Chapter Quote: "Saying goodbye is a little like dying."

Anjelle: So we updated New Years 2016, and then… life hit. Hard. I've been working full time and Bedlam's had some family problems, and that's just simplifying it for both of us. But while we tried writing on our own we WERE still working on this, I want you guys to know that, it's just writing this update took a long time. We actually started in October. But it went through so many modifications, some scenes were moved to the next chapter (and because of that we have a little under 5K written for it already), and that combined with a never-ending parade of stupid coming at us in real life made this a long wait. But we're here again, as we promised we always would be, with the prelude to a chapter that we've been waiting to write for almost 3 years now. To everyone who's stuck around this long, thank you SO MUCH for your patience and we hope it was worth the wait. As we've said, there will sometimes be periods of silence but we'll always come back to this story. We love it so, so much, and when we can't find time we make it. But sometimes even doing that takes time. Anyway, thank you guys for everything and here you are with the chapter!

Bedlam: Yeah, talk about an understatement. It's been a tough year. But boy am I happy with this chapter. The next one I'm super looking forward to, but this has a lot of little things in it that just make me happy. World building is less fun to write sometimes but once it's done and you look over it there is that feeling of satisfaction and pleasure of making everything more real, you know? Now hopefully life will cut us a break. Please, I need a few easy months.

Atche held his hands forward, ready to grapple with his brother as Luhfi charged him in their game of barracuda. Normally one of their caretakers would have intervened before the game got too rough, but Izo was focused on some papers at the desk and didn't seem to notice their play. That was alright by Atche. He wasn't quite sure what Marco had been saying, because dead was dead, but he thought it meant that maybe Izo was sick. If he was, the least Atche could do was keep his little brother from pestering the man. Lu seemed to sense something was wrong as the brat had suggested playing inside even though it was a nice day out. Mister Izo had to get better, so they would play inside today where he could watch them from the desk. If he ever looked up, that is.

Fleeing from the barracuda at the last possible second instead of wrestling, Atche ran into the room closest to the hall, his brother close on his heels. In their game this room was a lagoon, which meant Atche had the advantage being the fisherman. Instead of rushing him, Luhfi circled the room, darting in and trying to snatch at Atche's clothes. This room was better for these kinds of moves anyway since there was less furniture-something they'd only discovered over the last few days ever since their caretakers had started to leave the doors to the hall open. Atche was sure it was a test. It had to be, right? Both Thatch and Izo had told them not to wander, but beyond that left them to play in the new room that was open to them all the time. It must have been a test to see how obedient they could be. So far, he and Lu had been good. They had only left the rooms and the garden when one of the others accompanied them, even though both were very curious.

Atche was determined to prove that they could be trusted. It was important, after everything the others had done for them. They had to repay the monsters somehow.

Lu took advantage of his momentary distraction to dart in from behind and latch onto his side, grinning widely while 'biting' into the fisherman. Atche yelped and grabbed Luhfi before he 'swam' away, trying to wrestle him to the ground-something that was a lot harder than it appeared, even if Atche was more or less healed now. But soon they heard the distinctive sound of Marco's gait as the monster-man walked down the hall towards their room. With the doors open it was easy enough to hear, and as one they both glanced expectantly towards the door. Marco hadn't been by to visit them today, and even though Atche would deny it, the monster made him feel safe. But it hadn't been so long that the distinctive click-scre sound of his walk had frightened the boy. People did not sound like that when they walked. But Marco was a monster… even if he could be a nice one.

Atche didn't realise that he was looking toward the doorway with an excited yet shy smile. He did know that his brother was grinning widely, game forgotten as he awaited their Marco-a Marco who strode right past without so much as a glance, a frown pulling at his face. It wasn't a frown that most would notice, but it was enough that they noticed. They noticed and it upset them.

"Atche, why's he look so mad?"

"I-I don't know, Lu." Was Marco mad at them? They were being good. "Maybe, maybe he's worried about Mister Izo?"

Lu made an unhappy sound as he let go of Atche. "I'm gonna go ask." His little brother darted into the hall.

"Luhfi, no!" Atche latched onto his brother's arm. "We're not allowed out in the hall by ourselves."

"But Atche, we'll be with Mister Marco," Luhfi pointed out innocently.

He did have a point, and Atche was worried about Marco. He always stopped in. If he didn't want them there they'd come right back… "Okay. But we come right back after. Izo is sick, and he needs us, too."

"Right!" It was all he could do to hold onto his little brother as the two of them entered the hall, for the first time on their own. Marco was almost out of sight, so they hurried to catch up with him, not quite running but going faster than a walk. Something told them that calling out to him wouldn't work, so they focused on hurrying after the retreating form as fast as they could.

Atche had never noticed just how fast Marco walked before. Even hurrying after him, they hadn't gained on the man by the time they left the quiet hallway he thought of as 'theirs'. "Lu, I think we should go back," Atche said, tugging on his brother as he looked at the strange monster people who were walking past.

"But Atche, we haven't talked to Mister Marco!" Luhfi pouted.

"Yeah, but…." There were too many strangers. He couldn't tell Lu he was afraid, though. He was the big brother. "We don't know the way," he hedged instead.

"Atche won't let us get lost!" He felt his heart swell with pride at that trust. "So let's go! Before he gets away!"

"... Fine. But we gotta stay out of people's way, Luhfi." He sighed, letting Luhfi drag him into the hall after the retreating form of their caretaker.

Marco was much further ahead than he had been, having not stopped while the two of them decided whether or not they were going to follow. Luhfi seemed determined to catch up, but it was hard when there were others in the hall. Atche was proud of how his little brother didn't flinch away from the looks the strangers were giving them, but he understood exactly how Lu felt when the little boy tightly gripped his hand.

"They won't do anything to us, Lu. I won't let them," he promised, giving his little brother's hand a squeeze as Marco turned a corner. It made him nervous, being unable to see Mister Marco when there were all those strange monsters around. Atche wanted to believe that he was strong enough to protect his brother but knew that Mister Marco would do a better job against other monsters, if only because he was supposed to be the scariest monster, and they were his. But… they had nothing on them to mark them as his, and Marco was getting away. What if those strange monsters didn't know, and tried to do something? "...Come on, Luhfi. He went this way." Atche took the lead.

"Atche, Mister Marco walks really fast," Luhfi stated with more than a little bit of awe as the two of them rounded the corner just in time to see him vanish behind another bend.

Atche nodded as he focused on avoiding everyone, dragging his brother down the hall after Marco. There was no sign of him when they turned the corner into the new hall. It wasn't too surprising since the hall was short and ended in a split. Looking at his choices, Atche went left. It just felt right to him. This hall was long, but part way down it there was another branching off. Sharing a look with Luhfi, they went down that one. It went on like that for a while with left and right turns without even so much as a glimpse of Marco. Atche started to worry that they really were lost. All he wanted was to go back to their room or find Mister Marco, and he realised he had no clue how to do either.

"Are you lost, kits?"

Shoving Luhfi behind him, Atche turned to face the possible threat. He tried to look fierce as he glared up at the monster. He didn't know what kind of monster she was, but he was sure to keep a tight hold on his little brother when he saw her fluffy tail. Luhfi would definitely want to pet it, and he was pretty sure that would make her mad even if she was a nice monster. "Stay back!"

"You shouldn't be wandering around." She reached out, and both boys flinched back instinctively. "Jumpy little things, aren't you?" Backing up a bit, the lady looked around, "Can I get some help here?"

"Just leave the little vermin," someone replied, and Atche glared at them for their tone. He might not have known what they'd said, but he knew it was about them, and that it wasn't nice.

"They're just kits, Lita. Leave it be."

"They're human," the other replied, walking off. Atche silently snarled at her, tugging Luhfi close.

"That lady sounded mean, Atche… I don't like her." Luhfi glanced at the one still crowding them, "She seems nice. Do you think she's a good monster, Atche?"

"I don't know, Lu. Just don't let go of me, okay?" Flinching away from the lady as she reached towards them again, Atche backed up until he and his brother were pressed against a small table. If nothing else, they could hide under it and make it harder for the lady to do anything.

"Ah damn, I don't know how to handle kits… A little help here?" The woman sighed, "I'm sure the Saint Beasts are looking for you… I really don't want to be the one to explain this to them."

