N:   "Always expect the weird in this place, am I right," Heinrich chuckled, and his smile grew when he saw Alcis rush towards him, followed soon by his mother.

"The next time you storm off like that, you better tell me," Maria frowned, to which the son muttered a small apology, but her smile came back and she gave him a peck on the forehead, "Let's go home. Erna, Wolfe, and their parents already went, and I got some stuff to do at home too."

Heinrich nodded, so she turned to Odrus and wished him a nice rest of the night before heading out with her son back home.

M:   Odrus waved them goodbye and headed to his room to get some fresh clothes, going to the bathroom soon after for a nice long soak. Once he was nice and fresh he walked to the library to relax, though he passed by BE and stopped to chat.

"Hey BE, how's your day been, anything interesting happen besides Saxon being chased by Shen again," he asked cheerfully, completely unaware of what happened nearly an hour ago.

N:   "Snowball fight," BE began to list as he nonchalantly flicked through his papers, "Oh yes, and Mandoria brought in a country whom I've never seen before, the young lad looks like a mixture of Prussia and Mandoria, and be careful when you go past or in the infirmary since there's a manticore there too. Otherwise, the boring stuff has been going on as usual."

When he finished checking, he looked up and smiled, "What about you? How was your day?"

M:   Odrus blinked, unable to process everything that happened at first, "um, definitely not as interesting as your day."

He took a moment to reorient himself and cleared his throat, "Anyway, not much happened, just the usual people coming in for a drink or a meal, though there was a guy that was just passing through who gave me the creeps. He wasn't anyone special, just a hunter stopping in town for a beer, he was just really off-putting."

He cast a quick glance at the papers, "that's a lot of homework, do you need help with any of it?"

N:   "Nah, I'm used to the workload," BE replied as he ruffled through the papers before pulling one out, "Actually, I would like to ask, are you alright to meet the other countries and empires since," he turned the piece of paper around to show a list of countries, "there would be quite a few?"

M:   Odrus hummed as he looked through all the names, "I think I'll be fine, It's Esha that I would be concerned about, she hates crowds and can be easily provoked when under stress, she said she'll do her best to tolerate it but I would still keep an eye on her and have a quiet space prepared just in case she gets too overwhelmed."

He tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Other than that, I don't think there will be much of an issue. I personally am excited to see how the rest of the world has evolved since the fall of the empire."

N:   "From what you told me, it seems like it has only gone downhill," BE chuckled as he placed the piece of paper neatly back in the pile, "but thank you for telling me; I'll make sure such a place is prepared for Esha if she needs it. However, if she is fine around my Grandma, I think she would go well with her old friends."

Soon a servant came to the empire with a box, telling him that it was delivered to him. "Take it to my office," he ordered, "I'll check on it tonight. By the way, who sent it?"

The servant shrugged before following the Brit's orders, so the empire just sighed, "Just enjoy the rest of your night, Odrus, and check on the others."

M:   "Will do, don't work too hard," he said, "see you tomorrow."

With that, the eternal headed to the library to relax, picking out a bunch of the brail books to have something to read before setting down for the evening.

Most everyone else was following his example, finding things to do while relaxing for the night, Esha was even able to get Shen to stop chasing Saxon and go back to their hallway.

Everyone was relaxing except Sofia, she was wandering around again looking for someone to play with. BE passed by her without realizing it so she decided to make him her next victim, following after him and tugging on his cloak to get him to play.

N:   BE looked down and raised a brow, stopping in his tracks before rubbing her head. "You're bored, aren't you," he guessed as he tucked his documents under his arm, "I'm sorry, dear, but I'm awfully busy."

"Come on, brother," Wales smiled as he came over, "why don't you spend some time with her?"

"Because I got an empire to run."

"But didn't you go and play in a snowball fight?"

The empire grumbled but couldn't deny that fact, "then why don't you play with her," he suggested as he gave her a once over, "I haven't seen her use her wings except to hug people. Teach her the basic mechanics of flying."

"Wait, what," the Welshman exclaimed, but the empire just smirked, patting his brother's shoulder as he walked past him to his office.

M:   Sofia whined when BE started walking away, she didn't want to play with Wales, she wanted to play with the empire. She huffed and ran after him, pouncing on his leg and entrapping him in a hug.

