L:   Germany jumped at the sound of Tank's bark and sidled away from the dog.  He adjusted his tie - nervous habit - and said, "I see. If you'll excuse me," before entering his room, where he hoped he'd be safe. Wehrmacht stayed outside. 

"Understandable," the militant said to Mandara, "I had two dogs back in the day. Berlin was definitely more well-trained but Dresden was all over the place.  I guess every dog is just as unique as every countryhuman." 

M:   Poldara started laughing at Germany's scared reaction to his uncle's giant teddy bear, and Tank cocked his head to the side like he was confused about it, the rest of the adults started snickering as well. 

Then Mandara called to Germany, "if it makes you feel better, press the number one button on the phone to call someone to come protect you from our oversized guinea pigs." Poldara laughed even harder. 

"Well, I think that's the end with the tour," Poland announced, Poldara stopped laughing and gave him a confused look, "but Papa, we forgot the backyard and garden."

"Well Blue-Jay, after what happened with Germany, we figured that maybe Mr. Wehrmacht would want to stay away for the time being," Mandara explained 

"Mandoria only bit Mr. Germany because he touched his wing, can we go for just a short bit, please."  Mandara pondered it for a minute, then looked to Wehr to see if he wanted to.

L:   Germany grumbled at the Mandarians' teasing and decided he would much rather stay in his room and end the tour.  Wehrmacht, wanting to stay near his nephew, hesitated about going to the backyard. 

"You can go," said Germany. "I'll be fine here.  It's just a bedroom - unless there are animals in the closet." 

"Do you need me to at least look at your injury before I go?" Wehrmacht asked. 

"I'm fine, Uncle, I'm not a 10-year-old anymore. Besides, maybe if you make friends with the eagle outside, he'll be used to Germans and be less likely to attack me again." 

Wehrmacht rolled his eyes. "If you say so. Okay, Mandara. Let's go visit the fellow bird."

M:   Everyone started giggling again, and this time Poldara decided to get in on the action, "well, I found a Green Whip snake in Uncle Russia's bed once when he told me to get something, it escaped when I came back with him and we haven't been able to find it again, so maybe." 

"Poldara, don't traumatize the poor man, he's been through enough already." Mandara scolded his son, he then whispered to Wehr again, "he's not lying about the snake though, we've been trying to get rid of it but I think it had babies somewhere."

"But we'll worry about that later," Poland said, again trying to steer the conversation somewhere else, "Poldara, why don't you go on ahead, we'll be there shortly." Poldara nodded and ran off, the adults following behind.

L:   "Well now I'm unsure about leaving Germany all by himself," Wehrmacht said as they walked out of the north wing. He was both lighthearted and serious at the same time and rubbed his arms, "I'm getting goosebumps from the idea of baby snakes in this house.  Your servants must have a hard time working here knowing that." 

Once they were near the backyard, Wehrmacht began searching around for any sign of the eagle who had attacked his nephew, just in case it decided to dive-bomb him too.

M:   "It's uh ... not something that is mentioned during the job interviews," Mandara admitted, then MA added, "just makes it funnier when you hear grown-ass men squealing like female pigs." Poland snorted so hard that he ended up hurting his throat. 

When they arrived in the backyard, they spotted Poldara yelling up a tree, making Mandara shake his head in amusement, "let me guess, he doesn't want to come down?" 

"No," Poldara called back, "he said that he wants an apology first."

"Well that's kind of impossible at the moment," Mandara said, "you come up here, I'll have a word with him." Poldara obeyed and swapped places with his father, who in turn started making bird calls to Mandoria, who then mimicked them back.

L:   Wehrmacht watched the apparent conversation between Mandara and Mandoria with interest.  He wasn't fluent in bird-calling, so he had no idea what they were actually telling each other, but it sounded cool.  He stood next to Poldara and caught a glimpse of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in the branches. 

"Fiesty one, is he?" Wehrmacht commented. Then he glanced back at Poland. "Can you also communicate with birds?  Where did they learn this stuff?"

M:   "I can't, never could get my vocal cords to behave like that," Poland said, then MA answered the other question, "bird calling is an old art that has been all but lost within modern winged countries, Trigger and I learned a bit from father, then some more with Ottoman Greece when we were refugees in his country centuries ago.  Then Poldara started making bird calls before he even learned to talk, so we thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to teach him." 

As MA finished his story, Mandoria flew down onto Mandara's arm and the country carried him over to Wehrmacht, "here he is, he said he only came because you are a winged entity and he trusts you not to touch his wings."

L:   "A lost art," Wehrmacht murmured. "Then I'm glad Poldara is learning. These techniques need to be kept alive." 

Then he tilted his head at Mandoria as if in greeting. "Well, I'm flattered that you trust me." He brushed his finger along Mandoria's chest feathers, admiring the sleek brown color. He didn't look too heavy, so Wehrmacht asked, "May I hold him on my arm?"

M:   Mandara looked slightly nervous when the German asked that, usually it was only him and Poldara that could do that since they were the ones who took care of the eagle when he was injured, anyone else he would snap at.  Mandoria didn't snap at Wehrmacht surprisingly, he instead squawked and ruffled his feathers a bit. 

"He says he doesn't usually like other people holding him, but you seem responsible to him so he's willing to make an exception," Mandara translated, a hint of surprise in his voice.  So with Mandoria giving consent, Mandara held his arm out to let the eagle step onto Wehr's.

L:   Wehrmacht was very careful to hold his arm steady as Mandoria's talons stepped onto his forearm. His other hand kept stroking Mandoria's chest. Wehrmacht fluttered his black wings and wondered if Mandoria saw all of them as birds, just strangely built. 

"Danke, Mandoria, for letting me hold you," Wehrmacht said, "you seem much better trained." Wehrmacht glanced pointedly at Tank. "Although maybe it's because Poldara's a naturally better teacher than his Dads and Uncle."

M:   "Oh, I wouldn't say that," MA remarked, "kid barely knows how to listen himself, especially when it comes to combat lessons." 

"Yeah, dad and I rescued Mandoria when he was injured in a storm, so he just listens to us better than other people," Poldara explained, "though whenever I play with the dogs he gets jealous and steals my goggles, or he distracts me when Uncle MA and I are sword fighting."

L:   "Is that so, Mandoria?" said Wehrmacht to the bird, "do you get jealous?  Don't be, birds are the most superior animals and pets. You're a good and noble class so behave accordingly, don't cause trouble like the two furballs." 

Back in his room, Germany had gotten an early phone call that made him worried by the time it ended.  He thought about how he would tell the Mandarians.  Taking a deep breath, he headed out of his room and kept a watchful eye on the corners in case there were actually snakes as he made his way towards the backyard.

M:   Both Flurry and Tank, who were watching at the door this whole time, barked at Wehrmacht like they felt insulted, Mandoria then screeched at them and they took off whimpering, they never liked the bird, he scared them. 

Poland chuckled, "don't look now Wehrmacht, but I think you have a new bodyguard to protect you from the fluffballs."  The others snickered at the joke.

L:   Wehrmacht laughed when the dogs ran away and scratched Mandoria approvingly.  "Do I get to bring him inside?  What kind of snacks does Mandoria like?  I want to reward him his first paycheck for being my bodyguard." 

Germany found them in the backyard at that moment.  He had to jump aside to get out of the fleeing dogs' path. 

"Hey Mandara," he said, biting the inside of his mouth, "how lenient is your border security? Like, say for instance a past criminal tried to enter ..."