N:   Erna looked at how Mandoria took care of the girl and the love between her and her mother, and she wondered out loud, "I would like to have a kid to take care of." She suddenly realized what she said and she looked at Wolfgang, who had gotten red and weakly chuckling to cover up the sudden awkwardness.

"Anyway," the knight said loudly, still processing what Erna said, "what are we going to do now?"

"We have some spare tents for you if you need them," Wald answered, "so just set them up near the carts. Make a small campfire near the tents too so you are warm, and after that, it's up to you."

"Cool," Wolfgang said, standing up, "Vater, let's set up a tent," and he and Alaric walked away, leaving Erna to place her head in her hands.

Johann came and sat next to her, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder, "so, umm, that came out of the blue?"

"Talk about it," she grumbled, "we never properly talked about it, since we were mostly separated as knights, so it is definitely sudden for both of us."

"Well if you need a kid to take care of," the other spoke, "I still haven't grown out of my childhood self so you have me." The knight chuckled quietly at the proposal, playfully nudging him as he pretended to be a kid.

M:   "Hey," Rowen said goodnaturedly, "seriously Johann, in front of your fathers, what are we not good enough for you?" he joked.

"Easy Rowen," Mandoria said, "I doubt Erna would want to deal with his pranks anyway, like the time he put a spider on your face while you were sleeping."

Rowen squeaked at the mention of that, that was not a fun thing to wake up to, he shook off his fright and played along, "You're right, or the one with you and the molasses and feathers, we had to pluck you clean of feathers to get rid of the sticky substance."

Mandoria frowned, "not one of my finest moments," he grumbled.

N:   Erna looked with shock at Johann, and the man laughed nervously. "And that," he announced, "is my time to leave," and he quickly rushed over to the carts.

"Wait," she called out, "you actually did that?" However, the Mandorian was too far to respond so she shook her head, "Haas, please don't do something stupid when you're with him."

"First off, he's the one with the ideas," the knight defended, "second, I think we did our daily troublemaking when he hung from the roof and scared Rowen and Mutter ... I've said too much." Erna looked at Heinz, wondering if he was ok, and he added, "You know what, you didn't hear that from me," and he too walked away.

Erna stood up and faced Rowen and Mandoria, "I am seriously amazed how you were able to survive taking care of Johann," she laughed, "he has not changed a bit."

M:   "Well what can I say, we were pretty experienced trying to wrangle my two sons when they were kids," Mandoria shrugged, "Mandara and Derogan were an equal amount of troublemaker as Johann, though they were still able to teach him a few tricks, like unlocking the stable doors to let the horses out or hiding snakes and rodents in the knights' armor."

"Or poring alcohol in our coffee," Rowen added, "he will deny it but I know he had something to do with it as he kept bringing me coffee while I never saw him drink any."

"Rowen, you would have drinked that much coffee without Johann's help, you have an addiction to caffeine," Mandoria nudged him, earning a grumble and a pout.

"You know what, I think I will take my leave and go see where Edel wandered off to before we go down that rabbit hole again," he said, "good evening to you two."

Mandoria shook his head in amusement, "now you know where Johann gets his avoidance from," he whispered to Erna, "but between you and me, Saxon is a worse child to raise if he happens to be under your protection, I don't know how Anglo puts up with him and remain sane."

N:   "Is it now," Erna smirked, glancing over to Saxon. The entity saw the knight looking at him, and he tilted his head in confusion, afterward walking away towards the tents. "I can see that," she finally said, "some people just don't change." She chuckled a bit more before the pair made their way to the carts.

The group was able to set up a fair amount of tents, formed in a semi-circle around a campfire and logs around it for seats. In the middle, Heinrich was kneeling next to the logs, trying to get the fire starting off, while Wolfgang and Heinrich stood nearby, the Mandorian smirking at the Prussian.

"How come you're taller than me," Wolfgang grumbled, and he went on the tips of his toes and was just at Johann's height.

