AU: After getting some inspiration from the song "Under the Thumb", I decided to post a new chapter. So yup. Thanks for all the kind reviews and comments; I take the time to read them all even if I don't reply. I'm not dead, just…not really sure how I want to write. The ideas are there, I just don't know how to put them on paper is all. Does that make sense? No matter, here it is:
It was an abnormally cold day the day after we visited my brother. After Belarus and I parted ways, I found myself wanting to taunt Iceland a bit more, but I knew it was her turn. I had to keep my half of the deal, after all. It made me almost miserable, since her brother didn't interest me in the slightest.
We needed to see the Russian man. Truthfully, I don't mind him. I don't fear him or feel any need to emulate his actions, but it's not like I wish him ill.
I mentally prepared myself for the moment and took a deep breath as I took a step down the path on which we agreed to meet. I didn't see her on the way, nor did I see her when I got there.
Instead, I found her already perched in a tree, clutching her binoculars as if they were her only remaining connection to life. Her neat and prim was dress flowing down covered in flower petals and dead leaves. She reminded me of a predatory owl, and her scowl and stare seemed to be sizing up her prey through a pair of binoculars. Some might say it foreshadowed her nature. Calmly, I walked up to the spot where I spotted her and tried to catch her attention. The autumn winds made my voice get easily carried off, but soon enough, she saw me from the very corner of her left eye.
"Hello." I said to start the conversation.
"Hello." She repeated in a tone that seemed far too similar to mine for my own taste.
"Have you been here for a long time?" I asked as I leaned on the tree.
Without even turning to meet my gaze, she lowered some rope. "You're late."
"You said we would meet at 7, exact." I replied.
"I expected you to be prompt." She stated. I almost expected her to throw something at me, but she was far too distracted to do so.
"I'm not late at all, you're just really early." I said in my defense. "How long have you been here?"
She ignored my question and simply sneered at my response. "I've always despised excuses." She answered quickly.
"And I despise small talk. Are we going to do our jobs or are we applying for eCupid?" I said in my usual monotone, adding a bit of snide sarcasm to it.
It seemed the comment angered her to a boiling point, but she just turned the other cheek and faced the window. "Just hurry and climb." She commanded in a frustrated tone. It was a stark contrast from the calm persona she had cultivated before me. I followed her instructions and found a branch that was both strong and comfortable enough to hold us both. The amount of trees that fit those categories are staggering.
We sat there in dead silence for a few hours. I entertained myself with passing thoughts; she entertained herself by watching him. The boredom was killing me to the point that I considered taking a short nap on her lap, but my instinct of self-preservation reminded me that that was where she hid her knives. So I continued counting clouds and fantasizing about times that passed long ago. Nostalgia and bad company seem to go hand in hand. Eventually, her voice broke the monotony and caught my attention.
It was low, almost unnoticeable comment, but I heard it loud and clear. "He seems to have a visitor."
"It better not be who I believe it is." She added, showing some sort of resentment or…fear.
"Who do you believe it is?" I asked in confusion.
"That." She said in a dark tone as she pointed at a man with polished red clothing and a distinct long ponytail.
"Ah, China." I said with a sigh. I expected someone more threatening for some reason.
"I do not understand why he and my brother visit each other so often. Especially when he says he has 'no time' for my visits."
"They simply seem to be old friends. I don't really see a reason to worry." I assured her before realizing she seemed to be scoffing at all my words. I turned my attention at what seemed to be movement at the door.
Curious, I asked: "Yet another?"
"My sister." She growled.
True enough, a smiling young woman came in through the door and embraced the tall Russian. She seemed ecstatic to be at the small reunion, even hugging China as well. I can't describe her well; I was distracted for most of the period. I remember her short blonde hair and humble clothing, but she had one distinguishing feature that separated her from the rest.
My male gaze instantly felt the need to ogle at her large…assests . Large, wiggly and perky, all at the same time. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought it was Denmark's dream come true. I stopped when Belarus shot a sharp glare at me, but I couldn't tell if her anger was due to the fact that her sister was…more gifted than her or because she simply looked that way at everyone she locked eyes with. I suspected the latter. Maybe a mix of both.
"I forgot you two were related." I apologized. Can you blame me? I've seen magnet poles with fewer contrasts. They were complete opposites in every sense of the word.
"I wish I could say the same." She sighed. She almost sounded sad, but most of the sentence still sounded serious.
"Is she always li-" I started to say before she interrupted me.
"Yes. Change the subject." She sneered.
I stared again. They were still jiggling up and down, bouncing in every direction and almost daring someone to go up to her and do unsavory things.
