Track of Doom (open!)

[Annelise Eiriksen]

If there was ever a class that should have been abolished due to child cruelty it would have to be gym class, in her opinion. Closely followed by home ec.

The sun heated up the tarmac, making running on it so much harder. For now at least she was sitting on the grassy middle of the track field, waiting for her turn to be called.

Of course it all started with a letter and an airplane ticket. Annelise was going to refuse the offer but for some reason she felt as if she had to go. No buts. So she went, crying the entire plane trip to Japan and some mysterious academy. She wasn’t Greenland anymore, just Annie as the bus driver affectionately called her. She had never been to school before, so she was pretty excited to meet new friends and have all kinds of great new experiences.

But clearly wanting these things to happen didn’t mean they would. She sat alone, picking the grass while everyone chatted with their new friends. She had tried to talk to her new classmates but most of the time she wasn’t heard or they just said hi back and carried on with their conversations. Most of them didn’t know what country she was anyways. And she had yet to see any familiar faces of her family. Annelise had yet to see her roommates but when she found out who she was sharing with she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to meet them…

Someone called out her name and it took her a second to realize it was the teacher calling for her to run now. Only a second delayed reaction but just long enough for everyone to laugh at her. She got up quickly, jogging to her place beside the other runners.

A whistle was blown making her jump and everyone ran off, leaving her to catch up. Annie hated running, hated it. Despised it. If she could murder running she would. She started to slow down since she had a bijjilion more laps to go and sprinting through them was not going to happen.

After two laps she was finished, she could not physically run anymore. When the teacher wasn’t looking she quickly ducked behind the bleachers and hid. She flopped dramatically on the ground, trying to catch her breath in the cool shade. Hopefully no one saw her because if she got in trouble one more time she was heading off to detention and that seemed a little scary to her. For now she would stay here, and wait for a good while.

[Androw Hendrie]

The Shetlandian boy sighed. Well...he was sighing for three reasons. Reason One: Track. Yeah he liked running outside but this area he had to run in, he disliked greatly. He'd would of preferred being out in the wilderness but no. Horrible concrete and tarmac. Reason Two: No one knew what and where the fuck Shetland was. God that pissed him off. Yeah, he only was a little island above big ol' Scotland but he had some history! Norway's Vikings stayed at his place for a bit! And he was totally caught between an ownership dispute between Norway and Scotland! He couldn't help but feel special from such a thing~ Reason Three: He...was no longer a nation. To his horror when he awoke on the plane to Japan, he knew that something was wrong. The feeling of having no problems, the kinda problems at nations face. Then when he found his suitcases labelled with his human name he put two and two together.

Androw Hendire was not enjoying this reality for sure.

Well, back to the present. Androw sat on the grass, the horrible uncared for grass to be exact. God the stuff was dreadful. But that's what happens when grass tries to grow in a city, too much pollution in the earth and air.

"Androw Hendrie."

God he wished that he could just get up and go back to the way things were before he woke up.

"Androw."

Just sitting there on the hillside with his sheepdog, watching the Aurora Borealis and--

"Androw!"

Whoa right, he just remembered that he was in the middle of Track. God dammit. Hastily he stood up and jogged over to the others, who snickered at his slow realisation of such an event. He got into position, left foot in front of his right, ready to push himself off the starting point. The whistle wailed signalling the start.

One...two...two and a half...Right...God he had had enough. Being on the outside lane was the worst place possible during track. Androw waited until he was far enough away from the teacher, and made his way over to the bleachers, sitting at the far, far end. "B-bloody hell..." he tried to ease out his breath and took a long gulp of his water... "Urgh...that bastard better be kiddin' me if he expects us to go around flippin'--" wait...why was he having his own out loud conversation with himself? Oh the never ending signs of stress.

