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Eendracht maakt macht - L'union fait la force - Einigkeit macht stark - Strength through Unity
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Post by Belgium on Jul 9, 2014 21:36:51 GMT -6
Solitude was not something that Belgium was used to, although maybe she would eventually become accustomed to it. Though, this was something she was hoping against. The emptiness, the lack of spirit or a mere other presence was unsettling. It was lonely, wondering the dark hallways of this manor unaccompanied by anyone else, and the silence was the worst part of all of it. As a socialite, Emma had always been used to being surrounded by people and the sounds of conversation. Laughter resonating in the air was by far the most beautiful thing to ever meet one’s ear, yet already she was finding herself to forget even what that sounded like.
Belgium was alone, having had no human contact for what felt like weeks, and it was far too quiet. It was half-tempting to begin a conversation with herself, however that would have been one of the first signs of madness, and Emma refused to go down that route. No, she had to stay calm and strong. Even if all she wanted to hear was the sound of a voice…
The manor was an oppressive place. Shadows which draped the hallways certainly did not provide a comforting feel to the surroundings, and Belgium was struggling to repress her nerves. She hated the dark – the lack of knowledge of what lurked within it was enough to cause shivers to run down her spine as she stood alone in the semi-blackness. No wonder America had chosen this place to house the Halloween party; it certainly seemed like a house straight out of a movie. The perfect place for a test of courage.
Unfortunately, Emma was not feeling very courageous at the moment. Her time spent wondering lost through this maze-like manor was leaving her completely… uneasy. She couldn't exactly say what it was, but there was a strange presence in this place…
Like something was watching her. Following her. But that couldn't be. Belgium was alone. She knew that for a fact.
So why couldn't she shake the feeling that, in fact, she wasn't in complete solitude. That she was not alone.
Another cold shiver ran down her spine, causing the blonde woman to physically shudder nervously. Her olive green eyes darted around the area she had found herself in; at the bottom of the most elaborate staircase she had ever seen. And even though she was the only person here, Belgium did not feel like she was alone.
“Hello?” she eventually called out softly into the darkness, her eyes slightly widened and skin growing paler which each passing breath. A sigh escaped her, releasing a cloud of condensation from her lips. When did it get so cold? This felt entirely unnatural. “Is anybody here?”
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Jetzt ist es kalt in Berlin.
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Post by Germany on Jul 18, 2014 16:28:55 GMT -6
Hello?
Ludwig jerked awake, disoriented, certain that he’d heard the voice of a woman. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced up and down the dim hallway that stretched out parallel to his hiding place. Nothing. Empty. Biting back a groan, the man rested his forehead in his hands. Auditory hallucinations. Whispers in the dark.
A cramp had appeared in one of his legs and he stretched it out from the narrow alcove he’d been sleeping in. Exhaustion had finally reared its ugly head and he’d been forced to rest, but even though many of the rooms had beds, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to occupy them. They seemed owned. It hadn’t been right. And honestly, he felt safer wedged into this angular hollow of plaster half-concealed behind a cabinet than he would have in any bed.
How long had he slept? Ludwig had no idea. He felt like he could easily sleep a few hours more, but what was the point? When he opened his eyes, he’d still be here.
”Is anybody here?”
Cold blue eyes snapped wide, focused on the end of the hallway that met a massive hall housing an ornate staircase. Belgien. She had been invited to the party, hadn’t she? He couldn’t remember. Uncurling himself from the alcove and stretching out until he felt a little more awake, Ludwig approached the juncture of the hallway warily, organizing his thoughts along the way. America invited you to a party that went terribly wrong - check. You met Prussia and Italy and lost them again - check. There were ghosts —
Ludwig grit his teeth. The last time he’d genuinely believed in such a thing existing, he’d been a child, and the fact that ghosts were apparently real had become a frustrating knot in his mind. But the alternative was that he’d been hallucinating, and he had more faith in himself. Then again, he also had fuzzy memories of other impossible events...
On the bright side, his indignation at the concept of ghosts woke him up a little more, and he shook off the last cloudy thoughts of sleep, slipping comfortably back into his own skin.
Belgium stood, half-obscured by the shadows, in front of the hulking width of the staircase. Peering around the corner, Ludwig hesitated, resisting the temptation to hurry towards a familiar figure. His history with the other nation was not a long one, but the majority of it had been irredeemably stained with blood. She was probably looking for her brother or one of her closer friends; instead, she got him. In this kind of place, he could only hope that she hadn’t yet lost her sense of reason. If that failed, he had his gun… his nearly useless and empty gun.
”Emma? Are you alright?” he called, stepping out of the hallway towards her.
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Fresh Meat
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Eendracht maakt macht - L'union fait la force - Einigkeit macht stark - Strength through Unity
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Post by Belgium on Sept 15, 2014 13:11:20 GMT -6
”Emma? Are you alright?”
