M:   "It will be ok Johann," Rowen reassured his son, wrapping an arm around him, "the memories will make it difficult, but I'm here for you, we'll be through before you even know it."

"Um, Saxon, was Saxony ever rebuilt," he then asked, "I was just wondering since you said it was burnt to the ground."

N:   "After Saxon left, we rebuilt it and I helped out since I remembered where everything was," Heinrich answered, "it was going to be a waste of perfectly good land if it was left in ruins. Although, we were ordered to leave some of the buildings untouched, as a way of leaving an example if you go against King Prussia."

Wald came back, out of breath from running, and said, "I found one village not far from here, it is probably a ten-minute walk maximum."

"Good," Saxon nodded, "let's go there then." The insurgent led the group, and when they got into view of the village, some of the people decided to stay behind as they didn't need to enter, therefore reducing the size of the group. Wald nodded and promised to meet up with them later.

Getting nearer to the village, Heinrich started to feel uneasy from being too close to home, "I think I should head back too," he said, "he will know I'm here."

"Who will know," Saxon asked, but he soon got his answer when a Great Dane ran towards the group from a house on the outskirts of the village, coming straight for the knight. He pounced on him and immediately slobbered him with licks, happy to see him.

"It's nice to see you too, Alcis," Heinrich laughed, but soon stopped when everyone was looking at him. "Listen to me buddy," he whispered, trying his best to calm the hyper dog down, "go back before Mutter knows-"

"HEINZ," a voice shouted, a voice Johann recognized as both he and Heinrich turned to see a middle-aged woman walking out of her house, "I thought you were not coming until later this ye-" The woman froze when she saw the group, notably the large dragon, and she dropped the pot in her hand, letting it smash.

M:   Rowen and Edel turned to the voice; Mandoria was sleeping on the dragon's back; studying the woman like it was the first time they'd seen one before. Edel was the first one to do anything as he started walking toward her.

"Woah, easy Edel," Rowen said as he jumped in front of the reptile to stop him, "just stay back buddy."

"What's going on," Mandoria groaned sleepily, the actions having woken him up. He stretched out his wings, raised his head up from Edel's fur, and looked around, "are we there yet?"

N:   The woman shrunk a little at the sight of Mandoria's wings, so Heinrich ran up to her, "Mutter, it's alright, you don't have to be afraid."

"Afraid," she repeated, looking at her son, "of course, I will calmly take in the fact that there is a dragon in front of me, a group of countryhumans, and one of them is supposed to be dead." She whacked him upside the head, "What on Earth are you doing here? You should be at the stronghold, and who knows what happens when King Prussia finds out you are not there?"

"I already know," he grumbled, then he looked with pleading eyes, "bitte, don't tell anyone we are here."

"Who do you take me for," she laughed, surprising him, "no I will not tell anyone if it risks your safety."

"Mrs. Haas," Johann called out, taking a step towards the house, and the mother's face showed complete shock.

"You're supposed to be dead," they both said at the same, and they both blinked at the other's statement, so Mrs. Haas continued, "Johann Kress, bring the rest of your gang and we will talk more about this inside."

The knight wondered if he heard his mother right, and gave her a stupid look, so she reiterated, "Was mach ihr Idioten da? (What are you idiots doing) Come inside."

M:   "What's going on," Mandoria asked, "What did I miss."

"It's nothing," Rowen said, "that's Heinrich's mother and I think she's going to help us, but I'm not sure, let's just get you down from there."

Rowen whistled and Edel immediately lay down to let his rider off, who was a little wobbly on his feet from being on the reptile's back all day. Rowen steadied Mandoria and looked to Saxon, "Well, you're in charge, should we?"

N:   Saxon, since he really didn't want to come back here, wasn't sure if they should, and seeing this hesitation, Mrs. Haas scolded, "Sir Saxon, we have our differences, and pretty big ones, but I would rather be the one to smack you around than King Prussia, so get in." She quickly untied Heinrich's wrists and ordered him, "Get some food ready for our guests."

"Why are you ordering me around," the entity spoke back, "who do you think you are, my mother?"

"For the time being, ja," she replied, dumbfounding the entity, and she whistled for the Great Dane to return.

Johann was the first to react, walking over to the woman who gave him a pat on the back.

