M: Mandara chuckled as he watched Helena watch the kids, "Hang in there, honey, you can play when we get to the mall, there's a daycare/indoor park area where parents drop their kids off to shop, you can play there when we go."

"I usually hang out at the food court right next to the daycare when I let Adira play there," Poldara stated, "I can watch Helena and Niko if they want to play while the adults shop."

N: "That sounds good," Johann nodded, and when he turned to Helena to see if she would agree, she was smiling from ear to ear from the prospect of being able to play.

Wolfgang was a bit hesitant, since he wasn't able to spend that much time with his son when they were both alive, he felt uncomfortable about the idea of leaving him behind. However, when he glanced at Niko, he saw that he was getting along well with Ella, and convincing himself that it wasn't going to be the last time he would see him, he also nodded along with the plan.

M: Poldara could see Wolfgang's hesitance, as a father he knew exactly what it was like to not want to leave your child alone while you went elsewhere, he reassured the Saxon that it was just for a couple of hours and he could stop by the playground whenever he wanted.

Eventually, they finished up with breakfast and piled into their cars, on the way to the mall Mandara told them that since three of them didn't have any money or I.Ds that they would have to stick close to a countryhuman, he made it especially apparent to Johann to not wander off, he knew his brother too well. Once they arrived and entered the mall, the children said goodbye to their parents and headed off with Poldara to the playground, MC stayed with Mandara and MA so there would be one countryhuman for each human to pair up with; Mandara took Johann, MA was with Wolfgang, and Rowen paired with MC. They all took a map and split off to explore.

N: While Johann was diving in from shop to shop, exploring what the modern world has to offer, Wolfgang was much more hesitant. His instincts kicked in the moment they entered an enclosed space with lots of people, so as he and MA walked, he studied every person he could see and assessed if they would be a potential threat. It was clear to the Mandarian that the Saxon wasn't interested with the shops they walked past.

Eventually, he decided to take a break as his head began to hurt from concentrating for so long, so they found a small lounge area in the middle of the mall. Sitting down, he placed his head in his hands and tried to relax, but with so many strangers, he couldn't.

"How do you unwind, Derogan," the Saxon asked, "you're a general, right? Any tips you'll like to share?"

M: Derogan hummed as he thought about it, he knew what Wolfgang was going through, he was the same way when in a place packed with people, the only reason he wasn't on high alert was that these were mostly Mandarians, he wasn't afraid of his own people, but for the Saxon that wouldn't help.

"Well, it's kind of hard for me to enjoy, but there are these chairs around the mall that give you massages," he suggested, it feels really weird the first time but you get to enjoy it quite well after a while, I'll show you."

He led Wolfgang to one of the chairs and quickly explained how it worked, and even though it was hard for him to sit in one because of his wings, he sat down in one beside the first to show that it was safe.

N: Wolfgang glanced at MA, wondering if it was actually safe, but then he eventually gave in and sat in a massage chair.

Just as the militant warned, the massager felt weird with the rollers against his back, but he quickly relaxed into the seat, even closing his eyes. For a moment, he imagined Erna with him, since she would massage his shoulders after coming back from training, and a small smile was on his face as he remembered the bittersweet memory.

Suddenly the Saxon's eyes snapped open, fully alert as the airbags around his legs started to inflate, squeezing his legs into place. Realising that he was now stuck in the chair, he began to panic as he tried to free himself.

"Stop this, bitte," he whispered under his breath, his eyes darting between the people around him, "get me out of here."

M: MA was relaxing too so almost didn't hear the plea for help, but when he did he apologized and switched the chair off, "I don't know why they have that part that squeezes you, I think it's supposed to feel like some sort of hug, but it's weird that they do it on your legs."

Realizing that Wolfie was tense now and would probably not get back in the chair, he shut his off and got up too, stretching out his wings a bit before suggesting, "you know what, I remember your love for hunting, there is a Cabela's down the way, it's a shop where you can buy hunting, fishing, and general outdoors supplies, I think you'll like it."