"I never knew you will still be a sore loser," Johann smirked, pushing him down to his normal height.

"Obviously I would be annoyed," the other snapped back, "when the short kid four years younger than me later becomes taller than me. What the hell were they feeding you?"

"Anti-Wolfe," Johann laughed, earning a jab in the stomach, but he kept on chuckling.

"Can the both of you stop messing about for one second," Heinrich said, still blowing at the base of the fire. The fire was steadily growing, and when he thought he blew enough, he threw in more kindling and watched over the flame, stoking it until it was steady.

When the pair reached the tents, Johann asked them where Rowen was, and when he got his answer, he looked around to see if he was nearby. "Hopefully he doesn't go too far out," he said, "but it would be funny to hear what Edel got himself into in the camp."

M:   Unfortunately, what Rowen found when he located Edel was anything but funny. The dragon had wandered into the forest and found an old pitfall trap that had filled with water from the nearby river and eroded away, leaving a large crater filled with feet of mud, perfect for trapping large, heavy creatures.

"Edel, what happened," Rowen asked when he found the hapless reptile, "how did you get so stuck?"

Edel only whined and thrashed around to get free, flinging mud around with each splash of his tail. Rowen immediately ran back to camp and found Saxon and Wald, "Edel's stuck in a quicksand pit over by the river, he's too heavy to climb out by himself."

N:   The two looked at each other, surprised at the news, and Saxon spoke, "Let's do this, Wald, go and tell the others so they could come and help, and I go back with Rowen to see Edel." The insurgent nodded and ran towards the tents, Saxon calling out to him, "Remember to find large sticks."

The entity followed Rowen back, and when he saw the dragon, he began to worry even more. "Stop moving, Edel," he said, "you thrashing around would make it worse and cause you to sink even deeper."

Meanwhile, Wald went to the carts and found the knights, Johann and Mandoria around the campfire, alerting them about what happened. "I spoke too soon," Johann muttered quietly, then he spoke louder, "How can we help?"

"We need really large sticks, large enough to put underneath Edel's belly. And maybe some ropes to pull him out," the insurgent answered, and he rubbed his temples, "usually I tell everyone to not head over to the river, but I must have forgotten for you. I shouldn't have forgotten."

M:   "It's ok Wald," Mandoria reassured him, "Knowing Edel and his love of fish he probably would have gone either way, all that matters now is helping him out."

With that, Mandoria and Johann helped the others gather small logs and rope, as well as harness up some horses so they could help pull if need be, Rowen came back to lead them over to the struggling dragon.

"Easy Edel," Mandoria hushed him as he came closer, "everything's going to be ok, we'll get you out."

"Careful Mandoria," Rowen warned, keeping the country from getting too close, "the ground around the hole is caving in, if we get too close we could fall in with him."

N:   "If we can't get any closer," Johann asked, "how are we supposed to help?" He turned around to see Heinrich working away on one of the longer logs. The knight tied rocks to each end of the log, as well as tying a rope too on each end, and he did it again with another log.

"Maybe if we throw in the logs," the Prussian suggested, holding one end of the rope, and people on both ends drag it underneath the mud with the ropes until it is underneath Edel. The rocks would weigh it down so it would actually sink too."

He called over Wolfgang so he could demonstrate, and they rolled the log over until it fell in, with both knights holding the ropes. They made sure they were not too close to the edge as they watched the log sink, and when they were ready, they walked along the edge, pulling the ropes until they felt resistance. When they couldn't drag it anymore, judging from where the ropes were, the log was just behind Edel's hind legs.

M:   Rowen nodded along with the plan, watching as the log was lowered into place and gears turned in his head.

"Ok, that's a solid start," he commented, "we should tie the ropes to the horses so when they pull it lifts up Edel's rear out of the mud."