"Play," she exclaimed, "I want to play with you!"

A month or so ago she had finally started talking again, she wouldn't because of the trauma she faced with Chrysalis, but after a while she became comfortable enough to start speaking again, which led to her eyes no longer being shattered.

N:   BE just looked down at Sofia before looking at Wales, silently pleading for his help, but all the Welshman did was shake his head.

The empire sighed, "Alright, you got my attention," he spoke as he handed over his documents to a servant to put in his office, "what do you want to play?"

"So you're telling me that you don't know," Wales questioned, "aren't you a father?"

"A father who is at war with his son is not particularly the best father," the other pointed out.

M:   Sofia sqweed with joy and let go of BE's leg, then grabbed his cloak again and tugged on it to lead him away. She took him to her room, which was actually Askad's and Uskains and she just had her bed in the corner of the large room. The young girl had lots of toys and games, but she passed right by those and jumped onto her parent's bed, pulling off the pillows and blankets and dragging them to the middle of the room.

"Fort," she declared, "make a fort, play kings like uncle does." Sofia had taken to calling everyone uncle, aunt, or grandparents, she especially liked calling Saxon "Grandpi" just to watch his reaction.

N:   "Fort it is," BE spoke as he picked up the pillows and arranged them into a ring, draping the blankets over them to keep them in place. He took a step back at the 'walls' he made, and when he noticed that there was something missing, he unclipped his cloak and used it as a sort of moat.

"There," he smiled, "a fort and moat. Perfect for defense."

M:   "Yay," Sofia cheered, crawling into the fort to check it out. Then she went under her bed and pulled out a small trunk full of dress-up clothes, she took out a paper crown and put it on her head, and found a wooden knight helmet to put on BE's head, though it was a bit too small for him.

"I king now," she declared, "we must take new land and fight other kings. But first, evil dragon threat fort, we must defeat, TO AUNTIE ESHIE'S ROOM!!!"

N:   BE only nodded, not actually being able to speak from how tight the helmet was, and followed after Sofia to Esha.

They passed Anglo, and the winged country chuckled at the sight of his grandson. "Looks like you're the servant to a new king," he commented, getting a grumble from the empire.

When they arrived at Esha's door, he pointed at the door, "Do the honors, your Highness."

M:   Sofia did as told and banged on the door, though it wasn't very loud with her small hands.

"Evil dragon, we come from Fort Pillow to fight," she squealed, "come out so we can slay you!"

There was shuffling inside and a thud, then footsteps came to the door and it opened. Esha was wearing a mud mask and a bathrobe, though she looked quite tired.

"What's going on," she grumbled, "I was in the middle of meditating. BE, why do you look like a strawberry, your face is really flushed.

N:   BE pulled the helmet off his head and gasped for air. "This is what happens when Sofia wants me to play with her," he explained, "so, just play along, alright?"

He put the helmet back on his head but as a hat instead of actually putting it on properly, "anyways, as her majesty has said, we have come to destroy you to defend our fort."

M:   Esha chuckled that Sofia managed to get BE to play with her, "Alright, just let me get this stuff off first."

She closed the door for a minute, then opened it again in her dragon form, though she was only as tall as BE to make it fair for the two.

"Grrr, I am the evil dragon, I have come to vanquish you and take over your kingdom," she growled playfully, "prepare to meet your doom."

Sofia laughed, "Oh no, we are outmatched, run away, we need more knights!"

N:   BE watched as Sofia ran away and went after her, although he only jogged along with her as he found his draconic brother and dragged him in. "You're not getting away this time," the empire smirked as he placed his helmet on Wales, who was utterly confused about why he was being chased by Esha and what his brother was doing.

Eventually, the two caught up with the young girl, "I've found our own dragon to defend us," the empire announced.

M:   Sofia had somehow found Chrysalis when the others caught up, she was giving him another knight helmet that seemingly came out of nowhere to make him her knight too.

"I found recruit too," she declared, "now we fight the evil dragon."

"Not so fast," Esha roared when she came upon the group, "you are no match for me, none of you have proper weapons anyway."

She did them a solid and snapped them up some foam weapons and cardboard armor, though she did grow a few feet so she was about the size of Edle, "much better, now then noble nights, I shall defeat you all and destroy your fort once and for all, mwah ha ha."

