FIRST IMPRESSIONS [ALFRED AND MATTHEW]

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[atrb=style, background-color: #1A1A1A; border-radius: 35px;] [STYLE=height: 331px; width: 300px; margin-top: 6px; opacity: 0.7; border-radius: 30px; background-image: url(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n222/amoline/almat_zpsc9d8dc31.png);][/style][STYLE=font-family: times new roman; font-style: italic; font-size: 32px; color: #E7E1CD; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -30px; letter-spacing: -3px; opacity: 0.99; text-shadow: 2px 2px 2px #000000;]I'M NOT ASHAMED THAT IT'S YOU[/style][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -9px; color: #CEC6AA; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase;]WHO HOLDS MY HEART[/style] [STYLE=font-size: 11px; font-family: arial; margin-right: 13px; margin-left: 13px; text-align: justify; background-color: #696969; padding: 13px; color: #000000; margin-top: 6px; opacity: 0.95; margin-bottom: 1px; border-bottom-right-radius: 30px; border-bottom-left-radius: 30px;]The Royal Proclamation was issued following Great Britain’s acquisition of France’s territory in North America and England was actually quite happy to take it off of his rival’s hands. The actual proclamation was implanted to confirm the regulation of settlement, trade, and land purchases while also ensuring that British culture and laws would be placed within the Providence of Quebec… the new name that England had given the area. In essence, Francis had relinquished everything that he had in North America to Arthur—and that, of course, included little Canada. The boy was currently slumped in his seat during the carriage portion of their journey, leaning against England’s side. Arthur was a little sleepy himself, but he did fairly well with keeping the drowsiness at bay. Only twice did he lean his head to the side, leisurely closing his eyes to the monotonous sway and jostle of the carriage. England had already peeled back his gloves as the snug warmth grew in their small enclosure and his fingers occasionally ran through Matthew’s soft hair, the boy still motionless at Arthur’s side. There were faint marks along Arthur’s wrist, fast fading reminders of how young Matthew had first greeted Arthur by sinking his teeth into his skin. Arthur was none too happy about that and the chastisement for was swift and severe. Yes, Arthur was firm, probably quite a bit more so than Francis had ever been, but he was also fair in doling out his affection whenever it was due. And at the moment, Arthur couldn’t help but to share a bit of that subtle warmth with Matthew, stroking his hair and encouraged him to lean snuggly against his side while the driver led them toward their destination. All of their belongings were with them, most of which were either Matthew’s things or simple gifts that Arthur had brought from his home for the two young colonies. The road became a tad bit rougher and a hard patch jostled them. Arthur’s arm tightened somewhat over Matthew, relaxing only when the ride became smooth once again. ”We’re almost there,” he murmured in a low, soft voice. He gently smoothed the side of Matthew’s new coat that had grown slightly wrinkled from the journey. Most of his things were new. Arthur’s fingers smoothed once more through Matthew’s somewhat longish strands of hair before sitting up in his seat a bit straighter, immediately recognising how close they were to Alfred’s. England's heart quickened slightly at the thought of seeing his little America once more. It hadn’t been too long since the last visit, as Arthur had been visiting recently before heading north to conclude matters of breaking his rival as much as possible. Words can’t describe the sheer amount of satisfaction England felt upon gaining so much after thoroughly thrashing Francis’s sorry little backside. Really, if the foppish twit couldn’t keep up with the rest of them, then he shouldn’t have even attempted to gain a foothold in the New World, Arthur thought with a ghost of a smirk. Of course, none of this he ever related to Matthew. The poor boy probably didn’t need to hear any of that after his guardian had more-or-less just given him up. Arthur would never voluntarily give up Alfred, especially to the likes of Francis—not without fighting tooth and nail for him. It didn’t matter, though. Matthew was in his care now and that’s all that mattered. Arthur ran his hand affectionately across Matthew’s shoulders, alerting him quietly that they were here. The carriage had come to a gradual halt. The household servants were quick to greet and gather the luggage. Arthur gave instruction over which room Matthew’s things were to be carried to. He slid his hand over Matthew’s smaller one, grasping his hand before leading him into the front of the home, occasionally feeling the boy bump gently against his side. Walking through the familiar doorway, Arthur appraised his surroundings, looking for a familiar excitable presence. ”Alfred?” He called out before peering down, somewhat behind himself at Matthew with a smile, offering a warm squeeze over his hand. [/style][STYLE=width: 350px; text-align: center; font-size: 9px; color: #565656; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: 0px; font-family: arial; letter-spacing: 3px; opacity: 0.9;]made by kiwii at btn & ote![/style]

