N: A warmer sun shone over the city of Athens in the morning, waking up an annoyed Wilfred, who is usually used to the dark mornings of Britain in the winter. When he couldn't go back to sleep, he decided to just go ahead with his day, doing his morning routine before heading out to eat.

He had been sending messages without OG knowing, as he is a man who doesn't like oversight from someone he believes is not his superior.

The months in Greece have made Wilfred acclimatize to the weather, which wasn't too cold compared to how everyone else in Britain was, so he felt comfortable wearing a few layers to stroll around the palace. Avoiding the Ottoman, he was able to get some food from the dining hall before bringing it out to the balcony, overseeing the entire city of Athens.

While he ate, a servant came to him with a letter, and seeing the seal of a lion with wings, he smiled. Thanking the servant, he opened up the letter, and seeing that everything was going according to plan, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

M: The Mandorian brothers have been up for a while already, their jobs requiring early starts, especially Mandara's.  Deutsche was the only one who still couldn't work so he got to sleep in.

When he woke up he grabbed his usual coffee and bagel and was walking around with some economic reports. When he saw Wil on the balcony he smiled, walking over to say hi.

"Good morning Wil, did you have a nice sleep," he greeted

N: "You know what," Wilfred smiled, "it is nice to not wake up to frostbite in the morning. If I wasn't here for a reason, I would have stayed here for the rest of the winter."

After taking a bite from his sandwich, he invited the Prussian to a seat beside him, and once they were settled, his expression turned serious.

"Deutsche," he said, "I'm sure you know that there is a plan to bring Mandara and Derogan to Britain, but I would like to know if you want to go as well. There is the whole discussion of whether BE agrees with it or not, but from what I have seen, you are a kind young man and I don't give a damn if BE decides that you shouldn't go. Besides," he smirked a bit, "I've seen how you are around Mandara, and I'm surprised at how oblivious Derogan is."

He leaned back to bask in the sun as he continued, "The question of whether you want to stay is up to you."

M: Deutsche nodded along as he listened, blushing slightly in embarrassment when Wilfred mentioned him and Mandara.

"I don't know yet," he shrugged, "I do plan on going to the ball with them, but I don't know if I will stay or come back.  I'm sure you remember A-H coming over a week ago, I've noticed the brothers have been more reclusive around him and I, they seem uncomfortable with him being here but I don't understand why, he came to help us get their kingdom back, why are they so nervous around him?"

N: "Were they nervous around you when you first met," Wilfred asked, "I believe Austrian Empire was enemies with their father, as was your father, so give them time to get used to him."

Before Deutsche could protest, he held up his hand, "But there has been plenty of time for them to get used to A-H, so there must be another issue. I've overheard the four of you when you plan to take down Prussia, and the way that your friend describes the battle is ... descriptive, and maybe too descriptive for their liking. I know how it is to plan a battle, and my sister is responsible for the military for BE, and even," he paused as he chose his words carefully, "the type of person she is, she doesn't go to the detail of the battle, and always finds a way to reduce the number of British casualties."

The Brit paused for a moment to let it sink in, "They may be used to A-H as your friend, but give them time to see A-H as a general, and his style of battle as all general's styles are different. If it still bothers them, then talk about it to them, and find a compromise. They care about you."

M: Deutsche was silent to let the conversation sink in, thinking about the points made and analyzing the facts given.  He knew that the brothers cared about him, they lived on the road together for years, but he felt like they were beginning to lose trust in him.

"Ok, I'll talk with them, we'll figure something out," he decided, "I just don't want to do something that could shatter our bond, like so many bonds with so many other people."

He sipped his coffee quietly, then noticed the letter next to Wil and chuckled, "I see that Mandara's special deliveries have been working, so what's the news, anything good?"

N: Wilfred smiled as he folded up the letter, "Yes, this is definitely good news. I was able to call in a favor from a friend, and he is willing to sail us over to Britain, now is just the case of convincing OG to use one of his ports but," he audibly groaned from the thought of having to talk to the Ottoman, "they don't have the best of relations, and it took quite some convincing for my friend to cooperate."

Soon, Chester padded along, seeing the both of them and decided to rest his head on the Brit's leg, although he eyed Deutsche, getting a chuckle from Wil. "Please tell me Chester has been kind to you."

M: Deutsche immediately squealed in fear at seeing Chester, he ended up jumping so hard that he fell off the bench and spilled his coffee all over himself, thankfully it wasn't hot enough to burn him.

