"So tell me again where exactly it is we're going?"
"Across the Tasman Sea," England said, sipping his tea. "To an island – actually, two islands – on the other side."
The young boy drummed his fingers absentmindedly on the railing of the boat's bow. "How come I've never heard of it?"
"Because you haven't travelled much." England set the cup down and joined his colony at the bow. "But to be honest, even I've only visited it a couple of times; the whole purpose of this trip is to learn more about it."
"Are you going to establish a colony?"
"Perhaps, but only perhaps. There's already a well-established group of natives there."
"That never stopped you before," the boy muttered darkly.
The atmosphere grew instantly tenser. After a long pause, England turned to go. "We should be arriving soon, New Holland. Get your things ready."
New Holland's tiny hands curled into fists for a second – but only for a second. He watched in silence as his big brother disappeared into the cabin before returning his gaze to the open water before him. He could see their destination up ahead now; a large island, growing quickly larger as he and England's boat sailed towards it. They would be there in a matter of minutes. New Holland shivered with anticipation.
They had been on this boat for several days now, England having decided to take him on his first big trip to anywhere. He was brimming with the excitement as the prospect of meeting his closest neighbour, of whom England had only told him sketchily.
Shrugging, New Holland followed England into the cabin, picking up his backpack on the way past.
England was waiting for him. "All set for shore leave?"
New Holland grinned. "Aye aye, Cap'n!"
Grinning too, England ruffled up his already tousled brown hair. "Then what are we waiting for?"
"We're only going to be here for the day," England explained as he and New Holland made their way along the empty beach, New Holland clinging tightly to England's side. "I'll be meeting with the locals, called the 'Māori', and then we'll be going home."
New Holland's face fell. "What? But that doesn't give us any time at all to look around!"
England laughed. "Don't worry; I wouldn't expect you to have to sit through a boring conversation all day and then go home with nothing to show for the entire trip. You can have the day to yourself; go and play and meet me back here at dusk."
New Holland stared at him. "Seriously? But won't it be dangerous?"
England smiled, amused. "Of course not; unlike you, this island isn't a barren desert full of poisonous reptiles. So long as you don't get anybody angry and be careful – which I trust you to do – you'll be absolutely fine."
New Holland whooped. "Wow! Thank you, England!" he exclaimed happily, flinging his arms around his brother before disappearing into the trees without a second thought.
The colony was giddy with excitement; he had the whole island to explore. He felt a nagging disappointment that it was only to be for one day. He shrugged it off; England may have been strict but he wouldn't leave without him, so if he 'got lost' and stayed for an extra few days, everything would be fine. He smiled at this thought; maybe he would have more than a few days. The longer it took England to find him, the more worried he would be and the less angry he would be when he finally did.
New Holland stopped running and looked around with awe. Everything was so different here; there were no gum trees at all, and the very idea that he didn't have to constantly watch his step for snakes was almost unbelievable.
The scenery itself was very beautiful; nothing at home could ever compare with it. He felt a twinge of envy.
A sound somewhere behind him made him turn his head.
A strange...thing, was standing several feet away, watching him with interest in its small round eyes. Curious, New Holland took a step closer, half expecting it to bolt. It didn't.
It was covered in what looked like brown fur, but closer inspection revealed it to be very fine feathers, and it had a long, thin beak. It was some kind of bird.
Hesitantly, New Holland picked it up. It didn't squirm; it simply remained utterly motionless but for its breathing. He frowned. What is this thing?
"Kiwi, where did you…oh."
At the sound of a stranger's voice, New Holland instantly spun to face the source of the voice. His heart was suddenly racing.
A strange boy stood several feet away, peering at him shyly from around a tree trunk. He appeared to be about the same age as New Holland, only smaller. His hair was short and curled neatly into an unusual bob on either side of his head, almost giving him the appearance of having horns.
He and New Holland locked eyes for a second; it took a moment before either of them looked away.
