N: "We will do all that we can," Johann spoke, "from a parent like Father, to non-parents like myself, to parents-to-be like Erna," which earned him a jab in the arm by the said Saxon, so he turned to her, "listen, Ernie, I am saying that because I already know that you will be a great mother."

"Ja, of course," she rolled her eyes and smiled, "because I had to take care of the likes of Heinrich and Wolfgang, and now you."

"Well then, I'll make sure that to ask Prometheus to make you a wedding dress just before he leaves," Johann replied with a smirk.

"I beg you, Jo," spoke a voice from the bed, to which the pair turned to see Heinrich with one eye open, "kannst du bitte still sein? (Can you please shut up?)," but instead of the Mandorian honoring his request, he was tackled into a hug by him.

"Thank Gott you're awake," Johann softly smiled, "don't scare me like that ok?"

"You're crushing my lungs," the Saxon wheezed so the other eventually got off him, "and I'm sorry if I scared you, but bitte, you don't need to tell everyone in the room about Erna's wedding plans," which got a chuckle from Johann while Erna crossed her arms in indignation.

M: The others chuckled at Erna's frustration, then Asked slithered over and pat Heinrich's shoulder, "It's good to see you awake, my boy, you gave us all a good scare but you should make a full recovery."

"You have Ora to thank," Neflen commented from next to Esha, "she saved you and Odrus from anything life-threatening."

"What," Mandoria said in shock, looking over to the wolf in the corner of the room, "how, how does someone capture a guardian spirit of the afterlife?!"

N: "Beats me," Johann shrugged, "wait, what if he also caught Lord Empyr, actually, that would be pretty hard since he is a literal dragon."

"And Empyr is?" Erna questioned.

"Another guardian of the afterlife. Looks like Edel," he quickly summarised before turning to Mandoria, "what will happen if Lady Ora stays in the living world for too long?"

M: "Don't know, but it can't be anything good," Mandoria shrugged, "for a deity to remain in a mortal form must be straining, hopefully, she returns to the great beyond before it's too late."

"Speaking of that though, there are too many people in here," Neflen said, "everyone finish up what they're here to do and go, I won't be responsible when someone freaks out the animals and gets bit by a cobra."

"Bossy much," Odrus grumbled, "relax Neflen, the animals couldn't bite anyone if they wanted to."

"Though I would love to see Saxon come in here with the world's largest venomous snake," Mandoria joked, elbowing Celtica gently.

N: "And that, my friend, will not help Saxon with his fear of snakes," Celtica shook her head but chuckled, "especially one that could harm him."

After that, following Neflen's orders, they slowly poured out, although it took Johann some convincing from Heinrich to tell him that he will be fine. Once he left, he went to search for Rowen since Erna went with Wolfgang, leaving him by himself with nothing to do.

M: Mandoria caught up with Johann and led him to the horse pasture where Rowen was, Uskaine tagged along too because why not.

Rowen was teaching some of the British cadets how to handle their horses when they reached the part of their training when they get to choose their partners.

"- the ears are your best indication of ambushes," he was saying, rubbing Star Dust's ears, "horses can hear things much better than humans, they will be the first ones to know when there is an enemy nearby.  If you pay attention to the ears you'll be able to see not only when they hear something suspicious, but also which direction the enemy is in since their ears will point in the direction of any noise."

As he was teaching, he noticed his family and Uskaine coming closer, so he waved at them and beckoned them to come closer.

"Everyone, this is my husband, Mandoria, and my son, Johann, two of the best equestrians in the kingdom of Mandoria, aside from myself."

N: "Aww Hezyka, that was supposed to be a secret," Johann spoke lightheartedly as he walked over to pet Star Dust, "but we both know we are better than Father, besides, we did beat him in a race when I was a kid." The comment got some snickers from the British as he continued, "But, to be honest, Father's horse is amazing, but I didn't know as a kid since I would probably be crushed by him if I got any nearer."

The cadets tried to hide their laughter as they stood in their rows until one spoke up, "Sir, since you are so experienced with horses, what's your best advice for picking one?"