"What's wrong?" Another strange monster approached and Atche couldn't stop the slight shiver that ran though his body as he eyed the man with long rabbit ears carefully. He thought maybe he'd seen this one before, but that didn't equate to trust. "Oh. It looks like we have some runaways on our hands." He smiled down at them.

"I doubt they meant to leave the wing, Henric." The lady with the pretty tail frowned at him, and Atche quietly tried to move under the table with Luhfi.

Both glanced at them, but the monsters didn't seem concerned by it. Taking advantage of it, the boy moved both of them fully under the table. "Not to worry, Syn. My own leverets leave the form as soon as they're able and are forever getting turned around. It's a youngling thing."

"How do we get them back?"

"I suppose I'll just have to get Master Thatch. Would you mind watching them until I get back?"

"I can at least keep them from wandering further… I think. Probably."

"I'll be sure to hurry back. Master Thatch will be relieved to know they haven't gotten into trouble." The man with the long ears offered one more smile before backing away and heading off somewhere.

"What's going on, Atche?"

"I-I don't know, Lu."

The monster left with them sat on the floor, tail curving tantalizingly to the side as she stared at them. "You don't look like fierce monsters to me. Not yet, at least. I saw what you did, by the way-hiding your toys and food in little stashes around your room. Clever brats. If nothing else, you certainly are that."

Luhfi tugged on his sleeve, distracting him from his intense concentration as he tried to figure out what the lady was saying.

"What is she saying, Atche?"

"She's talking too fast. I don't know." Atche huffed, annoyed at his lack of understanding.

"Cubs," a familiar voice called. Luhfi wiggled out of his grasp in favor of peaking out from under the table.

"Thatchy!" Luhfi cheered, reaching out for their caretaker.

Atche sighed in relief at the sight of the tall striped monster, "I guess the rabbit guy got him…"

Lu looked back to his brother with big eyes, "So he and fluffy-tail lady are nice?" When Atche could just shrug in reply he looked up at Thatch, ignoring the frown that tugged at the man's lips and made Atche want to curl into a ball. "Are big ears and fluffy tail nice?"

Thatch blinked before smiling, crouching down to their level. "Yes. This is Hendric, and that is Syn."

"I'm impressed, my Lord. You understand their primitive language," the long-eared one, Hendric, spoke.

Thatch glanced at him, his expression flickering for a moment before he smiled easily. "There's a trick to it. They wanted to know if you were safe."

"I suppose they were scared, so many strangers about."

"It's nothing to worry about. They are good cubs, for the most part." Thatch turned his attention back to the boys, a light frown on his face that caused them both to shrink back. "What have we told you about leaving the room?" he asked, speaking slowly.

Atche pouted, looking down at the worn floorboards. He hadn't meant to disobey. "Not to," he replied in his own language, uneasy in front of strangers, even if Thatch said they were alright.

"Very not-good, Atche. The door is open to air out the room and I suppose it was too tempting."

"They are still young. They will learn."

"They know better," their caretaker replied before switching to the boys' language. "No wandering. Not safe. You get lost. Can't find room."

Atche colored, figuring out what the strange word meant. "Not lost," he protested in a mutter.

"Yes, lost. Not in room."

"Marco walks fast," Luhfi cut in, pouting at Thatch.

"...Ah." The man sighed, "Looks like the bird brain needs to pay better attention to his surroundings. The little brats followed him right out of the wing."

"And they got this far? Determined little runts, I see," Syn stated, staring down at the boys with amusement.

"Still bad. They got lost." Thatch wagged his finger at the two of them.

Atche felt his cheeks heat up. "Not lost," he lied. Honestly he had no clue where he was. Thatch raised an eyebrow, a smirk pulling at his lips. "No lost!"

"Right. Sure you're not, Ace, Luffy." He was teasing them, Atche knew it. Still, when the man held out his arms he was only a second behind his brother into the embrace. It had been a long walk with lots of scary strangers everywhere. "Please don't wander off like that again."

"But Mister Marco looked mad…"

He felt Thatch sigh, "I know, little one. But if you had gotten lost he would worry."

"You and miss-mister Izo, too?"

"Yes. We would all worry."

"Are they alright?" Hendric asked.

"Yeah. I don't think they're going to wander off again anytime soon. Poor cubs are shaking. Too many strangers." Atche pouted, missing most of what was being said because once again it was too fast. "I'm going to take them back to the room. Before Izo notices they slipped out, I hope. Told him to go over those papers last night… Good job handling this, by the way. Can I trust you to keep an eye out for them? Just in case?"

"Of course, my Lord." Both of the others dipped their heads in agreement to whatever Thatch had said.

Atche huffed, "Talk too fast, don't understand."

Thatch ignored him, of course. He supposed they were in trouble. Just not as much as he had expected, since they were still being carried back to their room. Well, either that or no one trusted them to find their way back to their rooms. The boy didn't like how that made him feel. He wanted them to know that he and his brother were good, that they hadn't meant to get in trouble. Fisting the colorful fabric of Thatch's shirt he sniffed, trying not to cry. If he started, Lu would.

"Hey, it's alright, Cub. You are safe now. Don't be scared." Thatch started to walk faster, making that weird hum-like vibration.

"Sorry…. sorry was bad. Didn't mean to." Atche sniffled.

"Shhh. Not mad. It is alright. Good cub, Ace. Good Luffy. Do better next time, yes?"

"Yes…" And he would. Next time he wouldn't let Luhfi talk him into following Marco. Marco was too fast… he firmly ignored the little voice in his head that suggested he might be able to catch up to Thatch.

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a recurring thing?" Thatch muttered under his breath as he entered the hall both boys recognised instantly, even without Izo standing there looking both worried and annoyed. "It's fine. They followed Marco. They got pretty far, too. Looks like you were right about needing a nursemaid."

"Of course I was. Little brats." The words were harsh but the smile Izo gave them was warm. "Time for nap."

For once, Luhfi didn't argue and nodded his head along with Atche. Both were exhausted from their unexpected adventure. A nap sounded great.

Marco side-eyed his brother as he straightened out the stack of papers in front of him almost obsessively, the perfection distracting him from the reality looming over his head. It wasn't something he'd fully admitted to himself, and in that moment he never thought he would. Trusting someone else with the care of the humans was foolish, he knew. A waste of time. Those boys weren't theirs: 'them', not 'us'. And for all that he'd promised to care for them he would never expect the same of another mythos. It would be cruel of him. And yet somehow Izo had snaked the idea into his head and all he could do was try.

His claws rapped relentlessly against the wooden surface of the table in an anxious attempt at calming himself until a pale hand brought him to pause, long fingers tied gently around his wrist. He looked up to meet his brother's grey stare but couldn't hold it, and for once Izo's smile offered little assurance. But the nervous tic stopped with the slumping of his shoulders and he slouched in his seat as he picked up the paper at the top of the meticulously lined stack and held it up, pulling it taut between his fingertips.

Laki. She was young, at least to him, barely reaching the two century milestone, and by her picture she looked quite friendly. But Marco had been around long enough to know never to trust appearances, and he skipped over her letter of interest without much of a thought.

And then he noticed something.

His head shot up, narrow eyes fixed to his brother. "What are you thinking, Izo?"

Izo's eyebrows raised and he curiously leaned over to take a look at the paper himself, whistling. "Abiku. I can't say I expected that."

"What do you mean you—" He pinched his brow and took a steadying breath. "You assembled this list yourself, did you not?"

"I did…"

"You hesitated, yoi."

The playful look on Izo's lips did him no favours as the turtle leaned forward, his chin coming to rest atop entwined fingers as his eyes lifted to the entranceway, as though he were waiting. "My assistants assembled the list, Marco dear. It is probably safe to say not all of them are too keen on keeping our boys around."

Marco's eyebrow twitched, something within him stirring beneath his skin, but he kept it from surfacing as he tapped the paper with an elongated claw. "Clearly, if they are trying to get them possessed. This woman should not even be allowed into our wing; she would take one of them over and we would not be able to do anything as she drained his life away. And you considered this woman as nursemaid to my pets?"

