N:   Scotland stared wide-eyed into the sky, right where Esha was a second ago, and it took him a minute to register what just happened. Moments later, he sighed and slowly sat up, rubbing his face in frustration, and Saxon came over to check on him.

Standing over him, the entity stretched out his hand for the country to get up, but he was surprised to see the other whack his hand away. The Scotsman instead used his axe to stand up, and grip the weapon in his hand as he marched away.

"Scotl-" Saxon began but was swiftly cut off when his face was merely inches away from the Scot's axe.

"Don't talk to me," he growled, his lime green eyes glistening, "I don't need to be consoled with." Lowering his axe when the entity got the message, his shoulders sunk, "I will go and tell Ma what happened, but until then, leave me alone." With that, the Scot walked away to the castle, not having the courage to look anyone in the eye.

M:   Everyone just stood there in shock, no one knew what to do or say, no one could have predicted that would have happened."Now what," Rowen said to break the silence, "should we go after them, should we leave them alone?"

"Knowing Esha, it's not a good idea to leave her alone," Neflen said, he then ran after Scotland and shouted at him, "Where do you think you're going, you got to go after her, apologize or explain or something. If you don't you could lose her again."

N:   "Well, unless I had wings and flown after her, I cannot exactly chase her down at the speed she flew," Scotland snapped, "the sensible thing is to gather soldiers to go and search for her. You know full well that there are Jacobites out there, so we need to be careful. Besides," he lowered his head and mumbled, "my Ma is probably the only Brit Esha would approach now so it's best that I tell her." The Scot turned back around and headed to the castle, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to him.

Back inside the castle, everyone heard the roar, and Celtica was particularly worried, so she rushed down and out of the entrance, accompanied by some others who also heard, and came across her son coming home. When she demanded he tell her what happened, he reluctantly did.

"Scotland, what do I always tell you," she said monotonously after he told her everything, "watch your anger. You know you can get riled up, and it happens in situations like this, yet you didn't listen to me, and look what happened." Scotland's mood deflated even more, so she walked up to him and placed her hand on either side of his head, a soft smile appeared on her face, "we will find her, Scotty, and you will apologize, but until then stay inside and make yourself busy while we conduct the search."

The other nodded and walked past the servants, and immediately Celtica ordered a group of soldiers to follow her to where the rest of the countryhumans were.

Peeping through his window, Prometheus observed the events that transpired, when a thought popped up in his mind, so he put down the mended plush and left his room.

Back at the sparring space, Johann asked out loud, "Do you think Scotland meant that?"

"I-I don't know," Ireland answered hesitantly, "I've been gone for so long and it feels like I don't know my Dad like I used to. I'm sure he doesn't."

M:   "The two were fighting pretty hard," Mandoria reasoned, "it was probably just the battle getting to them and they simply let things get too far."

"We still need to go after Esha," Odrus said, "it's too dangerous for her to be by herself so soon after she woke up from stasis, it looked like she went to that lake that flowed down into our cave, which makes sense since she is a water dragon, we just need to figure out how to approach her."

"I think I know how," Rowen said, looking over to where Celtica was running up to them, "Celtica, Esha's in the lake nearby, you're the only one she'll listen to, I know it."

N:   "I hope she does," the Celt replied, waiting for the soldiers to catch up, and she turned to the Eternals, "and I'm sure she would listen to you too, since you knew her much longer than I did. So," she motioned to them, "lead the way."

———

Meanwhile, Prometheus sprinted through the woods, weaving between the trees as he held his staff, trying to pinpoint the feeling inside him that would tell him that he was close. After a couple more minutes of running and he finally broke through the tree line and observed the large lake in front of him. He definitely sensed the water dragon's magical presence in the area, so he scanned the water as he took off his boots and walked towards the water. The moment his feet touched the water, his eyes glowed for a second as he sighed, "You're hiding down there, aren't you?" Wading further into the water, he quickly looked around to check that no one was watching before diving down, deep down towards the Eternal.

M:   Odrus and Neflen glanced at each other then nodded, "Sure, we'll lead the way, though we haven't seen Esha in such a long time so I don't know how well she'll listen." Neflen said, then he and Odrus led the way to the lake.