"Never," Sofia shouted, "charge, protect the kingdom!"

N:   "Why am I doing this," Chrysalis grumbled as he turned the foam sword over in his hand.

"Because Sofia dragged you into this, so just go along with it," BE answered.

"And why do I have to be with you?"

"Can the both of you not start," Wales moaned as he raised his cardboard shield, "just play along will you?" With that, he got his foam spear and jabbed at Esha.

M:   Esha growled at Wales and blew a harmless smoke at him to symbolize fire, then tripped him with her tail and slid him away.

"Charge," Sofia shouted again, pushing Chrysalis forward to get him to play, then ran up to Esha and whacked her legs with her sword.

Esha howled in pain and let her leg go limp, then she pulled Sofia out by her tail and blew on her belly as her 'attack', making the child burst into laughter.

"Help," she laughed, "need help, save the king!"

N:   BE looked over to Wales, who indicated to both of them that he was 'defeated' so they have to help Sofia. "Alright," the empire sighed as he turned to Chrysalis, "you go and distract Esha while I get Sofia."

"Since when do I take orders from you," the insurgent scoffed, "why don't you distract Esha while I get the girl. Have fun getting tripped over," and with that, he stepped into action, much to BE's dismay but he went along with it.

M:   Esha rolled her eyes at the two bickering with each other, she simply played along and coiled her tail around Sofia, "Fools, you will not take back your queen so easily, with her in my claws, taking over your pathetic kingdom will be a piece of cake."

"Not for long," Sofia said, she then bit Esha's tail, causing the dragon to yelp in real pain and let her go, letting her run into Chrysalis's arms.

With Esha in slight shock that she was bitten, she was easily overpowered by BE, she recovered quickly though, and pulled a page out of Edel's book, dragging the empire to the floor and sitting on top of his back.

"Hah, take that knight," she mocked, "you are no match for my powerful rear end, do you give up yet?"

"Never," Sofia shouted, though she couldn't help but laugh at BE's predicament.

N:   "What has my life become," BE grumbled, his limps splayed in all directions, so he turned to Chrysalis, "A little help over here."

The insurgent's eye's widened in surprise before a smile stretched his face, "dear British Empire, may you repeat what you said."

"A little help over here."

The insurgent let go of Sofia and walked over to the empire, sitting by him and crossing his legs. "Did you, the great British Empire, ask me, a lowly insurgent, for help?"

"Yes, I did," BE snapped, "it's just a game so play along."

"BE, let me tell you something. In no circumstance, whether it be in a game or when you're genuinely in trouble, will I ever help your sorry British arse. So," he leaned back against the wall, "you better get comfortable; however, clearly, you are a terrible person since you have forgotten someone who will help you."

The insurgent glanced up to Wales, who was standing near Esha's tail, and he was able to blow a small amount of fire on the tip of her tail.

M:   Esha yelped again and jumped to her feet as she felt her tail burn, "What is with you people and my tail, I gave you foam swords, use them!"

She pat her tail down to put out the spark, then inspected the bite mark to see if she'd been injected with venom or not.

"Sofia, you can not bite people," the dragon scolded, picking up the child in her paws, "your bite is very dangerous, you can inject venom into people if you bite them and it can really hurt them."

"I'm sorry," Sofia whined, saddened that she hurt Esha, "did I hurt you really bad?"

"No, you got lucky you didn't use your fangs, but you might not be as lucky next time, so no more biting people, ok," she said, "I think that's enough playtime, let's get you to bed."

She put Sofia down and unshifted, "Sorry to cut the game short boys, but it's getting late anyway. Sofie, go say goodnight to everyone."

Sofia did as told and hugged everyone goodnight, saving Chrysalis for last and giving him an extra big hug, "Night night, Uncle Chryssi."

N:   The insurgent wordlessly accepted the hug, although he was taken aback by how Sofia referred to him, he didn't comment as he nodded, silently wishing her a good night.

Once she had left, BE stood up and smoothed down his clothes, "I think we all should get some rest," to which Wales agreed, "I'll be in my office if you need me, so have a restful night you all." He turned to Chyrsalis and narrowed his eyes, "And you better not do something stupid."

