N:   "I wonder too," Royal mumbled, staring at her food as she played with it with her fork before standing up, "well, no point wondering. I'll see if BE has any spare materials to protect the sprout otherwise I will just finish up England's workload." She took a pastry from the table, then walked out, "there's nothing to do in this damn place," she muttered before disappearing into the corridor.

Wales watched as she left and sighed, "maybe unnatural wasn't the right word," he pointed out, "anyway, you said something earlier about unique senses? What are they?"

M:   Esha felt bad that she may have made Royal uncomfortable, so when Wales changed the subject she gladly jumped on it.

"Well, for starters we can smell out precious minerals," she explained, leading them to the table so they could eat too, "if you're going to make your nest out of gold and gems then you'll need to be able to find them. For example, I can smell Rowen's charm that he always wears."

Rowen tilted his head and then took his ankh necklace.

"Yep, that tells me that your charm is made out of real gold and turquoise, I wouldn't have been able to smell it if it wasn't."

N:   Wales blinked when he saw Rowen's necklace, "you were able to smell that the entire time, and that," he pointed at the charm, "is beautiful. Esha, if hoarding is a lifelong behavior, isn't that distracting for you if you do hoard?"

M:   Esha shrugged, "eh, you get used to it after a while, as you grow older you learn to ignore the impulses. You can typically satisfy the cravings with something you just collect for fun. I have a collection of bird feathers back in my cave, that has helped me with my hoarding problems."

Esha then itched her face with her wing claws and that made Mandoria ask, "Do you ever use your wings as an extra pair of arms?"

"Sometimes, though they aren't as developed as my hands so I can only pick up small-ish objects." She proved her point by picking up her water glass with her wing and taking a sip out of it, then she grabbed Wales's wing and spread it out slightly, "I admit though that you're wings are awfully small for your size, yes your breed has smaller wings than most but yours are kind of runty. I wonder if you didn't get enough heat before you hatched, that usually leads to such birth defects."

"I don't think Wales hatched," Rowen pointed out, "that just sounds wrong in so many ways."

N:   "I agree," Wales frowned, pulling his wing out of Esha's grasp and drawing them to himself, "The last time I checked, my father isn't a dragon. Birth defect or not, at least I'm thankful I can fly, and I don't care if you have fancy wing claw/ hand thingies."

The country then just silently ate, scooting further away from the Eternal, although he muttered, "Just ... don't talk about my size," before going quiet again.

M:   Esha was also quiet for a moment, then shocked everyone by slamming her head on the table and shouting, "Why do I have to fucking hurt other people's feelings!"

"Woah, calm down Esha, you're going to give yourself a headache," Mandoria warned.

"Maybe it will knock some sense into me," She grumbled, "I've always been so goddamn blunt and never had a filter, why can't I just shut up!" She whacked her head again on the table and just lay there in frustration.

N:   "At least you're brutally honest," Wales spoke quietly, "there are people in this world who would sugarcoat the truth to suit the other person's interest. And don't worry, it's not the first time someone commented about my wings or my stature, it's just something I don't like talking about."

After a moment, he thought of something to cheer the Eternal up, so he lifted up his tail to show its spade end, "But one thing I do like about me is my tail. Yes, some of the locals have called me a demon, but who can do this," and he proceeded to wave with his tail.

M:   Esha had to smile at that, "Admittedly not me, mine is like that of a crocodilian, it's muscular and semi-stiff to help propel me in water and to use as a weapon."

She lifted her head up to talk properly, "Your tail is quite extraordinary because it's prehensile, much like a monkey, you could basically use it as a third limb with enough practice."

"You said that the spade part shows that he is venomous too," Rowen recalled, "is he venomous like Askad or ..."

"Correct, though his fangs are smaller and don't distend from his mouth, and just like Askad, the venom is unique to you so there would be no anti-venom if you bit someone. Thankfully it's not as potent as Askad's, I'd say five to six days if left untreated."