———

Deep at the bottom of the lake, there was a cavern entrance at the bottom of the small island, though it didn't look to be natural. The cavern led into a tunnel, and that tunnel led to an air pocket cave under the island, inside it looked well lived in. When Esha left the settlement she carved out the tunnel and cave and made that her home, there were all sorts of animal hides, tools, and weapons, even some human artifacts that she collected over the years.

In the middle of the cavern, Esha was lying on a bed of furs, she's shifted back to normal and was simply crying, heartbroken by what Scotland said to her.

N:   Prometheus swam with ease, undeterred by the increasing pressure from going further down or the lack of oxygen. He was able to track where Esha had gone, and when he reached the mouth of the cavern smiled at how it was carved out.

Pushing through, he found the air pocket and his head broke through the surface, and he immediately saw the crying Eternal. As quickly as possible, he climbed out of the water and placed his staff on the ground, which stood upright when he let go, and walked over to her, his clothes turning dry while he did.

The tailor waited until it was the right moment to speak so he stood as sad voices and imagery filled his head, his face scrunched up a bit from the emotions.

"Esha, dear," he said softly, "listen to me. Whatever Scotland said is not true, don't believe them."

———

The group followed Ordus, the Celt warning the soldiers to stay alert, and they walked for a while toward the lake. When they did finally reach the lake, Celtica sent two soldiers to search the surrounding area for any clues.

Johann wandered a bit to the shore when he spotted a pair of boots, so he walked over and picked them up. "Whose are these," he asked, and Heinrich beside him shrugged.

M:   Esha was scared so badly by Prometheus that she screamed and swiped at him with her wing claws, thankfully only lightly scratching his arm.

 "What the hell," she shouted, she was dumbfounded that not only was she found, but that he even managed to reach her cave, she was careful to make it deep enough and the tunnel long enough that a human would have drowned before they reached her sanctuary. "How did you get down here, you should have drowned long before you made it to the entrance?!"

 -----

"Do you see her," Neflen asked Odrus, the two were standing by the water's edge to look for their friend. Since Odrus could see people's spirits he would be able to see Esha at the bottom of the lake, but only if she was within a certain radius.

"I can't see her," he reported, "either she's not here or the lake goes too far down for me to see. Mis Celtica, how decent of a swimmer are you?"

N:   "Decent enough to search for Esha," Celtica replied, walking up to the pair, "if she is in the lake, I'll find her."

"I think someone might have beaten you to it," Heinrich announced, showing them the boots, and more specifically the seven circles in a ring on the inside, "that is the symbol of a certain tailor."

———

Prometheus was taken aback by the shout, and the area around where the cut was on his arm turned dark blue like his hands did before he regenerated himself. Looking down at his arm, he mumbled, "I should have drowned?"

Facing back at her, he spoke, "Well, it's a good thing that I am in my domain all the time otherwise I would have drowned." Taking a step towards her, he continued, "Besides, the important thing I didn't because you are not yourself. No one should ever be left alone to cry."

M:   Esha looked down at that, flopping back on her fur bed and sighing sadly.

"Why would he say that," she muttered, "he doesn't understand me at all, I thought I could trust him. He told me to be weak for once, like he didn't appreciate why I was strong and who that made me, what right does he have to say that to me!"

She subsided into more sobs, crying uncontrollably as she ranted between them. She would just say things like, "I trusted him," or, "Why did I believe him," stuff of the likes.

-----

Sleipnir sensed that his owner was upset and ran after the others, arriving at the lake when Johann pointed out Prometheus's boots. The Segvin jumped into the lake and started to swim to the cave entrance, but then he stopped and swam back up. He climbed back on the beach and nuzzled Celtica, pushing her towards the water like he wanted her to follow.

"He wants you to go with him," Neflen addressed, "Sigvens are spiritually bonded to their owners so will do anything for them, he must know that you are important to her," he then waved his hand and a magical bubble surrounded the Celt's head, "you should be able to breathe now, we'll wait up here."

With Celtica prepared to go underwater, Sleipnir knelt down so she could ride on his back while he swam to the cave.

