Before the two boys could discuss anything more on the subject, Feliciano felt water splash on his face. He looked up, frowning. It couldn't be rain yet, the clouds hadn't reached the coast. He looked round then as the salt water splashed over him again, realising that as he had been sitting and staring at the other boy, the tide was coming in. Lovino jumped to his level and he pulled the younger boy back, looking around for his exit and finding himself unable to spot it. The waves made their way up the small cove like a snake through the grass, causing fear to strike the heart of the elder Italian. He bolted, abandoning the other and leaving him calling for help.

Feliciano felt his face stiffen up with fright as he was left alone. He vaguely remembered this wide gap between the rocks as he had clambered round the point but he hadn't given it a thought. As he stared, the water began to splash over his feet and he realised the tide was now racing in even faster. And, worst of all, the cove he had just left was already covered in water. City born and bred, Feliciano had no idea of the speed with which tides could cut off certain parts of the coast. But obviously the way back to the beach was now completely cut off.

Feli shivered. The clouds were now gathering overhead and it was getting colder. He scrambled and slithered back over the rocks down on to what remained of the small slither of silver sand, taking care to watch every step even though he was in such a hurry. He gazed up at the steep rocks. They hing forbidding and dark above his head, completely unscalable. Feli felt a sob of sheer fright catch in his throat. He ran along the small stretch of sand, the wind whipping his hair into his face, blinding him for a second. At the far end, the cliffs weren't quite so high but were smooth and sheer. He was trapped.

Feliciano stared about him wildly and for the first time noticed that the bright green seaweed line, showing where the tide reached, was about four feet above his head. In a few minutes, maybe more, the whole of the cove would be under water and he would be... Feli pushed the thought away disbelievingly. It wasn't possible. Elizabeta and Roderich knew where he was and so did the others. But Austria would only think he had gone for a walk and was sheltering somewhere out of the rain when he didn't get back for supper, and Elizabeta didn't know he had come round to the second cove down the coast.

The tide was now smoothly sliding up the shingle of rock Feli stood on, slowly forcing him back against the far cliffs. The water had already reached the rocks he had been sitting on only a short time ago. Feliciano threw a despairing look round at the cliffs, but it was useless. There wasn't even a hint of a ledge to climb on to. He wondered whether he could keep afloat until the tide went out again, but knew that with his rookie skill at swimming he wouldn't keep afloat for five minutes. It was no use trying to swim round the point either. He could see only too plainly how the waves were smashing against the rocks.

Relentlessly the water pushed him back against the rocks and lapped over his feet and ankles.

"Oi! Hey you!"

Feliciano spun round in amazement, not believing his own ears. He could have sworn he had heard that boy calling. A seagull swooped down nearby, gliding on the wind, crying like a cat. His heart sank even lower. Only a gull. Then he stiffened as the cry came again.

"Oi! Idiota, are you down there?!"

"Here!" He yelled and splashed out up to his waist to gaze up at the cliffs, his eyes shining with relief. "I'm down here, where are you?!" As he watched, balancing with all of his skill against the tug and pull of the current, he saw the boys brown head appear over the top of the rocks. The boy waved him back to the cliffs and Feli obediently splashed back to the only shallow part left. Even this was now up to his knees and rising all the time. Above him came a rattling and scrambling and a shower of small stones missed his head by inches.

"Can you hear me, Feliciano?"

Wait, was the Antonio's voice?! What the-

"Antonio?! Yes! What shall I do? I can't climb up! It's too steep!"

"I didn't realise that, till now. The other side is fairly easy to get up."

"It's getting deeper, Antonio." He was surprised how calm his voice sounded.

"Look, Feli, I'm coming down. Stand clear."

"But Antonio, don't be silly. It won't do any good for both of us to be down here..." But his words went unheeded. Above him there was a rush and slither and then Antonio was leaping out over the jutting rock to land with a terrific splash into the sea. He clawing his way upright, completely soaked, his hands cut on the sharp shingle. He flicked his wet hair out of his eyes and smiled.

"Well, Feli, we do manage to get into some peculiar spots, hm?"

Feliciano smiled back tremulously, terribly glad he was there and wishing he wasn't all at the same time. "What on earth do we do now, Antonio?!"

Antonio splashed over to him. "Above that overhang, there's a small ledge. That was what I was standing on just now. If I can get you up to that you should be able to climb up to the top. It's hard going, but not impossible. A young boy named Lovino will be waiting for you-"

"But what about you?" Shouted Feliciano above the wind that was now whistling louder and louder. The sky was getting darker and the tide was now almost up to Feli's shorts.

"Don't waste time!" Shouted back Antonio, "i'll climb back up after you. Now, come on. Climb up on my shoulders and stand up. You can balance against the cliff. Tell me if you can see the ledge or Lovino. If you can't, well that's one bright idea over."

Antonio swung Feliciano up with all the fluent movement of a dancer and for a fleeting second Feli thought how much he would like to dance with Antonio. Then he was balancing on his shoulders, his hands braced against the cliff, his legs shivering with the cold now they were out of the water. He gazed up and craned his neck backwards to see over the bulging rock. He reached up and with his fingertips felt where the cliff flattened out into a small ledge.

"It's just out of reach. A few more inches would help."

Feli felt Antonio steady himself and then his hands closed on his feet. "When I say 'right' I'll push you up as hard as I can and you'll have to do your best. I shan't be able to hold you for long. Keep your legs stiff as you go up or else we'll both collapse. Lovino! Can you hear me?"

The Italian popped his head over the ledge, "Si, I can hear you, Tonio!"