"As I said—"

"What is this really about?" he asked, biting out the words as he dropped the paper back onto the table and instead tried to focus on whatever he could to ease his own wandering thoughts, which ended up being the varying decorations hung up on the far wall. Izo was neither stupid nor cruel; just like Marco he wished for no harm to come to the boys, so seeing an inadequate application was unexpected on its own. But this was well beyond inadequate; instead he was presented with a forest spirit that killed hatchlings by eating and drinking everything that was given to them, remaining within the body until the child wasted away into nothing.

Before an answer could be heard there was a knock at the entranceway and both beasts looked up to the tall, dark-skinned woman standing in the hall. Her hair was elegantly done up, washing down across her back, her eyes a soft, deep black, and she smiled as her eyes drifted between them. "It is an honour, Master Suzaku, Lord Genbu."

Marco's face fell to one of indifference as he folded his hands together. "Get out."

"Well met!" Yassop called out before the carriage had even stopped. It had been ages since the last time he had stopped through Cait lands, and being allowed in while there were kittens was the best thing ever. He had wanted to bring his young son, Usopp, but Banchina had talked him out of it. It was probably for the best as Usopp was more than a little bit excitable with only a tentative grasp on his own abilities. The last thing either clan needed was an incident. Again.

"Yassop! A little warning before coming would have been appreciated," Bellemere called back as the carriage landed, a feral grin on her face. Some would see the fierce expression and words as a threat, but Yassop had been friends with the temperamental queen for a long time.

"And give you a chance to turn me away, your Majesty?" he teased as he stepped from the carriage, being sure to sweep into the low bow he knew she hated with a passion. A low growl was all the warning he needed to skip back out of the reach of her claws as he laughed. He had only been a kit himself when he'd learned that among that Cait clan males were toms and females were queens, so his confusion back then was understandable. He had not understood their clan did not have a ruling queen but instead a clan head, and had wanted to know how so many queens ruled together. Bellemere had teased him for years about it, but now that she had joined the council he took great glee in teasing her with his childhood misunderstanding. Sure it wasn't power on the level of the clan head, but he'd take what he could get. Provided he could stay out of range of her claws. "It's bad form to kill your guests."

"I doubt anyone would blame me, you old woodpecker," Bellemere snarked back.

He gasped dramatically, "You don't care for me anymore. I'm hurt. How will I go on-" only to be cut off as she yanked him close, slapping him heartily on the back.

"Enough theatrics! It's been a while, Yassop!"

"I thought it was my job to tell tall tales. We saw each other a fortnight ago."

Her expressive face fell slightly. "That messy business? I had rather forget about it, my friend. Mark my words, no good will come of what we wrought."

"Aye. But that is the way of humans." Even when given the best of chances to better themselves, the humans seemed to enjoy inflicting pain on themselves and others. Truly he would never understand the race. "Consider it forgotten."

The cat grinned widely at him, her tail lazily flicking as she gestured him to follow her and leave the carriage to the capable younglings in charge of such things. "Tell me; how is your mate?"

"She is well as to be expected. Still frail after her run in with a kelpie a decade ago."

"I had heard of that. Foolish of the water horse to trespass on your hunting grounds." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

Yassop snorted. More than likely she hadn't heard rumours of what the fight had truly been about, but it wasn't his place to say. If Banchina wanted to tell Bellemere, then she would. He wasn't about to stick his nose into that and risk it getting bitten off by either party."You know Banchina wouldn't harm anyone for something so trivial. You introduced us. 'She needs a strong protector' I believe was how you tried to convince me to take her as my mate."

The queen laughed, unapologetic. "It worked, didn't it?"

"I decided for myself, thank you very much," he sniffed, pretending he was offended.

"Just like you decided to formalise our alliance?"

"Banchina might have suggested that," he allowed. "Though I didn't see you making any moves towards it, Bel."

In typical cat fashion she changed the topic. "Nojiko is well. She is settling into a fine young queen."

"So that nonsense of avenging her sire is over?" he asked, spotting the young Cait in question returning from a hunt. She wasn't quite half grown yet, but from what he could see she carried herself with confidence. Yassop wondered if it was a feline thing, or just from having Bellemere as a mother.

Bel smirked at him, "A girl has to have ambitions, Yas."

He stared at her, mouth agape. "Bellemere!"

"What?" She asked innocently.

"She can't achieve this goal! It's not an ambition-it's just cruel!"

"Is it?" she asked, coming to a stop, eyes narrowing into thin slits as her tail whipped about in agitation, "Or is it more cruel to tell her that he left after she was kitted?"

"You told her that he was murdered and he's still alive!" Taking a deep breath he pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew that there was a lot more to what had happened than what he knew, and he reminded himself once again that his childhood friend had been hurt. He tried again, "Give her the goal of beating him up, Bel."

Her tail flicked as she pinned an ear back. "It's a better story my way."

He snorted. It was a good story. One of a wiley tom that annoyed one too many a manner of beasts with his curiously and died, tragically leaving behind the young queen. Honestly it was a better tale than the tom deserved, as far as he was concerned. Still… "You turned him into a magical instrument."

"It's more romantic that way," she replied absently, waving at her daughter before turning towards the tents that made up the village.

"You had me bring you a fiddle," he pointed out. "And you didn't even tell my why until I got here!"

"But Yas, you are a hero to my people. Bringing back the remains of my fallen love." Her smile showed she was much too amused.

"You, my lady queen, are horrid." Yassop shook his head in exasperation. "You had better hope he never comes back and ruins your fun, Kitty."

"He wouldn't dare."

Yassop sighed, "One day, you are going to tell me what happened between you two."

"One day," she allowed, "but not today. Today I would have you meet my youngest."

"You kitted again?"

"Hardly." Holding the flap to her family tent open, she allowed him to enter first. Nestled in a pile of warm pelts a tiny kitten slumbered, ears still folded over cutely. Her vivid orange pelt suggesting a vastly different family line than Bel's. "The sentries found her out in the bogs all alone."

"Northern tribe?" he asked, sure to keep his voice down. The little one smelled of Cait Sidhe, and the northernmost part of the clan had been elusive ever since the warring days.

"Likely that or a rogue. The sentries have her scent, and if her birth kin shows themselves…."

"Aye. I'll have mine keep look as well." A color like that, they would just have to keep an eye out for any red or orange Cait. "Abandoning a kit… who would do such a thing?"

"Who knows?" she sighed, leaning against the frame with tired eyes.

Yassop could understand her exhaustion. The thought of Usopp being lost alone out on the moors at his age figured heavily in his nightmares. It just wasn't safe for younglings, and the frustration from her kin being absent could easily become a stressor. "I'm sure Nojiko is thrilled."

"She always wanted a sibling," Bel snorted softly. "When little Nami here is older, we should have a play date with your kit."

"U-Usopp?" he laughed nervously, realising he might have forgotten to invite his old friend to visit.

"Usopp, is it? Fancy that I learned of the young prince, son of my friend, from the ravens."

"Banchina has been unwell, and…" He stammered, thinking quickly for an excuse.

She snorted, slapping him on the back. "Relax. She let me know a while back. I had planned to stop by this summer now that his abilities are more stable, but…" She trailed off. No, with a new kitten she wouldn't be able to visit.

"Next winter, then?" Hopefully Usopp wouldn't be quite as prone to cursing inanimate objects when startled by the time Nami was old enough to visit.

"That will do nicely. I'll be bringing the whole family, of course." Bellemere scooped up the tiny kitten as the tent flap was opened again, this time by Nojiko.

"Did you have a nice hunt, Nojiko?" he questioned before giving Bellemere a look, "Leave the fiddle."

"Can I hold her, Mama?" the young queen asked, holding her arms out.

"Nami needs to meet her uncle." She grinned at his exasperated sigh. "Noji, manners."

Still, it would be a nice change to see the allied councilwoman instead of the usual visitors his people saw-other, more powerful clans that insisted on every honour being shown and proper decorum at all times. It was exhausting for both he and his mate, not to mention it left their little kit feeling overwhelmed and inferior after some clan visits.

"Sorry, Mama." Bright-eyed Nojiko looked up at him, "I had a good hunt, Uncle Yassop. Did you see my new sister? Isn't she the cutest? I love her lots, and I'm going to be the best big sister ever."

He poked her nose, "I'm sure you are, Kit. Your Mama and I were just talking about having a playdate with my son next winter, what do you think?"

