Summit of European Powers [open]

[Austria]

Austria was well aware of the risk involved in inviting his neighbors for a meeting, since he was not informed of anyone’s intentions. But that was also the purpose of their meeting. To establish intentions. Without knowing what his neighbors were planning he could not decide his next steps. Should he be worrying about attacks from the West? Should he be guarding the East? Did the others perhaps seek alliances? He wanted answers to all these questions.

His minister of foreign relations could tell him that Germany had made moves to acquire Belgium and New Zealand, both of which did not cause him much concern. However, it had come to his attention that Prussia had reached out for the South of Italy. If this was true, then he wouldn’t be very pleased. Having Prussia on both to the North and to the South of him was disconcerting. He would need to establish some sort of agreement to keep him away from the lands he had his own eyes set on. Primarily his goal was to claim the North of Italy and Hungary.

Then there were still nations like Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Poland. He hadn’t heard much about them recently and they were too close to his lands to simply ignore their activities. All in all, it boiled down to one point: he wanted more information. The Austrian didn’t know if anyone would show up to his summoning, or on what terms. He could only hope that everyone came in peace and would sit down with him for a cup of coffee and cake to discuss the future.

With these thoughts in mind he paced the assembly room of the residence he had invited everyone to. It was located on his Western border near Switzerland and Germany by the Bodensee. He would be a fool to invite potential enemies any further into his territory and he hoped this point would be the most accessible to all. Now all he could do was wait to see if anyone turned up. In any case, he had cake and beverages prepared since he wouldn’t want anyone accusing him of being an unworthy host.

[[ooc: I hope I understood the plot correctly?]]

[Switzerland]

So aggravating.

At first, it seemed like it would take all of Switzerland's strength to show up at the Summit. He wouldn't want to say it was like pulling teeth, but really, it was. He didn't even know why he had to be there. He's neutral. He's been officially neutral since 1851. No matter how much the other countries around him changed, he would stay a neutral entity. He'd remain an entity that would help solve others' problems and care for refugees whom have had their natural rights violated. He didn't even have to be there to represent Liechtenstein. She was neutral, and without her own military, she probably wasn't going to go out and conquer Europe anytime soon. He was just going there to repeat what he had been saying for more than 159 years now.

Not to mention, it was hosted by a country Switzerland preferred to have little to no interaction with.

So why was he going to this meeting anyways? At first, it seemed best to just skip the conference all together, but that would give off a bad impression, and essentially, it was beneath his dignity. But, after he thought about it for a while, Switzerland knew it would be best to go. This was a meeting to discuss the intentions of the other countries, particularly the ones that surrounded his home. Germany was getting bigger, the whole of Italy was slowly being taken over, not to mention Austria (the person who called the meeting) probably had some kind of hidden intent. Everyone was taking over everyone else. The EU and UN were going to crumble, if they hadn't already. If anything, this summit would give him a good idea of who would be a threat later on, how many troops to mobilize and when he should do it.

Fortunately(?) for him, the meeting was being held extremely close to his own territory, so he wouldn't have to travel far to get to the meeting. But, just to be sure his territory would be safe, he took extra precautions to ward off potential outside invaders.

Switzerland opened the door of the conference room only to see a mostly empty room with Austria pacing back and forth on the floor. Damn it. He had hoped that he wouldn't be the first person at the meeting, but that hope vanished within the instant he felt a scowl subconciously form on his face and then lessen into a frown. He made his way over to one of the chairs that had been situated around a table (the only noise made was the sound of his boots against the confrence room floor), and he sat down, adverting his head off to the side, away from the other person.

"You should know my intentions, already. I'm just here to represent Liechtenstein's intrests and hear everyone elses."

For someone who felt like he should be spit and swearing at the moment, he did a pretty good job of keeping his voice calm and monotone. He was saving his anger for later.

(( I hope you don't mind me cutting in :'D ))

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[Austria]

Austria was starting to believe nobody was going to show up. Every now and again he would stop his pacing and peek out of the window in hope to spot someone approaching the house, but every time he looked no nation was to be seen. Only a couple of squirrels eagerly hopped around the base of a hazelnut tree and a few birds zipped past the window from time to time. With a sigh he continued marching up and down the room, until finally the door to the assembly room opened.

To the Austrian's surprise, Switzerland was the first nation to arrive. Perhaps he would even be the only one. He nodded politely in greeting as the other male took a seat and reached for the tray of beverages and cake to serve them. It would be a pity if they went to waste, so he might as well share them now while they were still fresh and edible. He could tell that the other man was tense by his posture and by the way he cut straight down to business. But then again, that was very typical of Switzerland. He wasn't known to make idle chit-chat.