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wonderful

[/style][style=font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; text-align: justify; padding-top: 5px; line-height: 12px;]Alfred wasn't sure what to make of the news when he'd heard it. Arthur actually had a lot of news for him, apparently. The first bit of news he was pretty certain on how he felt - He didn't like it. He wasn't upset with Arthur over it (not yet, at least), but he was a little frustrated and confused. All of a sudden the people looking after him were a lot stricter with him. He wasn't allowed to travel as far away from his house, and he could swear they all watched him a lot closer than they used to. He didn't quite understand why. He'd been allowed to play mostly where he wanted to play for years!

As for the second bit of news - Alfred still wasn't sure what to make of it. England had a new colony. Alfred had a brother. The last time he'd had a "brother" (other than England) was in Roanoke, but that was different. Zachary and Isaac were only adopted brothers. They hadn't looked very much alike. According to Arthur, and he and this other colony did look alike. Arthur told him the name of the new colony, but Alfred had a hard time reading it. Therefore, he opted to refer to his brother as 'The Other Me'. Hey, if they looked alike, it fit!

Having a new brother made Alfred both excited and nervous at the same time. What would this new colony be like? Would they get along? Did Alfred want to get along with him?

Along with the positives, there were the negatives. Though Alfred was excited at the prospect of meeting his brother and possibly making a new bond, he was also confused - and, admittedly, a bit upset. Arthur still didn't visit much, always claiming that he was busy. The fact that Arthur had taken on another colony didn't bode well. If he was too busy to visit Alfred, who he'd already had for years, why had he adopted yet another colony? And why was he restricting Alfred's movements so much? Why was Arthur acting so strange as of late?

"Alfred?"

The colony decided to push that aside for the time being when he heard his name being called. He soon came running, footsteps loud as usual as he ventured to the entryway of the home. There he saw England...but he wasn't alone.

"Arthur?" He greeted the older nation with a somewhat questioning tone as he tried to catch a glimpse of the figure hiding behind Arthur. It looked to be a little boy around his age. It had to be that other colony that Arthur told him about. The other colony did indeed look quite similar to Alfred. There were differences, but Alfred and this other boy did indeed look as though they were actually related. As though they were actually brothers.

Alfred didn't know what to think about that.

Realizing that he'd been staring without saying much (which was a bit odd for Alfred), Alfred decided to introduce himself to the new colony. "Hi, I'm America! My human name is Alfred. What's yours?" And why are you here? He added, unspoken. He rarely spent time with Arthur as it was, and now he had to split that time with this other colony? It didn't seem quite fair, though neither did Arthur restricting Alfred's movements so suddenly...

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574 words

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Arthur and Mattie

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As you can tell, Alfred's already a bit confused. We see the very early beginnings of events that lead to the American Revolution, so Alfred both wants attention from Arthur yet is subtly starting to pull away from Arthur's new strictness. =P