"So I shouldn't do something British," the insurgent smirked, "noted," getting a grumble from the empire before they parted ways.

M:   Esha delivered Sofia to her room without incident where her parents were waiting, they laughed when she explained what happened and thanked her for watching their daughter. Esha noticed that BE's cloak was still in the room so she took it with her to give back to him.

She first went to the infirmary to make sure her tail wouldn't get infected, even if she didn't get poisoned she was still bitten by a child who was a fourth cat, so she could have some nasty bacteria. When she entered, she saw that Mandoria had fallen asleep with the newcomer and that Aslan and even Johann were sitting nearby.

"I can't tell if you're here to watch over them," she whispered to Johann, "or if you're jealous that Mandoria adopted another kid and you feel replaced."

N:   "I mean I am adopted so I don't really," Johann whispered back as he crossed his arms and looked at Mandoria and Prudoria, "and I know the family is large enough to fit another person, but it does hurt a bit. Besides, Hezyka was the one who adopted me and then Mandoria became my father because of their marriage, so I'm closer to him, but still."

The Mandorian remained quiet for a bit, then he added, "After you're treated to, could I talk to you somewhere more private about something?"

M:   Esha raised a brow, "Yeah ... I guess, it won't take that long, I was bitten by Sofia so I just need to make sure it doesn't get infected."

As she was disinfecting her tail she kept talking, "And don't take it personally Johann, Mandoria doesn't love you any less, Prudoria just needs him a little more right now. Think of it like this, he just escaped what you and your family went through, he endured it for longer by the man who supposedly is his 'father', he just needs time to heal, as you did. Mandoria doesn't love him more, he just knows that he needs someone to show him love for the first time in his life, you understand?"

N:   Johann nodded, "Ja, I understand," before he smiled a bit, "My family has to be one of the strangest ones there is, and it's kind of cool."

After waiting for Esha's tail to be tidied up, he led her out of the infirmary towards one of the adjacent rooms, where inside seemed to be a small common room with a fireplace. He indicated the Eternal to sit while he remained standing, near the flame.

"I didn't know how to go about telling you this," the Mandorian began, avoiding eye contact, "but I know that I will have to tell you this because I care so much about you and I'm afraid ok how the future will change."

The Mandorian took a deep breath, "I think most know how you feel about me, but at the same time, people are aware of Gywn and I. I ... I don't feel the same way about you the way I feel about her, I can't reciprocate your feelings of me to you, and I'm sorry." The Mandorian looked down at his boots as he continued, "I don't want the relationship between us to change, and although I guess that you knew about Gywn and I, it would be completely unfair on you if I never confirmed it. Maybe one day you could properly meet her and form your own friendship, but I just wanted you to know for certain.

"I'm sorry and I hope you can still be one of the closest people to me."

M:   Esha was silent, her face was scarily emotionless and she listened to Johann, but she thankfully chuckled ruefully.

"Don't worry, I completely understand," she smiled reassuringly, "I admit I was jealous at first when you were spending more and more time with her, but I know that I, an entity millions of years older than you, would have no chance in winning you over, I accepted that a while ago."

She stood up and pat Johann on the shoulder, "We'll definitely stay best friends, I'm just happy that you found someone who makes you happy and who you can grow old with. I just have one simple request; can I be your best man on your wedding day?"

N:   "W-what, I mean y-yeah, sure," Johann stuttered, completely taken by surprise by the question, "Um, sure you can." The Mandorian just stood awkwardly there, his face turning red as he tried to cover it with his hands, "I'm the one who does the wedding jokes, not the other way round."

After a moment of collecting himself, the Mandorian smiled, "It's so weird that in the span of a year, I went from being in hell to meeting the most wonderful people ever. Thank you, Esha, for being here." He glanced behind her at BE's cloak, "But I don't want to be holding you up. It seems like you got a delivery to make."

M:   "Eh, he can wait a night, maybe I'll hide it and we'll see how long it takes him to find it," Esha chuckled, playfully elbowing Johann, "and don't mention it, I can definitely say the same about you, being alone for hundreds of thousands of years takes its toll on one, makes you think that you don't need anyone to survive, I couldn't be happier to be proven wrong."

She pat Johann's shoulder one last time and bid him goodnight, dropping off BE's cloak at his office before hitting the hay.

