Welcome to Gaia! ::

"It's nice to finally meet you." she smiled in return. Then she turned to her brother. "Thank you." Feeling better now that she asked. "Oh. Arlight. I will." she understood even though she wasn't that close to the island state. "I'll see you later." she waved. 'I reckon I'll have to tell him my tale later then.'

Charlotte turned back to the nation. "You really are welcome to join us for dinner. That is if you don't mind being around with some crazy states." she laughed. "I invited Alfred too. I wonder if he would bring England along." she thought aloud. A bead of sweat ran down as she realized the current circumstance. "Oh that'll be interesing..."

The State of Tennessee
Andrew S. Hickory

Tennessee was startled when he heard someone start to sing along with his guitar and opened his eyes. Whatever he'd been expecting, it certainly wasn't Leilani standing in front of him. His fingers stilled and the music faded as he stared at her, surprised to hear the lyrics in his heart coming out of her mouth.

"L-Leilani..." he started as a soft blush came across his face. He glanced away nervously for a moment before looking back at her and any words he thought of died in his throat. Andrew was so bad at speaking when he got nervous, and Leilani was a sensitive girl. What could he do without making things worse? She knew what the song meant, didn't she? He hesitated a moment before shyly replaying the chorus again to her. When words failed, maybe music could communicate for hm.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

Eduard Von Bock

Eesti Vabariik
Republic of Estonia

Estonian >> English

{Out Of Tallinn:}

﹙ There’s no place I’d rather be ﹚
x﹙ Then on my surfboard out at sea ﹚
xx﹙ Lingering in the ocean blue ﹚
xxx﹙And If I had one wish come true ﹚

Ireland waved at Georgia as he left but shook her head in response to the North Carolinian's invite.
"Thank ya but no. I'ma not good around large groups of strangers. An' onea yer sister's would be rather mad ta see me there. An' I duna want ta case more trouble. Already cased enough taday."
Her mood changed again, remembering the ruckus she cased. She looked down to the ground her heart sinking.

The State of Tennessee
Andrew S. Hickory

Tennessee blinked at her confession and was thoughtful for a moment as he thought over what she said. He hadn't even drawn the comparison between her and Seychelles until Hawaii pointed it out nor had he given much thought to it. Honestly, he did feel like he had only just met Leilani even though they had known of each other for years. For some reason being with Cherelle had come naturally whereas getting to know his own sister was something Andrew already knew he would need to work at. It wasn't fair and the state was perplexed by this realization that he'd taken to a separate nation faster and easier than he had to Leilani. Even if it wasn't something he could help, it was something he felt ashamed of. No wonder she had been so upset and hurt...

"Then let's try to make a connection now," Tennessee said, knowing the first step to having a relationship with someone was to spend time together. He shouldered his guitar again and smiled at his sister. "I don't know your island's songs very well except what I've seen in California and Florida's shows... and we all know how accurate those are..." he muttered, having had a few strong words with his fellow southerner about the way Disney had portrayed himself and his people in the past. Andrew shook it off and smiled sheepishly at his sister. "Can you teach me a few songs?"

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
Andrew S. Hickory

Tennessee's cheeks flushed when Leilani moved forward to hug him. It only lasted a few moments, but time seemed to slow down when her arms wrapped around him. He was close to a large number of coastal states with beaches so it wasn't like Andrew had never been exposed to siblings with tropical climates and geography. Yet being close to them was nothing like this. Hawaii smelled like flowers and fresh sea breezes so pure that he nearly took a step back in surprise. It was the first time he had been properly hugged by the petite island and for the first time Tennessee got an idea of just how different she really was from the rest of them. When her hair moved past his ears for a brief moment the older state was confident he'd heard waves lapping against the beach. Even Florida with all the Keys and a plethora beaches didn't do that. Andrew was too stunned by this discovery to even think of shrinking back or behaving awkwardly and almost didn't notice when she pulled away until he felt his guitar being taken.

Tennessee blinked as his adopted sister coaxed new sounds from Nashville he didn't know his capital was even capable of. He watched in fascination as Leilani's delicate fingers trailed up and down the strings expertly as if the instrument were her own. The Volunteer State closed his eyes and listened to the unique, almost foreign melody reverberating through the air from his heart city.

When the musician had a good feel for her songs, he gently placed his hands on the guitar and sat next to his sister. Tennessee started to play, mimicking Leilani's sound and techniques from the brief lesson. He looked to her curiously for guidance every now and then as they played together. He wanted to make sure he didn't slip up too badly as Andrew, for the first time, took an active interest in Hawaii's culture.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
Andrew S. Hickory

Tennessee only gave his sister a puzzled look when she spoke in her native tongue, but didn't question her nor the request to keep playing as she stood up. His brown eyes followed Leilani curiously as she prepped herself and took a position in front of him that seemed vaguely familiar but he wasn't sure what exactly it meant.

Then Hawaii danced.

Andrew's eyes widened slightly as he watched her body sway and arch to the music he was playing. For a brief moment he could only stare mesmerized while his hands automatically continued the tune he had been working on. Something about it reminded Tennessee of dances he had seen Cherokee, Chickasaw and a few of the other Indian Nations perform, but this was very distinctly Hawaiian. The musician slowly became more accustomed to the way she was moving and followed the emotions portrayed in her face and body not only with his eyes, but with his hands as he continued to strum along like Leilani had taught him.

The state smiled as the melody and Leilani's dancing picked up while he kept pace with her feet. It was hard to tell if the music was guiding her or she was guiding the music anymore. Their blending of song and dance into one great performance certainly had attracted quite the crowd, but none of those people mattered. Hawaii was the only one Andrew paid attention to while he happily participated in something he didn't quite understand, but knew was important to his sister and he was glad to be a part of with her for the moment.

Grade 9
The Volunteer