M:   Esha was concerned too, but she figured that England was just in shock from nearly two weeks of captivity, "he's right, let's go home."

They went back to the stables and saddled up, England taking Chrysalis's horse, but before they headed off Esha knew something that would make England feel much better.

"You missed quite a lot, England, especially with Edel," she smiled, "he and Sleipnir mated and they're having whelps, actually, if we hurry we may just make it to see them be born."

N:   England weakly smiled, "Yeah, let's go and do that," following the rest out back towards the compound, not saying a single word the entire way.

When they arrived, the sun had set a long time ago, and it was very dark when they dismounted at the stables. Scotland was the first person to meet them, and when he saw England, he stood there for a moment before giving him the biggest hug.

"Thank goodness you're safe," the Scot smiled, "you had us worry for a while now." After a moment, he took a step back and whacked him upside the head, "You have some apologizing to do, and you running away from your problems didn't help."

"Scotty, don't be too harsh on him," Celtica spoke as she walked in, "he just came back from captivity."

"I need to get a point across," he answered, "while he isn't his stubborn self." He turned back to his husband and continued, "The moment you see Wales, you better apologize properly."

The Englishman only nodded but soon walked right past him, heading inside.

M:   Esha caught up to him and made sure to lead him to the dining hall, she suspected that most everyone would be there for the new arrivals, though she was gentle since she could tell that England's mind was not very stable at the moment.

When they walked closer they could hear lots of noises coming from the room, indicating that they were just in time, so Esha pulled on England slightly to get him to hurry. When they entered the dining room, everyone was standing at a distance to watch what was happening, while Ludwick, Johann, Wales, and of course Sleipnir, were with Edel to help him through it.

"You're back," Ludwick called when they came near, "and you're just in time, the first baby is about to come."

Edel let out a loud roar as he said that, but when he saw England he purred and reached over to nuzzle him.

N:    England gently hugged Edel, stroking him to comfort him, "you're doing great, big guy," he whispered, "stay strong and don't give up."

The rest of the group arrived, except Anglo and Saxon as the latter started to complain about feeling really warm, and they stood aside, waiting for the birth of the babies.

M:   Edel purred at England's comfort and let him sit by his head as he continued to strain. He pushed for another minute or so until the first little head appeared, Ludwick grabbed for a towel and caught the newborn, handing it to Johann to start cleaning it up.

It was a small little guy that looked almost identical to Edel, except it had four front paws and two hind hooves, as well as a tiny horse tail.

"That's one little guy," Ludwick announced, smiling as it started squeaking to life, "and it's a boy too."

N:   Johann made sure that the child was properly cleaned, holding him in his arms while he also made sure that he didn't drop him from his thrashing and squealing.

"Don't drop the baby," Heinrich warned.

"What do you think I'm doing," the Mandorian grumbled as he worked away, "I mean, the baby was literally born right now."

"We can't keep calling him 'the baby'," Erna spoke, "why don't we give him a name?"

"Whether he has a name or not," Wolfgang shrugged, "this kid got some fight in him," to which the other two Saxons snickered as they watched the Mandorian do his best to hold the baby securely.

After a moment, Johann smiled, "Why not Byron? He looks like Edel, so it makes sense that he also would have a name with Germanic roots, and well," he looked down at the child's face, "he's cute."

"'Bear'," Heinrich translated, humming approvingly, "that could fit." However, he was cut short when Erna quickly drew his attention to Edel.

M:  Edel tried to see his new baby but he was preoccupied with the second one on the way, which was much harder to deliver as his energy was draining.

"Come on buddy, you're doing great," Ludwick reassured the dragon, "you can do it, just two more babies to go, you got it."

Sleipnir did his best to comfort Edel, licking him and nickering softly, which helped a lot. The dragon strained one more time and the second whelp fell into Ludwick's waiting arms, who carefully handed it to Wales.

This one was slightly smaller than the first and was blue in color like its dad, it had only four legs but two had paws and two had hooves. It didn't squirm as much as its brother but still had quite the pair of lungs.

At this point Edel was too exhausted to keep pushing, he went limp in England's arms and tried to rest.

"No no, don't give up, you still have one more in there," Ludwick exclaimed, "come on, you can do it, keep pushing."

