Swapped Around

One~ Two for the Price of One

The night is almost pitch black. The only light source is the flashlight that America holds in his hand, and it's battery is dying anyway. I have a lighter in my pocket, but the only burnable items around us are soaked through from the continuous rainfall that has plagued us since we arrived in this god-forsaken country.

At the recent world meeting, it was announced that some country or another had discovered this little island place. Me and America were immediately volunteered by Germany to go and find its personification, even though any of the European countries could have done a much better job. We live on the other side of the world, as well.

The other countries that were closer, however, were too busy looking for another country. That one represented the area of land between Germany and Spain, and so far all we know about him is that he's a tricky little bastard, as he's managed to evade us for years now. His name's France, I think. That's what the locals said, anyway. I don't know the name of this country yet.

I let out a yawn, stretching my arms behind me and accidentally hitting my brother on the head.
"OW! What was that for?!" He exclaims instantly, stopping to glare at me. We've been walking for hours now without sight of anywhere to shelter, and even my patience is wearing thin. It's even worse for my brother, who is easy to anger anyway. Normally he wouldn't have felt it.

"Sorry, I-I-I was s-s-stretching...." I stutter, fighting back another yawn. My eyelids feel heavy, and if I could walk with them shut, I happily would. Seriously, if we don't find a place to stay soon, then I'm sleeping under the stars.

"You'd better be!" He growls, the glow from the flashlight glancing threateningly off his eyes. I'm really too tired to be scared right now. It's a struggle to keep my eyes open; they just keep slipping closed. My head feels all muggy too.

"Canada? Bro', are you all right?" I hear America's voice fill with concern, in contrast to its harsh tone a few seconds ago. My concentration slips in and out and I stifle yet another yawn.

"Yeah..... Just tired....." I mumble, reaching up to try and rub the sleep out if my eyes. My feet find their way backwards and I feel my back slide down the wet trunk of a tree, my boots skidding in the mulch on the floor. "Canada?" His voice sounds distant above me, and I manage to lift my head enough to see the blurry outline of my brother.

"Dude, you wanna sleep?" He asks loudly, making my head ache.

"Mm-hm..." I hum, feeling my eyelids slipping closed.

"What about finding the country?"

"Eh....? Tomorrow...." I wave the suggestion off with a feeble flap of my hand, and I can almost hear America smile as I teeter on the edge of sleep.

"Kay then. I'll carry you if you wanna." I nod slowly and feel his arms wrap around me, surprisingly warm compared to the rainy atmosphere. He lifts me up and brings me close to his chest, protecting me from the torrential downpour that sweeps across the nearly bare countryside. I snuggle deeper into his comfy jacket, and eventually I get weighted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

The chirruping of birds eventually got so loud that I had to open my eyes. I was lying in a forested alcove, long, dewey grass brushing coolly against the side of my face. Through the green canopy above me, the sky is a pearly grey. It's actually not raining today, as it has been for the past week that we've been here.

America is lying spread-eagled on the floor beside me, snoring ever so slightly. His cowlick, over his face due to the rain weighting it down, flutters slightly upwards with every breath he exhales. I stifle a giggle, so as not to wake him. I turn my attention elsewhere.