N: "Maybe," Wolfgang spoke as he did one last glance at the massage chair before following MA to the store.

Stepping into the Cabela's, the Saxon wandered around as he began to familiarise himself with the equipment around him, and eventually he stumbled across the camo.

"You know what," he chuckled a bit, "the French would have benefitted with that uniform, but nein, they thought their bright red trousers would do the trick. I mean, the British weren't any better."

M: "And were the British not also called 'Red Coats' for a time, and I'll let you know that it was the French who introduced camo to warfare in 1915," MA said, "boy I can't wait to show you my military, you will be swooning for months."

The militant led his companion over to the hunting rifles, figuring that those would be a good place to introduce Wolfgang to modern firepower.

"Now, you won't be able to purchase one of these, we have strict regulations about who can buy guns, that way a child or a mentally disturbed person can't get one and cause trouble," he explained, "you would need a valid I.D, background check, complete a gun safety course, etc."

MA requested that the clerk open the case so they could look at one, and carefully went over the different mechanisms and even showed him the different kinds of bullets that would be used to hunt different animals.

N: Wolfgang held a bullet up into the light, watching as the light reflected off its metallic surface as he hummed in approval.

"I don't plan on buying a gun anytime soon if that's what you're worried about," the Saxon chuckled as he returned the bullet back into the ammo box, "if we are somehow not able to return where we came from and start living a new life, I think the memory of my death would put me under 'mentally disturbed', right?"

He sighed as he closed the box, studying the firearms around him, "being a soldier for Britain or a knight for Prussia was all I knew, so it would be hard to change, but business has always been an option. The Schwartzs' always had a knack for business."

Turning to MA, he asked, "are we staying here for good?"

M: MA was caught off guard, he wasn't really expecting a question like that, nor did he know how to answer it.

"Well ... um ... what do you mean by that exactly, do you mean to stay in this country or stay in this timeline," he asked, "technically you don't have to stay in Mandara, it would be difficult without a passport or money, but over time we can make it work. If you mean not stay here here ..."

The militant rubbed the back of his neck, "Wolf, we've never sent a deceased person back to the great beyond, you can only do that in the traditional way. I for one don't want you to die again, you were the first of everyone to do that, and when I say everyone mourned you is a severe understatement. We started to see each other less and less, Erna and Niko all but shut themselves away from us, Esha disappeared for a good 20 years, and no one really knew what happened to Heinz, it was like he shattered but without the grey eyes, and he all but disappeared as well."

The militant put his hands on his friend's shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "Wolf, please don't leave first again, we were a family, all of our friends were, and when you fell we became nothing but strangers, I don't want that to happen again, especially to little Niko. If you ever start getting thoughts about ... doing yourself in ... please let us know, will you do that?"

N: For a long while, Wolfgang didn't say anything, just staring at the box of bullets in front of him. His fists clenched, tears began to fall as his composure fell apart, and he aggressively wiped away his tears.

"You know I had a daughter, right," the Saxon faintly said after a long pause, "Julia? Even from a young age she took on her mother, and my biggest regret is agreeing to go to France; to fight that cursed war and missing out on my children's childhood."

After a moment to recover, he shoved his hands into his pockets and began to walk out of the store, "I know you guys are here for me, it's just...forget it, I don't want to talk about it."

M: MA nodded in understanding, walking out with Wolfgang and wrapping a wing around his shoulder, "I get it, it's too early for this, we don't have to talk about it now, but if you decide that you need someone to vent to you let me know, I'll listen. How about we go check on the kids, maybe that will make you feel better."

-----

"Johann, please slow down, I'm not as spry as I used to be," Mandara called after his brother, "well be here for a few hours, there's plenty of time to look at everything."

After catching up with the Mandorian, he took a moment to catch his breath, stretching out his back and listening his old bones crack into place, "good lord I'm so glad you weren't around when Poldara was a kid, I would drop dead from having to deal with both of you."