N:   "Well I'm not thinking to bite anyone anytime soon," Wales spoke, then he chuckled lightly, "and my tail is already used as a plaything for BE's kids. America has grown up a bit now so he doesn't anymore, but Canada will play with it for hours."

He chuckled a bit more before asking, "Wait, how did I even get my dragon half? Grandpa is the only one in our family to even have an animal half, but his half is a bird? Can that just happen?"

M:   "Well, it could be a recessive gene in your family tree," Esha suggested, "I know that not all eternals went into hiding after the fall of the empire, take Mandoria for instance, perhaps a very long time ago your ancestors were half dragon and the genes made it all the way down to you." She smiled, "count yourself lucky to be such a grand and respected species, most eternals could only dream of meeting a draconic on in their lives, you and I are some of the lucky few who get to be them."

N:   Wales smiled along with her and when Scotland walked in, he said, "I'm pretty lucky to be a draconic country, isn't it?"

"Aye you are," the Scot smiled, walking over to him and placed a kiss on his forehead, "and I'm lucky to have a wonderful son."

Wales grumbled at the affection but he set it aside while his father sat down. "Dad," he asked, "do you think that one of my ancestors was half dragon, I mean, how else did I get that half?"

The Scot thought for a bit before shrugging, "Your guess is as good as mine. I don't know much about your father's side, but on mine, your Grandma hasn't mentioned something of the sort, and I never met your Seanair (grandfather) so I can't say anything about that.  Although Celtica has mentioned before that my Pa was close to Nessy, but that's about it."

M:   "We may never know the reason you have draconic genes," Esha summed up, "however, I can say we are glad you do."

"I'll drink to that Mandoria declared, holding out his drink in toast, "to the things that make us unique and special."

After they cheered and the Mandorian couple finished and went to see what their son was up to. Esha took the opportunity to inform Scotland about the Phoenix Flower and that they needed to protect it until she could figure out when to water it.

N:   Johann meanwhile was in the infirmary along with Erna, watching over Heinrich as the Saxon decided to sleep next to Ora, resting next to the she-wolf while Alcis was resting his head on his owner's leg. The pair thought about moving Heinrich into a bed, but he seemed so peaceful next to Ora, and also the Great Dane would eye them whenever they got too close, so they let them be.

M:   When Rowen and Mandoria learned that Johann was in the infirmary they were worried he got him in trouble again but were relieved to see he was fine.

"So, no luck with Lady Ora I guess," Rowen sighed, "how much longer can she be here before her condition becomes grim?"

N:   "The medics are trying their best," Erna replied, "they even brought a vet to check on her. So far all they can do is allow her to rest and to heal, since none of them, and the rest of us too, fully understand what is happening."

"But thankfully Heinz's injuries are healing up," Johann added, "I don't know if it's because he's right next to Lady Ora, but now the nurses said that all that would be left are scars and he's healing pretty quickly."

"Aww, look at you," the Saxon smiled, "being the responsible friend, looks good on you. Besides, that would be great husband material for when you get married."

"Hey," the Mandorian smiled, "I'm the one who makes the marriage jokes to you, not the other way round."

M:   The resident married couple chuckled at their friendly banter, it never ceased to amuse them.

Mandoria's leaned close to Ora and ran a gentle hand through her silky fur, "We're going to help you get back home, my lady, after you saved me all those years ago, I won't rest until you have returned to the great beyond, I swear on my wings."

Ora opened her eyes for the first time in hours and licked Mandoria's face, as if saying thank you.

"No one's helping anyone until we get Chrysalis to crack," a voice interrupted, Odrus walking in soon after with food for the animals, "he's made it clear that he wasn't the one who enslaved Ora, but he won't expose their location or motives. He's definitely loyal to whoever he's working for."

N:   "Wait, Ora is enslaved," Johann asked, his face showing his puzzled expression, "can you even do that? To a goddess?"

"Apparently so," Erna sighed, "and apparently Chrysalis is loyal to someone, after breaking his deal with Saxon. That entity would be the best person to make the insurgent speak."

