Ludwig stepped out onto the balcony. It had been a while since he'd seen so much green.

The village below was filled with quaint houses and a winding road, trees claiming  the extra space between the man-made structures. Beyond the village sat hills as far as the eyes could see. Closest, there were trees and greenery dotted here and there, but beyond, the true forest began, the tips of the trees coated with a light fog. The trees split in the middle, creating an emerald path. From where Ludwig stood, he could not see where it ended, if it did. He wondered what it would be like to stand in the liminal space. 

He took a deep breath of the cool, crisp mountain air. He couldn't help but grin upon exhaling.

He was startled by the sudden flash of a camera. 

"It sure is pretty, isn't it?" Lili sighed. 

Before Ludwig could answer, Roy said, "It is. I'm surprised we didn't hafta break the bank for this view." 

"That's likely because it's underappreciated. People would pay big bucks to have a view of The Schluchsee, though." 

Roy clapped his hands together. "So, what're we gonna do today?"

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going on a hike. I can't remember the last time I've been in a real forest. " Ludwig said as he walked back inside the room to get dressed.

"Well, then I'm coming, too!" Lili insisted. Ludwig sighed deeply. 

"What?" She exclaimed defensively, "The buddy system is important. Everyone should stick together." 

"Oh, really?" He replied, turning to look at her with a sly smirk, "Where was that 'stick together" attitude when you left me at the club the other night?"

"Okay, guys, let's quit while we're ahead," Roy floated in, "I, for one, think Lili's right. It's always the people who go off by themselves that are the first'ta die in the horror movies." 

"Look, I appreciate the sentiment," Ludwig replied sarcastically, "but hiking in a forest is not the same thing as wandering around a concrete jungle I never wanted to be in in the first place. I would be in my element. I wouldn't get lost, everyone else would be the ones being a hindrance." 

"Ludwig, just the other day you were telling me that not all forests are the same. You've never been in this one, so you could get lost." Lili pointed out.

Ludwig went silent, not wanting to admit his error. 

"Fine. You can come, if you must intrude." He relented. 

Lili was glad he didn't put up much of a fight. Ever since that night at the club, he'd been acting so distant and strange. There was definitely something going on with him, but he wouldn't tell her. Roy felt it too, but he was too plagued with guilt to say anything. After all, it had been his idea all along to leave his brother behind. Though, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to leave if Lili was a responsible drinker, but Roy was sure neither party wanted to hear about that. Lili thought that maybe Ludwig would be more willing to talk about what happened if he were in a setting he perceived as calm and safe.

"Are you going to hop on the bandwagon too?" Ludwig asked. 

"Nah, I'll stay an' babysit Beethoven an' the twins instead." Roy declined. He hoped his absence would give the two the chance to spend some quality time together and hopefully reconcile their decaying bridge of a relationship. 

The two hoisted on their backpacks--filled to the brim with everything they thought they'd need for a hike--onto their backs. 

"Where are we even going?" Lili asked. 

Ludwig pointed to the large clearing between the trees on the hill. "I'm going to see what's over there." 

"But that looks so far away!" Lili whined.

Ludwig quickly shushed her. "If you must intrude, you must stay silent." 

She sighed heavily, blowing a lock of brown hair out of her face, but she complied. 

They ventured to the "tree crack" (as Lili mentally referred to it). There was nothing there except empty space and a cell tower, providing spotty wifi to the village. The trees converged at the end of the space, and that was it. 

"Well, that trip was a bust." Lili said. 

Ludwig silently stared into the trees. 

"Maybe we should turn back and find an official path--" 

Ludwig ignored her and walked into the dense foliage anyway. Lili groaned but followed him. 

The ground was covered with thick, green vegetation. She stepped tentatively, wondering if there were any snakes in this forest. There were trees densely packed around them, and she wondered where the heck Ludwig was going. Was this place familiar to him? Was he following his nose? If he was, what was he following? 