N: "He clearly took after his uncle," Johann laughed as he stood in front of a mirror, trying out a trench coat he found, "besides, I'm not the person who's over 300 years old here, and the waffles and Nutella and the coffee and the danish and the other coffee didn't help with my energy levels."

Trying out the trench coat, he had taken a particular liking to it, "it sort of looks like those fancy coats the aristocracy would wear, but better. What do you think?"

M: "I think you look like an idiot, and I say that in the most loving way possible," Mandara laughed, "we're in the middle of summer you dummy, you're going to melt in that thing, not to mention it's too big for you."

He took the trench coat away and swapped it with one that was more his brother's size, "there we go, it's a little better, I'd be careful though, Zal may think you're going to try to copy her and her long coat."

He stepped back and tried to think of what the outfit needed, "maybe a hat, that might make it work. No fedoras though, we're trying to make sure you don't look like a 1950s film noir detective."

N: "I have literally no idea what you said but let's roll with it," Johann spoke, thumbs up in agreement, "but also I've never trusted the weather since staying in Britain. It would be raining for days in the summer, and you would be wondering where the sun went."

Looking through the hat section, one of the accessories caught his eye, and he picked up a newsboy cap and tried it on. Stepping back to see if the outfit would work, he then decided to ditch the trench coat and instead chose a reddish tartan shirt and wore it loosely over his t-shirt.

"Huh," the Mandorian seemed to chuckle at the sight of himself, "I weirdly look like my Vater." He then faced Mandara, "is this better for this country's summer?"

M: Mandara could only rub his face and sigh in defeat, then chuckle as he looked back at Johann, "You've got a lot to learn about modern fashion, buddy, you're lucky that you look good for someone as old as me."

Now admitting defeat, the country agreed and bought the outfit for his brother, but threw in a few modern shirts for him to try out later. They left that store and entered a hardware one because Mandara needed to get some new light bulbs for the patio lights, and stain to restain it.

"Please for the love of god don't touch anything in here, there are a lot of sharp and dangerous objects," he told his brother, "I will tie your hands behind your back if you do."

N: Johann was about to touch a drill before quickly turning to his brother when he heard the warning and slowly retracted his hand.

"But it's so interesting," he grumbled, following Mandara around like the curious man-child he was, "sure they're sharp and dangerous, but they're in really cool shapes and sizes. I mean, look at whatever this thing is," he pointed at a chainsaw, "it's got a whole chain on it."

Still following Mandara, he groaned, "I can be responsible, you know, I've seen and use a lot of these tools, but these new ones- what's that?" His attention, in the blink of an eye, switched from the power tools around him to the lightbulb in the Mandarians hand.

M: "They're basically glass candles that you light by flipping a switch," Mandara tried to explain simply, "they do burn out but it takes a really long time to do that depending on how often you turn them on, I'll explain more when we get home."

The country picked out the lightbulbs he needed and then went to select the stain he wanted, which he also needed to give an explanation for, you could tell that the poor country was getting tired of explaining simple things but he was really trying hard to be supportive of his brother, who refused to listen to his rule and was touching things when he wasn't looking.

N: Johann was just curious at the world around him, poking at the power tools and appliances but making sure that he didn't knock something over.

"You got what you needed," he asked as he gently set down a nail gun he almost dropped.

M: "Yeah, just about, there's just one more stop to make," Mandara said, trying to ignore his brother's misbehavior, "Poland is coming back home in two days from being in his country for the past few months, and I always get him a welcome home gift, which consists of a box of his favorite chocolates. You had enough sugar today so don't even bother asking for anything, I'm not going to get it for you."

They headed to a candy shop across the way, it was packed with everything sweet and diabetic that you could think of, from tiny little suckers, to toys that dispenses candy, to entire cakes and ice creams.

