N: Royal had finally returned, having burnt Suebi's head and making sure every bit of him was gone, and she smelt of burnt flesh as she wandered into the compound, getting side eyes from the passing servants. When she stumbled across Prudoria, she smiled a bit.

"Sorry about the smell," she apologized, "but it's nice to see you walking around, although," she glanced at the manticore, "if you're planning to take him everywhere, just be aware that everyone is not used to him."

M: Prudoria jumped a little for Royal surprising him, but relaxed quickly and smiled back, "he's just for security, in case I run into BE and he tries to pick on me again.  He won't hurt anyone unless I tell him to, which I don't plan on it."

He pat Aslan's head and earned a few purrs, though when he sniffed at Royal he did recoil at her stench.

"You can say that again bud," the country agreed, holding his face where his nose should be, "have you been barbecuing, Royal, because you're not very good at it, you smell like the time Prussia got struck by lightning when he was flying in a rainstorm, except worse."

After a second to reorient himself from the odor, he gave his big cat a second look, then poked him on the nose, a golden glitter wave enveloped Aslan, and when it dispersed he looked like a regular lion.

"Is that better," he asked.

N: Royal gave an uneasy shrug, "Eh, you don't get lions in Britain, but it would do."

When a servant passed by and gave her a look of disgust, she answered Prudoria's question, "was burning Suebi's head, but half the time Wren was in control since she just wanted to see how it was like to 'barbecue' a countryhuman head, so it took longer than expected." She ruefully chuckled as she shook her head, "I swear, Wren is the embodiment of intrusive thoughts."

There was an awkward pause, and when Ireland came along, she was quick to leave the situation. "Hey, Ire," she called out, grabbing his attention, "could you give Prudoria a tour here?"

"Why are you asking me to do it," he answered with his arms crossed, "what's up with you Brits huh? Do it yourself."

"I'm English, which makes it even better, besides I need to clean up before I stink up the entire compound, so adios," and with that, she waved and walked away.

The Irishman sighed before glancing at the Prussian and the lion, humming as he did, "So, where do you want to go?"

M: Prudoria shrugged, "I don't know, I was just wandering around, didn't really have a set destination."

The Prussian looked around to decide where to go, he caught a glimpse of BE walking down one of the halls and hid behind a corner.  "Um, m-maybe someplace farther away from him," he whimpered, "I don't want to be caught in his territory, he might see it as a challenge."

N: "You? A challenge?" Ireland asked, raising a brow, "Not to be rude, but you're not exactly a challenge to his territory. He has, to be blunt, more important people to worry about, like the other empires and kingdoms, but you're still relatively young. A challenge to his territory, no, but a potential threat, well that's up to him."

The Irishman began to walk around, showing Prudoria the different parts of the compound, talking about the areas where he can visit and shouldn't enter. Eventually, Ireland showed the winged country the corridor with various offices from the residents, and noticing that Saxon's door was ajar, he decided to knock on it. Hearing that his grandfather was in, he opened the door to see the entity was reading a letter, so he asked what it was about.

"I just got another letter from Wil about the Mandara and Derogan situation," Saxon informed them before standing up and walking towards his map of Europe, "he said that he had to send it secretly because the damn Ottoman is onto him, and he wants to know if he can get the ok from BE. Although, I was surprised that Deutsche was there too, and he also wanted to know if BE was ok bringing him here if he wanted to."

The entity looked at Prudoria and did a quick once over, "Did Prussia tell you much about Mandoria's sons, or even his own?"

M: "Not really, his son a little bit but it was never anything good," Prudoria admitted, "he always complained about him not having wings, which is why he was so obsessed with mine."

He looked at the map on the wall, noticing all of the notes and strings tacked up on it, and when he noticed a few insurgent names on it he picked two off of it, Wald and Crysalis.

"I keep having dreams about these two," he commented, "I don't know if it's me connecting with Prussia or something, but I keep dreaming that he hurts them really badly because they won't submit to him.  I don't understand how Chrysalis keeps popping up since he's been here this whole time, but I'm scared that this Wald guy isn't going to make it much longer, they're very gory dreams."

N: Saxon glanced over to Prudoria before turning his attention back to the map. "Not to worry," he commented, "I got someone to go and get him from Prussia, and trust me, this person has escaped any prison trying to hold them, even to the point where it becomes trivial."