They ventured upward, stone staircases in the moss-covered rock faces assisting their ascent. At one point, Lili almost slipped on the smooth stone, but Ludwig was there and he held her steady. They walked on quietly, as if being quiet in dense forests were a rule. Lili was pretty sure it wasn't, but she still felt like she should be. She was but a humble visitor to the creatures who lived there, and it was best not to disturb them.

Eventually, they reached the apex of the hill. Ludwig stared off the ledge at the field of flowers below. 

"So…what now?" Lili asked as Ludwig began slipping his backpack off. He pushed it off the ledge and watched it roll down the hill. Ludwig then rolled down after it. 

"Well, that's one way to get down…." She mumbled to herself before rolling down after him. She screamed and laughed as she picked up speed. She crashed into the field of flowers, bumping into Ludwig's legs and knocking him back over again. He laughed as he sat back up, his chest barely visible over the sea of golden flowers. They were such a beautiful, vibrant yellow, an interesting contrast to the greens and browns of the rest of the forests. 

"What kinds of flowers are these?" Lili questioned. 

"I…don't know." Ludwig admitted as he took one of the buds and crushed it in his calloused hand. 

He glanced at her and told her not to move. 

She froze. "What? What is it?" She whispered through her teeth. 

"There's a butterfly...on your head." Ludwig whispered, his eyes locked on its black eye spots "Maybe it thinks your brown hair is some sort of tree." 

Lili giggled, scaring the butterfly away.

Ludwig watched it flutter away, moving on to somewhere new. "I can't remember the last time I've seen a butterfly…" 

He stood. "We should get going." 

"Maybe we should turn back and get some lunch?" Lili suggested, climbing to her feet. 

"We don't need to go all the way back to town for lunch. I have a plan!" 

"A plan?" Lili repeated, somewhat frightened.

"We're goin' fishin'!" He replied as he returned his backpack to his back. 

"But we don't have any fishing gear."

"I don't need it. When I used to live in the forest, I didn't use any man-made devices to catch food. Well, if anything I used a knife." 

"It's been years since then, Ludwig. You may not want to admit it, but you're old. I used to play almost every sport imaginable when I was a kid, but if you asked me to perform a back handspring….I wouldn't be able to do it." She said. 

"That may be true…for you. But you are not I." He replied. He wanted to add that hunting was second nature for him, but he didn't want to sound vicious. Matthias wasn't vicious. 

They trudged out of the meadow and onto a hiking path nearby. Ludwig followed it, hoping it would lead them by a creek or stream bountiful with fish. When he'd lived in the forest full time, he would just remember where the bodies of water were, or he would track bears and allow them to lead him to a salmon treasure trove. But he could not risk running into the bear, not with Lili. 

She followed him faithfully, believing that if anyone knew where they were going, he would. He was a lot less jumpy than he'd been elsewhere or at home. But she guessed that made sense; he was in his element, in his happy place. 

"Are there any wolves in this forest?" She asked. 

"Probably….I hope so. That would mean they were increasing in number, after years of being over hunted." 

"What would you do if you saw one?" 

Ludwig shrugged. "I don't know. Everything depends on the context of the situation, Lilium. That's like asking what I would do if I saw a stranger."

"Well, what if it was a baby wolf, all alone?" 

"I would leave it that way. Just because the pup is on its own doesn't necessarily mean it was abandoned. Its mother or father or some other wolf would likely return soon enough."

"What if it was hungry and begging for food?" She plowed on. 

"I would ignore it. Feeding it would only do it more harm than good in the long run."

"Whaddya mean?" Lili asked as pushed some green foliage out of her path. 

"If I feed the wolf, it will come to expect food from humans, or humanoids, I should say. He would learn to trust them. Then he may stroll up to another pair of hikers who pass through. Only those hikers may be scared of wolves. They may kill it. Or, on the other hand, some bad people may capture it and take it away from its mama. I wouldn't want to do that to the little guy." He elaborated. 

