Promptly at 5:45 in the morning, Toris was awakened by the shrill ringing of the phone on his desk. The brunette groaned and got out of his warm bed to answer it.
"Hello?" he said groggily, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up more thoroughly.
"Hey Toris!" Antonio said cheerfully from the other end. "Breakfast is in 15 minutes okay? Bye Toris!" The Spaniard hung up the phone before the brunette had a chance to respond.
Toris sighed and walked slowly into his bathroom. On the counter next to his sink he found the clothes that Francis had sewn him. After putting on the black slacks, white shirt and jacket, Toris pulled his brown locks into a ponytail to keep it out of his face. The brunette reached into his discarded pants pocket and slipped his key card into one of the pockets of his jacket. After retrieving his ear piece from his bedside table he made his way down to the kitchen.
upon exiting his room, Toris was relieved to see that he wasn't the only one in the hall. Berwald and Tino were walking to the elevator when the smaller of the two called out to him.
"Come on Toris! You don't want to be late for breakfast, do you?" The Finnish man grinned.
Toris jogged over to the pair. Tino's smile widened, and even Berwald seemed to give his own reassuring grin.
"G'd m'rn'n T'r's." Berwald said in his thick Swedish accent.
"Good morning Berwald." Toris replied.
"Aren't you excited Toris? You get to start your training today! But of course that means I have to take over the Derringer order, and I know Feliks was excited about those pistols... but you're lucky that you have his teach you everything instead of Nataliya." Tino was practically bouncing off the walls. "'Cause that was brutal. She worked me to the bone the first couple weeks. You should be glad that you have someone considerate of your eating schedule and such. But don't think Feliks won't kick your ass if you let your guard down! He's just as bad as anyone else. I mean... Berwald and i could have taught you, sure, but we're not nearly as tough as Feliks or Nataliya, and that's why Master Braginski chooses them over us. Oh wow, we made it to the dining room already?"
Toris glanced around him and realized they had in fact made it to the dining room. He saw Feliks standing in the far corner, looking impatient.
"Well, we'll let you go Toris." Tino waved at the brunette warmly. "We'll see you at dinner tonight, okay?"
"Okay, goodbye Tino. Bye Berwald."
"G'db' T'r's." Berwald said, taking te Finnish boy's hand and leading him toward the dining table.
Toris glanced around the room. Maddox, Michelle, and Raivis were the only others present besides Feliks, Tino, Berwald, and himself. The brunette walked silently to his brother's side. Thr blond jumped slightly when the elder put a steady hand on his shoulder. Toris's heart swelled as he examined Raivis's face. Most of the cuts there had scabbed over. The bruises were more defined than they had been yesterday - darker and more demanding of attention.
"How are you?" Toris asked gently.
The blond's lavender eyes met his and Toris could tell that he was in fact better then he had been last night. Raivis almost seemed happy.
"B-better. A l-little sore, bue b-better." Raivis smiled a little, which made Toris feel slightly better himself.
"That's good. Did any-"
Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by a slightly feminine voice.
"Toris, you need to eat so we can, like, begin your training." Feliks crossed is arms and drummed his fingers on his forearms impatiently.
The brunette turned around to face the Pole, and was forced to look down at the slightly shorter male.
"Feliks, my brother-"
"Yekaterina and Nataliya can watch him while we train." The blond glanced quickly at Raivis and back again.
"And what about Gilbert?" Toris asked anxiously.
"You won;t be seeing his around for a while. Ivan took care of him last night." The blond smiled and put his hand on Toris's shoulder. "He got what he deserved. Well, maybe not all he deserved, probably, like, a decent half."
The brunette turned back to his brother. "Will you be okay?"
"If N-Nataliya is watching me I have no doubt t-that I'll be fine." Raivis smiled again.
"Okay." Toris turned to Feliks again. "Let's go."
"You need to eat something." The Pole argued.
"Not hungry."
"You will be." Feliks smiled playfully. "When I'm done with you today, you'll be starving."
Toris sighed. "Fine, I'll eat."
"Good boy." Feliks purred as he started to pull the brunette into the kitches adjacent to the dining room.
"Yao, get Toris some food!" The blond called just as a solemn looking Lihn walked out of the pantry and over to where Feliks and Toris stood.
"I heard what happened Toris." Lihn said quietly. "I'm sorry Gilbert did that to your brother."
Toris nodded and smiled at the girl, ignoring how his head throbbed at the mention of Gilbert's name.
"We don't have all day Yao!" Feliks grumbled.
"Patience is a virtue, Feliks." Yao said, walking out of the main part of the kitchen and handing Toris a large plate of eggs and toast.
"Don't go all philosophical on me Yao." The Pole mumbled, glaring at the brunette before ordering him to start eating or he would regret it later. Toris obeyed and listened to Yao and Feliks argue playfully.
Most of the insults were aimed at how feminine each of them were. Both Yao and Feliks could easily pass for young women. Their soft features, clear skin, and high voiced could be interpereted as feminine, and each of them having longer hair didn't help that fact in the least. But the jokes were ignored and laughed at.
When Toris had finished eating Feliks practically dragged him out of the kitchen with hardly a goodbye to the Asians they rushed out on. The pair entered a hallway leading toward the south side of the mansion and Toris could see the sunrise out the windows on his left.
Feliks stopped on front of a door at the end of the hall. When the blond opened it a flight of stairs was revealed.
"Where are we going?" Toris asked.
Feliks started to descend the staircase. "Shooting range," was his only answer. Toris followed the blond quietly, keeping close because there was no light in the stairwell.
After nearly tripping over himself and falling down the stairs, Toris let his hand rest on Feliks's shoulder. Feliks took his hand shortly after that. Thankful that the blond couldn't see his face, Toris flushed a deep red.
When Feliks stopped abruptly, removing his hand from Toris's grasp and placing it gingerly on the brunette's stomach - signaling for him to stop as well-, Toris could tell that they had reached their destination.