N:   Throughout the day, people walked in and out of the tavern, warmly greeting the Eternal as they ordered. There were a few eye glances at the kitchen as glimpses of the clones came and went, causing people to think they lost it, but it was always fun when the occasional drunkard starts waving at all the Odruses. The atmosphere was filled with merry as usual, a contrast to the harsh environment of the British weather.

Around noon, Ireland and Royal showed up waving at Odrus as they sat at the bar. "I was wondering where you went," the Brit spoke, "Ire and I wanted a day to relax, and you being here just made it better."

"Technically, you're supposed to still be in the compound," Ireland pointed out, "doing whatever you do to prepare for the ball."

"Unlike what BE is doing, which is actually preparing the ball," the hybrid countered, "I'm in charge of the security, and although the current war between BE and his son made it a tad more difficult, I got it done in no time. Besides, when BE is in the mindset of all work, no play, it's not particularly fun around him."

"I'll drink to that," the Irishman nodded before asking the Eternal for drinks for the pair, "oh god, it's going to be really awkward when they meet then."

"Tell me about it," the Brit grumbled, "Odrus, you're old and wise, do you have any advice to help not cause a complete breakdown between a warring father and son?"

M:   Odrus put a hand to his chin, thinking about what to say that could help, "honestly, after seeing how Esha tried and failed to get him, BE, and England to quit fighting, I'm sure whatever advice I give will simply be ignored. But for argument's sake, keep them away from each other, it's pretty blatant that the only way this family can remain together is to be kept apart."

The eternal grabbed some glasses and poured the two some whiskies, knowing that it was Ireland's favorite drink, which reminded him to ask, "Does Celtica know you still drink, I remember Mandoria telling of how you got his son drunk, I would have thought she would ban you from alcohol for eternity."

N:   "My grandma could only ban me for a short amount of time before realizing how impractical it was," Ireland answered, "trust me, it's not easy trying to stop my personal habits when we are living on two completely different islands, so I'm guessing that she might know that I still drink. The person who you should be more worried about is my dad; he literally has Grandma around him 24/7 so he's probably been sober for a long while now."

"You sure," Royal smirked, and when Ire raised a brow, silently asking a question to which the hybrid nodded. "When it comes to evading his mother to go out drinking, Scotty has his ways, and trust me, he's still drinking."

"And how do you know?"

"Caught him once in a pub not far from here," the hybrid shrugged, "so he made me promise to not say a word to Celtica. I obviously agreed, but only if I was paid every time he went out."

Ireland burst out laughing as the Brit chuckled as well, "I needed something out of it because there was no way I was lying to Celtica without a price. Do you know how scary it is to lie right in her face about her son who is doing something she dislikes? I'll rather Split than do that for free."

The pair downed their drinks before asking for another, to which Royal continued, "But you didn't hear that from me, and don't utter a word otherwise I'm dead meat."

M:   "I'm the bartender, Royal, I'm also paid to stay quiet," Odrus chuckled, "what happens at the Unicorn stays at the Unicorn."

He poured them another glass, then walked away to take care of the other customers, it was a little tricky to be the bartender and the server by himself but he had enough experience to do it effectively.

"How are things back at the castle," he asked when he came back, "has anyone started arriving for the ball yet?"

M:   Royal shook her head, "the other empires and kingdoms usually don't arrive until a day or two before the ball, mainly because BE doesn't like the fact that so many people are in his kingdom, but a meeting is made between the major empires to discuss before the ball so it's not on his mind while celebrating Yule, and it is a good opportunity to bring lots of people together."

"But doesn't BE's family come earlier?" Ireland asked.

"Yep," the Brit nodded, "America and Canada, their mother FE and her father are expected to arrive a week before the ball so they could settle down, especially since Canada will now be in BE's care."

"It's going to be one hell of a week then," the Irishman commented, to which the Brit patted his shoulder reassuringly, "Well, at least I get to see my nephews after all these years."

Royal hummed a bit before asking Odrus, "Back in your empire, were there celebrations around this time?"

M:   Odrus shrugged, "I don't really remember, after the fall and the subsequent hiding underground, many of our old traditions were slowly forgotten, we were so focused on survival and rebuilding our numbers that religion became less practiced. There were still plenty of things we did and celebrated, but holidays weren't exactly one of them."