New Holland hesitantly cleared his throat. "Um...here..." he mumbled, holding out the fluffy brown bird he had forgotten he was still holding. "Is he yours?"
Upon seeing the creature, the boy took a tentative step towards New Holland, reaching forward and taking it before quickly stepping back. He didn't speak.
There was a pause. "G'day." He let out a short burst of laughter.
The stranger blinked. "Kia ora."
"Um..." He looked around, suddenly uncomfortable. "My name is New Holland."
"Mine is Aotearoa," he said, staring unwaveringly at New Holland in a way that sent shivers down his spine.
"What's wrong with your voice?"
The boy didn't answer. Realising too late that this was probably not the most ideal first greeting, he added in a friendly tone, "You don't need to be shy; I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.
Aotearoa suddenly laughed shakily. "I'm sorry; I'm not used to strangers around here."
The ice broken, New Holland laughed too. "Don't worry; I know that feeling." He took a step forward, offering his hand. "Let's be friends!"
"So how did you come here in the first place?"
"On a boat."
The two boys were seated cross-legged on the beach, choking out a few words in between innumerable awkward silences.
At this last comment, Aotearoa giggled. "I figured as much. Where did you come from?"
"From my home across the sea."
"All by yourself?"
New Holland shook his head. "No; with my big brother, England."
"…England." Aotearoa looked thoughtful. "I've met him. He's come here a few times before to explore."
"He's meeting with some of your tribe leaders right now."
"Is he? That's good…" Aotearoa chewed his lip. "So, um, is he nice?"
New Holland let out a long sigh. "He's really nice…to me, at least. But…"
Aotearoa looked at him. "But?"
"He isn't nice to my people – the Aborigines. He stole me from them by force," he said quietly. "I didn't want to go; they loved me so much and treated me so well. But England refused to recognise their rights to me and so he took me away from them."
Aotearoa stared at him with a look of utmost horror. "What? But that's horrible; why do you want anything to do with somebody like that?"
New Holland smiled dryly, trying to act like it didn't matter to him. "He...he's not a bad country. And he did first visit my home with plans of getting along with the Aborigines. He just doesn't understand the rest of the world – and he doesn't realise that he doesn't understand."
Aotearoa didn't look convinced. "Well I don't like it," he said sourly, folding his arms. "You can't just forgive somebody for something like that." He bit his lip. "He's talking to the Māori now, too. I hope he doesn't plan on doing it to me."
New Holland waved a hand reassuringly. "He won't – I promise."
Aotearoa frowned thoughtfully. "Well, if you say so..."
They lapsed back into silence.
"That's a pretty unusual bird you have there," New Holland remarked, gesturing to the fluffy brown thing seated loyally by its owner's side. 'Kiwi', as Aotearoa had called it.
The boy gently picked it up, seating it on his lap and stroking affectionately. "Yeah, he's pretty special. I raised him from a chick."
"Really? That's so cool," New Holland cooed, wishing he had brought his koala to show his new friend. "Can I touch him? I mean, again?"
"Sure! Here ya go." He passed the bird to New Holland, who took it with excitement.
He gently stolen the bird's fine feathers. "He's so cute! Can he fly?"
Aotearoa shook his head. "No; a lot of the birds in my home can't fly. They lost the ability over time because there are so few predators."
New Holland looked impressed. "Most of the flightless birds at my place are really big – there are a lot of dangerous animals around, so if they can't fly then they need to be big enough to protect themselves."
"What kind of dangerous animals?"
New Holland grinned. "Every kind! We've got the big mean-looking ones like crocodiles, as well as the poisonous ones like snakes, spiders, crocodiles, blue-ringed octopuses…not to mention half the not-so-dangerous ones still know how to pack a serious punch. Ever been attacked by a kangaroo before? It's not pretty."
Aotearoa burst out laughing. "Wow! Your home sounds like a hellhole! I don't even know what some of those things are. It must have been rough growing up. I can see why you'd want to come visit my place."
