A/N: Yep yep, here I am updating this. Like "The Search", I hope to update again sometime between now and Friday... No promises, though, school can be a beast.

Dora-nichov Russian Werewolf: Indeed. Slowly but surely... and indeed it shall never end~

Zoewinter1: Thank you, I'm glad you think so! I'm glad~

Blue Moon: Yay for Matthew backstory~ I love it when Matthew gets a backbone. Thank you! And no, I don't think that's possible... I'm sure Prussia would say it's impossible, hehheh~

This chapter really marks Gilbert's changing viewpoints...

Onwards, noble steed!

SS Out~

Gilbert had found a comfortable place in a tree to lounge. It was the tree closest to the small cliff-side he stood at the first day, and from there he watched three Islanders swim around in the water- and disappear completely from sight- until the sun began setting.

When the trio reached the top, the albino could clearly hear Lovino screech at his brother about listening for fucking once. But the screeching soon ended.

The Mainlander turned his attention to the golden sunset. He couldn't really see it from where he sat in the tree, so he climbed further up to the top. It wasn't a great view like his window, but it was a view.

Distracted by the golden sunset, Gilbert failed to notice a blonde head of hair pop up from the water nearby. Matthew watched Gilbert, confused, before looking towards the west. "Oh right," he mumbled to himself. "Mainlanders don't see that every day."

Somehow, the quiet mumbles reached Gilbert's ears, and his attention snapped to Matthew. "Vhat are you doing here?" he demanded.

Matthew looked surprised that Gilbert noticed him. "You were just sitting in the tree, staring off into space, I wanted to know what you were looking at..." There was a slight hesitation. Gilbert watched the Islander waiting. "And I wanted to make a request."

"A request?" Gilbert frowned. "Who's to say I vill listen?"

"I just want to show you something," Matthew sighed. "Just... I don't want you hating us simply because we're born in a different place than you. It doesn't matter if the sun is up or down, the way to get there is pitch black anyway."

"Zen how ze hell are ve supposed to get zere?" Gilbert shot back. Matthew rolled his eyes.

"I have a waterproof flashlight," he answered simply. Gilbert blinked for a few moments.

"Flashlight? But flashlights work on electricity and batteries and somezing like zat."

"You know, just because we don't have as much access as Mainlanders do, doesn't mean we don't have it," Matthew stated with another sigh. "Are you coming or not? I have better things to do than float here arguing with you."

"Vhy... are you even talking to me?" Gilbert suddenly asked. "You don't seem like ze kind of person who just... talks to everyone like zat Feliciano kid."

"Yes, well, Feliciano is excitable and would talk to a rock if you put googly eyes on it, but that's just his personality. You just seem... different somehow," Matthew replied, studying Gilbert. "And I don't mean just because you're albino. You've spoken down to us, yea, but... you've never struck out at us physically like some other Mainlanders do. And you seem to regard us as human... and you didn't seem happy when you noticed the soldiers."

"So you zink I'm different from ozer Mainlanders because I don't abuse you?" Gilbert asked slowly.

"Well... simply put, yes. Every other Mainlander who we've literally run into has thrown a kick or a punch at us..." Matthew trailed off, glancing aside. "But that isn't the point. You seem so... bored here. I just want to show you there are fun things to do on the Island."

"I don't really consider svimming as "fun", Matzew," Gilbert stated flatly. Matthew looked at him with a funny expression. "Vhaat?"

"Well, one, swimming is fun, and two, my name sounds funny when you say it. Oh, and three, you called me by name. I didn't even know you remembered it," he answered. Gilbert blinked.

"Vhat, should I call you "Mattie" or somezing since my accent seems to be too awesome for you?" Gilbert smirked. For the moment, he seemed to completely forget that he was talking to an Islander.

"I'd call it a lot of things, but "awesome" wouldn't be one of them," Matthew commented with a small smile.

"Nein, everyzing about me is awesome, Birdie," the albino stated with a grin. He burst out laughing at Matthew's confused expression.

"Birdie?" Matthew questioned, looking oh so adorably confused.

"Ja. You seem to like jumping off zat cliff over zere, so I will call you Birdie!"

