It was necessity, not choice.

It was a necessity for Ludwig to patrol the streets at night; stern, but always wary, fingers always ready to wrap around the smooth handle of the gun at his side.

It was a necessity for him to be paranoid, always watching his back, waiting for someone to strike at any moment.

It was a necessity for him to fight, to be caught up in wars about things he had no say in or any opinion on. He was a soldier, nothing more than a dog in a much bigger game he was forced to play.

It was only out of necessity that Ludwig was a criminal.

This was not the life he had imagined for himself when he was younger. His dreams had revolved around being on the right side of the law; getting a good job, having a nice house, maybe even having a family.

They had never revolved around being stuck on the street, fighting for his life at every turn. He had never imagined to be caught up in gang wars, drug sales, and death dealing, never expected to be living in little more than a rickety shack in the slumps of town, struggling to earn enough money to just to eat; even a nice pair of clothes was just a frivolous dream to him.

It was just the hand that Ludwig had been dealt. There were no jobs, no charities, no one extending him a helping hand, or even a smile.

And Ludwig was not the type for tears; he would not lament or grieve for the situation he was in. If he had to be a dog, then he would be a dog. He could hope for something better, hope that maybe one day to be free of the paranoia and all the shady business he was not proud of.

But hope was only a dream. And so far, Ludwig's dreams were bleak.

So Ludwig accepted the life he had been forced into; accepted the shootings, the drugs, the threats, the scrabbles over territory, the wars. He never really expected anything to change.

Of course, these are precisely the times when the unexpected happen.

It was a normal patrol of the streets, a walk that Ludwig did every night to make sure everything was quiet; no new upstarts in the territory trying to make a profit, or debates between members of his own gang, or anything else that could cause trouble.

All had seemed well.

But a sound reached his ears.

It wasn't of gunshots or voices, or even footsteps. It was a sort of clanking, something metal bouncing in something hollow; an odd sound for a quiet night. It wasn't hard for him to pinpoint the direction, and he was soon on the trail of the clanking, tensed up and on high alert, steely blue eyes taking in all of his surroundings, missing no detail.

Soon, the clanking stopped, followed by a soft hiss—the sound of spray paint.

The blond could feel a scowl inch across his face at the realization; someone was tagging in his territory. Tagging had become a game of capture the flag between the gangs in the area. To have your territory tagged on was an insult, and it was an insult Ludwig would not take lightly.

Ludwig walked faster, hell-bent on finding the source of the noise; it had to be close, just down one of the alleys—

He stopped.

And gaped.

It was a giant eagle, grand wings outstretched, looking as if he was about to jump off the cold brick and take flight into the night. A crown was perched on its head and a scepter was gripped between its talons, wise eyes staring down at Ludwig; a regal and majestic beast. It was…completely breathtaking.

The source of the noise had been down one of the alleys, as Ludwig had expected. But he hadn't expected the sight that was revealed before him. The painting looked so real and vivid; how could someone do this with mere spray paint in so little time?

That someone took presence in his mind, Ludwig finally noticing the one responsible for such a work of art.

A lithe frame was perched on a ladder, a spray paint can in hand while many other cans littered the ground below his feet. The clothes were obviously much too big for such a small person—baggy hoodie, baggy pants, large gloves; even the shoes seemed to dwarf the boy—he assumed it was a boy, at least. Short, brunet hair peeked out from under a printed bandana, a curious curl defying gravity and sticking out straight from the boy's head.

Curious was a good way to describe the situation. The clothes on the boy appeared to be relatively new, despite being oversized; perhaps from an older sibling? Did this boy had something to prove, trying to rebel from his family? He didn't belong on the streets; something about him didn't fit the setting at all.

Ludwig pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind; getting lost in technicalities and questions only got you killed.

The blond ventured closer, shoulders set, stern glare, a no-nonsense air radiating from every fiber of the tall man. "Hey!" A single bark of command, dripping with authority rumbled from his throat, gazed directly on the boy.

"G-gyah!"

The response he received was much more than he expected. The boy was startled, spinning on his heels to face Ludwig. However, it was apparent that the boy had forgotten where he was; he teetered, ladder shaking and skidding over the ground as he struggled to keep his balance in vain.

