May 19, 2016
Once inside the metal compound, Macarona was taking her time in looking around, she didn't hear Rawberry put a hand on the young angel's back-which resulted in the red eyed girl shrieking and hiding behind Sealand, a look of fright on her features.
Due to this action, Rawberry concluded Macarona trusted this boy enough and she laughed before skipping off away from the two of them. "Such a scaredy cat~!"
The demon slowed down and went quiet. The pink haired demon blinked a few times, glancing around slowly, before huffing something to herself. "Nah..."
Sealand quickly trotted through the hall, leading the two girls to the kitchen area, then paused and whipped out a wheel of ducktape as he saw a stream of water pouring out from one of his walls. He quickly taped two pieces of the durable material in an X over the water spout, frowning to himself and making a mental note to learn how to wield a blowtorch and solder metal with it.
Maybe there would be an online course or something, somewhere.
Rawberry seemed to be looking around the kitchen Sealand led them to, Macarona was too nervous to do anything but watch the young boy tape the wall. "Yoo! Sealand, are there any other people here?" The demon questioned while looking around for dents or food.
Macarona glanced over to the pink haired demon and blinked. She had forgotten about that…no one seemed to be around…why ask now though? The young angel frowned slightly.
"Hmm? Oh no, I only have a few citizens and my boss Super Larry is in that jerk Britain's country, trying to get us recognized, so I'm on my own for today." Sealand admitted cheerfully, dashing across the kitchen with his roll of tape as another gush of water spurted from the iron wall. He taped it down and then took off his hat, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm. "Whew! So far, it's been a day of hard maintenance and chasing off seagulls."
"If you don't like chasing off those seagulls, I could do it for you~" Rawberry purred with a toothy grin –effectively alerting Macarona back to her frightened sense.
"Nooo! Rawberry! Leave those poor birds alone!" The young angel squeaked out, then she hid her face with her hands. Macarona wasn't sure if she should protest more, but soon decided not to take any action.
Waving off Macarona, Rawberry laughed lightly before walking up to Sealand and whispering to him so the angel couldn't hear "I think it's a bit of a bad day for you to be 'home' alone today." Then Rawberry turned slightly, looking up at nothing, frowning. "This is gonna suck..." she mumbled to herself.
Sealand looked at her in surprise. "Why's that?" he asked as he finally finished taping the walls and headed over to a cupboard, throwing it open and pulling out some bread and scones.
"..." The frown still on her face, Rawberry slowly shook her head. Her eyes brightened when he took out the bread and scones. The demon ended up smiling. "Scones are awesome...!"
Macarona walked over from her spot, "Scones? Oh, Rawberry I forgot that you loved them..." The last time the two had scones was when they had last visited BlancBlack castle. Lady Etihw thought it would be a good idea to share some of their sweets along with tea. Luckily it ended peacefully. Jokes and laughter…
The young angel smiled. "I like them too."
Sealand beamed. "Scones are the best!"
A sudden look of fear overcame his face. "But you should never, ever, ever eat the ones that Britain makes. Ever. You'll seriously die if you do."
He shuddered, as if remembering a horror too unspeakable to even think about, and abruptly returned to his normal cheery personality.
"I think there's some jam and butter, do you guys want any?" he asked as he set out a few plates, smiling happily.
Rawberry chuckled, deeming this 'Britain' was an interesting fellow. The demon could eat just about anything –often described to be a 'bottomless pit' by others. The young pink haired thought any food that had potential to kill her must be very dangerous…Challenge considered, was her definite last idea before raising a hand and cheering, "Jam!"
Nearly copying the shudder Sealand did, Macarona kept a smile. Of course Rawberry would go for jam. The young angel knew how fond the demon was of jam. Strawberry jam happened to be one of Rawberry's top fives though. "Butter, please." Macarona requested.
Sealand beamed before taking out the respective jars and putting them in front of the two girls. He hopped up onto one of the chairs surrounding a slightly worn wooden table, setting out all the plates and food like a good host should. Britain may have been a-stupid-limeyface-jerkhole, but he at least taught you how to be polite.
The girls took their own seat as well. Rawberry held a small eager look in her eyes, excited to taste scones and jam. Rawberry put her hands together, saying a silent prayer before grinning playfully and immediately snacking on the scones after it was spread with jam. The pink haired ate mercilessly. Shame the demon didn't have her caterpillar jam on her.
