Viku was already regretting letting his fingers slip loose from his brother's hand. The tiny chubby fingers that were once so tightly wrapped around the index and middle finger of the Romanian nation loosened over time as the time spent at this strange party took longer and longer, and eventually once the elder brother settled himself down to get a drink of one of the several alcoholic beverages, the toddler was lost in the crowd. If there was anything, he was avoiding just getting any closer to the large Russian more than necessary, as that in itself was a terrifying experience in itself, but his search for his brother once he got mingled in the busy chattering adults was not an easy task. Especially not when one could only see between the adults' legs if he wanted to look around them, as his head barely came up to the older nations' knees, or lower thighs at most.
So by the time he began to panic in his search, he was already near tears, just grasping desperately on a cup in his hands that contained of grape juice he found on a separate table. He just wanted to make it back to his brother, where he could sit on his lap and enjoy the drink he fetched, but his rapid search with panicked vision was not helping him. It wasn't as if he suffered from stranger danger or such of the sort, but the idea that he could never find his brother again, that he would be stuck in the search within this pack of nations, terrified the tot. So much that, by the time he bumped into another figure for what seemed like the millionth time, he was quick to apologize in a soft whimper and try to turn away and return to his quest. What caught his attention of it being different on this occurrence however, was the fact that, he spilled more than half of contents inside his cup onto the pants of the man he bumped into.
Viku was quick to fill his eyes with fresh tears at the accident. In his usual circumstances he would've just gotten up and tried to find something to wipe the spill with, to help absorb the juice that would soak into the fabric, but this was not his everyday scenario. He was already in a panic, and this sent him over the edge. The new tears rolled down his cheeks as he hurried out more rapid apologies through his weeps, bringing his hands to his face to wipe at them himself with his sleeves.
"I... I sorry, sir... I sorry, Mister~... I no look fwont, und.... und... I make mistake~..."
And there he was, a tiny toddler on the floor, now just weeping with the stress having gotten fully to him.
Post by Northern Italy on Feb 15, 2017 4:28:32 GMT -7
With the failure of the conference, Feliciano was now helping himself to the drinks that were on offer. His presence no longer quite mattered, in fact it was debatable whether he should have turned up, now he would have to return to Italy with bad news. Then again, Il Duce was used to bad news ever since war had broken out in the world. Feliciano couldn't help but wonder if he and his brother would always be quite insulted on occasions like this.
Despite being one of the world's five major powers, once again exactly like in Versailles, nearly 20 years ago... They were not taken seriously and were practically robbed. Only Tunisia, Montenegro and Greece had been successes and even then, military disasters had still haunted the obviously inept Italian army, Feliciano was going to have to reform it eventually...
His thoughts were interrupted by the odd feeling of dampness on his right leg. Angrily turning around to face the offender, he only found no one. That was when a trembling voice reached Feliciano's ears... And he looked down. Immediately all signs of hostility faded as the Italian blankly listened to the child's desperate apology. Were they going to cry?
At first he was confused, he couldn't quite place a name on the child... Viku~ That was his name... Fane's younger brother.
The child seemed quite stressed over spilling his drink over the right side of his pants and didn't seem to notice him. He had always had a good opinion of the child, but he hadn't seen his cousin in quite a while, where was his idiot brother? Was he whoring off with Germany? He wouldn't be surprised if that were the case to be quite honest...
Feliciano squatted to reach the little boy's height. Despite the fact that he had watched and seen many children cry, for some reason this was different. An odd warm feeling was present in Feliciano's chest, though he couldn't quite describe it, all of a sudden memories flooded in. Austria had guests come over... Feliciano had tripped over his own dress while offering a platter of food, all he could remember was him crying and apologizing as Feliciano cleaned up the mess as fast as he could...
Realizing that he had just been staring at the child cry, Feliciano suddenly felt like he had to do something he never did anymore... He hugged the weeping child and even gave him a little kiss on the cheek. The odd thing was that he didn't seem to care about what the people around them thought of this very uncharacteristic scene for the Butcher of Ethiopia and Greece.
"Shhh little one, it is just cousin Feliciano, it is okay I forgive you. Where is your elder brother? He should be here to help you."
