Matthew....Wake....Up.....Please....

My eyes flew open as I sat up abruptly. My head impacted my something hard, and I painfully fell back to laying down. 

I saw an unfamiliar face leaning over me, surrounded by other people. The face belonged to a boy no older than 19, and he had a bright, cheerful expression on his tanned face.

"Fratello! He's awake! Come over here Lovi!"

As I groaned and sat up, I saw that I was on a woven mat on a wooden floor. About 7 or 8 people were around me, and all but 1 was male. I recognized everyone but the cheerful one.

"Who're you?" I managed to splutter out.

"Oh? Me? I'm Feliciano Vargas. But you can call me Feli! And this is mi fratello Lovino!"

Feli pulled a disgruntled looking Lovino out from the corner. I recognized him. He was the one who'd cried in front of me, begging for me to save his brother. I'd tried, and the last thing I remember is a flash of light.

Did this mean that it worked?

I looked at Arthur, and asked. 

"It seems so, but there's something different about Feli. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything ever since he woke up, which should be alarming."

"But..." I trailed.

"But, Feliciano has been chipper and active the entire 4 days he's been awake. Usually he needs 3 meals a day to keep him happy. Did your magic do anything to him?"

I was confused. Had my magic accidentally made Feli different? I was going to continue thinking, but Lovino interrupted my train of thought. 

"Hey. Bastard. I just wanna thank you for saving Feli. He's the last family I have, since my other brother, Sebastian Vargas, was listed as MIA in the war. Feli was everything that kept me alive. Thank you."

I didn't know why, but I hugged Lovino. My heart didn't know about family, but I definitely felt like Lovino needed someone to cry on.

Cry on me he did. Lovino embraced me, and sobbed. Antonio, Carlos, and Mariana all wrapped their arms around me and cried. Arthur later told me that those 5 were like an adopted family. They used to have more family members, but all the rest either died or were MIA in the war. They'd all been through a lot. 

Once the crying stopped, Jett suggested that I get a tour of the Islands, and everyone agreed. The thing was, the one's to give the tour were Jett, Peter, and Feli. Oof. I prepared myself for a lackluster commentary and explanation of everything, but boy was I wrong.

Turned out Peter was the most knowledgeable about the islands themselves, Jett about activities each island specialized in, and Feli about each island's cultures. I enjoyed the tour thoroughly, and when it was over, the sun had set. 

I climbed with the boys up to the main building from before, where a feast of multiple types of meats, sides, and desserts lay on the dining table. Antonio offered a toast, and afterwards, everyone but Feli ate to their heart's content.

We all went to the male bachelor's tent(except for Peter and Mariana. They went to the young boy's tent and female bachelorette's tent) and fell asleep in the comfortable woven hammocks that were hung at strange yet efficient angles. I stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything he'd experienced in the past days. I even tried to sleep, but found I couldn't. I walked out of the tent and strolled down to the beach, where ink-black waves rolled on the dark shore, only light from the waning crescent illuminating the beach. I plopped down on the sand, watching the waves and listening to the sounds of nature. After staring at the water for a considerable amount of time, I got up, fulfilling the urge I'd felt ever since I'd seen the waves.

I stepped into the warm water, and instantly I felt more energetic than I had from sleeping. I waded into the water further, until it reached my knees. My clothes were soaked, but I didn't care. 

A pounding feeling came from my wrist, engulfing my hand. I flicked it, and instantly, water gathered from around my legs and flew in the direction I'd flicked my wrist in. That was good, great even. This confirmed something I'd been thinking about ever since I'd awoken.

I moved into a grounded stance, and shifted my weight carefully. Using complex arm movements, I twirled through the water, riding it almost, and controlled small jets that wove through the air like eels. I concentrated harder, and the water beneath me picked me up. I myself surfed through the endless pool of ink, and I felt as if I had become water myself.

I knew at that moment who I was. Where I came from, my religion, everything. It was all as clear as crystal. I waded back out of the water, and sat on the beach, this time watching the mainland. I studied one of the smaller islands off to the side, and it all clicked. I needed to go back to where I first woke up. Loayip Island. I now knew why they called it Loayip, and I chuckled. The others would be in for quite a surprise tomorrow.