"Really?! That would be awesome!" Clasping her hands in front of her she mused, "Can I be his big sister, too? I don't have a brother yet."

He wondered if she understood how siblings worked, but… well, brats were like that. He'd humour her. "I don't see why not, as long as your mama is alright with it." Banchina would be fine with it if the little kitten imposed herself on their family every now and then. She wanted more kits of her own, and if this went well he could easily see his mate inviting Bel's young one often. That would be good for Usopp; the boy didn't get the chance to socialise outside of the clan as much as Yassop would have liked.

To her daughter's pleading eyes Bel just laughed, "Let's see if you like him first. Anyway, it's time for your sister's bath. Chop chop."

"Yes, Mama." She took the young kit with the utmost care as the older queen got out a large pot and started to heat water in it.

Yassop looked on curiously, wondering exactly how they were going to bathe the small kitten until Bellemere handed him a soft cloth and soap. "Don't just stand there; lather this up for me."

"Wh-?"

"You're helping."

"Oooh no. She may be tiny, but she's still a cat. A bath is water. No." He attempted to give the supplies back but his long-time friend ignored him. With Nojiko watching him he couldn't just throw it at her head like he wanted to, and Bel knew it. So with a grumble he set about doing what she'd asked, promising revenge. He slowly smiled, getting an idea. "Maybe I should invite Mihawk? He has a few chicks, I believe."

Bellemere made a face at first, her relationship with the hawk more of a love-hate sort of affair. "Fine then. I am inviting the mer-queen, Otohime. She just had a babe, did she not?"

Yassop shrugged, "I suppose. Though inviting her to my lands, are we?"

"To forge an alliance we should meet in a location that is safe. Lots of little kittens does not qualify." Which was why her borders were closed right now and would remain so for the next two years. He tilted his head, conceding the point as he watched her gently guide Nojiko through wetting down little Nami with the now slightly steaming water. "I hear she is rather laid-back. For one of the higher clan heads, anyway. And it would be nice for our young to have the chance to better themselves."

"Peace, woman. You are right, of course. But with so many younglings, we might need to call in extra hands to help." He tried to hand the sudsy cloth back only to be handed a wet and very unhappy kitten.

"What of that elemental? Shanks, I think? He's your friend, after all," she suggested, a little too innocently over the loud, squealing mews Nami made in protest to her bath.

Something told him the cat and his mate had been planning this behind his back. He huffed, only slightly put out by the manipulative play. "You're going to tell them all about your 'tragically lost love' aren't you?"

Her widening grin was answer enough. Sticking his tongue out at her, he turned his attention back to gently rubbing the kit in his hands down with the mild soap. She might have been tiny but her claws were sharp as knives and she was exacting her revenge on him. His hands were covered in painful, burning scratches by the time he handed her back to her mother to be rinsed off. It only made Yassop feel a little better to see the little kit managed to scratch her mother, too, before she was bundled up in a very soft towel by Nojiko. "There. That's done now. Only fifteen other kittens to go." Bellemere smiled up at him.

His stomach dropped. "No. Oh no. I did not come here to bathe kittens!"

She and her daughter both burst out laughing at him, and after a moment he joined in. It was kind of funny prank, he supposed.

But really, she would regret this.

Marco was dishevelled. It was a rarity to see but there he was with his robe slipping off his shoulder as he fanned himself in the summer heat, his legs sprawled out across the floor with all manners forgotten and applications spread out around him. The chair was uncomfortable. A morning passed and then some, and it gave him little more than heartache as every mythos interviewed was passed over. He knew they would be. Oh he knew, but he hoped that Izo would prove him wrong now, like so many times before. The fact that it turned out exactly as predicted almost… hurt.

"Don't get comfortable," Izo's voice lifted the silence and he met Marco's glare with a teasing smile, dangling a paper above the phoenix's head. "We still have one more."

Marco closed his eyes and let out a bemoaned sigh, willing up the motivation to move. It didn't seem he was able. "Allow me a moment to soak up my disappointment."

"Cutting and poignant," the turtle remarked, leaning heavily on the table, "but also a bit overused. Get up, and let's move on, hm? The poor hatchlings are stuck alone with Thatch."

He grunted at that and slowly hefted himself up, turning to stare out the window as he straightened out his clothes. The garden stood beyond it, the sun lighting the flowerbeds in a sea of colour. A gentle wind caused the red tree leaves to dance as their branches quivered in the breeze.

And there he was, stuck inside with the incredibly underwhelming job of denying terrible applicants the right to care for his pets.

He took a seat, eyeing Izo as he called in the final applicant, just wanting this to be over. If it was then he could shoot down Izo's nursemaid suggestion without it weighing on his conscience. So he would play along a little longer, smooth out his expression just one more time.

A tall, slender woman with pallid skin entered, the playings of a smile on her lips as she took a seat across from the Saint Beasts. Large wings sprouted from her back, pressed close to her form. Delicate hands folded over one another, and she greeted them with a polite nod.

Marco snatched the application away from his brother to look it over himself, skimming the information she had provided. Nico Robin. Ah, yes, he knew that name; Izo had mentioned it once or twice several hours ago when their interview sessions were fresh and new, and now he was taking a slight interest in this woman. After all, Izo had referenced this Nico Robin at least twice before, and he knew better than to immediately dismiss someone the turtle favoured.

"Nico Robin?"

"A pleasure," she affirmed.

"It says here that you're from the," he glanced down at the paper, "Aos Si clan, is that correct?"

The woman's amusement grew. "I suppose you could say that, yes."

Aos Si… A faery, then. Or an elf. He'd never quite learned the difference between the variants in the clan, but he leaned more towards faery because of the woman's translucent wings. That reaction was less than ideal, however, and in his mind he was already siding against her. More than that, the Aos Si clan name nagged at him. He could recall the phrase 'the people under the hill' but little else. That… bothered him. "Tell me of yourself."

She postured herself well, back straight and delicate hands folded neatly over one another as one would expect of nobles. But for all that was on her applicated, Marco expected a commoner. And that was very much what he got; faeries held little status in the mythos world. And yet… she did not act it. Her mannerisms told otherwise. "I am a Manx faery-Adhene, to be more specific."

Marco narrowed his eyes and his arms disappeared into his sleeves as he folded them together. "And what does this mean to me?"

Robin's smile grew and she closed her eyes, a calmness to her face that resembled confidence. "My kind are very close to humans, Lord Suzaku. I've grown to be very familiar with them and their young."

That phrase repeated itself and his shoulders slumped slightly. "You live in faery mounds in the human world, then."

"They are our connection with the human lands, to be exact," she commented, her wings twitching slightly as they repositioned against her back. "We share a very particular relationship with that species, even after all that happened in the war. It is almost symbiotic in nature."

He pressed his lips together and searched his thoughts, trying to recall what he could on Manx faeries. They weren't exactly very relevant in his day to day life but with a little prodding he managed to bring to mind some rather important notes and the moment he did he shot his brother a glare. Izo, of course, just smiled.

He returned attention to the woman. "Symbiotic? Is that what you call it when you steal their wives and children in exchange for foretelling good harvest?" Marco received silence in turn, and took in a breath. "You are more an omen of death than a caregiver."

Robin chuckled. Despite the serious claims made against her, she laughed, a hand pressed over her lips, and it only made Marco's dislike of the woman grow. "I am afraid you are speaking of Bean Sidhe, my Lord."

Marco's face set in a hard frown, brows creased as he tried the name out for himself. "Bean… the banshee?"

Izo rolled his eyes, giving Marco a nudge and earning a grunt as he leaned forward on the table. "Yes, Marco. Bean Nighe, the washerwoman. She washes the blood from the grave-clothes of those who will soon part."

His lips twitched but he said nothing, preferring not to make more of a fool out of himself by trying to protest that fact. Still, Robin's amusement irked him.

"Adhene are tricksters," Izo pointed with a sigh. "She is more likely to tease the boys than she is to harm them. They might do well with a little teasing."

Marco looked between the two of them before raising his hand, gesturing for the applicant to leave. She did so, rising calmly from her seat and offering a respectful bow and a word of thanks before silently vanishing from the room, leaving the Saint Beasts to one another. Marco immediately shot Izo a look only to earn one back, and he was starting to understand what was going on. "Why her, yoi?"