"I guess you have a point…I was really looking forward to petting a baby wolf--"

"THERE!" Ludwig shouted before disappearing through the trees. Lili sighed and ran after him. 

She probably wouldn't have caught up to him quickly enough if he hadn't had to stop to climb over fallen tree trunks, covered in blankets of green moss. He finally stopped at the rocky bank of a creek.

"Success!" Ludwig screamed softly, pumping his fists in the air. 

"What…the hell…was the point…of that?" Lili panted, "The path showed the creek is just up ahead…anyway." 

"I know, but I wanted a spot that would grant us a little privacy~" 

"For…what?" If her cheeks hadn't already been rosy from all the exercise, Ludwig might've noticed her blushing. 

Ludwig didn't respond. Or perhaps he did, by pulling his T-shirt over his head. 

Kooky! Ludwig exclaimed, How dare you carelessly expose yourself in front of a lady! Have you no shame? 

Relax! Lili doesn't mind, she already has a boyfriend. You're the only one making it weird.

Ludwig wondered why Kooky thought Lili's relationship status related to anything , but he believed trying to discuss logic would be futile with someone who clearly had none. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Lili shouted. 

Oh, well I guess she does mind, Kooky thought. 

Well, I did tell you so--

Oh, shut up! Kooky interrupted, It's too late now, we already look like an idiot. 

"I don't want my shirt to get wet while I fish, so I took it off. Besides, I didn't have shirts to wear when I lived in the wild, this just makes it more authentic!" He explained. 

"Um, okay…" Lili accepted, but avoided looking in his direction. 

Goosebumps rose on his skin when he dipped his toes in the cold water. He buried them in the cool silt, wiggling them and displacing the sediment. It floated away, adventuring towards a new bank. Ludwig wondered where it would end up. Some river in The Waffle Kingdom? Maybe even the Rhine? Or maybe even the ocean?

"Ludwig, what are you doing? Those fish aren't gonna catch themselves!" Lili called from a comfortable spot on the shore. She would admit that this method was truly unconventional, but she couldn't really complain if he was doing all the work. She kinda wished he would put his shirt back on though....but he had filled out a bit lately from all the exercise, so she didn't have much of anything to complain about. 

He crouched down and stuck his arm in the creek, the cold water lapping at his freckled bicep. He held it there for sometime, and with each growl of her belly Lili grew impatient. She marched over, dead leaves crunching underneath her boots. 

"What are you doing now--" 

Ludwig put his free hand up and shushed her softly. Lili leaned forward from where her boots remained planted in the ground, trying to see what was so important that he couldn't even spare her a glance.

He was wiggling his finger in the water as a rainbow trout tentatively approached it. Once the fish got close enough, Ludwig hooked his finger underneath the gills of the poor creature. He extended his claw to ensure a firm hold. He grabbed the fish's body with his free hand and brought it into the dry air, where it thrashed and fought, blood trickling down from the prick Ludwig had made in its throat.

He set the fish down on the wooden board he'd brought and repeated the procedure at a different spot in the creek while his hand was still at the right temperature. He set the two fish side by side.

"Voilà! Lunch is served!" He exclaimed with a flare of wet jazz hands. 

Lili slow-clapped for him, unexpectedly impressed. She took a quick photo to send to Matthias later and Ludwig was silently flattered that Lili thought such an act was worth sending a photo to Matthias so he could feel inadequate. 

"So…how are you going to cook them?" Lili inquired as he picked up the fish and inspected it.

"Cook it?" He repeated in disbelief. 