The ladder collapsed and the boy fell; on impulse Ludwig had acted, legs moving of their own accord as he rushed to catch the boy, grunting as the body crashed into his arms and his legs jolted from the impact. The boy was unsurprisingly light, as was expected from his frail looks. A cloaked face looked up at the blond; tinted goggles covered his eyes and cumbersome gas mask was over his mouth. But Ludwig could almost feel the gratitude leaking from the small frame.

"I thought I was going to die!" The voice was muffled, but clear enough to be understood, a cheery tone lacing every word. The goggles were lifted from eyes, tears peaking from the corners of the bright, brown eyes. "Thank you so much, that would've hurt so much if I had hit the ground!"

Curious…was the only word that would come to Ludwig's mind.

"But thank you again for saving me, you're so kind—Ack!" As soon as the boy's feet had touched the ground, Ludwig twisted him into a headlock, pinning his arm against his back as the boys free hand scrambled against Ludwig's other arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The blond hissed low into the other's ear, ignoring the multiple cries of "Don't hurt me, don't hurt me!" and blubbering sobs heaving from the boy.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't hurt me, please don't hurt me! I didn't mean anything by it, please don't hurt me! Ve!" The body squirmed weakly in his arms, muffled sobs even harder to understand through the mask. "I didn't mean anything by it, honest, don't hurt me, I'm so sorry!"

Ludwig didn't loosen his grip, scowl almost etching permanent lines in his forehead. He could already feel a headache coming on; this was going to be more of a handful than he expected. "I'm going to ask you again. What the hell are you doing here?"

The only responses he received were more muffled sobs and mindless begging; he tightened his grip, twisting the boy's arm and making him yelp out in pain. But his goal was accomplished; the chatter instantly stopped, replaced by quiet sniffles and shaky breaths.

Mind cleared of the noise, Ludwig tried again, giving the boy a small shake to get his point across. "Now, this is the last time I'm going to ask you. What the hell do you think you're doing here, tagging on our territory?"

"Territory?" A pain squeaked left the boy, eyes wide with fear and leaking with tears. "Territory, I-I don't know about any territory! I-I just…f-felt like painting, I'm sorry, I didn't know, please don't kill me, just please don't kill me! I'm so sorry, ve! Y-You're r-really hurting me, p-please don't kill me!"

The ice left Ludwig's blue eyes; he could feel exasperation building up inside of him. This boy was obviously not gang material—he would've been killed in no time at all if he stayed on the streets too long. He was just some stupid kid who had gotten a stupid idea; no threat and no reason to keep bothering with him.

The blond let go of the boy's arm, but kept his grip around his neck, booming voice reverberating throughout the alley. "Listen up, and listen well, because I'm not going to tell you again. This is our territory. If I catch you tagging again in my territory, I will not be so kind." Ludwig shoved the brunet away, causing him to stumble forward. "Remember that."

He had wasted enough time already; Ludwig turned to leave before a voice had stopped him. "What's your name?"

Ludwig turned, giving the boy an openly blank stare. He really just…he really was asking his name? After he had just physically grabbed and threatened him?

Once again, curious was the main thought that popped into his head, along with the words "naïve" and "stupid;" he really didn't know how the boy had survived this long.

"U-Um, well, you did save me, so it would be nice to know your name so I could properly thank you, r-right?" Big, brown eyes stared at him from over that gas mask, and the blond could feel the headache wreaking havoc on his nerves.

But the boy seemed not to notice, eyes alight as a cheerful voice chirped up. "My name is Feliciano! See, now you know my name, what's yours?" The smile was evident in his voice even with his lips covered, and a twitch developed on the blond's brow at how cheerful the kid was.

"…Ludwig." He didn't know why he chose to humor the boy, but the prospect of hearing more useless blubbering was a pushing factor into giving up his information. It was just much easier than getting into an argument over nothing, and he had already wasted enough time. "Now, go home before you get yourself killed."

"Ah, Ludwig, I see! Thank you very much, Ludwig!" The smiling voice echoed from the mask, cheeks pushing pass the edge of the mask in the bright grin that must have been stretched across the brunet's lips.

Ludwig paused before giving a grunt in response, turning his back to the boy again before walking off to finish his patrol, head full of thoughts and curiosities the blond was not used to having.

Little did he know that he would not be rid of the strange, masked boy so easily, as the small patter of footsteps followed him out of the alleyway, hidden smile aimed only at him.