"But not now," the Mandorian interjected, "Anglo came earlier to check on Ora, and he said that he had to take care of Saxon," he turned to Odrus, "Did something happen?"

M:   Odrus was silent, frozen for a second like the question turned him to stone, which the leopard awaiting her lunch didn't appreciate and snatched the meat out of his hands.

"Um," he stuttered, "yes, we were told that the person Chrysalis might be working for is the former head of insurgents, Saxon's father. We don't know if it's true or not, but Saxon kind of lost it when hearing that and tried to slaughter Chrysalis. Anglo calmed him down but said we shouldn't talk about this to or around Saxon."

N:   Both Erna and Johann were in shock and they just looked at each other. "Umm," Erna muttered, "that sounds like something Saxon would do, but ... wow."

"I mean I can see why he would react like that," Johann spoke, "when he was back in Mandoria when I was a kid, I remember that his father would brand him when he was young, as a sort of punishment to anything he did."

"And for him to hear that such a man could be back must be scary," the Saxon admitted, and then turned to Odrus, "We won't say anything around him."

M:   Odrus nodded but said nothing else, simply going back to feeding the animals.

"Are you feeling ok, Odrus," Rowen asked, you've been awfully quiet today, is something on your mind?"

"No," the eternal said rather too quickly, "I mean, nothing that I want to share, it's been a long day, that's all."

N:   "You sure," Erna questioned, raising a brow, "You haven't been yourself lately." She stood up and walked over to the Eternal, and sighed, "It's your choice to share what's on your mind, but I would like to help you out as a friend."

"Otherwise, if you're tired," Johann perked up, he indicated at all the beds around them, "there are plenty of spots to rest."

M:   Odrus didn't respond right away again, he just tried to focus on the animals, but when he got to Ora he froze for a moment.

"You really want to know what's bothering me," he said lowly, "I'll show you then."

He stood up and turned around to remove his shirt, he had a few scars on his back but those paled in comparison to when he turned back around. There were two large brands on each side of his chest, one was the double axe that Ora had, and the other was a shooting star.

"Are you satisfied now," the eternal grumbled, "are you happy with the answer you received?"

N:   Erna blinked, surprised by the scars as it was the least she expected, but when the Eternal asked the question, she frowned and rested her hands on the other's shoulders. "No I'm not," she replied bluntly, "because when we share among friends, it's not to satisfy each other, but to help one another."

She pulled the Eternal into a hug and continued, "Whatever the reason why you got those marks, we are here to help you through it. I didn't really want to know what's bothering you for the sake of it, but because I care about you."

M:   Odrus didn't react to the hug or Erna's words at first, but he slowly rested his forehead on her shoulder and let out the quietest sob.

"So that's why you knew so much about slavery," Rowen realized, "you were one for a time."

Odrus nodded weakly, causing Mandoria to leave to find Celtica since she was the best person for this situation.

"It was so long ago, yet so fresh in my mind," the eternal murmured, "I lost a mate and child to my master, I couldn't bring myself to mate again after that. It pains me to see someone else going through the horrors I did."

N:   Johann raised a brow at what Odrus said, wondering how he and Ora would relate, so he knelt next to the she-wolf, and soon enough he found the same double axe branded on her. "I'm sorry that you have to go through this," he muttered, not knowing why he is apologizing, "we'll get you back as soon as we can."

Heinrich sensed the Mandorian's close proximity, so he shifted a bit, still asleep, and then proceeded to use Ora as a pillow.

"Come and sit down," Erna spoke softly, leading Odrus to a bed, "no one deserves to go through what you did."

M:   Odrus did as told and sat on the bed, staring off into space and not very aware of anyone's presence.

Rowen really felt for the eternal, his ancestor was stolen and sold into slavery, he may not have been there but he could only imagine the pain both of them have been through.

"Come on Mandoria," he muttered to himself, "Odrus needs help, please hurry up."

N:   Erna snapped her fingers in front of Odrus, and seeing that he was out of it, she turned to Johann, "Where did Mandoria go?"

