Book 3 - Retrievers

XXVII - Grey

"What do you mean 'What?'?! You were glowing!" Massachusetts snaps.

"Oh..."

America huffs and starts giggling. Then he leans forward and nuzzles Russia's chest, laughing even harder. Russia happily sits back and pets America's hair.

"Well, what did you just do?" Massachusetts asks, scowling.

"I felt a pull in my chest, and then I could see a lot of colors."

"A lot of what?" Massachusetts pushes.

"I'm not sure. I think it was magic. Meri and you were glowing with your magic colors. Arizona had a ball of fire over her heart. And there was lots of white magic floating around outside. I reached out for it and it felt very static-y. America's magic was flickering a little, so I gave some to him."

Everyone stares at him for a moment before Manitoba pipes up.

"That's not fair! I'm a channeler too," they complain.

"Yeah. It's weird. I've never seen anything like it," Massachusetts says, scratching at his temple, "the only thing I can think of is that Russ has ridiculously low resistance."

"I have a low resistance, how low is Russ'?" Louisiana asks.

"I have no idea."

Massachusetts runs off and returns with a large, newer-looking book. Massachusetts sits on the floor in front of Russia and opens the book. He flips to an empty page and starts writing.

"Okay, so, can you do it again?" Massachusetts asks, not looking up.

Russia takes a deep breath and re-opens the valve. He opens his eyes and looks around. The sounds maround him become tinny and warped. The colors seem to dull, and Russia's own body feels numb and disconnected. Russia sees Massachusetts trying to ask him questions, but the words are warped, and it takes a moment before Russia understands.

'What do you see?' Massachusetts had asked.

Russia looks around and slowly stands up. He stumbles a little and carefully wanders to the door. He stares at the swirls of magic in the air. Russia carefully ducks down and wanders outside. There is sound out here, but he can't identify any of it.

"Magic people glow with their colors," Russia mumbles slowly, "and the air is full of magic. It comes from the stump."

'It's so strange not hearing myself.'

"___t d__s the m_gic ou____e l__k _____?" Massachusetts asks.

'What does the magic outside look like?' the line finally clicks.

"It is white around here," Russia forces through his teeth, "it's thicker behind the trees."

Russia numbly points at the path that Dixie had carved into the blackberries.

"H__ __r c__ __u se_?"

The sentence 'How far can you see?' clicks after a few moments. Russia does half-heartedly note that the wait for processing is longer this time.

Russia starts pushing his influence further and stares into the distance behind the house. His mind pulls him to walk around the house. He turns around and sees Massachusetts following behind him. He can see America's light blue glow through the walls and smiles. Then he looks further and sees something different.

"There is something over there," Russia mumbles.

Massachusetts says something else,  but Russia finds that he just doesn't understand. None of the words register, and he just stares into the distance. Then someone gently takes his hand. He's slowly pulled back inside, and Russia stumbles in. He is gently tugged over to make it past the doorframe. Russia looks down as he reenters the living room.