(no subject)

[mounties]

[Screw this being indoors noise, Canada is too disgruntled at the whole idea of being stuck somewhere she doesn't want to be (and honestly, it's bad enough being at England's house too long for whatever reason she gives, or when Canada had to spend long weeks in London fighting paperwork for autonomy) to worry too much about the small room she'd been assigned. She needed more space than that.

And so she is outside, trying to befriend a squirrel. It's not going so well. They're sort of rude, here.]

Comments

[floods]

[She was just wandering around, trying to get a good feeling for the surroundings - always useful if worse comes to worse - but she did not expect to see someone she knew around.

She walks over to her and stops maybe two metres behind Canada.]

Morning.

[mounties]

[Canada is this close to lunging for the squirrel and shaking it, so good timing. She turns around and looks up, immediately putting on a smile when she sees who it is and stands to greet her.]

Morning, Nederland.

[floods]

How did you get here?

[Instead of a handshake, you, get a pat on the arm. Sisfist, or something like that.]

[mounties]

I... Well. [Mental floundering. What if Netherlands is here of her own accord and Canada not knowing would just make her seem ridiculous?]

I spend a lot of time in the Isles. Family, and all.

[floods]

[Some mental floudering over here too. She is pretty sure that she wasn't high for the last couple of hours, she's been making an effort to be for a while now. And she clearly remembers that this is not her world.

Maybe Canada hasn't noticed yet?]

So you took the wrong turn when visiting them?

[mounties]

Y-

I have no idea. [ D: ] Nothing anyone says make sense and I was last an ocean and an entire damn continent away. [She's pretty sure she would have remembered something between Vancouver and London.]

[floods]

You need a coffee.

[She'll put an arm around Canada's shoulders and pretty much drag her down the street if the other woman doesn't follow her lead fast enough.]

[mounties]

[The younger nation makes a noise sort of along the lines of a squeak before she gets adjusted to the fact that oh, they're moving now, but then she does a decent job of keeping up, sticking to Netherlands' side.]

How did you get here, then?

[floods]

Through a door.

[She snorts.]

Suddenly, it was raining. That was rather obvious.

[deadpans]

[ Being indoors is boring, not to mention stuffy. There's not much to do aside from: a) cleaning (which he already did and he doesn't plan on doing it again, he's not Sweden), b) reading (has conquered all the books, reading the same thing twice is lame), c) watching TV (England's TV shows is even lamer than re-reading the books), and d) staring at the walls (a choice for people on the brink of insanity, but unfortunately, he's still sane). Someone here is seriously considering getting a job soon.

Anyway, since there's virtually nothing to do, Iceland's going to take a walk. It's kind of lame because it reminds him of his current status (read: stranded in another world which, unfortunately, is lame, and it's even lamer because he's stuck in England's house), but it's better than staring at the walls, you know? That's when he ran into a girl who reminded him of a certain (male) nation. Cue staring. ]

[mounties]

[Canada is in the middle of quietly telling off a squirrel for being rude, while they glare at each other from opposite ends of little half-wall, when she realizes she's being watched and awkwardly trails off.]

Did you-- oh, no, sorry. [She was going to ask if Iceland got a haircut, but caught herself just in time.] Can I help you?

[deadpans]

[ Well, he didn't mean to watch her like a creeper like that (although he had to admit that the so-called exchange between her and the squirrel was quite...interesting, not to mention cute), but she looked strangely familiar. That's all. ]

N- no, I'm fine. [ He seemed vaguely startled and more than a little abashed when she acknowledged his presence, because being caught staring is totally embarrassing, okay. Especially when it comes to total strangers... ] I didn't mean to interrupt. Sorry.

[ Starts fidgeting awkwardly. ]

It's just that...you seemed familiar. [ ...okay, he wasn't supposed to say that. He was supposed to walk away and mind his own business. It's not too late to take back what he just said, but he can't help it, he's terribly curious to see her response. ]

[mounties]

Oh! So it's not just me!

[She blurts it out without thinking, only to catch herself a moment later, nose wrinkling in distaste for her own lack of brain-to-mouth filter. Someone reminding her of someone else is absolutely no excuse for acting like a weirdo.]

I mean, um, sorry. It's fine. [A rather long pause, and then she rushes herself to speak again before he can.] I'm Canada. Nice to meet you.

[deadpans]

[ The sudden exclamation surprised him, a little, and he found himself staring at her in the same bewildered manner as he did when he first ran into her. He quickly regained his composure, though, and shifted his gaze elsewhere. ]

No, you're not the only one.

[ The silence is definitely awkward, and he wondered if he should say anything. Before he could, though, she already beats him to it. ]

...Canada? [ He can't help but gaped at her. He suppose it's possible, since she looked eerily similar to the Canada he know, but- ] But Canada is, uh. A guy. Though, you looked a lot like him...

[ Trails off, got lost in his thoughts before he remembered that he haven't told her his name yet. ]

I'm Iceland, by the way. In case you haven't guessed. [ A beat. ] Don't tell me I'm supposed to be a girl.

[ Deadpans, yep. ]

[mounties]

Well, umm, I don't think it's politically correct these days to tell anyone what gender they're supposed to identify as, but... [Not that disregarding gender norms would be an odd thing for a nation, anyway. She's certainly dressed as a man more times than she can count. But. None of those things are going on right now, so she stops herself, sort of awkwardly.]

Iceland was a girl last I saw her, yes.

Umm. This is weird?

[deadpans]

Yeah, it's not politically correct, but we're not talking about this gender thing in that context. We're talking about it in the interdimensional context.

[ Pointing out the (not-so) obvious? He was about to tell her to not take this entire thing seriously anyway, lest she'll lost her sanity, but ended up correcting her because. ]

Alright, so, speaking in the interdimensional context, there exists another dimension where our genders are switched...or something. [ Someone is genre savvy. Whoops. ] ...yeah, this is weird.

[mounties]

[He was perhaps a bit more articulate with it than she would have been (interdimensional context, how fancy!) but it didn't change that she also understood that that sort of something was going on. How and why are very important questions not likely to be answered, but she thinks about them anyway as she frowns at Iceland.]

So... stuck in a bad sci-fi. Did you fly through any ion storms lately?

[legendaryfire]

He wants you to feed him.

[ Don't mind Hikaru, she communes with animals sometimes. ]

Here, see?

[ She tosses a piece of candy on the ground a few feet away. The squirrel hears it fall, looks at Hikaru, looks at the candy, looks back at Hikaru, and then dives after the candy. ]

[mounties]

Oh. I see.

[She watches the squirrel a moment, lips pressed into a thin line because candy should not be required to win anything's attentions, and then turns to the other person.]

Thank you.

[legendaryfire]

[ Squirrels aren't exactly moral. ]

It's no trouble! These little critters can be tricky.

I'm Hikaru. Nice to meet you!

[mounties]

They can be, yes...

Ah, nice to meet you, too, Hikaru. I'm Canada.

[legendaryfire]

You must like squirrels a lot if you're trying to play with them.

[mounties]

Mine are usually much nicer.

[Which means that she will neither confirm nor deny that. But yes, her soft spot for squirrels is the same size as that for her beavers.]

[legendaryfire]

You have pet squirrels?

[mounties]

I wouldn't call them pets.