Hello again~! So chapter 2: Alleviate is finally done! And the way the naming system works is that if you're only an acquaintance with another country, you call them by their country name and not their human one. Kind of like calling someone by their first name is Japanese culture. ^^

A big thank you to Dave19941000 for being the first reviewer on my first story, really made my day! I probably won't be able to update that often because of vacationing coming up, but I'll try my best.

Alleviate

About a month or so had passed after that, and we were still only beginning a sure to be long winter. I didn't really mind though, I was pretty much used to the weather. In fact, I considered myself lucky, since I was able to have not only light and unique snowflakes, but also warm and blissful summers.

It was just mid-afternoon. Weak beams of sun stretched into my room, as I was lying on top of my bed, staring at the ceiling. Other than a few stray toys here and there, my room was pretty tidy. I sighed heavily. My point of focus changed from the ceiling to the strand of curled hair that I could never brush or comb down into place. I remember France, being the one who was for focused around style, actually yanked it out at one point, but another grew back to replace it not soon afterwards. And he finally admitted defeat long after I had already come to accept it. This was boring. There was nothing to do.

"Unless I'm with you, don't leave the house." England's words rang in my ears.

I definitely didn't want to defy England either. I knew his heart was in the right place, and that he was only trying to protect me, but I was still a kid then, and at the time, being stuck in the restraints of your house alone was like being in a prison. Playing with toys wasn't as fun unless you had someone to play with.

"I wish England would come visit mor-"

My thought was cut off by a loud THUNK from the window. I flinched, almost expecting a full on attack before I sat up on my bed and turned to see the remains of a snowball pressed against the glass. Confused, I stood up and clicked the window latch open. I looked down below to see the very same girl, honey blonde hair covered by her white toque, pale lavender eyes, and a bright grin to wrap it all up. Greenland.

"Hey! William!" She called to me, waving almost frantically.

"A-Ah…She thinks my name is William…" I thought with slight dismay. Well, at least it was closer then what most people got. I didn't bother correcting her, I had to admit, I was kind of used to it by now.

"C'mon outside! Let's play!" She continued.

"I-I really shouldn't…England sai-"

"I still owe you a snow angel! We can get back before anyone would know!" She shouted back, almost as if she read my mind.

I didn't answer. What if we got caught? I didn't want either France or England to be disappointed in me.

"…Please?"

I smiled lightly. It seemed like the first time anyone was so eager to play with me. It's not that I didn't want to in the first place, it was more so about being uncertain about breaking the rules.

"Alright, just give me a second."

Her face lit up in response.

I pulled away from the window and fastened the panes shut again. I ran down the stairs, rummaging through the closet to find my jacket. I slipped my arms through the sleeves. I was feeling pretty excited just to get out of the house, even if it was pretty cold outside. I burst through the front door, finding Anna patiently waiting for me.

"Let's go!" She gestured to me before sprinting off at full pace to the snow covered forest.

"Hey! W-Wait for me!

It really was one of the best afternoons I've ever had. Round snowflakes fluttered around us, gently landing on the untouched ground. We made an entire snowman family, having to substitute coal for sticks and branches. They ended up looking like misfits to a snowman community. Greenland could barely stop laughing at the finished products.

"At least they're misfits together!" She cried out in between her giggles.

I quickly learned she had an endless supply of optimism. It was contagious. I couldn't help but smile. We twirled through the snow, catching snowflakes on our tongues until it felt like we actually ate enough of them to keep us full. We kept busy from the second I stepped out of the house. Eventually, we even made our way past the forest into clear tundra, land stretching as far as the eye could see. She ran out ahead of me, still full of energy. I jogged after her, trying to keep up almost in vain before I collapsed on my back, barely sinking into the fluffy snow due to my lack of weight and size.

"Can we take a b-break?" I gasped. My breath came out like a misty cloud in this icy air.

She made her way back to me, lying down beside me with a giggle. There was a pause before she spread out her arms and legs, starting the formation of a snow angel. I started on mine anyways, forcing my cold limbs to move. Finally, we were lying inside two almost identical snow angels. We sighed simultaneously. The kind of content sigh that just says: why am I so happy? For a while, we were quiet, our eyes closed with the feeling of soft snowflakes landing on our faces. I guess you could say we were soaking in the moment.

"So, have you done everything you wanted to?" I asked quietly, looking over to her.

She looked like she was deep contemplation before her lavender eyes returned my gaze. Her cheeks were flushed, probably from the icy temperature. She sat up carefully, trying not to leave any marks on her snow angel.