Last Edit: Feb 15, 2017 4:31:18 GMT -7 by Northern Italy
What if Fane simply was happy he was gone? That he was off doing his own thing, and wanted to get rid of the little brother that would get in his way of businesses? Viku himself already knew his brother was a busy man, and that he himself was the one that burdened the Romanian's life as it was. This of course didn't mean he knew how to fix it himself, and being as young as he was he often just selfishly took all that was given to him without second thought of consideration for the elder brother, but he was not a clueless child, per say. With that being mentioned however, Viku also was not one who could understand the world of it's works or politics, either. So when he was first brought to Russia for this party to begin with, he was certain his brother carried him along to just leave him here and go back home.
Because of this, that tiny hand refused to let go of the Romanian at first, until time went by and the tiny land began feeling slightly more confident. At least, confident enough to let go and go to get his own cup of juice while his brother drank away on the vodkas. He was a self-proclaimed big boy, he could do simple tasks on his own, and getting his own drink was one of those. Sadly, that task was hindered of it's success at the moment.
The boy continued to apologize and weep repeatedly, seemingly not noticing of the very man he bumped into as who it was. It was only when the man squatted down to his height did he flinch and quickly cover his head with his hands as if he was to be hit or slapped, immediately guarding himself instinctively in fear. The cup dropped to the floor and spilled the rest of its contents onto the floor. Soft weeps and sniffs came from him still as he kept his eyes tightly shut, his whole body trembling. His body was alive with pure fear. That is, until, he felt the arms wrap around him and pull him into a hug.
Viku's trembling ceased with that alone, the squeeze comforting him. The little kiss pecked on his cheek made his weeps come to a pause, as his brown hues focused on the Italian as he was spoken to.
"Shhh little one, it is just cousin Feliciano, it is okay I forgive you. Where is your elder brother? He should be here to help you."
"M-Mister... Feliciano...?" The boy sniffled, finally lowering his arms from his head to instead bring his hands nervously at his chin and mouth. Each time he blinked, fresh tears rolled down his rosy plump cheeks, and only when Feliciano mentioned of his brother did the brows that once was raising back furrow immediately once more, wrinkles forming between them. Tears overflowed out his eyes as he brought a few fingers into his mouth, a nervous habit he had yet to outgrow. "B... Bwuder... Bwuder gone... Bwuder... I... I want fwate~..."
Post by Northern Italy on Feb 19, 2017 23:37:21 GMT -7
The fact that Fane wasn't even here to help his little brother was to be honest quite disappointing. Although Fane always went on how he loved Viku, he was nowhere to be seen within the vicinity, Feliciano almost wanted to laugh at his cousin's idiocy. Where was Fane now?
Probably drinking or doing something else that was equally as stupid, instead of looking after his precious Viku. In fact what was the child even doing in this conference? What was he going to do, talk to Germany about border changes? Feliciano was fairly sure that the child would much prefer to eat sweets somewhere else instead of spend his time watching grownups squabble. Fane really was an idiot after all.
When Viku realized who had hugged him, the child started to calm down a little however tears were rolling down their cheeks as Viku seemed to want to look for Fane. Feliciano thought the child was quite cute, though it was a shame that Viku was crying... It was even more of a shame that Fane was his guardian, who knew what the Romanian would do to poison the child's mind.
Had it not been for geopolitics, Feliciano would have saved the child and annexed Bessarbia into the ever expanding Italian Empire, Lovino could finally have a friend and stop being a nuisance that he was. Unfortunately, life wasn't so kind. Romania was apart of his ally, Germany, a man who had had to think of giving him Slovenia instead of handing it straight away...
Feliciano, looked at the Viku... How could Fane have kept his eye off Viku? This was no place for a child.
"Lets clean you up a little, why don't we?"
He handed the child 3 tissues to wipe away the tears and snot, it would be terrible to just leave Viku in the condition that he was in. The brunette was going to have to help the child get to Fane. And then the Italian was going to have a word with that idiot... He offered his hand to the child, they were going to have to find the Romanian somewhere, for the sake of this child it better not be the damn drinking table.
