The Parade ((Open to all))

[Alfred Jones]

Nodding at what Roderich said, Alfred chuckled softly, amused that he felt the same. Waiting for him to get the poles under control, Alfred settled down, accepting the lantern he had been given before he smiled, watching attentively as the other man spoke.

Oddly enough, he wasnt surprised to hear of the others love of music. In a way, his appearance kind of already said it...Hmn. Odd. But in any case, he cocked his head a little as the pendant was brought up, watching interestedly.

Ah, that was cool! Smiling, he nodded a bit before the other spoke again. A confused look was on his face at the demand though. Still, he considered that, then smirked amusedly in response, easily rising to the challenge.

"Alright, but I'm not goin' easy on you." Nodding, he lightly stroked the lantern as he thought before he chuckled. Why not use some old music, it'd present a challenge at least, seeing as not many people bothered looking for the really old stuff. "Ring of fire."

[Roderich Edelstein]

'Ring of Fire?' He started thinking classical, but then he remembered his Nana singing the song as she baked. She liked her spirituals and folk tunes, especially when she was kneading bread dough. The memory gave him an idea on how to start. He played the chorus on the little instrument as an introduction to indicate he knew it. Then he switched it up, slowing it down and changing key, giving it a darker and more hymnal feel.

He stopped playing and started singing accapella in his tenor voice, "Love is a burning thing, and it makes a fiery ring. Bound by wild desire, I fell into a ring of fire. I fell into a burning ring of fire. I went down, down, down as the flames went higher. And it burns, burns, burns this ring of fire."

He started playing an interlude again for several measures. He stopped and finished in a slow quiet voice looking ahead over the seats and out the windows as if lost in a distant memory as he continued, "The taste of love is sweet, when hearts like ours meet. I fell for you like a child, Oh but the fire went wild." His voice dropped to whisper as he spoke out the last words "And it burns, burns, burns, this ring of fire. This. Ring. Of. Fire."

Roderich teased the last line out and let it hang there in the air. He snuck a glance over to his seatmate to gauge the other man's reaction.

"So? How about it, Alfred? You even got a bonus of lyrics too. Admit I'm good."

He sat with a cocky smile and waited for Alfred to respond or actually even notice he'd finished. Noting the distant look in Alfred's eyes, the smile quickly faded with his confidence as he wondered if he'd finally guessed wrong or worse yet, Alfred had hated his version and simply tuned him out.

"Uh, was it that bad?"

[Berwald Oxenstierna]

Berwald blinked a couple of times as he processed Kiku's words. The small man had actually just called him his... friend. The tall blond slowly shifted his gaze downwards, looking thoughtful. It probably would have sounded strange to some people but the situation had pretty much forced Berwald to carefully ponder Kiku's words and make his mind up about his emotions. The quiet blond had never been that good with his emotions in general so it took a few quick moments of thought for him to finally decide he quite liked being called Kiku's friend. He was hardly the type to make new friends in random places but Berwald was sure that it'd always be very easy to get along with the dark haired man, who was not only quiet but polite and quite humble as well.

After mumbling a final word of thanks to the man who treated him, Berwald followed Kiku out of the first aid station and back onto the open street. He noticed the small man silently glancing at his burned shoe. It wasn't obvious at all but a very brief look of sympathy crossed Kiku's features. Berwald could almost swear that he had seen a small hint of guilt in that flash of emotion as well. The younger man's expression hadn't changed much at all since they met but Berwald found that when Kiku let even some of his emotions escape onto his face, they gave his true feelings away rather well.

“B-Berwald, do you still wish to continue on with the parade?” Kiku suddenly asked softly, sounding slightly nervous. Not finishing the parade was definitely out of the question so Berwald didn't even need to think his response through before replying to the small man. “I do. I really need ta fin'sh the p'rade. 'm sure m'foot'll hold up fine,” the tall blond said quietly. “M'not sure 'bout how we're going ta c'tch up ta ev'ryone else f'st enough, though. I'd s'ggest we jus' run fer it but I st'll kind of h've ta limp. Oh, but ya can go on ahead of me if ya w'nt ta, K'ku. 'm really jus' slow'ng ya down,” Berwald mumbled, turning to the younger man at his side. As nice as it was to have a pleasant companion like Kiku for once, the older man didn't want to completely ruin the lantern parade for his new friend.

[Raivis Galante]

"Really? you think so?" Raivis beamed up at him. No one had ever really called him good company before and a wide smiled crawled across his face.
"You make good company too!"

His curiosity was starting to grow. Besides his name and the fact that he knew he had a brother he knew next to nothing about Ludwig. Raivis didn't consider himself brilliant at smalltalk but he'd heard enough times to at least know the basic starting questions.