Edel wouldn't respond to the vet, so he went into his bag and pulled out a needle and some medicine to give him a boost, then turned to the others, "Does anyone here have any experience in childbirth, we may need to pull the last one out or it will suffocate."

N:   Maria nudged Eva, and the two glanced at each other, immediately understanding each other, so the latter began to roll her sleeves and tying up her hair.

"Wait, do you know what to do," Leon asked, "Edel isn't exactly a human."

"A mother is a mother," she replied before walking past, "no matter the creature." Walking up to the dragon, she knelt next to Ludwick, "England, make sure that he is comfortable, and that he breathes and pushes with the contractions."

The Englishman nodded and tried to keep Edel awake, to which Eva turned to the vet, "I have some experience, but you're the expert. How are we exactly pulling the last one out?"

M:   "First you need to make sure they are in the right position, which with any creature is head and front legs facing forward," Ludwick said as he put on some shoulder-length gloves, "I've done plenty of births on large farm animals like cows and horses, you need a lot of strength to be able to pull out a baby, but since Edel's are quite small it might not be as hard."

The vet reached in to make sure the last one was in the right position, as well as make sure it was still alive, his face seemed to fall for a second but he shook it off. He asked Maria to hand him a chain out of his bag, then reached back in and looped it around the baby's legs.

"Alright, we got to hurry, I don't think it has much longer," he said, "Eva, help me pull, and Maria, as soon as the baby comes out I want you to make sure its airway is clear before we get it clean."

With that, Ludwick and Eva started pulling on the chain, earning painful noises from Edel. It still took a while since the dragon wasn't pushing anymore and was too burnt out to help, but soon, a little purple head and legs finally appeared, along with the rest of the body, but it didn't seem to be breathing.

N:   Maria panicked a bit, seeing that the baby wasn't breathing, so she tried her best to clear out its nostrils, cleaning out the mucus as well as supporting its head.

"Stimulate it to breathe," Eva spoke, seeing how the other was struggling, "try rubbing its back and clear everything out. Can someone quickly get some straw?"

"On it," Royal nodded, rushing out, and while she was gone Maria rubbed the baby's back, her heart sinking further that it didn't start breathing yet. The hybrid was gone for only thirty seconds, although it felt like an eternity as everyone watched if it was going to survive.

The moment the Brit arrived with straw from the stables, Eva got up and grabbed it off her, rushing over to Maria and sat next to her. With the straw, she gently entered it into the baby's nostril, not too deep, and carefully spun it around, tickling the inside of the nostril.

Another minute went by, and nothing happened, Maria looked up at Eva, worry written all over her face, but the other was determined to resuscitate the baby. She kept on going when finally the baby snorted, reacting to the tickles, and panted rapidly before resting at a normal level of breathing.

Maria sighed in relief, patting Eva's back with a smile before thoroughly cleaning the baby, while Eva let out a sigh, not realizing that she held her breath the entire time.

M:   Everyone else let out the breaths they were holding too, relieved to see the baby breathing and alive, though instead of squealing like its siblings it was hacking out the remaining mucus in its lungs.

Ludwick made sure that Edel was ok and cleaned up, while the dragon's motherly instincts kicked in and he was licking his babies clean.

"Congratulations, two boys and a girl," the vet sighed in relief, "there should be someone on watch for the next few days to make sure they don't go downhill, as the first days are the most dangerous for any newborn."

As he said that, the little girl finally started squealing, she wasn't as loud as her brothers though, but it made Ludwick smile knowing that she was going to be alright. Once the babies were all clean and given back to Edel, the others came a bit closer to see the happy family snuggled up together.

"Hey England, how does it feel to not be an only child anymore," Rowen joked, patting the country's shoulder.

N:   "Now it seems that I have competition," England joked along, "but honestly, if you were to ask Fa, I doubt he saw me as the only child by how Faeder acted."

When he looked around, he realized that his fathers were not there, so he got up and excused himself from the room; although, while he did, he asked if Wales could accompany him. Ireland glared at the Englishman; however, the Welshman looked at his father, and seeing there was no harm in it, went up beside him and left the room.