___________________________________

N:   Back in Greece, a certain Brit grumbled as the morning sun woke him up, although he was thankful that the Ottomans had given him a wonderful guest room. With Chester sleeping at the foot of his bed, Wilfred carefully got up to not disturb the canine. Getting changed and tidying up his room, he finally left to head straight to the kitchen for some coffee, specifically, a triple shot of espresso to kick start his day.

Now Wil likes to indulge himself in the place he's in, learning of the culture and customs of the locals, so he decided to check out the city of Athens, wandering along the endless paths and being stunned by the city's beauty.

M:   The brothers and Deutsche have been going along as normal, Derogan was no longer bedridden but was still not healed enough to be back in the field, so he was stuck on reception duty for his law enforcement branch.

Mandara was doing his usual delivery route when he saw Wil walking around town, so he decided to fly down and say hello.

"Hey Wilfred," he greeted when he landed, "going for a morning walk?"

N:   "Yep, I am," Wilfred nodded as he strolled into a market, "how could I not? This is a beautiful city and it's an opportunity I cannot miss, plus I can use it to brush up on my Greek." He then proceeded to walk towards a stall that sold different pastries, and after a short conversation, bought himself a treat. "Ευχαριστώ πάρα πολύ (thank you very much)," he waved to the seller before joining Mandara.

"I'm sure that you may have tried this, and thank you're busy," the Brit spoke as he passed a piece to the Mandorian, "but baklava is such a beautiful treat you must have a piece."

M:   "I can't say no to that," Mandara smiled, "I'm a sucker for sweet food, name any pastry in this country and I have most likely tried it."

He happily devoured his pastry piece, then bought a few more since he hadn't had breakfast yet.

"Actually, I came down here because I wanted to tell you something," he admitted, "Derogan, Deutsche, and I were talking with Greece the other day and he mentioned something about being invited to a ball that BE is having. We thought that would be a perfect way to go to the British Isles to see if you're telling the truth or not. What do you think?"

N:   Wilfred shrugged, "I think that is a good idea but there is no guarantee that Prussia wouldn't turn up either," he bit into his treat before adding, "But I'm sure that BE hasn't invited him this time."

They walked through the market for a bit when Wilfred wistfully smiled, "I haven't been in the British Isles in such a long time and I kind of miss it. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret leaving the British drama back there, but I haven't seen my twin sister for 7 months now, so it would be nice to see her again."

Just as he finished, a falcon dove towards him and landed on his head, initially he was surprised but the feeling quickly turned to annoyance. "I swear," he grumbled, "if Royal teaches another bird to land on my head I'll- oh."

He quickly stopped when he saw the large feather attached to the falcon's leg, and taking it off the bird, he held it up in the sunlight. "Is it enough proof for you?"

M:   Mandara was utterly frozen, and not from the winter air either. He gingerly took the feather in his hand and gently felt its softness, a softness he hadn't felt in years.

The young country subsided into relieved sobs, bringing the feather to his face as he chuckled while crying.

"You're alive," he whispered to the feather, "I can't believe you're alive, I miss you so much, Father."

He then suddenly hugged Wil tightly, "Thank you, thank you so much, you've made me the happiest country on the planet. I've got to show Derogan this, I got to go tell him, thank you Wil, thank you!"

With that, he tucked the feather into his letter bag and took off for Derogan, to so him the best news of the century.

N:   Wilfred watched Mandara fly off with a smile, and the moment he was out of sight, he raised his arm and whistled, "Now get off my head," to which the falcon did. The Brit winced when the bird dug his talons into his arm, but he said nothing as he walked back to the Ottoman's household.

Once he had arrived there, he noticed the note tied to the falcon's leg, so he went inside and allowed the bird to hop onto a table as he removed it. He opened up the paper and smirked, instantly recognizing the handwriting, so he flipped it over and wrote a message before tying it back to the falcon.

"Take it back home, will you," the Brit muttered as he smoothed down the falcon's feathers, and soon the bird was off.

M:   "Eh hem," a voice called from behind Wil, which belonged to Greece, "Wilfred, what did I tell you about sending unauthorized messages."

He whistled loudly and the falcon flew back into the room and landed on the winged country's arm, where he removed the letter.