Johann paused for a moment before answering, "Don't judge them by how they look because however they will look now, they will change as they grow. You will know if you have chosen the right one because you will feel some sort of connecting, that you know that you will never leave them, you will train and grow together, and remember that they will be your best friend." He paused for a moment before he shrugged, "but that's just my humble opinion, Mandoria should answer because I bet he literally has thousands more years of experience than I do."

M: Mandoria chuckled at that a bit, "No, you pretty much have it down, and that sentiment can go with every living thing, including humans, you never want to pick something based on their looks.  The prettiest animals tend to be the most dangerous in nature, such as poison dart frogs, what you want to look for is a creature who will stand by your side no matter what, something that you can trust with your life, and they will trust you with theirs."

Mandoria let out a loud whistle and immediately Xanthos came trotting over, nuzzling his owner affectionately.

"Horses really are intelligent creatures, so that means you must treat them with respect," he added, "if you are unjust with your horse then they will be unjust with you, and they will remember it for the rest of their lives.  You never want to see your horse as just transportation, you must see them as who they are, a loyal friend who will be by your side till the very end."

Uskaine started clapping at Mandoria's speech, "Wise words Mandoria, wise words indeed."

N: "He is the wisest after all," Johann commented then he turned to the cadets, "and when you guys are comfortable with your horses, you are more than welcome to race me."

"That is when they have time to spare," Sir Beckerel stated, walking towards the group, "they are, after all, training to be the best cavaliers they can be to serve their country. Let Sir Rowen continue."

"Ok, ok," the Mandorian raised his hands in defeat, and as he walked passed Rowen he whispered, "Seeing you teach the cadets, it reminds me of home," before walking off to stand beside Mandoria.

M: "What can I say, old habits die hard," Rowen smiled, "if I can't be a captain anymore then I will teach the next generation to do what I can't."

While Rowen taught the cadets, Mandoria led Xanthos over to the stables to give him some quality brushing time, Uskaine followed because he wanted to see the stables.

"Hmm, not bad in here," he commented, "not as big as a Sigven stable, but not bad for horses."

The centaur wandered deeper in while Mandoria was brushing his horse, he ended up finding the blacksmith area where someone was hammering a horseshoe.  Intrigued, he watched them work for a minute or so before asking, "So what's the point of horseshoes, everyone says it helps horses walk better but I've never worn any and I walk fine, is it just an aesthetic thing?"

N: The blacksmith quickly looked up to Uskaine, realizing about his interest in horseshoes, before focusing back on the horseshoe and answering. "The point of horseshoes is that we want to protect the frog," the man answered, "not the animal, of course, but the soft inner part of the hoof. I'm sure you're aware of the frog since ... you know ... yer part horse."

Once he was finished hammering the horseshoe, he picked it up with the tongs and dipped it in a bucket of water, letting it cool as the water sizzled. "The thing 'bout our horses is that they're gonna walk on a lot of gravel and stone, generally rough surfaces, so their hooves would wear down and they would damage the frog. The shoes help slow down the process so that the horses stay in service for longer."

Once he saw that the bubbling had stopped, he lifted the shoe out of the water and smiled at his handiwork. "What a beauty," he muttered as he placed it with the rest of the horseshoes. "Maybe the reason you are fine without horseshoes is because you have adapted to not wearing them," he commented, "I can't say you work less than these horses, you look like you're as strong as an ox, but maybe the fact you're a countryhuman helps."

M: Uskaine hummed at that, lifting up his front hoof to look at it, it was quite dirty since he hadn't cleaned them in a while, but he was fascinated nonetheless.

"Maybe I will try out shoes someday, they sound pretty beneficial, though I wonder how the traction would be on tile flooring," he said, "on that note, I probably should clean out my hooves, five months in captivity didn't really do them good, can you point me to where I can find the equipment to do so, please."

N: "If you go down the corridor, to your right you will find a large space with everything that you will need," the blacksmith replied, "it's impossible to miss." Once they waved goodbye, the man chuckled to himself, "Seriously, a centaur? What am I gonna see next, a pegasus," before going back to his work.