N:   Celtica took a step back in surprise, confused by the orb encompassing her head. In curiosity, she reached for her face, but her hand didn't pass through the bubble so she nodded with reassurance. Glancing over to Sleipnir, she mounted the Sigven and patted his neck, "Take me to Esha," and soon she was surrounded by water.

The Celt held on for dear life, not wanting to be swept away as the Sigven swam deeper. Although there was no water on her face, she felt slightly claustrophobic from only seeing water around her, and the added pressure didn't help, so she laid down and hugged Sleip as he led the way.

———

"It doesn't mean that you have to listen to him and take it into heart," Prometheus reassured her, kneeling next to the bed, "the both of you were in the heat of the fight and things happen. Weapons are drawn, words are thrown and trust is lost, that is in the nature of any battle. However, now, you need to talk to him, because you talk about him not understanding, but there is no communication between you to solve this."

The tailor stood up and looked around the cavern, impressed by its side, and absentmindedly added, "Honestly, I'm surprised how quickly you trusted him in the first place. Everyone changes over time, and you were stuck with the thought of the young Scotland."

Not too long after, his staff began to shake, a dim glow emitting from it, so Prometheus walked over and touched it so it stood still again. "Someone is coming," he announced.

M:   Esha lifted her head slightly but didn't move, "impossible, I dug that tunnel myself, I made sure that anyone swimming in would drown before they came here."

Despite her disbelief, bubbles started bursting at the surface of the pool, getting bigger and bigger until Sleipnir broke the surface along with Celtica.

He swam to the edge and climbed up some stone stairs, he then reflexively shook off the water and accidentally knocked Celtica onto her butt, the air bubble bursting a moment later.

"Seriously," Esha sighed irritability, "just lead everyone here, don't ya, Sleip."

N:   "I don't think I would be able to reach here, even if I knew where it was," Celtica mumbled as she groaned from being knocked off. The bubble around her popped the moment she left the water, so it didn't protect her from the shower she got from Sleipnir, but her clothes were already drenched so it made little difference.

Prometheus saw this, so he walked over and tapped his staff on the Celt's head, dragging all the water to form a sphere of water on the end of the stick, drying the country. Celtica muttered a thank you while he returned the water before standing up and heading to Esha.

 "I've heard what happened," she began, "and I understand that my son should have never said that, knowing what you have gone through. But I also know that he wants to apologize, and he could only when he can see you. You gave everyone a fright earlier, and we are all here to find you."

M:   "Don't waste your breath," Esha grunted, "you honestly think a simple sorry is going to fix that, you can't slap a bandage on a snake bite and call it a day."

She jumped up and flew up to a ledge near the top of the cave, sitting with her back facing the two and her knees to her chest.

"What was I thinking trusting him so fast," she said, "he was a baby when I met him, he was too young to even understand why I was there, and yet I was so quick to give him my trust. I never trusted anyone, trust only leads to pain, and the one fucking person I allowed myself to be the closest to stabs me in the fucking back!"

N:   "I understand," Prometheus replied calmly, "we have all been through that cycle, some more than others, but it doesn't mean that we should give up altogether."

Slowly making his way around the room, he ran his hand along the wall and continued, "Out there there is one person who you would completely trust, someone who would lay their life for you, but you may have not met them, or they have already passed on. My advice is to put your trust in someone because you would never know if they are the person. Trust is needed for anyone to form any substantial bonds, otherwise, we would be left on our own. No one deserves to be alone."

M:   "I've been alone my whole life, I'm used to it," Esha mumbled, "draconic Eternals are solitary creatures, like bears or tigers, we are happiest on our own, but it is always nice to have someone to talk to every now and then."

She turned around and looked down at the tailor, "Let me ask you something, what you do if someone asked, 'Why can't you just be normal for once?' Huh, would you just smile and shrug, what would you do if someone asked you to be something other than who you are, because that is exactly what Scotland said to me. I spent millions of years building a name for myself, and he just dragged it through the mud, neither of you understands how humiliating that is for someone like me, and in case you haven't noticed, I'm already on the bottom of the pecking order thanks to this fucking scar on my damn face, any respectable Eternal would have just killed themselves rather than endure my humiliation."