Odrus's demeanor deflated a little as he remembered the hardships, how so much of their world was lost to history, he actually had to sit down from the weight of his thoughts.

"Why were we even trying to survive," he muttered, "our home was destroyed, our culture was dying out, and millions of species, animal and eternal, were extinct. We were fighting to restore our world, maybe we should have just let nature take its course, what's the point in fighting if what you're fighting for is already gone?"

N:   Royal and Ireland glanced at each other, the former regretting asking the question so she said, "You were fighting instinctively, and that is natural to fight for your own survival. But maybe you weren't fighting to restore your world, maybe that's what your aim was, to bring about the empire you lived in, but perhaps deep down you fought for freedom from the need to just survive."

She got up from her seat and came around the bar so she was beside the Eternal. "Kingdoms come and go, that's just the way nature works, and I know it's going to be hard to hear, but I don't think the empire you once knew would come back. The only thing we can do is look forward to the future, build a new home, and to live. That's what you did."

She turned to all the humans eating in the tavern, enjoying themselves and chatting to one another. "Even if you're old home was destroyed, you made a new one here. You're no longer just surviving in this world but you're actually living in it, and have met all of us along the way."

"It may have not been the future you wished for," Ireland added, "and unfortunates have occurred that had hindered what you dreamed, but if you had stopped fighting, what you are seeing in front of you will have never happened, so, was it worth it?"

M:   Odrus silently listened to what they said, looking around the tavern that he helped run, thinking about what could, or couldn't, have happened if they stopped fighting.

"Yes, it was worth it," he smiled, "thanks you guys, I needed to hear that, I guess even us oldies need some advice every now and then."

N:   "Yeah, we should, shouldn't we Royal," Ireland smirked.

"Now, now Ireland, hold that tongue of yours," Royal rolled her eyes as she chuckled, "There is no need for that sort of behavior."

M:   "Well, I was more talking about my range of old," Odrus laughed, "you guys really don't understand how young you are compared to me, you're both basically Maisie's age to me and the others."

When he mentioned the others, he remembered that Askad and Heinrich were both in the infirmary from how cold they got, "say, do you guys know how Heinz and Askad are doing, I heard they got really cold last night."

N:   "Heinrich is doing well," Royal answered, "he's just got the common cold, expected from what happened yesterday, and a couple more days of staying in a warm environment would do the trick."

"Askad isn't doing as well," Ireland added, "when I went to the infirmary, he was responsive but not moving around too much. I guess that's what happens when you're a reptile in the cold.

M:   "Yeah, rattlesnakes especially don't like the cold, they thrive in arid desert environments," Odrus confirmed, poring some beer for another person at the bar, "he's been such a trooper hanging on this long, but I think that after the ball he'll have to go into hibernation, it's just too cold for him here to stay awake the whole winter."

He left for a moment to serve some tables and clean up a few others, making sure he wasn't neglecting the business while he was talking with his friends. After making his rounds, he came back and asked if BE had a wine cellar or something of the likes, "it's important that Askad spends his hibernation underground, his body heat will fluctuate while he's sleeping and the earth remands a comfortable temperature. We did have hibernation chambers in the settlement but no one wants to go back there unless we absolutely have to."

N:   "'If'," Royal scoffed, "BE has a wine cellar and a half thanks to his wife. FE's really into wine."

"Don't worry about having to go back to your hibernation chambers," Ireland spoke, "the cellars will provide more than enough space for Askad, as for anyone else who would be hibernating."

M:   "That's great to hear, and I don't think we have to worry about anyone else hibernating, Esha's the only other reptile eternal aside from Wales, and she's lived in the British wilderness for thousands of years if not more, she'll be fine," Odrus reassured, "honestly, I'm wondering how Uskaine's going to do taking care of Sofia and Heinz on his own, though I'm not too worried about Heinz since he can take care of himself."

N:   "Umm, not really," Royal muttered, "seeing that he literally went to his mother's funeral yesterday, there is no way in hell he can take care of himself right now."

A wave of sadness passed over her face, and her eye temporarily turned bronze, but she quickly snapped back into reality. She spun around and grabbed the whiskey bottle and collected her and Ireland's shot glasses.

"But we don't have to worry about that if Callum is going to help out too," the hybrid cheered as she poured herself and Ireland a shot and passed it to the Irishman, "today was a day that we could relax so we are going to do just that."

