Despite what Iceland had told him, Norway kept shooting suspicious glares in Denmark's direction for the remainder of the day. The Dane didn't particularly mind, as Norway couldn't prove anything without Iceland's testimony. Speaking of, Iceland wasn't talking with Denmark much after the incident nor did she stick around when they were left alone. She typically trailed after Norway, as usual, not paying Denmark any attention. It didn't bother him as much, now that he knew she didn't truly hate him.

After days of hard work, Norway finally decided that it was about time that they left. Of course, they couldn't leave without the puffin that the Norwegian had promised the youth. The day before they were to set off, Iceland led the two elder nations to the area she said had the most puffins. Denmark eyed the many puffins that were hopping across the pebbles, "How the hell are we going to catch one of those?!"

"We'll figure something out."

"Well, have fun with that," Denmark grumbled, sitting down on a rock. "When you think of something, let me know."

Norway felt the young nation tug on his tunic, "They like fish."

"We'll lure them then." Norway turned around to head back to camp.

"Hey, where are you going, Norge?"

"We can't catch a bird with out bare hands."

"...Oh."

They went back to camp, grabbed the supplies they needed, and went back. Norway told Iceland to wait out of the way in case one of the birds lost it and started attacking.

Norway's attention turned to Denmark who was untangling the net, "You lure them by holding the fish."

"Okay! I can do that!" Denmark beamed, happy to help.

He grabbed one of the slimy, dead fish and slowly approached the crowd of birds.

"Here, puffin," he called softly, "come get the cold, dead fish-cod-thing..."

He stayed in the outstretched position for an agonizingly long time, until one of the puffins finally decided to get close. Denmark tensed, ready to pin it to the ground, when the puffin suddenly lunged forward and snatched the fish from his hand.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed as the puffin opened its wings and took off with the fish in its beak, "The hell was that?!"

Behind him, Denmark heard Iceland giggle.

"Hey, don't you laugh at me!"

Iceland bit her lip to suppress the giggles and just shook her head at him.

Norway rolled his eyes, "Try again, Dane."

Denmark stuck his tongue out at the two and swiped another dead fish from the bucket. The same thing happened this time around as well, though two birds fought over the fish before taking off and one managed to leave a long scratch on Denmark's hand.

"Oh shit!" Denmark immediately applied pressure to the wound using his opposite hand. He turned to Norway, "Hey Norge! Got bandages?"

In reply, Norway threw rags over in the Dane's direction.

"...thanks."

"You asked for them."

After wrapping his hand, Denmark turned to try again with the puffins. This time more puffins had flown over to take a bite of the fish. Out of frustration Denmark asked, "Hey Norge, can I hold the net?"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"If I let you hold the net, you'll get overly excited and trip over your own two feet or something. Everything will get messed up."

Denmark didn't have the heart to argue. He did have that kind of history. He sighed and repeated the same process, only this time, a whole flock of puffins came for the fish. Denmark almost dropped the bait and made a run for it if Norway hadn't told the Dane to stay in place. His hand was attacked by the puffins fighting over the fish, immediately jerking away from the swarm.

"This is pointless!" Denmark complained loudly.

"Is not!" Iceland responded hotly.

"Is so!"

"Shut up." Norway intervened, shooting Denmark a glare. "We're doing this until we catch a puffin."

"By the time we catch one of those damned puffins, my hands going to be bitten down to the bone!" Denmark retorted, then accusingly pointed at the Norwegian, "Besides! This is your fault! You can't seem to throw a net down on one of these fucking birds if your life depended on it!"

"I never said you had to to help," Norway snapped, his dull eyes narrowing into daggers.

"I said I would, but you're sure as hell not making it easy!"

Iceland watched the argument with an expression torn between anxiety, amusement, and irritation. The two elders were about ready to murder the other when Iceland threw a small pebble at the Dane's back, "Stop it. I'll get my puffin by myself."