"What about the other insurgents," Ireland asked, "surely you care for their safety too?"

"I do," the entity nodded, "but from what Prudoria here has said, Wald is getting it worse, plus he helped the Mandorians and Saxons escape the Kingdom of Prussia, so it is the least I can do for him. As for Chrysalis," he paused for a bit to think, "I wouldn't put it past my Vater to hand him over to Prussia." The entity rubbed his face, trying to release any stress, and added, "I just need to do this one at a time, and it will be increasingly difficult as time goes on, but if Prussia does come to the Yule Ball, at least I will know that he isn't around my insurgents to free them."

M: "I hope he doesn't come, he'll probably try to take me back," Prudoria gulped, "I don't want to go back there, it was horrible."

"No one would want to go back there, and no one will," a voice said.  Esha was leaning against the doorway, as she was passing by and overheard the conversation. "We won't let anything happen to you, buddy, you're too precious to fall into the hands of that cunt, we'll protect you no matter what."

Prudoria smiled he felt more reassured now, he handed Saxon back the papers and said, "If I can remember anything else I'll let you know, and maybe figure out how to neutralize Aslan's venom so Prussia can't control them anymore."

N: "That would be very much appreciated, thank you," Saxon thanked before pinning the names back on the map, "now, I don't want to disturb whatever fun you were having."

"Don't worry, we're having a blast looking at British Imperialism," Ireland rolled his eyes before beckoning Prudoria, "You know what, Grandfather, there is someone you will need to worry about if they do come to the ball."

"And who would that be?"

"HRE."

The entity was in shock for a moment, and after they had left his office, they heard the entity cursing loudly behind them, making the Irishman chuckle a bit. "Just for some context," he explained, "the same way that my Father hates the Kingdom of France, Grandfather hates the Holy Roman Empire. I think it's a father and son thing: hating the French, or in HRE's case, french in origin."

The Irishman suddenly got an idea, so he turned to the two and asked, "I don't know if you have seen them, but if you're going to the ball, you should know who is who and not mix them up. Trust me, once you know their flags, it will be easy, and for that we better head to the library."

M: Esha and Prudoria exchanged questioning glances, but shrugged and followed after him.

"I remember Mandoria talking a little bit about this HRE person," Esha commented, "he said that he tried to challenge him for the King Wing once, and despite having four wings he still lost.  I was genuinely impressed that Mandoria won against someone who was clearly superior in the sky."

"Prussia beat Commonwealth, and he had four wings too," Prudoria pointed out, "maybe four wings are better at flying but not fighting."

"That actually makes sense, I doubt you can be very maneuverable with four wings, and that is the key to winning an aerial duel," the eternal said thoughtfully, "now I really wonder why they would challenge anyone to begin with if they were at such a disadvantage?"

N: "Power," Ireland suggested, "I am not well versed with the winged community, but to be able to rule over both your own country and other winged countries pledge their loyalty to you is a powerful position to have. Both HRE and Commonwealth, I believe, have larger lands than Mandoria, and for them, it wouldn't hurt to try to challenge him to have that power, and that power would also attract the likes of Prussia too."

Once they arrived at the library, he showed them to an upper floor of the library which included various paintings' including one which had various countries, empires, and kingdoms from mainly Europe, with various other countries from other continents. He immediately pointed out HRE, who towered over his peers, alongside Commonwealth, both of them having their wings tucked.

"Their four wings make them look majestic," the Irishman spoke, "but in different ways. Commonwealth's brighter wings make him almost angelic, but HRE's black wings make him almost sinister, but still holding that ethereal aura, especially since he never shows his face." He pointed at the said empire's face, with was covered with his flag from his hairline, and not a single feature of his face showing.

"He and Republic of Venice have an unusual bond. They are both different, and not in the sense of different animal features or being hybrids, but they are one of a kind, and they are yet to find someone like them. RoV is so far the only person who has seen HRE's face, and he refuses to describe how the empire looks."

The country then showed them the other families, starting with the Nordics, noting the hostility between the Swedes and the rest of them, down to the Benelux family, the Italians, and the Iberians, and last but not least, the French.

