hetalia | [FIC] Initiation (4/?)

Title: Initiation

Chapter: Three, First Test

Characters: Romano, Spain

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure, AU

Rating: T for violence and the dragon’s mouth

Verse inspired by this RP

Summary: Lovino is a dragon trapped in human form who was once considered the property of an evil wizard. When Captain Antonio rescues him and brings him to join his pirates, Lovino must undergo a series of tests in order to become an official member of the crew.

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3: First Test

Lovino immediately dashed off in the direction of the village. The darkness would give him good cover once he got there, but he’d still have to be careful. It wouldn’t be easy to sneak into a human home unnoticed. He’d have to choose one that was unoccupied or large enough for him to slip into without disturbing anyone.

Lovino reached the village at last and lurked in the shadows of the wealthiest neighborhood as he tried to choose a target. He could only tell these were higher class dwellings by the signs Antonio had taught him in the past- larger properties, multiple methods of transportation, and more uncomfortable clothing on the occupants. Lovino wrinkled his nose at the thought of more itchy skins and was glad that he didn’t have to wear any for this task. He was dressed all in black, reminiscent of the black scales he had once had, perfect for disappearing in to the darkness.

He finally settled on a house and peeked over the fence surrounding the yard behind it. He could smell a dog, but he was upwind of it, wherever it was. The only lights on in the house were those downstairs. He could hear at least two people talking in the room with the largest window and could smell the scent of cooked meat and vegetables even at this distance. It was their dinnertime. A perfect opportunity. Lovino took one last glance around to make sure the dog wasn’t anywhere near and climbed down from the fence as quietly as possible before making his way across the field. The voices grew louder, and the dragon crouched in the shadows, staying well away from the windows. He had to get up to the second floor somehow…

Lovino scoured the side of the building, looking for a way up. What he wouldn’t have given to be able to fly right then…but his human limbs were good for one thing- and that was climbing. It had taken a lot of practice to be about to achieve any sort of agility in this clumsy form, but Lovino had been stubborn enough to keep at it, training himself harder and harder until he had learned to control his body, starting with learning how to walk on two legs. Now his favorite places on the ship were those up high on the masts or in the crow’s nest when it was unoccupied. His sight landed on a tree when he turned around the next corner, and after hesitating a moment to make sure it was safe, Lovino bolted for the trunk and immediately began to climb. The people downstairs carried on undisturbed, enjoying their dinner while Lovino crept in through the open window on the second floor. The dragon’s eyes adjusted easily to the darkness as he glanced around the bedroom he was in, trying to determine where the valuables were most likely to be hidden. He grabbed one of the soft pillows of the large nest and pulled its skin free. Now he had something to carry things in. Lovino tried to remember what sorts of items held the most worth to humans. They sounded similar to the things his clan used to hoard in their den…Antonio mentioned gold and jewels, so at least Lovino knew what he was looking for, though it may be hard to find in this place. There was a box sitting on the dresser on the other side of the room. Lovino lifted the lid and found it filled with jewelry. Perfect. Lovino emptied the box into his pillow-skin and resumed his search. Rings, watches, small figures...If it glinted or shone, the dragon added it to his stash. As long as he brought back enough for everyone, they’d be satisfied, he hoped. But what about Antonio? These small trinkets seemed like nothing compared to what the captain already possessed. Would he be happy with just this? He’d better…

Lovino did one last sweep of the rooms on the top floor before heading back to the window near the tree. He held onto his bag of stolen goods as he jumped back into the branches and quietly crept down. The wind was picking up. It blew a new scent to Lovino just as he reached the bottom of the trunk that made the dragon suddenly freeze. Tomatoes. There was a tomato patch on the side of the house. The dragon hadn’t noticed it before, but now that he did, his mouth watered. The bastard can’t complain if I bring him back some of those, Lovino thought with a smirk. Not to mention…he still had a dozen or so to replace after last night’s kitchen raid. He crouched down low and dashed off in the direction of the scent.

Here they were. Red, juicy, tender, and well-tended. Even the dragon was impressed by the quality. He went to work grabbing them immediately, picking fruit after fruit off of the plants and depositing them on top of the gold and jewels in the sack. They smelled so good, dammit…The dragon’s stomach growled hungrily, and as soon as his sack was full, Lovino took one of the few remaining tomatoes and sunk his teeth into it. Amazing. He couldn’t help himself; he wanted more. Lovino feasted in the garden, giving little thought to the time he was taking and even less to the security until suddenly, the guard dog he had scented earlier came barreling towards him, barking loudly. Lovino froze in place, startled, but as soon as he turned in the direction of his attacker, the dog stopped, as if having second thoughts about attacking this not-so-human intruder. The dragon growled at it, golden eyes glaring, and he spat a short burst of fire before him, settling the dog’s doubts and sending it whimpering away with its tail between its legs. The dragon snorted in contempt…but the damage had been done. Lovino was blinded by a bright beam of light that shone in his face as the humans inside the house came to investigate the noise. Lovino squinted against it and heard a man’s angry voice before he was even able to see him clearly.