"I'm pretty sure that's unhealthy." I commented. "Well, at least she dresses modestly." I said to try and lessen the blow that Belarus' self-esteem had taken. I didn't really help much. There's a reason I turned down a psychiatry course many years ago. Maybe I am better at "compassion" and "empathy" in another universe, but surely that's not the case with my current one.
"I said, change the subject." She repeated sternly. Her cold glare combined with her dark grimace made me react with one of my own, and after a while she scoffed at me before continuing what she was doing previously.
I took that as a cue to only take notes from that moment on.
I started off writing relevant notes, such as the date and the small things happening below. It quickly devolved to me scribbling drawings of a dragon attacking a village of people. Be honest with yourself, you would have done the same.
Then, my phone rang. I recognized the ringtone immediately and sighed in relief. It wasn't Denmark's ringtone; it was Romania's, a loud disco duet between two Romanians. He picked it out himself, and even though it's different from what I usually listen to, it has grown on me.
"Romania is calling me." I muttered so she would excuse me.
Without a warning, she seized the phone from my hand and hurled it away without a care, striking a nearby mailman. The mailman toppled forwards and landed face-first into a large chocolate cake. I turned over to Belarus and asked why, only to hear faint muttering along the lines of: "it was being disruptive to the mission."
If I were to tell anyone else that I had lost two phones over the course of a week, they'd call me a careless destructive monster.
And although I am a destructive monster, I am not a careless and aloof one. I do my best to keep all of my things in place and without a single dent in them.
Perhaps it was for the best. It was still eligible for warranty, and it just so happens "getting thrown away by a psychopathic madwoman for reasons best left unsaid" was in one of the clauses. I never thought I would use that; the scenario always seemed far too unlikely a possibility. I thought that on the bright side, at least I wouldn't get calls at 1AM in the morning anymore.
"They seem worried about the man." She said in a low murmur.
"I believe the cake was for them." I replied, making her roll her eyes. If it was so obvious, why did she feel the need to state it?
"Hmm…Use a spell." She said off-handedly. Her casualness bothered me, and I told myself I must have heard it wrong.
"What?" I asked in a shocked state.
"Use a spell." She repeated, sounding more unassailable than anything. I knew I had to somehow dodge the command without outright referring to the real reason I was against the idea.
"Why should I?" I asked while trying to force an offended tone of voice. "You're working for me, remember?"
"Think of it as a friendly favor." She offered. I noticed that in her eyes, any means justifies the cause. If only she had a better cause…
"I believed we were on strict professional terms; do you want to break your promise so quickly? Next you'll be begging me to make you a unicorn or something." I rambled, trying to steer the topic away. It was no use, she was too focused. Why can't people act like that when I [i]do [/i] want to discuss something?
"Don't moral people help those in need?" She asked commandingly.
"I always thought we were both amoral." I answered quickly without a second of thought or further deliberation.
Belarus narrowed her eyes. "I thought you were at least…neutral. Don't neutral people have a good moral compass?"
"Not really. I don't see why my morality is relevant. For all you know, I could be a stalker." I drawled in an attempt to milk some humor out of the situation.
"…We both are." She said.
Evidently, my sharp sense of irony was lost on her.
"You say it like it's a bad thing." I said with a sarcastic smirk. I think I accidentally scared her a bit with it, because she didn't even bother finishing her next sentence. That's what I get for going to a good dentist.
It started off along the lines of: "You just implied that it wa-" After that, she scrapped the sentence altogether in favor of a more snide response. "Since it's so obviously difficult, I guess I'll have to do it." She said in a demeaning tone accompanied by an angry side-glance.
Maybe she thought she could taunt me into it? I've had better staring contests with a mirror.
"Next time you're not allowed to get down from the tree." She growled, showing the semi-legendary anger I had yet to experience from her.
"I just wanted to help." I said coldly. On the inside, I felt like a little boy just dying to burst laughing afterwards. It's almost as if people are inviting me to jumble their minds. "I don't see the big deal. It's their fault for ordering a cake over mail instead of actually baking one themselves." Truthfully, it got my attention. Why were they ordering cake at such an odd time? It's not like it was a holiday.
Of course she glared at me again. It was becoming her thing by this point. She might as well have had icepicks for eyes. I wanted to ask if she knew why they were there, but if I had asked any more questions, she would have probably attempted to pin me down to the floor and claw my skin off with her sharp nails.
"That look doesn't work on me." I said in a stern voice. To my surprise, she kept her stare and she only stopped when I gestured for her to walk beside me.
It was around that time that I realized that while I was cleverer, she was the more headstrong and stubborn of us two. (At least on the subject of her interests.) Whether this was good or not is a subject I'd rather leave to public opinion. Frankly, I couldn't care less about the verdict. It had been a while since I had a companion that was so amusing; I figured I might as well relish it and enjoy her defects.