Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.
Warning: This will be a gory story, and there will be possible character death. Hint: It's a horror story.
Estonia rushed to Lithuania's side as soon as he heard his brother' shriek. "Lithuania, are you alright?" As he held the candle over his head, he gazed at his brother in shock.
Lithuania was trembling in a corner- the farthest one from the hall he'd just exited, Estonia noted- and his eyes were bright with tears laden with fear. His arms, clad in a hand kitted sweater, were trembling just above his head. What struck him most was the fearful green eyes that peered from between the gap of his raised arms; Lithuania was looking at him like had when Russia had been in a horribly frightful mood, and had taken his anger out on poor Lithuania.
Estonia backed off a couple of paces and drew the candle farther from the huddled man. What Lithuania needed right now was space. "Calm down, brother, it's just me, Estonia. Breathe, c'mon, deep breaths." As Lithuania made an effort to calm down, Estonia took notice of his posture. It had begun to relax, but it was still stiff and tense; given enough reason, Estonia was sure Lithuania would bolt.
After the shuddering in his breathing had lessened, Lithuania peered at his brother, almost ashamed that he had seen him act like that. "Estonia, what are you doing here?" His voice was caught somewhere between a choke and a sob. He gave up trying to inquire more; he knew his voice wouldn't return until he had fully calmed down. And with the way Estonia was looking at him, like some sort animal that would bolt any instant- not that he wouldn't; he felt extremely jumpy- he wouldn't be back to normal for a time yet.
"I wanted to come visit your library," He explained slowly, "and I remember wanting to read a book that you had. I'm glad I did, though; who knows what you would've done in this state if I hadn't been here."
Probably hide, he thought to himself.
Estonia bit his lip before deciding to satiate his curiosity. "What made you panic like that, Lithuania? It's rare, especially for you."
Lithuania laughed at himself. He also avoided Estonia's eyes. "You would find it silly."
Estonia laughed a bit for effect. "With the way you were just behaving, I'd believe almost anything you'd say." He set down the candle; the angle he'd been holding it at was causing hot wax to drip down onto his hand, and the burning sensation was anything but pleasant. "Try me."
Lithuania nodded, then took a few more deep breaths that steadied his heart a little. "I was out in the market. I don't know what it was, whether it was my imagination or it was real, but the instant I closed my eyes, this Russian lullaby somehow reached me over the crowd. I couldn't tell whether it was a male or female, but I thought it might be Russia. It was just so hard to tell. Something about it made me bolt. It was… a song about catching prey in a spider's web. It was just so ominous sounding. And no matter how hard I ran, it always seemed to sound the same, not too far, but not too close, either. Almost like it was in my head. Then I came home, and was scared out of my right mind by how empty it was and…and…" Lithuania hung his head, and he felt his body begin to tremble finely again.
"I though Russia had come to get me again."
Estonia sighed. Lithuania had every right to be afraid of Russia; he often received the brunt of everything the Russian cast upon them. But fearing him, in broad daylight, when the man was several hundred miles away, at least? That seemed slightly absurd, especially for Lithuania.
"You said your eyes were closed? Could you have been daydreaming?" Lithuania's head snapped up at the gentle accusation. Though his stare couldn't exactly be called a glare, it wasn't any sort of gentle. Estonia shrugged slightly. "Admit it, we've all been on edge around Russia lately; it only makes sense that you would start feeling jittery. You probably imagined it. But if it makes you feel any better, I can stay the night?" It would offer Lithuania some peace of mind and he'd get to read more books.
Lithuania was reluctant to just shrug off his experience- he hadn't had any nightmares since the eighties- but what else could it have been? It had been to surreal, and, like he'd thought earlier, too like a movie to be reality. Maybe his recent workload and strained relationship with Poland, and the sudden reemergence of Russia's violent side was driving him to the point of hallucination.
"You're probably right. " He said at long last. "Thanks for the offer Estonia, but no. I don't want to trouble you. Let's go get your book so you can be on your way."
Estonia gave his brother one last wary look before he allowed himself to be herded into the library, where he promptly forgot everything but the books around him.
Outside, it grinned.
Mankind will brush off that which it doesn't understand and fears. They will learn soon, just what terror lurks beneath their society.