Naturally there were kids and their parents in the store, the little ones would look at Mandara, comment about his pretty wings, and then go back to choosing what they wanted to ruin their teeth with.

N: Johann had to mentally restrain himself at the sight of all the sugar. Sure, his adult brain knew that he's had enough sugar to last the week, a part of him wanted to live out the childhood he couldn't. However, for the sake of his own brother's sanity, and to see what the lovebird would get for his husband, he didn't go for anything.

The Mandorian smiled at the sight of the children greeting Mandara, and couldn't help but see his resemblance to someone in particular.

"It's nice to see that you're treated well here," he spoke, "sort of like Father, and with the children talking about your wings reminds me of him."

M: "Yeah, it doesn't matter what century it is, children will always love wings, for better or worse," Mandara agreed, "unfortunately for us, the kids can be kind of grabby, I've got plenty of pictures of Thunder's encounters with kids, I'll show you later."

The country looked around the store and finally located his husband's favorite assorted chocolate box, he also picked out five roses where the petals were actually chocolate wrapped in red wrappings. He paid for them and even though he said he wasn't going to get Johann anything, he caved and got them both some of his favorite coconut truffles to share, he couldn't resist.

"Alright, that's all of my chores done, do you have anywhere else you want to go or should we check on the children?" he asked, handing Johann the map so he could have a look at the stores."

N: "Let's go check on the kids," Johann suggested, checking the map for the directions to the play area, "we wouldn't want them to cause any trouble, would we?"

Folding up the map and handing it back to Mandara, he continued, "besides, I would want to see if Hezyka and Wolfgang are back yet."

M: "Considering they both are with the militants, I think they'll have some pretty interesting stories to tell us," Mandara laughed, "especially Rowen, MC sure is a character, but that's a given when you're American, they can be weird sometimes."

They headed off to the play area, quickly eating the truffles so the children wouldn't know and get demanding. When they arrived they saw MA and Wolfgang hanging out with Poldara at a table while the children were playing, MC and Rowen weren't there yet.

"Hey guys, how did you two do today," MA asked as they came closer, "Wolfie was a bit too overwhelmed, but he did great for his first time."

N: "You make it sound as if I've never gone shopping before," Wolfgang rolled his eyes.

"First off, you barely shopped besides food," Johann countered, "and second, there's no way you can compare a couple of stalls to this huge building. It's a completely different experience."

Wolfgang waved him off, not bothered to continue the conversation as he just kept an eye on Nikolaus, watching him play with Ella and a couple other kids.

M: "He's got a point, I can understand how all of this can be a little scary for someone like you guys," Poldara spoke, "we're almost done here, we just got to wait for Rowen and MC, grab some lunch to go, and head to the park, it's certainly a lot more spacious there and not as many people."

So the adults sat there and chatted about what they had gotten up to, occasionally glancing at the kids when one of them made a particularly loud noise, but they seemed to be getting along with the other kids just fine. They eventually spotted MC and Rowen coming towards them, and boy did the latter look ridiculous.

He was wearing a ball cap, sunglasses, and a leather vest like some sort of 80s movie bully, but what really got everyone laughing was how he very tightly cuddled a grey and white horse plushie.

"Don't ask questions, just leave him be," MC chuckled, "the guy was like a kid in a candy store, and nearly exploded with joy when he saw that plush, said it looked like his old horse."

N: "Wasn't going to question it; it's nice you've reunited with Star Dust," Johann softly smiled at the sight of the plushie, but once he had gotten over the nostalgia of their old horses, he couldn't help chuckle at Rowen.

"Are you sure you didn't just dress Rowen up," Wolfgang asked as he smirked at the Mandorian, "giving him the finest things this century has to offer?"

M: "This outfit is far from the finest and far from this century, this is your 1980s biker get-up," MC chuckled, "if I dressed him up he'd be wearing a cowboy hat and jeans."

