APH Horsemen ch 2

His alarm clock rang too soon Ludwig believed as he opened his blearily eyes and lifted his heavy arm in other to turn the alarm off. Knowing if he relaxed he would fall back asleep he slid out of his bed and stumbled into the bathroom.

Splashing cold water onto his face and jamming the toothbrush into his mouth Ludwig studied his reflection in the mirror hanging above the sink.

Pale and gaunt. Lately he has been burning more calories than he took in so he had lost weight. He had also hadn't slept too much so there were dark circles under his eyes.

He spat the toothpaste out and rinsed his mouth out before using a towel to dry himself. Placing the towel back on the hanger he went to his room. He quickly dressed and went downstairs where his father and little brother were already eating breakfast.

Roderich turned in his seat and grinned at the sight of his brother.

"Good morning Ludwig." Roderich said.

Ludwig managed a smile at the five year old. "Good morning Roddy. Father."

Alvar nodded. "Good morning son."

Ludwig picked up a piece of toast from the pile on the table and spread jam on top of it. Placing the corner of it into his mouth he held it as he put up his shoes and jacket on and grabbing his backpack.

Calling a goodbye over his shoulder he left the house to see Feliciano waiting for him. Ludwig gave a nod to his horse that was busy making a snack of his next door neighbors garden of roses and a smile to Feliciano.

"Morning Ludwig." Feliciano chirruped. He held a cup of coffee to Ludwig accompanied by a hug.

Ludwig accepted the coffee and the hug with a wider smile. "Morning Feliciano. You seem energetic this morning."

Feliciano shrugged. "I had a good night's sleep I guess. Which seems to be more than I can say for you." he hastily added.

Ludwig sipped the coffee and quickly finished the toast. "My father caught me sneaking in at two in the morning."

Feliciano flinched lightly. "What were you doing out at two in the morning?"

"Stuff." came the curt reply.

Feliciano tugged Ludwig by the sleeve. "Come on, you can tell me. I'm your best friend."

"Stuff, it's not that important." Ludwig insisted.

Feliciano let out a pout. "You don't trust me?"

Ludwig managed a smile. "Of course I do. Trust me, this stuff is boring?"

Feliciano continued to sulk as they walked to school. When they got halfway he spoke up.

"You've been busy doing this boring stuff for a while. We haven't hanged out properly for weeks." he said quietly. "You go off somewhere with who I don't know, doing what I don't know."

"My father keeps taking my blood to see if I'm drinking or doing drugs." Ludwig said.

"Do you have a secret girlfriend?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig shook his head.

"A secret boyfriend?"

Ludwig blushed but shook his head.

"Then what?" Feliciano asked pleadingly.

Ludwig hesitated before he sighed. "I need to ask if I can tell you. And even if I can I don't know if you'll believe me."

Despair. Frustration. Desire. Need. Hope. Fear.

Those emotions hit Ludwig mentally however it caused him to physically stumble backwards. Feliciano grasped Ludwig's arm in alarm. "Are you alright?"

Ludwig gave a shaky smile. "I'm fine, I just guess it's the lack of sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Come on, we'll be late for school."
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Walking through the hallway Ludwig bit the inside of his cheek and tried to regain the balance he obtains at night to no avail.

The hatred coming from the girl that never spoke was coming off in waves, it was always the quiet ones. The fear coming from the boy holding a failing test. The jealousy coming from girls and boys around as well as the hatred.

Teenagers contained more hatred than anyone could realize.

And all it would take was a simple push from Ludwig, from War, to make the hatred consume them and for fights to begin.

All he would have to do was call upon his sword, and in truth he didn't actually need the sword; the power was inside of him, and let the turmoil take over.

And the screaming inside his head, the power, hatred, anger would slightly decrease and he would be able to breathe once more.

Instead Ludwig massaged his temple with two fingers and tried to focus on Feliciano mindless chatter.

Feeling heavy and burdened Ludwig did something he had never done in his life. He turned and ran out of the school, ignoring both Feliciano and the security guards calling after him. He ran until he reached his house and let himself in, ignoring his horses call of concern, dropping his bag and jacket somewhere and going up the stairs into his bedroom.

Stopping only to kick his shoes off he grabbed the sword that was laying on the wall. He pressed it close to his chest as he fell onto his bed. Curling his body around it with it pressing into his skin he finally breathed easier as he found peace.

With the screaming in his head stopping he finally fell into a deep peaceful sleep.
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Ludwig awoke hours later to the feel of cool hands being pressed gently against his forehead. Opening his eyes he saw his father staring down at him.

"Running out of school before second period." Alvar said softly. "Sneaking out and coming home late. Lying constantly. I did not raise you to be like this."

Ludwig didn't say anything as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He glanced out the window and felt relief when he still saw the sun in the sky.

"Ludwig unless you tell me what going on I am going to have to assume the worst." his father said.

When Ludwig still didn't say anything Alvar sighed. He sat on the bed closer to Ludwig. "Look, I know teenagers have their secrets." he said. "I had them myself when I was your age. However those secrets need to stop when it causes the parents to worry."

Ludwig bit his lip and shook his head slowly.

Alvar sighed once more before he stood. "Feliciano stopped by to give all the work and homework you missed. Think about what I said."

Ludwig continued to sit in his bed until the door closed behind his father where he allowed himself to fall back onto the bed.

"I spread violence, hatred, and anger around the world at night. I am one of the apocalypse horsemen, the one of War." Ludwig said bitterly. "How's that for a father son talk?"
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Ludwig glanced outside and nodded when he saw that finally night had fallen.

It was time for him to ride once more.

He slid off his bed and placed the notes he had been looking over on his desk. He took the sword and roped it around his waist.

He set the alarm clock for the morning and placed his cell phone and watch on the nightstand.

He carefully climbed down the stairs, remembering to skip the last one that creaked, and stepped into the kitchen.

Rummaging through the cupboards he found the bag of chocolate he had promised his horse and stepped into the living room.

Where his father had been quietly waiting for him.

"Going somewhere son?" his father asked.

Ludwig swallowed the lump in his throat as his grip on the bag of chocolate tightened in his hands.

"Somewhere." Ludwig managed to mumble. The sounds and emotions were coming again. They started slowly and softly before suddenly bombarding him.

"Ludwig please." Alvar said. "I care about you and I don't want you to get hurt."

Ludwigs eyes flew to the door and before he realized it he had ran forward and had his hand on the doorknob. However when he pulled the door remained locked. A quick glance upward showed a new lock.

"You're not going anywhere until I get some answers." Alvar said.

This fool believed he could cage and contain War. The voice appeared in his head once more, the sound silky and trustworthy. Humans will attempt to control as much as they can.

Ludwig willed the voice away. He gave a dry chuckle as he reached the part of him that was pure War and once he had the power in his grasp he walked forward and forced the wall to give way to himself as he walked through it.

Ignoring his fathers exclaim of disbelief Ludwig ran forward to where his steed had been patiently waiting for him.

Once he had mounted his clothes transformed back into the armor and cape. Within moments they were in the air once more.

War didn't spare the little house or its people another look as he rose. He needed to go and spread his being around the world.