He then sank his fangs into the fish's flesh and began sucking its blood voraciously. All Lili could really do was watch, though as Ludwig gouged out the gleaming eyes of his prey and devoured them, she felt as if she was witnessing something she wasn't supposed to. He wolfed down the skin and bloody organs. By the time he'd finished, nothing was left--not even the bones. Nothing but the blood on his hands. Her stomach had churned as she watched him unapologetically eat the fish raw,  and she guessed his immune system was the cream of the crop. It had to be, she guessed, if he was to live for over 200 years, feasting on blood and raw meat (one of the nastiest, most-disease infested substances L could think of). He must've had immunity to all kinds of bloodborne diseases. He never seemed to get sick, and he was in good health. She wondered if perhaps, instead of using his saliva as an anticoagulant, his special blood could've been put to use for experimentation for a potential cure to various blood-related diseases. 

"What's the matter? You're not planning on letting me have all the fun, are you?" He asked as he licked the blood off of his fingers. 

She looked at the remaining fish. "I prefer to eat my fish…cooked. I hope you weren't expecting me to eat it raw." 

"You aren't?" He asked, an eyebrow raised, "Well, more for me then!" 

"Ludwig!" She exclaimed. 

He laughed. "I was only joking. Of course I brought materials to cook with." 

He rummaged around in his pack and pulled out a small, circular silver box. He removed the clasped ribbon that held it closed and it transformed into a tiny cooking set. He unscrewed the top of a tiny gold canister and placed it inside the hole of what looked somewhat like an overturned colander with an opening in the bottom. 

"What is that?" Lili asked, pointing to the clear liquid in the canister. 

"Alcohol….and no, you can't drink it." He smiled, and Lili rolled her eyes.

He inhaled slightly and blew on the liquid, a small blue flame emerging from his lips. It didn't look to Lili as if anything had happened, but as soon as Ludwig finished waving his hand over it, the flame appeared. He placed another pot on top of the overturned one, lining up the holes in the bottoms so the flame could shine through. He then placed a small pan on top of the pot. He poured some oil in the pan, before removing a knife from his bag. 

He sliced through the fish's neck. When he felt the knife was deep enough, he moved it to the left, slicing along the fish's body. He flipped over the trout and did the same thing on the other side. In the end, he came up with two, nice,pink filets. 

He cut up the filets into little chunks that would fit in the pan. He then got out a bag with a whitish powder on the inside. 

"What's that?" Lili asked again. 

"A mix of flour, salt, pepper, and…" He paused to take a quick sniff of the bag's contents, "...sweet paprika, coriander, and…a hint of garlic powder." He grimaced. 

"That sounds good!" She exclaimed.

"I hope it is, 'cause I didn't bring any other seasonings." He agreed as he dropped the trout nuggets in the bag and started shaking it up.

"So…what are you going to do now that you've quit The School gig?" Lili asked, trying to make conversation. 

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe go back to school so I can get a real job, but I rather not talk about such stressful things, not when I can appreciate the tranquility of the forest around us." 

When the nuggets were thoroughly coated, he placed them on the silver pan. They began sizzling, and the sound made Lili even hungrier than before.  

"...If life in the forest with the wolves was so amazing, why did you ever leave?" She probed. She knew he couldn't really avoid the subject now. They had nowhere to go, nowhere they had to be. 

Ludwig squinted up at the sunny sky, as if it would provide the answer to Lili's question. 

"It…wasn't truly my decision." He admitted. "Eventually, as all things do in the circle of life, Mami and Vati died. I didn't know it at the time, but they were shot…probably by hunters or frightened farmers. Everyone was…devastated, of course. And it was right before the breeding, too. I used to love the breeding season--"

"Um…?" Lili interrupted, eyeing him suspiciously. 

Ludwig laughed. "I didn't do any mating, but the mating season meant new pups, and everyone loved pups. Usually, only Mami and Vati, the alpha pair, mated together but….they were dead. Things got kind of violent, though, with everyone battling for dominance. And it was coupled with the tension that the normal breeding seasons brought. I stayed in the shadows and out of the way of the feuding, for the most part. I think I knew deep down I could never be the Alpha. One of the Alpha's biggest roles was fathering new pups and…I'm fairly sure none of the females would be very interested in me." He chuckled, rubbing his neck sheepishly. 

