Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. Thank God for fair use and Himaruya's grace, huh?

Some of you really enjoy the story the NA brothers are telling, but some of you are less thrilled. If you really don't like the bear story but prefer the main one, try checking back in 2 or 3 chapters. I'll be sure to title them so you can tell when things are 'back to normal'— insofar as that's possible in a free-flow fic.

Man, if I ever write an original story it's going to be as long as War and Peace. I don't seem to know how to keep things brief!

For the rest of you, enjoy~

For many long days, Nanuq lead the brothers through the darkness without stopping for rest. He was angry, and as they travelled, he grew angrier still. He was angry at the treatment of Sun and Moon. He was angry at the unnatural darkness, and the equally unnatural Winter that covered the land. He was angry because his people were dying, in their caves and in their sleep, and there was nothing he could do, and he had no faith in Sun and Moon's reassurances that the brat at his heels could do anything to alleviate the darkness and the winter. He was angry because he hungered, his belly gnawing inside him, hungrier than he had been in thousands of years, for though there had been long darkness and harsh winters before, and bears had died and prey had been scarce, there had never been a darkness or winter this unnatural, that drove all things into hiding or death. There was nothing in the land, neither human nor animal nor spirit, left for him to feed upon. And his hunger only grew, and his anger with it.

The blood of the elder child's torn feet which lay fresh in the snow with every step at the start of their journey had been tantalizing, and he'd switched places with the child shortly after leaving the watchful eyes of Sun and Moon, following behind and lapping up footprints of bloodladen snow. It hadn't been enough to satisfy, and had only caused his hunger to grow; hunger not only to fill his belly, but hunger for the power that tingled in the blood on his tongue, alive and envigorating, like a storm on the ocean. If there was so much power in just a few drops of blood in cursed snow, imagine how much there must be in the tiny body of the living child. And though the blood had ceased to stain the snow after a few days the memory of it was fresh in his mind, how it crackled with potent power on his tongue and set stars dancing behind his eyes, and sent his blood coursing through his body like living energy, and his hunger for it began to overshadow all else.

Surely, he told himself, with that power, he need not fear the cursed Darkness, nor Sun, nor Moon, nor even Sedna herself. He would kill the Sea Witch and force the siblings to shine, and they could do nothing to stop him. He would drive Man from the land, and all creatures would be slaves of bearkind, for all eternity. And it would not be difficult to take— the brat was powerful, powerful beyond belief, but his form was that of a human child, tiny, weak and frail, smaller than even one of his paws. He did not even have fangs or claws or thick hide to protect him. Sun and Moon were fools, sending this defenseless little shit into the Darkness, to the sorceror Angahkuq, to Sedna, either of whom would easily overpower the infant and take that power for themselves. And when that happened, the Darkness would never end, and Sun and Moon's promises to him would not be kept. Why then should he let this opportunity pass? He would devour the useless brats, and take that power as his own.

His decision made, Nanuq spun, jaws gaping, intending to snap both brothers up in one mouthful. He was puzzled, therefore, when he found himself laying on his back, paws in the air, mouth empty and head spinning. He rolled onto his feet to try again, lunging for the small, pale forms, mouth agape; and this time found himself sprawled on his side, ribs aching and with the wind knocked out of him. A third attempt landed him on his back once more, the child's high-pitched shrieking ringing in his ears.

Except, he realized as his head stopped spinning, the little shit wasn't shrieking in fear, he was shrieking with laughter. The infuriating little brat was laughing at him. He rolled his eyes to see the child watching him, giggling.

Fucking piece of shit.

"You're funny."

"I'm going to eat you." He growled, struggling to his feet. "Gnaw your bones."

The child shrieked with laughter, and turned to run, looking back over his shoulder to see if Nanuq would follow. He was so small and his legs were so short that Nanuq didn't even have to give chase, he simply reached out a massive paw and swiped, striking the child a blow which sent him flying through the air to land a hundred feet away. Nanuq followed, confident that he'd succeeded this time; a blow like that would have shattered boulders. He was amazed, therefore, when the small bundle in the snow that he assumed was dead child leapt to its feet when he drew close, unharmed, still holding his unconscious brother safe in his arms, and still laughing.

