Violence or Harmony? [America]

Alfred reached his hand up to wipe the sweat from his face. He was no newcomer to fighting in these conditions, between the Gulf War, the War in Iraq, and the War in Afghanistan. The aforementioned wars were in Alfred's past, but that didn't mean that he hadn't learned a few things from said wars. He was wearing the same military uniform he wore in his latest war in the same area, with a few improvements made with new technologies.

This was old hat for him, and therefore he had an advantage over some of the others who didn't have as much experience in the Middle East as he did.

The most recent town that he and his soldiers entered was already evacuated from the fighting that was taking place nearby. Alfred looked forward to the chance for some shade, and perhaps they could even gather a bit of food from the abandoned buildings. They had rations with them, but rations could only go so far - And Alfred would rather he and his soldiers use said rations when they truly needed them.

While his soldiers explored other buildings in the town, Alfred approached one himself. He'd opted to go off by himself rather than in a group like many of his other men. As a nation, he was more durable than them, and could likely take on more than one soldier at once. He'd heard rumors that opposing armies might be dispatched to this area as well, something he was about to pass off as rumor until he heard noises echoing through the building he was exploring in. Someone else was here.

It all happened so fast. Alfred caught movement out of the corner of his eye and immediately threw the nearest object he could find at the target, hoping to catch it off guard. In the flurry of action that ensued, Alfred hid on one side of the wall, just outside of the room that his foe was in. He kept a tight grip on his gun. They weren't alone, and Alfred needed to be ready to defend himself at any moment. Suddenly the sweltering heat was the least of his concerns.

His eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice shout out, and he narrowed his eyes. He couldn't comprehend what the other was saying as a result of the language barrier, but it didn't matter. He was now more thankful than ever that he stumbled upon this building rather than some of his men. He was far better equipped to face off against another nation than they were, and that was if China even wished to outright attack once he saw who he shared this building with.

Soon, they would decide what their next course of action would be. But now...now Yao needed to know just who he was dealing with. "Yao?" He cut through the silence at last. "Fancy meeting you here. It's been a long time. You know, it's too bad you decided to work with Ivan. Have you considered what you're going to do if...no, when he tries to take you over like everyone else he's gone after so far?"

He doubted that this would give Yao any misgivings about what he was doing, but he had to try. He wouldn't put it past Ivan at all to turn around and stab his former allies in the back...he'd done it in the past, hadn't he? They all had, but that was beside the point. Ivan was his arch-nemesis, the main power backing the Joint Pact. If he could undermine that power by even positing the slightest doubt in one of Russia's most powerful ally's heads...it was worth a shot at least.

The moment he heard Yao's laughter, he realized that he didn't stand a chance of swaying Yao in the least. He hadn't expected much else, not with Yao's history, but it was worth a shot nevertheless. He did not underestimate Yao as a formidable foe. In fact, in terms of clout, he considered China only secondary to Russia - hence his reasoning for trying in vain to plant doubt in Yao's convictions.

Oh well. Alfred was confident that Yao would learn soon enough that he'd chosen the wrong side in this war.

"Nah, just figured it was worth a shot." Alfred responded, though it was true that he considered Russia a threat to China. Ivan had a history of turning on his allies, and given the opportunity he was certain that the large nation would do the same in this instance. Though if anyone other than himself could stand up to Russia's advances it would be Yao...

That being said, he didn't particularly care what happened. China was no friend of his. Even when they were on friendlier terms, theirs was primarily a business relationship.

When Yao suggested working with Ivan, it was Alfred's turn to laugh. "I know you're not being serious, but I didn't know you had jokes like that in you! Have you considered doing standup?" Though his expression was jovial, as if they were two old friends having a conversation, there was a certain piercing quality to his gaze. He might be laughing and talking now, but he could just as easily shoot to kill in a split second if he needed to.

"The entire world would have to freeze over in a nuclear winter before I even considered that, but I'm pretty sure you already know that. Looks like I'm not the only one taking shots in the dark." Alfred winked, figuring that Yao would take his behavior as childish and playing up his behavior deliberately for that reason. Just because he was young did not mean that he did not deserve to be where he was. No one reached superpower status by sheer luck.

Worst case scenario, he'd simply annoy Yao (which was still fun in itself, and therefore worth it). Best case scenario? Yao would underestimate the younger nation. Alfred didn't always think through what he said and did, but he wasn't stupid. What he did know was that others were under the impression that he was, and he was perfectly content to let them continuing plodding along in that false assumption.

If Alfred knew just how much he was agitating Yao, he would be pleased. He didn't intend for China to see any comedy in his comments. He only wanted Yao to see how absurd the notion that he suggested was - not that he had any doubts that Yao knew this already.

"Just what gave you the impression that I'm worried about Ivan right now?" Yes, he did consider Ivan to be a larger threat overall than the nation in front of him, but right this second? China was the larger threat. An irritating threat nevertheless...the condescension in Yao's voice irked Alfred to no end. Alfred and Ivan weren't on good terms by any means, but at least Ivan appeared to respect him as a threat.

Yao, on the other hand, appeared to think of them as children. That would only make it more satisfying once the United Allegiance achieved a win in this war. And to think, Alfred was frustrated now. If only he knew what Yao was going to do with Kiku...if he knew that, he would do what he could to make certain that there was nothing left of Yao but a bloody pulp before this meeting was through.

Alfred took a step forward as well, showing that he was not in the least bit intimidated by the older nation. He did not discount that Yao had millenia of experience, but experience wasn't everything - and like hell he was going to let Yao continue to threaten him the way that he was. No, if he wanted to talk like that, he would receive it right back.

That being said, he did not particularly want this battle to turn violent either. At a later date, yes, but now was not the right time for that. Alfred considered he and Ivan to be the ultimate chessmasters, but China? China was one of the few nations who was a fellow chessmaster in his own right. If matters turned truly violent between America and China, it would likely be near the end of the war. There were still plenty of smaller, weaker nations standing in the way on both sides first.

"I wouldn't be adverse to reaching some sort of deal." Alfred offered. There was no way that he would retreat simply because China gave him the option told him to, but if they could reach some sort of agreement that was beneficial to both of them? Well, he might be convinced that way.

Had Alfred known Yao's heated thoughts surrounding his taking one step closer, Alfred would make every attempt to get as close to Yao as possible. He respected Yao as a foe, but it seemed as though Yao did not share that respect, all because of his age. It looked as though Alfred would have to teach him to respect him.

Now, though? They both had other tasks to attend to. Surely they'd meet on the battlefield once more, when one side was crumbling under the weight of the other, but that wouldn't be any time soon. Both factions had a long way to go before anything like that happened. No, that would be near the end of the war.

No, Alfred had no intent to fire his weapon, not today at least.

The younger nation's eyebrow arched at Yao's words. He knew that Yao wouldn't attack him, it was too early for that. Something told him not to turn his back on the shorter nation, not to trust him in the least.

What did Alfred want? He wanted China on his knees begging in front of him, but he suspected that China wanted the same of him - and neither of them were going to get their wish this early in the game. That meant he had to settle for something smaller.

It didn't take long for him to decide on something that he wished to propose, though he had another option in case China wasn't willing to go quite that far. However, if China wasn't willing to go along with his first option...well, that would say a lot to Alfred.

"I might be willing to retreat today, given the right incentives for it." Iraq wasn't that important to him, not in the scheme of things. Not when someone Alfred cared about a lot more was right in China's backyard...