The country smiled awkwardly as he took his shot, "Sure, I'll drink to that."

M:   "I would too if I wasn't working," Odrus chuckled, "you two have fun then, I got some sandwiches to deliver to table five."

After he left, the tavern door opened and heavy boots walked, the whole room got very silent, allowing the voice that spoke to echo louder, "Well well, long time no see, General Feather Duster."

Standing there like some sort of wild west outlaw, was Alastair Wood, though he appeared a lot rougher around the edges. He looked nothing like the spoiled cadet from months ago, he looked like a hardened crook who's been living on the run for years, but what was most significant was a long scar running vertically across his left eye, which had a cloudy appearance.

"Fancy meeting you again, Royal," he grunted, his voice sounding a bit gruffer than before, "how's life on the top of the pyramid, nice view from up there?"

N:   "Ah shit," Royal sighed as she observed the human before taking a mouth full straight from the bottle of whiskey, "I can't be doing this sober."

"I think you should, Royal," Ireland spoke uneasily, glancing between the two Brits, "he's the one you kicked out, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," the hybrid shrugged before placing the now half-empty bottle on the table before standing up and facing the human. The alcohol wasn't enough to make her drunk, just a bit tipsy to give her an extra kick.

Giving him a once over, she smirked, "Well, Mr. Wood, it's nice seeing you here, and I got to say the new look does suit you rather well, and the scar," she clasped her hands with a smile on her face, "you've got to tell me how you got that. Also, that name you said, General Feather Duster, does have a good ring to it. The weather up here is wonderful, although I don't understand why it's a common phrase to say the top of the pyramid when there are so many things taller than them-"

The hybrid stopped talking to prevent herself from rambling on so she recomposed herself. "So, why are you here? Do you want to confront me? Make me change my mind? If a fight is what you want, let's preferably do it outside, or that's what you were planning to do so your goons join the party?"

M:   Alastair rolled his eyes, "And here I thought you and my father were friends, if you were, then you'd know that he disowned me the day you shamed me, though I'm sure he'd love to hear that you like the souvenir he gave me."

The man shouldered past her and sat down at the bar, calling to Odrus to get him a beer when he got back, "I'm not here to fight, just passing through, my boys and I were just heading up to report to Lord Saxon, as he was the only guy who would give us work after what you did, so thank you for that."

N:   Royal shrugged and went back to the bar, sitting beside Ireland, who was confused by the whole confrontation. "Umm, Royal," he spoke as he poked her in the arm, "you're just going to leave it at that?"

"Mhm," she nodded as she took another shot, "he's no longer my responsibility, nor is his father responsible for his actions, so I don't particularly care."

"Even if he might be into insurgency? In Britain?"

"Again, not my business," the hybrid reiterated, "insurgents don't really have the longest lifespans, and besides, that's Saxon's business." She rested her hand on the Irishman's shoulder, "Ire, it's a difficult job being in charge of security when you know who is messing it up, and usually I put your family's integrity above security just so this nation doesn't die or something along those lines."

She leaned past the country to Alastair and said coldly, "But if you fuck with me and the people around me, I won't let you walk away from me intact, and I don't give a damn about what Saxon would think."

M:   Alastair scoffed at the threat, "Sure, whatever you say, you countryhumans always talk bigger than yourselves, so I'm not worried"

"You say that like you have experience," Odrus commented when he came back, "it's only been a few months since that incident, how much has happened since then?"

"None of you're business," the other grumbled, "all I'll say is that there are a lot of countryhumans roaming around the place, there was this one that looked like a freaking demon, it had ram horns and goat legs, kept calling my group and I Short-Lives, all it took was the sound of a musket shot to scare it off. So yeah, not as tough as you talk."

N:   "Now I get why Wil doesn't like humans," Royal grumbled, to which Ireland shook his head.

"I think that sort of information would be invaluable to us," the country spoke, "especially to Odrus here since the countryhumans you may have seen are like him. They are Eternals who don't particularly like humans like yourself because of what happened to them in the past, and they can perform magic so try not to get into a fight with one."

The Irishman face the Eternal and continued, "Maybe there are more Eternals out there, and then you can find more people like you."

M:  "Well, that's what Sabeth always said," Odrus simply said, though his excitement was hard to hide, "guess he was right, hopefully he finds them. Thank you, Alastair, that is such great news to hear."

