[It was, a bit. Ironically, the opposite of Iceland, who was uncannily like his brother but in denial of it. And of being someone's brother in general, but that was a different story.]

Um, if you say so. [Canada certainly did like his pancakes, so Iceland believed it. He was convinced, though, that fancy cooking was just that; Ice's diet was basically microwavable food and boxed licorice.]

..I guess we do.

[There's still hope that one day, centuries from now, that Iceland'll finally be accepting of things. And then Canada could move in and claim to be related since Vikings had technically settled along Newfoundland and all.]

You sound a bit apprehensive. [He could be imagining it as well, but he just wanted to be sure that he wasn't pushing it onto him or anythying.] We'd start small, of course. Nothing fancy right from the start.

[True. And Iceland is half related to England after all, so all the more reason. Someday he'll accept it... someday far, far away.]

A bit. Cooking's never been terribly nice to me. [He fondly remembered, with the hint of a smile, nearly setting Denmark's kitchen on fire when he was asked to watch something for a couple minutes. Granted, it was a couple minutes on Denmark Standard Time.]

I could try, though. It'd be... nice to be able to make more things.

[Most of the things he could cook were bland fish dishes.]

[Getting Iceland to accept things is the first step. ...and what a big first step that is. They'll just have to be patient with him is all.]

And I'd be more than happy to teach you what I know. It'll give us both something to do other than sit around. [And dodge ghosts, which was beginning to become a regular occurance around Vatheon it seemed. So it was clearly a win-win. He was positive of that.]

[And what a wonderful day that future day will be.]

That it would. Sitting around... gets boring.[All the more reason he got this big house, instead of an apartment like he was used to; more variety of places to sit around and twiddle his thumbs. And possibly escape ghosts. It was impossible to keep track of his knitting stitches when he kept getting interrupted by the buggers, too.]

[That day would be so bright, everyone'd need sunglasses.]

If we look, I'm sure we can find plenty of things to do. Aside from cooking, of course. [He's going to have to find him things to do. Besides sitting around and twiddling thumbs. Maybe once the ghosts go away he can figure out some activities later for them. Like feeding birds in the park. Or fishing.

...was that even possible? He'd have to look into it.]

Perhaps some time in the park would be nice. Or just learning a new hobby.

[They probably already have some, to shield from the incoming volcanic ash.]

Should be plenty here. [Only, Iceland didn't have the motivation to go seeking them out.]

Oh, the park.. I've been taking Mr. Puffin there to stretch his wings a bit. Since I don't want him flying around just wherever here and all. It's not interesting, but you're welcome to come along if you want. [In his opinion, he thought Mr. Puffin was rather cute when he was splashing around in the water. But that was him.]

[He thought about offering to teach Canada to knit, since he mentioned a new hobby, but he probably already knew or would think it was a girlish sort of thing.]

[Good point. And have built cities on the moon.]

I'd be happy to come along. I believe there may be a pond nearby, too. Have you taken him there yet? [That might also be Canada with faulty memory. He was pretty sure that there was a pond somewhere around, but the more he thought about it, the sillier he thought it sounded.

...it's Canada. He'd love to learn how to knit. There would be so many scarves and socks around they'd be decorating trees.]

[And possibly have engineered a new variety of airborne pigs.]

Oh, no. I only knew about the one in the park. [Anything remotely closer to the Atlantic, though, Mr. Puffin'd probably like. He really didn't like being cooped up.] Have to see if there is one around.

[Yup. Not to mention adorning most of Vatheon in the process.]

[That would make sending bacon easier...]

We should go looking then. There's the forest, after all. I have never really found the time to unlock all the secrets there. Or visit for very long. [...he promised to take Al there, among other people. Oops.

It'd be his gift to Vatheon.]

[The postal service of the future, environmentally friendly. Potentially edible as a bonus.]

[It'd been... a month? Yes, nearly a month. And he still hadn't realized there was a forest. How... inattentive of him.] A forest? That could be interesting. Certainly would be something to do, and Mr. Puffin'd like it.

[Though, whenever someone said 'secrets' here, it made Iceland become a little wary. Still, it was Canada saying it.

And everyone would be well prepared for freezing cold weather that'd rarely come anyway!]