"Well... okay... I guess..." Matthew trailed off, seeming to accept his new nickname without any more questions. "So, will you come?"

Before Gilbert could reply, a voice called, "Gilbert! It's time to come inside now, supper vill be served shortly." The albino made a face.

"Sorry, Birdie, mein Vater calls," he said while shaking his head. He jumped down from the tree. "Ask me again tomorrow vhen it isn't so close to being supper time. Guten Nacht, Birdie~" he called in a teasing way, heading towards the hotel.

It didn't occur to Gilbert that he had spoken to an Islander in not just a civil manner, but a friendly one as well.

-Later The Next Day-

Matthew stretched, his back popping gloriously. He sighed and looked over at Feliciano and Lovino, who seemed to be arguing over who would do what that afternoon. The Canadian-sounding Islander chuckled and simply watched as the elder brother succumbed to Feliciano's puppy-dog eyes.

The work was almost completely over and soon Matthew could go home. He really hoped that Gilbert would accept his offer to show him how the Island could be fun. It wasn't that the blonde was actually attracted to the Islander... well, okay, he was maybe a little attracted to him, but not enough to throw himself at him.

If he was honest, Matthew just wanted to get to know Gilbert. First, though... he had to get rid of that nasty discrimination problem the man had.

"-thew!"

Matthew's mind turned to his new nickname, "Birdie". He still hadn't made sense of it.

"Matthew!"

After all, jumping off a cliff wasn't characteristic of birds, and birds didn't swim, fishes did. Then again, "Birdie" sounded a whole lot better than "Fishie"...

"Matthew! Earth to mother fucking Matthew, are you in there?!"

Matthew jumped and looked at Lovino, who looked royally ticked off at being ignored. "Sorry, Lovino, I was lost in thought," he said.

"I could see that, I've only called your name five billion times!"

"Calm down, Lovino, I wasn't ignoring you..."

"Whatever, I was just trying to tell you that you can go home early, I can take care of the rest," Lovino huffed.

"Oh, right. Okay," Matthew nodded, glancing at the rest of the work. It wasn't really much, it would only take at most another half hour, but when Lovino says you can go home, you go home before he changes his mind.

Lovino held his hand out for the hoe that Matthew was holding, and Matthew was quick to hand it over. "Don't be late tomorrow or I will be fucking pissed," Lovino warned, turning away to get to work.

"Of course," Matthew chuckled, hurrying away.

As he walked across the bridge, being careful not to trip over a rail, he thought about the albino again.

It was true, what he said. The Mainlander was different from most other Mainlanders. Some Mainlanders tried to take advantage of their lower status and inability to fight back; they would try and force someone of their fancy to bed, or they would simply vent their anger by hitting them... or even killing them.

The injustice of everything the Mainlanders could get away with weighed heavily on Matthew. All the murders, the rapes, the beatings... nothing was ever seen as the Mainlanders' fault. Always the Islanders'.

Yet Gilbert hadn't kicked him when they bumped into each other. He hadn't even spat at him or grabbed him roughly by the hair as others had done. He had thrown insults, sure, but other than his glare, he did nothing intimidating. He had just wanted to move on, as though it hadn't happened, but he had followed them when he noticed the soldier preparing his gun. He had wanted to know why the soldier was there... he didn't seem happy about it.

Matthew wanted to know why.

Before Matthew even knew it, he was back at the village. He glanced around and noticed most doors were closed. Probably weary mothers and young children resting on the inside.

Some doors were still open, smoke drifting lazily out as usual. Women whose children were old enough to work through the afternoon heat... or women whose sons were deemed strong enough and taken to the mines.

Suddenly, Matthew frowned as he walked through the sad little village. He enjoyed life as an Islander, despite the discrimination, but he so rarely saw the man he called "father". Most grown men, or even young boys with large muscles like Arthur's older brothers, were taken to work in the mines. Arthur's father was among the grown men taken, and Matthew and Arthur only saw him every other month for all of one day.

Arthur, the poor boy, had lost his entire family, minus his younger brother who just happened to hate him and blame him. His mother had died when he and Matthew were still young, and when Arthur was about fourteen- Matthew about twelve- some soldiers came through to inspect every boy and man over the age thirteen.