He then grabbed another log and tied ropes to either end of it. He hoisted up the log and handed one rope to Mandoria, "Edel, catch," he said, throwing it as hard as he could to the dragon's waiting maw. Edel caught the log and Rowen smiled in satisfaction.

"With that we can help pull him out," he said, "though if we could get a few ropes around his antler and front paws it would be good too."

N:   "Use the other log for the front paws," Heinrich said, so Johann and Erna took the prepared log and threw it in front of Edel, holding a rope on both ends. They held on to the ropes loosely so the log could sink deeper, and they dragged it under the dragon, just brushing it underneath his paws. When they were sure it was under him, they pulled on the ropes tightly, and dragged it again, positioning it right behind his front legs.

"Let me deal with the antler," Saxon spoke, holding a rope in his hand, and he tied it to form a lasso. Swinging it around to gain momentum, he threw it and it landed around Edel's antler, and he pulled on it to secure its hold.

M:   Edel didn't seem to appreciate the rope on his antler and started shaking his head, almost pulling Saxon into the pit.

"No Edel, it's okay, it's just to help pull you out," Mandoria reassured him, " just hang on and it'll be over soon."

With that, everyone either jumped on a horse or grabbed hold of a rope, a light drizzle started falling so they knew they had to get Edel out fast.

"Alright is everyone ready," Rowen asked, "on three.  One ... two ... three!"

N:   Each knight and Johann were mounted on a horse, attaching their end of the rope to the harness, and holding onto the rope. On three, they all pulled outward, making the ropes taunt as the horses walked away from the pit, slowly but surely lifting Edel out of the mud. Johann and Erna especially led two horses each, and Wald watched as Edel's paws became visible.

"Alright," he said, "let's get him over to one side." He helped Saxon with the rope, and using the log in Edel's mouth, they pulled him over as the four steered their horses forward. As he approached the side, the insurgent began to place logs on the side to form a sturdy platform where Edel could stand.

M:   Edel was using all his strength to pull himself free too, using his tail and wings as leverage to push himself out. When his front legs were freed he attempted to pull himself out but the soft soil around the edge of the pit couldn't hold his weight and crumble beneath him.

The platform Wald laid down was just sturdy enough for the dragon to get a firm grip on, but it started sinking as he put his weight on it. Undeterred, everyone kept pulling until at last Edel was able to rip his butt free of the mud and crawl away from the edge. Everyone was exhausted but still cheered when he was freed, though the joy was short-lived as Edel then shook himself to dislodge the mud from his fur, flinging mud bombs everywhere.

"Edel," Mandoria and Rowen exclaimed in unison, trying to shake off the mud they were now covered in, Edel only purred and rubbed against them, happy to be out of the quicksand.

N:   Saxon stood silently as he took the brunt of the mud since he still held onto the rope attached to Edel's antler, and he just looked up at the dragon with a straight face. "Seriously?" he mumbled, reaching up to remove the rope, "that was highly unnecessary."

Wald walked up to the entity and patted his shoulder, "It's alright, boss. We get showered in mud once in a while"

"Besides," Johann spoke, flinging the mud off his arms, "you wouldn't like mud stuck in your hair would you?" He went over to Heinrich, who was trying to shake off the mud from his hair, grumbling in annoyance as the dirt greatly contrasted with his hair.

"I think I should do what Anglo did," Saxon said as he grabbed a chuck of mud from his hair, "get a haircut." He shook his head as if trying to get the idea out of his head as well as the mud, and he patted Edel on the back, "At least you're out now."

Wald nodded in agreement, but he raised his head as the rainfall began to get heavier, so he said loudly, "Let's start heading back. We don't want another person falling in."

M:   "No, we do not," Mandoria agreed, "but look on the bright side, at least the rain will rinse us off, hopefully."

With that said, the group all head back to the camp, opting to go into the cave to get out of the rain, though Mandoria made Edel wait outside until he was all rinsed off.  Most of the residents who weren't in a tent or cabin took refuge in the cave too, even the carts, Maria, and the others were in there too.

