Welcome to Gaia! ::

Landon didn't like what the other two states were telling him because what they said made it sound as if Florida was the one doing all the seducing. While theoretically less outlandish than the Gulf state meekly following Peaches, it put Christian at less blame, which was not what the vengeful Westerner wanted to believe. "Hmmph," he thought aloud, not wanting to thank them for such unhelpful information. The Californian was certain that Georgia was to blame for this travesty, and he would find something in here to prove it!

Still uneasily mulling over the meaning of that guitar being in Georgia's possession, Landon now followed Andrew into the bedrooms, where he began upending the quilts one by one. From the middle quilt flew a well-worn military uniform, identical to the one Christian had worn into school today. Landon gazed at its age-old dirt and bloodstains before picking it up and turning it about in his hands, and his mind drifted back to the mission Christian had hinted at and never explained. What had gone on at that mission? Had Rutilio been there? Impossible; the Floridian had been at school those days. But Georgia hadn’t set foot on campus for as long as California could remember, so Florida might possibly have been there and come back in time for him to show up. So what had happened? Landon furrowed his brow as he tried to remember everything Christian had told him about it.

And in the end, it didn’t matter. Landon growled and flung the garment down in the bed, suddenly wanting nothing to do with it. There was only one real option: Georgia had laid into Florida hard enough to knock him unconscious and taken the guitar by force as a trophy.

But why would a British colony have kept something from the Spanish with him for so long? The Westerner’s eyes widened with realization. Now that he was back, Christian must be holding the guitar over Rutilio’s head even now as ransom, payable only if he allied with him against Landon! And since the Floridian had not fully done that, he had taken matters into his own hands and withheld it instead!

"I changed my mind. Christian’s getting a triple," the Californian declared, the muscles in his jaw tightening. Accuse him of cruel exploitation when that was exactly what he himself doing?

"Have you guys found anything interesting?" Landon asked next, turning to watch his companions.







Out of San Francisco: A stretch, isn't that, Landon? || CA: Don't judge me.

Landon couldn't speak for incredulous indignation at being proven right. Georgia was trying to dominate Florida in some sick plot masquerading as ‘love’! With the first state’s military training, he certainly had the skills to do it! “Of course!” he hissed. “A complex plot to separate Ruti from me and me from Hollywood! Moneywise, he is too weak to sue me over the other movies I made on his secret missions, so of course he wants Ruti in on his twisted schemes! Who better than my old teacher to force me to stop?”

The Westerner was about to stomp out of the dorm and hunt that rotten Peach State down himself when he was stopped.







Out of San Francisco: I'm thinking 'stopped by another state', which will then lead to Landon's remembering that he has no real idea where they are.

Landon huffed at Andrew’s recalcitrance, but he had to admit he didn’t know where that rat had gotten off to either.

Not wanting to go back but not knowing what else to do, the Westerner sighed and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair, which was beginning to slick out the wrong way. Someday, he would need to find a better gel… He ignored that as he returned to the bedrooms, deciding now to root through the desks. He had no idea what he could find in there, but with any luck, there would be love letters or dire threats concealed within.







Out of San Francisco: Ugh... I looked everywhere I'd planned to already... Might as well go for that shell.

Jealous wife?! Landon halted his 'snooping' and rounded on Charlotte. "Jealous wife?" he exclaimed indignantly. "He started it! Attacking Florida wasn't enough, and now this? As far as I'm concerned, he lost the right to privacy when he turned Ruti against me!" Not caring that he sounded like a petulant babe, the Gold State plunked back down on the chair of his target's desk grumpily.

North Carolina's question sent the evening's events tumbling through his head again. Georgia arriving and helping him with the movie. Florida arriving with his silly jokes. Drinks. Arguing. Infiltration. And the punch. The most glaring thing Landon remembered of Christian from this night was that punch. What stood out most, however, was Rutilio's reactions as he sided loyally with Georgia--Georgia!--even after he, California, his old disciple and friend, was sent sprawling to the floor by a traitor's blow.

Just yesterday, Landon had thought their friendship unassailable. Hadn't everyone else said as much?

He rubbed his cheek in irritation.

Was he jealous?

Perhaps just a little.







Out of San Francisco: I just watched Star Wars 3 and I am reminded of Anakin here. XD || Should we wrap this up for the festival? || Now there's something to do, but a thought-requiring response!

(icons are linked to songs either from or about North Carolina. Not all of them are necessarily my favorites.)




Charlotte held her ground and let the other vent it off. She must of struck a nerve for him to act like that. Bit dog always hollers as they say. However it seems as if Landon had not realized this until now.