M: Uskaine did a double take when he heard the blacksmith, he wasn't sure if that was supposed to be offensive or not but decided not to acknowledge it, so he simply went on his way.

Back with Rowen and Johann, the former was giving a volunteer a tutorial on how to ride a horse while the other cadets studied.  He was using Cinnamon since Star Dust was too headstrong to let a newbie ride on her.

"Relax, if you're tense then the horse will sense it and become tense as well," he was telling the female cadet, "just relax your shoulders and focus on gently steering her, ok."

N: "O-ok," the cadet answered nervously as she sunk into her saddle, getting herself comfortable, "so do I use my heels?"

"Ja, I mean, yes," Johann nodded, "gently squeeze with your heels and it will tell her to start walking, and the reins will lead her. And like what Sir Rowen said," he smiled, "relax and remember to breathe through the nose and see with the eyes."

"Yeah, as if I will forget to breathe and see," she began before suddenly lurching off into a slow walk, to which she momentarily panicked before taking in a deep breath and slowly relaxed, gradually following the path Rowen gave to just get the grips of horseback riding with the older Mandorian staying near her while the younger Mandorian watched.

M: Rowen kept pace with Cinnamon, holding onto her shoulder to give her comfort so she wouldn't get skittish.  The horse was quite calm about this, having been Mandara's horse she was used to softer riders, so was very careful not to scare the cadet.

Rowen did a few small circles so the other cadets could take notes and such, then carefully led the horse back to the start and helped the girl off.

"You did very well miss, just a little more practice and you will be a force to reckon with on horseback," he complimented, motioning for her to go back with the others before clapping his hands, "alright I think that's a good place to end today's lessons, any questions before I dismiss you?"

N: They all shook their head, so Rowen dismissed them and they separated into friendship groups to wherever they were going to go. Johann went over to Cinnamon to pet her when he heard footsteps approaching so he turned to see the same cadet. "Thanks," she spoke, "for the advice earlier."

"No worries," Johann smiled, then he joked, "Wait, did you actually forget to breathe and see?"

"What, no," she shook her head, getting a chuckle from the Mandorian, "I mean a bit. I guess I'm not used to riding horses."

"We sometimes forget that they are living, breathing creatures, so we forget to do the basics, but I'm glad I am of service."

"Well, since you helped me out, you ought to know my name," she said as she held out her hand, "Gwyneth E. Lloyd."

"Johann H. Kress," Johann replied, shaking her hand, "what does the 'E' stand for?"

"Only close friends can know," she replied, "what does the- oh I see what you did there." She rolled her eyes as she continued, "So I'm guessing you're Prussian?"

"Saxon," the Mandorian replied firmly, "please, don't call me Prussian. And you are English?"

"How does a name like Gwyneth suggest English," she answered, only getting the other to shrug, "I'm Welsh, and don't call me English."

"And now we are on the same page," Johann commented as he glanced over to the group waiting for Gwyneth, "well it seemed like you got to go now, so I will see you the next time you practice."

The woman turned around to see the group and nodded, "Well it is nice meeting you, Johann, and maybe I can challenge you to a race."

The other chuckled, "It has been nice talking to you, Gwyneth," and as she walked away he called out, "And don't forget to breathe through the nose and see with the eyes," getting a laugh from the Welsh as she joined the group.

M: Rowen sidled up to his son and ruffled his hair, "I see the flirting king is back, looking for a new friend Finzenda?"

Cinnamon and Star Dust nickered like they were laughing, Rowen laughed along too and hopped onto his mare.

"So, would the flirting king care to join me on a ride, maybe your old man can give you some tips."

N:   "Hezykaaa," Johann whined as his face slightly turned red, but he kept his composure as he led Cinnamon back to the stables and brought Comet, since he knew he would be jealous if the Mandorian rode a different horse. Once he mounted, the pair rode off in no direction in particular, just enjoying the ride.

"So, Hezyka," the son spoke up after a while, "what are your fatherly tips?"