"Whatever, guess that's my good deed of the month," Alastair grunted. He finished off his drink and left a tip for the friendly service, he was walking out the door when he stopped and turned slightly to say, "By the way, remember when I said that you will regret the day to drove my life to hell, that's still in effect.  I'll just say that this Yule Ball will be one to remember, bis wir uns wieder treffen, Royal, bis wir uns wieder treffen."

N:   "Yeah, yeah, whatever," Royal waved him off, "go do whatever your sad excuse of a human does, and remember to follow the dress code if you do show up at the ball."

Ireland watched as Alastair left the tavern, to which the people dining collectively let out a sigh of relief before continuing with what they were doing, and asked, "Wait, didn't he just speak in -"

"Yep, he did," the Brit grumbled as she took her last shot before resting her head on the tabletop, "it seems that my job isn't finished and I'll need to talk to Saxon about his activities, but I can't think straight."

"That's what happens if you drink too much too quickly, dipshit," Ire commented before asking Odrus for a glass of water for the hybrid. He sighed as he rested his head in his hand, "These goddamn English with their issues. It seems the word 'peace' isn't in your vocabulary."

M:   "I feel like that word has changed definition throughout the eons," Odrus stated, sliding Royal a water glass, "for us a good rough and tumble was just passing the time, we fought to solve disagreements, to display dominance, or just for fun, it was all in good nature to fight. Honestly, it was the humans who showed us that fighting could be a bad thing, we lived by honor and never fought out of malice, we had to learn that from the Short-Lives."

N:   "And sadly, we live among the same humans who carry the same idea," Ireland replied, "and we still share their views. There was a time when we could mess around, but now that we have grown up, we no longer could."

M:   Odrus nodded in agreement, "It's safe to say that the old ways are never coming back, where man and eternal lived separately, but on the bright side, perhaps this generation of people will not end the same way as ours. If we're lucky, the humans will not create their mass destruction weapons like nuclear bombs."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Perhaps I shouldn't be talking about such things, you guys don't even have refrigerators yet, let alone explosions that can level entire mountains."

N:   Ireland's eyes widened in shock, "that's ... horrible. Don't let my brother get any ideas." He realized that Royal was beside him so he quickly said, "You included, let's let people live in peace, shall we?"

"Wren heard you," the hybrid muttered as she reached for her glass of water, "if there is someone who likes to destroy stuff, it's her." She paused for a bit as if trying to listen to something, "she is wondering if she could learn a bit more, try not to tell her of any new things that we haven't invented that can mess with people."

"Will she keep her mouth shut?"

The Brit was silent for a moment before saying, "She said that she would only if it's necessary, otherwise she likes knowing stuff BE doesn't."

M:   "Well, she has quite a long time to wait for the age of mass destruction," Odrus explained, "or at least one of them, the humans never did respect their half of the earth. Which is probably why they tried to go after ours."

No longer comfortable with the topic, he tried to switch it, "So how have the whelps been, I'm a bit worried about them and the ball, I wouldn't put it past someone trying to steal them as some sort of dominance display, like how Prussia kept Edel from what I've heard."

N:   "There is a good chance that Edel will roast him before Prussia could even touch the cubs," Ireland spoke, "parental instinct and all."

"But we don't know how he would react if he sees Prussia," Royal pointed out."

"In that case," the Irishman continued, "there is Sleip, who could kick the hell out of that bird brain, and there is Father who has practically adopted Mira. Dad was complaining about how he had flashbacks to when we were infants and he would stay up to take care of us since Father brought Mira to his room to take care of her."

M:   "Well, I guess we don't need to worry too much then," Odrus shrugged, "I was honestly talking about some other guest but I suppose they would respect everyone too much to try anything."

His attention was drawn to someone calling him from a table, so he excused himself, "Alright, I got to get back to work, you guys take the time you need for Royal to recover, see you in a bit."

N:   Ireland nodded before taking his last shot for the day and turning to Royal to help her out. Constantly giving her water, after an hour she could decently walk around in a relatively straight line and her headache had subsided. While they were talking, the Brit's eyes widened as her wing's vibrated, muttering an 'oh no', which initially confused the Irishman until he saw Anglo walk into the tavern.

