Character notes - Alistair (Scotland) Arthur (England) Vash (Switzerland) Lilli (Liechtenstein)
Directions are Important
March 3rd, 1803
"Alistair get your lazy arse out of bed!" Arthur shouted.
"I willnae!," the Scot shouted back.
"Alistair stop being an arsehole and get out of the damn bed or I will come in there and rip the covers off and drag you out of bed!" Arthur shot back.
There was a moment of silence as Alistair decided which was worse. "Nae, I'm good," he responded. He could hear Arthur mutter something to himself before walking away. Thank god. I thought he'd never leave. He thought and then sighed. "I better get dressed before the lad comes back. I don't really feel like being harassed this early in the morning."
Alistair quickly got out of bed, put on some clothes and boots before grabbing his jacket from the bed post and heading into the sitting room. Arthur was sitting in one of the arm chairs, his arms crossed over his chest.
"I'm going to be fairly busy today preparing for spring and I won't have time to pick up my hunting gear from Vash at the blacksmiths. I'll need you to pick it up for me, is that clear?" He asked.
"Why do I have to do it?"
Arthur sighed. "You have to do it because no one else is available."
"Fine, but ye owe me for this, lad."
"Thank you. Well off you go," Arthur said, pushing Alistair out the door. The Scot rolled his eyes when he turned to see Arthur giving him a rather poorly done wave. What was he, a princess?!
As Alistair walked through the streets he soon realized that he didn't know where he was going! What the hell! The little shit didn't even give me directions! He fumed. He wondered if Arthur did it on purpose. He decided he should probably go somewhere he knew. He turned the corner and headed to the bakery.
Arthur
Once Alistair was out of sight Arthur started down the snowy dirt path, taking in the familiar surrounding as he went. To his left was a small white farmhouse owned by a rather interesting family. On the other side of the farmhouse was a big red barn that housed a couple of horses, food, equipment and a few other animals. As he made his way toward town, the barn's red paint caught his eye. It reminded him of Alistair's hair. Now with the Scot on his mind, a thought surfaced. He had forgotten to give Alistair directions...
"Shit! I knew I was forgetting something this morning. He is going to kill me! Now calm down Arthur let's not get ahead of ourselves, hopefully Alistair will understand my mistake- Who am I kidding- I'm so screwed!" He panicked, a part of him glad no one was around to see him acting in such a way.
Turning around he sprinted back home, not wanting to cross paths with the angry Scotsman any time soon, or at least until he came home. Now let's hope he finds the blacksmith's and comes home in a somewhat good mood, he thought desperately.
Alistair
Alistair tried to decide what to do to with Arthur as he made his way over to the bakery. He was almost there when something barreled into him. He stumbled back and looked around, wondering what had bumped into him. He was surprised to see a small girl in a deep red dress and chin length blonde hair sitting in the dirt in front of him.
"Oh, I'm sorry" he apologized, helping her up.
"It's fine... I wasn't paying attention to where I was going" she said softly, dusting off her dress. The girl had started to walk off when Alistair remembered why he had come all this way.
"Oh, excuse me, do you know where the blacksmith's is?" He asked.
"Hm. Oh. Um... d-do you need s-something from my bruder?" she stuttered.
"I don't exactly know. I'm on an errand for my... friend, yeah that's right" he corrected. It feels so weird callin' him that, but there's no way in hell I'm callin' him my savior.
She giggled and told him that she would take him to the blacksmith's since she was going there as well. They talked for a bit as she led him to the blacksmiths. He found out that her name was Lilli and that Vash was her older brother. Alistair had told her that he had only arrived in Wilshire about 2 weeks ago, not wanting to scare her. He left out the part about being shot. When they rounded a corner, Lilli slowed down. "That's it, right there," she pointed at a grayish building with a huge smoke stack.
Making their way over to the building, Lilli told him to wait in the workshop while she went to tell her brother that the Scot was here to pick up something. It had been a few minutes before he heard rather loud footsteps. He then watched as the door swung open to reveal a man in a green jacket, gray pants and sturdy work boots. He had chin length blonde hair, similar to his sister's and mint green eyes.
"Are you Vash?" the Scot asked.
"Yes. Lilli said you were here to pick something up," Vash said in a rather uninterested tone.
"I'm here to pick up something for Arthur," he responded.
"Oh you must be Alistair. I've heard Arthur mention you before."
"Does everyone in this town know about me?! I've only been here two weeks!" Alistair exclaimed.
"You should probably ask Arthur" he said. Vash said as he handed him a bundle that was surprisingly heavy. "Here's the stuff he asked for." He thanked Vash and headed back to the cabin.
When he got back, Arthur was already there, sitting in one of the chairs beside the warm fire. He set down the bundle and walked over to him. Getting closer he saw that the younger man was asleep.
"Well look at that, the little lad seems to have tired himself out..." He chuckled softly. He tiptoed over to Arthur's room and grabbed a blanket off the bed. He then made his way back over to Arthur and wrapped the blanket around him, making sure it would not slide off. He smiled as he gently ruffled the Brit's messy blonde hair.
"Sleep well little devil, yer gonna need it" he said softly, shuffling back to his own room. Little did he know that Arthur had been awake the whole time. Arthur sat in the armchair pulling the blanket closer to him. He gave a small smile and whispered "Good night to you too, you git." Soon after he drifted off to sleep, the smile still there.
