Don't Panic

[hergelaufene]

Who: Ludwig and Gilbert
When:  November 9th, 1989
Where: Berlin, The Wall
What: Every nickname has a story behind it; the fall of oppression, a lost brother and the desperate search to find him.

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[baer_jager]

It had happened so fast; one moment, Ludwig's hand was safe and secure in his brother's, and the next it was much too far away. The wall of people that rose up between them like a great tidal wave divided up his world more than the Big Wall ever had. Even though they were close to the same age, Gilbert had always looked after his little brother. And now that Ludwig suddenly found himself without his brother, he didn't know what to do.

He fought, desperately searching with his eyes for the familiar white-haired figure of his brother, but he was too shy to call his name. The people racing by and towering above him confused him. He was scared.

The rush of people carried him onwards.

[hergelaufene]

"Ludwig!" Gilbert's voice was panicked, clear, ringing but still drowned out by the cheering, the stampede feet and general sound of a wall giving way to a free people. "Bruder- Where are you!?"

Finally, Gilbert's tiny flailing body managed to fight by the knees and legs of the charging people and he appeared in the East. It was almost scarily empty, most of the people having moved to the West to see what they had been missing for so many years. A few guards were standing by the checkpoint, watching the crowds dissipate while they shared a cigarette.

The Prussian's tiny gaze was drawn up from the street for a moment and he saw the looming monstrosity he was standing under, swallowing and taking a step back. "Mein Gott..." The Gate, tall and proud and usually covered by the Wall was now bare in front of him.

He shook his head. That didn't matter now. Finding Ludwig mattered. He charged off towards the Gate. "Bruder! Ludwig!?"

[baer_jager]

By the time the crowd had thinned enough for Ludwig to escape from their joyous and oblivious clutches, he was thoroughly lost and confused. Huddling close to the nearest building, far enough to keep from getting caught up again, Ludwig tried to figure out where he was. But none of the building's looked familiar, and he was trying very hard to convince himself that he wasn't scared.

Twisting the edge of his jacket tightly between his small fingers, Ludwig edged away from the wall, trying to look down the street for anything he knew. Nothing.

"Bruder..." he whispered, before blinking away tears and stumbling farther down the street with only the knowledge that he was lost to keep him company.

STOP BEING ADORABLE DAMMIT.

[hergelaufene]

Just like Ludwig, Gilbert was disoriented by the buildings. They weren't new by build, or at least they didn't look like it, all the same or looking like they hadn't been taken care of since the fifties. Nothing like his Berlin and for a moment, Gilbert wondered if they'd entered another world. But he couldn't turn around and go back to his Berlin yet.

He chased down streets, asking whenever few people he found if they'd seen a small child with blond hair but most just dismissed him and when he'd stumbled upon a GDR soldier, the man had merely shot him a contemptuous glare and angrily yelled at him, shunting the young boy away with the butt of his gun.

Wherever Gilbert went, he made sure to keep the Wall or the Gate in his view. They meant getting back to the other side. To the West. West Germany, that's what his father had called it. Never Germany.

He needed to find his brother and return to the West.