"Wow, it's much more spacious in here than it looks like on the outside," Rowen whistled in amazement, "is it just this one cave, Wald, or is there a whole cave system deeper in?"

N:   "Yep, and it goes pretty deep," Wald answered, "we use parts of it to store supplies but the majority is unexplored. Mainly it's because it is dangerous, but when there are warning on the walls further in to not continue, we stopped."

"The writing is still here," Saxon spoke in surprise, "it was there when I was around over a millennium ago. It was warnings humans wrote since there were so many stories of jotun, fire giants, and even Loki residing or trapped in caves, so the people usually didn't venture deep."

"But there are some silly faces and writing too on the walls," the insurgent asked, "what was that supposed to mean?"

"Oh those," Saxon laughed, "that was just me wanting to mess with the people who come in the future. I made a bet with Anglo that no one would understand the language we spoke after a while, and it turns out I'm right, and it's good you can't translate them, they are not the nicest of words."

The insurgent shook his head in disappointment and he ordered one of the soldiers to hand the people who were wet a towel to dry themselves off.  When Maria asked what happened, Heinrich explained, she sighed, "The poor thing," and she asked one of the people for a large fish, and when they came back with the fish, she brought it to the dragon. "You like fish, huh," she smirked, placing the fish in front of him, "I know it's not enough, but it is at least enough for you not to go and chase after them."

M:   Edel, who was still halfway outside to wash his tush in the rain, purred in thanks and gladly accepted the fish, nudging Maria affectionately afterward. Rowen smiled at the interaction, then plopped down around a campfire with a tired sigh.

"I think I need to go shake off somewhere," Mandoria said, holding up his water and mud-logged wings, "they're not as heavy as normal since I don't have all my feathers, but heavy enough."

"Sure, you go do that," Rowen simply said, "I don't think I can stand right now, god I'm getting too old for this."

"Oh quit being such a drama queen," Mandoria playfully scolded, "you make yourself sound old when you say those things."

"Says you, you should be dust with how long you've lived," Rowen countered, watching Mandoria walk away so he could shake off his wings.

N:   "You're not that old, Hezyka," Johann reassured Rowen, sitting beside him as he warmed himself by the fire, "I mean, if you have enough energy to deal with me, you're definitely not old."

"Or you're the reason why he's aging," Heinrich chuckled, getting an annoyed glance from the Mandorian; however, he was more preoccupied with his hair. The mud was still lodged between his locks, and he grumbled, "Why can't this damn mud go," as he combed his hair out.

"You're lucky you can even see yours," Wolfgang pointed out, "the mud just merges with mine." He was struggling by himself, and beside him, Erna was already done, her hair up in a bun as she stretched out her hands.

"Do you need help," she asked, but Wolfgang was adamant that he can do it himself, but after a couple more minutes of watching him struggle, she sighed and stood up behind him. "Comb," she ordered, stretching her hand out, but he refused, so she added, "As long as you have the skill level of a toddler when it comes to their hair, you are going to take forever. Pass it over."

The knight huffed in defeat as he handed over the comb to the woman, who proceeded to tidy up his hair properly. He pouted the entire time while she worked, and Johann laughed when he saw his face. "Is baby Wolfe taken care of," the Mandorian teased, "aww, it seems like he likes it," Wolfgang muttered illegible words underneath his breath as he stared daggers at Johann.

M:   Rowen snickered along with Johann, "Oh that brings back the memories of the first time Edel gave England a bath, he was just as miserable and we wouldn't stop teasing him either. We haven't seen him since Johann was still short and kept falling off of Comet, I wonder how he's been with all the Prussia drama."

There was a startled yelp that interrupted his thoughts, he turned to see that Edel was shaking himself again, thankfully it was just water this time, and Mandoria was shielding Maria with his wings.