"Yeah, wait till we get back to the UK, they dress pretty fancy there, UK himself has taken quite a liking to suits and monocles," Mandara stated, "there's a tailor shop not that far from Eclipse's bakery, we'll take you over there sometime."

There was a thump noise and a few yelps that came from the play area, "ah, Adira's roughhousing a bit too hard again, let me go get her," Poldara announced and headed over to his child.

N: There wasn't too much of a scene, although Helena was laying down, face flat on the ground with Niko snickering next to her while tapping on her head to see if she would respond.

It seemed as if Adira knocked someone over while messing around and caused a mini domino effect with the young Welsh girl right at the end.

M: Poldara couldn't help but chuckle at Helena, the way she looked made it seem like even she didn't know what happened. He herded the three troublemakers in and told them that it was time to pick out lunch and brought them back to their respective parents.

They again split up so everyone was accompanied by someone who could buy the food, and once the orders were received they left the mall to head to the park to eat.

N: Helena snacked on some fries, although Johann made sure to buy some extra food for later, and Nikolaus held onto his father's hand while eating a sandwich in the other.

When they had reached the park and found a spot, Wolfgang immediately went for a lie down under a tree and closed his eyes.

"Didn't know shopping was going to be that draining for Wolfe," the Mandorian said in concern, but he didn't press further as he saw his daughter point at something.

"Look," Helena called out, smiling as she pointed towards the lake in the middle of the park, "there's ducks."

M: "Well the guy is a former soldier, when you're surrounded by that many strangers in one place it can be very stressful," MA stated as he sat down, "you don't truly understand until you've served yourself."

Mandara and Poldara nodded, both understanding how that was, Rowen would have too if he wasn't staring at the statue of his husband in the middle of the park, a few proud tears pricking the edge of his vision.

When he was asked what was wrong he wiped his eyes and smiled at his sons, "I'm so proud of you boys, everything was lost when Prussia came, the Kingdom of Mandoria was as good as dead, and you've done everything you could to keep him alive."

Mandara and MA smiled back, and the former said, "not just him, all of our friends and family have been honored in some way; Wolfie has a military training academy in his honor, Erna and Heinz have major traffic intersections, Jo has a horse racetrack, and Rowen has the connecting stables, it was the least we could do to keep your memories alive."

N: Johann hummed along, watching Helena as she tried to catch a duck and chased after them, before an idea popped up in his mind.

"It would be quite funny if Wolfgang showed up at the military training academy and introduced himself," he spoke, chuckling to himself.

M: "It would, if people actually knew about the rift, but honestly I think people would think he was just joking," Mandara said, "but it still would be funny."

"No, it really wasn't," MA shook his head, "I had a cadet try that, dressing up as Wolfie based on his painting in the lobby of the academy, I reprimanded him for dishonorably impersonating a historical figure and dear friend, and had him on janitor duty for two months after that, because damn me if I let someone make a mockery of my family!"

Everyone fell silent, realizing they had struck a nerve in the militant but didn't know what to say to make it better.

N: After a moment of silence, Nikolaus piped up, immediately catching everyone's attention. "Vater's twitching," he said, pointing at the Saxon.

Since Eclipse's dreamcatcher wasn't near him, Wolfgang quickly fell into a nightmare as he dozed off by the tree. Just like what his son said, he moved about, muttering under his breath as his hands clenched his stomach.

"Wolfe," Johann spoke softly as he went to his side, trying to wake him up, "wake up." Seeing his contorted face, the Mandorian shook the Saxon, trying to snap him out of it.

Seeing that it wasn't helping, Jo reached for the other's hands, but the moment the Saxon felt the other's touch, his eyes snapped open. Instantly he punched Johann in the gut, causing the Mandorian to double over, but he didn't have the chance to breathe as he was immediately held into a headlock, his oxygen supply slowly cut off.

"Wo bin ich (where am I)," Wolfgang demanded, his eyes widened in fear as he seemed to not recognise anyone, "und wer bist du (and who are you) ?"