"Mandoria told me that I was needed," Celtica spoke as she entered, and once Erna had quickly explained everything, the Celt looked over to Odrus, her eyes filled with sadness. The country walked over to the Eternal, crouching down so that she could see his eyes, gently holding his hand to show that she was there to comfort him.

"I know how it feels to lose the ability to control your life," she began, "to have someone else decide your life for you on a whim. A long time ago, I was captured from my home, from my family to become a slave in the Roman Empire, to entertain the Romans while my people were slaughtered." She looked off to the side as she recounted her experience, "it is not right to compare how one slave has lived to another, but I know how it feels to lose the closest people who you could ever love to Roman Empire, and it is the sort of pain that never leaves you, so please," she turned back to Odrus, "if you may, let me ease your pain."

M:   Odrus stared at Celtica, though it honestly looked like he was staring through her with a vacant look in his eyes. He slowly leaned forward and rested his head on her shoulder, his quiet way of saying "Thank you for your comfort".

"I think it's safe to say that everyone in this room was a slave in one way or another," Mandoria stated, "most of us were under King Prussia's iron fist and know how it feels to lose our freedom."

Rowen nodded, "Yes, all the more reason for us to help each other, and right now, we want to help you, Odrus."

The eternal wouldn't look up at them but said, "That was millions of years ago, I shouldn't be like this, that time period is long extinct, why does it still hurt so much?"

N:   "Things like these take time to heal," Celtica answered, rubbing Odrus' back, "don't be harsh on yourself for not getting over it, you should take it as it comes with people around you to help you."

"And the pain from the loss of family never leaves," Johann added, sitting beside Ora, "it would gradually numb, but it will still be there. So I agree with Celtica, don't be harsh on yourself for not getting over it, because you could never truly get over it."

"Johann," Erna muttered, "probably not the best thing to say."

"But I speak from experience," he replied, but he was cut off when he saw Heinrich mutter in his sleep before he subconsciously hugged Ora and tightly squeezed her, "Umm, Erna, his Heinz ok?"

The Saxon sighed as she quickly went over to her friend and gently shook him awake; Alcis also helped out by licking Heinrich's face. Eventually, the Saxon woke up with a start, his eyes unfocused as he scanned his surroundings for threats, but when Ernie calmed him down, he buried his face into Ora's fur, a low grumble emanating from his throat. "Well, I guess that's one way to deal with a nightmare," she said, shaking her head.

M:   "If it works, it works," Rowen quietly commented, "no need to judge someone on how they deal with trauma."

That statement was most evident with Odrus at the moment, he wouldn't make a sound to indicate his sadness, nor respond much to Celtica's attempts to comfort him, he was just the silent sufferer type. After a bit, he put his shirt back on and wiped his eyes from the accumulating tears.

"Thank you for the support," he muttered, "I've never told anyone of this, not even the others, I've just been too embarrassed and worried they would think lowly of me for being who I was."

N:   "They wouldn't think of the sort," Celtica reassured him, "if anything you are strong to have gone through everything that you did and that you are sitting here in front of us. It's the same thing with Esha's scar; she thought the same thing, didn't she, but we all welcomed her with open arms."

"Warum taucht dieses Thema kommt immer (why does this topic always come up)," Johann grumbled as he got up from where he was, going to the place where he would always find peace: the stables.

M:   "I wonder that too," Mandoria responded under his breath, Rowen heard him but didn't know what he was talking about so didn't comment.

Odrus smiled ruefully and hugged Celtica, "Thank you, thank you so much, I've learned that you need to hide your pain and troubles to survive, I'm so glad I have people I can be vulnerable with."

N:   "We're happy that you have opened up to us," Celtica smiled, "why don't you have something to eat, it must have been a long day for you. So," she let go of Odrus and held him at arm's length, "do you want to go to the dining hall, or you want the food to be brought here?"

M:   "I'll come, I don't want to be like Esha and keep getting stuck here," Odrus chuckled, "besides, I need to stop at the library anyway, I left my journal there when Sofia ran off to tease England."