M: Rowen actually laughed that Johann wanted advice, he remembered how when he was younger the last thing he wanted to talk about with him was dating.

"Well, the most important thing is you need to respect your crush's decisions," he started, "if they say that they don't have the same feelings then don't be pushy about it.  The second most important thing to know is what your crush is allergic to, I bought my wife some roses once only to realize later that she was very allergic to them, not a very good way to set an impression."

The two rode on, talking about dating while enjoying the scenery, it reminded Rowen so much of the rides he took with Johann and the brothers, it brought a smile to his face.

"I admit though, if you were getting close to anyone it would be Esha," he then commented, "especially after the lake."

N:   Johann turned his face away after the mention of the lake. In all honesty, he didn't know how to feel; he was playing around, being his goofy self as he tried to catch her, and one thing led to another. He had seen her as an older sister, not exactly like Esha who also acted like a mother, but someone he can mess around with, like what happened with the Saxon snake prank, but after what she did, he sensed that the Eternal may see him differently.

"I don't know how I feel about Esha," he admitted out loud, "before the incident I was sure, but now ... I don't know, but at the same time, if she does feel like getting closer to me, and I don't reciprocate, I will feel really bad because she deserves to be with someone after what she has been through, but I don't know if I am the answer."

He turned to face Rowen and he could see that he was conflicted. "Gwyneth seems nice but I barely know her. I know Esha way better and she is nice too, but I don't think our feelings are mutual. Hezyka, what do I do?"

M: Rowen bit his lip as he thought about it, he was just messing around with Johann but now that he dug something up he didn't know what to say.

"Follow your heart," he simply said, "I don't honestly know what else to say about it other than that, love is so complicated and never seems to have a set goal.  My best advice is to let your heart decide what the best thing for yourself is, Esha won't hold it against you if you just want to see her as a friend, to be honest, I'm surprised that she's growing feelings for a human after what we did to her.  Either way, make sure that whatever you decide is what you want, not what someone else wants, alright."

N: Johann nodded along and then there was a moment of silence as the two just rode on their horses, enjoying the nature around them.

Johann began to just dive into his thoughts, going through his memories when he remembered something, and he wasn't sure how to react to it. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it and instead chose a different topic.

"Since we are going to live here for the foreseeable future," he spoke, "what are we going to do?"

M: Rowen pulled Star Dust to a stop, after everything that has been going on, he completely forgot about that.

"I guess ... pick up where we left off," he muttered, "I wouldn't mind going back into the military, I may not become captain again but here's hoping.  I don't know, it kind of slipped my mind why we are here in the first place."

He sat there for a moment, his expression growing grimmer as he thought about it, he then suddenly clicked his tongue and turned his steed around, "Let's go back, I'm done for today."

N: Johann gladly nodded and followed as they went back to the stables to return their horses. When they did, they came across Uskaine while they were heading inside, and immediately the son noticed the Eternal's hooves.

"Nice hooves," Johann pointed out, "and they look shiny too."

M: "Thanks, I take pride in looking pristine," Uskaine said proudly, "it's an odd thing to do for someone who lived in a wild herd, but to each his own you know."

"And that's why we've been talking about horseshoes for the past half hour," Mandoria said from behind the centaur, "he's thinking of getting some for the first time."

"Really, how can someone who's lived for millions of years not tried horseshoes at least once in their life," Rowen asked, to which Uskaine only shrugged.

N: "There is a first time to everything," Johann said, "and the only thing I can say is that if you want to you can. Not all horses wear horseshoes but we just take extra care of their hooves."

Curious about how Uskaine has never tried horseshoes in his life, he turned to Mandoria and asked, "Father, is there something you have never tried before in your life?"

M: Mandoria put a hand to his chin as he thought about it, "Well, I've always wanted to talk to a penguin, I've never been that far south as I'm not very tolerant of cold weather."

"What's a penguin," Uskaine asked, and after Mandoria explained he hummed with interest, "Interesting that a bird species would evolve to only swim, I guess there aren't many terrestrial prey items where they live."