Coded by AMB Tanz

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style,width: 415px; background-color: #E42217; border-left: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-bottom: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-right: inset 3px #FFFFFF; -moz-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; true] And I'm alone now, Me and all I stood for. We're wandering now. Canada did not want to leave with the strange man whose hair was blonde like his and France’s. The boy wanted to stay with France, even if their first meeting hadn’t been that fabulous. Over time he had grown to like spending time with the older nation, even if he was a bit of a pervert when it came to women. He also very much liked the capital called Paris. She was nice, and he wanted to stay with them. They were his siblings, and he didn’t want to be taken away from them. Thus, when it was apparently decided that he was being handed over to someone else he was a very unhappy little colony nation. This was probably why he returned to being the slightly feral child he had been when he met France. Thus he had bitten Arthur when first meeting him, and was none too pleased about being yelled at for it. He had actually just burst into tears because of it and refused to calm down. Yes, it was a tantrum of sorts, but it wasn’t entirely unreasonable. He was being taken away from everything he knew because some countries decided they had to take things from one another like a bunch of jealous pricks. Sure he didn’t quite understand it fully at this time, but that didn’t mean he was okay with it. There was definitely some anger there, though he found it hard to stay mad. He’d never been good with angry emotions, because he had always been so happy before, and so didn’t quite understand them really and thus couldn’t keep to them. While in the carriage, Mattie had planned on staring out the window and pointedly ignoring the other nation who had taken him from everything he knew, from his family even. He was supposedly going to meet someone who was his brother, and wasn’t really looking forward to it. The boy didn’t want a new family, he wanted his old one. All he wanted was to just go back home. Right now he wasn’t even sure if he should blame France for letting him go or England for taking him. Maybe he should just blame both, and so really all he wanted to do was go back to how things were before France found him. Speaking of, he hugged the polar bear he brought with him everywhere and nuzzled into the soft fur eventually falling asleep. He dreamed of the wilderness back home, and wondered when he would get to see it again. The boy idly wondered if he would be forced to stay with England, or if someone would be staying with him now that he was in someone else’s care. The boy had done just fine on his own initially, he didn’t see why he needed anyone to take care of him to begin with really. He was awoken by a hand running across his shoulders and looked up to see he had somehow managed to fall asleep leaning against the older nation. The boy had his hand taken and sighed as he walked with the nation to wherever it was they were going. Seemed they were at some sort of house and heard the older nation call someone by the name of Alfred. Was that his supposed brother then? He idly wondered this while standing partially behind England and hugging Kuma close to him. The boy stayed behind the older nation even when one who did actually look very much like him showed up. Canada noted he was being stared at and decided to be particularly interested in the floor instead. Hearing the boy speak and ask for his name he decided he should probably respond. ”I’m Canada. My human name is Matthew.” he said quietly. Then he looked up at Arthur and wondered what exactly the point of this was. Could he go home yet? 649 / Alfred.Mandee && England.Rye/ I blame evanescence for this. [/style][style=display: none;]made by ashkir at rpg-directory.com