"I was wondering, what do you do? Like what jobs and stuff, or maybe hobbies. I like reading a lot, how about you?" he asked eagerly, maybe asking a bit too much in the first sentence but he wanted to know more.

[Alfred Jones]

The young blonde teen was a bit surprised to hear that Roderich did know it, seeing as so many things had been lost to the past, a lot of the songs of various periods with it. However, he wasn't disappointed, and he leaned back in his seat, blue eyes on the brunette. For some reason it made him both sad and happy that someone other than him knew the song...

He didn't even notice how far he'd gone until Roderich spoke a second time, causing him to blink. Attention returned, Alfred attempted to recall what he just said before shaking his head.

"No, not at all. It's just...I dunno, it makes me happy when old stuff isn't forgotten. It's nostalgic for some reason...Weird right?"

Smiling a bit at his own oddness, Alfred chuckled as he sat back a bit more comfortably in his seat. "The way you changed it was pretty interesting though. It made it...Mm...Darker, I guess? But it still sounded cool...I wish I could do something musical, but I don't really have any talent for that."

Grinning a bit sheepishly, Alfred then perked as the train finally came to a stop, they had been so distracted by the music the ride seemed to have gone much quicker. Also because of the key change, the song had been slower, but still. Shifting, he managed to stand and retrieve his bag and, after putting it on over a shoulder, led the way out onto the platform.

Making sure that Roderich was keeping up well enough, he smiled at him before looking ahead. "Looks like we're just in time to get near the end of the parade, hmn?"

[Kiku Honda]

Kiku heaved a small sigh of relief and smiled softly and said, "I could never just leave you, Berwald. I am the one responsible for burning your foot and that leaves me responsible. If you say you must finish the parade then it is my duty to finish it with you."

"And though I say that we face quite the predicament." Kiku looked to the road. The parade had certainly covered a sizable distance. To catch up to the parade now would take a bit of running and that was out of the question. Berwald's foot was burned. You could say the possibility burned up in flames. Kiku chuckled inwardly at his own joke. 'Gah. Now is not the time for cheesy jokes!' He thought to himself.

'Options...' He thought, starting to think critically. Carrying Berwald was impossible. Asking him to run was impossible. Hmm. Maybe the man at the first aid station could carry Berwald. 'Ah! The first aid station!' Kiku turned to Berwald and pointed to the first aid station. "There were a few wheelchairs for use at the first aid station. Berwald, would you consent to me pushing you on a wheelchair?" He asked him calmly.

[Roderich Edelstein]

He smiled relieved. For all his airs of confidence, Roderich honestly was never sure of his own talent. "I'm glad you did enjoy it."

When Alfred noted how nostalgic he felt, Roderich felt a sudden kinship with the young man. Roderich shook his head. "No, it's not weird at all. It's why I enjoy working in the music library at the Conservatory. It's nice to rediscover the pieces that have been filed away forgotten and collecting dust. Sometimes I find one that just strikes a chord within me, like I've known it all my life, though I'd never seen or heard it until that moment. Maybe that's what Nana liked about the old songs she taught me. She knew so many."


Roderich brushed off Alfred's wistful reply. He'd heard it many times before. Inwardly he thought, yeah and I've wished many a time I had a talent and passion for medicine. Would've made some parts of my life alot less of a headache. Instead he said, "Not everyone is and if we all were, then who would be there to listen and enjoy the music? I know you are talented too. You're definitely more physically coordinated than I am. If you really think about it, there's always something someone else is better at that another person wishes they could do. Isn't there something you are really good at?"

Roderich felt the train jerk to a stop. They switched off holding the delicate paper lanterns as each exited into the aisle.

As they stepped off the train Alfred scanned the road ahead, "Looks like we're just in time to get near the end of the parade, hmn?"


Roderich looked to where Alfred was pointing. "Yeah, they're not too far ahead. Oh! Which reminds me..." Roderich reached into his pocket and pulled out the little box of matches and candles. Setting the lantern and poles down, he struck the match and then lit one of the candles. He handed it to Alfred and reached for a pole. After Alfred placed his candle he took the pole from Roderich and carefully hung the lantern off of the little hook. Roderich quickly lit his candle and hung the lantern at his feet off of the remaining pole. He gently raised it up and bracing it against one shoulder said, "Shall we go?"

Alfred nodded and they started walking at a good click to catch up with the tail end of the crowd. They talked quietly as they walked.

Suddenly, he caught sight of his aunt and grandfather between the breaks in the crowd. He slowed his step to drop behind Alfred and then positioned the other man between himself and his aunt. He cringed as she suddenly started to smile and wave. He tried to pretend he didn't see her as he ducked his head downward squeezing in a little closer to Alfred, fearing it was too late. Luckily, she had only been waving back to another highlander who now walked over to the side where she was standing to chat with her. She missed Roderich and Alfred as they passed by her distracted by the young child hanging off the other woman's arm as she chatted away.