"I am giving you two seconds to tell me what is on this letter before I burn it," he threatened, "I will not tolerate British scum sending secret messages to your sorry excuse of an empire, not after what he did to my navy in the Mediterranean!"

N:   "If you're so worried about me 'sending secret messages'," Wilfred smirked, "don't be afraid and open the note up. If you have an issue with the military actions of the British Empire, I am sorry but that is not within my jurisdiction. What I do is go to different kingdoms and countries on behalf of BE since he cannot be in two places at once."

The Brit walked over to Greece, taking a sip from his coffee, and continued, "You may find that the note was sent to me directly from my sister. She asked if, firstly, have I found Mandoria's children since he was wondering where they were and if they were alive, and secondly, to come to the British Isles since I haven't seen her for a long time. All I answered was that I found them and that she better not have a surprise for me."

M:   Greece glared at Wil, he didn't trust the country one bit but he could tell from his heartbeat that he wasn't lying.

"You're lucky your heart does not betray you, Wilfred," he grunted, "in more ways than one. I can feel you are telling the truth so I have no need to open the letter."

With that, he reattach the letter to the falcon and sent him on his way.

"The sooner you are out of my feathers, the sooner I can have a decent night's sleep," he groaned, rubbing his darkened eyes, "and when you do, tell BE to get the hell out of my ocean, he's blocked off my main trade route and I will not put up with it any longer. I will repeat myself only once, tell BE to leave, or it won't only be Prussia he has to worry about it, understand!"

N:   "I will relay your message to BE," Wilfred answered, looking down at his mug as he swirled its contents, "but bear in mind that it depends if he wants to or not. In reality, you don't really have the bargaining power to order him to do anything, and if you so much as associate with Prussia, I doubt he would treat you any nicer. Is that understood, Ottoman Greece?"

M:   "Don't speak to me like that, Runt," Greece growled, "you're just a lowly emerged entity, nothing more than a servant to the real countryhumans, remember your place and watch your fucking tone around me, British trash."

OG stomped out of the room and away from the conversation, and no sooner than he did a tisk sounded from a doorway on the other side of the room.

"Geeze, and I thought my father was a dick," Deutsche sighed, then walked up to Wil and pat his shoulder reassuringly, "Don't take what he said to heart, he's stressed with his trading issues with Egypt, he doesn't mean any of that."

N:   "Don't worry about it," Wilfred shrugged, "it's not the first time someone has spoken to me this way. BE isn't the most loved person so I'm used to it, being his representative, but the emergence stuff," he shook his head, "that has been going on for much longer."

The Brit gulped down the rest of his coffee before asking, "Derogan is in law enforcement and Mandara does deliveries; what do you do?"

M:   "I work in a small clinic a couple of blocks away," Deutsche responded, "we're closed at the moment because of a recent rat infestation, and you can't really have that around patients, you know."

He shifted the papers he was holding, "In my free time I like to help Greece with his duties, I may be a fugitive but I still plan on taking the crown away from my father someday, so it's good to keep learning how to run a country."

He put the papers down on the counter, then asked, "Mandara and Derogan have been talking about possibly moving to the British Isles if their family is alive, but I don't know if I should follow, why would BE give sanctuary to the son of his rival after all. What should I do, we've become like brothers over the years and I don't want to lose the only family I've ever had."

N:   "I doubt that he would deny you to stay," Wilfred admitted, "although you may be a rival to him, you did go against your own father, showing that you're nothing like him. Plus," he patted Deutsche's shoulder, "we wouldn't want you to be separated from your new family.

What the Brit didn't say was that BE would want to form a good relationship with the German, so that they would remain allies in the future and maybe have a hold on a part of mainland Europe.

"Anyways," the Brit smiled, "with the hope that you will take the German throne, how are you managing Greece's royal duties? If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask me; I have had experience assisting BE, and with his large empire that is a decent amount of experience." He looked around before whispering, "But obviously don't tell Greece or he'll have my head."

M:   Deutsche chuckled, "Not like it would be the first time I've gone behind his back, you would not believe how many laws I've been able to sneak under his nose, I actually have a secret deal with French Empire to help us with the Mediterranean problem, Greece is just too focused on Eygpt to realize they've almost been driven out."

He picked up the papers again, "But on that note, I do have to get back to work, see ya around."