M:   "Don't take too long, we still got to name the other two," Esha called after them.

After they left, a few of the others started to leave as well so they could give Edel and his family some privacy, though others like Johann and Esha stayed to watch over them. Ludwick was packing up his supplies and getting ready to leave, gently petting Edel in congrats.

"You can come by anytime you like," Esha said to him, "even if there's nothing wrong I'm sure no one would mind you visiting."

"Thank you, that's very much appreciated," Ludwick smiled, "I definitely want to be able to watch these little ones grow up, I consider myself very lucky to have been a part of this."

N:   "We all are," Johann smiled, "but you definitely deserve it. Danke, for helping Edel to deliver the babies

After a short exchange, they bid Ludwick good night and watched him leave before turning their attention to the three babies, watching over them and making sure that they are well. A couple of hours later, England entered the room, although Wales wasn't with him, and he came and sat next to Edel.

When Johann asked what happened, he sighed, "I apologized to Wales and I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to do, so he asked me to tell him of everything I had done to his people. It was ... hard to retell everything, especially in front of him, but I knew he deserved to know, so I told him. After that, he had me promise him to not lie about his past again, and he said that he wouldn't forgive me for what I had done, but the promise was enough for him."

The country smoothed down Edel's fur before continuing, "Then I went to find my fathers, and apparently Faeder had developed a bad fever, so I'm planning to check on him after seeing Edel." He smiled at the three babies, nesting with their parents, and his eyes laid on the blue one, "he looks like a Quinn."

"How exactly does he look like a Quinn," Johann asked.

"He just does," the country shrugged, so he turned his attention to the youngest baby, "I'm not sure about her, but it's a miracle that she survived."

"Mira," the Mandorian blurted out, "she should be called Mira, since she's the miracle child."

M:   Esha chuckled at the two, they sure were cute when they didn't realize it, but she wasn't going to say anything. She tried to reach out to pet Mira but earned a warning growl from her mother hen.

"Sorry Edel, I guess it's still too early, but it's good that you're protective," she stated, "you don't be afraid to tell anyone what they can and can't do, we'll understand."

Edel rumbled in approval and went back to sleep, then Esha said to England, "Hey, if Saxon starts getting worse then let me know, Suebi could have infected or poisoned the blade without us knowing, ok."

N:   England looked up at Esha before staring at the ground, "yeah, let's hope that you can help," he muttered quietly. After a couple of minutes, he asked, "Where is Ora, and how is she?"

"She's still in the infirmary, in the corner which now looks like a small soft den," Johann answered, "and she isn't doing well, being trapped in the living world and such."

The country hummed before getting up on his feet, leaving again towards the infirmary, and when the Mandorian asked where he was going, he smiled, "I'm going to set her free," before wordlessly leaving the dining hall.

M:   Esha was pretty confused about what he just said, so she stood up and followed him. When she found him in the infirmary, she was surprised to see that Prudoria was in the corner with Ora, letting her rest on his lap and softly petting her.

"England, what are you doing," the eternal asked, "please tell me you didn't do something stupid while Suebi had you."

N:   Anglo was in the room, sitting beside Saxon's bed, who looked terrible compared to a couple of hours ago, and he raised a brow, "what is he doing? England, what are you doing?"

England didn't answer as he went over to Ora, doing a quick double-take at Prudoria before ignoring his presence. Petting her to show that he was there, he began to search for the brand, and after a minute he found the double axes. Taking in a deep breath, he tapped it, and as soon as he did, the mark began to disappear until it was completely gone.

"There," he whispered, smiling as he placed his head on her forehead, "You're free now, Lady Ora. You can go back to your home and heal."

M:   The deity opened her eyes, they were very dull and didn't seem to hold any of the power she used to. She reached her head to England's forehead and touched it with her nose, leaving a glowing white star that slowly faded away, along with the goddess herself until neither remained.

The room was silent for a while, then Esha said, "I don't know how you freed her, but I think you just earned yourself the protection of a goddess. Whatever Suebi did to allow you to free her is most likely not going to reverberate onto you."

N:   "It's too late for that," England ruefully chuckled, "but I guess that when Prussia comes to attack, then I will be protected." The country then stood up and stretched, letting out a yawn, "I don't want to talk about this, alright? I just want to rest.

