It still wasn't quite nightfall when Dvesel finally awoke. The sun still clinging to the last eves of morning. The skies were darkening slowly and the shadows hanging low.

Locked in the arms of another, the jadeblood wasn't sure where he was or what had happened. At first he panicked, his heart racing and body stiffening. The prior nights attack fills his head. The terror comes flooding back and he nearly breaks into tears.

Before he could break into hysterics the warmed of his lover made it clear this was no highblood in bed with him. Little by little the nights events came back. Shifting around also brought to attention the desperate need to bathe. "Saleos?" He spoke softly, questioningly. Was this real? Was this a dream?

As his eyes focused in the dark room he could better get a glimpse of the redblood's face. Flashes of their time together, the various expressions that he made, had his heart beating a little faster. Pressing his face against the other's shoulder, arms squeezing him a little tighter. "Tell me I'm not dreaming. Tell me this is real."

More drawing practice stuff. To work on face shapes, I decided to line up my TN with some of the muses he interacts with most often.

Battle intro: I s’ppose it’s only fair t’ warn ya that I ain’t as gentle as Logan, an’ nowhere near as merciful as God.

Victory: Shit on that, ya cotton mouthed lizard!

Defeat: U-Ugh… I hope ya roll yerself right off a damn cliff… *flops*

Assist: That tears it! I’m gonna tell Logan t’ whip yer hide raw!

Taunt: Wanna know why we never have a Christmas pageant at yer place? ‘Cause it’d be too hard t’ find three wise men!

Reacting to Taunt: O-Oh, yeah? Well! Th’ only way yer gonna get laid is if—……………… Don’cha dare touch my sister.

Flee: Iwaskiddin’ya’bout th’wisementhing! Calm down!!

Reacting to Flee: *chases*

Tie: *huff pant* B-Best five outta seven…?

Perfect Victory: Get back up! I ain’t done with ya jus’ yet!

Andrew paced back and forth across the homely rental cabin while the two remaining members of the East South Central Region watched on with varying degrees of concern and annoyance. Kentucky and Mississippi had refrained from commenting on the explosive argument which had erupted between Tennessee and Alabama earlier, but he could hear the judgment in their stares. Their sub-region was usually considered one of the more peaceful and amicable among the states due to the quartets’ exceedingly, ahem, humble circumstances. There was no point in arguing over who was better than the others when they were all frequently competing for middle to last place on most ranking scales, after all. However, they each still had their own stubborn and obtuse sense of pride whenever it was least convenient.

Maybe he had over reacted… b-but Chris had started it! Andrew scowled stubbornly as he told himself that Chris was the one at fault and he was being a big baby by angrily storming out into a storm. He looked out the window and cringed when he saw snow whipping past the window. Why did Chris go have his hissy fit in the middle of a blizzard? Blizzards were relatively rare for their region so it was amazingly bad luck that the bitter argument occurred in the middle of one. Tennessee wanted to stay mad, but as the minutes crept into hours with no sign of the blond, anger was quickly turning to fear.

“…. Shit,” Andrew hissed as he grabbed his coat. “Y’all stay put! I’m gonna look for him. If I ain’t back or called here in an hour, radio the park service.” The former mountaineer took up his backpack and old frontier hatchet before heading out into the snow himself to search for Chris. Wind and snow and the foggy outline of trees made up the majority of his limited vision as Andrew shuffled through the blizzard. While he was far from shy to make sarcastic or deadpan remarks about Alabama’s general intelligence, he knew that Chris was no idiot. He wouldn’t be out stumbling around in the middle of this weather so the Tennessean focused on searching the nearby hollers and caves to see where he might have sought shelter. Eventually his method paid off. When Andrew picked up the scent of smoke coming from a small, shallow cave he quickly ducked into the narrow entrance and shuffled along until he found the fireplace and sibling he had been searching for.

“Chris!” he gasped as the other state looked up at him in surprise. Both took a moment to survey the other and, when each was confident that neither was hurt, the boys scowled.

“What are ya doin’ out here?! I said I wanted t’ be alone!”

“I’m out here ‘cause ya ain’t got the good sense God gave a goose! What were ya thinkin’ runnin’ off in a blizzard!?”

“Obviously I got enough sense to take care of myself! I don’t need ya babyin’ me!”

“Look here ya…” Andrew trailed off and clenched his fist as he simmered for a moment. A slow sigh escaped him as he looked down at the earthy cave floor while Alabama continued to scowl at him. He slumped backwards to sit on his bottom with a small grunt. “… I’m sorry, Bama. I shouldn’t a’ gotten on yer case earlier. An’ I know that yer fine out here, but… I ain’t. I ain’t fine with ya stayin’ out here. So… could ya come back?”

Chris stared long and hard at Andrew for a moment before a sly, snaggle-toothed grin spread across his face. The Heart of Dixie warmed up with a glow more welcoming than any campfire could muster and plopped a heavy hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“Alright. Since ya’ miss me so much~!”