Viku was still a sniffling tearful mess when Feliciano gave him the three tissues, which he took without a second thought. He used them to try and clean his face, them soaking up the tears that wet his cheeks and the snot that gave made its way down from his small budge of a nose. He looked around, studying his surrounding with the dirty tissues in his hand and hiccuped softly as he tried to hold back any other saddening noises.
"Chu know where bwuder at...?" He blinked his large amber hues hopefully, giving the offered hand one glance. The child did as told, his tiny fingers desperately grasping at Feliciano's index and middle fingers with all his might. The child nation didn't want to lose another person in this mess of a crowd, but gasped in realization before they would begin their search for the Romanian.
"Ah... Don't tell bwuder I do crying, da?" He asked, raising his free hand to wipe at his eyes for extra caution to make sure, at least, there was as little trace as he could leave for the crying he was doing only mere seconds ago. The brunet tot was clearly still stressed by his small trembling form, but he was trying to act strong now, looking around in the massive crowd with Feliciano's fingers still in his grasp. Everybody looked huge for him, that he wasn't sure what direction to head in first but... "...Bwuder no needta know I do crying... I big boy. I don't do crying. If I do crying, bwuder be sad too, da?"
With that, he began trying to pull Feliciano in one direction, back the way he came, the tissues still in the free hand as he tried to point with those same digits. The clumsy attempt resulted in him dropping the wads in the process. "...I come that way?" He asked, unsure, before blinking and kneeling down to pick up the trash, his grip on Feliciano tightening as he bent to do so. If anything, his knuckles started turning white from his desperate grasp, the fear still affecting him. Only once he was back up did he give out a small whimper, looking back to the Italian. "I dunno where bwuder go..."
Post by Northern Italy on Feb 27, 2017 4:45:44 GMT -7
Where was Fane? That was a question that Feliciano wanted answered as well. If the Romanian wasn't drunk, he would probably fret over losing his younger brother in the crowd of people. It was almost pathetic really that Feliciano was taking care of Viku, the Italian couldn't confirm whether he would save Fane from a verbal tirade outlining why the Romanian was a certified idiot. Feliciano's best guess on the Romanian's location was probably the drinks table... If he found Fane drunk...
Suddenly Viku was telling him to not tell Fane that the child had been crying. The Italian for the sake of the child's dignity agreed, it was quite amazing to Feliciano, that Viku wanted to help Fane by making sure he wasn't sad as well. If the brunette had it his way, he would have drilled the point of Viku in tears into the Romanian's head to make Fane understand the true magnitude of his actions in losing sight of Viku. However... The Italian would respect the child's wishes.
"Of course I won't tell him. You're a big boy aren't you?"
If there was any chance of finding the Romanian it was where the alcohol was, Feliciano predicted that location as the most likely place Fane would be at. When Viku suddenly seemed not so confident in finding his brother, the Italian decided it was the best time for them to try and look for Fane near those damn tables. He began to lead the child in that direction, hopefully the Romanian would be there...
"Viku I think... I think I see him!"
Almost there... before the three of them had a very tension filled talk...
Relief immediately showed on the small boy's face when Feliciano reassured him that he wouldn't tell his brother of the fact he was crying. The same eyes that filled with tears brightened significantly, and his face lit up with a large smile that replaced the worried frown. Pressing his hand up against the wet cheeks, Viku let out soft sniffling noises that he tried to stop from coming, as well as the small hiccups that made his shoulders twitch and jump with. The last thing he wanted was for Fane to see him crying and get overly worried. He already caused enough trouble for the Romanian upon the arrival to the party itself, no need to stress him out more.
"Da, big boy..." The brunet child muttered between his hiccups, unaware of being led to the tables where the alcoholic beverages were lined. All he could see for himself was the legs of other nations as they moved about the party, Feliciano and himself weaving through the crowd. Viku's hand tightly gripped on Feliciano's fingers as he let himself be pulled through the mass of legs, almost tripping over a few of the feet as he did so. A stumble here and there, Viku squeaked each time he came close to falling before he pulled himself up, using the Italian's hand as support to keep himself upright. In all honesty it would've been easier if the elder nation picked him up and carried him along the way, but the tiny Romanian territory was not going to complain. He would've fought of such idea anyway; no need to appear more babyish than his already pink plump cheeks.