As he walked towards the door, he passed by Saxon, hesitating when he saw him, to which Anglo noticed this. "He's only getting worse," he reported, holding onto his husband's hand, "and the doctors don't know what happened."

"Yeah," England broke for a bit, confusing his father, "Umm, Esha, could you help him, please? It will only go downhill from here."

Saxon winced a bit, turning over to reveal the darker patch on his face, the clearly defined mark of where Suebi cut him as visible as day, to which England looked away and walked away.

M:   "England, get back here, you can't just leave after saying that," Esha called after him, "you have some explaining to do!"

When she got no response she just sighed irritability and turned her attention to Saxon. First, she used her dagger to open the wound back up so she could work on it better, muttering an apology as she did. She wiped the blood with a tissue, then cast a spell to see what was infecting it.

"It looks like it's a mixture of snake venom and various toxic plants," she deduced, "it's not Askad's venom but it does look like it came from some species of rattlesnake, but since there are plant toxins tainting it we don't need an anti-venom, just some powerful antitoxins and to clean the wound daily."

With that said, she took out her herbs and whipped up a concoction that would purge the toxins, both in oral and topical form. She mixed some into a water cup for Saxon to drink, then rubbed a bit of it into the wound.

"I hate to say that you're going to have a pretty rough night Saxon," she apologized, "the only proper way to get rid of toxins is to expel them from the body, so definitely keep a bucket next to you, you're going to need it."

N:   Saxon groaned when he had to sit up to drink, keeping the eye that was on the infected side closed as he unsteadily held his cup before downing the whole thing. Anglo rubbed his back, comforting him and assisting the entity back into bed, in his eyes a mixture of sadness and worry, but also a hint of anger.

"Thank you, Esha, for doing this," the winged country thanked, "and thank you for coming along today. You didn't have to come along to get my son, but you did, and it is nice to see someone who would go out of their way to help a friend. I am honored to be yours."

M:   Esha simply smiled, "Don't mention it, you all would have done it for me, honestly the honor is mine, I can truly say that you guys saved me in more ways than one when we first met."

She looked back to where England left, "I'm still worried about England, of what happened while he was gone, of what he meant by it was too late. We now know that Suebi can talk to ghosts since he said that it was Chrysalis's sister that told him where England was, what else can he do?"

She walked over to Prudoria and helped him back into bed, petting Aslan on the way, "Johann and I are planning to stay with Edel tonight, if you need anything else I'll be there, good night everyone." And with that, she left the infirmary.

N:   The night went smoothly, except for Anglo who barely got enough sleep, helping Saxon who kept on throwing up throughout the night, and when the sun finally rose, the winged country was able to get a grand total of three hours of sleep.

Looking outside, watching the sun as it shone in the sky, he was able to get the entity to sleep, he climbed onto a bed beside him and dozed off. However, it was soon interrupted when Scotland stormed into the room, dragging England with him, both of them still in their pajamas.

"Anglo is your son mentally alright," he snapped, waking the Englishman up.

"Scotty," he groaned, "could we talk about this later?"

"What did he do last night?"

Anglo gave up trying to sleep and pointed in the general direction where Ora used to rest, "he went over to Ora and was able to free her, so she gave him his blessing and left. What are you asking for?"

"Because it seems like this idiot left something out," the Scot growled, staring at England, who only stood there quietly, "now has a fucking huge mark on him."

Now the winged country was alert, looking at his son for an explanation, so the Englishman sighed and walked over to his father, sitting in front of him so the older country could see for himself. Lifting up his shirt, Anglo's eyes widened when he saw that what Scotland said was true. A large double-crossed axes brand covered his back, right from his shoulders to his waist, and it was still slightly red in some parts.

"Fauntkin," Anglo muttered, still staring at the brand, "what is the meaning of this?"

England lowered his head, "someone had to do it, for Ora's sake."

M:   Prudoria jolted awake when Scotland barged in, and he watched as he and Anglo talked with England.

He stood and walked over to see what was happening, and when he saw the brand mark hummed, "Oh, I know how to get rid of that, Prussia gave me one like that but Aslan helped me get rid of it."