Macarona kept her smile, even though this place was somewhat rundown the young angel didn't mind it here all that much. Not as great as home; but she still liked it. The young angel even admired Sealand's dedication to the… country. Ignoring Rawberry's bad eating habits and table manners, Macarona ate her scones and butter slowly. The young angel blinked and stopped eating, a thought reappeared from before. "Um...Sealand, I have a small question..." She then pointed to her small white feathery wings and frowned slightly. "Can you see these?"
Sealand blinked twice. "Well yeah, of course. Why?"
Rawberry was silent.
Macarona let out a small sigh of relief. "Thats good...for a moment I thought it was invisible to others here..." she smiled before finishing her proportion of scones. Macarona blinked in surprise after a second, glancing the pink haired demon. "Rawberry?"
The demon was on her last scone, but Rawberry already put it back down in an careful manner. Smiling slightly, Rawberry put her last scone on Macarona's plate. "...I shouldn't get too full." The demon muttered. The pink haired slowly got up from her chair and stretched for a moment. "Thanks for the food." She said to Sealand with a polite sounding tone.
Rawberry...? Her best friend was acting strange. Macarona felt very concerned but she didn't know how to question it.
Sealand finished his own scones and blinked curiously at the two girls. "So, what are you doing way out here on my country?" he asked obliviously, standing up with his plate. "I normally don't get a lot of visitors."
I can see that. Rawberry dryly commented to herself before replying than looking up once more. "...Out of all the places, this one seemed most interesting." Now, that wasn't an exact lie. This metal place amused her.
Macarona shifted uneasily. The young angel wasn't sure how to answer.
Sealand's eyes turned huge and filled with stars, and he tackled Rawberry in a huge hug, squealing over and over "thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou" as he nuzzled her neck.
Rawberry blinked in surprise and (maybe shock?) at the action. In all honesty the demon didn't expect a hug. Rawberry didn't even notice if she was being pretty tightly. A soft smile formed on her face, and by moving one arm she patted Sealand on his head twice. "You're welcome..."
Macarona was beaming at the sight. Maybe being stuck here isn't so bad after all. At least they gained a new friend. The angel failed to notice how Rawberry suddenly looked uneasy.
Rawberry quickly covered her unease with the smile once more.
Sealand let go and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that, but nobody ever appreciates my country. They all want to visit places like Seychelles or Wy."
Rawberry kept a lazy smile. "Oh? Weird names. Can't say I've heard of 'em." Rawberry likes weird things though. The demon opened her mouth to say more, but she flinched slightly and glanced around. "Ho boy..."
Macarona blinked at Rawberry then glanced around as well."...What?" The young angel questioned softly, a small trace of fear lingered in her voice.
The pink haired demon frowned and turned to Sealand seriously. "Yo, Sealand, Are there hiding places here?" Frowns did not match with the demons face, its so unlike her...
Sealand looked blank, his slightly fuzzy eyebrows drawing together. "Places to hide? Well, my country is an old abandoned naval fort, so, like, maybe I guess. There are lots of corners and cupboards and things like that." he said in confusion, then brightened. "Why? Do you wanna play hide and seek?"
Rawberry scratched her head softly. "I guess you can say that..." The young demon stared at Sealand, than looked to Macarona. "Cupboards and corners huh...?" Rawberry thought a moment before nodding to herself. She pointed at Sealand, than once more, Macarona. "You two, hide. Don't come out in any circumstances though. Can you do that? Its fair game. Don't give away your spots. Play this seriously." The demon warned with a dark look in her pink eyes.
Macarona looked at her feet before nodding, not a particular fan of the game. "Whatever you say, Rawberry..." The young angel would play along this time.
Rawberry turned back to Sealand with a questioning glance. "Alright?"
Sealand grinned. "Hide and seek, huh? I can totally do that, prepared to have the pants beaten off of you!" he said excitedly, pointing at both Macarona and Rawberry, then grabbed the former by the hand and dragged her off further into the depths of the rusty fort.
Rawberry have them both a toothy grin before they were out of site. "Can't wait.~" she sing-songed and waved them off. The demon went still before cracking her knuckles. "...This is gonna be troublesome."
OoooOoooOooo
Macarona didn't like being dragged off for two reasons. One, she hated the just about creepy feeling she got from it, and two, Rawberry worried her. The young angel felt something was wrong. The young angel just had no confidence to ask. Also, Macarona hated Hide and Seek with just Rawberry. However, since Sealand was here...this meant the game would have less of a chance for Rawberry to go too far.
The demon had an issue with games like these-taking them way too far. Macarona remembered the accident resulting in patching bleeding wounds. Not pretty, and definitely not painless.