The next several hours were the most infuriating and frustrating of Nanuq's life. Time after time after time he attempted to devour, kill, or finally even just maim the child, who seemed to think the whole thing was a hilarious game. By the end he collapsed in exhaustion, his legs unable to support his weight. He lay flat in the snow, body bruised and aching, gasping for air. The child didn't seem to understand his exhaustion, and tried several times to get him to get up and chase him again, walking up to where Nanuq lay and poking him, running away giggling, or calling him from a distance. Finally, though, he seemed to realize that the bear wasn't going to respond, and came to crouch next to his head, staring at him curiously.

"Don't you want to play anymore?"

Too tired to lift his head, Nanuq rolled an eye towards him. "What...are you...made of." He panted, still struggling for breath. The child seemed to give this some serious thought.

"Sun says brother and me are made of rainbows and sunshine." He offered. Nanuq gave this the consideration that it was due, which was none, and closed his eyes. After a while, the child spoke again. "I'm hungry."

Nanuq sighed. "Eat snow."

A little while later, the child spoke again. "Brother won't eat."

"He doesn't need to eat." Nanuq informed him, too tired to do anything but tell the truth in the hopes that the strange child would stop bothering him and let him rest. "The body of your brother is feeding off your energy. As long as you live, so will the spiritless shell you carry."

"Oh. He doesn't need to eat?"

"No."

"Okay."

Nanuq lifted his head. "It doesn't concern you that your sibling is draining your power?"

"He can if he wants." The child responded, between shoveling handfuls of snow into his mouth.

Nanuq stared at him. "Do you understand what that means, brat? You're losing spiritual energy. Your brother is eating your life force to keep himself alive."

"That's okay." The child patted snow between his hands, and held it up. "Look! I made a rabbit!" He smiled, and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Your brother could feed from your energy from now until the stars grow dim," Nanuq continued slowly, "and he would still make no noticable dent in your power. Do you understand what that means?"

Carefully patting more snow into another shape, elder twin looked at the brother curled in his lap, and up at the bear. "Brother doesn't have to eat snow."

"We should keep going." Nanuq attempted to stand, but his legs refused to hold him, and he collapsed back down in the snow. He had spent too much energy trying to kill the child, had gone too long without food. He struggled weakly for a moment, trying to rise, snarling when his body failed to respond to his demands and he sprawled gracelessly on his belly legs and head outstretched. The child watched him curiously.

"What's wrong with your legs?"

"Nothing." The bear growled, lip curling weakly. "I just...feel like laying down."

"Are you going to sleep?"

"Yes."

"Oh." The child nodded. "Then I will too." He stood, gathering his brother in his arms, and to Nanuq's consternation, came to burrow underneath the lord of bears, curling up under his armpit, pressed against his ribcage. Nanuq wished he had the energy to roll over and crush him, but had to admit it probably wouldn't do any good, anyway.

The child awoke before he did, and Nanuq awoke to small fingers playing with his nose.

"What the fuck are you doing, brat?"

"Your nose is funny." The boy informed him, prodding it. "It looks like old leather, and it's wet."

"Stop that."

The boy withdrew his hand, staring up at him. "Are we going to go, now?"

Nanuq didn't have to try to get up to know he still didn't have the energy to move. "I want to sleep."

"You slept a long time." The boy said. "Sun and Moon said we should hurry."

"Sun and Moon aren't here." The bear closed his eyes. "And I'm going to sleep."

He heard a sigh, and a short while later a small hand grasped the end of one of his paws, and pulled. His body slid across the snow. "What the fuck?" He lifted his head, realising that the child was dragging him along behind him as he trudged through the snow.

"You're too big to carry." The child explained. "But if you're too tired to walk, I can pull you."

Nanuq gave up. "You're going in the wrong direction. Turn left."

The child dragged him tirelessly for days, carrying his brother in one arm and pulling the gargantuan bear behind him as he walked. He stopped once or twice a day for a few minutes, to shovel snow into his mouth, and a couple of times he stopped to sleep, curling up with his brother underneath Nanuq's armpit or under his chin. When he was awake he talked incessantly, to his brother, to Nanuq, about anything and everything. He told Nanuq about his brother, how he was gentle and quiet and noticed things, and liked to sleep "all the time, like Moon". He told stories about things they had done together, and creatures they had met in their travels, and their time with Sun and Moon, until Nanuq felt he knew the younger brother as well as the older, and the still form whose face he spent most of each day looking at, resting on the shoulder of his brother, grew to be less of an empty shell and gained an identity, and despite himself, as time passed he grew to care about them both.