"So this is where you two have been hiding," the Englishman spoke, raising a brow, "would you care to explain to me as to why I was able to detect Royal from a mile away?" Both of them were quiet so the older country walked up to them and examined the hybrid, "Have you been drinking?"

Royal quietly nodded.

"On duty?"

When he got a vigorous head shake from the hybrid, he hummed, "Well, if you're going to drink, try something lighter for your lightweight self."

"I'm not the lightweight of the compound," she grumbled, but she raised a brow when the other handed her a letter, "From?"

"Your brother," he replied before greeting Odrus as he passed by, "it was addressed to you."

She hummed before opening the note and scanning it, "he's finally confirmed that Mandoria's sons and Deutsche are coming, although the person taking them here hasn't arrived yet to pick them up. He also said that ... oh."

"What do you mean by 'oh'?" Ireland asked.

"I'll need to relay a message to BE," was all she said before folding up the letter and sliding it into her coat pocket. She looked up to Anglo and said, "Don't tell Celtica that we were here."

"I didn't even see you," the country smirked.

M:   When he saw Anglo appear, Odrus tried to finish up as fast as he could, while not being rude to the customers, and asked if he could come with him to the back.

Once they were away from the rest of the tavern, he told him about the encounter with Alastair and what he said about Saxon.

"And before he left he said something in German to Royal, as well as the Ball being one to remember," the eternal explained, "I doubt Saxon is plotting something, but does he know that his hired help is going behind his back?"

N:   "Honestly, I don't know," Anglo shrugged, "I don't usually know what he does with any insurgent, whether countryhuman or human." He rubbed his chin, as he thought about it a bit more, "Although, from what I have observed, Saxon has a looser hold on humans who are insurgents, so it would be easier for Alastair to do something, but since he had relieved Chrysalis of his duties since he broke their deal, he's responsible for insurgency in the kingdom until a new insurgent appears, he should be aware, but I'll make sure that he's aware nonetheless."

The country tutted as he shook his head, "Only a couple of months and this has already happened to the young man."

M:   "You weren't here to see him, Anglo," Odrus said sadly, "you didn't see the look of betrayal and survival in his eye, after Royal kicked him to the curb, his father disowned him and blinded his left eye. The kid had nowhere to go, and no one but his followers to rely on."

Odrus subconsciously shifted to look like the new Alastair, "I relate to him so much, he's just like how we were, doing what we could to survive, while still holding resentment toward those who wronged us. He lost his home and his family, his entire way of life has been replaced by survival of the fittest. I never thought I could relate to a human so much before."

N:   "Countryhumans and humans are not so different," Anglo stated, "although our experiences may not be the same, we have the same emotions and are all living beings on this Earth, so I am not surprised that you could relate to him."

The Englishman looked out to the snow outside, falling silent for a moment to think, "However, I cannot and will not let this slide, no matter what happened to him, for if he holds a grudge against Royal, my family and the people I care about are at risk of being hurt. The motive is understandable, but I will have none of it."

Looking back at the Eternal, he picked up on the minute details of his face, not sure if his expression was of Alastair's or of Odrus'. "Do you still resent humanity," he asked, his tone relaxed, "do you, right now, feel like he does?"

M:   Odrus looked away, not yet realizing that he had shifted, "I don't know what I feel, conflicted maybe, all our lives we saw humans as destructive and power-hungry, as parasites who steal all that is good and leave behind nothing but shriveled corpses. But now, living and working amongst them, seeing how they live their lives in their own land, it's eye-opening for sure, but I don't know otherwise."

He walked over to the window and stared out of it, his breath fogging up the glass, "as for Alastair, I do feel like he does; an outcast, someone who people are cautious about or avoid altogether. I can't use my magic often, no one understands most of the things I talk about, and my eyes still earn me funny looks. The eternals can try to adapt to this new life all we want, but we'll never truly be accepted, I predict that this ball is going to be brutal to us and just drive us back into hiding."

N:   "Well let's not get ahead of ourselves and assume what will happen until the day arrives," Anglo responded, "and if you truly feel that way, maybe we should talk further to hopefully improve your relationship with humanity while you live here."

He went still for a moment as he registered a vibration in his wings, "Royal said that she's going back to the compound, so I'm going to help the pair go back safely. Also, before you go back to work, just change back to your normal self."