Arthur was the only Kirkland deemed unacceptable for the mines.

The two had stood together while James, Connor, and Alistair were pushed into a group of strong men (Later on Matthew would identify one as Romero Vargas, Lovino's grandfather). No one could do anything to stop the soldiers, and Arthur had cried for the first time since his mother's death. At age fourteen, Arthur became responsible for both Matthew and Peter.

Thankfully, the entire village was like a family. Everyone helped one another without any questions asked. In the five years since their families had been torn apart, the village had only grown tighter together. They had become more like a family.. They were becoming more protective of each other... They started striking back...

But then the soldiers had come to stay. Then no one could help because then they would die. No one-

Suddenly Matthew felt someone run into him, and both he and the other went tumbling down the hill.

"Ow ow ow ow ow..." he groaned slightly, having hit a couple of rocks on the way down the hill. He opened his eyes and came face to face with ruby-red eyes. Immediately the Islander recognized it as Gilbert, who seemed to have pinned him to the ground... hopefully by accident. "Oh! Sorry!"

Gilbert blinked in surprise. He'd just been running from his brother, who he had been incessantly teasing since they woke up that morning, when he had suddenly hit Matthew, who had come around the corner of a building. And now he had the boy pinned at the bottom of the hill...

Quickly assessing the situation, he stood up. "Ah, es tut mir leid, Birdie," he apologized sheepishly, holding out a hand to help Matthew up. Matthew gave him a quizzical expression. "Vhaaat? I can be nice, you know."

Studying Gilbert for a few seconds, Matthew finally- cautiously- accepted the offered hand and Gilbert pulled him to his feet. "Um, thanks... and, uh, sorry about not watching where I was going," Matthew mumbled, having quickly pulled his hand away from Gilbert's. No need to make this moment even more awkward.

Gilbert was about to say something, but then another body crashed into his from behind and once again he and Matthew were sent to the ground in a heap.

"Vhy can't you learn to just shut up!" Ludwig shouted angrily, then spotted Matthew pinned below Gilbert, who he himself had been pinning. "Oh, hallo Matzew, sorry about zat." He got up and dragged Gilbert to his feet. "Vas Gilbert bozering you again?"

"Uh, no...?" Matthew sat up. "Actually he was being surprisingly kind, he even apologized... I think. I don't know German."

"Luddy," Gilbert whined, "I told you I'd stop teasing you! Bitte lassen Sie mich gehen!" Ludwig studied Gilbert as Matthew stood up, dusting himself off. Gilbert scowled at Ludwig. "Come on, I said please!"

After a few seconds pondering, Ludwig let go of Gilbert's shirt. He turned to Matthew. "I do apologize for zat."

"It's okay, it's not like I'm dead," Matthew replied, stepping slightly away from the Mainlander duo. He'd like to avoid getting pinned for a third time, thank you very much. "Besides, you didn't see me. It's not your fault."

Ludwig frowned slightly. "Matzew, no offense, but you are too nice." Matthew shrugged slightly, not seeming to take offense at all.

"Heeeey, shouldn't you still be vith ze mean guy und his scatterbrained Bruder?" Gilbert suddenly asked, looking at Matthew. Once again, Matthew shrugged.

"Lovino said I could go home early and that he'd take the rest," He answered simply. "I was going to go swimming before taking a rest, you know, to cool off."

"Ohh, I see," Gilbert nodded in understanding.

Then he seemed to remember Matthew was an Islander.

Then he realized he didn't care if Matthew was an Islander. Matthew was pretty damn awesome, after all. Islander or not.

The other Islanders, on the other hand... meh. They weren't nearly as awesome as his new Islander friend. Of course, he wouldn't mention in his letters to Antonio and Francis that he had befriended an Islander, but... he really liked to think of Matthew as his friend.

Mein Gott, I've only known him for two days and I want to call him my friend?!

Later, after Ludwig had returned to the hotel with a last warning ("Gilbert, if you cause any trouble, I vill strangle you!"), Matthew and Gilbert just sat in the grass talking.