"Well…there's still one more thing I want to do." She answered, shaking some of the dusty snow from the locks of her hair.

She started to get up, looking unsteady on numb limbs and ended up tilting forwards, her hands catching her fall. I started to stand up myself, following her lead.

"And what's that?"

"A Snowball fight!"

And with that, she launched a snowball at me, hitting me right in the face. She laughed; I could imagine she had a grin that was practically stretching from ear to ear as she scooped up some more snow before running back into the forest. It only clicked to me now that she fell on purpose, using that time to make the first snowball. I wiped the snow off my face and glasses quickly, before grabbing a lump of snow and started to chase after her.

I bet she even thought this all through! Even though the forest had a lot of opportune hiding places, the only problem was: she couldn't stop laughing. I found her quickly, her eyes widened. She could tell from my look that I meant business. She made another run for it. I took my chances and threw the snowball her way, striking her square on the back of the head. I have to admit, I felt kind of bad about that.

But, oh, revenge was sweet.

She turned and tossed another snowball at me, I could almost feel that one graze my cheek as it flew by. I took a handful of snow that was collected on a nearby branch and the chase continued. You know, she could run pretty fast for a girl that size. She was out of sight in mere seconds. Her signature laugh was practically echoing through the forest, and that was certainly not helping her.

When I finally caught sight of her, she had stopped dead in her tracks; a snowball fell out of her hand. I grew worried and came up to her. My thoughts on our battle were long gone.

"What's wrong…?" My eyes were fixed on her face. I was so used to seeing her smile that I couldn't stand to see her like this. I finally gathered the courage to follow her gaze.

Drops of blood coloured the snow red. All of them lead to a small white bear, a clearly defined claw mark on its flank. Greenland started to walk up towards it. I reached out my arm to stop her, but hesitated at the last moment and pulled back. That look of devastation she had on her face. I just knew nothing would get in her way. I wanted to comfort her, but no words came through my hazy thoughts.

She knelt down beside it, gingerly brushing its ear. A small polar bear, it had to be a cub, it was no bigger than a puppy. The cuts were deep. Its soft white fur was stained crimson. It looked bad.

"Poor little guy."

As we looked closer, we could see a faint rise and fall of its chest from shallow breaths. Anna stood up; taking a few steps back and took off her tuque. I shook my head at her.

"Anna…"

With her eyebrows furrowed, she stepped on one end of her hat and pulled on the other and began to stretch the white fabric.

"What're you doing?"

"If we don't help him, who will?" She said, looking at me in a way that just made me feel guilty. She took her now ruined hat and gently placed the bear inside this makeshift pouch. She stood up again, holding the bear close to her like a mother would hold their child.

"Your house is closer. William, Please." She begged.

Of the things I could've said, all I could manage was a simple nod.

Our journey back went much slower than before, since we couldn't run with a wounded bear with us. Not a word was said. By the time we made it back, it was around mid to late evening. I opened the door for her; she thanked me as we walked inside.

Coming into the house after a long afternoon outside was like walking into a wall of warmth. I pulled a pillow off the sofa and she delicately placed the bear on top, removing her hat and rested it on the coffee table. We knelt beside the bear; its eyes were closed as it struggled for every breath.

"What do we do?" I asked finally.

Anna was quiet.

"…I don't know…I've never had to treat someone else before."

We were still both too young to know anything about caring for someone that was hurt or even sick.

There was a knock on the front door.

"Canada?" The sound was muffled through the door, but I could tell who it was.

"England!" My mood lifted. He'd know what to do. I started running up to the door, but Greenland blocked my way to stop me.

"Wait William, I can't let England know I'm here. He'll tell Denmark and Norway for sure!" She breathed in a hushed voice, her face in anguish.

"What? What do we do then-"

She already slid open the coat closet door and started to climb in. The closet was practically bursting with old clothes and items, but we didn't really have a choice for hiding places. She had a tight fit.

"Canada?" He called again.

"U-Uhm…just a second!"

She nodded at me gratefully as I slid the door closed.

I unlocked the front door and England stepped inside. He was a tall guy, short messy blonde hair and green eyes. His prominent and thick eyebrows were almost a defining trait for him. I swallowed hard.

"H-H-hi England!" The panic in me was only starting to set in now. I was a terrible liar. I always was. How long could we keep this up? My eyes shifted nervously to the closet, England took no notice. He set down a paper bag filled with groceries on the coffee table.

"I thought I could make you supper tonight." He spoke with a British accent.

My stomach churned, England wasn't really the greatest chief. But that was the least of my problems.