"Y-yes, he's been fine," the Prussian said, trying to salvage his dignity, "though I admit that I still have a little PTSD about that, as well as the time Mandara and Derogan pored bacon grease on me and he started chasing me."

He stood and brushed off his clothes, of dirt at least, "now I have to go change, but before I do, I got to ask, have they pranked you yet, I haven't seen them plotting anything, and that makes me a little worried for your safety."

N: Wilfred shook his head, "No, they haven't yet although I have heard the stories of how they pranked Saxon when he last visited them, and I'm making sure that I keep my eyes wide open."

Soon after, another servant came over with a letter, and when they handed it to Wilfred, he quickly opened it when he recognized the British seal and skimmed through the contents. "BE has approved to use his ports when we arrive, now I just need to draft another letter to bring my friend here."

M: "That's great, and I think I can help you with OG and his ports," Deutsche said, "I don't mean to brag, but I've totally got that man wrapped around my finger.  I know exactly what to do and say that will sway his mind, with just one word I can change the way he governs his empire and make him think it was his idea.  Heck, I might as well be running his empire for him, so don't you worry about a thing, I'll get us that port access faster than you can say Kaiser Deutsche."

With that, the country walked away with a spring in his step, glad he could put his skills to good use.

N: Wilfred looked at Deutsche with concern, and when Chester saw how his owner felt, emitted a small growl. "It's alright, Chester," the Brit muttered as he watched the country disappear, "he's just starting to learn the ways of the world, but not enough experience to be a threat, but from what he said," he chuckled emptily, "he might as well be an empire."

The Brit finished off his breakfast before standing up, causing the greyhound to sit by his heels. "Kaiser Deutsche," he muttered, "and no doubt will be a powerful one. Let's keep him on our side, alright Chester," he looked down at the dog, "and that means no scaring the hell out of him, alright?"

The greyhound whined a bit, getting a small smile from the Brit before he petted him and promised to give him a treat, and then they both left the balcony in search of the Ottoman.

-------

Meanwhile, back in Britain, Heinrich slept well into the day, although he did wake up a couple of times at night, and his mind would go on a cycle of forgetting the death of his mother, and re-remembering it all, followed by bouts of uncontrollable sobbing. He was thankful that Uskaine and Askad were there, but then he would continuously apologize as he fell back to sleep.

When he had finally woken up, the sun was at its peak, so he just sat up and stared at the wall, letting the thought of his mother's death sink in once again, and it would be the first day without her.

"Entschuldigen Sie das Wachhalten (sorry for keeping you up)," the Saxon muttered, not sure if the others were awake, "es tut mir leid."

M: Uskaine was the only one mildly awake, Askad was fast asleep and Sofia had been up for hours, wandering around as usual.

"You don't have to apologize, we're used to it," he murmured, "we've slept with Sofia for three years, it's all part of having children."

The centaur yawned and stretched a bit, listening to his old bones crack into place for the day, "I don't suppose you're very hungry yet, a nice warm breakfast always lifts the spirit," he looked at the placement of the sun, "or I suppose brunch."

N: "Yeah," Heinrich muttered as he got up, not waiting for Uskaine to get ready, and just left the room and headed towards the dining hall. Not a single thought passed his mind as he walked, walking almost robotically as he opened the doors to the hall, and there weren't many people present, so he chose a random seat at the table. Not long after, Callum moved up on the table and sat beside him.

"So," the Scot began, "how do you feel?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Heinrich answered as he looked around the room, "where is your brother?"

The Scot's face fell, "Umm ... something came up at home and he needed to go." The pair just sat there awkwardly, eating away, until the Saxon rested his head on the other's shoulder, getting a smirk in response. "So," Callum spoke, "are we going to talk about how you're an absolute lightweight?"

"Say another word about that day and I'm getting off you," the Saxon grumbled, getting a small chuckle and a sign of surrender from the other.

M: Uskaine was a little concerned that Heinrich didn't wait but figured he just need a little time to himself, so he went about his usual routine, letting Askad stay asleep since it was rather cold anyway, and headed after the Saxon.  When he saw Heinrich and Callum together he wasn't sure if he should interrupt, but he was also hungry so walked in anyway.

"Well, it's good to see you have a shoulder to lean on," Uskaine joked, "thank you, Callum, the more help the better."

N: Callum bowed his head, "I'm always here to help."

While they ate, Johann entered the room, his usual smile on his face as he walked over to them, greeting them all a good morning before being corrected that it was now noon. Callum looked at him with concern and asked if he was ok.

