ciao everybody! how are you all? i hope well :)
i am surprised no one guessed the RED of the previous chapter! MWAHAHAHAAH! does that mean i'm getting better..or worse? i actually don't know ._.
and to answer the many questions, matthew WILL be in this story! about yao... i do not know about him, i still have to see.
there are so many characters! D: it's so difficult to handle them all! but i think i'm managing...i hope!
...
O_O
4500 views, and 88 reviews!? wha...but i... ha... i don't even-! AFSDGAFSDH GAFDSHGAF SHDAGFSHGF DAHGDFAS GHGHHHHHHHHH!
thank you SO MUCH! you are so awesome! i have no words to describe how happy all this makes me!
ok that's a long note. i'll stop here, ve...
ENJOY
Romano worked hard while cooking the pasta, humming a song to himself. Tino found only one pack of it, but it was enough, at least for one person, even if that person was Feliciano.
Ludwig brought the small Italian to the dining cave while supporting him (Feliciano was still a bit groggy) and they were welcomed by cheers and applause.
"You're alive, Feli!"
"I'm glad you made it, Feliciano-kun!"
"Hiya there, you're Feliciano right? I'm Alfred, pleased to meet'cha!"
"Shut up morons! I can't concentrate like this!"
They all laughed, and Ludwig helped Feliciano sit/lay down on a couch. "What are you making, fratellone?"
"I'm making some motherfucking pasta!"
Feliciano blinked. "Pasta…?" what was that again? He had a vague memory of that… didn't he? Suddenly images flashed in his mind again. Delicious plates of food, with something yellow in it and many different colourful sauces… "…Pasta…" he repeated, eyebrows furrowing. Then not only the plates, but the names too popped up in his mind. Together with all their flavours. Pasta al pomodoro, pasta al ragù, pasta al pesto, pasta alla carbonara, pasta cacio e pepe, pasta al forno, pasta ai funghi…
Suddenly the Italian's eyes lit up, remembering. "PASTA! Oddio, how could I ever forget about my delicious pasta?!" His sudden outburst made him cough, though.
"Tch. Moron, take it easy. Here, take this, it's ready!" Romano said, coming nearer with a plate of pasta. "It's not much, and the sauce even lacks the cheese. But hey, it's the best we got. And besides! Pasta is always delicious."
Tino raised an eyebrow, while bringing in the coffee for the breakfast. "But, Romano, there's still some lef-"
Romano's face became a deep shade of red, before running to the kitchen. "NOthatsnottruethereisNOpastaleftdoyouhearme?!"
They all just laughed again, while Tino gave everyone their cup of coffee and their biscuits.
Feliciano marvelled at the pasta. It looked…awfully delicious, to say the least. He gulped it down and in minutes it was gone.
"Dude, you're fast! But I bet that in a competition, I would totally win!" Alfred smiled, eating his fourth biscuit (stolen from two careless neighbours – Bella and Mathias).
Ludwig was staring, wide eyed, the small Italian. "I wouldn't bet on that…"
Feliciano burped. "Ve…! It was delicious, Romano! And I feel much better now!" He suddenly jumped up from the couch and ran around the room. He got back and spread his arms before plopping down again. "Sì! I feel much better!"
Everyone stared at him now, astounded looks on their faces.
"How is that even…possible?" Kiku asked out loud. "…He needed to be supported minutes ago!"
Mathias laughed. "I take that the myth actually is true, then! Pasta is the best medicine for any Italian!"
"What did I tell you, you fucking Dane son of a brainless iceberg?!" Romano retorted from the kitchen.
"Hey!" Mathias exclaimed, laughing. "Wait…where did my second biscuit go?"
Alfred whistled looking away innocently, and Mathias smirked before tackling him on his chair, both of them falling down.
Everyone was laughing again. Francis then walked in, going with a hand through his hair. "Bonjour, everyone. I see you all are in a chipper mood!" he smiled. They all turned to look at him, and had all different reactions. Kiku screamed, as did Bella, while Gatto meowed. Romano screeched and covered his eyes screaming profanities, Ludwig choked on his biscuit and covered Feliciano's eyes while closing his own ("Ve, what are you doing, Ludwig?"). Alfred frowned, and Mathias laughed, the Dane gaining an elbow in the ribs from Berwald. Tino just turned into a deep shade of purple, as did Arthur.
"What the bloody hell, Francis! Get some fucking pants on, you French pervert!" He quickly tossed the Frenchman his jacket. "Cover yourself! Please!"