"This one," Ireland said, pointing at a man with a white flag with yellow fleur-de-lis, "is Kingdom of France, FE's father and the person Father hates. He can be annoying sometimes, and he makes sure to let people know how privileged he is, while his daughter, France," which when he pointed out had a blue flag with also yellow fleur-de-lis, "doesn't show off. If you had to avoid someone, it would be KoF, just so that you don't get the urge to slap him."

Ireland turned to face the pair, clasping his hands, "And that is just Europe, there are other kingdoms from other continents, but they don't exactly have the best relations with us here, and the people you see here may have changed their flag, like FE, and there are some here who have passed away. So, how much of that did you get?"

M: Esha put a thumbs up while Prudoria looked very confused, the former had to retell everything a bit slower for him to understand.  When the introductory lessons were out of the way, Esha shifted into a housecat-sized dragon and jumped on Aslan's back, nestling down in his mane for a quick nap, causing Prudoria to chuckle.

"All this exploring has gotten me hungry," he announced, "could the next stop be the dining room please."

N: "Sure, let's head over there right now," Ireland nodded, so the group headed out of the library and straight to the dining hall, and once they entered they were greeted by the rest of the Brits and Saxons, although some were notably absent.

BE watched as they entered the room, glancing between each of them, and when Ireland saw his brother scanning them, he steered Prudoria away from him to the other end of the table.

"Ignoring the prick of the room," the Irishman spoke, "choose any of the dishes on the table, and if you want more, just ask."

M: Prudoria couldn't help but snort at what Ireland said, it actually got him in a good mood and forget about his fear of BE.  He happily piled some food on a plate and dug in, almost forgetting that his boogieman was sitting on the other end of the table.

When Esha smelled food she awoke and unshifted, helping herself and dropping a few steaks on the floor for Aslan.

It was mostly quiet and peaceful, though Prudoria kept stealing glances at Alaric, seemingly interested in something.  Eventually, he spoke, "I'm sorry, you look very familiar, are you Prussian?"

N: "I'll let you off just this once, young man," Alaric grumbled, "but never call me Prussian. I am Saxon, and I will never be in league with those barbarians."

"Wait," Leon questioned, sitting opposite Alaric, "how come Prudoria found you familiar?"

The other shrugged, "I have been involved with the Prussians before the invasion when it came to land disputes, especially since my land was bordering Prussia, so I guess I would have been mentioned. Besides," he gave the Saxon a pointed look, "you know the other reason as to how I know Prussia."

Mr. Weismann solemnly nodded before tucking into his lunch. Alaric turned back to Prudoria and pointed out, "I don't know how you would think I'm familiar, but maybe you're more familiar with my son, since he was a knight in the Prussian Army."

M: Prudoria hummed at that, still trying to figure out how Alaric looked familiar but eventually conceded, "Yeah, it's probably nothing anyway, maybe I'm just mistaking you for someone else."

Aslan went over to inspect Alaric, and although there was a light growl that came from his throat, the manticore did nothing and went back to his spot next to Prudoria.  Just as he sat down though, another interruption came as something snatched food off of Scotland's plate.  A little pink blur then bolted back to the dragon nest as Byron brought back the sandwich he swiped.

"It's good to see the cubs developing well," Esha laughed, "it's natural for dragon whelps to be able to hunt at an early age, since dragon mothers are usually protecting their territories from male dragons, who would happily make a meal of a litter."

N: Scotland just stared at the empty space on his place where his sandwich used to be and muttered, "That was a nice sandwich."

"Don't worry about it," England chuckled as he patted his partner's back, "we'll get you another one."

"But make sure that it isn't on your plate, or Byron will steal it again," Ireland commented, getting another laugh out of the group.

However, one person wasn't laughing as he stared at his untouched plate, and eventually fed up with the happy atmosphere, Alaric stood up and excused himself before leaving the dining hall. This left both Leon and Eva worried, so the former decided to go after his friend.

"Today is just taking a toll on him," Eva briefly explained, "he was close friends with Maria, despite how they treated each other, and her passing hit him hard."

M: Esha nodded in understanding, "he probably dislikes the happy atmosphere too, a good woman is no longer with us, and yet we have the audacity to go on as if nothing had happened, I would be pretty upset too."