One evening Nanuq directed him to a nearby cave, where they could rest and where his more supernatural senses, undulled by the Darkness, were telling him he could find something to eat. The cave was deep, a long tunnel (through which Nanuq's great size was a tight fit, but the elder brother managed to pull him through with little effort and only an uncomfortable sensation of having his skin pulled tight over his skull and being squeezed on the bear's part) ending in a wide den, in which even Nanuq could turn around comfortably. There he found the frozen bodies of two polar bear cubs, about three months old. It was common for polar bears to abandon their young when danger threatened, which inevitably meant death for the cubs. Nanuq ate them, as any bear would, and gave the small bearskins to the children to wear, to protect them from the bitter cold.

This was an unusual gift, as the essence of a bear resided in the skin. Both humans and bearkind at that time believed that it was the skin of the bear that made him a bear; without his skin, the bear was simply a man. Therefore bears did not gift their skins, least of all the lord of bears. A human could kill a bear and take his skin, and the spirit of the bear would protect the one who wore it; but that was a gift to be won, through strength and valour and cunning. The lord of the bears alone had the right to gift skins, and in doing so he openly recognised the strength of the twins' spirit, and welcomed them into the brotherhood of bears.

The eldest was delighted with the gift, and assured Nanuq that the younger was, too, and wrapping the skins around himself and his brother he declared that they were bears, now, and spent some time cavorting around the floor of the cave, growling and pouncing on imaginary prey, before curling up with his brother against Nanuq to sleep.

From then on, Nanuq began to think of them as his cubs.

When they emerged from the cave the next day, the Darkess had grown worse, thickening and heavy, so that traveling through it was like pushing through deep water, against a slow current. It seemed to them they heard voices, too, or pehaps just one voice, hissing on the edge of their hearing, full of hate and malice and despair.

"The Sea Witch has grown stronger." Nanuq told the elder brother. "Doubtless she is using the spirit of your brother to strengthen her power. "

Hearing this, the elder brother became afraid for the spirit of his twin, held his brother close and called for him with all his might. As he did so he felt their connection strengthen, and the oppressive weight of the Darkness seemed to lift a little, and the voices on the edge of their hearing disappeared.

Nanuq was about to remark on this, when a different voice broke the silence.

"Well done," came a man's voice, "you have bought us time." Nanuq moved in front of the cubs, hackles raised, his rumbling growl vibrating the earth and air in warning, as a figure stepped out of the darkness and into their circle of dim light. He was human, or appeared to be to the child's eyes, and looked much like any other of the older men common to the tribes in this area. In other words, unremarkable, except for the fact that he was here when all other men had long since fled the Darkness, and showed no fear, either of the Darkness, or the massive form of Nanuq, Lord of Bears.

Angahkuq had come.

"Dun dun dunnnn." America intoned ominously.

"Shh." Canada nudged his brother. "It wasn't like that."

"It's just the way you said it." America leaned his head back in his brother's lap to grin up at him. "All dramatic, like he's Darth Vader or somethin'."

"Well, do you want to tell it, then?"

"Nothin's wrong with the way you tell it." America sat up, folding his legs, and reached for his coffee. "But sure, I can take over." He drained the cup and put it aside, wriggling a little to get comfortable. "Okay. Now the thing you need to know about Angahkuq, is that he was human..."

AN: He's like Darth Vader or somethin'.

Notice how Canada told the story mostly from Nanuq's p.o.v.?

I know it's been a long time since I updated for this fic. The main reason for that is because after I posted the last chapter of it, my cat decided I was paying too much attention to writing and not enough to her, and ran off with my notes when I wasn't looking. She does that sometimes; it's funny to watch her try to drag off the mouse or my cell phone. Unfortunately I kind of needed the notes, and I still haven't found where she hid them, which kind of sucks 'cause they had the outline and some very important research notes, but I've finally decided to stop looking for the thing and just push on through. I'd hoped to finish this story off in one installment, but it looks like it's going to run a bit longer. Some of you like the story, some of you aren't so thrilled with the supernatural aspect, but either way, hang with me, k? I'll try and get it finished in four installments total (counting what's already posted). I might have to cut some things out.

I like the bear story, but it'll be nice to get out of the structured format and back into free-flow. It's a lifesaver when I have writer's block!