He relaxed as they moved away renewing the space between himself and Alfred. He could see the look the other man gave him. The look explicitly said he had some 'splainin' to do.

He sighed as they moved on. "My great aunt. She's a councilwoman and kind of a busybody. I thought it unkind to subject you to her company." 'Or myself', he mumbled under his breath. He paused fidgeting nervously with the pendant around his neck. "Well that and she might have gotten the wrong impression about you."

[Alfred Jones]

Hearing about Roderichs time spent in the library made Alfred smile, because that was similar to how he felt when he stumbled on not just a music piece, but also a picture, a piece of history...Well, anything from the past really. It was a strange feeling, but at the same time his cheeks flushed a little, happy that he wasn't the only person on this island to feel that way about something that many people had forgotten of.

A brow arched off at the others speech, but he nodded with another small smile. "Yeah, that's true...But..I dunno, I really do like music is all. It'd be nice to be able to entertain myself with it...Or something like that anyway." He laughed before standing to exit.

When Roderich had them stop, the blonde watched him curiously before noting what he was going to do, and smiling, accepting the small candle. Once fixated, he stared at the glowing delicate thing, a small moment of nostalgia passing through him. Only wiping his eye for a moment then as he recalled the last time he'd done this, he then nodded as he kept up with the brunette.

When the other man suddenly slunk behind him a bit, he cocked his head before a brow arched, and then he noticed the woman he seemed to be hiding from waving...At someone else. The brow arched further, and then his gaze set on Roderich as soon as they were out of the danger zone, more curious now. What she what he had been worried about?...

"Ahhh...I see." Laughing a bit, the other lightly patted him on the back before he shrugged. "I can't stop people from having an impression about me, I'm homeless...Thanks though. I don't really have an issue with highlanders, but um...People in power or with authority just kind of...Shall we say, rub me the wrong way?" Well at least that cleared up the misconception previously of Alfred having problems with people based on where they lived.

[Roderich Edelstein]

"Ah . . .well . . . that wasn't exactly the impression I meant-uh, never mind." He waved the random thought away and continued. "That just caught me off-guard; I never guessed you might confirm a possible impression some might have to be true. Well in any case, I'm glad you don't mind us Highlanders, it's never honestly mattered to me where someone lives, but then I guess that might have to do with where I live."

He shrugged, "People's next question after I say where I live is to ask, 'is that Highland or Lowland?' They don't want to hear 'neither really'. You've got to be associated with one group or another or you're looked down on as an oddity, especially to people in authority." He cast a look over to Alfred. "I assume you're rather familiar with that point of view."

He nodded in understanding as he listened to Alfred's response. He was only half listening as he decided how to address the homeless issue.

[Alfred Jones]

The other mans faint stuttering made the blonde just grin faintly and he shrugged, closing an eye. "Well I don't really like lyin' anyway..." The statement of course made him cock his head a little as well though, curious about what he meant by that. As the question was answered, Alfred slowly nodded and then smiled at him. "Where, on our small little world, do you live at then?"

"Hah! Tell me about it. It's pretty amusing sometime's, but I prefer just avoiding them altogether for uh...Other reasons as well." Shrugging a shoulder, the young man then perked up as he looked towards the street. "Shouldn't be too much longer before the lanterns are let go, right?" He asked, cocking his head and of course smiling in faint amusement as he saw some parents carrying their young daughter, who was obviously out for the night, drooping over her father while the mother carried the lanterns.

[Roderich Edelstein]

[Yay to inner monologue (whether you wanted it or not)! :) And yes, Roderich can be rather blunt at times. But blame Alfred for opening that can of worms. Anyhow, do you think we should just go on to the final lighting and lift-off of the lanterns or wait for Arthur to make a post?]


"Well-the address is on the business card that my father gave you. The clinic is actually attached to the house. It's the first stop the train between cities makes out of the Lowlands or the second from the Hghlands. Harbor stop is first. So yah, it's got a lovely view of the sea. It's to be expected when it's built into a cliff."

He paused debating a moment on how to continue. Which at this time meant he still needed to decide why the young man chose to suddenly tell him he was homeless. Was he truly simply being honest and laying all his cards out on the table in a 'Look, you can trust me.' sort of manner or was he needing a place to stay? And if it was the former, then why, what was the motive?

However, Alfred had also said that he had an issue with authority figures, i.e. policeman perhaps. Roderich wondered initially if Alfred was a criminal on the run, but then he figured most criminals wouldn't have been so helpful. He had had the opportunity to take advantage of the situation when Roderich had stumbled into that alley. He hadn't and had chosen to be friendly and helpful instead. Whatever he had done in the past didn't matter at this time; he seemed overall to be a decent person. So that decided, Roderich chose to assume the best of the younger man, for the moment, rather than the worst.