“Who’s out there?! Hey! You!”

Shit.

Lovino broke into a run, but something hard hit him on the back of the knees, and he stumbled forward, dropping his bag. Lovino hissed and fumbled to pick it up and grab the tomatoes that had rolled out, when suddenly, a much larger man was behind him, pinning him down. He landed a solid blow to the back of Lovino’s head, making it throb in pain as the dragon grunted against the grass.

“Dirty thief,” the stranger growled before yelling back to the other person within the house. “Stay back, dear! Go call the police!”

Lovino struggled violently, trying to get the man to release him.

“Let me go, dammit! I’ll fucking kill you!”

But the man he was stealing from wasn’t playing games. He sat himself firmly on Lovino and pulled the dragon’s arms behind his back.

“Shut up,” he growled. “The only place for trash like you is behind bars.”

Lovino went stiff. His struggle was momentarily halted as an image of a cage came back to him –cold, dark, lonely- …he’d be trapped. No, no, fuck not again, his mind begged and fear turned into rage as the dragon renewed his fighting, feeling himself growing stronger by the second. His muscles tightened. He could feel his teeth and nails growing longer, sharper. A full transformation wouldn’t do here, so he had to keep himself under control. The only thing that mattered was getting the hell out of there. Lovino was still for only a moment longer before he suddenly turned and rolled, using his new strength to knock his attacker off him. The man shouted in surprise and fell down onto the grass next to Lovino. The dragon reached for his bag and prepared to run, but the human grabbed a hold of his ankle and effectively brought him back down. Lovino swore and kicked at the man, but it was no good- the bastard had a hold of both of his legs by now. Lovino turned his head.

It wasn’t a good idea. He didn’t want to resort to it, but it seemed he was out of options. He usually avoided doing this in front of strange humans, but he felt as if he had no choice. Sitting up, the dragon opened his mouth and without warning, sent a stream of fire at this assailant. He didn’t care how badly he had burnt him. As soon as the man was rolling on the ground screaming and trying to put out the flame on his clothes, Lovino made a mad dash for the fence. He could still hear shouts behind him as he scaled the fence and made off with the stolen goods. Damn, that was close!

He kept running for all he was worth, deciding he’d had enough of this thievery game for one night. He wanted to get as far away from these strange humans as possible and back to the rowdy bunch he had left behind. By the time he made it back to Antonio and the waiting pirates, he was gasping for breath. Antonio held onto his shoulder worriedly, supporting him.

“Lovi! Lovino, are you okay?”

The dragon grunted and tossed his loot on the sand, where it was promptly attacked by the greedy hands of the crew. Lovino glared at them but didn’t make a move to stop them. He was slightly amused by the looks on their faces when the first tomatoes tumbled out.

“Captain…you might want to take a look at what kind of ‘treasure’ your new crew member brought in,” one growled.

Antonio looked rather surprised, but he wasn’t angry. In fact, he was smiling a bit, eying the plump red fruits.

“Buen echo, Lovi,” he laughed.

“Oh, hell no,” Raul snarled. “The rest of us had to bring something with real worth back to the ship. Not a few tomatoes from someone’s garden!”

Antonio glared at him, but Lovino only scoffed.

“Try looking through the rest of it first, bastard,” the dragon growled.

The men overturned the rest of the sack and out tumbled the jewelry and other valuables Lovino had managed to plunder.

“Well, there’s your treasure,” Antonio said with a smirk. “Remember, the real point of this test is to prove that the new pirate is brave enough to break into a private place and find something of worth to share with the rest of the crew. Lovino has met the requirements. Now go ahead and take your share, all of you!”

Lovino shook his head as the men argued over how to divide up the booty. No one was really satisfied with the tomatoes, but Antonio picked one up and eyed it admiringly.

“So far so good,” he told Lovino. “Think you’re ready for the next step?”

The dragon huffed. “Give me a few minutes to breathe first, bastard.”

As the captain fussed over him, a certain crew member was plotting, gripping the only part of the treasure he’d been allowed to keep- a gold-plated toothbrush- in his hand. Soon, he thought, the chance he was waiting for was coming…