"You need her, Marco."

"Why?"

Izo snatched away the faery's application and held it up, pointing to her history. "She lives closely amongst humans. She understands them and you-you don't, brother. I know you hate to hear it but you don't."

Marco made to protest but when he opened his mouth no sound came out. Turning to his thoughts proved nothing. He couldn't formulate a reasonable retort because a large part of him knew that his brother was right, and an even larger part was aware of the fact that he'd chosen long ago to keep separate from the humans of his own accord. He'd chosen ignorance over knowledge long before the acquisition of his pets, and owning humans of his own didn't change any of that. So he bit his tongue, averted his eyes to the wall, and silently acknowledged those facts.

Izo sighed, his shoulders slumping as he brushed a stray hair from his face. "Come morning I won't be here, Marco, and all of the help I've offered up until this point will be lost if you do not have someone to help guide you. Nico Robin has lived amongst the humans most of her life. She is far more knowledgeable-and tolerant-of their kind than any of the other mythos we've spoken to today."

He swallowed. "Thatch—"

"Thatch tries," Izo interrupted, releasing a burdened sigh. "But for all that he tries he is still a mythos of this world, and he can still only speculate. She lives in theirs. Not here. Here is just as foreign to her as it is to those hatchlings. Do you understand, brother?"

March pressed the palms of his hands together, eyeing a knot in the wood of the wall as he refused to face Genbu for longer than a brief few glances. But his stubbornness could last only so long before he slumped back against the chair and reached out for the bell atop the table. With a flick of his wrist it chimed, and a fox servant presented herself to the lords with a humble bow.

"Send for Nico Robin once more. I wish for a word with her."

"At once, my Lord."

Gardening, Izo had been told, was not the place of a Saint Beast. That menial task was reserved for the servants who resided within the compound walls, the very same lower-class mythos who cooked their meals, cleaned their rooms and washed their clothes. And Izo's job was to lord over them with superiority and elegance.

But as he felt the dirt between his fingers he found those pressures little more than absent thought. He dug into the flower bed, deepening the small depression into the ground until it grew into a hole, a slow-growing smile on his face as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand and looked at his work in approval.

When sleep evaded him in the midnight hours, Izo found himself growing restless. Perhaps it was the endless barrage of thoughts all flitting about his head that kept his mind alert and wakeful, or the constant hot-and-cold weather they'd experienced with the changing seasons, but before he realised it he'd been left the last one awake. Everyone else, well… most needn't cope with the pressures he was under. In a way it was a bit relieving, giving him just a few more wakeful hours in the place that was more home to him than the country of his own people. It gave him time. To prepare or reflect, he wasn't sure. But it was time.

Carefully he placed a bulb into the hole he'd created, staring at it a moment before covering it with dirt, padding down the earth with the knowledge that after his rebirth, when he was able to return, a blazing fire lily will have sprouted. Human's had those, too, didn't they? Fire lilies. Of course, he doubted very much that theirs had anything to do with the element. But the colours of such a mundane flower must be brilliant to have earned such a title, right?

He'd like to see that someday.

Izo let out a huff, hands on his hips as he looked over the new section of garden he managed to finish over those sleepless hours with an approving nod. Looking up, he could see the faintest of lights in the sky, far off on the horizon, indicating the slow approach of dawn. He supposed he should prepare, as any in his position would, but how? Was there anything he needed to bring, or do? He should have asked Thatch or Marco what they did beforehand… though Izo knew that every species rebirthed differently. Dragons had warning, turtles and tortoises innately knew. But for tigers it was sudden, wasn't it? It was something unexpected, and before they realised what was happening they could already be gone. He wasn't sure if that was terrifying, or a blessing. Maybe a bit of both.

He rose to his full height and wandered over to the pond to rinse the dirt off his hands, his many layers trailing along the ground in a way that he normally wouldn't allow. Maybe dressing down when doing such tasks made sense, and he fully understood why Thatch and Marco hated their formal regalia so much, but Izo was different. There was this little nagging voice that told him that he must keep to the clothes he was meant to wear. He needed to be formal, he needed to be pretty and elegant and approachable.

He needed to be everything his brothers were not, so that they didn't have to be.

One of his sleeves dipped into the water and he frowned, lifting his arm and the cloth out of the water and narrowing his eyes at the wet spot. But his displeasure soon fell with a sigh and he wrung it out, droplets falling back to the pond before he stood once more and headed back inside. The nearest entrance was the one to the private sitting room, and so he slid the door open, closed it softly behind him, and made for the hall.

But he stopped. His eyes slid to the left, the door to the bedroom slightly ajar, and though he thought better of it he still peaked in, pushing the door further opened with a creak that managed not to disturb the little hatchlings as they slept, and he smiled. Luffy was sprawled out across the sheets, his little body somehow managing to take up double the space that Ace's did with his foot resting on his big brother's chest. The sheet overtop of them had been kicked off, likely in the younger human's restless sleep, and Izo couldn't help himself from stepping into the room and adjusting the blanket, being sure both were fully covered. Humans did so love their warmth.

"You're trackin' mud in, Iz."

He blinked and his eyes followed the voice to the far wall where a large figure sat hunched in the corner, hands behind its head. Squinting showed it to be Thatch, and Izo found it… odd that he hadn't noticed the tiger. His hands pulled away from the blanket and he straightened his spine, twisting to fully face Thatch. "Awake already?"

Thatch snorted, eyes glowing through the dark of the room. It was a sight that, even now, shook many prey species to their core. The tiger was a mythos that invoked fear, no matter how many millennia passed. But when one got to know someone like Thatch as well as Izo did, it was a fact easily forgotten. "Nocturnal. Hard not to be."

"Fair point," he acknowledged with a nod, and after a silent exchange to turned to the door. Admittedly it'd been a mistake to go in there; he should have known Thatch would be watching his little cubs on such a night.

"Planning on leaving without a goodbye, aren't ya?"

He paused, glancing over at the tiger with a neutral expression, even when met with thinly veiled hurt in the eyes of his brother. The boys were still snoring, but he much rather not have that kind of conversation there where they might disturb the younglings in their rest. But he supposed he had more important concerns to occupy himself with. "I am."

"So blunt."

"Would you rather I lie?" he questioned, eyebrow raised. "I very well could, if it would save your fragile ego."

Thatch chuckled, and it came out sounding much like a rumbling growl. It was still soft, though, at least to human years, and Izo decided not to chastise him for it for the moment. "I knew you would. Hell, I would. Goodbyes are messy. And hard." He twisted around then, in that way that only cats do, and pulled a basket from behind him, holding it up into the moonlight. Wafers piled to the top and a sweet, nostalgic aroma floated along the air. "Sit yourself down, Genbu. If only for a moment."

There was a small stretch of indecision before he followed his nose and approached, coming to sit beside the tiger. His robes crumpled at his feet, pooling around him in the way only traditional robes could, and he tried to ignore the high levels of discomfort that surrounded it, what with the wet and muddy edges that had been trailing across the dew-covered ground outside. Thatch seemed to notice, if the teasing grin on his face was any indication, and Izo snatched one of the wafers from the basket to munch on.

That just made Thatch laugh again, and out of the corner of his eye Izo could see a thin, striped tail curling and twisting against the ground in hidden anxiety-a peculiar sight for someone like Thatch who habitually hid his tail in his pants, having spent so much time in the human world trying to blend in. Even if the calm attitude remained, it was clear that Thatch wasn't taking this well. Izo expected as much, though.

They sat together just munching on the little snack the tiger had provided, soaking up each other's company as the boys tossed and turned in their sleep, and for a moment it didn't feel like Izo's last day there. For a moment it felt just like any other sleepless night, keeping an eye on the hatchlings, eating Thatch's cooking. He was grateful, even if he never expressed it with words. A moment to take his mind off of things was what he needed, and no amount of gardening could give him that.

"You know," Thatch started, his words obstructed by the food in his mouth before he swallowed, "before you came no one would eat my food."

Izo blinked, twisting around to look up at the tiger. "No one?"

"Human food," he supplied in explanation, wiping his mouth with his forearm and letting out a breath. "Things were messy, and with the, uh-the war, well. Can't really blame people from shying away from it, but it's… it's what I liked. What I wanted to make. Couldn't help that, either."