"Edel, you're such a goof," He said, lowering his wings when the shower had passed, "why don't you go sit by the others and dry yourself off, and no more shaking."

Edel responded with a lick to the face and obliged, going over to sit with everyone, getting a chin scratch from Rowen, who then asked, "Hey buddy, don't suppose you could help me out a bit, I think I might need a bath."

The dragon wagged his tail that he was given permission to bathe someone for once, so he scooped Rowen up in his paws and got to work licking him clean, happy that he didn't have to restrain him for a bath.

N:   Johann laughed as he saw Rowen, petting Edel and telling him that he was doing a great job, while the knights uttered a small 'eww' as they watched the dragon bathe Rowen. "At least you don't look as miserable as England," Johann commented, "he looked like he wasn't going to have none of it."

Erna was done with Wolfgang's hair and when she gave back the comb, the knight eyed the Mandorian, "Hey Johann, it's a bit sad that you kept on falling off your horse," he smirked, getting a grumble from the other, but he continued, "but it's ok. It's a learning process. Why don't you sit next to me and I tell you something about Heinrich?"

Johann narrowed his eyes at the Prussian, unsure he should trust him, but he went over anyway, and when he sat down, the knight leaned into him. "So," he began, "Heinrich has a special ability to draw people into a trap."

"Huh," the other asked, but he soon got his answer when Wolfgang trapped him in a headlock, and he tried to escape but he couldn't.

"Dear Ernie," Wolfgang spoke, "let's give the man a makeover, shall we?" Erna smiled and nodded, getting back the comb. When they were able to get Johann to sit up, and still trapped, she began to comb his hair back, teasing the Mandorian as she did. "Hey Heinz," Wolfe called out, "does your Mutter have any spare ribbons?"

"I think she does," he chuckled, rushed to get the ribbons, and came back with a handful.

"Hmm," Wolfgang wondered, "which one should we choose? Let's go with yellow since it's your favorite."

"NO, IT'S NOT," Johann snapped, trying to shake himself from the knight's grip, but instead got scolded by Erna for moving too much. In the end, he gave up as they did their work, and the end product was his hair tied up into two space buns, tied with yellow ribbons. Wolfgang finally let go, and when he got one good look at Johann, he began to laugh right in his face.

"That is what happens when you mess with me," the Prussian laughed, "and don't you dare take it out."

M:   "I think it looks good," Rowen said, trying to hide his quiet snickers, "yellow suits you well, if you don't mind, Heinz, I'll take a few ribbons for myself, I may not fight anymore but it's still good to have your hair out of your eyes."

After a few minutes, Edel was done and let Rowen free, Mandoria had come back by then and decided he would have a turn too, sitting in front of the dragon and spreading out his wings so they were easily assessable. Rowen smiled that the country was much more comfortable with his wings being touched, even though Edel didn't really count since he wasn't a human. Eventually, after everyone was nice and clean, the three Mandorians huddled up next to Edel and rather quickly went to sleep, all exhausted from the day before.

N:   "The rest of you should sleep too," Saxon spoke, approaching the three knights, "and preferably without the messing about."

"I agree," Maria nodded, walking up to Heinrich, "my baby needs to rest."

"Mutter," the Prussian whined as his friends laughed in the background.

Erna walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, "it's alright, your Mutter is not the only one who thinks of you as a little boy," she said, causing the man to grumble in annoyance. "We need to find out parents anyways," she told the entity, "and we will soon be asleep."

"Good," Saxon replied, and he watched the group walk away, and he smiled when he saw the Mandorians huddled together. He sighed tiredly as he walked up to the entrance of the cave, where Wald was leaning against the wall.

"I'll take the first watch," the insurgent offered the entity, "you need to rest, boss."

"Two hours and switch," Saxon asked, and the other nodded, so he bid him good night as he sat against the wall and slept, the insurgent standing by and keeping watch. They kept on switching until the break of dawn, then a soldier came over and took over, allowing the both of them to rest.