"E-Erm...Sealand, I'm not a good hider..." The young angel quietly admitted, latching herself onto Sealand's arm. Rawberry would usually win these games anyways.
Predator and her prey...
That's how it's been whenever two or more play with Rawberry.
Sealand smirked confidently, tugging the girl along the hallway. "Don't worry! I can find a great hiding place for the both of us!" he said, beaming.
It didn't matter how good Rawberry was at hide and seek, this was his country, and nobody could find him when he decided to hide on his home ground!
"O-Okay..." She trusted that Sealand knew what he was doing. Macarona felt calm enough to keep silent the rest of the way. Hopefully, the game won't go on for too long. The young angel wondered how Sealand could be so calm…Macarona would have usually sped off by now. These games make her uneasy.
Sealand came to a halt as they entered what seemed to a storage room, and bent down, tugging on the floor until a trapdoor popped open. He waved Macarona towards it. "Ladies first!" he said politely, offering Macarona a hand to step down.
"Eep!..." Macarona squeaked as she bit her lip softly; they were hiding here? Macarona couldn't help but think of the scary stories that Grora –one of Etihw's angels– would speak of. As much as the young angel wanted to protest- she put in a brave front and took Sealand's hand, quietly stepping down into the place below. I can do this...!
Sealand beamed and hopped down beside the angel, closing the trapdoor behind him. The trap door actually led to another rope-and-plank harness, except this one was much bigger and sturdier. Sealand calmly lay down on his stomach, his head hanging over the side. "If you look really hard, sometimes you can see fishes down there!" he told Macarona excitedly, before promptly following his own advice, tipping his sailor hat back slightly so that it wouldn't fall in.
"Really?" Macarona gaped before she slid down just to confirm that fact. She wanted to see! The young angel made sure her clothes wouldn't get too dirty and squinted her eyes. There were so many kinds of fish she could see here!
Her fears, temporarily forgotten...despite knowing at this time; Rawberry should be looking for them.
Sealand watched the fish with a happy smile on his face, but he wasn't really seeing them. Despite the fact that he was more or less the youngest nation in the world, both physically and mentally, he knew that two young females –with wings– dropping out of the sky was not a common occurrence. Maybe they were some of England's Fæ, sent to keep an eye on him?
Stupid Jerkland, I don't need babysitters.
Although, maybe Jerkland had sent them so he could have some playmates?
Well, that was slightly-less-stupid of him. Sealand could totally find friends, if he wanted! He was too busy managing his soon-to-be-awesome-and-famous-worldwide country!
Macarona seemed to be lost in the fish watching, but eventually snapped out of it. The young angel rubbed her eyes for good measure and looked at Sealand. She kept her voice to a low whisper because she knew talking normally would most likely give them away. "Is this place sound proof?" She questioned to him in wonder before looking back at the fishes.
Macarona never really got to look at fish so close or even get close to them. Macarona was too scared of water- meaning every time she went to the beach with the others, she would try building sand castles. ...Even though 80% of the time Rawberry would smash the sand buildings back down –despite the wailing protests from the young angel. In the end, Rawberry always made it up to her. Giving apologies and... adding the puppy-eyed effect to force Macarona's guard down. Then giving the angel some strawberry jam and sometimes even fresh strawberries.
It was sweet, and Macarona was always grateful for it…She was grateful for the scones Sealand gave her too of course. It was wonderful.
Sealand scrunched up his nose in thought. "Well, kinda." he admitted. "The steel above us is pretty thick, so I don't think anyone inside the compound could hear us if we're talking normally. But since we're in the open air, if we shouted really loud…" He trailed off meaningfully, and looked at the edge of the country above them. "Plus, Rawberry has wings, so she could fly down here and find us if she wanted."
"I hope she won't find us that quickly..." Macarona wasn't sure if Rawberry would even go as far to use wings for a simple game. The young angel was certain Sealand couldn't fly –that should eliminate the options to ground and underground. She knew Rawberry was smart. Preferably lazy, weird and somewhat confusing…but still smart. "I'm only concerned about Rawberry's predator excitement..."
Because everything else but that should be fair game.
Thud
Macarona held back a squeak, going stiff. She was either hearing things –or something landed outside of their hiding spot.
Sealand looked up at the thump, tilting his sailor hat back forwards.
Macarona kept quiet...although the young angel covered her face in fear. She was internally debating if games like these were for her. She already wanted to drop out –but that would be a buzzkill to whoever else wanted to play.