"When I push Feliciano up you'll have to do your best to grab his arms should he not be able to reach! I'm counting on you, Lovi! Do this for me, por favor!"

Lovino met the Spaniard's eyes and felt a heart wrenching moment of fear as he realized Antonio was counting on him for not only the brat he was helping's life, but his own. He gave a nod, face hardening as he prepared to catch the Italian on his friend's shoulders. "Brace your arms out and be prepared for me to catch you, idiota. Don't close your eyes!"

Feliciano shut his eyes for a moment and ignored Lovino and then as Antonio's 'Right' came crisply up to him above the wind, he stiffened his legs and felt himself shooting up the last few inches. He flung himself forward and using ever ounce of strength he possessed, pulled himself forward on to the narrow ledge. Lovino grabbed his arms at this point and hauled the young lad up on to his feet with a grunt of strength before going onto his stomach and watching Antonio over the edge. Feli stood panting for a second, then peeked over the edge to look at Antonio along with the other Italian. The Spaniard was already moving back into deeper water, pulled by relentless currents.

"Don't go out too far," They both shouted in unison, inching forward and offering their arms before sharing a glare at each other. Lovino was rather possessive of Antonio and so was Feliciano, though they knew they had to watch Antonio so they both looked back in silence. Antonio waded back to the edge of the cliff and stood for a long moment looking out at the waves that were racing, white topped for the shore.

A huge wave, larger than the others hurled itself at the cliff and Lovino saw Antonio jump with it as it reached him and fling out his hands to try and find a grip on the glassy rock. But he was still too low and the two Italians suddenly realised what he was trying to do. He was letting the waves help him up the cliffs, like a giant, watery catapult. Toni grinned up at them and waved.

"Almost, amigos. Next time lucky. It's as good as surfing."

But the next wave came too fast and broke over him before he could jump. For one horrible moment the boys lost sight of him and then he surfaced, spitting out mouthfuls of sea water.

"Third time lucky," He called chokily.

The third wave rolled in and with a huge crest of white foam curling over like a lion's mane. Lovino and Feliciano watched in terrified fascination as Antonio hurtled upwards, thrown by the force of the water, his hands outstretched. Then he was clinging like a limpet to the rock face. He had done it. Like a monkey he shinned up the few remaining feet and collapsed in a wet heap on the ledge beside the Italians.

"What on earth possessed you to go into Tide Rush Bay?!" Were his first words when he got his breath back.

"Tide Rush Bay? I don't understand. I've never heard of it before," Feliciano said in bewilderment.

"Maybe you should listen to your guardian's warnings instead of wandering off all alone," Lovino replied grimly. "That woman did tell you it was extremely dangerous. The tide races in like a giant cauldron and cuts you off in ten seconds flat if you're not careful. Of course the storm made it worse-"

"Gosh, that must have been what Miss Elizabeta was trying to tell me," Feli cut in. "I couldn't hear her and just thought she was worrying about some little thing..."

"Even that little cove right next to the beach gets covered by the tide fairly quickly, but nothing like Tide Rush Bay." Antonio got up carefully and pulled Feli and Lovi to their feet. "We'd better start moving. It's late enough already and you look blue with cold the both of you."

Lovino shared a look with Feliciano and gave a small smile, "People like us don't feel the cold." He said smugly, leading the way and climbing slowly up the steep cliff, made jagged but passable by a recent rock fall.

"It was your fault why I came round the point," said Feli suddenly, looking at Lovino directly. Lovino spun round, swaying dangerously on the slippery ground and stared at him.

"Oh really?" He tutted coldly and glanced away, "You shouldn't get involved with people who you don't know, idiota...rule number one of this place. Are you some kind of moron?!"

"That's a horrid thing to say, Lovino. You may not like Feli, I can see that, but you don't need to insult him every five seconds, it's plain ridiculous." Antonio scolded, shaking his head.

Lovino shrugged and continued up the cliff. "No, all right, maybe not a moron...i'm sure you learned you lesson, si?"

Feli gave a nod and a sigh, running a hand through his hair finding it obvious Lovino thought the very worst of people he didn't know. "Anyways, where are we?"

"A good two miles away from home..." Antonio sighed, clenching and unclenching his fists quietly as he felt the sting of the saltwater in them from the cuts he received previously. "How about we camp out here for tonight? It'll be better than walking in the dark when we can't see-"

Lovino sat down on the spot in front of Antonio, nearly tripping him up and chuckling to himself. "Si, let's camp right here."

Feli chuckled as Antonio flailed, catching his wrist and seeing his hands scratched and cut. "You're hurt, Antonio..." he said softly, giving a sad expression and looking as though he was about to cry.

"Oh, don't worry about me, amigo! Just enjoy the nice summer air and the sea breeze and hey-are you crying?!" The Spaniard raised an eyebrow as his wrist was held and tears formed at the other male's eyes. Watching each tear roll down his cheeks and landing on his palm, he felt a pleasant warmth spread through them and watched in amazement as the cuts healed and his skin became a healthy pink once more. "Q-Que-that's-" He stammered, looking at Lovino and Feliciano in shock. Lovino had exactly the same ability, and the Spaniard quickly put two and two together.

Did he have something to speak to Romulus Vargas about now?!

Right, so I hope you enjoyed the third chapter! My parents have been away for a week so i've had plenty of time to write this! -bows- I'm so sorry it took so long! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and hello to the people who have fav'd, follow'd and reviewed! ;-; Where did you beautiful people come from?!

Until next time, dearies~

~DSOTL~