M:   Odrus glanced back at him with confusion, then to his reflection in the window to see he was now Alastair, "Huh, that hasn't happened in a long time, I guess I was connecting with that kid more than I thought."

Without another word, he shifted back to normal and dusted himself off, he bid Anglo good day and to tell everyone he said hi.

"Oh and before I forget, tell BE that he's going to have a snake in his wine cellar after the ball," he commented, "Askad's been toughing it out but everyone agrees that he needs to go into hibernation soon, last night proved it with how cold he got."

N:   "Will do, and I might as well warn Saxon as well," Anglo nodded as he walked over to Royal and Ireland and leaned in between them, "The both of you stink of whiskey. Good luck trying to keep your little secret hidden from Celtica."

"As long as we can walk and talk alright, we are fine," Ireland stated, and the moment he stood up, he stumbled a bit before steadying himself back on his feet. Brushing off some nonexistent dust, he tugged his waistcoat and weakly smiled, "You didn't see that."

"Sure," Royal smirked as she also got up, and soon the three of them bid their farewells and left the Unicorn.

M:   Odrus bid them ado as well and continued with his work, he wasn't as chipper as before with all the talk of the past, but he didn't let it get in the way of him doing what he loved.

-----

Back at the compound, the whelps had returned to their parents and were currently playing with Sofia and Johann, Edel was watching over them while Sleipnir was out hunting again. Edel was also letting England use him to catch up on his sleep, occasionally checking that his first child was warm and comfortable as he rested.

N:   Gwyn was sitting nearby, happily eating a sandwich as she watched Johann play around, tugging a small smile before her face went red from embarrassment when she realized that the Mandorian noticed.

"Gwyn, why don't you come and join us," he called out, beckoning her to come over, "it would be better than you just watching from a distance."

At first, she was hesitant, glancing over to Edel to see if he was fine with it, and eventually, she set down her sandwich and took cautious steps towards them.

When she was beside Johann, she knelt down in front of Byron and petted him before smiling as she played around for a bit with him.

"These three are the cutest cubs I've ever seen," she grinned before looking up at Edel to see England sleeping next to him, "why is Sir England-"

"Don't even ask," Johann chuckled as he resumed to entertain the young children.

M:   Edel made a sound like chuckling, gently licking England's face to show affection, then continued to watch his other young play. Sofia was having lots of fun too, being part griffon meant that she liked to play rough and fight with the whelps, much like a lion cub, and Byron and Quinn were more than happy to fight with her.

Mira wasn't as rough and tumble as her brothers, she preferred to watch from a safe distance while trying to groom herself, which was quite hard to do with eight legs in the way. Quinn would wrestle with the others but was still a little careful, not doing anything too bold or trying to pin anyone down. Now Byron was definitely the alpha of the cubs, he played extra rough and kept trying to grapple with Gwyn to pin her down, tearing at her clothes and munching on her hair.

N:   Johann kept an eye on Mira, making sure that she was ok at all times when he suddenly spun around when he heard a thud.

The Mandorian's eyes widened in shock when he saw Byron on top of Gwyn, and the latter groaned in pain as she held her head. "Byron," he spoke as he walked up to them, "don't be too rough when you play, ok? You can hurt someone."

"No it's fine," Gwyn muttered as she was able to push the cub off her and Johann help her up to her feet, "he's a kid, let him mess around, besides he's part dragon too. I just need something to tie my hair so he doesn't-" She went silent when she saw that Johann pulled out a ribbon from his pocket and held it out to her, "you carry ribbons?"

"It's a habit I picked up," he shrugged as he helped tie her hair up, standing back as he watched a stare-down occur between his girlfriend and Byron.

"I don't care if you try to rip my clothes," she spoke, "it was gifted by His Majesty so I don't care, but the hair is off limits." She smirked as she held out her arms, "If you're going to play rough, so will I," so she charged after the cub, although she made sure not to be too threatening and to use all her strength as she didn't watch to actually hurt the child."

M:   At first, Byron squeaked in alarm as he was tackled, his siblings wouldn't usually retaliate like that so it startled him. Edel jerked his head up and growled at the sound of his son in distress, but when the cub began to play along with Gwyn he relaxed, though still kept a watchful eye on the two.