"Oh, but it's been some time since I had a chance to see my body normal, no? And by the way, I always sleep naked." Francis pouted, as he covered himself with the jacket. Indeed, he was completely naked, except the places where he had been patched up because of his wounds. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, and everyone opened their eyes again. (Romano was still cursing, by the way.)
"Ve, who is that?" Feliciano asked, lifting the German's hand from his face. He suddenly looked scared as he recognised the Frenchman. "Eeeeep! You're the…the…!"
Francis neared the two, and smiled. "Ah, bonjour, Feliciano! I apologize for how we met yesterday, I hope I can fix it all today. Pleased to meet you, I'm Francis Bonnefoy. You cured me, and you have all my gratefulness for that." He said, stretching out his hand. Feliciano smiled, fear disappearing and taking the hand.
"Ve! So you are cured! I'm so happy! Uh, piacere! I'm Feliciano Vargas." They shook hands.
Arthur interrupted them. "Now would you please get some pants on?!" He pushed the almost-naked man back.
Francis laughed. "Alright, alright! I'm going already." And he left.
Alfred suddenly stood up, and followed the Frenchman, muttering that he 'had forgotten something' or something along those lines.
Everyone just resumed eating their breakfast, Ludwig filling Feliciano in about what had happened when he had been unconscious, how and why.
Francis had dressed himself up, and he huffed, flipping his hair back, as he glanced into the small mirror shard he had in his room. He frowned. His whole body was normal again, he had checked it that night. One thing was still unusual, though. His eyes were back to normal, his pupils weren't slits anymore and they didn't have that electric blue colour, but there was still a small reminder of it all. His eyes dimly glowed in the semidarkness of his room. They weren't really giving that much light, but…let's just say you could see him in the dark.
He sighed, and exited his room. He walked back to the dining cave, but was suddenly pinned against a wall, a hand firmly gripping his shoulder.
"Ow! What in the-"
"I want some answers from you." Alfred whispered, venom dripping from his words.
"Excuse me?" Francis asked, wide-eyed. He tried to free himself from the grasp, but with no avail.
The American pushed him against the wall again. "I'm the one making the questions here. Now, I know you have been cured, and all of that weird mumbo-jumbo worked…" Alfred looked deep into his eyes, Francis knowing that he had noticed his eyes glowing a little "…but what you've done in the past is unforgettable and unforgivable."
The Frenchman grimaced. "Thank you for reminding me of that."
Alfred narrowed his eyes. "…I want to know what you did to my brother."
"What…?"
"Don't you 'what' me!" The American hissed, tightening his grip on Francis' shoulder and pressing him to the wall. "You remember me, don't you? We met before. A month ago, to be exact, but much more south from here. Am I wrong?"
Francis' brows furrowed. "Oui, actually, I do remember…but weren't you with someone else? Did he perhaps look like you…?" For some strange reason, his memory was hazy about that day.
"Exactly. With my brother. You drove us out of our hiding place, and we were forced to fight you. You wanted to eat us, if I remember correctly."
The Frenchman flinched, disgusted. "Please, don't remind me of that…"
"Hell yes I will! The city we fought in was near a canyon of some sort, and the three of us ended fighting on the edge of the cliffs. Am I wrong?" Alfred pressed on.
"N-no…"
"So do you remember when my brother fell over the cliff, and barely managed to hold on the edge?"
Francis nodded, looking at his feet. He remembered now…
"Look at me!" Alfred's face was now centimetres from the Frenchman's. "You managed to grab me and throw me some meters away, and then you took off in the air. You grabbed my brother my his waist and then you were both gone." Alfred paused, licking his lips and whispering even more quietly. "What did you do to him?"
The Frenchman tried to free himself from the American's grasp again. "I-I…he…" Alfred was too strong, so he stopped struggling. "He… he managed to free himself from my grasp while we were flying. He…he fell in the canyon." He shuddered, remembering what he had thought at the time: 'what an easy kill!' "I went down looking for him, but he had fallen into the river on the bottom of the canyon. I really wanted to find him," although not for saving him, he thought. "But…he didn't resurface. I didn't even find the body. I'm sorry." He looked up, staring in the American's wide blue eyes. "I'm so sorry…" he repeated. But he knew no apology in the world would give the American his brother back.
Alfred clenched his teeth. He positioned his free arm, ready to punch him. Francis closed his eyes shut, expecting the American to hit him. To his surprise, he instead let go of his shoulder.