The brunette haired boy leaned back, and spotted a young girl laying underneath him. He flipped round so he was kneeling on his seat and looked down at her, grinning. "Skippin' class too, lass? Can't blame you~"

[Annelise Eiriksen]

Annelise was starting to fall asleep. The grass, the shade, it was almost peaceful under the bleachers. She could stay there all day if she had to. Heck, maybe she could stay here till the end of gym class. She really didn’t have the strength to do anymore running around. It wasn’t that she wasn’t fit, she just didn’t like running. And climbing a rope. The two in one class was hopefully just a nightmare. No one could ever be that cruel right…?

Her musings about cruelty were broken off when she heard someone climbing the bleachers. Was it the teacher? Annie was almost certain that no one saw her break off from the pack, maybe she had miscalculated. Detention was the last place she wanted to end up! She forced herself to stay really still; hopefully no one would see her. Be one with the grass, one with the grass, I am the grass…

When someone spoke right above her she froze up, hoping it was someone else. She waited for a few seconds and realized it was a) not a teacher, b) she was the only one around and c) someone was talking to her! Annelise looked up sheepishly, sitting up. She was caught but maybe this wouldn’t end badly for her. He didn’t seem like the type to tell on her.

“N-Not skipping per say… ummm, I-I’m just.. uhh, taking a break! Yes I’m t-taking a break!” She smiled back weakly, as if trying to say ‘yes I know I’m a terrible liar but don’t tell on me!’.

Perhaps she could turn the tables a little? He certainly wasn’t running when he should be. He could be in trouble too if the teacher saw him ditching like that. A careful alliance was needed! “What are you doing, sk-skipping class? It looks l-like you’re skipping class.” Oh no, now she really sounded suspicious, this wasn’t working at all. Being calculating was just something that was impossible for her to do.

Annie started to tear up, her lower lip quivering as she tried not to cry in front of a stranger. “Pl-please don’t tell on me!!” This was so embarrassing. Not only was he probably going to grab the teacher but she was probably going to be forced out of the bleachers crying in front of everyone! She bit her lip, sniffling loudly. Damn, she should have hid in a better spot.

[Androw Hendrie]

He blinked. "Really now? Well, great spot to rest up in then. Nice and shaded from the heat and all. And a perfect hiding place to~" he just knew she was telling fibs, trying her best to sneak her way round his theories.

Androw chuckled at the girl's keen statement of him too skipping out of class. "Heh heh, seems like you got me." he smiled, crossing his arms and resting his head atop of them. This girl seemed pretty shy, but hey, that was a nice change from all the loud and rowdy nations he had already come across. All of those personifications were all about technology and all the latest stuff. The Shetlander didn't really care that much, he only needed his television to keep up with the news and a phone line to call other nations. Other than that, nothing much in the technology section.

When he spotted her eyes filling with tears. Ohhhh boy. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down girl!" Andorw jogged down from the bleachers and behind them to where she was sitting. Oi...cool down. I won't tell~ I'm not that kinda guy." he sat himself down beside her. "If you don't mind, I'm going to relax here with you, 'kay?" The teen extended a hand. "The name's Androw Hendrie, personification of The Shetland Islands!"

Androw was pondering. Had he met this girl before? She sure looked a little familiar to some nation who was currently under the control of Denmark...hmm...maybe he had seen her a very long time ago? When she was little perhaps? In around his average human appearance, he'd be 23 years old...right now he was...17? She looked younger so there was a possibility that they could of met before, but just many, many years ago. Well...he thought he'd give it a shot!

"Just curious but...do you happen to be a nation who is currently ruled by Denmark? I just...seem to remember Norway mentioning a girl nation who's under rule of Denmark a few times, just in general conversation about random shit."

[Annelise Eiriksen]

She knew she was a terrible liar and she hated getting caught in lies. The last thing she wanted to do was get caught so she stayed quiet as he came around under the bleachers, sniffling a little to hold the tears back.