She froze at the voice, olive green eyes going wide in shock. Breath caught in her throat, body tense and rigid, heartbeat pounding in her ears. Belgium knew, she should have been relieved to hear a familiar voice, but in the dark your mind plays tricks on you. Former fears bubble inside and resurface, even though the past is in the past. People move on - she had moved on, yet for some reason, the feeling was now returning after all this time. Maybe it had always been there, only lingering in the back of her mind, covered in dust and cobwebs along with any other unimportant thoughts and past memories which were safely tucked away. Yet now, the atmosphere and everything which had happened was piling up and making her more on edge. So... that voice was not as comforting as it should have been to her.
Duitsland.
Breath in, breath out. After steadying her breathing, calming down her racing pulse, slowly the Belgian woman turned around just in time to see Ludwig emerging from the shadows. It was slightly unsettling how he had just appeared out of nowhere, yet Belgium was conflicted. Despite any former tensions and issues, it was better to see a familiar face. Granted, maybe she would have preferred to have met someone else in the dark... But she shouldn't really complain. At least there was someone. It was better than solitude, that was for certain.
Emma swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and quickly forced a nervous, small smile onto her face. Hopefully Germany would not have seen how her knuckles were now turning white as she gripped her pistol crossbow even tighter than before. Her eyes were probably still wide, face pale, yet the smile was there all the same. It just didn't quite her usually stunning green irises at that moment.
"Ludwig... H-hallo," Belgium couldn't help but internally cringe at how awkwardly his name had come out. No, she should at least try and push her nerves behind her. It was just the manor messing with her head, after all. For years now, she and Germany had been getting along well. Their cooperation on EU matters and love for beer had secured that fact. It was just the manor and the darkness.... "I am fine, merci."
Her eyes momentarily darted to her feet as she shuffled them awkwardly, before quickly returning her gaze and locking it with his sapphire blue eyes. His stare was piercing, intimidating. Really, Belgium should have been used to it by now. She would have said she was, yet in the dark his eyes seemed to glow.
"Und du?" Out of politeness, she switched to German when addressing the male nation. "Are you alright? And... are you alone?"
There was a small spark of hope in her chest that made Belgium want to believe that Germany had some company with him. Maybe even her broer. After all, it would probably be best to to stay in a group in this situation, and there had been many nations invited to the party in the first place. Hopefully, if there was a bigger group of them all together, they could all get out together. That would be the ideal situation.
If not? She would have to stick with Germany for a while. The two were known to work well together. Maybe they could put their heads together and come up with some sort of solution. She could only hope.
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Post by Germany on Nov 14, 2014 21:29:52 GMT -6
Even in the half-light, he could see that he’d startled the other nation: Belgium froze upon hearing his voice and it took her a moment to gather herself and turn to face him. Her face looked pale but she did manage a weak smile — nothing that could compare to the usual cheerful expression Ludwig had seen on her face at conferences, more like a shadow of that, but it was a smile nonetheless. He guessed that the atmosphere of the manor had been weighing her down — that, along with the solitude. For some reason, it remained impossible to feel safe in this place, even with other people at your side. ”Hallo,” he greeted in return as he joined her in the dark hallway, noticing the slight tremor in her voice. Although she professed to be fine, Ludwig easily noticed that she’d channeled England’s or America’s habit of polite small-talk, wherein ‘I’m fine’ could mean a variety of different things as it wasn’t polite to openly admit to the true condition of your mental state in conversation. But he couldn’t press her on that. She looked nervous enough without having someone trying to convince her to speak genuinely, and despite the recent peaceful decades that had passed, Belgium still might harbor some old distrust for him. Still, Ludwig could at least try to give her a reason to be more honest. ”I’ve been better,” he readily admitted. ”I don’t like this place.” A solemn frown crossed Ludwig’s face in response to her further question, and he gave a quick nod. ”I ran into Gilbert once and Feliciano another time and—“ Hm. Maybe he shouldn’t tell her about the ghost. Coming from him, who up until recently had never put much stock in such childish things, a story like would seem like the hallmark of an unstable mind. ”And a few others,” Ludwig finished, ”but I keep losing them again. Well, I mean… I don’t think it’s my fault, honestly, but it is absurdly easy to lose your way in this place.” He gave a short sigh, disappointed that he hadn’t had the foresight to pack rope or two-way radios or something. Realizing he’d been rambling in his gratitude that he’d finally run into another familiar face, Ludwig cleared his throat a little awkwardly and scanned his surroundings. The vast hall lay empty and draped with shadows, and the staircase sprawled out and upwards in a way that drew Ludwig’s eyes uncomfortably along. Feeling the hairs rising on the back of his neck, Ludwig mentally shook himself. He disliked this room and its hollow atmosphere, and Belgium certainly didn’t look happy to be there either, so it was time to convince her to move on. ”I think… if it’s alright with you, of course, that we should try to stick together,” he suggested, ”but I also think we shouldn’t stay in one place too long. The more we keep moving, the likelier our chances of running into someone else, yes?” He shook his head, ”Normally I’d advise staying in one place, but…” Ludwig gestured to the staircase, ”Do you think anyone else would stay put in this kind of house?”
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