It seemed the noise now turned into something more faint. Most likely footsteps -but for some reason the angel had an eerie gut feeling and also looked up in wonder. ...It seems a bit too early for the pink haired demon to snap –so what exactly, was Rawberry doing?
Stalling? Luring? ...Macarona didn't know, but it heightened her determination to stay quiet and lay low.
Sealand also remained still, closing his eyes and silently telling the material part of his country –his fort, his land– that the invader above him must not find his location. Was it a bit childishly competitive of him? (Not to mention probably against fair play?) Yes. Did he care? Not really. Sealand was Sealand and nobody could catch him when he was in his very own fort. The very land itself would hide him –and Macarona too, by extension.
Macarona listened immensely to whatever noise could be detected from above. She still had hope. She silently prayed to Etihw that the two wouldn't be found. The young angel stilled her wings. Macarona now fully made sure her concentration was on the noise.
There was a faint growl of frustration, before quick footsteps that disappeared in volume until it was silent from above once more.
Macarona let out a small sigh of relief, than put her head to the floor in exhaustion. Whhhy is this game so hard...? she silently whined, ignoring the fact Rawberry may not have given up just yet. Lifting her head, she looked over to Sealand with a questioning glance.
Sealand beamed confidently and gave the angel a thumbs up. Rawberry might be good, but nobody, nobody could beat him!
Macarona smiled at him, Well –it seemed Sealand had no problems with this. Being confident and all. The young angel held back a small giggle.
About 10 more minutes of silence before the angel decided to speak up. "Did we win..?"
Sealand frowned, removing his sailor hat and scratching at his ruffled blonde hair. "Well, doesn't hide and seek usually end when the seeker gives up? I mean, we don't know whether or not she gave up yet, but…"
He trailed off, removing his hand and plunking the hat back on, looking slightly frustrated. "Oh well. I guess we could stay here for like ten more minutes or something?" he suggested hesitantly, still clearly uncertain as to the rules of this particular game.
Macarona nodded at the suggestion, ten more minutes shouldn't be too bad.
So then, there was 10 long minutes of silence.
Macarona turned back to Sealand with an almost amused expression on her face. "I think she either gave up -or forgot by now." she warned dryly. Both possibilities were possible.
Sealand chuckled and then stood up, grabbing the bottom edge of the trapdoor and pushing up. He poked his head up through the hole, looking around, then hopped back up and reached down to offer Macarona his hand.
Being the small gentle angel she is Macarona shyly took Sealand's hand with a grateful smile…hoping she won't fall down somehow. Macarona didn't expect the offer but then again, Sealand has been acting very polite ever since they got here.
Minus the small comments about this 'Britain' fellow.
Sealand carefully replaced the trapdoor and shuffled some crates over it, effectively hiding the hiding place, and tugged at the collar of his sailor's suit, psyching himself up. "Right, let's go find Rawberry and tell her we won!" he said triumphantly, throwing his shoulders back and marching proudly into the barracks.
Macarona smiled almost brightly, skipping after him. "Right~" It was her second win! ... All the other times during Hide and Seek-she would always slip up and lose somehow. It always killed some of her game spirit. The young angel's small white wings fluttered slightly because of the mood.
She was excited to boast the slightest bit to Rawberry.
Sealand looked around as they wandered through the indoor compound, wondering where Rawberry could be. She was in here, wasn't she?
Macarona shuffled a bit, since Rawberry didn't seem to be anywhere in sight –it unnerved her. "M-Maybe she's in the kitchen?" It was the only place the young angel could think of that matched Rawberry's taste.
Nevertheless, Macarona felt uneasy and stuck close to Sealand.
A lightbulb popped up over Sealand's head as she spoke. "Hey, yeah! That makes a lot of sense, you're so smart!" he said proudly, grabbing her hand and rapidly dragging her off to the kitchen.
Macarona blinked and her face flushed at the comment. She quickened her pace to follow him without tripping the both of them. "T-Thanks..." the young angel murmured.
OoooOoooOooo
The demon was in fact, actually in the kitchen. The pink haired girl, however, lying on the floor. Rawberry was close to the table, eyes hidden because of the pink hair that covered almost her entire face. A painful grimace on the pale being's lips.
Sealand blinked and stared at the pink-haired girl on the floor. "H-hey! Are you okay?!" he blurted, letting go of Macarona's hand and scuttling over to the demon.
Since Sealand didn't receive a response from the pink haired demon, Macarona ran over and kneeled next to her friend. Sorrow written over her features. "R-Rawberry! Rawberry!" The young angel went quiet, for a moment she thought a finger twitched on Rawberry's laid form.
12.46, USA Central Time