Now repeat what I just said boys. I need to know you got this down," said Native America. "Strangers are friends you haven't met yet?" asked America, blue eyes wide as he raised his hand to answer the question. Aiyanna sighed at the boy who looked about four. "No Alfred. Nothing like that," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Matthew raised his hand, waiting to be called on. "Yes Kanata?" she asked him.

"Don't talk to the pale faces. Stay near the camps and our siblings but don't get in their way. Strangers are dangerous and could hurt us like they hurt our people," said Matthew. "My people, Matthew, but correct. I don't want you going near the strange ships. Not until I've found the people I'm looking for. Matthew that goes especially for you since you seem to be feeling their presense more than Alfred right now," she said.

"That's because they haven't found me yet!" said Alfred, raising his hand after speaking. "Dyami...For the last time, you raise your hand before speaking. But yes, you're correct. You're old enough to wander around on your own. I only promised your mother I would take care of you until you're old enough to hunt and forage on your own. If you need help, rely on each other and call me second. And if I call you, you don't delay in coming, understand?" asked Aiyanna, arms crossed.

The two boys nodded, small leather sacks filled with their worldly posessions at their feet. "Good. Now the people you may come to represent are arriving on the east coasts soon. I suggest you observe. I will alert your mother's brothers that you two are still alive, though I don't know how. How many times have I had to pull you two out of the river?" asked Aiyanna, completely done with raising the two of them. "Seventeen times...Alfred keeps thinking he can catch fish with his hands and I try to help him…" said Matthew quietly.

She nodded and gestured for them to stand up before hugging them. "Kumajiro will look after you two, but Alfred remember that he's Matthew's. He will always go after Matthew first so you have to be prepared to do something yourself. You need to find an animal of your own to bond too. Cheveyo will check in on you from time to time. Keep each other safe. Remember, Vinland is watching you and your mother will be disappointed if you fight," she said. "Yes ma'am," the twins said at the same time, tearing up a little.

"What'd I say about tears? Now go on before I tear up as well," she mumbled with a small smile. The boys nodded and ran off, holding hands. Aiyanna sighed and glanced at the fire where a ghostly figure only she could see was standing. "You don't have to be so gruff with them. They're just children. I still don't think they should be on their own so soon…" said Vinland. Aiyanna rolled her eyes. "Dagny, you're lucky I watched over your children for this long. Originally I was just going to abandon them once they could speak," she said.

Dagny huffed, knowing that was only half true. "Fine but...I don't know. I still think Alfred needs someone to help him out...I have a bad feeling," she said. "If one twin is fine, they both will. You haven't had any problems about Matthew, have you?" asked Aiyanna. Dagny hesitantly shook her head. "No...His adoptive father should be finding him soon...but I'm still worried," said Dagny.

"I've done this tons of times. Trust me. You always feel bad when you let your kid go at first but when you check up on them, you'll find that they're happy and healthy on their own. It's a good way to prepare them for life when you're gone. And since you were never really there for them, they'll be needing it now more than ever. Besides, you said the father was going to be coming for them soon," said Aiyanna.

Dagny sighed. "He is but...I'm still not good at measuring time. I gotta go. The spirits only gave me until the boys were gone to be here. Keep a good eye on them and take care of yourself Aiyanna. I can't thank you enough for looking after them," said Dagny, resisting the urge to point out how Aiyanna treated the boys differently from her own children. "Really Aiyanna...You kept them safe and out of danger all this time...I appreciate it," she said before disappearing.

Aiyanna huffed. "They'll be fine...Now it's time to find Tino and Berwald and tell them to take the boys off my hands. Dagny can't understand the conflict and mixed feelings of raising your future replacements," she grumbled before calling for Cheveyo. The buffalo waddled over to her, slowly munching on grass. She smiled softly as she pet the buffalo's head. "Let's go visit Maya. It would be nice to have a little break from all of this for once," she muttered. The buffalo whinnied and took off once she got on.

"What do you think our people are gonna be like Kanata? Oooh maybe they will hav cookies! Do you think we'll really find our daddy? What do you think he's like? Can we have more of the sweets Etsi (mother) made for us?" asked Alfred, having walked with his brother for about four days now. Matthew gave his brother a wearied look. "I-I don't know Dyami...But I think you should lay off the sweets. We're going to run out of food soon and you've already eaten most of the sweets," he said.