N:   Prometheus turned and faced her and sighed, "You have no idea how many times I've been asked that question. For so long, from the moment I was born, I have been an outcast of my own kind because of who I am and what I can do." He faced the larger wall he stood by and placed his finger on it and began to draw, where ever his finger was a substance formed that glowed.

"You had your time to build a name for yourself," he continued, "but I was disgraced, disrespected, and dishonored by the others, only my sister cared for me. Whenever I gifted a being a gift, whatever it is, they have used it to harm me. I try again and again, and the same result occurs." While he spoke, he drew out a tree, large and grand with its branches stretching out and covering a lot of ground, and beside it was a small brook.

"And don't fucking talk about humiliation," Prometheus snapped, "I have been reduced to a shell of who I am for so long, to the being I hate the most, it has been so long since I've been myself." He took a step back from his art, breathed to calm himself, and spoke, "Here is where I made what I believed was my best thing, something I can relate with since I have been alone for so long, but they turned out to be proud, imperial, and do not carry my ideals, and it shames me that I defended them, and humiliated that I made them."

The tailor stared longingly at the tree, wishing he could turn back time.

M:   "Guess we are one and the same huh," Esha sighed, "humiliated and broken by those we trusted and those we only wanted to help, hurts doesn't it."

The Eternal jumped down and walked up to Prometheus, "You think I don't know what it's like to be humiliated, you don't know the half of it," she roughly grabbed his wrist and dragged him over to a darker area of the cave. She clapped her hands and torches lit up the wall, revealing dozens of drawings, all records of Esha's past.

 "You were lucky to have a supportive sibling," she grunted at the human, "I was an only child born to fire dragon parents, the exact opposite of me. I was abandoned at an early age and fought tooth and claw for my right to live, degraded down to a mere animal rather than an eternal. You think you had it rough, and granted you did, but you still kept your identity, you were still a human to others, I wasn't, I was an animal, a pest, something you try to hunt for sport, it was only when our destruction came that I finally recognized as one of them, but still never was."

She turned away from him, "Just go, both of you, let me be alone like the dragon I am."

N:   "If you're not going, then I'll make you go," Prometheus warned, the tips of his fingers turning a dark ocean blue, "as I said before, no one deserves to be alone."

"Prometheus, be reasonable," Celtica spoke, "she clearly needs her time, so let's give it to her."

"Go."

"What?"

The tailor looked straight at her and commanded again, "Go back to the shore and meet with the others." As soon as he spoke, an air bubble formed around the Celt's head, and she began to walk robotically towards the water, it was clear from her face that she didn't know what was happening. "Don't worry," he reassured her as she began to get into the water, "I'll make sure the pressure wouldn't be too much at this depth. Safe travels." She didn't even have the chance to answer as she was already underwater, her body moving on its own as she returned back to the group.

"Just so you know," Prometheus spoke to Esha, "I do not appreciate you grabbing me, since it was your kind who messed up my life." He rolled up his sleeve to show his arms, which had darkened like his arms, with small patches of green, and flashed a smirk, "You showed me your past, now let me show you mine."

In a split second, he tapped her forehead, his symbol etched on her skin, and he caught her as she fell asleep. The pair stood on a hill, the summer sun shining down on them where in the distance sat a person, shaded under a large tree with a brook nearby. The nature around them was full of vibrant and vivid colors, not the sort any being has seen before, and upon inspection, the person under the tree stepped into the light and looked up, revealing his gray eyes.

"For the purpose that you understand what I said, and so you recognize me," spoke Prometheus, "you will see me in my human form and I will speak in English." They watched as younger Prometheus ran to the water, followed by pieces of dirt hovering behind him, and saw as he assembled the dirt into the shape of a humanoid. With determination in his eyes, he raised his hand and a large volume of water rose from the brook, motioning his hand caused the water to form a layer over the dirt.

Muttering something under his breath, a glowing blue orb formed in his hands and entered the water and dirt, weaving in and out, making out features along the way, until the whole thing was too bright to look at. After a couple of minutes, the light died out, and in its place was an Eternal, their skin green with a white circle in the middle of their face, and two rams horns sprouting from their head. The being sharply breathed in and sat up, confused as to where they were when an overjoyed Prometheus immediately hugged the Eternal.