New Holland rolled his eyes. "I've probably made it out a lot worse than it is. My place has some really beautiful places, too. And some really cute animals! Have you ever seen a koala? Or a bilby?"
Aotearoa shook his head. "They sound cute!"
"They are!" New Holland grasped his hand excitedly. "We have to ask England if you can come and visit me sometime! It would be so much fun!"
Aotearoa grinned too. "It would! And you have to come back again when you have more time for me to show you around! There are so many places I've always wanted a friend to show to! The only person who visits me is Polynesia, and he doesn't come very often. And he's a grown-up, anyway; it's so cool to finally have a friend my own age!"
"Hey!" New Holland exclaimed, laughing. "That's mean; I'm fifty-thousand years old! I just…didn't grow much in my life."
"Get out of here! That's crazy as!" Aotearoa giggled. "What were you doing all that time?"
"Whatever I wanted! That's the beauty of not growing up!"
"I can imagine."
Aotearoa's kiwi suddenly leapt out of New Holland's lap and pottered off a few feet away, interrupted them. Both boys fell briefly silent as they watched it absentmindedly.
"Hey, I forgot to ask. What's with your name? Why 'new'?"
"Hm?" This wasn't something New Holland thought about much. "Oh, that. Well you see, England wasn't actually the first European country to find me. It was actually this guy called the Netherlands, or Holland. I have a little Dutch blood because of that. But he didn't take as much interest in me as England did; England was the first to make me his colony – even if I was just a penal colony at the time – and he named me after Holland as kind of a memento."
"Wow." Aotearoa was silent for a moment, taking this in. "What was your name before that?"
"Um…I didn't actually have one; the Aborigines never travelled out of my home, so there was no name for me. I was just…the whole world to them. They usually referred to me using their word for 'home' or 'land', but there were way too many languages for me to consider one my actual name."
Aotearoa looked suddenly very sombre. "You lived for fifty thousand years without a name?" he breathed.
New Holland shrugged it off. "It's not as bad as it sounds – I'd never known any different. But I'm glad I have one now – I finally have something to think of myself by. To connect with."
"Cool…" He cocked his head to one side, thoughtfully. "That's okay, I guess. Still, it does seem a bit silly, this 'New' thing. I'm glad I have a normal name."
New Holland poked him in the ribs. "That's mean! My name is great!"
"Sure it is, bro."
"It is!"
They laughed.
"Anyway, it's still morning." Aotearoa got to his feet. "Why don't I show you around my home for a while? We can still make it back here by the time your brother is finished."
"Or we could just not come back at all and get an extra few days while he looks for me," he pointed out.
Rolling his eyes, Aotearoa shoved him playfully in the chest. "I'm beginning to see why the Netherlands didn't want you." Grinning again and scooping up his bird, he took off.
"Oh, that was cruel. Get back here you stupid Kiwi!" Also smiling, he took off after him.
"What kind of an insult is that?"
"An awesome one!"
Despite New Holland's plan to stay longer, he found that he couldn't help but go back when Aotearoa pointed out how late it was. He was amazed by how difficult the boy was to say no to.
He regretted not trying to convince him otherwise, though, realising with a sad sigh that he was going to have to go back home now after only one day with his new friend. When he saw England standing on the beach where he had left him that morning, he almost grabbed Aotearoa's hand and bolted back into the tree cover with him.
England beamed when he saw them together. "I see you've made a friend, New Holland."
"It's good to see you again, Mr England. How do you do?" Aotearoa asked politely.
New Holland interrupted before his brother could respond. "Please, England! Can he come and visit me some time? And can I come back here again when you go next?" He grabbed both of England's hands and started jumping up and down incessantly. "Please! Please, please, please!"
England laughed. "I don't see why not."
"Yes!" New Holland whooped. "Can he come back with us now?"
Aotearoa rolled his eyes. "I don't think I could do that; I need to get back to the Maori and hear from them how the meeting with you went."