Had it been any other time, Viku possibly would've asked for a lift. To snuggle up in the sturdy arms of an adult and let them do the walking instead of himself, so he wouldn't have to worry about tripping over every five seconds. As the boy just focused on not daring to release the fingers he finally got in his grasp and to not trip over feet of the elder nations around them, he heard the voice and immediately looked up to him.
"Viku I think... I think I see him!"
"Chu do...?" The boy asked immediately after, trying to stand on the tip of his toes to hopefully see the Romanian. When all he could manage to fit into his vision were legs of others however, he let out a loud whine and looked back up to the Italian. "Where? I don't see him... I don't see bwuder..."
Post by Northern Italy on Mar 16, 2017 0:01:57 GMT -7
The child seemed to feel more comforted, when he confirmed that he would not tell Fane of Viku's crying throughout the ordeal. In any case, using the child's emotions to make the Romanian feel guilty would have been a favorable option, sadly though Feliciano did not think that the child would appreciate being lied to by his own cousin. It seemed that Viku, in his quest to act and look like a "big boy" seemed to also want to save Fane from feeling guilty of his poor care, though he doubted that the boy realized that the Romania was... A questionable influence to the child.
"Yes... Yes you are."
Feliciano was a little impatient on his goal for finding Fane, that he had tried to walk fast, he didn't realize that the Romanian territory was having trouble to match his own steps and seemed to trip over everything. Viku had to be given an excuse for his very clumsy balance mostly because there were many people around here and the child seemed to struggle to walk fast. Eventually they reached they had come into view of the table yet he couldn't quite see the Romanian... Perhaps the little one could be of some use?
Viku was telling him that he couldn't see Fane, though this was very understandable because he was only little. Feliciano squatted in from of the Romanian territory and wondered what he was going to tell Viku. It was... An awkward and maybe even odd request, however it may be the only way that the boy could confirm where Fane actually was in this party. Well there was only one way to find out!
"Cousin.... Would you mind if... I lift you up so you can try to see Fane?"
He wasn't particularly sure on how Viku would react to being asked whether he was allowed to be lifted in the air to spot the Romanian... But it seemed like a reasonably request to the Italian, especially when they were trying to find Fane with so many people in this place...
Ever since his arrival to the party itself, Viku has brought trouble upon trouble to his Romanian brother. He screamed his head off at first, and only once did he finally calm down and ease himself of the atmosphere and the presence of the Russian in the room did he begin sneaking away to grab snacks and drinks, as well as demand he could do things himself seeing he was indeed what he liked to claim, a big boy. Perhaps the fact he was crying was not the worst that could come off that list in terms of making Fane feel 'bad' or 'sad', as the child put it in simple terms, but it was something the boy felt was necessary to keep under control in his secrets. Because of this simple thought, the small representative of a territory was desperate to make sure Feliciano kept up his promise, at all costs. However, that would all have to wait until they actually found the Romanian in question.
Keeping his grasp on Feliciano's hand extra tight, the tot whimpered out his complaint of being unable to see his brother and blinked when the Italian stopped walking. The child watched as his cousin squatted down in front of him, bringing his free hand to his mouth again to suck softly on his two favorite chubby fingers. His head tilted to the side slightly, the two strange strands of hair that appeared almost as pigtails catching air and bouncing along with the movement.
"Cousin.... Would you mind if... I lift you up so you can try to see Fane?"
Between his almost silent hiccups after the sob-fest, Viku didn't hesitate to give an answer to the Italian. Pulling the same fingers out from his mouth, he raised the said hand slightly in a motion of a child being asked to be picked up, holding back sniffles that threatened to sound. He was a big boy; big boys didn't cry... They didn't make any sad noises, right? Especially not if he was a big strong boy.
"Da... Up, pwease...?" He asked, trying to keep his manners in check as he did so. Fane at least made sure to put sense into him in terms of keeping up with his polite vocabulary and actions towards the adults, especially the big nations. Though the child himself was unaware of the exact placements each nation held around him, there was no doubt Feliciano was higher up in the rank in terms of power. That alone was no dispute, even for the toddler. "I twy und find bwuder... But, I 'eavy. I big boy, so I vewy 'eavy." He made sure to claim, not wanting the other to think otherwise. Just because he was being picked up did not mean he was a baby.