"But no one, really?" Izo pressed, drawing his knees up to his chest. Even the servants were known to accept a little treat from Byakko now and then. It seemed like such a bizarrely different world…

Thatch stretched out his arms and legs with a yawn, flexing his claws before slumping back down. "And you know Marc. Featherhead still won't try it. Only reason I learned mythos recipes is to appease the majestic chicken himself." His smile returned, a lot smaller than before. "And then you were there. I don't know if it was because you were young an' hadn't been subjected to it all but you just… gave it a shot. Just like that. I don't think I ever thanked you for that."

Izo eyed him before hugging his knees close and turning his gaze to the hatchlings at his feet. He thought for a minute, playing with a loose thread of his sleeve, twisting it absently around his finger. It wasn't something that deserved thanks. Thatch was Thatch, though, and the subject wouldn't just fall out of memory because Izo wanted it to. "Take care of my garden for me."

"Garden?"

"I don't trust the servants not to kill my beautiful fire lilies. When I get back I expect their flames to be just as intense as Marco's, understand?"

Thatch blinked, eyebrow raised. "Can they even get that bright?"

"They're going to," he stated firmly. "If you expect to repay me proper."

He could feel the tiger watching him but didn't let up and soon there was a rumbling laugh, a hand on his shoulder, and a tail coiling his wrist. "Look forward to it, then."

Izo closed his eyes, releasing a breath as he forced himself to tear from the situation. The light streaming in grew bright with the approaching daylight and he knew he needed to make haste before his family started to rouse awake if he wanted to avoid a rather depressing and tedious farewell. But when he made to get up the tail curled around his arm grew tighter, and he turned back to Thatch in silent question. He was certainly the type to drag out goodbyes, but not the type to fight the inevitable. Those yellow eyes of his still glew faintly in the shadows, an eerie trait that forced Izo to keep attention on the overgrown cat.

Immediately Thatch averted his eyes, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I, uh…"

Izo watched as the tiger rose, towering above as he lifted his pack off the ground with him and held it out. Immediately a mix of scents assaulted Izo's nose, smells that almost had his mouth watering, formerly masked by the much stronger, sweeter scent of the wafers basket. His eyes drifted from the offering to the cat beyond it questioningly.

Thatch swallowed. "I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here, Iz. There's not much I'm good at. I don't know how your people handle this, or how anyone really…" His voice tapered off and he cleared his throat, shaking the pack in emphasis. "For the road."

Izo took it, his hands wrapping around the pack as he held it close to his chest, and the different scents just seemed to hit him in the face they were so close. His eyes never left it, wide and wondrous and possibly betraying his hunger, but soon his lips curled upward, and he relaxed. "I already have food for the trip," he stated, earning a pout and more than just a little disappointment from his brother. How could he say 'no' to a face like that? "A last supper may be nice, though."

He ignored the way Thatch tensed.

"Thank you, you irresponsible cat. I'll cherish it."

"...Come back soon, Genbu. Don't keep us waiting."

Izo closed his eyes, resigning himself as he stepped past his brother and out into the corridor, dawn upon them, leaving down the hall to the end of the wing. His carriage was waiting, and he allowed himself a moment of peace as it prepared to take flight.

"You'll see me when you see me, Byakko. Accept that."

Thatch watched, as he so often did. The garden was bright and bursting with the colours of spring as a hot, dry heat cascaded across the courtyard grounds, and a pleased purr vibrated within his throat. Sunbathing in winter was nigh impossible and after many long months of cold his moment was right there across the field, waiting for his approach.

Except his approach was halted by a lone figure seated on the porch, and while he rightfully knew he could walk past, something grounded him there. Fine cloth was draped across the man, the sun reflecting brilliantly along pale skin, white as the lilies growing in the garden. Momentarily Thatch was struck with the thought of a human sneaking onto their grounds before he remembered the impromptu arrival of Genbu of the North. It had been many years since three Saint Beasts had been named, and while weary Thatch was more confused. Why now?

Genbu resembled nothing of a tortoise. His fine elegance was reminiscent of a swan, or perhaps a human girl. Yes, a human girl, painted up from head to toe with whites and reds, his hair done up meticulously every morning. And even as he sat there, soaking up the sunlight, his fingers worked carefully around delicate threads, embroidering a swan into what may have been the cloth of a dress. It was a strange sight, one usually favoured by commoner women in human lands and out of place for someone of their standing. This Genbu very much resembled a human, too, in this form-though Marco would prefer saying that the humans resembled them. But unlike fellow beasts this Genbu was short, petite like a human. Thatch himself topped seven feet. In honesty he'd… never met a tortoise mythos.

Genbu tucked some loose strands of hair behind his ear as his hands fell still and he looked up towards the sky, silent.

Aw, shit.

Thatch ran a hand through his hair before stepping out of the safety of the shadowed doorway and onto the porch, the wood creaking beneath his massive weight. Somehow, though, the tortoise seemed not to notice. Alright then. He took another step, just as loud as the last, and again until he closed the distance between them. He sat down. It was then that Genbu's eyes strayed over, staring at him the way he'd been doing just moments before.

He tugged at his collar with a claw. The other Saint Beasts always felt out of his league; they carried themselves in a way he never could, regal and dignified, and because of that there was always this innate pressure they exerted whenever he spoke to them. "Nice day."

There was silence and he inwardly cursed as Genbu turned back to the garden before a breath was released, and then, "It is."

The conversation fell flat and Thatch was left wondering what the hell he'd expected. But he was never one to give up, drumming his claws against the wood as he thought. "You know," he started finally, a sloppy grin on his face, "I thought you'd have a shell."

Genbu turned to him again, raising an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Thatch laughed, both at his own thoughts and in response to a strange, out-of-character nervousness he felt. "I've never seen members of your clan before. Keep to yourselves a lot. And well, we didn't have a Genbu come my first life."

Genbu looked him over in silence, red lips pressed together before he took the front of his robes and opened them, allowing the pink fabrics to slide from his shoulders and bunch at his waist, revealing a dark black, hard bone-like structure on his back, what almost looked like a spine and ribcage slipping out of his skin. It almost looked… painful. Grotesque.

"I do."

Thatch faced the garden to keep from staring, rubbing the back of his neck. "So you do, heh… Not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure. Not that."

Genbu slid off his sandals, digging his feet into the dirt as he snickered. "What brings you here, then? Moi? I'm flattered."

"No-nothing like that," he assured defensively, raising placating hands. "I just-sunbathing!"

Genbu blinked and hummed, head tilted. "I suppose that is a thing cats do…"

"Tiger," Thatch corrected.

"Cat." Apparently Genbu was having none of it, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "It sounds so much less fierce that way…"

That was… an odd thing to hear from a Saint Beast. Thatch sniffed the air, catching the wafting scent of anxiety amongst the winds, and settled into a hard frown. He remembered what it had been like to first come to the compound, all of the strange new smells and sounds, mythos of all varieties crammed together. Prey and predator alike…

Amidst it all, isolated.

He peeked over, analyzing the blank expression on the tortoise's face. Genbu's eyes were glassy and vacant, and something nagged at the back of Thatch's mind. It reminded him of some far off and forgotten thought, and for a moment he was silent.

But only for a moment.

"Ya hungry?"

Genbu's eyes once more scrolled his way, narrowed and untrusting. "Hm?"

"I know how to—" He paused, pressing his lips together and choosing his next words carefully. "...I uh, I know some human recipes. I know that sounds disgusting but they're uh, they're really not. There was this one girl, and she made really…"

His thoughts drifted before he shook his head free of them. "Anyway, they're good. Real good. I'm feeling a big hungry, so why not join me? Beats sitting out here all alone like ya are."

Genbu stared blankly at him before turning away, watching the wind brush against the red leaves of the tree across the garden. It was quiet. Thatch hated the quiet. But then, softly, "Does it ever get easier?"

Thatch pressed his lips together, taking in a breath. He closed his eyes. "It does. But you have to live through every day to get there. That's the hard part."

Hopefully the next update won't be such a drawn-out wait, ahahaha...

To our lovelies~

lostdog200: (A) You're welcome~ (B) Very welcome.

Guest: (A) YOU ARE WELCOME FRIEND (B) THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS!