M: "Woah woah, easy Wolfie, let go of Jo," MA said, yanking the Saxon's arms open to release his brother, then grabbed them so he couldn't attack again, "calm down buddy, you just had a nightmare, it's me, Derogan, I changed my flag but I'm still the same person."

N: Wolfgang just stared at MA, although it seemed like he had calmed down as he thrashed about less, and when he had finally come to his senses, he just sat against the tree and muttered an apology to Johann.

"It's ok," Johann answered, "you weren't fully awake yet." Glancing at Niko, he was sad that the boy had to see his father like this, so he said, "you can go play with Ella; you didn't have to see this."

"It's fine," the young boy shrugged, then he walked up to his father and sat down beside him, leaning against Wolfgang.

Absentmindedly, Wolfgang wrapped his arm around him, letting his rest against him although he didn't say a word. With his memories of pain and carnage rushing back, he sat staring at the grass, haunted by the memory of his own death.

M: Adira saw Wolfgang in distress and went over to sit with him, resting on his lap and softly purring to ease him.

"Nightmare bad, no fun to sleep, you not alone," she told him, "know what feels like, I help, not so bad with people to share pain, right."

Poldara smiled proudly as his daughter tried to comfort Wolfie, she always had such a kind heart.

N: Wolfgang didn't say anything, although he did rest his hand on her head.

"Nightmares are just something I've got to deal with," he muttered under his breath, his eyes unfocused, "and besides, this world is too much to take in and we're leaving everyone behind for good to live in this new world."

"'We're leaving everyone behind'," Johann questioned turning to the others for an explanation, "but I thought that the other Johann said that there is a possibility that we could go through the rift, but-"

"But since we were dead before going through the rift, it wouldn't be the same," the Saxon completed the sentence, "and Derogan confirmed it. We would have to actually die."

Glancing up at the Mandorian, he added, "it's time to wake up, Kress. There's no going back. Welcome to your new life." Johann just went silent, his brain trying and failing at processing the circumstances.

M: "I hate to say that he is right, you can't go back unless you want to die again, but that doesn't mean you are leaving anyone behind," Poldara stated, "they are still with us no matter what, and as long as we never forget them they will never be left behind."

"Yeah partners, ain't no man left behind, not even in death," MC added, "and if you think about it, y'all are gonna see them again eventually, so make the most of the time you have with us."

N: Wolfgang just looked at MC before turning to Niko, who was just watching Helena as she trudged back after failing to catch a duck. "At least I can finally be in your life now, huh," he smiled softly, ruffling his son's hair.

"This will be a good opportunity for the both of you to live out your lives," Johann added, then he laughed as Ella sat next to him, clearly moody, "and so will you."

"Huh," she questioned, having not known what they were talking about, which only made the Mandorian chuckle even more.

"How would we even get around to actually living here," Johann questioned, "we don't know our actual ages, and it would be sort of weird to say that we're our old selves but revived."

M: "Well, technically no, minus the revive part there is nothing wrong with being who you guys are in modern times," Mandara stated, "it's been 300 years, the only people who would actually know you guys are us, the British, and the Eternals, sure you have the same names as buildings but that can be explained easily as a common name ... sort of."

"My son can help you out with your ages, there are lots of ways to determine one's age just from their body," MA suggest, "Trigger, Poldara, and I can handle the important things like social security numbers, passports, IDs, etc. All that's left to do is simply to teach you all about the world and important life skills, and everyone can help with that."

N: "That's...a lot," Johann awkwardly smiled, rubbing the back of his neck, "you really need all of that...just to live?"

M: "Um ... maybe ... now that you mention it things sure have gotten more complicated," MA said, now dumbfounded by such a point being made, earning chuckles from everyone else.

They continued with their lunch and watched as the children played around in the grass, and now that Helena had Adira with her they and Niko teamed up to catch a duck, with the two older children chasing the ducks to where Adira was hiding. When they came close she pounced like a lion, snatching it out of the air and gently but firmly chomped on its body to hold it down.