"Ja," the Mandorian answered, wondering why he asked, "I finally woke up from my eternal sleep and am so hungry I could eat a horse."

"Don't say that to Comet," Heinrich muttered, "or he would start avoiding you."

Johann grinned a bit before sitting down opposite them, "so that you are a bit better?"

"I guess I'm better ever since a centaur and naga adopted me, but I'll feel like shit after Mutter's funeral." They fell silent, unable to continue with the conversation, and after a couple of minutes, Callum muttered under his breath.

"Way to kill the mood, Ricky."

M: "Give him a break Callum, he's been through a lot," Uskaine reminded him, "wouldn't you feel this way if one of your loved ones?"

Before Callum could answer, some heavy footsteps came from the hall, then Rowen came walking in, holding an eagle Mandoria on his arm.  He wordlessly sat down and let the bird off his arm, both collapsing on the table.

"Gosh, it looks like you two didn't get much sleep," Uskaine said, even though he knew otherwise, "how is Johann so chipper and you guys are just slugs."

"That boy has more energy than a lightning bolt," Rowen muttered, "his energy is paranormal in origin and you shouldn't even try to understand it, right Johann."

N: Johann could only nod as he already had stuffed food into his mouth, absolutely hungry from the memory wipe, and there was food piled on his plate.

"Mien Gott, Johann," Heinrich muttered, "do you have any manners?"

"When a man's got to eat, a man's got to eat."

"So you're a man now," Callum chuckled while the Mandorian got scolded for talking with his mouth full, "more like a man-child to me."

M: "Johann never really had manners, to begin with," Rowen chuckled, "I mean, he did have enough to not be rude, but if you ask England, he could have had a few more."

"We weren't exactly the best teachers after all," Mandoria added, unshifting from his eagle and sitting down properly, "after Rowen and I married and he became the second king, as well as captain of the royal army, it got increasingly harder to be present for our boys, which leads to overgrown children."

"I bet you 20 gold pieces that wherever Mandara and Derogan are, they are pulling pranks on the country that took them in," Rowen joked.

N: Callum laughed a bit at the bet, "Oh no, so they really are troublemakers."

"You don't know half of it," Saxon spoke as he entered the room with Anglo, "they, along with Johann, are a menace to society."

"Is this your excuse to make up for your reaction," Anglo chuckled, getting a grumble, "looking back at it, the snake prank was impressive."

"We don't talk about the snake prank," the entity grumbled.

M: "Which one," Uskaine snickered, "because as I recall it, Johann recruited Askad to prank you in his feral form."

That earned a little laughter, but not a terrible amount since everyone remembered how upset Saxon was after that incident.  Luckily for the insurgent, the conversation was momentarily forgotten when the sound of loud sniffing came from out in the hall, and a big black and blue muzzle stuck out from the doorway.

Sabeth had snuck away from the infirmary while Esha was sleeping, hunger driving his nose to lead him here, but when he saw people present, especially humans, he was hesitant to enter.

"No one make any sudden moves," Uskaine said calmly, "you all are still untrustworthy to him, so it's safer to view him as a wild animal passing through, just remain calm and let him do what he needs to."

Sabeth seemed slightly offended by the comment, as his ears lowered just a little bit, but he didn't address it and slowly approached the table, keeping everyone in his line of sight.

N: Everyone else was silent as Sabeth approached them, even Heinrich lifted up his head just to see what was going on before getting bored and returning to Callum's shoulder.

Johann just looked at Sabeth, and wanting to be friends with him, so when the Eternal was at the table, he slowly slid a plate of food over to him as some sort of peace offering.

M: Sabeth flinched when the plate came closer to him, his full attention on Johann now, his eyes holding distrust and suspicion, but also a small glint of curiosity.  He stared at the Mandorian for a good while before inspecting the offer, sniffing it intently for anything wrong with it.

When he was satisfied that Johann was not tricking him, he slowly took the plate and walked over to the windows, sitting on the sill and staring out the window as he ate, but he kept his ears pointed towards the group to hear if they would come closer.

"Alright, it's ok now," Uskaine declared, "he'll probably keep an ear on us but as long as we give him space he won't attack."

"Why would he attack though," Rowen asked, "myself, Johann, Heinz, and Callum are the only humans, and the majority are still relatively young, why would he be so intimidated."

"You forget that he survived a massacre," the centaur pointed out, "rougarous are not naturally wild creatures like centaurs and dragons, yet they are one of the species that are still found in the wild, due to the false belief that the bite of one can turn you into one, so other species tend to drive them away, causing distrust to other eternals and more animalistic behaviors, the Jacobite attack would have just made things much worse."

