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The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Iris nervously tried to raise a warning to Uni about getting in Tennessee's personal space, but it was too late.

Andrew jerked slightly when he felt something nearby and his whole body went rigid. His fist instinctively shot out at the unknown and seemingly invisible invader. The state looked around for any sign of the evil that England had unleashed upon them and swore.

"What the hell are you tryin' to do, lobsterback!" he snapped. "Did you summon a demon? I swear if you brought me out here to try cursin' me with some spook then I'll make you sorry. You best know I'm already one of the top five most haunted states an' I ain't gonna go down that easily!"

Of course, demons and ghosts were two completely different matters and Tennessee was more familiar with ghosts. Sometimes he questioned if the Bell Witch was actually a demon as well as some other particularly nasty ghosts to deal with, but for the most part they were simply lost souls. Still, that wouldn't stop him from punching whatever hobgoblin Arthur tried to throw at him into next Tuesday.

Iris trotted over to Uni to comfort the unicorn with a slightly sheepish expression. "Sorry, sugar cube, he's a touch sensitive about his personal space..." she said. "I promise he really does have a big heart most of the time."

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

"He doesn't mean any harm," Iris said sweetly, seeming to smile with affectionate pride for her state. "He's actually gotten much better about it since we were kids. It's a big improvement for him to just try to punch somebody! I'm really happy about the progress he's made in recent decades although we're still working on it."

Tennessee gave England a flat look when he told the boy there was a unicorn nearby and he apparently wasn't pure enough to see it. "... If you're able to see it then somehow I doubt it's a matter of bein' pure..." he muttered. Arthur did have a bit of a reputation especially when he'd been hitting the bottle. The boy's posture stiffened when he heard England call him Watauga and his eyes narrowed.

"So you do remember me!" he said, having thought that Arthur had forgotten about his days as the Watauga Association. With the way England always acted around him Tennessee had thought the empire only regarded him as North Carolina's former western territory at best. Andrew wasn't sure if he liked this or not considering their less than heartwarming interactions when he was a toddler. Being told you were a mistake and needed to be put down didn't exactly leave him with a good taste in his mouth for the nation who was supposedly such a good father figure to so many others.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Iris beamed happily at the idea of going on a walk. "Oh, yes! I love going on walks! Let's go right now and maybe we'll see some butterflies or ladybugs!" The mare's eyes all but sparkled happily at the thought of getting to see the little bugs. Hopefully even though it was fall they would still be around. It did seem to be fairly warm for this time of year or at least warmer than it would have been at Tennessee's house.

Tennessee grit his teeth when England changed the subject. He clenched his fists and wanted to just ignore it. He really wanted to just roll his eyes like it wasn't a big deal and go back to class. The last thing he wanted was to ask a question.

"I wasn't the only one causin' 'problems' for you, but... I'm the only one you ordered to disband," he said with a tense yet even voice that surprised him even though his eyes remained fixed on England. "Why? Why was I the only one you rejected?"

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Andrew kept his gaze firmly fixed on England as his eyes silently burned with a surprising amount of pent up anger and betrayal along with another host of feelings he had forgotten about over the years. Even he never expected all of these things to suddenly come roaring to the surface, but now that the question was out his entire body was tense with the desire to know why he had been rejected.

He needed to know why he was the only one out of his entire family that wasn't good enough for their "Mother Britain." He also needed to know why he was instantly labeled as dangerous to the family and unfit to be with them at the innocent age of two. Ironically, in many instances Tennessee had wondered if that charge of bringing danger and misfortune on the others was an accurate prediction. It was an accusation that followed him throughout his entire early childhood until he was able to prove his worth by fighting in the War of 1812.

"... That's it?" he asked in a deceptively soft voice after England answered his question. "That's why you told me that my birth was a mistake and I should die...? All of that just to keep America as your little brother..."

Not that Tennessee would have been willing to accept any excuse for killing him short of the salvation of all mankind. But it still hurt to hear the reason for so much of his suffering was England's simple desire to keep America. He wasn't sure if he was more hurt or angry at the moment as his expression slipped closer to something akin to betrayal even though Arthur never had any reason to feel any sense of responsibility for him.

"Wasn't I one of them, too?" he demanded in that same soft voice that couldn't decide what exactly he should be feeling. "I might not of been planned like the others, but... didn't I have the same blood in me as your other kids?" He was quiet for a moment before his expression hardened again and he glared off to the side. "... You know what. Forget it. It don't even matter no more... I don't expect nothin' from you anyway. I just wanted to know."

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Tennessee listened to Arthur's explanation but, though he was certain the Englishman was being honest, it all felt like excuses to him. It was difficult to apply logic to what had happened to him as a child. He was the one who had bled and suffered in those isolated mountains for England's decisions and it wasn't possible for him to readily accept it as justified on any level. Andrew couldn't rationalize the women and children who were brutally slaughtered on the frontiers without proper protection from a national government. It wasn't something that he could just sweep under the rug and say it was fine because Arthur had his reasons. Tennessee had known there was no point in digging all of this back up because he would never be satisfied with the hard facts of the matter. He wasn't sure if he even wanted closure after living with this anger for so long. However, England's last sentence did surprise him.

Andrew had thought when he'd been rejected all those years ago it was the same as being told he wasn't a real part of America. The former illegal settlement had to struggle to be accepted and valued as one of the others after England's declaration set him apart from them. His cheeks flushed in surprise to hear the very man who had put up that barrier suddenly calling him an important part of Alfred.

What did that mean? Tennessee wasn't really sure exactly how much he should read into it and he was thoroughly embarrassed to find himself happy. Was he happy? Maybe. It was a confusing feeling as if someone had suddenly inserted a missing piece into his psyche, but he still wasn't certain if it was good or bad. All he knew was that apparently on some level Arthur had accepted the state as an integral part of America and not just some obnoxious quirk he had to put up with from time to time.

"... L-Like I care what you think," Andrew muttered shyly as he did everything in his power not to look directly at England. "I don't want no apology from you, neither."

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Andrew just rolled his eyes and snorted softly at England's outburst. It wasn't nearly the rambling hissy fits he was used to from Georgia, but it wasn't too far from how his older brother acted sometimes. Apparently it was his colonizer that taught George those bad habits. The state just watched for a few moments as the angry nation huffed off a few steps before finally raising his voice to point out they hadn't accomplished their original purpose.

"We still don't have any vaccinations for Iris," he said. "This place is nice but I can't leave her out in a field all night and I ain't puttin' her in no shed or nothin' 'till she's had her shots."

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Tennessee remained firm on the horse issue and wouldn't budge from his spot until Arthur finally agreed to call in a veterinarian to take care of Iris. He still wasn't the least bit pleased about his detention and felt like it was an unfair punishment, but, as stubborn and difficult as he could be at times, Andrew knew when to pick his battles. Now wasn't the time to act out over something so little and he supposed he did owe England at least that much for healing Hawaii the other day.

"... We?" Andrew blinked when the nation's sentence sunk in. He thought Arthur was going to make him clean it all by himself while he just watched. The state lingered a moment and wondered just what went through this weird old man's head before finally falling in line behind England to head back towards the school.

Grade 9
The Volunteer