Alfred pouted. "But I'm huunngggrrryy and your hand is getting all sweaty. Are we almost to the coast yet?" he asked. Matthew shook his head. "No more sugar. Kumakoko promised to get us some fish if we behave. He really wants to get up north because he think it's really warm in your land. "My land isn't that warm! But I like fish! As long as we get to the east coast. I don't wanna go north into your lands...I feel like I should go south," said Alfred.

Matthew frowned. "B-But don't you want to stick together?" he asked. Alfred nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I do Mattie! I'm not saying I want to go now. It's just a really faint tugging right now. Like you felt last decade when you felt you needed to go north. We'll go together! I haven't ever been to the coasts before. Or the south. Etsi didn't let me as much as I wanted to. It'll be a lot of fun!" said Alfred excitedly. Matthew hesitated before nodding. "I guess so…" he muttered.

"It'll be really cool! We'll be explorers! We'll have a lot of stories to tell Daddy about all of our adventures! I'ms ure we'll find a lot of cool stuff," said Alfred, continuing to ramble happily. Matthew sighed but nodded. "I guess you're right. We should stop for the night Alfie. I'm getting hungry too," he said. Alfred nodding before letting go of his brother's hand and setting up the tent Native America had helped the two of them make.

While Alfred set up the camp, Matthew started the fire and Kumajiro wandered over to a nearby stream to fish. Alfred hummed as he finished the tent and started pulling out their blankets. Matthew suddenly cried out, tearing up. "What's wrong?!" asked Alfred, running out with a stick, looking around for whatever made his brother cry. "I-I got a splinter! Get it out!" whimpered Matthew.

Alfred dropped the branch and ran over to his brother. "Where is it?" he asked. "In this part," said Matthew, tearing up as he pointed to the fleshy part between his thumb and finger. Alfred frowned as he squinted, looking for the piece of wood. "Hmm, I know how to do this!" said Alfred. When Matthew opened his mouth to protest, Alfred stuck a cookie in his mouth and quickly pulled out the splinters with his nails. Matthew blinked back tears in surprise.

"There you go!" said Alfred cheerfully. Matthew quickly finished the cookie before throwing his arms around his brother. "Thanks Alfie," he said with a smile. Alfred grinned. "I'll go ahead and take care of the fish Kuma's bring back. You just sit down and make sure the fire doesn't go out," he said, running over to the river. He and Kuma scaled the fish before Alfred ran back and started roasting them over the fire.

Matthew sucked on his hand until the fish were done and he was handed his food. "Feel better Mattie? You can have the last cookie if it still hurts," said Alfred. "We should save the cookie and share it when we get to where we need to go," said Matthew. Alfred thought about it before nodding and hugging his brother. "Just think Mattie! In a couple of weeks we'll be at the coast and we'll be able to see the people we're going to represent!" he said excitedly.

Matthew forced a smile. Alfred doesn't-Alfred doesn't know yet. Etsi never told him?! How am I going to tell him that I'm going to have to leave him soon? Matthew jumped when Alfred squeezed his hand. "Don't look so worried Mattie. If Daddy doesn't like us like Etsi's kids, we have each other. Always," he said. How does Alfred know exactly when and what to say to make me feel guilty?

"Y-Yeah. Together forever. And Daddy will like us. Etsi's kids are just mean like Etsi," said Matthew, the last in a huff. Alfred smirked at his brother's rare show of disdain. "It doesn't matter. You're more fun to play with than Sioux and Winnoshiek," said Alfred. Matthew grinned. "Your games are more fun than theirs. I always win at hide and seek with them. It got boring to just sit behind a tree and just wait to see if they'll come for me," he said.

Alfred frowned. "You know they always stopped playing after you hid right?" he asked, wondering if his brother was just joking. Matthew's lip wobbled. "Wait? Is that why you're always the one who finds me? I thought it was just because of the twin thing," he said, tearing up. Alfred bit his lip. "N-No..I was just joking. They were really playing but you were just so good that they would give up after a few minutes. I was the only one that could actually find you...because of our twin thing!" said Alfred, trying to make his brother feel better.

Matthew blinked before hugging his brother once more. I'm gonna miss him...Maybe I can come and visit him after the presence in my land leaves. Or maybe it's our Dad and I can bring the three of us together. But it doesn't feel strongly related to us...His thoughts were interrupted by his brother yawning. Finally. The sugar high has crashed and at a great time too. "Maybe it's time to go to bed. I'm getting tired," he said. That was the trick with his brother. If Alfred thought people were trying to make him do something, he'd never do it. But if it was something he thought the other person wanted for themselves, then he'd do it.

