Of course Sri wasn't really deterred when Nero told her that her room wasn't going anywhere. "Hehe, I know that silly, but I want to show you!" She reached down with her free hand once they reached the stairs and pulled up the front of her dress enough to expose her feet—which were covered in little dress shoes that almost looked like someone one would expect to see on a doll, nothing quite as high heeled as what Selenity wore on a daily basis around here—and started up the stairs. She did finally have to release Nero's hand so that she could hold onto the rail since she had learned better than to go scurrying up the stairs in those slippery shoes without holding on, and even at that she slipped once on her way up and nearly busted her face on the step. Thankfully, she caught herself and just fell back to the previous step before scurrying back up again. Surprisingly, there really weren't many people in the hallways today, or at least not compared to yesterday. Right now most of the maids that were brave enough to show up were downstairs working on cleaning up breakfast, and the others were trying to straighten up the guest rooms and bathrooms a little since Selenity had made it a point to tell them to take care of everyone else first while they were here. Then again with the mood Selenity had been in the past day most of them were probably glad to avoid this wing.

Once at the top of the steps Sri grabbed his hand again and pulled him down a long hallway similar to the one the guest rooms were on and then turned the corner at the end of the hall which left to another set of stairs that spiraled up. "Come on, up here!" she told him before she started scurrying up those steps in a similar fashion to the way that she had the others. It was no wonder that the princesses were both so slender, they had plenty of stairs to work out on. The stairs spiraled up a good ways and by the time she reached the top she was actually a little winded, but she wasted little time going to the decorative pink and gold door at the start of the hallway and pushing it open. "Ta-da!"

The inside of the room was just what one might expect of a princess. The room was covered in pastel pink carpet with white walls covered in intricately painted pink flowers. The bed was enormous compared to the size of the princess and covered in frilly, pink and white lace quilts with a big flowing pink canopy over the top. The furniture was white with golden handles and accents and there was a large gold rimmed mirror in the corner of the room that would show one's entire body if they stood in front of it. Across from the door was a large window with pink curtains that led out to a balcony and had a very nice view of the gardens in the back yard. The room itself was spacious and full of toys ranging from a huge pile of stuffed animals in one corner to a unicorn rocking horse, a chest which had a few garments hanging out which were obviously dress-up clothes. There were dolls sitting around in various locations, all of which were nicely dressed with their hair done neatly. There were even cosmetics and nail polish laid out on the vanity with her brush and wide assortment of hair accessories, though they were the kind intended for children, nothing really ridiculous. For a little girl her room was well kept and neat looking, though again that was probably to be expected since she seemed to have things like that drilled into her head on a daily basis. "What do you think?" she asked brightly as she looked up to him again.

Nero followed behind Sri once they had reached the stairs and was partially relieved that she had let go of his hand when she did so that she could take the railing. The last thing he needed was for her to trip up or something and wind up falling or hurting herself on the stairs... not that he would've let something like that happen while he was so close to her but still... he didn't need something like that happening while he was with the little princess. He was kind of glad that she had been able to catch herself when she did slip up and avoided that catastrophe. He continued to follow her up the stairs, keeping almost directly behind her and not too far at the same time though she had plenty of room to get to the top without him invading her space. He wasn't really surprised to see her grab his hand again once they had reached the top of the stairs. He shook his head slightly at her resuming to pull him along. He of course tried to keep her pace so that she didn't really have to pull but it almost seemed like she liked pulling him along, or at least playing the hand-holding-guide. He was a little taken to see another set of stairs, spiral ones at that... There were way too many stairs in this palace... seriously. He sighed softly as he watched her start up them in a scurry after telling him to come on. He supposed it was better not to make her wait... He took to the stairs a little after her though he didn't take her pace, not that he really needed to. He had longer legs than she did and he could easily take more than one step at a time... so the trip up didn't wind him the way it had the little princess. He couldn't help a quiet, nearly nonexistent chuckle when she said 'ta-da' after opening the door to her room. Once he had followed her to the door and was able to take a peek he couldn't help shaking his head slightly. He should have known the room would look something like this. He would have been more surprised to see something different for a princess's room. Of course seeing the room had practically everything a little girl could wish for made him think of his little sister. She had enough to make her happy... but this would likely be close to heaven for her... even if it was all white, pink and gold. He glanced down at Sri when she asked what he thought and smiled at her a little. “It is very pretty, I think my little sister would be quite jealous.” He responded with a slight nod.