M:   Mandoria and Rowen exchanged glances, then the human shrugged, "Well, doesn't look like we have much of a choice, and besides, anyone brave enough to baby Saxon is good in my book."

Mandoria chuckled, "Please, a toddler could baby him with no problem, it's the fact that she's putting him in his place that is impressive."

Once they were done teasing Saxon, the two started heading for the house, Edel tried to follow but Rowen told him that he had to stay outside. Still leaning against Rowen as they went inside, Mandoria muttered a quiet "thank you" to Mrs. Haas as he passed her.

N: Saxon stood speechless as he watched the others go in, and Wald elbowed him as he passed, smirking, "Has the great Saxon been stopped by a human mother."

"Halt's Maul (shut up)," he muttered to him before following the group inside. The house was a modest size, just big enough to fit everyone in, and its warm and comforting atmosphere was welcoming. The living room was lit by the fireplace, the walls were decorated with paintings, clearly from a child by the randomness of the brushstrokes.

"I hope that you all are comfortable," Mrs. Haas spoke once everyone was settled, "I will bring some tea while we wait for the food." She was about to leave when she noticed Johann staring at one of the paintings, and she smiled, "You recognized yours?"

"How could I forget," he replied, looking at the poorly drawn horse and a dog next to it, "it was the same day the snow fell, and you started complaining about it messing up your flowers." The mother shook her head in amusement before leaving to get the tea.

M:   Mandoria and Rowen chuckled silently at the memory, remembering their children and snow. Rowen helped the country sit down on a couch in the living room, it pained him to see Mandoria's wings in comparison to the furniture. Before Prussia, his wings would have taken up the whole couch but now the feathers barely took up half of it.

"Mandoria, maybe we should take care of your wings," he said, "they're in very bad shape and the clipped feathers are still attached, let me-"

The minute he tried to reach for the feathers, Mandoria moved his wing away and whimpered, which shocked the human.

"Mandoria please, it's ok, I'm not going to hurt them." Rowen tried to reassure the other, but to no avail, Mandoria was just too traumatized to let anyone near his wings, he lost all trust that someone would be gentle with the feathered appendages, even his own husband.

N:   "It is going to take time, Rowen," Saxon said, "you know full well that winged countries treasure their wings, so after what happened to him," he shook his head, "you need patience."

Mrs. Haas soon came back with the tea and noticing the tension in the room, she tried to start a conversation, "So, umm, would anyone like to explain why there is a pink dragon in front of my house?"

"Long story short," Johann spoke, reaching forward for a cup of tea, "some crazy guy turned a statue of a dragon into a living dragon. We befriended him and I named him Edel, also he likes to sit on the British countries." The woman was temporarily shocked when she heard the last part, and Saxon choked on his tea as it went down the wrong pipe.

M:   Rowen chuckled as he also took a cup of tea and sat next to Mandoria, "it's true, he acts like a mother hen and will adopt people per se, then sits on top of them. England is his favorite, he not only sat on him, but he bathed him, fed him, and put him to sleep like an actual parent, or at least a better one than Saxon."

As Rowen told the story, he noticed that Mandoria didn't take any tea, he understood why, it was the same with Edel and fish, that Prussia would give Mandoria a drink that had been drugged.

"It's ok Mandoria," he reassured the country, "there's nothing in the tea, it's actually quite delicious, besides, if she wanted to hurt us she wouldn't have taken us in.

Mandoria made a sound of discomfort, still not trusting anything, but he eventually picked up a cup and took a cautious sip, humming in contentment as the warmth spread throughout his body.

"Sorry about him, miss," Rowen said to Mrs. Haas, "Prussia made it hard to trust any decent food or drink as he would often slip something in it, which never led to anything good."

N:   "We all had our fair share of King Prussia's cruelty," Mrs. Haas sighed, "and I don't blame Sir Mandoria's uneasiness." She stood upright and called out, "Heinz, is the food ready?"

"Ja, I'm coming now," the knight replied, slowly entering the room with a large tray, still in his uniform. Setting down the tray, he revealed the bowls full of food and spoons set with each, "I found some spare rabbit, so I quickly made some rabbit stew." Taking a stand back, he placed his hands behind his back as he waited for everyone to take a bowl.

Johann looked up at him, still not able to trust him, "How do we know that you didn't put something in it?"

