Where Thou Art, That Is Home (Hetalia Fanfic, Part 2)

Chapter 112~!

Seth's hand was slipping out of Willow's, which he held tight to and readjusted his grip on so he wasn't losing her. Their breaths came in breathy pants as they ducked under branches and wove around thick trunks of the trees the dense forest consisted of. 

Were those two members of the Order of the White Viper chasing them? Willow dared to risk a glance back. No, not as far as she could see. But that didn't mean they were safe yet.

"The tree," Willow realized with dawning dread. "The portal back. We're running away from it!"

"I know, I know," Seth said back to her. Irritation had crept through his facade, though it was at himself and their situation rather than at her.

Still, it would've been stupid to run toward the tree, around which the horses of the Order and some of their riders were waiting for business to be done. They'd just have been captured again and maybe dragged away to who knows where.

"Here-- hang on a sec," Willow said, and the two slowed down but did not stop. "We have just under an hour before we're pulled back. But what about the pens?"

"I don't have any paper on me," Seth replied. "Do you?"

Wisp's face fell. "No... And I don't know where we'd find some in this place, either." She looked at all the trees surrounding them. "I doubt writing on a tree works, even if it's where paper comes from."

Nevada almost snickered. "That would be too easy, then. Come on, let's find somewhere we can watch the portal from. Maybe we'll see a chance to run for it."

~

"Damn. Damn, damn," Seth grumbled under his breath. "This sucks!"

"I know; look at 'em all," Willow said just as softly. They had found another alleyway with a wall at the back end. They wouldn't be snuck up on from behind again, and if need be they could jump over it with a dab of their superhuman strength.

From where they crouched in the shadows, both could see the oak tree that was their way back home. Only, that very tree was surrounded by the Order's horses and a few of their riders. Among them were a few people Willow and Seth could only guess were "the accused" they'd heard about before. They huddled together, or by themselves, refusing to look at the Order members unless they came close. Then the accused looked terrified.

"What in the world...?" Wisp wondered aloud, focusing her vision on two children clinging to each other and crying quietly, trying to not offend anyone and draw attention to themselves. "Those are just little kids. Kids."

"Keep your voice down," Seth reminded her softly. "I know, I don't know."

That was a bit of a contradiction, and yet it made perfect sense to Willow. "Seth, I don't want to sit here and just watch."

"Come on, what are we going to do about this?" Seth asked rhetorically. "Our mission now is to get the fuck outta here, Wisp."

"How heroic of you," his companion commented ironically. Yes, a state of America, the self-proclaimed hero, did not want to do what she thought was right.

"Don't use that card," Seth warned her in a low growl. "I'm going to keep you safe, and I have a harder time doing that when you're doing stupid stuff."

"It's not stupid," Wisp pouted over his shoulder. Seth didn't reply because he was warily staring at who might have been Things One and Two standing idly by the tree's stone border. It was hard to tell them all apart when their uniforms were so... uniform.

Two White Vipers passed by in front of the alley they were hiding in, and Nevada and Washington ceased to breathe altogether. Literally, they stopped breathing, moving, talking, and twitching. Their hearts pounded in their ears, loud enough, it would seem, to alert the whole village to their presence.