He whistled for his companion, then searched around for something. When Aslan woke up and Prudoria explained what happened, the manticore knew what to do.

He walked over to England's back and very carefully drew an X on the brand with his tail, being careful not to puncture the skin but letting his venom ooze out. Prudoria then spat on his hand and placed it right in the middle of the X, closing his eyes and concentrating. After a moment the brand started to glow white, then Prudoria slowly retracted his hand, a ball of pure magic followed as the brand disappeared.

"There, all better," he said innocently, looking at England's plain back while he held the magic ball, "now whoever put that on you can't control you anymore," he walked over to the jar he retrieved and put the magic in it, "I'll give this to an eternal, they'll know what to do with it."

N:   The countries present were all shocked by what Prudoria did, not knowing that a country, assuming that he's relatively young, could wield such magic, and Anglo made a mental note to ask the Eternals if it was possible.

"That ... thing," England spoke after recovering from his shock, "isn't necessary to control me, although that was its secondary purpose, but it was an anchor. It anchored Suebi to this world since apparently he hasn't fully been resurrected, unlike Mandoria, so he needs a being from the living world to anchor to live. He used Ora to cross the boundary, then he used me."

"So what happens now that it's not bound to you," Scotland asked.

"I don't know," the other shrugged, "Suebi dies? But whatever the case, keep an eye on that."

M:   Prudoria hummed again, looking at the magic in the jar in a different light, "So this magic is keeping him alive, kind of like me."

He set the jar on his bedside table and got back into bed, not really knowing what else to do since he hasn't been outside of the infirmary yet.

Esha then popped in, unaware of what just happened, "Hey Anglo, how's Saxon doing, I guess neither of you got much sleep, huh."

N:   "Nope," Anglo answered as he let himself fall back into his bed, "now, if you people want to continue to disrupt my sleep, please don't. Also, don't wake me up for the next eight hours; I need my beauty sleep."

England smiled as he got off the bed, "sure. Let's leave the man alone, besides I would like to see the babies anyway."

"Before you go, Esha," the winged country called out, "how long does it take to typically perform a healing spell? Just asking."

M:   "Depends on the severity of the wound," Esha shrugged, "Saxon's would have been immediately but since we have to deal with the infection it will take about a week, on the bright side, he won't have to throw up anymore."

With that, she led England to the dining room to see the babies.

N:   While England went with Esha, Scotland opted out, preferring to be properly changed, and refused to stay in his pajamas for a minute longer, so the Englishman waved him goodbye. When they arrived, they saw Johann, who was still lying down on the ground, looking up at the group and bringing his finger to his lips. "They're sleeping," he whispered, turning his attention to the family in front of him, "but those three look so cute when they sleep."

"Because they are infants," England spoke in a hushed tone, "they always do." He sat next to the Mandorian, and when Esha was next to him, he asked, "What will happen now between you and Sleipnir, since now he's settled down?"

M:   "Probably not much, it's winter so it's not like they're going outside any time soon," Esha shrugged, petting the Sigven, "it's just like how nothing will change between you two and Edel, all that is changing is three new additions to the family."

As she finished one of the babies made a sniffing noise, then Quinn raised his head up when he sensed an audience. His eyes weren't open yet, but he could smell everyone and tried to belly crawl toward England to investigate.

N:   England saw as Quinn crawled over to him, so he shuffled forward to save the baby from moving too much, and he let the baby rest his head on his lap. The country smiled as he petted his head, making small hushing sounds to make the baby go back to sleep.

"Sometimes I forget that he's an actual father," Johann whispered to Esha, although the Englishman clearly heard him but did nothing.

M:   "Yeah, me too," Esha agreed, "but he is a pretty good one when he wants to be."

Quinn was squeaking like a newborn puppy, clumsily crawling on England to gather all his scents, Edel watching the two very closely. Once the little one discovered that England's body heat was quite warm he clambered into his shirt to steal more of it, his little nose poking out of the neckline to tickle the country's chin.

"Aww, you two are so cute," Esha declared, "I'm going to die of cuteness overload, please have mercy, I beg of you."

N:   "No I will not," England smirked before asking Johann for a cushion, and when the Mandorian did give him one, he slowly leaned back until he was lying on the floor, using the cushion to support his head.