SEllen23L (A) Sadly the wait was much longer than we would have liked but at least it's here now! (B) Er, sorry for the wait but I hope it was worth it!

Guest (2): (A) Pfft gotta love that timing XD (B) Wouldn't it be ironic if it happened again? Thrilled you liked it enough to re-read.

MissJenca: (A) Whitebeard's always a lot of fun. Hopefully we'll be able to tie him in more in the future! (B) Whitebeard is kind of a favorite of mine. We should be seeing more of him I hope.

Lunapok: (A) Ace impressing Marco is always a lot of fun~ (B) It's cute, isn't it? Ace tries so hard, and it's fun to write him.

Avaiaal: (A) Hope you did as well! (B) I hope your year was great!

Boralis: (A) You're welcome~ (B) This is like a holiday present then, right?

Bard of Chaos: (A) Well if you weren't ready for it to get sad then hopefully over the year break you were able to brace yourself XD (B) Well… there will be happy times in the future too? I'm going to blame all the sad on Anj.

Guest (3): (A) Happy New Years! ...A year late :'D (B) or just early for the next one...

Poemado: (A) What characters are and aren't being put into it were decided a looooong time ago. We've been building up some characters coming in already as I'm sure you've noticed. So whether we do or not we're not gonna change it I'm sorry it say :'D But hopefully you guys will just trust that we know what we're doing. Some of the things coming up are… well. I guarantee none of you have seen them in any other fics. But that's all I'll say on that. (B) Thank you very much for your kind words! We work very hard to plan out how to make everything more believable and the relationship between the boys and the mythos is something Anj and I talk about A LOT. As for characters you will see…. Anj put it best. There is actually a document about 10 pages long with everyone who will be in the story listed with their backgrounds and how they will fit in. I'm excited that in this chapter you got to see a few of them.

Wordlet: (A) We like adding those little names for the mythos offspring to try to flesh out their character, along with other terms when we can think of them XD A lot of the credit goes to Beddy for those. (B) leverets are baby hares. Rabbits are kits or kittens again. Anj gets lots of random "how does calf sound?" And "what's the plural of fry?" Messages. It's fun though, since we figured that each mythos clan would have slightly different cultures. Take the Cait clan, with their queens. That is actually the term for a female cat, so it makes a fun word play but Anj had to clean it up since I had trouble making that clear. She is very good at taking my ideas and smoothing them out.

94Insane: (A) Looks like your guess was wrong XD Syn is going to be an important character in her own way, but not as a nursemaid. She and some other servants are our way of showing everything from the perspective of the average mythos. (B) Not everyone in the story can be an important player. Just like the real world, our world is made up of many people and they all have their own story - their own view - to tell. It's important to us to show that.

Mad Y u e: (A) We needed some cool down before the start of this upcoming arc so that's what chapter 10 was mainly for XD It was setting the stage and giving a breather before we start what will HOPEFULLY be our best arc yet. We've been waiting to write this arc, I kid you not, since we FIRST started writing the story. (B) This arc is something I have been dreaming about. In terms of the story, it's not even really the meat of it, since we have so much planned, but…. so much is introduced and the word we built starts to come together.

Nala1220: (A) I'm like reeeeally happy people seem to be liking Syn. She's a background OC I've used in a few other fics, like A Sea of Stars and The Divide, as a tool to show an outsider's perspective and the like. So I'm very happy to see she's being accepted by you guys! Her role will never be that big but it's good to see our non One Piece characters aren't an automatic turn-off XD As for Sabo, well, we'll see if he shows up or not in the future. (B) Unlike my OC that was instantly hated and then got eaten… that's ok, you were supposed to hate him. At least the hare got a name now. I like Syn too. Death in this story is something we touch on a lot, and I hope in this one you see that Izo dying isn't quite what we as humans expect in death. That's all I'll say on the matter.

Kurogane Tsubasa: (A) Most of those questions I of course can't answer XD But I CAN give some insight into the time period one. It actually takes place in an alternate reality. So you'll see things from many different eras all smashed into one in the human world. If we stuck to history we'd have to leave out a lot of great empires and legends and we didn't think that'd be all that fun in the end so we went the route of mashing them all together. As for our information, well… we're getting it from all over the place. Beddy and I already had some prior knowledge into some myths, and then just went looking for more wherever we could find it. Granted we don't really keep to the actual myths in question… we switch them up A LOT in our story. So even if you looked it up you'll find it doesn't help with understanding the story because we change a lot of aspects of different creatures and lore, only using the originals as a guideline XD If we stuck too closely I don't think we'd be able to tell the story that we want to. We can be more creative this way. I've drawn the mythos a few times, like I have a picture of Koala (spoiler alert: she's mentioned later on) on my tumblr. But I haven't really posted any picts of the main group since around when we first started the story. Otherwise it's all just fanart. (B) Gosh I wish I could answer the questions without giving things away! All your answers WILL be explained eventually. As for looks… I'm trying to draw Law as a dragon myself, but I stink at drawing people and Anj hasn't drawn any of the main cast in a while so… the fan art has actually been very accurate though. As she said we are borrowing from all over the place for our story. It involves a major amount of research in both history and mythology, even if we do combine things. Take for example our big hitting clans tigers, turtles, dragons, and Phoenix. We did not just use eastern stories here. Research it; you will find parallels to all four in vastly different cultures all over our world. So we took that and ran with it in making the clans. And there are actually a LOT of sub-clans too, or "tribes". Like with the mer folk. …. so much research….

Water dragon: (A) You're very welcome! (B) What she said!

Spectrepup: (A) It's a beautiful thing isn't it? (B) omg I just laughed. We need that to happen with Drunk!Thatch. Or exhausted!Thatch.

LuNaLoverForever: (A) Glad you like it! (B) I think so too and I don't even like kids.

Furuba-suzume: (A) All I'll say is you're a perceptive little shit XD (B) Someone's been paying attention….

Cantorahagedoorn: (A) Well, the update wasn't soon… but it came! (B) The next one should be faster.

Dragonwriter88: (A) Ahhhhh you're so sweet thank you ;A; We'll keep trying our best! (B) so sweet… and sorry for the wait.

Mithril Lace: (A) It's nice to see you back friend! *ignores that we're replying a year late* It'd be nice to know our readers understood how much work goes into it, but honestly I'm just happy when we get reviews like this where people tell us what they think and speculate and show they just CARE about what we write in general. Thank you, I'm very proud of my Law ;v;/ He's a pain in the ass to write but I kinda like the challenge. 'Wheatbread' was the fruit of both mine and Bedlam's minds. We uh… we took a bit to come up with that. Sadly. And we definitely took our time getting back into things… *stares at calendar and tugs at collar* (B) He will forever be Pop Wheatbread to me now though. I love hearing from you because you're reviews and ones like it show people pay attention. Yes Anj does Law. She dithers over if he comes out right, it's cute. But he is not an easy guy to write, to be sure. Otohime was fun. She is totally a boss, if only because she is oh so good at political manipulation. The bad word scene was the best because it was a chance to show the kids' personally in how they were before Ligi kind of way… as little shits.

The everchanging: (A) Very happy you liked! (B) Thank you!

Firebird: (A) Yeeeeeah no, there won't be anything MarcoAce related at all in this series XD (B) that bridge was burned at the beginning of planning this. It just wouldn't work with what we have planned, sorry.

6Lisa9: (A) There's a reason Marco continues to consider them pets. It would be very ooc of him not to. Hendric is mildly important, about as important as the other OCs. (B) Marco also had never been expected to care for anything before in his life so he thinks his reaction is normal. Or that's what he tells himself. Hendric is a good guy. Like Syn, he has his part to play and you will see more of him, but they won't take over the story.

Emygrl99: (A) We're overly attached to the name Atche and Luhfi too honestly XD Their past will be revealed with time. Honestly out of most of the characters it'll probably be one of the first we reveal, since the others can't happen until further into the main story. Hell, we're still introducing characters… Nope, Koala is far from being a caretaker XD She won't be coming in for a little bit still sadly. (B) Her as a caretaker would be a disaster….With the rebirth you caught a typo. It IS Izo's first rebirth. Sorry for the confusion. Now to go find that and fix it… the background of the boys is something I'm very proud of and excited to get to, eventually. There are a lot of things about it we have hinted at and when it all comes out there will be tears on my part as I write it. All the sweet little scenes are fun to write for us. And watching Anj draw is always fun, isn't it?