"MC, your daughter his hunting again," Poldara grumbled, "a bird at that this time."

"Relax Sugarcube, she ain't gonna hurt it with her friends nearby," the militant dismissed, causing his spouse to pull a face that said, 'you see what I have to put up with'

N: Johann chuckled at the couple's interaction before turning his attention to Helena, who walked over to Adira and grabbed hold of the duck and quickly held it into an embrace.

"Look, papa, we got a duck," she called out, the biggest smile on her face.

M: "Duck, duck, duck, duck," Adira repeated, bouncing around excitedly as the three of them came over to show the adults.

"You know, if you wanted to hold a duck you could have just asked us for help," Mandara stated, an amused smile on his face at Helena getting sacked repeatedly by the duck's wings, "or have you forgotten that your uncles can talk to birds?"

He communicated with the duck for a moment and it calmed down, though sounded unpleased with the current situation, "She said that she needs to get back to her nest soon but she is begrudgingly willing to let you hold her for a few minutes, but next time you three try to do this again that she will be more inclined to peck out your eyes."

"And that's why we respect the animals, you little stinkers," MA added, "you wouldn't want to be snatched out of the air and squeezed like a plush, would you?"

N: "Didn't you snatch grandpapa and flew up into the air with him, Uncle Derogan" Helena asked.

"Ja, I remember Onkel Johann telling us about that," Nikolaus nodded along, "but you wouldn't want to be squeezing like a plush?"

"YES," she squealed, patting the duck's head, "you squeeze plushies because you love them."

M: The duck quacked angrily and snapped its beak at her hand, Rowen then said, "Ella dear, ducks are not toys you can play with, they are living animals who have feelings just like us. They can get scared and they can be hurt, if you squeeze her too hard you could make it hard for her to breathe, or possibly break her bones. If she gets hurt then she can't take care of her babies, then they will get hurt as well.

"Do you remember that time when you're father and Uncle Derogan got into an argument and were play fighting," he asked, "Johann squeezed him really hard and we heard a cracking noise, we told you that it was a pocket watch in his pocket that broke, but it was actually one of his ribs, that's why he couldn't breath well for a while after that."

"Damn, I forgot that happened," MA commented, then turned to Johann, "you never did give me back my diary that led to the fight, you asshole."

"Not now, son," Rowen scolded, turning his attention back to the little girl, "my point is that birds can be hurt easily, so you shouldn't be trying to catch them and treat them like toys, you understand."

N: Helena nodded as she set the duck down, although she did pat it's head again, "sorry for hugging you too tightly. I didn't want to hurt you."

M: The duck quacked a few more times and wandered off to rejoin her flock, Mandara translated, "She said she will forgive you this one time since you didn't know better, but she would appreciate it if you didn't do it again."

"And that makes all three of you, you shouldn't try to catch wild animals," MC scolded, "yes there is the chance you could hurt or frighten them, but most animals will fight back if cornered and are much more likely to hurt you. Respect the animals and they will respect you, understand."

"Yes Papi," Adira agreed, sitting back down to finish her lunch.

"Good girl," Poldara said, patting her head, "now, let's finish up lunch so we can go for a walk around town, there is still so much to show you all."

N: Helena plopped herself next to Johann and muttered, "I'm still hungry."

"You've only eaten chips and burnt all your energy chasing the duck," Johann chuckled before pulling out the emergency sandwich from his bag, "so it's a good thing I got you some extra food then."

"Danke, papa," she smiled as she happily munched on the sandwich.

M: All the parents chuckled as well, they knew what it was like to have to carry extra food on them for their hungry children, it seemed that they were never full at any given time. The group enjoyed their lunches and sat for a few more minutes to take in the scenery, enjoying the peacefulness of nature.

They then began to walk around the park and eventually back into the smaller business districts, no destination in mind, just seeing where the day would take them.