"Now you, mister, are going to go back to sleep," the country smiled as he bopped Quinn's muzzle that was just poking out, "even if it means falling asleep on me, I don't care. Hopefully, you'll be the one who gives your parents some rest."

M:   Quinn protested a little, he was now stuck with England using his legs to block him from backing up, but after a while, the warmth was too comfortable for the little tyke, and slowly relaxed, his one front paw kneading in contentment until he fell back asleep.

Esha was secretly casting a video-recording spell of England so she could show his parents later, and maybe rub it in BE's face that his father liked the babies more than him. Edel on his end was alright with the country putting his new son to sleep, moving his tail to gently rest on England's feet to say that he trusts him with the newborns.

N:   England nodded, understanding what Edel meant, before closing his eyes as he slowly rubbed Quinn's back.

Seeing this, Johann saw it as his air to leave, and when he got up, he spoke, "Hey, Esha, since this day looks relatively free, do you want to check out the town?"

M:   "Mmm, I don't know, I've been there before in disguise," Esha said, "when I was living by myself I would pretend to be a wandering hunter and sell some of my game so I could buy supplies I couldn't get naturally. I don't know if I want to be around that many people."

She thought about it for a minute, then sighed and stood up, "What the heck, I might as well get used to being in public since I don't have to hide anymore, but I'm still bringing my mask, I'm not bold enough to show off my scar, I'll go get it and meet you at the stables."

When she said stable's Sleipnir perked up, he nickered to Edel like he was asking permission to go with Esha, to which the dragon rumbled quietly, Sleip getting up and following after Esha soon after.

N:   Waiting at the stables, Johann was ready, already had Comet saddled, and was mounted. When he finally saw them he smiled, "Looks like the father is joining us."

Comet nickered, still annoyed that Sleipnir is faster than him, but the Mandorian patted his head before continuing, "There's this really good tavern in town, and we should definitely check it out, and probably notify them that Odrus isn't available too."

When they journeyed, they made sure to not be too long outside since the winter breeze was making the air feel like ice, but when they finally arrived, they beelined their way to The Unicorn.

Johann was about to open the door when Maisie opened it for him, looking up at him with a slight frown. "Please tell me that you are going to deal with Ricky, because whenever he comes in, my brother just goes to talk to him."

The Mandorian raised a brow in confusion, and leaning into the room, there he saw his friend Heinrich talking to Callum in the back, and when he glanced back at the young girl, who for a moment had a smug smile before reverting to her previous expression when she realized she was watched.

The young Scot then looked at the both of them, and seeing that Esha and Johann were together, she asked, "Wait, are you two together? Like together together?"

M:   Esha's gaze dropped, she wasn't sure how this little girl knew her, let alone recognized her with her deer skull on, but what she said hit her in a sensitive spot.

"N-no, we're not together, just friends," she said, her voice cracking, "I had eyes for someone else, b-but he passed on b-before I could even tell him how I felt."

She reached under her mask and wiped away her tears, muttering, "Maybe this wasn't a good idea, w-we should just go back home."

N:   "Wait no," Maisie yelped as she rushed forward and hugged Esha, although it was only around her legs because of her height, "I'm sorry I said that; I didn't mean to hurt you. Please, don't go."

"I don't think she can if you're holding her like that," Johann sighed as he held his head. This was not what he expected his visit would be.

"I understand what you mean," she continued, "my brothers would say that Papa- that Papa's 'dead to us'. I don't know what they mean, but I don't know much about him. But, sometimes I'm confused because Wyatt would call him a dickhead-"

"Maisie, language," Wyatt shouted, annoyed that she swore, "I apologize if she may have offended you. Please, come in so you don't freeze yourself to death outside."

M:   Esha was a little stunned at being hugged by a human kid, it wasn't much different than being hugged by Sofia but it still surprised her for a moment.

Not really sure what to do, she followed Johann over to Heinrich's table, silently glad that she now had two people near her that she was comfortable around. She instinctively reached to take off her mask but hesitated, she didn't want to be rude but wasn't comfortable showing her face, ultimately deciding to leave it on for now.

