O Canada [closed]

[traineeassistantdirector]

who. Canada and Tony Foster
what. Heading toward roommatedom
where. The residential area
when. Eveningish, as people blunder around looking for space
warnings. Politeness and moose? Nah, nothing.

Tony had never been very good at putting himself forward. Back in gradeschool, the teacher's announcement that they should find partners had paralyzed him and he'd stood awkwardly until he was arbitrarily paired with whoever else was left over. Now he drifted nervously, hoping he might find an unclaimed living space where he could just camp out unnoticed. He was perfectly aware that it was a bad idea for both avoiding the ire of the very readily irritated authorities and wouldn't make integrating easy, but it was hard not to be contrary about it.

So he meandered, poking nervously with his toe at doors and then deciding against it, occasionally planning to say hello to people and realizing he wasn't sure what he wanted to say, then losing the thread and missing his chance, and being distracted by the crazy situation on top of it all. He was a crabby Tony in pretty short order.

Comments

[gloriousandfree]

Her whole face lit up. Her citizen, right here, in front of her. She can't resist the urge to fix his clothes and tidy his hair, mothering through and through. Her whole demeanor seems to change really. It was never that she was unwelcoming before, but the degree of familiarity changes as she takes up guardianship. He can surely care for himself but protecting him would come before herself now.

"I'm pleased to meet you then. I was just in Vancouver actually, for New Years, I celebrate at one coast and then the other. Mother Canada is no more me than Mother Russia, Marianne or Brittiania are their countries. Symbols, but not...the country." She frowns, "Though France uses Marianne as a human name sometimes."

Explaining this in a convoluted way is probably not helping, but realizing he is her own is certainly distracting.

[traineeassistantdirector]

Her citizen has never responded very well to fussing, and he stands awkwardly, trying to make sense of her explanation. If there are, in fact, sentient personifications of countries, he can see why they might not have much to do with leftovers from patriotic political cartoons and war memorials. Why there should be sentient personifications of countries he can't guess. "Huh. Ah, wouldn't have guessed."