"Birdie, does it ever rain here?" Gilbert suddenly asked, staring at the sky. There were some clouds on the horizon, but they were moving slowly and in the wrong direction.

"Well of course," Matthew answered with a slight laugh. "Where do you think we get our fresh water from? The Mainland?"

Gilbert looked at Matthew, a little confused. Matthew had said that as thought it was a ridiculous thought... but that's exactly what Gilbert had thought. The Islander apparently noticed his confused expression. He turned to look at the albino, brows slightly furrowed.

"You... did think that, didn't you?"

"Um, Birdie, quick question. Do you get anyzing from ze Mainland?" Gilbert asked slowly, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"Sure we do. It's just not for our benefit," Matthew answered simply. Gilbert's expression didn't change, so he went on to elaborate. "The soldiers come from the Mainland to watch us and make sure we don't harm any Mainlander visitors. The tools we get from the Mainland are for the miners and farmers so that we can get materials, minerals, and food for the Mainland. The railway systems between the Island and Mainland and between the main Island and the farm Island are generally only for Mainlanders... and transporting food."

"Zat can't be right, I've seen zem loading up food and stuff on ze train from ze Mainland to ze Islands," Gilbert protested, not wanting to believe that the Mainlanders mistreated the Islanders that much.

"Oh, those are for the Mainlander hotels," Matthew answered simply. "Watch them closely one day and you'll see it all goes to the hotel. Elizaveta and Roderich will give as much as they can before someone notices, but they seem to be a special breed of Mainlander..."

Gilbert frowned. "I don't zink I'll believe zat unless I see it," he finally decided, turning to look at the village. It really was a sad little village, with its scattered homes and open doors.

"Moving on!" Matthew suddenly interrupted Gilbert's thoughts. "Have you decided whether or not you'll accept my offer?"

The Mainlander glanced at Matthew, thinking for a few moments. "Umm... not yet. I have ozer stuff to do before I can say you are as reliable as you make yourself to be," he elaborated, looking back at the village. He heard Matthew sigh beside him, but the Islander didn't argue.

It briefly occurred to Gilbert that Matthew was one-hundred percent Islander, yet there they sat, speaking together as though they were both the same kind of people.

Maybe we are.

Franny und Toni!

Wie gehts? Ich schreibe diesen Brief in deutsch!

Nah, just kidding, I won't write this whole letter in German! I actually want you two to understand, ha!

I don't really have much to say, really, just that I'm kind of bored... Last night Matthew- the Islander I ran into first day- offered to show me how Islanders have fun without cell phones and game consoles. I haven't really accepted or declined yet, but I think I might say sure! I mean, I am incredibly bored... I know I said kind of but I am very bored.

Matthew has... interesting friends. More Mainland-sounding Islanders, can you believe it?! These two new ones are brothers, they sound like they're from Italien. They're complete opposites; the younger one acts like an even more talkative version of Toni and the older one is a mean, vicious thing. It hates me simply because I'm a Mainlander! Can you believe that?! And he kept telling Italian-Toni to stay away from mein Bruder. I wonder why? Well, of course, we're Mainlanders.

Can you believe someone could have a reason that stupid to hate someone?

Then again, the Mainlanders do treat them pretty badly...

Actually, that sentence reminds me of what Matthew asked me yesterday evening. He asked me why I hated Islanders. And the only thing I could think of is that they're Islanders... I really don't know why, I just do, but he refuses to accept that as an answer. Damn, I feel like a hypocrite now... Huh. Weird. I'll just ignore it.

Toni, Franny, why do we hate Islanders?

I'm thinking too much, and I've only been here, what, two, three days? Ugh, I don't even know anymore! I think I've seen... two sunsets? Yea, two sunsets. Tonight's will be the third. So today is... Wednesday? Damn, this week is taking forever!

Ah, whatever. Give hell to everyone there for me, guys!

Staying awesome, Gilbert!

-To Be Continued-

Mein Vater - My father

Es tut mir leid - I'm sorry

Bitte lassen Sie mich gehen - Please let me go

Mein Gott - My God

Wie gehts? Ich schreibe diesen Brief in deutsch! - How are you? I'm writing this letter in German!