Heinrich's shoulders slumped at the question, "As you can see, there are enough bowls for my Mutter and I to eat too, and I will never hurt my Mutter. Plus, I'm sure I will be kicked out of the house before I would even have the chance to, which I obviously didn't."

M:   Rowen and Mandoria also gazed at the stew suspiciously, they haven't had anything so "fancy" in years so didn't trust it either. Rowen decided that he would break the ice and took a bowl and spoon, he stirred it cautiously as if trying to find anything wrong with it. Once he was finished, he scooped up a spoonful of stew and stared at it for a moment, like he was having second thoughts, he forced himself to bring the stew up to his mouth and eat it.

"Well," Mandoria asked, "how is it?"

"It is ..." Rowen started, swallowing the food before speaking further, "without a doubt ... the best thing I have eaten in years, and the first thing I have eaten in weeks excluding the fish for breakfast. It's amazing, that's all I really have to say about it."

As Rowen dug in, Mandoria felt reassured enough to take his stew and eat too, a big smile spreading across his face as he felt the warm broth coat his throat and enter his empty stomach, filling his whole body with warm fuzzies.

N:   Heinrich smiled proudly when he saw their reaction, and his mother gave him a side hug and planted a small kiss on the forehead. "Mutter," he grumbled under his breath, slightly embarrassed from the affection as she chuckled and got herself a bowl.

"This is really good," she complimented her son, taking a sip, "at this rate, you might as well replace me and my food." The knight facepalmed himself as he tried to cover his embarrassment. She looked down and saw Johann contemplating whether he should eat or not, staring into his bowl, so she crouched next to him. "It's alright, Johann," she spoke softly, "it is safe to eat."

"But Heinrich made it," he replied, "and he's a Prussian knight."

"Are you seriously going to ignore all the times you two had fun together," she asked, "you cannot base his personality on what he does as you don't know what he has been through, the same way we don't know what you have been through." She sighed softly before continuing, "I promise that it is safe to eat, and Heinz is not going to poison you."

"You're sure," he asked tentatively, and when she nodded, he slowly brought the spoon to his lips. He instantly sunk into his seat, a goofy smile appearing on his face, "Nice stew," he said, slightly fumbling with his words.

M:   Rowen smiled that Johann was happy, it was the first time he has seen him smile in a long time, Mandoria as well, it was a pleasant sight. No one talked for a while, just enjoying the meal in silence.

The silence was broken with a tap on the nearby window, a pink nose and one golden eye was looking in, making Mandoria chuckle.

"I think he wants to join us," the country said, "I don't suppose there is any more soup left for him?"

N:   "That's it," Heinrich said, and he picked up his bowl, "but he can have mine. I'm fine not eating tonight. Can dragons even have soup?"

"Why don't you test that out?" Johann spoke, smirking at the now slightly frightened knight, "Go to the window, open it, and hand Edel the soup. There is no harm trying." The knight's mouth was slightly open as he stared at the dragon, wondering why he inadvertently volunteered.

"It doesn't seem that hard," Mrs. Haas said, making her way to the window and opening it. The window was pretty large, allowing Edel to fit his head in easily and allowing him to move around. "Mr. Drachen, you better not mess up my room," she warned but couldn't help snickering at Heinrich's face. "Come on Heinz," she called, beckoning him to come closer, and he did but kept the bowl as far away from him as possible.

M:   Edel watched as Heinrich came closer, tilting his head at his caution, seeming confused by it. When the Prussian came close enough for the dragon to reach the bowl he sniffed it, then took the whole bowl in his mouth, tilted his head a little, then spat the empty and slobbery bowl back into Heinrich's hands.

The dragon licked his lips and purred, then proceeded to reach in further and lick the human's entire face.

"He likes you," Rowen said with an amused smile.

N:   "The feeling is not exactly mutual," Heinrich muttered, wiping his face but eventually patting Edel on the snout.

"Looks like someone new has joined the club," Saxon chuckled, "welcome to the club where everyone gets a kiss from Edel. Upgrade so you can get sat on."

"No thank you," the knight replied, making his way to a seat, as well as his mother.

Johann, although he didn't want to disrupt the happy atmosphere in the room, he had many questions that needed to be answered, so once everyone was quiet, he spoke up. "Mrs. Haas, why did you think I was dead, and, to be blunt, why aren't you?"