N:   When Heinrich and Callum saw them approaching, they immediately stopped their conversation, waiting for the pair to sit down. "I would stand up and greet you," the latter spoke, then he patted his limp leg, "but I guess I can't. Welcome to The Unicorn, and I am assuming that you are also one of Ricky's friends-"

"Callum, get your lazy arse over here and be at the bar," Wyatt called out from the other side of the room.

"It will take me years to reach there with this stupid leg," the brother called back.

"I don't care. Get over here!"

The Scot grumbled a couple of unintelligible words before pushing himself up with his crutch, wheezing a bit since his leg still hurts from when he dropped on the floor a couple of days ago. "Cool mask by the way," he added before turning to Heinz, "hey Ricky, we'll continue talking after, right?"

The Saxon quietly nodded, so the Scot waved goodbye before limping off towards the bar, and whine he did, Maisie sat right where her brother was.

"Ricky, huh," Johann smirked as he nudged Heinrich playfully, "well isn't that a cute nickname."

"Don't you dare mention this outside this tavern," the other grumbled as he took a sip of his coffee, "and don't you use it."

"My brother calls him that whenever they are talking," Maisie informed them, "and usually when he is asking where Ricky is."

M:   Esha simply chuckled, she thought it was funny but it left a prick in her heart, she remembered how Arthur learned of Neflen's nickname for her and started using it. She shook her head to stop her train of thought, she didn't want to ruin her first time in public with upsetting thoughts.

"I think I need to numb my brain a little bit if I'm going to make it with all these love birds flying around," she declared, "can you tell your brother to get me something strong please, just nothing fruity, I hate fruity alcohol."

N:   Maisie nodded and headed straight over to the bar, and once she was gone Johann turned to Heinrich with a smile. "So ... Callum, huh? Well, he is a nice guy-"

"Bitte, Jo, stop talking about this here," Heinrich interrupted, "this is not Mandoria, you cannot freely be yourself without being judged, and although BE has good intentions, I am yet to know of his people on how they treat such a ... bond."

The Mandorian frowned with concern, "ok, but have you at least told Maria?" The Saxon's glance away and silence was enough of an answer, so he leaned forward so the nearby tables couldn't hear them. "Of all people, your Mutter should be the one you tell so she could support you, and knowing her she probably already knows."

Heinrich only hummed in response as he watched Maisie come back with a tray, and placing it in front of Esha, and they could see that there were three shot glasses of a clear liquid. "Brother said that this is vodka, the strongest thing we have," she spoke, "he said that when he saw that Odrus has a high tolerance, he thought that you would have a high tolerance too, but be careful, it is a lot."

M:   "Thanks, sweetie," Esha smiled, "tell your brother I said thanks too."

When the child left she popped the jaw bone off of her mask and set it aside, that way she could drink and eat without taking it off. She sniffed the alcohol for a second and took a small tester sip, humming in satisfaction before downing it.

"It tastes a little like Basilisk Venom, an old drink we had back in the empire," she commented, "it wasn't actually made with venom, I don't remember what the recipe was."

She turned to Heinrich, "So what's happening in your life, I haven't seen you around much, have you just been spending all your waking hours here flirting with your crush?"

N:   "Nien," Heinrich answered firmly, although his face did go slightly red, "I'm just trying to do the best for my Mutter. I don't know what to do in my life ever since moving here, and although she has gotten some money from working in the Royal compound, I want to do my part to support her. Since I can shoot, I get paid a decent amount for every pound of meat I provide to the local butchery, so that usually means that I am busy for most of the day."

"And then at night, he comes here," Maisie added, to which Heinrich frowned, "a couple of times a week and would chat with my brother, and sometimes with Odrus." Just as she said that, she tilted her head in confusion, "Do you know where Odrus is? He's nice when he's around and he's kind to help my brother because of his leg."

Johann pursed his lips before answering, "he's ... he hurt himself so he is taken care of at the compound."

The young girl's shoulders fell slightly before nodding, "ok, I hope he gets well soon and I can see him again."

Heinrich patted the young girl's shoulder reassuringly before turning to Esha, "So, what about you? What have you been doing?" He immediately realized what he said, regret flashing across his face before adding, "How are you coping?"