Prudoria didn't add anything, he had no concept of death yet, nor did he have enough experience with his peers to understand how they were feeling, so all he could do was remain silent.

Well, he could also notice Byron coming back for seconds while his siblings chowed down on the sandwich, so he called the whelp over and gave him the rest of his food.  He then looked up at the two parents, they were both asleep and not paying much attention to their kids, but he figured that was normal for first-time parents.

"How did you get a pet dragon anyway," he asked the others, "did you merge two creatures like how Aslan was created?"

N: "At this point, we might as well write an official notice on how Edel was 'born'," England chuckled before explaining, "Long story short, a statue of Empyr was brought to life by a crazy Mandorian citizen, and that became Edel."

"And to add on to that," Scotland spoke, "he's not a pet. We don't treat him as one, and he has his own life to live while being able to be a free dragon."

M: Prudoria nodded in understanding, "ok then, sorry for my misunderstanding, Prussia always said that-"

"I'm going to stop you right there, kid," Esha interrupted, "we've talked about this, you need to forget everything Prussia told you because it just isn't true."

"But you're wrong, there are a few things that he said correctly," the young country protested, "he said that people live by survival of the fittest and that's true, he also said that winged countries were superior to other races and that is kind of true too since the King Wing wing exists.  And he said that BE would step on anyone to get his way, he certainly steps on me a lot."

Esha was silent for a moment, then sipped her water as she said, "Alright, you got me there."

N: BE glanced over to Prudoria when his name was mentioned, and when the country made his points, he wondered about the points he made.

"Although what Prussia said may not be false, it doesn't mean that it's completely true either," the empire pointed out, "it is true that people live by survival of the fittest, but the best society is when that is put aside and people will help the weakest to bring up a stronger nation. If a King Wing is your proof of the superiority of winged countries, then it is weak proof. Saxon could then easily claim that his insurgents are superior as he is the leader of all of them, but what makes a race superior is when it leads the people despite being the minority, and as far as I know, the King Wing isn't the ruler of the entire world."

He swirled his glass as he thought about the last point, "As for if I step on anyone to get my way, that is true, but Prussia could easily point at any empire, even himself,  and say the same thing. It's a vague explanation of how leaders who want to direct their kingdom in a certain direction, and therefore void. Take everything Prussia said with a pinch of salt."

M: Prudoria was too shocked to respond, BE didn't glare at him, he didn't speak with disdain in his voice, he treated Prudoria like an equal rather than an enemy, it caught him off guard.

"I think you fried his brain there, BE," Esha chuckled, "you've been nothing but an ass to him this whole time, and now the one time you're nice he doesn't know how to respond."

Prudoria nodded, "Kind of, but um, thank you for the clarification, I guess."

N: "Don't bother," BE responded, "I never liked it when someone gives a false view of the world, because it leads people into wishful fantasies that would never be fulfilled, so I do my best to correct it. Although a black-and-white view of the world is a starting point, that is not how the world operates: is a greyscale."

"You know what, Albion," England smirked, "you should be nicer more often, it looks good on you."

"But that's not what people are used to," the empire countered, "and then they respond just like how Prudoria did, miserably."

"And you just had to ruin it with that last part," Ireland rolled his eyes, "have you always been this way?"

"Since you were born, yes," the empire answered, then he smirked a bit and added, "So it was my duty as the older brother to be an absolute dick to you."

"And for once I agree with you, brother."

M: "Now that is just plain bullshit," Esha remarked, "Johann's told me all about his brothers, the oldest one was anything but a dick.  I'm telling you, those three are better siblings than you Brits could ever be."

"How come," Prudoria asked, "Johann told me a little bit about his past but not a lot."

"I will give you one single example," she said, "one moment that shows that Derogan was more of a big brother than BE could ever be.   On that fateful day that Mandoria was defeated, Johann told me that Prussia was very inclined to kill Mandara and Derogan too since they were the next in line to the throne.  Derogan grabbed up his father's sword and fought against that bitch, a young man in his early thirties fought against someone who killed his 300,000-year-old father, just to protect his younger brothers."

She looked BE dead in the eyes, "Would you do that for your brothers, not just Wales, but Ireland too, since he's the only one you're a dick to."