"Esha has your journal actually," Mandoria informed him, "she grabbed it when we went there with Wales to teach him dragon stuff."

"Ok then, I'll track her down later I guess," he shrugged, standing up and stretching, "at least I know she won't snoop around in it."

N:   "Good, good," Celtica nodded, "so, let's head over to eat," she turned to Erna, "Are you coming too?"

"Nein," the Saxon shook her head as she was able to pry Heinrich from Ora before leading him over to a bed to rest, "got to look after this one and the other kid had run off." Once Heinz was comfortable, she grumbled, "Where is Wolfe when you need him."

"If we come across him, we'll tell him to go to you," to which the human smiled and nodded."

M:   "The last time I saw him was when we were watching Sofia outpace England," Rowen stated, "don't know where he is now, Johann probably disappeared to the stables, as he usually does when we talk about heavy subjects."

"Celtica, random question, has Wales ever been possessive of anything when he was younger," Mandoria asked, "Esha said that dragon countryhumans will sometimes hoard things and I can't stop thinking about it for some reason."

N:   Celtica nodded then smiled when she remembered a memory. "Wales did have some hoarding tendencies when he was younger. There have been a few cases of the orb and scepter going missing for coronations, and we would usually find them in his possession. Other small things like jewels and small precious stones would also wind up in his pockets, especially when we go and visit Spain, but I doubt SE would even notice."

The Celt paused for a moment before adding, "Now thinking about it, he hasn't shown much of that behavior lately, so either he has stopped, or he has become extremely good at hiding it."

"You better check," Erna called after them as they left, "he might have who knows how much valuable stuff stashed somewhere, and you wouldn't even know."

M:   Mandoria and Rowen laughed at that, "I think our sons had some dragon genes in them, they loved to hide the knights' valuables and watch them try to find them when they were younger." Mandoria claimed.

Odrus wasn't paying attention to the conversation, he kept staring at Celtica, more accurately, the empty space next to her, where he saw the spirit of a male countryhuman walking alongside her, trying to hold her hand.

N:   The spirit reached out for her hand, but when he saw that it went straight through Celtica's, his shoulders slumped as he looked at her face, seeming to utter her name but no sound came out. His clothing looked centuries old, wearing a broach of a lion that connected to his cloak, and his overall appearance resembled Scotland.

"It looked like your kids were a handful," Celtica smiled, "when Scotty was just a boy, he would sometimes go missing, and went I went to find him, he was always in the forest outside, curious about everything around him and would give me a flower for me to keep. Although, he seemed attracted to the stinging nettle because he liked the shape, and one too many times he ended up in the infirmary for touching one."

The spirit silently chuckled at the story, shaking his head in disbelief, but after a while, he felt that he was being watched. He turned to Odrus and his eyes widened when he realized that the Eternal was staring straight at him, so he tilted his head in confusion, wondering if Odrus could actually see him.

M:   Odrus tilted his head in response, both to tell the entity that he could see him, and in wondering of who this passed-on man was.

Odrus could see spirits, but he couldn't hear them, he would be deaf otherwise, but through his many, many millennia of life he had learned to read the lips of the dead.

The eternal did something he had never tried before, he reached out to touch the country. He was shocked that his hand actually made contact with his arm, it was cold yet electric, causing the eternal to stop for a split second.

"Odrus, is everything ok," Rowen asked when he saw him pause.

Odrus ignored the question and instead asked, "Celtica, did you have someone who passed on?"

N:   Celtica's face fell at the question and replied, "I have told you before that I lost people in the past, so you might have to specify." She looked to the ground as she sighed, to which the spirit rested his hand on her shoulder, or just above it as he can't actually touch her. "The person closest to me was Caledonia."

The spirit turned to Odrus and mouthed, "She was my wife."

"He was my husband," the Celt continued, "and he died a couple of months before Scotty was born." She sniffed a bit as a lump formed in her throat, "I'm sorry, I just don't talk about him much."

"It's ok," Caledonia mouthed, smiling as he did, "Scotty is the best son I could ever have, and don't be hard on yourself."