Alfred pouted but nodded. "I guess you would be after walking so far. I got the tent set up, let's go ahead and turn in," he said. Matthew smiled and followed his brother to their makeshift bed for the night. Kumajiro put out the fire before wandering over to their tent and laying down between the two of them. Both of the boys smiled at the warmth. "We'll be there before it even starts snowing. Good thing we have Kuma in case they don't have blankets," said Alfred.

"Why wouldn't they have blanekts?" asked Mattehw skeptically. Alfred huffed. "I don't know! They live across the world. What if they don't need blankets because it's so warm! They have those giant canoes. Maybe they have giant blankets! Mattie, what if he's a giant too? Mattie, will we be half giants and have really bad growth spurts?" asked Alfred, tearing up. "You had too much sugar. Get some sleep. If he's a giant he'll be that much more fun to play with," huffed Matthew. Alfred nodded and curled up before falling asleep.

A little over a week later, Matthew was starting to get antsy. "Mattie, why are we going so far north? Aren't we going to the east coast?" he asked. "Um...Uh...I just really keep feeling the pull to the north. We're still going east...We're going Northeast," said Matthew, fidgeting a little bit. Alfred frowned. "But...I feel the pull from down there," he told his brother, pointing Southeast. "But...Is it really strong?" asked Matthew.

Alfred frowned. "Faint...Not really a pull...more like a feeling that I should go down there," he admitted unwillingly. Matthew blinked. "Then...Why don't you come with me and meet my people with me? And when you start feeling the tugging, I can go with you to meet your people. It'll be part of our adventure going east!" said Matthew, trying to cheer his brother up despite feeling like it was a bad idea.

Alfred blinked. "Really?" he asked hopefully. Matthew hesitated a little but nodded with a slight smile. Alfred hugged his brother. "That sounds great! We're gonna have so much fun!" he said happily. Matthew nodded and returned the hug, feeling guilty as Kuma gave him a disapproving look. After Alfred had gone to go get some berries for their continued trip, Kuma confronted him.

"Why are you lying to him? You know he can't stay with you when you first meet your people! Otherwise the bonding won't work and they'll be split between you!" huffed the polar bear. Matthew's lip wobbled. "I know that but...he gets so hurt whenever I start hinting that we need to go in separate directions. I don't know what to say or do!" said Matthew. "You need to tell him sometime. Before you get to the people. Before you get to the border. You have two days Kanata," said Kuma, nuzzling his owner to keep him from crying.

"I got the berries you like! Cranberries right?" shouted Alfred as he ran over to them. "What's wrong?" he asked when he saw that his brother was on the verge of tears. Kuma glanced at Matthew who weakly held out his foot. "I stubbed my toe...Can I see the berries you brought?" he asked in a shy voice. Alfred blinked, remembering the berries, and opened his hand to reveal that they were now squashed to a mush.

"O-Oh...I'm sorry. I'll go back and get some more. There were a lot of them over there," he said, already brushing his hand against the grass and turning to go back. "No it's fine! We should really get walking. I really think we should get up there as soon as possible," said Matthew. Alfred nodded. "Okay, I guess that's perfectly reasonable. What do you think Daddy is going to be like?" he asked.

"...Etsi said Mommy really liked him. That Mommy wouldn't stop talking about him after she found out who he was," said Matthew quietly. "Hmm..Etsi didn't really seem to like Mommy. Or us to be honest. She was still nicer than her kids but still. They were all pretty mean," said Alfred, rubbing his arm. "But they gave us food and clothes...even if it wasn't very much," said Matthew.

"We'll only have a few days before we meet Daddy. Don't worry! I'll take care of us until then!" proclaimed Alfred proudnly. Matthew tried not to snort. "Sure Alfred...Show me where you got the berries. We can have them for dinner tonight. Kuma feels too tired to go fishing again. What did you call this river again?" asked Matthew with a slight frown. "The Mississippi!" said Alfred with a grin. Matthew made a face. "You peed in it, didn't you?" he asked. "Maybe…" said Alfred, finding the little cranberry marsh.

After their quick dinner and after Alfred added another 'p' to the river's name, the two boys snuggled together for warmth in their little tent. Alfred fell asleep easily, a small smile on his face. Matthew wasn't able to sleep. The closer they got to the invisible border they had drawn in their heads the antsier he got and the more he felt Alfred was just being a tagalong, despite knowing that that wasn't the case. He wasn't really sure what was wrong with himself. He felt guilty for thinking that about his brother and for not telling Alfred anything about him leaving.