N: BE stared back at her, a small glint in his eye as he grinned a bit, "If someone were to lay a single finger on either of my brothers, I will bring hell on Earth. No one hurts my family and gets away with it, and the both of them weren't there to see how this family suffered during the civil war, and it stays that fucking way."

Ireland sat there in shock, seeing his brother in a new light, so he began, "So, if Prussia were to come after us-"

"Then I will blow his fucking brains out," the empire answered, so he turned to Esha, "Don't take me as someone who will neglect his family because despite how I act, I hold this family in the highest regard."

He let it hang in the air before standing up to leave, to which Ireland called out, "So why were you never nice?"

The empire stood in his tracks, and took a moment before facing his brother, "because the last time I was nice had left me suffering from torture that felt like an eternity. Now it is hard to dissociate being nice from betrayal, and I swore never to feel that pain again. Now, excuse me while I go and make sure that the preparations are up to speed," and with that, he marched out and was gone.

M: Esha watched him leave, a proud yet smug smile on her face, "I see the discreet method is working.  I knew very well that would be his answer, but he needed to say it in front of his family for once, now we're making progress."

The Eternal summoned a notebook and wrote something down, when Prudoria inquired about it she explained, "The British family has major relationship issues, at first I tried the head-on approach and it didn't work out, so now I'm trying a more discreet, psychological method.  Which on that note, Ireland, how does this new information make you feel about your brother?"

N: Ireland blinked in confusion, trying to think of when she started this approach "I mean, I'm still annoyed with how he treated me," he answered, "but just less, I guess."

"If you can somehow solve our family relations, there is no reward large enough to award such a feat," Scotland spoke, "seriously, Òrail, good luck."

M: Esha shrugged with a smile, "It seems that it's working so far, and besides, when someone's life is on the line, like PE's brother, saving that life is all the reward I need."

With that, Esha took her notes and excused herself from the table, wanting to check on Sabeth to make sure he didn't freak out again.  Prudoria stayed but it wasn't long before he was yawning and leaning against Ireland tiredly, moving so much in a week in a half of sitting in bed took its toll on him after all.

N: Ireland smiled softly as he patted Prudoria's back, letting him nod off on his shoulder, and eventually he asked Aslan to help him carry the young country back to the infirmary, so that he could properly sleep.

Once they had arrived, he immediately registered the somber atmosphere, so the Irishman silently returned Prudoria, tucking him into bed before jokingly wishing the country good night.

M: Although it was somber, the only people awake were Sabeth and Esha, Askad ended up falling asleep with his children, he definitely unofficially adopted Heinrich, and Odrus still hadn't woken up from when BE was bitten by Sofia.

"Pruds really likes you, you know," Esha whispered to the Brit, "when you were comforting him with Mandoria, he said no one ever did that before, you made him feel safe and wanted.  Prudoria may be Mandorian and Prussian by blood, but I think that you and Anglo really are like older brother and grandfather to him, and maybe I'm overstepping, but I think that BE being an ass has caused you to be softer and more caring."

N: Ireland smiled a bit at the suggestion, "Well, some had to eventually." He chuckled as he entertained the thought even further, "And it is weird being seen as the older brother, having that sort of responsibility. I do take care of my brothers, but this is different, like I can actually help."

M: "Yeah, I guess it feels nice to be appreciated," Esha agreed, "and I have a feeling that when BE and England see how much of a difference you're making in someone's life, they might just start to realize just how wrong they were about you.  But don't start using Prudoria for your own gain, putting him and others before yourself is more important."

She glanced over at Askad and smiled, "Yeah, it's pretty clear how much you can do for someone just by being there for them, and the appreciation of a few very special people is worth far more than the scrutiny of a thousand strangers, remember that from now on, ok."

N: Ireland nodded before muttering a small thanks, "That ... I needed someone to tell me that."

Meanwhile, their voices seemed to be waking Heinrich up, so he began to move about, getting Wolfgang and Callum's attention since they were half asleep, watching over the Saxon.

Heinrich opened his eyes a bit, confused as to why he was with Askad, temporarily forgetting what had happened, so he sat up in the naga's coils. He held up the plushy in his hand, and seeing Sofia nearby, handed it back to her, and began to get up on his feet.