“P-Please don’t tell, I don’t want to get in trouble anymore and go to detention. That’s where hooligans are!” And her being so short and young she’d probably got bullied or t-t-taken advantage of! What if they forced her to do drugs or have s-sex with them!? The thought made her tear up a bit more. She wasn’t used to other nations and she would stay on her guard no matter who this was.

Cautiously, Annie shakes his hand, rubbing her eyes with the other. “I-I’m Annelise Eiriksen, Greenland.” Shetland Islands? Hadn’t she heard of that place before? She was quite sure she had heard of him before, from her past. Annelise had always been the youngest of her family’s territories so she didn’t remember things too well. Plus most of them had been boys who picked on her.. so she didn’t really like remembering all that much.

Once he mentioned Denmark she perked up a little bit. She idolized her older brother figure. If this Androw knew Denmark then he wasn’t too bad of a person right? Still, Annie wouldn’t drop her guard that easy. She had many times been used as a nation for being under Denmark’s reign and she didn’t want any trouble for both of them. “I am. B-But I govern myself. D-Denmark just takes care of s-security since I’m not big enough y-yet!” Not that she would ever be big enough, but one day she would have to be independent, which was thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

“I was once ruled by Norway for a long time, I-I only became wholly Danish in the early 1900’s. They’re both really nice and t-take good care of me.” Why was she telling him that? It was nothing he needed to know, unless he had something against the older nations. If he did she would definitely stand up for them! No one talked bad about her family! And he probably would hit her.. h-hopefully…

[Androw Hendrie]

<sup>Ah yes! She was Greenland! He could remember now, a young lass hanging around Denmark when he was still under Norway's rule. She may not remember him, since she was so young at the time, but he remembered her.

It looked like Androw had made the right move on mentioning Denmark as the girl's eyes glistened. Seemed like she was under rule by the Dane, crediting the fact that she was indeed the personification of Greenland. She seemed like he held a great deal of respect for the older nation.

“I am. B-But I govern myself. D-Denmark just takes care of s-security since I’m not big enough y-yet!”


Bingo! Third piece of credit supporting his views! God Androw felt proud for remembering random nations.

The Shetlander smiled when she explained her current situation with Norway and Denmark. She really gave them full respect. Much more than he gave to Norway, he had to admit. He rather disliked the nation after being tossed around and eventually sold off so the Norwegian could make more money. But Androw wasn't the kind of man who held grudges, he still liked Norway, sharing some history with him. You could say that it was a like/dislike kind of relationship. Then there was Scotland. Okay...maybe Androw disliked him a little more than Norway, considering the amount of times which the Scot had came to his little home smashed off of his face. But he too liked him. Now Shetland was an independent nation where no one ruled over him. He made his own rules!

"Ach yeah, I know Norway rather well, since I was tossed back and forth between him and Scotland. Good guy, just needs to be a little more careful with who he makes alliances with. I have to admit I was a little worried about him during the Kalmar Union with the amount of money he lost back then."

He stretched his arms out in front of himself and sighed at the satisfying pop of his joints. God he was more tired than usual. He guessed that it was trying to deal with this new reality.

"God waking up on a bloody plane here and realising that you are no longer a nation is rather fuckin' frightening ain't it? I thought something like this was not possible, changing realities and who you actually are." he grinned "Though I do like being back in my 17 year old body. God I missed my younger years..."</sup>

[Annelise Eiriksen]

She tilted her head, listening to him intently. He was talking about people she loved so if he said anything bad she would defend them! But he didn’t say anything too mean. His swearing made her eyes wide a bit, especially since she didn’t swear herself.

The mention of the Kalmar Union made her wince a little. She didn’t remember a whole lot and most of what she did remember was happy but there were some things that did scare her. But what she remembered most was Denmark not being happy. “The Kalmar Union wasn’t good for anyone..”

Annie looked down at herself. It still quite hadn’t hit her that she was a human now. Wait, everyone changed? She didn’t look any younger really, she just looked the same! “I didn’t get any younger.. you did?” That was no fair! Why couldn’t she look older for once!