M:   Odrus blinked for a moment, then let a reassuring smile grace his lips, "he said he's very proud of Scotty, and to not be so hard on yourself."

"Wait a minute, Celtica's husband is here," Mandoria asked in shock.

"Yes, he's been following us for the past five minutes, he's standing next to Celtica," Odrus confirmed, "I can't hear him but I have learned to read the lips of spirits, he said Scotty is the best son he could have asked for."

N:   Celtica broke down right there, sitting on the floor as she cried, both of grief from the loss of her husband, but of happiness from what he said and that he was there. "Can he hear me," she asked between sobs, and she turned to where she thought Caledonia would be, "can you hear me? I've missed you so much and I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, my love, it's not your fault," Caledonia silently spoke, kneeling in front of her, "and of course, I can hear you, you just can't hear me. You are a wonderful mother to our son, and you raised him up to love his people and to be a better king than I could ever be."

He reached for her hand instinctively, but when he saw that it went right through, he turned to Odrus, "How did you touch me?"

M:   Odrus shrugged and mouthed, "I don't know" before repeating what Caledonia said. He paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, then walked up to Celtica.

"I'm going to try something, I've never done this before and I'm not sure if it will even work, but I think you need it."

Without waiting for a response, he placed a hand on the country's shoulder, closed his eyes, and concentrated really hard on what he was doing.

It took a minute, but Celtica's eyes slowly turned gray as she was blinded, Odrus was temporarily sharing his powers with her so she could see and touch her husband, but he had to retain physical contact the whole time.

N:   Celtica felt like she was seeing a completely different world, only seeing the spirits of the people around her instead of their actual selves, but her eyes immediately became glued to Caledonia in front of her.

"Can you see me," the male country mouthed, and he was immediately tackled into a hug, to which he was initially surprised that he could actually touch her, but eventually he returned the embrace.

To everyone else, it seemed that she was hugging the air, but the Celt didn't care, staying in that embrace for a while before letting go, tears of joy running down her face.

"I can't believe you're really here," she smiled, to which the other cupped her face.

"I have always been by your side," Caledonia replied, "even if you can't see me, I am always there."

Celtica nodded, but then she was confused when Caledonia held up his finger as if to say to give him a moment before rushing away. Although she knew he would come back, her heart was crushed to see him disappear through a wall.

A couple of moments later, Caledonia returned although he was accompanied by another countryhuman, and the first seemed to be explaining something to the other. The second countryhuman froze when he saw Celtica, and was confused about how she was looking right at him, and after being prompted by Caledonia, he went over to her.

Celtica stood up, making sure that Odrus maintained the connection, and soon the spirit was standing in front of her.

"Athair (father)," she asked, smiling through her tears as she reached out to the man, "it's nice to see you again."

The male countryhuman looked back to Caledonia, who nodded as if saying it was ok, and he turned back to Celtica. "My beautiful girl," he smiled, holding her hand before placing a kiss on her forehead, "thank the gods that we can see each other again. I'm so proud of you, more than any father can."

He turned to Odrus and continued, "We cannot strain him for too long, thank him on behalf of Caledonia and I, and that the gods may be by his side."

The Celt nodded before giving a final hug, to which Caledonia also joined, and she passed on the message to Odrus.

M:   Odrus barely heard her, he was doubled over panting, never in his life had he shared his powers so it was taxing on him.

"Y-yeah, no problem," he gasped, "sorry, I've never done that before, it was much more arduous than I thought it would be."

He sat down on the floor and tried to catch his breath, then explained, "After seeing your reaction to me telling you your husband was here, I didn't want it to ruin your day, so I thought the gift of seeing him for a moment would be just what you needed."

"And before anyone asks, I'm not going to do that again," he addressed the others, "not right now that least, I'm far too drained and no one else is here anyway."

N:   "Wasn't thinking about it," Celtica chuckled, "you looked like you were going to pass out."

She then knelt next to Odrus and helped him up once he was ok, "thank you for doing that," she thanked, "let's get you some food now, shall we?"