Just before Andrew could start playing the CDs, the elder state went up and placed a hand on his shoulder as to say 'now isn't the time'. "We all want to know, but that doesn't mean it's fair to jump into conclusions or place our own personal feelings into this matter when we don't know the proper facts and neither one are here to defend themselves. The more we think and wrap ourselves in this issue, the more it's only going to hurt us in the end, regardless of it being true or not."

She too wanted questions answered but she wasn't much hurt Christian. Yes, it would be nice to have known this sooner but that didn't excuse Ruitilo's actions. The Floridan had came to her dorm unannounced, saved her dog, spent the night while topless, unknowingly slept with her... topless, cooked breakfast her and her sister in her kitchen... while being topless... only to possibly end up with her brother. Normally she didn't have much of a thought of him other than secretly being jealous of his tourism but now she felt as if she had been used and betrayed.

Glancing off to the Californian she took more notice of the mark on his face. Being that she often visited South Carolina when she raise Georgia, she headed straight for the kitchen finding a ziplock bag, a rag, and ice and handed it the West Coast. "For the swelling." then looked away. "I don't know what your deal is with them but really should try to consider their feelings on the matter. Either way it's better getting it from the horse's mouth but if Chris doesn't return I say we better hit the hay and discuss it with them tomorrow after the festival."

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Tennessee hesitated when he felt his sister's delicate hand on his shoulder and turned to face her. It was rare for him to show any hints of distress even at his lowest moments, but the confusion and anger was all too evident in his gaze for those who knew him.

He knew Charlotte was right. The mature thing to do was to put the CDs back and leave it be until Georgia explained himself properly. The right thing to do was to respect his brother's privacy.

But George wasn't there and he had lied to him. What if he lied again? What if this was the only chance Andrew would ever get to know the truth? His grip on the CDs tightened as he stared down at them while Charlotte saw to getting ice for California's swelling. The more he stared at them the more he began to question Georgia's absence. Tennessee didn't even hear California's farewell as the seeds the Golden State had planted in his heart began to take root.

Georgia had known they would be worried about him and he went off to hide. He always went off to hide like this from the family when he was hurt or upset, but he always expected them to be upfront with him when they were in pain! It was selfish and stupid! George was selfish and stupid!

Georgia was always trying to be some godforsaken shield and expected them to trust him with their lives, but he was never willing to trust them the same. Andrew never had understood exactly what it was in his childhood that made his big brother this way, and the Tennessean was tired of blindly making excuses or ignoring it. He was sick of Georgia claiming to be a shield because, as far as Tennessee saw it, the only person he was shielding was himself from them!

Snap.

Tennessee's eyes widened and his heart which had been pounding so angrily went still as he realized in his growing fury he had cracked some of the CDs in his hands. He had broken something important to his brother and...

... it felt really good.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Tennessee stiffened when he felt his sister's arms around him. His brother wasn't the only one he was doubting today, after all. It sounded like Charlotte hadn't meant to cuddle with Florida, but he still felt uncomfortable knowing they had essentially shared to same bed. What if she was trying to trick him, too? After this he wasn't sure who wouldn't lie to him.

If he turned on North Carolina it certainly wouldn't be the first time. The only other incidence where he had felt this suspicious of her was when she had first tried to hand him over to America after the Revolutionary War. As angry and betrayed as he felt back then, in the end it wound up being a badly handled misunderstanding, right? Andrew would really like to believe this was all a big misunderstanding, too...

Eventually the younger brother nodded and dropped the CDs where they stood. There was no point trying to hide looking through them after breaking one and, at the moment, he was too bitter to care if he respected his older sibling's property.

Maybe after some sleep everything would make more sense. Not that it was ever a good situation when Tennessee went to bed angry, but there was nothing more to do tonight. He blushed awkwardly at her offer to stay with him.

"You don't need to, sis..." he said as he glanced away in what was surprisingly not a no. Though normally Tennessee did everything in his power to assert his independence and manhood for now he would feel better keeping an eye on his big sister. If she was with him then she couldn't be with Florida at least.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Andrew continued to sleep peacefully until he noticed the scent of breakfast wafting through the air. Like magic he was soon awake and rubbing his eyes as he crawled out of bed with all the coordination of a zombie. Tennessee walked out into the common area and headed for the kitchen almost instinctively. It had been a long time since his big sister made him breakfast.

"Um... Good mornin," he said, looking a little embarrassed but happy that she was cooking for him. "Do you need any help in here?"

Grade 9
The Volunteer