N: Johann glanced over to Sabeth, "But you're not helping by keeping up the idea that he's a wild animal. I get it is for safety reasons, but wouldn't it still hurt to be treated the same way."

"I think it is more than that," Heinrich pointed out, "surviving a massacre is something you cannot just brush off, and whether you live in the wild or not, you still have the innate feeling of avoiding the people who caused you pain. So maybe it's best to keep our distance for his sake, not necessarily ours."

M: Uskaine nodded at Heinrich's words, "Everyone has different ways to cope with loss, Sabeth has always been a lone wolf anyway, his only connections were his pack, but with them gone now, it's going to take him a while to open up to anyone."

As he said that, a startled yelp came from the wolf, and when they turned to him they saw Byron chewing on his tail.  Sabeth seemed to smile in amusement, he leaned down and petted the feisty cub, even chuckling quietly as Byron tried to play fight with him.

"Well, I guess he just needed to start off small," Mandoria said, "it's never good for someone to be alone when they are in pain, but sometimes what they need is not someone who wants to fix it, but someone who is happy to just be there for them."

N: Heinrich only hummed as he sat up, staring at his half-empty plate, and muttered, "I don't feel like eating anymore."

"You can eat later," Callum spoke softly as he rubbed the Saxon's back, "so do you want to do now?"

"Sleep."

"Are you hibernating or something," the Scot lightly joked, trying to get a smile out of the other, but instead the Saxon just grumbled and got up and began to walk away towards the door. "You're going without me," the Scot called out, slightly pouting.

Heinz stopped in his tracks and looked back at him. "Do you want to come," he asked, to which Callum nodded, so he added, "Only if you don't say another bad joke."

Callum placed a hand over his heart, and smiled, "I solemnly swear that I will not say any bad jokes in your presence, only good or annoying ones."

Heinrich rolled his eyes but couldn't help but grin a bit, so he called the Scot over and the pair left the dining hall. Johann watched their interaction, and still with his mouth full, said, "It's nice that Heinz has someone to help him through this."

M: "Yeah, it's quite clear how close those two are to each other," Rowen agreed, "I'd say that's the best thing for him right now, one person he can lean on the most."

Before anyone could respond to that, Neflen and Esha came in, leading nearly everyone in the compound, even PE and Castile.

"Oh  great, you guys are already here," Esha smiled, "it's the winter solstice today, we can finally water the Phoenix Flower and see if the  egg will hatch for anyone."

"That's today," Mandoria said in surprise, "wow, with everything that happened recently, I completely forgot about it."

Neflen nodded, "Yep, we almost forgot too if Esha didn't set a magical reminder that today was the day."

"Now before I water the flower, there are some things that need to be addressed," Esha declared, "the egg will only hatch in the presence of who it deems worthy, the phoenix will bond with that person for life and will not bond with anyone else until it's owner's death, so no one else may claim it as theirs.  And if the egg does not hatch, I will be the one to care for it until we can find its owner, so it will not be  anyone's trophy or prize, is that clear?"

N: Everyone nodded, and people began to talk among themselves, wondering who would be 'the chosen one'. Eventually, the room went silent, everyone watching intently as Esha approached the flower. The cage was removed a while ago as the flower outgrew it, so it stood there in all its magnificence.

And then Esha finally watered the flower.

M: Esha was very careful to not overwater the  flower, this was a very delicate balance since the egg could drown if exposed to too much water, being the egg of a firebird after all.  Once  the last drop hit the plant, she backed up a bit to watch.  Nothing happened at first, but soon the bud slowly began to unfurl, and after a few agonizing long seconds, it opened completely.

It truly was more beautiful than the northern lights, it sparkled in dazzling displays of color and light, the magical energy literally flowing off its pedals and dancing around its center, within which lay a beautiful golden egg with red flame-like markings.

Once the display had come to an end, Esha instructed that everyone go up to it one at a time and gently touch the egg, whoever was worthy to have it would experience a warm sensation like they'd never felt before, but did warn them that she would know if someone was lying and there would be consequences to the fibber.

N: Everyone watched in awe at the display, and when it came to who was going to be  chosen, an orderly queue was formed, and one by one each person touched the egg. However, the happy sentiment seemed the disappear when more and more people didn't feel the warm sensation, and no one dared to lie,  especially to Esha. Eventually, everyone tried, and no one was successful.