Over the next few days, Matthew became more withdrawn and snappy at his brother. Alfred would look slightly startled but try to let it roll off his back. Matthew would spot the hurt in his brother's eyes and immediately apologize and try to make it up by widdling him something, not that he was very good at it, or finding his brother little treats. Alfred would immediately perk up and hug his brother before happily indulging in whatever treat Matthew brought him.

But it got worse as they got closer. "Mattie, I can't believe we'll see dad soon! Are you excited?" asked Alfred. "...You're not seeing him," said Matthew quietly. Alfred blinked before smiling. "You're funny. Do you think he'll have treats or will we have to bring the treats?" asked Alfred happily. Matthew frowned. "You can't come. There aren't going to be any treats. You can't come," he said.

"...What do you mean? The border's right there! I don't see why we can't cross it," said Alfred, looking confused. Matthew huffed, ignoring Kuma who slightly growled at him. "You can't cross the border. He picked up the bear and placed him on the other side of the border. You're not allowed in my part of the land. And it's not dad that's meeting me...At least I don't think so. You have to go away and not come back! It's my pull and not yours and I wish you would just quit following me around like a stray!" snapped Matthew, spinning around to face his brother before realizing what he said.

Alfred looked like a puppy that had just gotten kicked. Matthew instantly felt horrible. "A-Alfred…" he muttered quietly. "..Y-You don't want me around…" whimpered Alfred, eyes tearing up quickly before fat tears started running down his cheeks. "I-I...Alfie it's..complicated.." muttered Matthew. "Fine! I'll just pretend I never met you! Then you'll be happy! It'll be like we never met!" shouted Alfred before he ran off. "Alfred!" shouted Matthew, hesitating. "Bye Canadia," shouted Alfred, throwing a cranberry. It bounced off Mattie's head.

"You really hurt his feelings. I told you to tell him earlier. Why didn't you listen? He would have been a lot less hurt then you know," said Kuma. "Know it all...Should I go after him?" asked Matthew, watching his brother slowly become a dot in the distance. "He's almost gone...why didn't you go after him earlier?" said Kuma when Alfred disappeared. "...I don't know…" whimpered Matthew.

"...Do you think he'll really pretend not to know me?" asked Matthew, his lip wobbling. Kuma sighed. "You told him you didn't want him to go with you...He might think you're going to go see your father without him," said Kuma. "B-But I told him it wasn't...At least I don't think it'll be our dad….Dyami hates me," cried Matthew, tears starting to go down his face as well. "...You called him a stray Kanata. He's gonna be mad and hurt for a while," said Kuma softly, nuzzling his owner.

Matthew whimpered. "I-I didn't mean it...You know that right? I didn't mean it. I mean he is kind of a tagalong...and he doesn't know how to stop talking...and he can get really hyper and wild..and doesn't know how to control his strength-" He was promptly cut off with one look from the bear. "B-But he's my brother...I don't want him to pretend not to know me. I like it when he includes me in things and plays with me. I like his games. I don't want him to be gone forever," said Matthew, bursting into tears at the last sentence.

"He's not gone forever...just for a little bit. It's not like he died. He'll be fine...I'm sure Cheveyo will start following him around the minute Alfred gets really far away from us. We'll see him again when your father comes. He'll probably forget about all of this by then," said Kuma. "Nanuq, do you really mean that? You promise he'll forget about it? I don't want him to be mad at me if we're separated for a long time," said Matthew quietly. "I don't promise but if you're apart even a little bit I'm sure Alfred will forgive you. You know he forgets things like grudges easily," said Kuma gently.

"I hope you're right," sighed Matthew before leaning into the bear's warm side. Kuma smiled. "Of course I am! Come on, let's go! Set up the tent and I can get some fish," said Kuma. Matthew froze. "...I have the tent...and the food...and everything...How is Dyami going to get food? He left without nothing…" said Matthew, concerned. "He's a smart boy. I'm sure he'll figure something else. Besides he has his emergency pack with him and the knife you made him," said Kuma.

"S-Stupid Kanata...Stupid Matthew. I-I'm not a tagalong. I only wanted to help him and keep him safe. What if there bears?!...I mean besides Kuma. I'm the better hunter...and the stronger one. He's always quiet and scared. I-I thought he liked having me around. N-Now he's going to meet Daddy without me," said Alfred, tears streaming down his face before he sunk down onto the ground. The roots of the tree he was against seemed to slowly and softly cradle him.

