achtentwintig - still a human

[gezellig]

[After over a year in Mayfield, Holland still has his human body.  He's not quite sure what that means; has he aged?  Will he be one year older, physically, forever?  He hadn't really seen nations age quickly; he did used to be much smaller, but he hasn't been little in over 300 years.

Anyway, he didn't feel terribly different.  Injuries hurt more, his body got aches and pains that it never got before, and it was just so easy to be killed, as a human.  But other than that . . . well, it was different.  

So when he gets the mail and finds two familiar looking envelopes, he's eager to open them.  He'll tear both open and look at the pictures inside at the same time.  

And what he sees are this and this this.  There's an enormous noise in the backyard, and when the Netherlands turns back towards the house, he'll see a mast standing out behind it.  

He was still a human.]

A - For housemates and anyone happening by Mitchell Rd.

[There is a very large ship in the backyard of 1447 Mitchell Rd.  Holland notices that it's smaller, smaller than it should be.  Still, it takes up almost all of the backyard, and the masts are well-visible above the houses.  The cannon sits in the lawn, the grass and ground underneath indented from the weight of the metal.  A few cannonballs are nearby.  Netherlands will spend a lot of effort wheeling it to the front of the house, eventually using the car to tow it.

If the ship doesn't catch the attention of the neighbors, a cannonball being shot down the street probably will.  After loading it attentively he'll light the fuse and take cover.  He's careful to avoid houses, but some of the cars might not be so lucky as the cannonball flies down the street..  
He's impressed it worked; it looks like the cannon has been at the bottom of the ocean for some time and he was mostly expecting it to explode.  Holland will ignore the crashing sound of a cannonball hitting something; he'll move the cannon best he can and leave it against the curb in front of the house where, he guesses it works okay as an accent.  It doesn't really go with the tulips though; he'll spend the morning polishing it best he can and trying to get most of the rust off.]

B - for a_gentle_boy 

[Holland remembers all the people he'd talked to while he didn't have any memories.  One of those people is Lucas.  He's going to visit his friend now, and try to clear things up.  There is a knock on the door in the afternoon.]

C- Phone

Hoi, you guys; this is Netherlands.  I'm myself now and I remember what I should remember.  Sorry.

. . . . sorry about the cannon.

Comments

c

[kinship]

...You have a cannon?!

[gezellig]

Hallo Cain.

[He almost sounds happy to hear Cain's voice, and it's almost noticeable on the phone.]

Ja, I got it in the mail I guess.

[kinship]

[Aww it's nice to hear Holland pleased to hear from him.]

That's a pretty big thing to get in the mail...

[gezellig]

Well, it's just like before. I got a picture in the mail, and then it was in my backyard.

It sort of works; I tested it.

B

[a_gentle_boy]

[The door will open readily enough, and Lucas will beam when he sees who it is, as he always does.]

Mr. Netherlands!

...Come in. ...How are you feeling?

[gezellig]

[He was always feeling better when he saw Lucas looking happy; he'll step in after tapping out his pipe.]

I still don't remember.

[He has a terrible sense of humor.]

[a_gentle_boy]

...Oh.

[Lucas's face falls a little, but he recovers shortly enough.]

A-Ah, that's fine. Come on in, anyway!

[gezellig]

[He immediately regrets the really stupid joke when Lucas' face looks like that. This kid breaks hearts. Holland will take a piece of paper out of his coat and hold it up; it's a drawing of Hello Kitty and Miffy having a picnic.]

I'm just giving you a hard time. I remember when you called Hello Miffy a chimera.

And then you were crying because I didn't remember you and you gave me this drawing.

[Wait a minute. . .]

. . . the hell is Hello Miffy. . .

[Maaaaaybe that was just a dream he'd had when he was really high, then. He'll be confused for a moment.]

A

[ooeeooahah]

[ Yes, she was coming by to check on him. That doesn't stop the reflex when she hears artillery fire. After dropping for cover, she checks for damage and then heads towards the place the sound came from...

... where she finds Holland wrestling his cannon into place. ]

I hope you remember how to care for that thing.

[gezellig]

I don't think any extra care could save it.

[Hello Ilsa.]

Even if it doesn't work right, it'll explode.

[Which is good, right?]

[ooeeooahah]

[ Really, Holland? ]

Are you able to reuse the cannonballs, if you find them?

[gezellig]

Probably.

Did you see that one?

[Hopeful. . .]

A

[allwehad]

[Lucas had already warned her that this Netherlands was different, hadn't remembered either of them when he had come back. It hurts -- he had been a close friend, but she'll deal with it. If anything, she can keep an eye on him, make sure he stayed safe.

The ship is certainly eye catching, to say the least, and Margot's worked on them before, putting wind in the sails. The fact he has a canon is even better.

She meanders over from her house across the street, hands in her pockets.]

Nice ship. Planning on sailing away?

[gezellig]

[He's about to reply moodily, something about he would if he could, or, what kind of stupid question was that, or, the lake is too damn small. But when he sees the person speaking, he'll stop, mouth slightly open, drawing a blank both on his face and with his vocal chords.

. . . he's never had the sensation of both forgetting and remembering at the same time. ]

Do you know why I think your name is Margot?

[No beating around the bush here.]

[allwehad]

[Just as blunt as ever.

Margot is as surprised by that as he is and her face scrunches in thought.]

When you were here before, we were friends. Really good friends. I didn't think you'd -- I thought you wouldn't remember me, that's what Lucas said...

[gezellig]

[Before. . . anyway, he'll remember his conversation with Lucas from earlier in the day. It's possible he might have gotten a good number of his memories back, more than just the ones from the past year. He'll heft the cannon one last time and then face her again.]

I don't remember you. Just that you're Margot.

phone

[cursedtolive]

Mr. Thijs?

[That's his voice, all right. But why is he talking about the Netherlands? Is he saying that's where this city was -- can't be, everyone seems to agree Mayfield is in America. Besides, Mr. Thijs was missing his memories, not his sanity or his intelligence. And--]

You got your memories back?

[gezellig]

Ja, I did.

You should call me Holland, or Netherlands. Thijs isn't my name.

. . . It's Czeslaw, right?

[cursedtolive]

... Yeah, that's my name.

You were named after countries?

C;

[encored]

Oh, so soon? And here I had been hoping it would last a little longer. [just long enough to bum more free food off of him.....

that's what he'd say if asked, at least. it's not like he's answering the call out of any real concern, of course.]

[gezellig]

[Oh well, well, well. ]

Yeah, I'll bet. You owe me.

[encored]

Do I, now? I can't imagine why I would owe you anything. [bakery cake doesn't count at all]

C

[ex_seventh238]

That's good to hear, mister Netherlands. --Ah, would you prefer to be called that, rather than 'Holland'? [she sounds a bit hesitant but definitely curious, and yes let's just ignore the matter of the cannon for the moment...]

Re: C

[gezellig]

Hallo again.

No, either is fine. Netherlands is fine.

. . . thanks again for the carnival.

[Sorry that he managed to die anyhow.]

[ex_seventh238]

Okay. Aha, you're welcome, though it's no problem. How are you feeling now, mister Netherlands?

[sorry she had her hands full elsewhere too at that time... u_u;; but alas, mayfield]