Her smile faded when she heard the question, "Well, we were told that you had run away from the fire that took your home, later on, hunted by the knights and killed. The evidence they showed was one of your tops covered in blood, and we believe them." She glanced over to her son, who gave her a look, warning her not to continue, but she did. "As for why I am alive, Saxon here didn't do his job. Ja, he killed some Saxons and destroyed the place, but some of us were captured by the Prussian knights and taken alive to King Prussia."

Saxon began to become increasingly uncomfortable in the room, and it didn't help when Johann looked over at him with confusion.

"You know what," the young man said, standing up from his seat, "I am going to take a quick walk outside. Away from this." He then rapidly left, shutting the door behind him.

Mrs. Haas was about to continue with what happened when Heinrich interjected, "And after that, it is none of your business."

"But what about the trials-"

"I said it is enough," he snapped, slightly shaking, "we swore not to talk about it, so that's the end of it." His face fell when he saw his mother's shocked expression so he murmured, "I will be in my room if you need me," and left.

Not sure how to comment about what happened, Wald stood up, "So it seems that we are all tired and are in need of rest. Is it alright if we stay here for the night," Mrs. Haas nodded, "That's good, so Rowen and Mandoria, you and Johann can stay here since you need the extra comfort for the night."

M:   "Do you think Johann will even come back after learning that," Mandoria asked, "he just learned that his parents didn't necessarily have to die, that they were killed in vain, I don't think he would want to be under the same roof as everyone, especially Saxon."

"Well, he can't go wandering around alone," Rowen said, putting his bowl down, "I'll go after him, you just get some rest.

Mandoria didn't like the idea of being separated from Rowen but before he could protest the other was already out the door. Rowen looked around and spotted Johann sitting on a rock, Edel sitting next to him, so he walked over and crouched next to his son.

"Johann, do you want to talk about it," he asked worriedly.

N:   Johann had his head in his hands, thoughts were racing in his head as his breathing was worryingly irregular. "My parents were taken away," he said quietly, "c-could that mean they are s-still alive?" He moved his hands to look at Rowen, his eyes puffy and red, "they might be alive."

He jumped forward and was about to bolt towards the main part of the village when Edel grabbed him by the scruff. "Let me go, Edel," he yelled, trying to free himself, "I have to know." He kept on struggling until Alcis ran over to him, barking at the young man. "What do you want," he snapped at the Great Dane, and the dog replied by walking away from them, turning his head as if expecting them to follow.

Once Edel had let Johann go, Alcis came over and grabbed his trouser leg, pulling him away from the village towards a small building in the distance. Johann looked back at Rowen as he was dragged away.

Eventually, he was able to notice the shape of a church, and the dog continued to pull him through the gates and behind the building to a graveyard. The Saxon stood still as he took it in, it was not many, but he was able to recognize some of the names instantly. Silently, he wandered between the gravestones, reading the names and the descriptions, and there was a recurring pattern. Underneath the name it would say, 'son failed in Trial One' or 'daughter failed in Trial Three', always a child failing a trial. Alcis plodded ahead, checking if Johann was nearby until he sat next to a pair of graves, and when he reached them, his heart stopped.

'——— Kress and ——— Kress,
Son ran away, didn't start trials'

M:   Rowen followed when the dog dragged Johann away, Edel also tagging along, when they reached the church, a somber feeling settled in his gut as he guessed what was waiting for them. There was a white rose bush outside the church, so Rowen picked a few of the flowers and headed to the back of the building.

He spotted Johann kneeling in front of two graves, Rowen exhaled deeply and quietly walked over, careful not to disturb him. He stood a bit behind Johann, just quietly standing to let his son have a moment before he interrupted.

"They're in a better place now Johann," he finally said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, "they're watching over you and I'm sure they are very proud of you and everything you've fought for to get here."

N:   "But they could be alive," he sobbed, brushing his hand over the description, "'son ran away', what is that supposed to mean? Did I cause their death?" He wiped his tears away, but they kept on coming, "No, I couldn't have, if Saxon had defended us then we would have been safe. But Prussia was inevitably going to come, so we should have just fought back harder. We didn't fight back hard enough. I didn't fight back hard enough."

His entire body was shaking, unable to keep his mind in order as everything began to mix. Nothing made sense anymore, and the same feeling came back that had disappeared a long time ago, the feeling of when he first ran away. Unable to stay upright, he bent forward until his head touched the ground, gripping his hair as he continued to cry.

