Welcome to Gaia! ::

(So far this RP is just sort of hitting the ground running without any true plot in mind. If you want to join in, please PM me first. Thanks!)

Tennessee stared blankly at the map in front of him as he tried to process just what had happened. He'd taken the flight from Nashville and expected to wind up in a small airport near the Missouri border, but somehow he'd landed in the heart of Wisconsin. How on earth could could he confuse Wisconsin's capital city of--... whatever it was--with some tiny town in the middle of nowhere? He wasn't sure how he could ever explain himself without insulting the Badger State and perhaps the rest of the Midwest.

"I don't guess Missouri could come pick me up here..." the Volunteer State muttered as he thumbed his cell phone unhappily. Wisconsin was the only person he knew to call who lived in, well, Wisconsin. The plus was that he knew the Midwestern State's phone number, but the negative was that he was fairly confident Wisconsin still hated the South. Tennessee couldn't say for sure but he felt there was reasonable cause for concern. "Not like I got a choice..."

Tennessee finally hit the send button and partially hoped no one would pick up on the other end.

Tennessee paused at the odd greeting but decided the mannerly thing to do would be ignoring Wisconsin's slip. It wasn't as if Wisconsin was the only one who hit the bottle hard and the moonshiner couldn't say he wasn't without his guilt at times.

"I hate to bother you, but I'm kinda in a rough situation," the southerner said, hoping he didn't sound quite as awkward as he felt. "I, well... got the wrong ticket and wound up in..." Tennessee bit his lip as he quickly scanned the map for the city name. "Madison. Yeah, I'm at the Madison airport. I was wonderin' if you'd mind comin' to pick me up?"

"There's not much of a story to it," Tennessee said a little too quickly for his own liking. "Just me bein' absent minded. I really appreciate you comin' to get me. I... actually, I'm not sure yet what I'm gonna do... I was kinda aimin' for closer to Missouri's place to be honest." He had to keep himself from smiling at the sound of Wisconsin's accent. The southerner couldn't understand why Wisconsin bothered to hide it at all. In his opinion it was far from the oddest in the nation and certainly no worse than Tennessee's twang.

Tennessee glanced at the map and wondered just how long it might take or cost to call a cab to take him to the border. He wasn't sure if he could catch another plane without paying some ridiculous price for the sudden change. He'd probably have to go all the way to St. Louis if he took a plane he could afford. With the way the economy was his boss had been reluctant for him to take the trip at all and extra expenses weren't going to go over well...

Tennessee couldn't help a short laugh at the way Wisconsin said Illinois' name. Now that he thought about it Missouri had mentioned something about those two not getting along.

"Sure, I'll be waitin' outside," he said feeling more than a little relieved. Wisconsin wasn't so bad after all. Tennessee felt a little guilty for not trying to be more friendly before to the Badger State.

His smile faltered briefly as he recalled the Battle at Shiloh and several other violent skirmishes where he'd crossed paths with Wisconsin. He tried so hard to forget those bad memories. The former Confederate state was ashamed to admit even to himself that 150 years later he still found it easier to remain tucked within the safety of the South. Befriending Ohio again had taken him years regardless of their friendship before the war. If Kentucky hadn't forced them together it might have been even longer...

Tennessee swore when he remembered the phone conversation. "Sorry! I'll see you when you get here. Bye," he said quickly before hanging up.

Tennessee, in contrast, had barely changed at all physically over the years aside from perhaps his height and a few subtle developments that came with growing into a young adult. His coffee colored hair was in the same short, scruffy haircut he'd had since he was a wild little territory in the late eighteenth century. He had the same dull, almost clueless, mahogany-brown gaze.