And he missed his younger years? He sounded like an old man. He old was this guy? “And I didn’t wake up on a plane. I got on the plane myself.” Wow, did everyone get drunk and have a bad night? She couldn’t fathom waking on a plane with no idea how she got there.

“How old were you when I was little? Did you know me?” Shetland, wasn’t he under Norway’s rule when she was? Iceland was the only one she was close to out of the other nations in everyone’s kingdoms. Well Faeroe, but he’s a jerk so she’d be happy forgetting him. What if Shetland also bullied her too!? He seemed a lot older than her.

She peeked through the bleachers, making sure no one had noticed she was gone yet. Her team was still running strong around the track so she was good for a little while. She had no intention of running today.

“You don’t think anyone will notice us down here, do you? I don’t want to get in trouble.” Especially if Norway and Denmark found out she got in trouble. Annie didn’t want to disappoint anyone by getting thrown in detention.

[Androw Hendrie]

Watching her eyes widen he chuckled nervously. “Sorry if my…colourful language is shocking you. I’ll try toning it down a bit, ha ha~” oh dear he hoped he didn’t make her think he was a bad guy.

Androw laughed, flashing Annelise a grin. “Ach don’t panic. You should be lucky that you didn’t change. It’s rather scary to suddenly have changed ages! I mean, one day I was 23, the next I’m 17? Wow! That shocked me!” he scratched his chin. “Well, I only changed a little bit. My hands are not a calloused as they used to be, I’m shorter, I’m on the skinny side, longer hair, brighter eyed…the only thing which hasn’t really changed is my stubble, heh.”

Androw hummed. “Maybe we all got here in different ways. You got onto the plane, I was on the plane…Maybe some people woke up in the city or the school?” that was a possibility. A confusing one but still possible.

“How old were you when I was little? Did you know me?”

The Shetlander smiled. “I first met you when you were 5 years old. You were so shy, hiding behind Norway. I think I was around…12 year old. In human standards of coarse.” he pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them, resting his head atop them. “We only met a few times back then, but that was mostly when I met up with Norway for governmental things. He brought you and Iceland along since you two were rather young a the time.” he smiled softly. “Though, during those times we played together. You were a very ticklish child~”

Raising his head Androw looked through the bleachers with Annelise. He shook his head. “I don’t think anyone will spot us, but if we don’t move soon we could be seen.”

(Buuuh sorry for the shortness. Once again, I might not be able to reply since I have exams in May and stuff. After May I will be able to though!)

[Annelise Eiriksen]

Annie was used to hearing Denmark swear so it didn’t bother her too much. “No, it’s okay. Denmark has a potty mouth too. He’s always putting coins in the swear jar.” Although it seemed a little unfair that she was putting in bills every time she swore and he only put in small change. Or he’d probably be broke. “I’m a big girl, it’s not really that shocking. But you do owe a fair bit to the swear job.”

She squints her eyes, giving him a hard look. “You still kind of look like an old man. You’re very scruffy too.” Was he really only 17 now? He definitely did not look younger. “I got a little shorter I think, but other than that I’m the same.” Damn, couldn’t she ever catch a break?

“Hopefully not, that sounds like kidnapping! Someone could get in a lot of trouble and I don’t want to be around bad guys. What if they start influencing people and there’s a crime wave!?”

She listens to him talk, tilting her head as she listens. “I was only 5? Wow I was little. Did you know they found me when I was a baby? I still had to be carried around a lot since I couldn’t walk in the snow. Iceland was a little bigger so he could have a piggy back ride since he remembered to hang on. I don’t really remember you too well. You didn’t pick on me right?” Ticklish? “I don’t remember being ticklish...”

Panic began to set in when he said that. They could be seen?! “I-I don’t want to get in trouble...” Slowly the tears started to form. What if they got caught? She waited to remain positive but the gym teacher was really scary! “Wh-what should we do? I don’t want to make Denmark and Norway mad because I was bad!”