Basics: Hmm, chapter five. I don't know if I like this yet! I think I'll keep it as is for now. I wouldn't normally settle for it, but maybe it turned out alright? I don't know if their step in their relationship came too fast or not, so please, let me know-- but gently! I am a delicate flower. Kind of. C:

Pairings: Trail!Alfred and Indian!Kai. :3 Potentially more!

Summary: While on the Oregon Trail, Alfred encounters an exotic Indian woman-- countless times. Who is she? And why does she infuriate him so much? AlfredxOC


Chapter Five: The So-Long Blues

Alfred was awoken by the sound of laughter and warm voices. He sat up, rubbing the back of his head and blinking in the early light of dawn. What was going on? He smoothed back his hair and sighed, glancing around.

Pride was knelt down amongst a small crowd of adults and children. The children were just finishing decorating her hair with small brown and black feathers, clapping and laughing. Akando was leading her horse over, set with a bag-- full of supplies, no doubt.

"You gonna miss her, Al?" David asked, teasing, as he sat across from the sleeping American. Alfred blinked over at him and tilted his head in perplexity.

"Miss her?" he asked, confused. "She's... Leaving?" he queried, now standing and fumbling to untie his horse's reins. David watched him curiously.

"Yeah, she's leaving. What'd you think the whole going-away thing was for?" he asked, looking amused as Alfred clumsily climbed onto his horse. Pride had already mounted hers and was calling farewells over her shoulder as she nudged her equine into a canter and began making her way down the trail. By the time Alfred got his bearings, she was naught but a quickly disappearing figure on the horizon. "Alfred?" David laughed. "Where are you going so quickly?"

But Alfred wasn't listening. Instead, he spurred his horse into a gallop, barely avoiding crashing into the crowd of people who had bid their farewell and maneuvering past the three Indian men. None of them were perturbed by his sudden take off, as far as he could see. Instead, they were laughing.

The wind fingered his hair as his horse stretched out into a more floating, smooth gallop, and he followed Pride's figure over a bluff that headed neatly off of the trail. Soon, he overtook her; slipping past her horse, he slid to a stop in front of her-- causing her to stop her own horse.

"What're you doing?" she asked him, her voice poised, as usual. She was watching him warily, though, head cocked to one side.

"Well, I wasn't about to let you leave," Alfred panted, out of breath even though he hadn't been the one doing the running. "Not without telling you good bye myself." He gave her his most dashing grin, which elicited a roll of her eyes.

"There was a reason I didn't let them wake you up, you know," she told him pointedly, absently stroking her horse's neck. He feigned a wounded expression.

"Trying to get rid of me, Pride?" he asked innocently, and she frowned at him. Perhaps he'd been too correct. Clearing his throat, he tilted his head and grew more somber. "Could we just... Maybe relax for a while? At least before you leave?" he queried more seriously this time.

She studied him, quiet seriously, for some time. She seemed to be thinking over his offer, before she assented with a wary nod. "Very well," she replied. "Ride with me, pale face." And with that she trotted off, with Alfred following after her.

They found a spot, near a small creek, where the willows fell softly to the ground. It was more peaceful than he expected from her-- but then again, he wasn't sure exactly what to expect from her. After all, she was unpredictable.

Except for being superior. He could expect that from her.

She slipped from her horse gracefully, seating herself next to the creek. She toyed with the feathers in her hair and fixed them to a more comfortable position. He could have sworn he nearly saw her smile-- the slight tip of her lips upward gave way to what she was remembering.

"I didn't know you were so fond with children," he said after a moment of silence. Sunlight dappled through the leaves of the willows, whose branches and leaves fell to the ground like pale emerald tears. Perhaps the meaning of their name came from it.

"Did you stop me to ask me about my attatchment to the younger of the human race?" she asked him, witheringly, and he hesitated.

"No," he replied after a moment, clearing his throat and sitting down a distance away from her. He paused for a while longer, content with just listening to the birdsong and the gentle, soothing effects of the area. They were nearing the Blue Mountains; the idea struck him as exciting, too. They were nearing their destination at last.

Surprisingly, Pride was the first to break the silence this time.

"Then what did you bring me here for?" she asked him, clearing her throat. Was she awkward? Nervous? He looked over at her with a curious gaze, and imagined he could see a tinge of pink beneath the surface of her cheeks.

What exactly had he brought her here for? He had half a mind to point out that he hadn't brought her anywhere, that in fact she had brought him there, but he didn't mention in and instead looked away, watching the water curve and dip over the land.

"I don't know," he admitted finally, sighing quietly. He toyed with a fallen leaf between his fingers, twisting it around and around until he thought that watching it anymore would make it dizzy.

And it was the truth. He didn't know. The truth was, he wasn't in love. Right? Right. But she was intriguing. He was sad to see her go. He didn't want her to go. He liked to think that their banter had brought them closer than any amount of flirting ever could have. Alfred liked to think that maybe she might, just might, be as taken with him as he was with her. Perhaps even as frustrated because she couldn't stop him and he couldn't stop her.

She was a running river, constantly heading toward the ocean. He had no chance to stop a river, much less a river ocean bound. And he, well, he was a nation. There was no way he was going to give up America for a woman, even a woman as... As different as Miss Pride over there.

"Kai," she said after a moment. She seemed to have been thinking for a long time. A long, long time, in fact, during his whole reverie. When he looked over at her again, staring at her in confusion, she enlightened him. "My name is Kai."

He watched her, and then a smile overtook his features. "Kai," he repeated, grinning now. "What's that mean?" But as he was saying it, she stood and climbed atop her horse once more, also decorated with feathers and the likes. She didn't answer him, and he stood to stop her. But she nudged her horse into a walk and called over her shoulder, "Farewell, pale face," with her hair slung over one shoulder.

"Alfred!" he called after her, leaning against the willow tree. "My name's Alfred!"

She simply waved over her shoulder.

He sighed, looking down at the leaf. Who knew saying good bye to his local frustration would have been so tiring?


Hmmm! A little bit of fluffiness, perhaps?

I couldn't think of how to add in FrUk, or Canada, or Hungary/Prussia yet, but I hope I will soon! I plan on it!

Anyway, I hope you guys liked this. A step further in their relationship, I think. :3