"Dear lord! What have you brought home?" He said, sounding alarmed. I kind of expected the first thing he'd spot would be the bear, how could you miss it? But it still made me jump.

"He's a polar bear." I stared at my feet, not wanting to look England in the eyes.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"You left the house didn't you? It's not like you to break the rules Canada. And what's this?" He picked up the white hat, the blood left red blotches in it. "I don't remember getting you this."

"I-I…..uhm.." The hat! We forgot to hide it. We were done for now. I was drawing a blank, most of my thoughts just repeated 'Oh no' over and over again.

"Canada." England looked at me sternly, "What is going on? The truth. "

I said nothing. I couldn't tell on Greenland. It just wasn't in me. There was a rumble from the closet. England looked up.

"What's that? The closet you say?" He was talking to thin air again. He had told me a few times about his 'friends'. Fairies and magical creatures he told me. All I would do was smile and nod. I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. He had a way of seeming like the most rational person one moment to a completely delusional person the next. It was frightening sometimes.

He walked to up to the closest, and put his hand on the handle.

"N-No!"

But I was too late, he slid the door open and with a bundle of old junk, tumbled out Greenland.

"Greenland, England. England, Greenland."

England's furious stare was returned with Greenland's apologetic, sheepish smile.

"Nice to meet you, England…ahaha…" She laughed nervously.

England glared back at me. Sometimes, people could stare at you so hard, it hurt.

"Canada! You-" England was almost shouting, I cringed.

"It's not his fault!" She interrupted him, "He didn't do anything wrong. He was just being a good friend. I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry." She clasped her hands together; her eyes were brimming with tears.

England shut his eyes and took a long extended sigh. Greenland and I looked at each other as he decided our fate. She mouthed the word 'sorry' to me. I shook my head. She really didn't need to apologize. When he opened his eyes again, he looked relatively calm. I was impressed.

"Alright, alright, alright." He muttered, "Let's deal with the matter at hand for now, shall we?" He said looking to the small polar bear.

"Canada, can you get me the first aid kit from the bathroom cupboard?"

Together, we managed to cleanse and bandage the little bear. We ended up having to shave some of the fur off so it could be cleaned properly. Well, England did most of the work. But at least we learned something.

"Well, that should do it." England sighed, "It looks like he's going to pull through but, we should still let him rest for the time being."

Greenland and I exchanged a relieved look.

"How about I cook some supper now? Greenland, you're welcome to stay if you wish."

She nodded shyly. I couldn't warn her with England right beside us. She doesn't know what she'd in for. Even after all of that, we still didn't escape England's cooking.

Anna grew much more quiet and shy when we were in the presence of an adult; it kind of made me feel special to see her bubbly and talkative self after supper again. I didn't realize how long it had taken to bandage the polar bear, that when supper did come rolling along the corner, we were both hungry enough to make anything taste good in our minds. England let us free until he finished cleaning up the kitchen. Of course, our first choice was to check on the polar bear. We sat down beside it, watching it sleep. Anna smiled and clasped her hands together, commenting on how much better he looked. I was glad to see her so happy. England walked in.

"My my, what are we to do with this bear? Especially now that you two seem so attached to it."

Greenland turned to England. "England, I was thinking," she glanced back at me before continuing, "Maybe it would be better if Will-" She stopped herself, "I mean…Canada could keep him as a pet."

England looked at me as if he were judging to see if I was ready for a pet.

"What I'm trying to say is, he could keep Canada company when you can't be around to play with him." She petted the cub's soft pelt.

I was surprised. How did she know how much I was left alone? Is that the reason she came here to play in the first place? I looked at England and did my own manner of pleading.

England made a noise that was pretty close to a growl, but his hard look softened into a smile as he looked at us.

"..Fine."

My expression brightened and I thanked England vigorously, hugging his leg. He actually looked flustered for once.

"H-Hey! Greenland, I'll take you home." He said, taking her hand and started to pull her out of the room.

"Ah! Wait!" I called, but my voice came out quiet. "What do we name him?"

Greenland pulled feebly against England, using her free hand to put a finger to her lip.

"Hm…" England paused long enough for her face to light up with an idea, "How about Kumajirou? It's cute~!" She called out as England tugged her outside and shut the door behind them.

"What?" I didn't hear what she said. What a day this was. I knelt beside the small cub.

"Kumadaijiro?" What that it? That sounded about right.

"Who're you?" One of his eyes opened lazily, as he answered me back. I smiled warmly.

"I'm Canada, your owner."