Russia was annoyed.

And Alfred, now cleaned up, and put into clothing that wasn't ragged at the edges (or stained with blood- the scars the boy had, and he wasn't even a hundred yet!), was obviously pretending not to notice how Russia was annoyed. Or how the large Nation loomed over him, casting the bright gold of his hair into shadow.

"Ivan." Matthew's voice held a note of warning.

"Da?" Russia just smiled innocently. "You want something, Matevy?"

"We talked about this before. Stop looming." The boy hadn't reacted to Russia beyond a wary glance, honestly. While the relief that the boy hadn't chosen the large Nation as a mentor or guardian was wonderful, Matthew had to wonder if he was the only one who was concerned that Russia might push the point-

"It's okay, Mattie," The smile that was bestowed on Canada was full of confident sunshine. "He doesn't scare me."

"Very brave, this one," Ivan said, and Matthew caught a glimpse of something bordering upon respect in the eyes that were as violet as his own. "It is too bad that he-"

A soft sound pulled Canada's attention away from his shared glare with Russia.

Alfred's eyes were wide and staring- but not at the little office that Canada had commandeered to await the transportation to Spain. It was as though the boy was –

The soft tink-tink-tink of pens falling off the edge of the desk were the next sign. The trees outside the window were swaying wildly- An earthquake. They had been warned about the seismic activity before they'd even arrived. Canada had never personally seen the effects of an earthquake on another Nation, but he'd heard-

"Little one, are you all right?" Russia had caught Alfred before he could topple out of the chair.

"It's the earthquake." Matthew murmured, kneeling to check over the boy. There was already a faint bruise marking his left arm. "Maybe we should wait a few days before-"

"I need to go find him." Alfred's voice was small, "Please- he's all alone, and I promised."

"Alfred..." All alone? Spain was hardly alone. Perhaps Portugal, or -

"I'm fine, it doesn't hurt-" Alfred had broken away from Russia. "If the quake affected me, I need to find out if he's okay-"

"Transportation awaits," Francis chose that moment to return, pausing dramatically in the doorway. "The quake was mild enough to-"

"France." Russia was smiling at Francis, as always, "Have your people or Spain's started to colonize the Eastern Atlantean islands?"

Damnit. Russia was one step ahead of Canada.

"Oui. Some of the most stubborn and pigheaded citizens of Europe worked out a colony three years before the islands were declared habitable. I do not know how they managed to survive, but they have."

"Are they geologically stable?" Matthew swallowed hard, looking at Alfred's anxious blue eyes. The boy had been silent and shaking for a few minutes. "The largest one-"

"Avalon. I don't know why they named it that, but yes, the eastern islands are less prone to quakes, which is why they could be colonized earlier."

"That's where we need to go." Alfred's voice was soft, shaken. The chattering confidence had vanished in the wake of this new information. "Where I need to go."

"Shall we, then?" Francis gestured towards the door, "Ireland is waiting."