Book 1 - Puppets

XXIII - Returning

*Very, very old picture*

Once the sun begins to rise, so do Texas and Louisiana, who poke their heads out of the tent and start packing up their bags. Massachusetts joins them soon after. Russia douses the fire and packs his remaining belongings into his bag, keeping the tomahawk within arm's reach.

When he exits the tent, he sees Ute and Canada are also up and about. Canada is helping the states pack their bags, and Ute is beginning to dismantle tepees and collect the spare clothes.

It took only around 30 minutes to deconstruct the camp fully and pack it up. Though, Russia could've sworn there was far more to carry than what Ute has on his back.

'How many Americans have magic?' Russia thinks, baffled.

He shakes off the train of thought when Ute begins walking, and he hurries to keep up. Russia walks at the back of their group, but the states still try to include him in their conversations.

'Sweet kids.'

He also admits some of the stories are hilarious.

"Remember when Tex shot a flare in the house and broke a window?" Louisiana says nonchalantly.

"LOUISIANA!" Texas exclaims, his face reddening.

"I remember," Massachusetts comments, "Dad was soo fucking mad."

Louisiana and Massachusetts laugh and Texas scoffs loudly.

"What was it that Alabama and Mississippi did that ended with the wall in pieces?" Canada prompts from in front of the states.

Texas answers, "oh yeah. Montana dared Alabama to make a human cannon. In all honesty, Idaho should've stopped them, but once 'Bama's got an idea-"

"No matter how stupid," Louisiana interjects.

"He'll follow through. He ain't the smartest of us, but he'll be damned if he's called a quitter," Texas finishes, smirking slightly.

"How does anyone do anything in that house?" Russia asks, exasperated.

"I don't know. We usually only get together on holidays. So right now is weird as it is. Even with all that, Dad and New York can get stuff done, most of the time," Massachusetts says, shaking his head fondly.

"Even if no one is purposefully causing chaos, just talking gets to insane volumes," Louisiana says.

"I have heard," Russia says, smiling.

Suddenly, Massachusetts goes pale.

"What's wrong?" Russia asks, concerned.

"New York is going to fucking kill us," Massachusetts says, running a hand through his hair.

Texas' face falls, "he's probably worried sick. Darn, we shoulda given him more warning."

Canada sighs sympathetically and says, "We should call him as soon as we get service."

Russia agrees, and feels a pang of sympathy for New York.

'He probably thinks he lost his siblings and uncle like he lost America.'

"You should," Ute says, snapping Russia out of his reverie, "according to Utah and Colorado, he's panicking and trying desperately trying to contact you five."

Russia pulls out his phone to see if it has service. He stops in his tracks.

"How long were we gone?" he asks, horrified.

"A day if I had to guess," Canada replies.

"According to the date, we've been gone for more than a week," Russia replies shakily, looking up to see the group had stopped.