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[atrb=style, background-color: #1A1A1A; border-radius: 35px;] [STYLE=height: 331px; width: 300px; margin-top: 6px; opacity: 0.7; border-radius: 30px; background-image: url(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n222/amoline/almat_zpsc9d8dc31.png);][/style][STYLE=font-family: times new roman; font-style: italic; font-size: 32px; color: #E7E1CD; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -30px; letter-spacing: -3px; opacity: 0.99; text-shadow: 2px 2px 2px #000000;]I'M NOT ASHAMED THAT IT'S YOU[/style][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -9px; color: #CEC6AA; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase;]WHO HOLDS MY HEART[/style] [STYLE=font-size: 11px; font-family: arial; margin-right: 13px; margin-left: 13px; text-align: justify; background-color: #696969; padding: 13px; color: #000000; margin-top: 6px; opacity: 0.95; margin-bottom: 1px; border-bottom-right-radius: 30px; border-bottom-left-radius: 30px;]Arthur had planned on being a bit firmer with Matthew than Francis was, who (according to Arthur) had about the same level of childrearing skills as he had restraint for his perversions. He wasn’t necessarily looking forward to being viewed as the strict guardian as opposed to the indulgent one that gave sweets at every turn. But of course, even after his first encounter with Matthew and being bitten by him, he felt a heavy sense of sickness lodge in his stomach the moment the colony burst into tears. England, centuries ago, had cried like that when Rome had forced him into his household. And here he currently was, looking in on the other end… Yes, countries frequently took things from one another. Everyone did it and would probably continue to do it until the end of time. While that doesn’t make it right, it's a reality that they'd have to deal with. The moment that Arthur saw Alfred appear in the foyer, he perceived that he wasn’t really greeted like he normally would have been… well, actually, he wasn’t received at all, so that was a bit of an understatement… Arthur ignored the odd tightening in his chest in favour of giving Alfred a tight embrace. It had been months since he had last seen him, after all… and he’d missed him! Moving back to inspect the boy, Arthur could definitely see the growth, forcing a bit of a proud smile to tease the corners of his mouth. ”I say, Alfred, you certainly have grown!” He squeezed the colony’s shoulders once more before glancing at Matthew hiding behind his legs. Arthur subtly brought the other blond forward a few steps out from beneath his shadow. And then Alfred stared. For once, he was completely silent… and Arthur never took that as a good sign. Internally, he sighed, getting a sense of how this stay was going to be for the next several weeks if they didn’t start off on the right foot. He was about to say something just as Alfred finally introduced himself. Unfortunately for everyone, getting off on the wrong foot happened long before this meeting. Arthur crouched a little for the two colonies, speaking to the both of them, though his words seemed to be directed more at Alfred. ”Matthew, here, is going to be staying with us for a few weeks.” He offered a tentative smile to the both of them before continuing. ”Although, I’ll be leaving a week early to bring Matthew back before making it to the harbour.” It was spoken very matter-of-factly, but Arthur felt a prick of guilt for relating to Alfred that, while he would be here for a long while, he’d have to leave earlier than usual to make an extended return trip to stop by Matthew’s home. As he was speaking, Alfred’s servants were bringing in luggage and boxes. Most of which were new purchases for Matthew, things that would probably bore the two colonies, such as clothing, shoes, books, blankets, and even a few toys, though Arthur didn’t expect Matthew to accept his new surroundings that quickly, he would make them available for him whenever he was ready to. He took a moment from the two boys to direct the servants towards Alfred’s nicest guest room. There was quite a bit of movement at the moment, so after he was finished with instructing the servants, Arthur immediately thought of something else that would be a good distraction for them. ”Are you two hungry? How about we get something started?” It was already midday and they had travelled for quite a while, so it was practical suggestion as well… He led the two to the kitchen, out of the servants’ way into the thankfully quiet and unoccupied room. The modest fire was still going, which was pretty typical for the time and setting, as the kitchen was usually in constant use. And sure enough, part of the area looked as if someone were using it just moments ago. A collection of knives, ladles, and other utensils were still sitting out—some in the process of being polished, others set out for immediate use. Arthur pulled out two small chairs for Alfred and Matthew to the prep table. He was sure to remove his nice coat and adjust the cuffs to his shirt, securing them at his elbows before tying a fresh cloth about his waist, sort of a makeshift apron if you will… All the while, though, he was busying himself, he kept an eye on Matthew in particular, offering him a small smile whenever their eyes met. Rummaging through the leftover foods in storage (probably from the night before) Arthur was able to find a modest collection of vegetables and strips of fresh venison. He also rationed out a portion of lard, flour, and salt (precious and expensive as it was), already forming an idea of what he wanted to make… ”I see that you've gone out on the town recently, Alfred?” Well, it was up in the air whether Alfred went with Miss Mary and the others to buy fresh supplies for the pantry or not. Knowing Alfred, he was usually up for leaving the house whenever he could. Either way, Arthur still asked. After gathering all the ingredients, he set them at the prep table, his eyes lingered over Matthew and Alfred. ”Very well,” Arthur paused, the corners of his mouth quirking slightly into a calm smile. ”Shall I assign tasks?” Cooking was usually the first thing that he and Alfred did together if he arrived at midday, catching up and sharing stories of what they'd been up to and accomplished in the months that they had been apart (though Arthur’s were decidedly censured and elusive at times…) Arthur wondered if Matthew had ever helped in the kitchen with his former guardian... Either way, new traditions would eventually be formed between them. [/style][STYLE=width: 350px; text-align: center; font-size: 9px; color: #565656; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: 0px; font-family: arial; letter-spacing: 3px; opacity: 0.9;]made by kiwii at btn & ote![/style]

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wonderful

[/style][style=font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; text-align: justify; padding-top: 5px; line-height: 12px;]Alfred's attentions were grabbed almost immediately by the other colony hiding behind his guardian. A guardian that they apparently shared now. Alfred was torn. He beamed as Arthur commented on his growth per usual, while returning the embrace. "I know I have. Pretty soon I'll be as big as you, England!" Very soon, in fact.