"Yep, that's about the only thing I can think of at the moment," the winged country stated, "there may be some other things but I can't remember them right now."

N: "Alright," Johann nodded, "then I'll leave you old people," then he glanced at Rowen, "and the not-so-old to go enjoy yourselves while I go and check in Heinrich, see if he hasn't died or something," and with that, he walked away with a slight spring to his step.

M: The "old people" laughed a little at Johann's jab at them, then they just wandered off to chat.

In the infirmary the atmosphere was both peaceful and grim; peaceful because everyone was calm for the animals, and grim because Esha was taking a turn for the worse.

She looked even paler than before and her breathing wasn't even noticeable at this point.  Her injury was constantly bleeding so she had to be moved on her stomach so it was easier to change her bandages every hour.

Neflen crashed again now that the scare with Sofia died down, he was just crying in fear that Prometheus wouldn't wake up in time.

N: Celtica stood beside Neflen, trying to comfort him as he cried, and when Johann came in and saw them, their eyes met, and before he even asked about Esha, the Celt shook her head. The Mandorian lowered his head as he went over to check on his friend, who had a herb paste applied to his burns while he slept.

"Esha will survive," the green country spoke as she knelt next to the Eternal, "I've seen her survive before and I can tell she is the strongest person I've ever seen. Don't lose faith."

M: "Did you not hear him, she is going to die in two days," Neflen sobbed, "we're putting our faith in one single man who might not wake up in time!"

Askad and Odrus, who were still there, exchanged glances, they didn't know what to say to make it better, they already excepted that Esha might not wake up but they didn't want to say anything."

"Why does Esha have such bad luck," Odrus muttered, "she's nearly died three times in the past thousand years, she doesn't deserve it."

N: Celtica didn't comment on what Ordus said as she stayed right beside Neflen, comforting him. A couple of hours passed as they kept on waiting, waiting for anything to get better.

After a while, Maria came in with a warm bowl of rabbit stew, and came and sat beside her son, opposite Johann as she helped the now awake Saxon to sit up. "I know this is your favorite," she spoke as she handed over the bowl to Heinrich, "so I made it for you."

The son smiled as he held the bowl, but he struggled to eat as his left hand was bandaged up, so Maria held the bowl while he ate, the stew warming him up. "Are you being serious right now," Johann joked, "you eating right in front of me? Just the smell of it makes me hungry," making the mother chuckle.

M: "Then it's a good thing we made enough to share," Rowen said as he came in with a servant in tow pushing a serving cart, "sorry we're late, Maria wanted to bring Hienz his before I finished the rest."

The two distributed the stews to everyone, though Neflen didn't even look at his.  Askad and Odrus on the other hand were happily chowing down on theirs, even Sofia was given a bowl and she was beyond happy to have food.

"Wow, this is incredible," Odrus declared, "you made this, Rowen?"

"No, I only helped, it's Maria you have to thank," Rowen corrected, "she's about the best cook I've ever met."

N: "Nein, I'm not," Maria replied, not sure how to react to the compliment, "I just do the best I can."

"Nein, Muter, you're the best," Heinrich stated, "honestly your food tastes like it's from heaven."

"I agree," Johann nodded as he ate another spoonful while Maria was trying to cover her face from embarrassment while helping her son at the same time.

To spare herself, she asked Johann if he could cook, to which he shrugged, "I mean, I can do the basic stuff, but tell me to do something more complex, I'll throw in the towel and leave the kitchen." He spun around so he turned to Rowen, "That's why I stay in the house as long as possible so that Hezyka can cook the food for us, just so I don't accidentally give myself food poisoning."

M: Rowen laughed at that, "It's true, I did try to get him to cook a proper meal once, then I had to get a new kitchen, so we both decided that it would be safer if I did the cooking."

"That's why Askad is lucky he's a naga, he can just swallow his meals." Odrus joked.

"I prefer not to, it takes a lot of effort to do that and I tend to go into hibernation to digest such a big meal," Askad explained, "I can't exactly do that when I have a little one to take care of."