"WHY," he suddenly shouted, startling Alcis, "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO GO?" He just kept on yelling senseless words, clenching his fists tighter as he let the years of anger and grief pour out. Eventually, he quietened and stopped shaking, staring blankly at the ground, "I-I just want to see them-m again." He paused then added quietly, "What's the point in anything anymore?"

M:   Rowen just stood there for a moment; he knew that Johann needed to let the pressure release before he should try to comfort him. After a few minutes had passed and Rowen felt it was okay to approach, he knelt down and slowly took Johann into his arms, gently hugging him close to his chest and resting his chin on his head, rocking back and forth slowly.

"I don't think there ever was a point to life," he said quietly, "it can change on a dime and never seems to have a set path, it's what we make of life that truly matters. We all want to see our lost loved ones again, you and I both have people we want to see just one more time, and one day we will, but they don't want to see us before that day comes. Johann, what happened all those years ago, no higher power in the world could have prevented it from happening, even if Saxon didn't betray you Prussia still would have attacked here and wouldn't have been as merciful."

Tears started welling up in his own eyes as he held his son, "I don't know what I would do without you, my son, you are the light of my life and the reason I keep fighting, if something happened to you or if history happened a different way, I don't think I could live with myself, and your parents wouldn't want that either. They would want you to live the best life you could and be free to make a new family, you have Johann, and you shouldn't disappoint them by throwing it all away."

When he couldn't think of anything else to say, Rowen just started singing, singing the only song he knew could calm anyone.

"Let's go in the garden
You'll find something waiting
Right there where you left it lying upside down
When you finally find it, you'll see how it's faded
The underside is lighter when you turn it around

Everything stays right where you left it
Everything stays
But it still changes
Ever so slightly, daily and nightly
In little ways, when everything stays

Go down to the ocean
The crystal tide is raisin'
Waters' gotten higher as the shore washes out
Keep your eyes wide open, even when the sun is blazin'
The moon controls the tide, it could cause you to drown

Everything stays, right where you left it
Everything stays, but it still changes
Ever so slightly, daily and nightly
In little ways, when everything stays"

N:   Johann just closed his eyes as he swayed with Rowen, his heart slowed as the song helped him calm down. His breathing eventually became more level, with the occasional hiccup, as he held on to his father tightly.

"Ich liebe dich, Hezyka," he said softly, sitting up so he could embrace his father, resting his chin on his shoulder, "danke, thank you for everything." Holding onto him for a minute longer, he let go and unsteadily got to his feet, "Let's go back."

Helping Rowen up, he saw the white roses that his father had, so he took two and place one on each of his parent's graves. Taking one last look, he turned around and began to walk back silently to the house, where Wald was waiting outside.

Seeing their mood, the insurgent guessed it wasn't the time to talk too much so he kept it brief, "Sir Saxon went to the rest of the group and is setting up camp, you are staying here for the night, I've told Mrs. Haas about our saddle problem and she said she will provide one early tomorrow. We will head off tomorrow morning." Standing awkwardly at the door, he nodded, "Gute Nacht," before heading off.

Inside Mrs. Haas saw them and spoke, "I have prepared rooms for you all upstairs, so if you need anything just call me."

M:   "Thank you," Rowen said, "for everything, Johann, you go on upstairs, I want to talk to Mrs. Haas about something first, I'll be up in a minute."

He watched Johann head upstairs, making sure he was gone before he said anything. "Um, so, these are for you," he said, handing the rest of the roses to her, not really knowing how to start, "we haven't properly introduced, my name is Rowen, I was the captain of Mandoria's army back before ... he came ... I was the one who adopted Johann when he came to the kingdom. Well, just now we came back from the church ... where ... Johann's parents are, and I was wondering, since you seem to be pretty close to him, have you ever found anything that belonged to them, a picture or a small trinket, I think it would be nice if he had something to remember them by."

N:   Mrs. Haas weakly smiled as she accepted the flowers, nodding in thanks. "I see," she spoke, "I believe my son was able to go to his house, although he wasn't supposed to, and found something. And by the way, you can call me Maria."