Eosdawn8907: (A) Here's an update! (B) Thanks for waiting!

Betsybugaboo: (A) Nope, these are references to the actual legend of the Four Saint Beasts. We've changed them a lot, though, just like with all of the mythos. (B) I do happen to love YYH, though. They also borrowed from the same legend and changed things.

LittleChomper: (A) Unless a story's over, you can always count on trouble XD (B) there are children involved, 'nuff said.

Guest (4): (A) The mythos world is separate from but connected to the mortal world, and the mythos world is basically your standard fantasy land. You have the normal world with islands and continents, sure, but you also have separate plains, floating islands etc. But the landscape doesn't matter too much plot-wise so picture it however you like! (B) if you would like to draw a map, feel free to send it to our Tumblr! That would be awesome.

SebbyLoverTMI: (A) To be fair, it was only 10 chapters but they're pretty damn long XD Zoro and Kuina may or may not show up in the future, you'll just have to wait and find out. Well there was a wait, but here's more for you to read! (B) never apologize for yourself, your review was amazing. I'm sorry for the wait time for the next chapter… but at least you got a few new characters? Plus, kitten!Nami. That's gotta count for something.

xXMissAmeXx: (A) God, now we're going on 3 years… This is making me feel old. Great, now I'm getting nostalgic too! Well, it's technically another year of it! ...But it was a very inactive year :'D (B) Sorry for the wait! Gosh this thing is a monster story… or is that a mythos story?

RainbowGuardian13: (A) Here's more! (B) Thanks for waiting.

Calypso tchaka: (A) Awww you're so sweet ;v; We're trying to keep you guys in the dark a bit for now as even 11 chapters in we're still early into the story, but we DO already have the ending plotted, and we know where it's going. For now we just need to keep building it up. Things are about to happen, though. You're very welcome! (B) This is so flattering. We work so hard on all the little things and tell ourselves a that "someday they'll understand this" after we put things in. It's bittersweet revealing things.

Ivy: (A) Glad you're liking the characters so far! We have even more coming-too many maybe. But we're showing them now so we have some grounds for when everyone has their own roles to play later on. I'm REALLY happy to hear you don't have any trouble understanding it. I've always wanted my writing to be easy to understand for people who were learning or have trouble reading so that's really great to hear ;v; (B) It really is a relief that you have no issue understanding this story. Especially with so much going on in it. Sorry for the wait for the next chapter. Life got in the way.

Yohalamelli2010: (A) We're not leaving the story incomplete, it's just sometimes we aren't able to work on the story, or a chapter takes longer to get done. We started work on this one I think sometime in October. Things just… get in the way, honestly. Very happy you love it! (B) To be completely honest this year was the worst year I have ever experienced, and I know Anj was having a rough year too. We didn't have time until October to even start really.

Hellfire000: (A) Sadly not Law, but I'm sure Robin will do a fine job XD (B) Sure she will. But we have not seen the last of Law.

A Reader: (A) Thank you for the review! (B) Thank you!

Konkon: (A) If you want them to be speaking Chinese then that's up to you XD We went into this deciding that we wanted to not have a set human language for the boys. It's all up to the reader to determine what they think feels right! (B) Anj is right. Also, as the boys are young and most humans don't communicate with each other they wouldn't know their language. So it's up to you, the reader, to draw the conclusion that works best for you.

7: (A) You're very welcome! To Thatch, the boys will always be cubs XD Well Thatch isn't that judgemental or prejudice towards humans, at least compared to the others, but you'll just have to read to see if things change or not :P (B) As you can see he went right back to Cubs because that's what he is familiar with. Thatch has… unique views. If other views change or if his do is yet to be seen.

Friendly Reader: (A) Actually, I don't think we ever thought of a role for Dadan… hm. We have a role for Sanji, but he's very far from being a merman or being related to fire. I believe we picked a really good species for him but it's definitely not an obvious choice. It wasn't soon, but we DID update! (B) I don't think Dadan is on the LIST…

The Eternal Empress: (A) So happy you like Ace and Luffy's relationship ;v; As the younger sibling it was kind of a challenge to get into the mindset of an older sibling to write Ace. Beddy is good either way, but I struggled XD So I'm happy if it turned out well in the end. I gotta say I loved reading your theories, you put a lot of thought into them I can tell and they're very interesting to me! Of course I can't really answer your questions but I WILL say that there's a reason Marco is the busiest and most sought after Saint Beast, and it's one that's important to the main story :'D I wish I could reply to everything you wrote but I don't know how to without giving away spoilers… But I loved reading your review, thank you for putting so much time and effort into it, I LOVE reading theories from you guys. (B) Your theories are a delight. I can tell you put a lot of thought into it and are spotting a lot, if not all, of our dropped hints. Good for you. I love writing Ace and Luffy so much, and you are right about why we don't do a lot of Luffy POV. It would either tell you nothing or give too much away. But not having siblings it's good to know that we do a good job with them.

: (A) You'll find out soon~ (B) Soon being a relative term.

Blackthorn Ashe: (A) Collabing is… hard, not gonna lie XD But basically we go back and forth talking in video calls and skype chats about how we want to go about doing the next chapter (or next FEW chapters), then we divide up who does what, write them separately, go over each other's scenes and discuss what we like/don't like, what should be changed (I swear Beddy's gonna kill me for this one day), revise, fit the scenes together, read over it, revise AGAIN…. Until we're happy with it :'D (B) I really might kill her ;D See I tend to be more laid back about things beyond the big picture and Anj likes the small details to be perfect in the chapter. So she has me rewrite things a lot. I will read her part and it will be good, maybe need one or two small changes and she has me re do the whole thing I did. I admit it makes the story better in the end but at the time…. we do have long hash outs on even the smallest details. Stuff that won't even be IN THE STORY. But I'm confident that we have a good relationship and respect each other enough to hear the other out even when we disagree. That's the key, respect your partner and accept your differences because you both will bring something unique to the story.

LittleRuky: (A) Pffft well we have a tumblr page but no fandom for the story I'm sorry to say XD Nah, Law's not really supposed to be around kids, to be honest… (B) If Law listens though…. We totally need a fandom. I'm all for that.

Finja Fye: (A) Very happy you like it! Sadly it took us a while but as we said before, we'll never give this story up! Some updates just take longer than others :) (B) I hope your mom is well! Enjoy the chapter!

Xaviera Agnia: (A) So far we don't have a date for Shanks meeting the cubs on our list, so who knows XD Updates happen when they happen, we can't really say when they will be. (B) Adeui is goodbye.

Myanimeobsession: (A) Babysitter ended up being Robin XD (B) We will see more of the others at some point though.

NonchalantxFish: (A) Glad you like! (B) Thank you!

Guest (5): (A) Here's an update! (B) Enjoy!

XxTurtleTracerxX: (A) Aw you're so sweet, thank you! (B) Thank you so much!

Lime Gap: (A) It's been a while, but we DID update! So points for us? :'D (B) This year was tough.

Sakura Haruno554: (A) Here's more! (B) Thanks for waiting!

An old writer: (A) Wrote! (B) Onto the the next!

Zoewinter1: (A) We've said it in author notes before, but we don't ever plan on dropping the fic. Somes we can't update for a really long time, like what happened this time. We updated January 1st, 2016, so it hasn't really been a year. Close, but not quite. But Bedlam had family problems to deal with and I've been working a full time job since May, so it's been really tough for us to find time for this. But we still DO find time, whenever we can, and all we ask is that you guys let us take the time we need to get these out. It's a lot of fun hearing from our regulars and from new readers alike, but as much as we'd like to we can't guarantee quick updates. Life is difficult and likes to get in the way. (B) To be honest I haven't done much writing this year. Adopted by Default has a note in the last chapter as to why, but the long and short of it is family issues. Very pressing ones that are still ongoing and draining on my time and emotions. But like Anj said, this story will never be dropped. It's our baby and we love it. Having the time to write this last year has been rough though so… please be understanding. We are already well underway with the next chapter.

Adieu~

*chapter quote by Marjane Satrapi