He quickly changed topics and asked, "So is it by fate or design?"

When Alfred looked a little confused, Roderich quickly amended with, "The reason you currently don't have a permanent address? Are you cursed with a bit of wanderlust, someone down on your luck and needing a place to bunk down for a night or two, or a sailor whose home is out on the sea? I could also guess criminal on the lam, but you don't seem the type."

He smiled good-naturedly. Roderich had already decided that his father would be disappointed if he didn't offer the young man a place to stay if in need, but he also figured the young man had his pride.

"Well, either way, if anytime you need a place to bunk down a night or two, you're welcome to come by our place. It's a bit out of the way, but we've got more than just family there with the med students and some staff that live there rather than commute. It's almost like a boarding house in some ways. You could even have a single room, but you wouldn't get to stay for free. You would be expected to pitch in and help out with chores around the place, just like everyone else."

He waited for Alfred's response as they continued to follow the meandering line of people and lights.

He shook his head, no, it wouldn't be long. He could see way up the hill to where they were headed. It was the highest point in the city. He knew there would already be a stand set up; for the politicians, in their black and blue garb, and the Child Herald, a young girl that had lead the parade this year in her gold and white outfit, so that all could see when the first lantern was set aloft. The crowd up ahead had started to pool together around it waiting for the rest of the cities' people to catch up and fill in before the final part of the Lantern ceremony would begin.

Closer to them though was another young girl asleep on her father's shoulder. It brought him a warm fuzzy feeling inside to see the loving familial scene up ahead as the mother leaned over to give the sleeping girl a gentle kiss on her forehead.

[Solus]

As the night drew on the crowd grew and swelled. The parade passed through the Lowlands, across No Man’s Land, though the highlands, and then followed the river path, higher and higher up. The moon passed as they did, tracking the time as the night passed. People joined the crowd, carrying their own lanterns, as it passed their homes. As the night drew on the girl leading the parade grew tired, and as they came out of the Highlands she was picked up by her mother, cradled close, as one of the politicians took her lantern for now.

Finally, the parade reached the Hall on the peak of the island. The doors were open, though the crowd was guided through the main halls only, the entrances to any other rooms being blocked off by guards. Those at the front of the parade headed out, into the gardens, and the little girl and her escort was carried up to a platform in the centre of the gardens. For about half an hour, men, women and children continues to stream into the gardens, filling it, encircling the little wooden platform, before the tide began to slow. The stragglers were still arriving, but in front of them a lighter blue was starting to tinge the horizon. Dawn was approaching.

The girl was set down, and her lantern was lit for a second time. Once it was removed from it’s holder, she eagerly reached for it, and glanced backwards at her mother, who nodded.

A moment later, to the sound of the crowd swelling at her feet, a single lantern floated to the sky. A moment later, the politicians followed with their own, launching them up into the star studied sky. And slowly, a song began. A song that had been written a hundred years ago when the ceremony had first been performed to celebrate the completion of the final windmill. A song of remembrance, and sorrow, but also of praise and thanks for the land that had remained, here, on this one island, in the turbulent sea.

[Ludwig Beilschmidt]

He nodded his head as the boy beamed up at him.

"You make good company too!"

He smiled at the complement replying back,

"Thank you Raivis."

The two walked in silence as they continue on the path by the river. It was beautiful and it reminded Ludwig of a story of two lovers parted by river. Raivis brought him back from his thoughts.

"Ah oh Um...Well I'm a student at the University study Engineering.
I tutor part-time for any students. Um for hobbies I love to read. I'm working on a book call "The Last Continent" and I like music." He didn't add the fact he's learning how to play an instrument. Roderich wouldn't let it down if he found out. He still isn't that good at it.
"I take care of 3 dogs too." Ludwig thought Raivis would like the dogs. They would love the boy.

[Raivis Galante]

Raivis' eyes lit up when he heard that Ludwig was writing a book. He'd always wanted to know an author. He became a little uneasy when the dogs were bought up. Raivis didn't really have much luck with animals. He'd always thought he would be one of those people who had trouble socializing with people only to become friends with animals who understood him and listen to him better than any human would. Turns out that animals didn't like him much either though.

Choosing to skip past instead he chose to focus on the books.
"I love reading too! I'm not much of a writer though, it just ends up sounding weird," he laughed sheepishly. "So what's your book about?" he asked eagerly.

As they walked together they soon came to the gardens. Staring off into the distance Raivis could just about see the faint light of dawn. His heart sank just a little. He finally felt like he was connecting with someone and soon he'd find himself back in his room alone. Looking around the crowds of people he couldn't help but wonder if his parents were anywhere near.