"Ricky, are you alright," the Scot asked, and when the Saxon turned around, he took a step back as he could see the bewilderment in the other's eyes.

"Why am I here," Heinz questioned, glancing between the pair, "was I injured?"

Wolfgang's expression grew increasingly concerned, "do-do you not remember? What is the last thing you know?"

"I was out in the field with you guys," he recounted, "watching Mandoria as he killed Suebi, and ... and that's all I can remember."

Callum was about to reach out to Heinz when Wolfgang held him back, his face saddened. "Just wait a moment," he said, "it will come back to him."

The Scot gave a confused look before turning to Heinrich, seeing the cogs in his mind turning as he tries to remember, and he immediately knew that the Saxon remember the moment his face fell.

Heinz glanced over at the empty bed next to him, remembering who laid in it before, and was soon rushing out of the infirmary, catching everyone by surprise. However, Wolfgang went straight into action, having been around his friend long enough to know what he would do.

"Some call Erna," the Saxon ordered, "and tell her that Heinz is off the rails. Askad come with me, you might be the one who could get to him, because right now he isn't in the right state of mind."

Callum nodded and ran out to find Erna.

———

Heinrich ran down the corridors, tears building up in his eyes as he relived the pain, and soon he came across one of the many common rooms. In every one, there was always a cabinet with various alcoholic drinks, and sometimes the Saxons would open a bottle to share as they talked.

However, Heinrich wasn't there to enjoy himself, his movements automatic as he grabbed a random bottle and opened it. Staring at the liquid, he questioned whether it was the right thing to do, but then he remembered the pain.

"Just go away," he sobbed, "why can't I just forget this?" Pouring himself a glass, he muttered a small apology to no one in particular before downing it all.

He just wanted to forget.

M: Askad jumped awake when Heinrich bolted, accidentally knocking Sofia to the ground, though she wasn't hurt.  It took him a second to realize what happened, when he did he had Sofia stay with Esha and followed after Wolfie.

Even though they didn't know where Heinz ran off to, Askad memorized his scent and did his best to track him down, shifting into his snake so he could move faster.  As they got closer to where Heinrich was, Askad could begin to smell alcohol and recoiled a bit, since he smelled with his tongue that meant he could taste the drink in the air and he hated alcoholic beverages.

"Heinz has booze with him, he's in the room up ahead," the eternal reported, shifting back to normal, "should you go in first or should I?"

N: "He does, doesn't he," Wolfgang grumbled as he marched past Askad and slammed open the door, startling Heinrich inside.

The younger Saxon was lying down on the sofa, a bottle in hand since now he just gave up on pouring his drink into a glass. Wolfe marched right up to him and snatched the bottle out of his friend's hand, getting a loud 'hey' in response.

"Give it back," Heinrich demanded as he got up and tried to grab his drink back, but Wolfgang held it just out of reach, "give it, it's mine."

"You're not doing this again, Heinz," Wolfgang snapped, "this only harms you and it won't help you."

"It will help me forget," the other now shouted, fuelled by anger from not getting what he wants, "I just want to forget all of this."

"But then you will remember, then you will just fall into a cycle."

Heinrich growled and shoved Wolfgang away, and seeing that he can't get his bottle back, he went to grab a second one. As he went to open it, he noticed Wolfe coming towards him, so he dodged the attack before kicking him right in the crotch.

"You don't tell me what to do, Wolfe," the Saxon grumbled as he took a swing from the bottle, "I'm not a kid anymore."

"But you need to learn when to listen, Hass," Erna spoke as she snatched the second bottle from him. She ran as fast as possible to him the moment Callum told her what happened, and she had a noticeably annoyed expression on her face. "Bitte, Heinrich, listen to us when we tell you what to do, because we only do it to help you, and you're our friend."

"But as a friend, you wouldn't want me to suffer, do you," he countered, "I don't want to fucking remember this; I don't want to feel this hurt, this pain in me, because it hurts so much. The pain is a burden and I want to throw it away."

He was about to step towards Erna when a pair of arms wrapped around him. For a moment, Heinrich was confused, wondering how they appeared, when the person behind him finally spoke.