The next morning
Arthur awoke to the sound of soft singing. Rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes he silently listened to the voice.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld langsyne?
For auld langsyne, my jo,
for auld langsyne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld langsyne.
And surely ye'll be your pint-stoup!
and surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld langsyne.
Curious to see who was singing, Arthur turned around in his chair. When his eyes focused on the source of the singing his jaw dropped. There in the kitchen was Alistair, standing in front of the stove, prodding something in a skillet as he sung softly to himself. Arthur wanted to say something but kept quiet, wanting to listen to the Scot longer. He has a surprisingly good voice, beautiful even. I never would have imagined a brute like him could have a voice so melodic, he thought, leaning back into the chair and continuing to listen.
For auld langsyne, my jo,
for auld langsyne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld langsyne.
We twahae run about the braes,
and pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'dmony a weary fit,
sin' auld langsyne.
For auld langsyne, my jo,
for auld langsyne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld langsyne.
We twahaepaidl'd in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid haeroar'd
sin' auld langsyne.
Arthur could hear Alistair moving around the kitchen as he continued to sing. His feet quietly padding against the floorboards and the sound of crinkling and hissing following as the Scot prepared breakfast. I wonder what he's cooking... the Brit wondered, peeking around the chair. Unfortunately the Scots broad back blocked the view of the stove, so much for the easy way. Next he sniffed the air, new and familiar scents greeting him. I can smell eggs and toast? Um there's something else but I have no clue as to what it is, he thought. With the Alistair's back still turned he slid from the chair and crept over to the table, the stove and Alistair's singing muffling any noise he made.
Sitting down he rested his head against the table, watching Alistair lean over a pot and stir a mysterious substance with a wooden spoon.
For auld langsyne, my jo,
for auld langsyne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld langsyne.
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
and gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak' a right gude-willie waught,
for auld langsyne.
For auld langsyne, my jo,
for auld langsyne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld langsyne.
When the Scot finished singing Arthur felt as though it was his duty as the unintended audience to clap. He lifted his head from the table clapping slowly, the noise startling Alistair who in response to the blondes harmless gesture, jumped about a foot in the air.
Alistair's head snapped toward Arthur, his face red with fury- or embarrassment, Arthur couldn't really tell. "What the feck! Ye gave me a heart attack!" the Scot shouted, chucking a wooden spoon at him.
The blonde ducked, the spoon missing by a hair and slamming into the wall with a loud crack. Cringing at the sound the blonde turned around to assess the damage. Luckily the wall wasn't dented, the same could not be said for the spoon though which now lay broken on the floor.
Arthur gasped flinging himself down next the spoon. Carefully he picked up the broken pieces, cradling against his chest. He turned toward Alistair with a look of hatred, "You monster! How could you break such an innocent and defenseless spoon!" the Brit shouted, trying not to laugh as he did.
Alistair just stood there staring at the Brit like he was insane. "Well maybe you shouldn't sneak up on people when there cooking if you don't want any more spoons to die!" He shot back, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"Well I couldn't help it, I didn't want to interrupt your beautiful singing" Arthur huffed.
The Scot paused, caught off guard by his confession. Alistair blushed slightly, embarrassed to find out he was listening. "Shut up ye brat" Alistair grumbled, walking past the Brit over to the cabinet and grabbing two sets of plates, bowls and cups. Arthur moved out of the way as the Scot balanced the china on one hand before setting in down on the table. Arthur set the table while the Scot brought the food over, placing it in the center.
They both sat down, Arthur looking over the food and spotted something that looked like a menacing black glob of sludge.
"Alistair what is that" he asked, pointing at the glob with disgust.
"Oh, that's Black Pudding. It's very good, trust me. It was something I used tae eat all the time when I was a wee lad," Alistair smiled, scooping some onto his plate.
"Ok. What is it made out of?" the Brit asked, not sure if he should trust Alistair's judgement.
Alistair tapped his chin in thought. "Let's see, it is made out of suet, oats, barley, a bunch of different spices-" he paused and looked at the Brit, a smug grin on his face. "And blood."
Arthur looked at him in horror, his mouth gaping. "Christ. Who in their right mind would put blood in their pudding! Pudding is supposed to be kid friendly and not scar them for life!" He exclaimed.
Alistair just smirked taking a big spoonful of the pudding, slowly inched it towards his mouth. Arthur covered his eyes, not wanting to watch the Scot eat the blood filled pudding. Thinking it was over he peeked through his fingers only to find Alistair holding his spoon, the pudding still on it, and was giving him a weird look.
"If yer going tae act like a big baby I will force feed ye the pudding," Alistair stated.
That was all the motivation Arthur needed. Taking a small spoonful he quickly stuck it in his mouth, choking as he tried to get it down. When he finally swallowed it sent a shiver down his spine.
"I am never eating that again," he gagged, reaching over and grabbing the toast hoping it would get rid of the taste.
"Jus' keep tellin' yerself that," Alistair mumbled, smiling to himself as he began shoveling the pudding into his mouth.
A/N: This is going to be on hiatus for a little bit as I tie some loose ends, but I'm not giving up on this story! I love it too much to cast it aside to collect dust. I would also like to hear what you guys think of it so far :)
Auf Wiedersehen für jetzt - Scottish Hills