(no subject)
So uh...I did have this written yesterday like I promised, and I actually sort of was going to try to send it over for the writing/beta-ing part of the party back home (because I'm sure it needs it badly) but I also got a little distracted. By Walmart. And Nerf guns. And movies. And sledding at midnight (which is a bad idea guys, I highly suggest not ever doing this). Buh.
That winter, Russia begins searching through his people, looking for those who would be willing to start a new life in a new land. With a little bit of convincing, it doesn’t take long before he has enough people interested in leaving behind a life in a frozen land for life in a land yet untamed. When spring comes once more he leaves with two ships, one filled with his explorers, the other with his volunteers.
The first arrive at the southern site, and the little boy from before is waiting when they finally make landfall, the blue scarf still tightly wrapped around his neck. He follows Russia everywhere he goes, and Russia even finds him curled up with him in his makeshift bed some mornings.
It is almost harder to tell him that he must leave again, but Russia needs to explore the northern lands again, and this time his people will be there in his stead. He has already asked several of the mothers who have their own children to watch over him should he appear lost or lonely. Russia hugs the boy right before he sets off, and leaves him with the biggest box of sweets he has brought with him. Again, Russia can feel him watching as he walks away.
They sail north, until Russia is almost sure they’re at the place they first made landfall, and they stop there. Russia and his men set about trying to build the start of a second settlement, and over the days he catches only glimpses of the second boy.
Finally, Russia leaves a small bag of candy outside of their makeshift shelter; it is gone the next morning when he wakes, and he knows that this is the first step towards coaxing the boy out.
He leaves out more small gifts before he goes to sleep every night, then takes to leaving them out during the day when he knows the boy will see that he is the one leaving them. When he thinks that it has been long enough, Russia sets aside a day from work, and just sits out in a relatively quiet spot with a bag of candy to wait. Soon enough, he sees the boy glancing out from behind the trees; Russia continues waiting, until he finally hears the sound of tiny footsteps again the earth and finally looks away from the sky to see the boy carefully approaching him. The boy stops when he realizes Russia is looking, and Russia just smiles and moves the bag of candy so that it is sitting between them. The boy doesn’t meet Russia’s eyes as he continues his approach, or when he gingerly takes a seat a careful distance away from Russia, or when he snatches the bag of candy and starts to eat it.
Russia says nothing, just sits and watches and smiles. The boy eventually finishes the candy, and, still refusing took at Russia, turns and skitters back to the woods. Russia continues watching the place he disappeared from, and finally stands and returns to his people.
The next day, he is surprised to see the boy watching them as they work. He’s barely a meter from the trees, and has wrapped himself up into as tiny a ball as he can apparently manage, but for the first time since Russia had seen him two years ago he isn’t hiding himself away.
Russia continues their more private meetings, going every other day with a gift until this boy isn’t at all hesitant to greet him. Although he was a great deal more reserved than his brother to the south, Russia found that he was still open to learning and company; so Russia did his best to teach him his language and invite him to join their meals so that he would learn that the Russian men were not to be feared.
When it came time to leave, Russia gave the boy his favorite of the toys and the second of the scarves. He had also tried to hug him, as he had learned the effectiveness of this as a parting gesture, but that just sent the boy scampering away into the night. The next day, when they were boarding the ship, Russia saw him hiding amongst the almost-finished houses, the scarf wrapped around his neck in a clumsy imitation of how Russia wore his own; the red of it stood out among the greens and browns, and Russia used it to watch the boy until his sight could no longer span the distance.
First part here
That winter, Russia begins searching through his people, looking for those who would be willing to start a new life in a new land. With a little bit of convincing, it doesn’t take long before he has enough people interested in leaving behind a life in a frozen land for life in a land yet untamed. When spring comes once more he leaves with two ships, one filled with his explorers, the other with his volunteers.
The first arrive at the southern site, and the little boy from before is waiting when they finally make landfall, the blue scarf still tightly wrapped around his neck. He follows Russia everywhere he goes, and Russia even finds him curled up with him in his makeshift bed some mornings.
It is almost harder to tell him that he must leave again, but Russia needs to explore the northern lands again, and this time his people will be there in his stead. He has already asked several of the mothers who have their own children to watch over him should he appear lost or lonely. Russia hugs the boy right before he sets off, and leaves him with the biggest box of sweets he has brought with him. Again, Russia can feel him watching as he walks away.
They sail north, until Russia is almost sure they’re at the place they first made landfall, and they stop there. Russia and his men set about trying to build the start of a second settlement, and over the days he catches only glimpses of the second boy.
Finally, Russia leaves a small bag of candy outside of their makeshift shelter; it is gone the next morning when he wakes, and he knows that this is the first step towards coaxing the boy out.
He leaves out more small gifts before he goes to sleep every night, then takes to leaving them out during the day when he knows the boy will see that he is the one leaving them. When he thinks that it has been long enough, Russia sets aside a day from work, and just sits out in a relatively quiet spot with a bag of candy to wait. Soon enough, he sees the boy glancing out from behind the trees; Russia continues waiting, until he finally hears the sound of tiny footsteps again the earth and finally looks away from the sky to see the boy carefully approaching him. The boy stops when he realizes Russia is looking, and Russia just smiles and moves the bag of candy so that it is sitting between them. The boy doesn’t meet Russia’s eyes as he continues his approach, or when he gingerly takes a seat a careful distance away from Russia, or when he snatches the bag of candy and starts to eat it.
Russia says nothing, just sits and watches and smiles. The boy eventually finishes the candy, and, still refusing took at Russia, turns and skitters back to the woods. Russia continues watching the place he disappeared from, and finally stands and returns to his people.
The next day, he is surprised to see the boy watching them as they work. He’s barely a meter from the trees, and has wrapped himself up into as tiny a ball as he can apparently manage, but for the first time since Russia had seen him two years ago he isn’t hiding himself away.
Russia continues their more private meetings, going every other day with a gift until this boy isn’t at all hesitant to greet him. Although he was a great deal more reserved than his brother to the south, Russia found that he was still open to learning and company; so Russia did his best to teach him his language and invite him to join their meals so that he would learn that the Russian men were not to be feared.
When it came time to leave, Russia gave the boy his favorite of the toys and the second of the scarves. He had also tried to hug him, as he had learned the effectiveness of this as a parting gesture, but that just sent the boy scampering away into the night. The next day, when they were boarding the ship, Russia saw him hiding amongst the almost-finished houses, the scarf wrapped around his neck in a clumsy imitation of how Russia wore his own; the red of it stood out among the greens and browns, and Russia used it to watch the boy until his sight could no longer span the distance.
First part here