"What if he tells Daddy about the time I accidentally fed Cherokee one of Aztek's spicy peppers and I made her cry? It was an accident! I didn't know Azteck put peppers in his hot chocolate. I thought it would cheer her up after Etsi yelled at her. ...What if Mattie doesn't tell Daddy about me and Daddy won't come looking for me because he doesn't know I exist?" The thought was enough to make his crying even worse. Alfred blinked when fists full upon fists full of blueberries gently fell on him.

He looked up, curiosity suprising him out of his tears. "...There aren't any blueberry bushes nearby...Where did those come from?" he muttered. He hesitantly looked up and spotted a broken cloth bag up in the tree. Alfred hesitantly tasted one of the berries and blinked before downing a few handfuls. He looked up at the bag one more, too sad to climb up and explore the tree how he used to. He then plopped back down and stared at the blueberries before starting to cry. "Fruit's my only friend," he shouted, tears once again streaming.

The wind blew against his ear, almost as a sigh. Alfred slowly started eating the blueberries, sniffling and trying to keep himself from bawling again until he realized it was getting late. With a whimper, he glanced at the darkening sky and curled up on the ground, shivering. In an attempt to press his back against the tree to maintain some warmth, he had accidentally squashed a few more blueberries. "There goes my breakfast," he mumbled miserably.

It started raining and the branches seemed to move to cover him. Alfred didn't notice of course, having cried himself to sleep. He kept having nightmares about his brother spreading lies about him before jolting awake when something nuzzled into his side. With a yelp, he opened his eyes to find that it was almost morning and a bunny had decided to take shelter with him under the tree.

When the bunny realized that Alfred was awake, it wiggled its nose before pressing it into his neck. Alfred giggled at the cold nose before hugging it close. "You're cute...I'm naming you Cinnabun," he said, running hand through its light brown fur. Before the rabbit could respond, two or three more bunnies came out and cuddled around Alfred. "You're Bun-Bun...You're Mr. Fluffybutt. You're Sir Fluffykins the Third," he said, pointing at each respective bunny.

Alfred smiled before blinking. "I almost forgot...Someone left their backpack!" he said as he jumped up to look at the bag in the trees. "Look at this! But don't tell anyone! Mama said not too," he said, frowning when he thought about the few times he saw his real mother at night. He stretched out his hand and concentrated. The bag slowly levitated off the branch and fell onto the ground.

Alfred ran over and started looking through the bag, wondering if there was anything in there that he could use to return the bag to its owner. There wasn't anything in it except for a blanket, somemore berries, jerky, and a small piece of leather he could use if it rained again. Alfred blinked. "This is perfect...I wonder if they need it though," he muttered, looking around for any obvious signs of a recent campground. Nothing.

"Would it be bad if I keep it…?" he mumbled to himself before looking at the bunnies for their opinion. Two of them decided to nuzzle him. "Only two of you? What about you Cinnabun? Should I keep it?" he asked. The cinnamon colored bunny started to nuzzle him as well. "I guess we have a consensus then," said Alfred, quickly tying a knot so that the hole in the bag was temporarily fixed.

"There! That should hold it for a while! Do you guys want to go with me to the east coast? Maybe a little down south?" he asked. The bunnies didn't seem to disagree and happily followed the little trail of blueberries he left for them to make them come with. "You're all so cute. Mattie would have loved you…" he muttered before trailing off sadly. He had to fight the tears that suddenly threatened to reappear.

Cinnabun immediately nuzzled him and the other bunnies quickly followed. Alfred giggled slightly despite the tears and sat down so they could climb over him. "You're so fluffy!" he laughed when they all pushed in close. After a few minutes, he got up when he finally had calmed down a little. "Lets go. The sooner we get to the east, the better...but we do have time to wander around a little bit. I don't think that that's a bad idea," he said.

For the next few decades, Alfred wandered around from place to place occasionally staying with some of Aiyanna's children, though they did so begrudgingly. They were wary of having him stay with them and would make sure he worked for his food and stay. There were a couple that did take him in for a few months, making sure that he was clothed and fed properly before they let him continue onto his next adventure.

Sorry this was posted a bit late. I got hit with two final papers and four midterms this past week so things got a bit hectic. Update will be a week late due to spring break but WILL be on schedule. Let me know what you think! Reviews needed.