New Holland looked crestfallen. "But you definitely will for sure next time, right?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world!"
New Holland whooped again and then, all too suddenly, realised that this meant it was time to say goodbye. This thought sobered him.
"We'll see each again other really soon," New Holland declared, his voice laced with determination. "I'm sure of it." Casting England a sly glance from the corner of his eye, he added, "Because if I'm not allowed to visit I'll steal one of England's boats and come anyway."
Aotearoa laughed shakily. "The weird thing is that I believe you."
They lapsed into silence.
"…New Holland?" Aotearoa asked, his voice suddenly shy and embarrassed. "I just…wanted to thank you for playing with me today. I had a lot of fun. I was glad we were able to become friends."
New Holland blushed. "Y- yeah, me too. You're the first real friend I've had."
Aotearoa grasped both his hands, fidgeting excitedly. "Same here. So you have to hurry up and come visit again soon; next time for longer."
"You bet! I have a feeling you and I are going to be best mates."
"So do I!"
England straightened up with a smile on his face. "I hate to break up you two, but the boat's getting ready to leave, New Holland."
New Holland looked crestfallen. "O- okay, England. I'm sorry." He turned back to Aotearoa. "I guess it's goodbye for now, then." He stared at their feet, not letting go of Aotearoa's hands. "I'll miss you."
"Me too." Neither of them could meet the other's eye.
And then, out of nowhere, New Holland flung his arms around Aotearoa. "I'll see you around, then."
Startled but not unpleasantly so, Aotearoa returned his embrace. "You bet!"
Blushing, New Holland turned and followed England onto their boat. He leaned over the side, waving vigorously. "Bye bye!"
Aotearoa waved back with equal gusto. They continued to call out words of farewell to each other until Aotearoa, and the beach he waved from, were no more than specks in the distance.
New Holland gave a long sigh. "Thank you so much for taking me with you, England. It was definitely worth the trip."
England smiled, ruffling up his hair. "It's good that you two met up; I thought you'd like him."
"I did – I liked him a lot."
England leaned against the side of the boat. "New Holland, it's been a long day; why don't you go back to your cabin and get some rest while the water is calm?"
New Holland nodded, only just now realising how tired he was from running around with his new friend all day. "I'll see you later, then. Call me if you need any help up here." Half-skipping, he disappeared behind his cabin door.
England gave an amused smile. "I'm glad you got to be friends." He looked back out at the water again. "After all, pretty soon you and him are going to be spending a lot of time together."
Thanks for reading :'D I hope you enjoyed this x3 In my opinion, Australia and New Zealand need more love :3 Especially New Zealand :D He's just so cute x3
So...on that note, New Zealand is a boy in this, just cuz that's how I roll. I'm not going to enter into the whole gender debate ^_~ If I get Jossed and he turns out to be a girl, I'll change it. Meh.
So: New Holland = Australia, Aotearoa = New Zealand, obviously. This story is supposed to be set early 1800s/late 1700s ^_^ Aotearoa means 'land of the long white cloud' in Maori (I think xD If any Kiwis know this to be otherwise, please let me know and I'll change it x3) it was what the place was called before it became a British colony in 1840 :) By the way, when that happened, it was done after negotiating and forming treaties with the Maori themselves. That was what England was supposedly negotiating during his visit :D
And yes. I couldn't resist the opportunity for 'What's wrong with your voice' to be one of the first things Australia ever said to New Zealand ;D Especially since making fun of each other's accents is a favourite pastime for both Aussies and Kiwis ;D I know that New Zealand English wouldn't actually have developed into an accent by then, especially since he wasn't a British colony and therefore wouldn't be speaking English. However, I don't honestly think this matters for the sake of the story :'D
Anyways, if you notice anything doesn't match up here, please let me know :D It was supposed to be relatively historically accurate and if you notice any discrepancies I'd like to get rid of them xD
Please R&R x3 Thank you so much for reading :D I wuffles you gaiz so vewy much x3
~IA