"As much as the wolves loved me, they all knew I was different. Anyway, with the stress of hunters in the area added in the mix, the pack was in disarray. In the end, everyone sort of...disbanded. Those who wanted to mate left together to start their own packs, other members set out to find mates from other disbanded packs, some left in larger groups. I stayed with the new alpha pair, one of my brothers and another female. I was very close to him, and I didn't really have anywhere to go. I stayed with the new pack for generations, but one day…I wondered if there was something more out there for me. Ever since the pack split, I'd begun to wonder if I truly belonged there. I mean, I would never be able to become an Alpha or start a pack of my own. I questioned if I could really call myself a wolf." He explained. 

"I remember I went on a bit of a walk away from the others, and I don't remember how long I'd been out there, but the next thing I knew, I heard gunshots and the cries of my family. It was kind of a blur after that. Lots of running, lots of panic. My judgment was clouded, I wasn't looking where I was going, and I found myself caught in a trap and…I never saw the wolves again." 

"That was in the 1920s? 1910s? I don't know, I'm not the best at keeping track of time. I went back to the forest again in the 1960s though--" 

"Wait, wait, wait back up! You can't just stop there. You have to tell me how you got out of the trap!" 

Ludwig used some tongs to move the nuggets around a bit, ensuring each one was thoroughly cooked. He then continued. 

"A woman freed me. She lived with her husband and young daughter on a farm in Hamburg. They were also a Wolf family…that is, their last name was Wolf. She was fascinated by me, I think, so she kept me around in my feral state and attempted to make me more civilized. My hunting abilities also proved satisfactory at keeping pests away from the crops. So, I stayed with them for a little while."

"A little while? They sound nice, why did you leave them? What happened?" Lili repeated. 

He didn't say anything as he removed the pan from atop the pot, and set it before Lili. "They're hot, but you can eat them with your hands." 

He found the top of the gold canister and dropped it on top of it, snuffing out the flame.

"Anyway," Ludwig continued, "Hitler happened. The woman and her family were of Jewish descent, and I was black, so none of us were really safe…." 

"Do you know what the Kindertransport is?" 

"Uh…no?" 

"Until recently, neither did I, until I did some digging. It was essentially an operation to get children out of Germany and other neighboring countries before the war started. There were mostly Jewish kids, but there were some Christians…maybe even some blacks…but I don't remember seeing any." 

"And…Hitler just let you go?" 

"Yes, we were very encouraged to leave, actually. But we weren't allowed to bring anything valuable with us, and kids often left by train in the dead of night. Our parents had to stay, though. The woman and her husband got her daughter--I can't really remember her name--and I on the transport."

"Well, that was pretty lucky. I'm surprised I've never heard about this." 

He shrugged. "It was but….her daughter didn't make it on. I mean, she made it on, but she fell out of the train. Her father pulled her out. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if instead of falling into his arms, the girl fell between the train and the platform."

"That would've been extremely horrific." Lili commented. 

Ludwig agreed, but tried not to smile. "When it happened….I thought he'd done it on purpose. I thought they had tricked me, and had secretly planned to send me away so they can live happily ever after together without me. Now that I know why we really left, I've had a change of heart." 

Lili popped one of the nuggets in her mouth. She smiled. "This is really good, though I think it might've been better if you added salt and pepper while the fish were cooking instead of putting it in the flour."

He rolled his eyes and moved to get up but Lili pulled him back down. "Wait! You have to tell me what happened after that! Where did the transport take you?" 

"Why do you want to know so badly?" 

"Well, back home, whenever I eat, I usually watch videos on my phone or watch some TV to keep me entertained. But here, the cell service is shit, so the most entertaining thing I have is you." 

"Uh….thanks?" He replied, unsure if what she said was really a compliment. 

"You're welcome. Now, go on!" 