Post by Northern Italy on Mar 30, 2017 18:57:11 GMT -7
While Viku had stopped crying, Feliciano feared that another round of tears could come if Fane wasn't found. It would be very awkward if Fane left the event without his own brother, though the Romanian was hopefully aware that Viku was right now with him... The longer Viku was near Feliciano, the more the Italian wanted to urgently find Fane.
If he was found by Germany with the child, it could prompt an interrogation on the lines of "what are you doing with my territory?" The last thing that the Northern Italian needed was to be accused of kidnapping Germany's territory.
Fortunately Viku agreed to be lifted to give them a better chance of finding the Romanian. The Italian chuckled when Viku insisted that he would be very heavy, he sure was a "big boy", however Feliciano figured that Viku's advice was rather... Unneeded. The child couldn't possibly weigh any larger than 8 kilograms!
"Thank you for the advice! Big boys like you are very heavy!"
Picking the child up, Feliciano grinned as he lifted the boy easily onto his shoulders. Making sure he held Viku, Feliciano called out to the boy to see if he could see his brother. If anything, at this point it would probably be more likely that Fane would find them, hopefully the idiot was sober.
"Viktor! Do you see him?"
Please... Before Germany found him....
Last Edit: Mar 30, 2017 18:58:24 GMT -7 by Northern Italy
Fane had lost track of just how long the party was dragging on. He had stopped trying to focus as much when Gilbert had finally allowed him to leave his side to get a drink, and when one drink turned into three, he couldn’t really focus on the time if he wanted to. The only things that he could keep up with was the unwavering thoughts that reminded him just where he was, his hope that Gilbert wouldn’t mind a small vodka spill on the coat he had forced Fane into, and the sense to notice his little brother had left him. He had noticed as soon as that little hand was no longer holding onto his fingers, and before he could properly look around, the child had slipped away into the crowd.
He wasn’t sure just what to do. He tried to think back to when he himself had been a child, of the few times he had ever been to any gathering like this. He had always stayed glued to his sister’s side, he recalled that much. He never had need to leave her, nor the desire to do so. But, of the few occasions he did stray off, she had just let him go. It seemed she saw it as a perfectly valid time to allow him to act independently. That was what to do for Viku, wasn't it?
But then… Viku was scared of this place, was he not? Then why did he run off? Fane couldn’t be sure why, he couldn’t be sure of much of anything these days. In that uncertainty, paranoia could thrive. Had Fane done something wrong? Did little Viku think he didn’t need him? Or worse, what if he thought he could be better off around someone else, someone better than his elder brother. Oh God, was he just not a good big brother at all, what if that was it? What if he was horribly failing at this, and Viku knew?
No, no, he needed to stop with that line of thought. He needed to trust the territory was sincere when he said he loved him… and maybe he needed to stop drinking before his mind could run off without him again. That would be for the best. The Romanian sat his last drink down, turning to look to see if he could spot his brother among the crowd. He wondered how hard it would be; Viku was so small, far too small to easily find in a crowd of adults. Some of the taller ones could even dwarf Fane if he stood by them, like an insufferable Russian, for example. Throw in the fact Fane wasn’t completely sober anymore, and it promised to be challenge.
But then, that challenge was dashed before it even began. Viku was quite visible in the crowd, held by an all too familiar Italian. Of course, of all the family they had, it just had to be the fascist. No matter, family was family, Fane believed; no matter the differences amongst them, were they not supposed to keep an eye out for one another? He tried to catch Viku’s attention, waving a sleeve-covered hand to try to be noticed as he made his over to them, putting on the convincing cheery smile that he was growing sick of.
“Viku, puiule! There you are, big brother was so worried about where you had run off to. And ah, I see you found our sweet cousin Feli.” His words barely slurred, but he was sure the Italian would be able to smell the alcohol on him. So what if he did, he doubted anyone could begrudge a healing country for needing a drink. “It’s been so long, Feli dearest. I trust you’ve been well, seeing as you were one of the ones to come out on top. How lucky of you.”