"You have just witnessed the birth of your species," Prometheus narrated to Esha, who stood beside him, and he swiped his hand and the scenery changed. They seemed to be in a settlement where more Eternals ran about, others talking to one another; however, the trees and the plants seemed desaturated, not as vivid as in the previous memory. In the distance stood two men, one of them was Prometheus but the other was someone completely new.

"You have gone too far," said the other man, "you have let these maggots leach from you, yet you do nothing."

"They are good," Prometheus insisted, "they are the smartest species I've ever seen, and I know that they can do better."

"Are you sure?" When the tailor didn't answer, an explosion was heard in the distance, causing the Eternals to panic, completely ignoring the two men. The other growled, "You're so good with extinctions, so make another one for your sake." He turned to leave, but just before he did, he added, "You should have never created them."

"I know," Prometheus muttered as the other disappeared in a blazing light, covering both Esha and the tailor beside her, sending them back into reality.

M:   Esha opened her eyes with a snap, unsure of what she just witnessed, she slid out of Prometheus's arms and sat silently on the stone floor as her brain struggled to process all of that.

"I had no idea," she muttered to no one in particular, "I thought I knew it all, seen it all, I thought I was the oldest living thing left on this planet."

Now aware that she was sitting right next to a literal god, she knelt on one knee and bowed her head, "Please forgive me, my lord, I'm sorry I disrespected you, if I knew who you were I would never have talked lowly to you, please forgive me."

She tried not to show it but Esha was terrified, she was a heavy believer in deities and respected them, and the thought that she treated one with such mockery made her wings tremble in fear, dreading what godly wrath she may have unleashed upon herself.

N:   Prometheus scoffed, "I don't do such thing as forgiveness, no, everything that has happened is a consequence of my actions and naivety, thinking that Eternals, countryhumans, and humans alike would bring a change. Yes, you did bring a change, but at the consequence of the world you live in."

Seeing how her wings were trembling, he stretched out his hand and touched one of the wing arms, and from where he touched pulsed tranquility, calming her down. " Whatever shame and humiliation you have felt, I have experienced one thousand times more, but that drives me not to punish the inhabitants of this planet, but to work so that they would thrive and not have what happened to me. Obviously, I have failed, and even my anger has caused the majority of all species to die four times."

"See, you already know who I am," he knelt down so he was at eye level with Esha, "everyone on this whole planet knows who I am, but I just hide in plain sight." Touching her chin so he tilted her face to his, his image momentarily shifted, from the silver-eyed human to a dark ocean blue with green patches being with hair floating like a flame, and both his eyes lacking pupils, and back to normal. "Take a guess, Esha," he hushed, "what is THE oldest thing around you right now?

M:   Esha couldn't answer, she was experiencing things she just wasn't meant to understand, she was overwhelmed and all she could think to do was cry. She didn't know why she was crying, she was just so confused and scared and conflicted, that her brain just gave up for the moment.

"I don't know what to think anymore," she sobbed, "I feel like everything I knew was a lie, yet still the truth, it's all just too much to take in," in a swift movement she enveloped Prometheus in a hug, crying into his shoulder, "I don't know what to do, I've been on my own forever, and when I finally get the chance to have friends, to have a family, I blow it, I just don't know what to do."

N:   "Forever is a strong word, dear," he spoke, his voice soothing, "if something doesn't seem to work, it doesn't mean that you have failed forever, but that the answer is somewhere else. Everything has a counterpart: the sun and the moon, darkness and light, north and south, and the list goes on and so do you. You don't have to know what to do, you just do, live in the moment, and appreciate the time you have, and I promise you, one day you will not be alone."

Prometheus allowed Esha to continue to cry, allowing her to let everything all out before adding, "if it is truly too much for you, I can erase what happened after Celtica left, my memories and all? Otherwise, we should start thinking about heading back, there is someone who wants to talk to you."

M:   Esha took a moment to calm down before she spoke, "N-no, it's ok, I-I'll keep them, it's just another secret after all, I'll be fine."