"Um okay….the transport took us to the Fruit Kingdom--Watermelon, to be exact. And….that's all I can really remember. The last thing I remember after that is going back home after the war." 

"Why did you go back? You clearly weren't wanted in Germany in the first place."

"I had to go back, that was part of the deal. All the Kinder and their families were promised they would be able to reunite when all of this was over….of course, I'm sure you can imagine how that really went. Some children didn't have families to go back to….I was one of them. I journeyed back to the farm in Hamburg and…no one was there." He said, hanging his head. 

"Originally….I thought they had left. I thought they traveled to a beautiful new place like the Mushroom Kingdom, where they could live in happiness without me. I'll…never know for sure what really happened to them. I can't assume they went to a concentration camp, they might've got out. Now I hope they really did go to a beautiful new place, where they could be safe and happy." 

"I didn't have anywhere to go, but I wasn't the only one. Tons of Kinder were orphaned by the war. There was also an increase in occupation babies, because the Shrooms apparently didn't know how to keep their dicks in their pants. Orphanages sprung up to hold us all, and I was sent to St. Rasso Boys' Home, a Catholic orphanage somewhere in Bavaria, if I remember correctly." He said. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was rocking back and forth. 

"That's the end…" He said quietly as if he were talking to himself. 

"The end of what?!" Lili exclaimed, confused as to what he was even talking about. Obviously, that couldn't have been the end of the story. 

"Oh." He said, opening his eyes, "I meant, this is the end of the story time. I can't really remember what happened after that, it's another memory gap. I find it best not to prod at gaps, they are often present for a reason." 

"Um….okay…" Lili trailed off, still concerned. It was obvious she'd triggered him, so she decided not to prod. She focused on eating her nuggets instead. When she finished eating, Ludwig attempted to clean the pan in the creek. He considered bringing some fish home for Beethoven as a treat, but he ultimately decided against it. 

"Let's get going." He suggested, pulling his shirt back on and his pack on his back. 

They turned back around and retraced their steps until they were back on the hiking path that ran alongside the field of golden flowers.

"Ludwig?" 

"Hm?" 

"You know you can, like, tell me if things are bothering you, right? I'm, like, all ears." She reminded him awkwardly.

"Okay." He replied as if he never intended to use her advice. Sometimes Lili wondered why she even tried anymore. Still, she felt somewhat guilty. He'd wanted to come out to the forest for some relaxation, yet she'd triggered him and ruined it. She guessed that was why he insisted on going alone. Nonetheless, she wanted to make it better…somehow. 

"So….you said you returned to the forest in the 1960s? Did you just…live there all by yourself? I know you said you never saw the wolves again….that sounds really lonely." 

"Yes, I did. In fact, I think it was this very forest--The Black Forest. And I wasn't really alone, I had the alt--" He paused before he could expose himself as a system. He wasn't ready for Lili to know about his DID, and he likely never would be. Matthias didn't have DID. At least, not that he knew of.

"'The Alt'? The hell is that?" 

"What I meant was…that I had the animals of the forest to keep me company. I simply misspoke." He covered with what was--technically--the truth.

"Yes, I befriended snakes, foxes, and a spare wolf or two. Sometimes, when I caught more food than I could eat, I'd share it with another animal. I'm not sure if you could really call us friends if they only came around for food though." He laughed. Lili thought it a good sign. 

She shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, they are wild animals. The human concept of 'friendship' might just be foreign to them. I'm not really qualified to speak on this but…I think it's a good enough sign that they trusted you enough to allow you to get close enough to them. That might just be their version of friendship." 

"Yeah…I guess you might be right." He acknowledged. She smiled, flattered that he seemed to consider her opinion even if it might've been wrong.

Lili wanted to ask more questions, like if Ludwig was able to smell when she was on her period (she'd been wondering ever since she found out he was a vampire with a powerful sniffer),  but she decided not to. 

She thought that maybe she, too, should enjoy the silent tranquility of the forest around them.