the fire with sticks. Feliciano proclaimed that cooked fish was the best thing he'd ever tasted, and Ludwig almost felt sorry for the little fellow, until he remembered the species difference. Ludwig didn't see any ships pass by, so he did not know if anyone saw his signal. He could only hope Gilbert was out there looking for him.

As night fell, Ludwig retreated to under the tree, trying to get comfortable on the cooling sand. Feliciano looked on for a moment before slithering over, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"Um...Luddy...C-could I uh...sleep with you? I-I mean um, it will keep you warm and uh... we're f-friends now so..."

Ludwig sat unresponsive for a while, pondering the strange request.

"I-I'm sorry Ludwig. I didn't mean to..." Small tears were forming in the corners of the merman's eyes.

"N-no, Feliciano, it's okay. I mean...if you want to."

With an excited squeal, Feliciano jumped on top of Ludwig, pushing him back down into the sand. Ludwig felt surprisingly contented as he felt the small merman curl around his chest. In a way, he almost felt...loved. Maybe this day was just some weird fantasy of his tired mind, but this felt real enough, and he almost enjoyed it. Almost. He just wouldn't admit it if anyone asked.