Sleipnir finally decided to come over and gently nudged his friend, earning a rueful smile and a few sniffles. She finally let go and looked around at her cave, "I'll go back, but I think I'll like to keep my cave as my home, after Celtica leaves I'll come back here, but this time I'll make sure to come to the surface more often, and probably dig a different entrance so you guys can visit without drowning."

She slowly stood up, scratched Sleipnir on the chin, and shifted back to her dragon form to swim back out. She stopped at the edge of the water, then just sat down, staring at it like she was unsure about leaving, "will I ever feel whole again, will I ever stop letting my past control my future, or will it forever haunt me until the day I die?"

N:   "The past doesn't do anything," Prometheus answered, "it is only a testament to the things that have happened, and whether it controls your future is up to you. You could either live in the past, constantly regret or think about it, thereby dragging you back. Or you accept it as a part of you, the good and the ugly, and see past it so you look to the future."

The tailor looked down at the water, staff in hand, and said, "Remember, the present time is the here and now. It is what's currently happening. The future, alternatively, is what will happen. It's what will come to be. In both of these dimensions, there are many possibilities. We could do all sorts of things right now, and we can make all kinds of choices in the future. The past has no hold on it, only you." He stroked Esha's fur, "I didn't even answer your first question, but just remember that we are were for you, and I will watch over you."

With that, he waded into the water until he was up to his shoulders, "you coming?"

M:   Esha stared for a minute more before nodding, she let Prometheus and Sleipnir go first and then followed them. She hesitated again when she reached the entrance of her tunnel, only able to continue when her steed doubled back and reassured her.

When the dragon finally surfaced, all of the people waiting on the shore stood to greet her, though she wouldn't even look at them.

"Eshie, there you are, we were all so worried," Neflen said in relief, he tried to walk up to her to hug her but she just walked by, "a-are you ok, Esha, what's wrong."

Esha still wouldn't acknowledge him and kept walking back to the castle like she was on auto-pilot, "what did you two do down there?" Neflen then asked Prometheus in concern.

N:   Prometheus looked up while he did his boot and replied, "Esha and I just had a little chat, but now she has something important to do." Once he was done, he stood up straight and picked up his staff, observing as the dragon walked away.

Looking up at the sky to see where the sun was positioned, he hummed to himself and muttered, "I should prepare for Vi's arrival," so he spoke to Celtica, "My Lady, may I be excused for the rest of the day?"

"You may," the Celt replied; however, she added, "What did you do to me?"

The tailor only smiled and began to walk away from the group towards the woods.

M:   Rowen and the two other Eternals exchanged glances, but didn't push further and just followed close behind Esha. No one talking on the way back, Esha also never changed her form but did shrink down to about the size of a horse.

Once they came back she immediately went looking for Scotland, not acknowledging anyone she passed or stopping when someone talked to her.

Eventually, she found Scotland in the library, she didn't say anything, she wouldn't meet his gaze, she just moseyed over to him and lay her head in his lap, still clearly upset but not so much at him as just in general.

N:   Scotland was absentmindedly staring at the wall from where he sat on the sofa, with Royal finally out of the infirmary looking for something to read, when he was slightly startled when he felt Esha's head on his lap, but he quickly relaxed. He didn't know what to feel, knowing what he said greatly impacted the Eternal, and was confused with her behavior, so he looked up to the hybrid and saw that she too was also wondering about Esha.

After a couple of minutes of contemplating, he slowly raised his hand and hesitated as his palm hovered over the dragon's fur, before committing and resting his hand.

"I know I've crossed a line," he began, "a line I shouldn't have crossed, and what I said was uncalled for. You're the strongest person I've ever seen and from what I heard, I've been too blind to see what you have gone through. I understand that any trust that you had in me may be all gone, but trust me that I'm truly sorry."

M:   Esha hummed and nodded, saying she understood and she forgave him.

"I'm sorry too for running off like that," she muttered, barely above a whisper, "I took it personally when it was just the fighting and exhaustion talking, I know you would never have said that otherwise."

Just then, Edel wandered in for no apparent reason, he saw the two and cuddled up to Esha to comfort her too, licking at the small gash on her leg that Scotland made. The aquatic dragon purred and she let a content smile spread on her face, slowly falling asleep now that her excess energy had finally drained away.