"Who says that you have to carry that burden on your own," Callum asked, tightening his embrace, "you don't have to go through this on your own, everyone here around you is here to help you through this, and although we may not fully understand your pain, we love you enough to never leave you."

That finally broke Heinrich, who just hung his head low and sobbed, so the Scot turned him around and let him cry on his shoulder, making small hushing sounds to soothe the Saxon.

"Retrieve your child, Askad," Erna spoke as she went over to check on Wolfgang, who was still on the floor in pain, "and make sure he never leaves your sight."

M: "He won't this time, I swear by that," Askad reassured her, slithering up to Heinrich and Callum and gently patting the Saxon's shoulder, "Callum's right, Heinz, you will not be alone in your time of need, everyone in this castle has your back and will gladly help you with this pain, I promise."

He had Callum slowly transfer Heinrich into his arms, very gently hugging him to give him a moment to stabilize before they had to go.  At first, he wanted to take him back to the infirmary, but decided that it may be unhealthy for Heinz to be in the place where his mother took her last breath, so he slowly guided the Saxon to his family's room instead.

He sat Heinz on the pillow nest in the middle of the room, the bed being removed since neither naga nor centaur could sleep on it comfortably, and sat with him.  "Just let it all out, my boy, let the pressure release," he murmured, cradling Heinz in his coils again.

N: Heinrich just grabbed for one of the pillows and hugged it tightly, curling up into a ball as he let everything out, every thought and every tear pouring out in a continuous incoherent rant.

Eventually, the Saxon fell silent as he buried his face in the pillow, letting himself sink deeper into his thought.

He opened his eyes, staring right at Askad's, with no hope in them. "Vater's gone, Mutter's gone, Ina's gone. Can I just go too? It would be nice."

M: Askad frowned, but not in an angry way, "No, that wouldn't be nice, not to you or the rest of your family and friends.  I understand completely how you feel, when I thought I lost Sofia I didn't want to live either, I thought there was nothing left to live for, but there was plenty.  It's true that you've lost so much, but you still have just as much, and you shouldn't throw it away."

The naga coiled a little tighter around Heinz, "Your Mutter is still with you Heinz, no parent would let death separate them from their children, and she would be very heartbroken if you tried to follow her, and so would all of us.  We all love you, Heinz, some more than others, and we'll help you through this, I swear on my life, we will never leave your side."

Askad reached for a blanket and tucked Heinrich in again, "Rest now, you may not feel much better when you wake up, but at least your mind will be a bit clearer."

N: Heinrich slowly nodded as he huddled in the pillows, allowing the naga to tuck him in. "I just want some peace," he mumbled to himself before closing his eyes, going to sleep.

After a moment, his eyes still closed, he muttered, "Askad, why are you helping me this much? You take care of Sofia, not me."

M: Askad smiled slightly, "To be honest, I'm one of those people who loves you a little bit more, not romanticly, of course, that would be weird.  I don't know when it started, but I see you like a son, and I want to protect you as much as I can.  I can understand if you're uncomfortable with that, having a snake as a father figure probably doesn't sound very pleasing, and I will respect that, but I'll still care for you just the same."

At that moment, Sofia came wandering in and saw her father comforting Heinrich again, so she clambered up his scales and snuggled with the human again, purring softly.  Askad chuckled at this and added, "Well, Sofia had already adopted you as her big brother, so why not treat you like part of the family, you know."

N: Heinrich couldn't help but smile, draping his blanket over Sofia so that she was warm, and rested his chin above her head. "That would be nice, wouldn't it," he muttered before falling silent, followed by the subtle sound of quiet snoring.

M: Askad breathed out in relief, he was secretly scared that Heinrich would have taken that the wrong way and be mad at him, but he was glad that wasn't the case.  He gently placed a kiss on the Saxon's forehead, a final act of love that sealed the deal of surprise adoption, to prove that Heinrich was his and that he would never let go.

He stayed awake to make sure Heinz stayed asleep and didn't run off, silently watching the sunset outside the window.  When Uskaine came in and asked what was going on, Askad explained what happened and that they had a new child now.  The centaur didn't mind one bit, he also had a fondness for Heinrich,so he was more than happy to welcome him to the family.

As the final rays of light disappeared and the stars started twinkling in the sky, the two eternals curled around their children, surrounding them with all the love they could give.