Welcome to Wonderland

Chapter Thirteen

~ Feliciano ~

I whined turning my head up to grey sky, "I don't wanna walk anymore!"

"We have to," Roland says with just as much annoyance, "We don't have any other transport."

I whine again, "How much further?"

"God, you're being such a baby." Allen groans.

We had been walking all day. Trudging through the woods, and through grey patches of weirdly tall plants. My feet were starting to hurt, but everyone insisted that we had to keep moving.

Something about this being red territory. I don't know what they mean, everything is grey here, there's no red.

I whine again, watching my feet as they continued through the crunchy grass.

"Feliciano, wait for a minute." Otto says from behind me. I stop and turn to look at him with a tired face. I saw the smile his lips made, and the playful hint in his blue eyes, and I was swept off my feet, quite literally.

I gave a surprised yelp as Otto pulled me into his back, wrapping his arms under my thighs to support my weight. My hands went around his neck, and he laughed at me.

"What are you doing?" I ask in panic, clinging to him as if he were life line.

"You said you didn't want to walk, didn't you?" He readjusts my legs on his hips, and starts walking.

"Si, but I was think more of a break than being carried."

He smiled at me over his shoulder, "We can't stop."

I sigh, and rest against him. My chest pressed to his back, and my arms wrapped around his shoulders. My head rested against his, and I could catch the faint scent if him.
It was just like I remember.

I smiled, and hummed in delight, and he chuckled.

If you had told me last week that I would be holding my long lost love like this again, I would have laughed. Maybe cried too. It's weird to think that in such a short time, everything felt like it was when I was a child.

"Hey, Otto?" A say softly, so no one else good hear it.

He hums, and speaks at the same volume, "Yes?"

"Did... Did you miss me?" The words were hesitated. It seemed like a stupid thing to ask.

"Of course I missed you," he says, "I missed you every second of every day."

"Why didn't you come visit, or send a letter?"

He sighs, "Because, Feli... This was the only place I could survive. I could leave."

"But you left to get me."

"Because I had too... I wasn't out long."

Then the conversation fell silent. Just the sound of footsteps, and the ominous sounds that echoed around us.

"Hey, Otto?"

"Yes."

"I missed you too."

I could feel his smile as I said that, and I tightened my arms around him to mimick a hug.

After another hour of walking we arrived at a wall of mushrooms. Otto set me down on my feet, and I stayed by his side. The mushrooms were an ashy tan color, with dark red tops. They looked nearly impossible to get through, most of the stalks being thicker than my waist, and taller than me by far.

Oliver walked up to them, and places his hand on one of the lower ones. The red turned into a vibrant, almost glowing blue.

I watched in awe as the mushrooms became to untwine and shrink enough to allow a walk way to get through.