Tennessee's expression had always been deceptively peaceful and calm as if it was subconsciously locked in a reserved poker face with only a few variations allowed for his emotions. That seemingly harmless, country-boy face had thrown many off when he was a younger, less inhibited and far more violent backwoodsman. There was a time when he only understood the cruel laws of frontier justice and found most problem solving was done on the battlefield. Back then the best way to talk to him was either through music or fists and perhaps some of those tendencies still remained. Tennessee had never developed a love for debate or politics and more often than not would fall asleep or keep his head low during meetings unless someone called him out. The Tennessee of today had a much better temper than his youthful self, but every now and then a war or feud would stir the warrior spirit that had earned him the title of Volunteer State.

Looking at him sitting on the bench at the airport no one would ever guess this. He looked more like some wayward musician with his beloved guitar, Nashville, strapped securely to his back and a worn duffel lightly packed and tucked at his side. Tennessee's clothes were, as usual, messy and halfheartedly thrown on his body after rolling out of bed. The only time he ever attempted to concern himself with appearances were at state meetings and even then his sisters would spend several minutes straightening him up before it would start.

Tennessee looked up when he heard Wisconsin call to him. It took a brief moment for recognition to spread across his face and he smiled. The southerner stood as he waved back to Wisconsin, gripping what seemed to be a t-shirt in his free hand that he'd probably picked up at a cheap gift shop in the airport while waiting. "Hi," he greeted in return as he threw his duffel over his shoulder and walked over to the other state. "Thanks again for this. I'd be in real trouble without your help."

Tennessee continued to smile and to his credit didn't seem phased at all by the strong smell of alcohol or at least didn't show it. A small part of him wondered if Wisconsin's good humor might be due to drunkenness but he wasn't about to question his savior.

"That so," Tennessee said more than asked even as he recalled a time when he thought Wisconsin would tar and feather him just for talking to the former radical. While he knew people could change over the years, first impressions were always a little hard to shake. "I'm glad you feel that way."

The Volunteer State unfolded and held up the shirt as if it was the most exciting thing that could possibly come out of Wisconsin. It was a silly shirt that had a cow head and a silhouette of the state on it. Underneath in big, ridiculous letters it said SMELL OUR DAIRY AIR.

"I didn't know your people were funny," Tennessee said happily and seemed to think this was a great discovery. He'd always been a little simple and easily amused.

"I didn't know there were big cheese competitions," Tennessee admitted and genuinely seemed impressed. Although whether he was impressed at Wisconsin's skills or the fact such a contest existed at all was hard to tell. Dairy farming was fairly important but not a comparatively a big industry at his place so he didn't pay it too much attention. "I've heard people say you're good, though."

Tennessee's head tilted to the side thoughtfully. "You must get along well with cows. I heard California say somethin' 'bout only happy cows give good milk... or somethin' like that..." he mused as he wrinkled his nose in mild confusion. "Er... actually, I kind of have a hard time followin' what California says. Talks too fast."

He folded up the shirt and tucked it into his duffel so he wouldn't lose it as he followed Wisconsin. Tennessee was feeling pretty relaxed now and figured his concerns had been silly and unfounded. Wisconsin seemed to have grown into a pretty nice guy even if his appearance was a little odd. He probably just hadn't been eating or sleeping well. That had to be it.

"Do you and Texas get along? He likes cows and stuff a lot, but I don't think he's much for milkin' them," Tennessee said, becoming a little more chatty himself now that he was feeling more comfortable.

Tennessee hesitated at the change in Wisconsin's demeanor when he brought up California. For a moment he wondered if the Badger State might get angry until the absurdity of his hurt feelings won over Tennessee's survival instincts and he chuckled. Wisconsin really was a funny guy.

"Texas is a good guy," Tennessee said, "but he can be a little too aggressive. I can't count the times I've had to step in and drag him out of fights he's started... He's always talkin' tough for no reason and gets himself in trouble." Speaking of Texas, that reminded the southerner of a certain problem he might face.

"By the way... your gun laws let people carry weapons now, right?" Tennessee said more than asked. He never had to worry about that in the South, but the rules were a little more complex in other regions if he remembered correctly.