Mira, Quinn, and Sofia stopped playing as the two were fighting, they all padded over to Johann and sat down to watch, hoping that Byron could be taught a lesson. The bigger cub was tough though, he was about half the size of Alcis and was nearly as strong as Sasha, so he was giving Gwyn a real challenge.

N:   Gwyn initially was chasing Byron around, but it soon quickly switched so now she was running away and dodging the cub's attempts to tackle her to the floor.

She used her agility to her advantage, even though Byron could catch up to her, she would quickly switch directions, causing him to buckle over. While she was rushing around him, the cadet found an opening, so she quickly turned to get Byron from behind before she herself tripped over behind him.

M:   Byron took this opportunity to jump onto her back, firmly pinning her to the ground as he grabbed the back of her shirt, shaking his head and growling like a dog. The three other children cheered at Gwyn's defeat, then rushed forward to jump on top of her as well.

A small round of applause came from the doorway, where Mandoria and BE were standing, and the former congratulated Gwyn on her efforts, "You used your wits quite well, Gwyneth, that is the most important quality to have on the battlefield."

N:   "I concur," BE nodded, "you're only providing even more evidence that you have what it takes to be part of the army."

The Welshwoman smiled as she struggled to salute while she was completely crushed, "Thank you both, and I won't let you down, your Majesty."

Meanwhile, Johann gave her a discrete thumbs up, saying that she was doing a great job. "Do you need any help there," he snickered as Gwyn just lay there.

"I don't know, Jo," she spoke, rolling her eyes, "I think I'm quite comfortable with my lung capacity reduced to zero."

The Mandorian shook his head as he walked over and shooed the children off her, and once they were all gone, he helped her up and smoothed down her hair as she tidied up her clothes.

Gwyn noticed that her hair was out again, and when she looked down she saw the ribbon, so she picked it up and held it out to Johann.

"Keep it," he muttered, "it's yours to have, and if you need any more just ask." The other just smiled to herself as she quietly thanked him.

M:   Mandoria smiled proudly, he was so happy his son had made such a connection with someone, he could already picture their life together and smiled at the thought of grandchildren running around. However, he respected Johann's privacy, he wouldn't have the two wedded if they didn't want to, but he had a feeling that they were growing closer by the day, it was only a matter of time.

He was cut out of his daydreaming when he felt a tug on his feathers, he looked down to see Quinn playing tug of war with them, so he retaliated by picking up the cub and kidnapping him to the table with BE, Edel seemingly didn't mind.

"So as I was saying, the eternals and I were discussing possible protection spells to keep Prussia away," the Mandorian continued the conversation he and BE were having, "he is becoming more powerful, Esha and I can sense it, we are feeling his influence more and more each day, and I can only imagine how it is for the other winged countries. We fear that if he does come to the ball, he will take control of everyone with wings, so we really need to make sure that he can't just teleport himself into the ballroom."

N:   "I am completely fine with anything that could keep Prussia away," BE stated, "but I would like to ask, do the protection spells also mitigate the influence Prussia has on the winged countries in the ball since there will be a couple and I would rather have a peaceful evening."

The empire glanced at Quinn before proceeding to pet the little cub, "also, does the spell have to be maintained to work?"

M:   "I'm not entirely sure, Esha isn't exactly the type who uses small words," Mandara admitted, also giving Quinn some scratches, "from what I could gather, she's trying to create some sort of deterrent that's specifically tailored to King Prussia, she said it would make him sick to his stomach just being near the compound. She's been using Prudoria to help her fine-tune the spell since he has King Prussia's genes in him, while also trying to figure out how it won't affect him too."

Mandoria plucked a feather from his wing and started fiddling with it, deep in thought, "All the same, I don't think it's going to work, Prussia is the King Wing, he could probably influence Esha to take down the spell, or again, have the other wings fight for him. One thing I do know is that it's me he's after, not anyone else ... and ... the thought has crossed my mind of giving myself up to protect you all, especially Rowen and our sons."

N:   "No," BE said firmly, looking right at Mandoria, "we will not let it go that far. We will work with Esha to see what we can do to keep Prussia away and maybe we can have the other Eternals do the casting so that Esha doesn't have direct control over the spells. As for the off chance that Prussia will use you winged countries to fight for him, you know full well that we have a way that could stun you all."

The Brit rested his hand on the other's shoulder, his expression softening, "Don't worry about us and your family, we have our ways to protect ourselves."