"Who hasn't touched the egg yet," England called out to the crowd.

"Heinrich and Callum," Johann answered, "Heinz went to sleep and Callum went with him."

"Leon and Alaric aren't here either," Eva added, "they went to oversee the funeral preparations for Maria."

"So call them here," the Englishman concluded. The pair nodded and went in  their respective directions, and after a couple of minutes, they came back with the missing people. Heinrich looked annoyed that he had to be woken up, with Callum telling him that it was going to be quick, while the two Saxons were annoyed that they were disturbed in the first place.

When it was explained what they had to do, and the implications, Heinrich just walked up to the egg, and when he touched it and felt nothing, he grumbled, "There. Done it. Now I'm going back to sleep."

Callum rolled his eyes as he too touched the egg, and when he felt nothing, he went back with Heinrich to sleep.

Leon and Alaric then stood together in front of the flower, they glanced at each other. "Go on," Leon spoke as he nudged the other, "touch it."

"What's the point in coming here," Alaric muttered, "we got more important things to do."

"Stubborn as always," the other sighed as he touched the egg, "see, nothing happened. Now you do it so we can go."

"Fine," Alaric snapped, "you don't have to be so rude about it- oh." The moment he touched the egg, a warm sensation crawled up his arm, and it wasn't a harsh warmth but homely and welcoming, and when he retracted his hand,  he just looked at Leon, who immediately knew what happened.

M: Esha could also tell what had happened, she knew just from his expression that Alaric had been chosen.  She walked up to the flower and gently took the egg from the center, which caused it to dissolve into ash.

"Alaric, it is with great pleasure to say that you were chosen," she smiled, "chosen to hatch the phoenix egg, only those worthy of such honors are selected by the phoenix themselves, and will pair with them for the rest of their life."

She carefully transferred the egg into the  Saxon's hands, then knelt before him with the utmost respect an eternal could give.  The other eternals bowed as well, even Sabeth showed his respect, it was clearly very important in their culture when someone  receives a phoenix egg.

N: Alaric panicked a bit when he was handed the egg, and even more when Esha knelt, so he tried to look to the others for help.

"There is definitely a mistake," he spoke, "there is no way that I could be chosen."

"If the phoenix chose you, then there must be a reason for why you're worthy of it," Leon reasoned.

"Nein,"  the former shut him down, "I'm the most unworthy person here for anything and anyone. I just came here to get this over and done with so I  can go and honor Maria, because that's my priority, not a damn bird."  He looked down at the egg, feeling the warmth and the slight movement of  the chick inside, "I don't even know how to take care of one, forget  one being bonded to me for life."

M: "It's alright to be nervous, this is certainly a lot to take in for a human,"  Esha reassured him, standing up straight, "I can help you, I can teach  you all you need to know.  As for the worthy part, I think perhaps the phoenix knew of your close relationship with Maria, and perhaps it will help you just as much."

She gently led Alric to a chair and sat him down, summoning a blanket to swaddle the egg.

"You can take as long as you need to hatch the egg," she said, "it can remain in stasis for a long time until the necessary requirements are  met for it to hatch, which I can teach you what they are, but I understand that it will take some time to be ready for a soul partner."

N: Alaric slowly nodded, staring at the egg in his hands, "I will need some time to get used to the fact that, one, phoenixes exist, and two, one will be with me till I die." He continued to gaze at the egg before his eyes widened with realization, "I need to go. I've got so much left to do and-"

"Leave the rest to me," Leon reassured the Saxon, patting the other's shoulder, and when Alaric was about to protest, he added, "You've done your part of the preparations, and you've been breathing doubt my neck, saying that it has to be perfect. Just trust me that I will honor Maria too."

Alaric didn't reply, then after a bit he slowly nodded his head, giving Leon the cue to leave while the Saxon watched him uneasily.

M: Esha pat his shoulder reassuringly, the others in the room slowly filing out one by one so the human could have some space to process.  Sabeth was the last to leave since he didn't want to run into anyone while heading  back to the infirmary, other than that, everyone went back to what they were doing.

Odrus was wandering around the compound, despite collapsing the other day, he was feeling well enough to move around, but decided he would hold off going back to work for one more day.

He felt like he was being followed, and he knew who it was, so when he turned around he wasn't surprised to see Chrysalis's sister standing there.

"Why are you still here," he grumbled, "Chrysalis is a free man, he's alive and well, isn't that what you wanted, for me to fix my  mistake and suffer while doing it?"