She walked over to some shelves, placed the flowers into a vase, and opened drawers to find anything. "Obviously, very little actually survived the fire," she said while searching, and then she smiled when she found what she was looking for and turned around. In her hand was a small wooden figurine of a German Shepherd, slightly burned on the edges but it still kept its shape.

"His father gave it to him," she explained, handing it over to Rowen, "since he was a shepherd, he had the largest collection of dogs you could ever see. For his fifth birthday, he gave this to Jo, and the boy called it Hunderl, meaning little dog, which to this day I find amusing." Looking up to face Rowen, she added, "Thank you for taking care of Johann and for being with him all these years."

M:   Rowen studied the wooden animal, rubbing his thumb over the burnt spots, and was impressed that it managed to survive, it even still had some faded paint on it.

"Hunderl," he repeated with a small smile, "that is a cute name, I had a German Shepherd when Johann first came to me, named Titan, they bonded almost instantly and you never found one without the other, now I know why."

Rowen closed his hand around the figurine and brought it to his chest, "thank you, I'm sure this will make him very happy. He is a very special boy and I consider myself blessed to have him in my life, but I also know that there is a hole in his heart, left there by the death of his parents, and even though it won't fill it, I hope that having something from his past can at least help mend it."

With that, Rowen bid Maria good night and went up to find Johann's room. It wasn't hard since it was the only room with the door ajar and a dim light shining through, he peeked in and saw Johann sitting in bed facing away from the door. Rowen walked over and sat down next to his son.

"I know how hard it must be seeing a reminder of your parent's death after so many years," he said, "but I was talking to Maria, and we think you should have this." He opened Johann's closed hands and placed the dog in them, "she said that Heinrich found it and they've kept it safe all these years, you should have it back, that way you'll have something to always remember them by."

N:   Johann looked down at the figurine, his eyes puffy from recently crying, and he smiled as the memories rushed back. "Hunderl," he whispered, stroking his thumb along the wooden fur, as if petting the German Shepherd, "I missed you, buddy." He placed its muzzle on his forehead, and tears began to form in his eyes. No longer the tears of grief but of happiness, happy to find a connection to his parents.

"Thank you," he said quietly, hugging his father, "I needed this."

M:   Rowen smiled and returned the hug, "You're welcome, now you will always have your parents with you wherever you go, but remember that they never left, they've been with you since day one, and they will never leave, ever."

The two stayed like that for a few minutes, embracing each other and appreciating that they have one another.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight," Rowen eventually said, "just in case you have any more nightmares?"

N:   Johann hesitated a bit before nodding, "Yes, please." Placing the figurine on the bedside table, he stood up and went to do his nightly ritual. While he did, he noticed that some of his scars opened up, so he asked Maria for some bandages. She handed them, but her face was painted with worry as she wondered what happened to him.

Returning to the room, he slid into bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. "How is Father dealing with all of this," he asked Rowen, "will he come back?"

M:   "I don't know," Rowen admitted, he was also in bed staring at the ceiling, they had to share the bed since there was only one in the room, but he didn't mind, "his wings are what worry me the most, I know that he has a few open wounds on them and with how dirty they are they must be pretty infected. I don't understand why he won't let me help him, I was always the one who helped him groom his wings, and he always enjoyed it, but now he's just lost trust, and I don't know how to earn it back."

Rowen sighed, he was very worried, he didn't know how to help his partner, the two were never officially married, they just had a quiet ceremony with some friends and family, but despite this Rowen still took the "together through sickness and health" very seriously.

"Johann, what am I doing wrong," he muttered, "we've been together for years but now he sees me like a total stranger, I know he's suffering but I don't know how to help him."

N:   "You're not doing anything wrong," Johann reassured him, "every wound needs time to heal, and Prussia has broken his ability to trust. Trust is the hardest thing to fix after it's broken, and we can only give him time to learn how to trust again."

The young man sighed as he reached out and picked up his figurine, holding it up as he observed it, "maybe the first step is for him to regain his spirit." He turned to face his father, "His eyes are grey, Hezyka, so we need to find a way so he could get his normal eyes back."

He placed Hunderl back, "But now, let's just sleep, and hopefully peacefully." Johann sat up and gently blew the candle out before snuggling into bed, resting his head on Rowen's shoulder, "Gute nacht, Hezyka."

M:  "Verace merger, Finzenda," Rowen said, resting his cheek on his son's head and holding one of his hands, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

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