[Adding on that 'potentially edible' bonus makes everything a million times better. Even the postal service. They need to jump on that and quick.

He really doesn't blame him. It's been... quite the month, really, all things considered. If it wasn't one thing it was another. Just when one thought it was okay to relax, something else popped up.]

Once this whole... nonsense passes by, we can make some plans to check out the forest. And whatever else the city may have to offer. It's been a while since I went out and just wandered.

[Better to be prepared than be caught off-guard. Or something.]

[Indeed!]

True. [They just got a break from ghosts, and now there were more somehow.] I haven't really wandered around the city more than necessary since I got here.

[One got enough surprises just staying in their house, he'd found.]

[Ghosts seemed to have some weird, unnatural attraction to the place maybe. Or perhaps it was some deeper meaning behind it. Like a curse. Or something worse.] You should get out a bit more then. ...when it's nicer out and all.

[Then again, he was just as likely to sit at home and do nothing as well so he wasn't really one to talk.]

Edited 2011-01-17 08:22 pm (UTC)

[Who knew, with Vatheon? It seemed to keep and break its rules entirely at random, especially with the barrier that was broken by the ship...]

I probably should.. [He really did have no excuses here though.. well, okay, maaybe the knitting. It wasn't a great excuse. But the idea of being told what to do, it irked him slightly.] You sound a bit like Norway.

[Normal rules and logic did not apply it would seem. Not that he really expected the to fully apply, anyway, given the nature of the world and all.]

S- sorry. I didn't mean to. [He figured that if he was starting to sound like Norway that it wasn't a good thing. It wasn't as if he was purposely trying to tell him what to do but more of just... offering suggestions that probably sounded like he was going to make him do so. Which really wasn't his intent in the end. He just... sometimes had trouble expressing that once he got on a roll.]

[Just being in Vatheon made it seem like the world back home was a logical place.]

No, um, it's alright.. [On some level it was... comforting. Not like he could admit that at all, even to himself, really, but he hadn't meant it as a complaint or anything, merely stating the fact.] Don't apologize over it.

[If Canada'd actually insulted Iceland at all, he wouldn't have compared him to his brother anyway.

He looked over at the variety of things Canada was cooking, wondering how he managed to do it. And, obviously, enjoying the smell of it all.]

[That, in itself, is a bit of a scary thought, too.]

S- sorry. I wasn't sure if it was meant as a good or bad thing. [And he simply wanted to be careful and all. And sometimes he could come across as a bit pushy without actually meaning to.]

Anyway, breakfast's about ready. I just need to finish up the omelette.

[Lucky for him (or unlucky), Canada had chosen to cook a variety of food. It was more than just pancakes as he had some eggs and Canadian bacon as well. There was also coffee on, as it was an important part of any breakfast.]

Just.. an observation. [Iceland himself wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but that was another can of fish. And as far as Ice knew, Canada couldn't be pushy if he wanted to.]

Oh, okay. [It was an impressive amount of food, and all smelled delicious. He felt like he was in some late-night TV show or something... but that was probably because he watched so many foreign shows from Canada and America.]

[Canada's idea of being pushy included adding the word 'please' after everything. And maybe raising his voice just a tiny bit.]

What would you prefer to drink? [He had a choice of milk, orange juice, and coffee. Though if none of that suited him, he could probably go find something else quickly.]

[...Poor Canada.]

Coffee sounds fine.

[One day he'll learn. Maybe. ...probably not. He'll just continue being far too polite.]

Cream or sugar? [He was in the middle of pouring the coffee when he asked.]

[Probably. It was at least better than the opposite.]

A bit of sugar. Thank you.

[That is true. He could be much more like America, after all.]

Sure thing. [Adding a bit of sugar, he stirred it in and brought it over, setting the cup in front of him.] If you'd like more, let me know.

[From there, it was just putting food on the plate. ...which was pretty decent-sized. Ta-da.] Bon appétit.

[That he could. The world would be a very different place with two Americas running around.]

Alright. [He sipped it, and it tasted quite good.

The assortment of food was a bit overwhelming, almost.]

Takk. [He waited, though, for Canada to get some food as well.]