He was excited to have someone new to run around with, and maybe he could show Canada around his home? That wouldn't be too bad! Then England informed Alfred that he'd be leaving early to take Matthew back.

Alfred's smile faded abruptly as he began to stare at Matthew once more, his lips in a tight line. Well, that took the wind right out of his sails. He felt as though he were being punished. First he wasn't allowed to wander, and now Arthur wasn't even going to stay around as long as he usually did? Did this all have to do with Matthew? If so, Alfred didn't think he liked him very much.

"I'm hungry, England!" Alfred responded to Arthur's question about food at once, the subject offering a temporary distraction for Alfred. He followed Arthur into the kitchen, where he took a seat at one of the chairs Arthur set out. It would be strange doing this with a third person, but perhaps it wouldn't be too bad...

He nodded in response to the question asked of him. "I'm actually allowed to go there, why wouldn't I?" There was a slight edge to Alfred's voice, his frustrations seeping through.

He looked across the table at Matthew as Arthur gathered up ingredients. He didn't like how silent it was, fidgeting in his seat impatiently. Even though he wasn't sure if he liked Matthew just yet, he could at least try to strike up a conversation with the other colony. "You used to be France's colony, didn't you?" Alfred questioned the other boy, wondering if what he'd heard was true. "What was he like?" Alfred was honestly curious.

Before long, Arthur was back at their table with the ingredients. Alfred eyed them, his stomach rumbling lightly. "Sure," He responded, waiting for the next instructions.

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380 words

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Arthur and Mattie

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Aaaaaaaaand Alfred continues to have issues. XD

Coded by AMB Tanz

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style,width: 415px; background-color: #E42217; border-left: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-bottom: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-right: inset 3px #FFFFFF; -moz-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; true] And I'm alone now, Me and all I stood for. We're wandering now. Mattie didn’t want to be here for any length of time, all he wanted to do was go home and be alone. Maybe he’d go find the wolf girl and stay with her. Hopefully he wouldn’t be stuck in a stupid house with babysitters. He wasn’t a very domestic child still and better not be supervised at all times. He had stayed for a number of years by himself, and he wanted to return to that. He watched the other colony interact with his new guardian and felt more than a little out of place. The colony neither wanted to be here nor belonged her. There was also the fact that he wasn’t entirely sure he felt welcome in this strange house. Hearing Arthur’s comment he frowned. ”I’d rather go back by myself.” he said bitterly. The blonde colony really did not like the nation at all. It was to the point where he wanted absolutely nothing to do with him in the slightest. Maybe he’d warm up to him eventually, but for now he would rather have as little contact as possible with Arthur. Yes, he was quite bitter, and you really couldn’t blame him considering the way he was just taken from Francis for no real good reason. Instead of paying attention to what England and the other colony were up to, he bothered himself with smoothing the fur on the mini polar bear that was with him. The soft fur was far more comforting than anything else would be right at the moment for certain. Hearing the question he frowned slightly. No, he really didn’t have an appetite at the moment. ”I’m not hungry.” he said after the other boy announced that he was hungry. Honestly he didn’t want to do anything, and certainly didn’t want to get something started. All he wanted was to go the hell home already. Yet he would be forced to stay here for several weeks. Matthew eyed the small chair that was pulled out for him, but didn’t sit down. He didn’t want to sit and get comfortable at all. Then he was hearing the conversation between the two about Alfred only really being allowed to go to the market. That was…unreasonable actually. ”Are you going to force me to have supervision at all times?” he asked sounding rather annoyed at the prospect. Sure, he could always run away, but the fact that he would have to was quite irritating. Alfred directed a question at him and the boy found himself turning to look at the other colony. ”Yes, until someone decided to drag me away.” he said sadly. The next question he wasn’t even sure he could properly answer at the moment. ”He was nice…” he said quietly before bursting into more tears. ”I want to go home!” he stated bawling in the middle of the floor. 477 / Alfred.Mandee && England.Rye/more upset candians. [/style][style=display: none;]made by ashkir at rpg-directory.com