And with that, the child went over to the wooden pail to get herself bait.

"Are you serious?" Denmark asked disbelievingly, "You'll get yourself pecked to death."

Iceland paid him no attention, and instead walked purposefully into the large cluster of puffins and upturned the entire bucket. As soon as she did so, puffins crowded around the young child to snatch them selves lunch. Iceland then bent over, picked up a rather small one and made her way outside of the cluster.

She looked up at her two dumbstruck elders. "I got one."

Denmark's glanced at his wounded hand then back at the Icelander who lacked scratches or bruises from those violent birds.

"I don't get it!"

"They like me," the little girl shrugged, stroking her puffin's soft feathers. "They must not like you much."

Denmark frowned, "Whatever... anyone up for puffin tonight?"

"That's not funny." Iceland gave the Dane a hard stare.

"Okay, yeah, I'll admit that wasn't very classy."

"What do you know about class?" Norway asked him flatly.

"Everything! I was born classy! People back home call me the Classy Dane!"

"...Let's head back."

It was getting dark at this point; they had spent the majority of the day packing up getting ready to leave. Norway wanted to shove off as soon as the sun rose. When they returned to the camp, the sun had completely set and the temperature was dropping fast.

"We need to go to sleep soon, alright?" Norway said to Iceland, who nodded. She seemed tired from the day's activity. After they ate a light dinner, Iceland was fast asleep, her new puffin nestled close by to her.

"Jeez," Denmark sighed, looking at them. "To think it was that simple the whole time."

"Hm."

XxX

That morning before the sun had risen, vikings were awake hauling their remaining things onto their ships. Norway was watching, making sure things were running smoothly. Naturally, Denmark was still asleep. Iceland, as a small child, was understandable, but she actually managed to wake up when Norway did and spent the morning sleepily following her brother around doing her best to keep out of the way. Iceland, as a small child, was understandable, but she actually managed to wake up when Norway did and spent the morning sleepily following her brother around doing her best to keep out of the way.

"...huh?" he moaned, blinking awake. He noticed the position of the sun in the sky and bolted upright. "Shit!"

"You slept in again." the man explained, staring at the blond. The Dane raced to the beach where the travelers were climbing into their boats, preparing to leave.

He jumped onto the flagship, landing just as they were about to shove off. Denmark scowled at Norway. "You were going to leave me behind."

"You didn't wake up."

"But I would be stranded there!"

Iceland had fallen back asleep in Norway's arms, and he shifted her to a more comfortable position.

"I fail to see the problem."

"You're really cold, you know that?"

"And yet you continue to bother me..."

"Where's the alcohol?"

"No."

Denmark huffed and ran a hand through his hair. "This is going to be a long trip." He turned back to the Norwegian. "Hey, what are we going to do?"

Norway glanced at him. "About what?"

"Icey. You're out on expeditions all the time, are you just going to leave her alone at your house?"

"I'll figure that out later."

"Hey! He can stay at my place with Finny and Sve!"

"I trust Finland and Sweden, but not you..."

"Whoa, hold on. You trust Sweden the Un-Friendly Giant and Finland the Warfare Psycho, but not me?"

Norway considered the question. "Finland's not bad. He probably just wasn't happy about the subjugation."

"Let me tell you Norge, that guy is insane. You should have seen him fight; I did the world a favor."

"The point is, those two have my trust." Norway stared at Denmark.

"How do I gain your trust?"

"I'm not sure you can at this point."

"What?!"

"You've lost my trust too long ago for me to even consider it now."

"...Jerk."

"Back to the topic at hand," Norway said, "I have some reservations about leaving Iceland at your house, but there's not much that can be done. I'm too busy and she certainly can't come with me."

"Right, she'll be just fine with us!" Denmark replied, grinning.

"I'm sure she will."

Denmark stuck his tongue out. "You still sound distrustful."

A heavy sigh. "It is going to be a long couple of weeks on this ship..."