He turned to Sofia when he said that, only to see she was missing from his coils, causing him to momentarily panic until Sofia gurgled next to Maria.  She was standing on her hind legs and resting her front paw on Maria's lap while she sniffed her, trying to determine if she was a friend or foe.

N: Maria smiled as she let Sofia sniff her before reaching out to scratch right behind her left ear. "Well aren't you beautiful," she spoke softly as she continued to give her head pats, glancing over to her half-eaten bowl, "and a beautiful girl like you should be well fed. Johann, may you hand me Sofia's bowl?"

When he had given it to her, she held it in her hand with the spoon in the other. "Now, my dear," she said, "let's see if you can finish this stew, ok? I will be very happy if you do, so," she got a spoonful of stew, "open up wide."

Heinrich rolled his eyes but smiled as he saw his mother spoon-feed Sofia, and since she was busy, he couldn't hold his bowl, so Johann volunteered to hold his bowl while the Saxon ate.

M: Askad smiled as he watched Maria feeding his daughter, he wish she could have that motherly love that any child deserves. 

"It's nice how even when a mother's child is all grown up, she still knows how to care for the young ones," Rowen commented, a smile also on his face.

When Sofia was finished with her stew, she climbed onto Maria's lap and snuggled to sleep, purring softly in her dreams.

"And clearly we men don't have that same touch," Askad chuckled, "it was very hard for me to get her to sleep, perhaps you could teach me something, Mis. Maria."

N: Maria looked up when she was called and shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know but I guess that she was tired and no longer hungry, the perfect combination to sleep. It was too hard to get Heinz to sleep, he would sometimes complain, but before you know it, he's asleep with his legs up against the wall."

Johann laughed at how Heinrich used to sleep as a kid, so the Saxon asked him how he slept. "Usually I will sleep with my dog Titan on the bed," he began, but he hesitated for a second as he began to remember Titan, until he snapped back into reality and continued, "I refused to sleep unless he was there since I will basically cuddle him at night, but if I couldn't sleep I would stay with Hezyka."

M: "Oh Titan, he was such a good boy," Rowen sighed, "he was our German Shepherd back when Johann first came to Mandoria, the most loyal dog anyone could ask for.  He died of old age many years before ... he ... came but he was always there with Johann till the very end."

"A dog huh, that's cool, I had a Trinine before the fall of the empire," Odrus said, "it's basically a dog with three heads, they were called Ichi, Ni, and San, a very good hunting partner."

"Huh, I feel a little jealous," Askad chuckled, "the only pet I ever had was a little Troodon, she chewed on everything she could get in her mouth, though she definitely did her job in keeping the pest problem to a minimum.  What other pets have everyone had?"

N: "My Great Dane, Alcis," Heinrich stated, "Erna's chicken, Mr. Hahnchen, Johann's best friend," which got a grumble from the said Mandorian, "and Wolfgang took care of a stray cat while we were knights. It wasn't really a pet, but the kitten was a nice thing to calm his nerves."

"Wolfe taking care of a kitten would be the last thing I would see," Johann spoke.

"Obviously you haven't seen his softer side," the Saxon grumbled, "it would usually show when he's around Erna, and that is usually the time I will leave the room."

M: Odrus spit out his stew from a laughing, earning a magical slap to the face by Askad before saying, "not like that you immature child!"

Rowen rolled his eyes at the two, and in doing so he caught the glimpse of Neflen, holding Esha's hand and not touching his food.

"Neflen, it's going to be ok," He tried to reassure him, "she's going to make it, that's a promise."

Neflen didn't look at him, "She's cold, it's like she's already dead, how can she come back from this?"

N: "Because Prometheus will help her," Celtica replied, "and before you even say about if he will wake up on time, he will. If he's taking his sweet time to have his beauty sleep, I'll go up to him and slap him awake myself."

She went over to the Eternal's bowl and slowly stirred it, seeing how the food had settled for too long, "and we know that Prometheus is Earth, an actual planet, so I think that what he will do to help Esha will be nothing compared to what he normally does as a Celestial."