“I-I didn’t say I missed ya,” Andrew sputtered indignantly and was grateful that his cheeks were already red from the weather.

“You missed me~!” Chris taunted as he pursed his lips together in a mock kissy face which earned him a face full of decaying moss. “H-Hey! Ptthbbt!”

One small moss, dirt and snowball fight later, Chris and Andrew returned to the cabin grateful for the existence of central heating systems. With some hot chocolate courtesy of Mississippi, the pair crowded around the fireplace with blankets drawn up over their shoulders. The boys had been so focused on thawing that they had missed the Christmas decorations which had been put up in their absence. Apparently Kentucky and Mississippi had found a way to keep busy while they were busy having their own feuds in the snow.

Chris choked and spat out some of his hot chocolate while admiring the decorations. Andrew gave him a peculiar look before following the Alabamian’s gaze upward to a small piece of mistletoe dangling ominously above them.

“Ya gotta be shittin’ me,” he groaned before looking around for a Kentuckian or Mississippian to blame for the very timely placement. They knew Tennessee and Alabama would want to crowd around the fire when they got back! This was a set up!

“Y’all better kiss an’ make up~!” a voice chimed from a safe hiding spot just out of sight where the devious tricksters had been watching.

“We already made up! Dammit…” Andrew snapped back with a flustered scowl. He looked to Chris as both of their cheeks reddened and they squirmed like a pair of shy middle schoolers who had never been kissed.

“It’s tradition so… someone’s gotta get kissed,” Chris finally said. Tennessee wanted to argue that some traditions were stupid, but he knew how hypocritical that was since ninety percent of the time he tried to avoid changing anything he tended to blame traditional values. Traditions were important.

“J-Jus’ close yer eyes,” Andrew mumbled as he turned to Chris and leaned in. His move was forced and assertive at first, but he hesitated just above the other’s lips. There was a small lapse as he opened his own eyes to make sure Chris’ were squeezed shut. Andrew almost rolled his eyes when he saw how the other had pursed his lips together childishly. Gosh, this was already so many levels of awkward, and that was not helping. He reached up and brushed a thumb over Chris’ lips to flatten them. “Quit that. This is weird enough as it is,” he grumbled before placing a small peck on the blond then backed off to take a long drink of his hot chocolate.

“… Huh.”

“What?”

“I didn’t expect ya t’ taste sweet. I figured you’d taste like whiskey.”

Andrew’s cheeks flushed and he would have thrown something or swatted Chris if he wasn’t worried about making a mess to clean up later.

"... Bama, do ya really know how to drive this?" Andrew asked apprehensively as he climbed onto the sleigh. Snow had blanketed the mountainous areas of northern Alabama and the more southern regions of Middle Tennessee in a thick sheet of frosty powder which rendered regular carriage wheels utterly useless. There was no argument that the sleigh was necessary to dig out of storage, but it was obvious from the condition of said sleigh that its owner did not frequently utilize it as a method of transportation. Andrew was not very fond of traveling through the narrow, windy Appalachian passes with a driver who was unfamiliar with navigating extreme winter conditions on a good snow day.

"Hehehe. Sure. At least I think so!" Chris chirped with false bravado. The Tennessean's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he noticed his brother's nervous sweating and the wheezing noise coming from every breath he took. The death grip Alabama had on the reigns did even less to encourage either states' confidence.

"... Let me off this thi--" Too late. Andrew spewed profanity as the sleigh lurched forward at a blistering speed down the mountain road. Both boys shrieked in horror while the horses galloped madly as if the sleigh was chasing them rather than being pulled down the slippery inclines. Actually, as Andrew would later reflect, that was a disturbingly accurate description of what was happening. How they managed to reach the valley below without careening off the side of a cliff was a mystery to all. When the sleigh finally came to a merciful halt, Chris and Andrew's faces were whiter than the newly fallen snow.

"........ Ya wanna go again?"

Tennessee was perfectly content angrily working on the banjo and letting Chris say whatever he wanted because it wouldn't make a lick of difference. He let most of it go in one ear and out the other.

Then the beans were spilled.

For a split second Andrew was stunned. Not surprised. Just stunned. Did Chris hear his own mouth? He had been hit by a car a few times? The only reason he got any help was because the younger state just happened to call?

The next second the table he had been working at went flying into the wall on the other side of the room. Tennessee held the banjo he thankfully had the sense to not toss as he stood there shaking from anger and disbelief. He tried to take deep breaths to calm down. He needed to calm down. But it was hard to calm down when he was almost seeing red.

"... Would ya jus' leave me bleedin' or bruised if ya found me half as messed up as you like t' get?" he asked in a frighteningly even tone without turning around to face the other state because he really wasn't sure what he might do. "Would ya, Bama?"