"Wha…"
Alfred glared at him, and then walked away. "It's not like I forgive you. But at least…" he stopped for a second, "…you didn't eat him. And if you didn't find his body… there might still be an infinitely small chance that he is alive…" Francis could hear in his voice that he didn't really believe that.
Then he was gone.
Francis had somehow forgotten to breathe. He suddenly gasped, air filling his lungs again, all tension leaving his body. He slowly slid down against the wall, until he sat on the ground. The Frenchman stared into nothingness for some seconds, before covering his face with his hands.
He had done so many horrible things…
He would never be able to forgive himself.
After what felt like hours, Bella went looking for him and noticed him sitting on the ground, hunched. He quickly composed himself, and smiled as he stood up, dusting his pants off. She smiled too, and they both returned to the dining cave.
As if nothing had ever happened.
The day passed quickly and uneventful. They decided not to go to the city, because maybe more REDs would be there. The Rock inhabitants had dinner, played cards for a bit and then all went to bed. Again Mathias and Arthur fell asleep on the couches, blissfully ignorant of what was about to come.
The RED hated the sun.
And he hated warmth almost as much.
Not only that, he had to walk into a damned desert. That was both things he hated combined. He cursed, muttering to himself.
He spent all day walking, following the faint magic user's trail, until finally, at dusk, he saw a mountain getting nearer.
Knowing the humans' nasty habit of hiding, he smirked. That probably was the place where the user was.
As the sun finally went down the horizon, he sighed, straightening his back, flexing his fingers and tail. Not only he felt much better without the darned light, but he also was at the foot of the mountain now, at last! Sometimes he wished he had wings, like Francis. That was so much more faster and convenient. Ah, but he was gone now, wasn't he? Oh well.
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the magic trail. He now smelled the humans, too. And they were many. As he ascended the mountain, he grasped all the different scents. One, two…four…seven…wait, more than six humans, together?! Well, that was a rare sight. He filled his nostrils with the smells. His sense of smell wasn't nearly as refined as Gilbert's or Antonio's, but he could distinguish a lot of people in that hump of rocks.
As he followed a narrow path up the mountain, he finally saw an entrance. He narrowed his eyes, getting his guard up. You never knew, so he also made sure to make as less sound as possible.
The RED entered the cave, darkness enveloping him. He didn't mind the absence of light at all, he could see well in the dark. He continued walking, and the cave turned out to be pretty narrow, long and meandering. The smells, however, just got stronger, as did the magic source of the trail.
Eventually, after the umpteenth turn, the cave widened, and he saw a car. A jeep, to be exact.
A wave of smells suddenly hit him. He widened his eyes, surprised. Not six, not seven…more than ten people lived in there! He almost doubted his nose. Almost.
But then he started doubting it anyway. One of the many smells was very familiar, but…that couldn't be Francis, right? He snorted, deciding to give up on relying only on his nose. It wasn't really that useful to him anyway.
He concentrated on the magic trail again. Oh, the user was near, very near actually. He neared the passage that separated him from the other chamber. He hadn't expected to find this many humans, so he wouldn't risk confronting them alone. Even if he was hungry.
As he peeked into the room, the smell of Francis manifested himself more clearly to him, as well as two other smells. They practically hit him in the face, it was that strong. It really was him! But he couldn't distinguish if he was alive or not.
"This changes everything…" he murmured. He needed to find out if Francis was really there. If he was alive and captive (which crazy human would actually capture a RED, anyway? Oh well, he didn't question it further), or dead. But one of the other two smells somehow felt familiar, and the tingle in his spine told him the magic user was nearby. He frowned, judging the risks, and took a decision.
Lukas Bondevik flared his nostrils, and then entered the dining cave.
stupid cliffhangers!
i'm sorry! but otherwise the next scene would have taken too long for me to write, and i would not have been able to upload!
anyway!
i hope you liked that the pasta was (FINALLY) put in this story :D
have a nice weekend! ;)
Pasta al pomodoro : (its all talian, duh) pasta with tomato sauce
pasta al ragù : pasta with meat sauce
pasta al pesto : pasta with basil sauce
pasta alla carbonara : pasta with eggs, bacon, cheese, onions and pepper
pasta cacio e pepe : pasta with cheese and pepper
pasta al forno : pasta in the oven
pasta ai funghi : pasta with mushrooms
piacere! : (italian) pleased to meet you!