"Grüß dich, Eidgenossenschaft¹."

The aristocrat vaguely hoped that the familiar greeting and a term the neutral nation preferred to address himself by would ease the atmosphere. He noted how the younger man had averted his gaze and the musician's lips pressed together to form a thin line. This kind of behavior was certainly not appreciated, but he was not going to be impolite about it. Not yet, in any case.

"You and Liechtenstein wish to remain neutral, I presume? Can you really afford to this time around? I do not mean financially, of course. However, if you take a look at the map surely you must realize that not every possibility of conquest of the nations around you is in your best interests. What if, let's say... Germany absorbs Italy into his empire? Would that not alarm you? Would you like coffee or tea?"

His voice was still casual and light despite the threatening undertones his words had carried. The Austrian settled for a chair opposite the single participant and poured himself a cup of coffee. Although he didn't know if any of the other nations would still show up, he might as well point out some aspects in their absence. The situation he had mentioned to Switzerland was actually his momentary greatest fear. Austria and Switzerland both lay like wedges directly between Germany and Italy. If the aristocrat did not succeed in his goal to claim the Italian first, then the Alpine nations were at risk of being integrated into someone else's empire out of sheer convenience.

[[¹ literally translated: Oath-Comradeship; a term the German Swiss like to use for Switzerland]]

[[ooc: I'm delighted :D]]

[Switzerland]

Wow. It hadn't even been three minutes in the same room together, and Austria had already made the Swiss seriously hot under the collar. Giving a tiny roll of his eyes, he looked ahead at the other man. The Austrian's last statement with it's inauspicious message seemed almost like he was trying to suggest something, and caused Switzerland to give a him a small scowl. What was he planning?

"Of course I'd be worried," His formerly monotone voice had gained a bit of bite. "Don't you think I've taken that into consideration? If something like that does happen, they could be a serious threat, but it's a risk I'll have to take. I'll have coffee, danke."

He had seen the situation around him, but the man would never show nor admit to how stressed the whole situation made him, and not just because of Germany. It was everyone. Having all these large, power-hungry nations who just want to gain as much territory as possible on most of his boarders was enough to keep Switzerland up at night. His only hope was that Germany hadn't completely changed and still somewhat respected his neutrality.

"Besides, what other choices do we have? Liechtenstein has no army, and she hasn't said anything to me about building one up, so it would only be assumed that she'd remain neutral. As for me, there needs to be some sane, third-party voice of reasoning through this whole mess."

Not even mentioning the fact that if he did decided to take a side and form alliances, his people's loyalties would be split down the middle. He would surely fall and be destroyed from the inside out, and all the other powers would have a heyday partitioning his territory and fighting over it like hungry wolves. Personally, the Swiss found it much more honorable to fight to the end with one territory than be broken up by his own people. Plus, he had a much better chance of winning if all of his military was fighting for Switzerland, and not half for Germany or half for France.

Though he could have mentioned that to the other man sitting across from him in the beginning, there were still things that Switzerland wanted to know, like the Austrian's intentions, if he had any. For now, the Swiss had no qualms about withholding this information until he got a better idea of what Austria was up to.


((Translation Note: "danke"- "thank you" ))

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[Austria]

The small rolling of the other man's eyes did not escape the Austrian's notice, as well as the increased frown. He mirrored the displeased expression as he began to feel a rise in irritation too. In his opinion, Switzerland was behaving juvenile. But then again he was still a teenager, so this kind of behavior shouldn't come as a surprise.

"Is it really a risk you have to take? The price you will have to pay if this does happen is very high indeed. Despite your high defenses, you will simply be outnumbered. What hopes would you have to fight on two fronts with nations larger than you are?"

If the aristocrat looked closely enough, he could see small signs of stress in the blond nation's mannerisms. Clearly something about what he had said was getting to him. He wished he could read what was going on in the sharp Swiss mind, for the wheels were certainly turning. When the other man decided on a cup of coffee he poured him one dutifully and set milk and sugar within reach.

"Liechtenstein isn't foolish enough to try and fight anyone. But do you really believe anyone will listen to the voice of reason when you two will be but specks on the map of large empires? I can make you an offer. If you support my intentions of claiming Italy before Germany does, I can help ensure you and Liechtenstein are not swallowed up by a neighboring empire. I myself have little interest in conquering you, for battling in the Alps is much too wearisome for me."

Again his eyes focused on Switzerland's expression. It would all depend on what he believed, but it would come as a great relief to Austria if the other man supported him in his cause. To him, if Italy submitted to Germany then they were both lost. And the idea of owning coasts along Mediterranean Sea was of course also rather appealing. He sipped his coffee and closely observed the other man's reaction.