Wine Woods

1. Training

2 years later~

Delaware grunted as he was pushed back, Pennsylvania pushing him further and further toward the out line. Upon noticing this, he seemed to have a fleeting panic that he would not be beaten by his sister and did a parry, stick smacking hard against his foe's. Pennsylvania didn't waver, jutting hers right into his undefended chest.

"Pennsylvania wins!" Alfred announced as Delaware groaned.

"Del, you have to remember the rules of the sword: don't get hit." Alfred said as Delaware came over, West and Virginia laughing a little at him.

"That isn't much..." Delaware grumbled.

"You clearly are not seeing the loopholes. You don't even have to use a sword, or in this case a stick, you just have to win." Alfred smiled as Delaware's look suddenly changed, the five-year-old perking up.

"Pen! Rematch!" Delaware exclaimed, picking his stick back up from where he dropped it.

"Let's see if he wins this time," Ivan whispered to him, "it's a four to zero."

"Let's see," Alfred whispered back, resting his head on the others shoulder as the two went into parrying stance. Nobody told them when to start, you didn't get that honor in battle, and they went at it, Pennsylvania trying to hit him from above. Delaware dropped his stick and jumped to the side, grabbing his sister and tugging them both to the ground. Pennsylvania dropped her weapon in panic and went to trying to elbow her brother. He managed to get her on her stomach, holding down her arms by her shoulders and sitting on her back. To them she was defenseless.

"Pennsylvania, what part of your body is free right now?" Ivan asked, Pen trying to look at him out of the corner of her eye. She seemed to be thinking for a second before her back arched and her legs shot off the ground, hooking Delaware's shoulders and sending him into the dirt. She managed to squirm out from under him before he recovered, the two wrestling on the ground for a minute, until Pen was squashed under Delaware in a weird position. She continued wiggling though, and Alfred looked on in disapproval.

"Pen," he called as the girl stilled, giving him a 'what the fuck do you want' look.

"What?" Pennsylvania asked. Until she realized she made a mistake. The bad mistake. Shooting off the ground, she punched Delaware square in the face- or tried to, he dodged. But at least she was free now.

"Go for each others backs," Gilbert advised, walking over to their parents. Quebec ran up to her dad, hugging his legs before he told her to sit back down with the other kids who were training to fight. Pennsylvania and Delaware were the last pair fighting until Alfred was teaching acrobatics.

"They're bad at wrestling..." Ivan muttered under his breath as Gilbert handed Alfred a bottled cocktail and Ivan a beer, both the adults laughing.

"Pen's pretty good upfront, doesn't do well when she's surprised though," Alfred whispered to the two while keeping an eye on the kids, both nodding.

"Where's your bloodlust?!" Gilbert yelled to the kids, "You have to make people hurt or you're screwed."

And then Pennsylvania landed a hit to Delaware's stomach, punching him. He fell to the ground, coughing, as Pen backed up, holding her chest like her lungs hurt. He wouldn't be surprised if they did.

"Kids, medicine, now," Alfred said, grabbing two of the shot glasses from the table beside the bench they were sitting on, both of the kids running over and taking them, "Pennsylvania wins! Get your backs stretched for acrobatics!"

Refilling the glasses from the barrel, he set them back on the table before walking over, helping some of the younger kids go into a backbend.

"What's each of your goals today?"