Sri laughed quietly when Nero said that his sister would be jealous of her room. "She could come play," she suggested almost hopefully. It was probably apparent that she didn't have anyone to play with very often and she was pretty eager to jump for whatever she could get. Still she was smart enough to know that wasn't likely to happen. His sister was a looooong ways away from here and probably wouldn't be coming over for anything. After a moment she pulled him further into the room and then pointed to the wall next to her vanity where a large portrait was hanging. It was similar tot he one downstairs, only there were only three characters in it. This one only had the girls and their mother in it with Selenity standing to the side and Sri in her mother's arm at a pretty young age. "That's my mommy," she told him brightly, "and Sissy when she was little...oh and me!" she liked to show off her mom when she could. "Mommy's pretty isn't she?" she asked. She thought that her mother was pretty, obviously...and she expected everyone more or less to have the same opinion. Then again, their mother looked almost just like Selenity, only older...and she had a more gentle look about her than Selenity did since Selenity was kind of on the wild side at times.

Nero smiled slightly when Sri responded that his little sister could come play. He shook his head slightly as he looked down at her. “Unfortunately Seina is a little too young to travel this far, but thank you for the offer.” He told her with a soft smile. He knew his parents pretty well and there was no way that they would let Seina leave the territory even if it was with him to go anywhere. Young children didn't know how to protect themselves so it was dangerous, especially with hunters around lying in wait for chances to grab up young dragons. He stared down at her for a moment when she pulled him further into the room though his eyes shifted from her to the portrait hanging on the wall that she had pointed to. He hadn't seen the one downstairs in the ballroom so seeing the picture was pretty new to him though he did easily recognize Selenity and Sri even without the little princess telling him who was in it. He wasn't surprised to hear that the woman in the picture was their mother either. The two girls looked quite a bit like her... so of course she was their mother. He was a little caught on the picture though once he had clearly gotten a good look at their mother when Sri asked if she was pretty. He was stuck staring at the gem in her forehead. It was so, so, very familiar and honestly... he didn't want to believe he knew where that was right this minute. He had heard that their mother had died but he wasn't really sure he had been told how... though... he was starting to worry he already knew. After a moment he forcefully brushed the thought aside and looked back down at Sri and smiled. “...She's very pretty, as are her daughters.” He told her softly. He really hoped that he was remembering the gem wrong... or maybe that wasn't the only one that looked like that... something, anything... that made it not have been her.

Sri smiled brightly when Nero agreed that their mother was pretty and even added so were her daughters. She giggled a little as well, a bit amused at how long he stared at the picture, though she had no idea what caught his attention like that. "Sissy wears a lot of make-up. It's funny when she leaves it off because nobody recognizes her. Well, Ishta does, but that's cause they're best friends...sorta. She scares me...she's grumpy. She's supposed to keep Sissy guarded but Sissy always sneaks off. She locked one of the guards in a closet one time," she said with another giggle, "And this other time she got in trouble and was supposed to stay in her room and she snuck out the window, but then she got caught and they put her back and locked the window so she climbed up the chimney." Selenity was a hellion when it came to being guarded. She hated having a shadow so she went to some pretty crazy lengths to keep away from them. Her crazy antics obviously amused Sri...and taught her some pretty bad habits, but she was at least a little more compliant than Selenity was, but then again she hadn't hit her rebellious teenage years yet. After she was finished babbling she wandered over to one of her dressers and pulled open a drawer to sift through before returning to Nero with a deck of cards in hand. "Do you know any games?" she asked brightly as she flopped down in the middle of the floor. She had pretty much worn herself out getting up to her room so for right now she was pretty content with a game that didn't involve much physical movement. Besides, she wanted to talk more to Nero before he got away.

Nero couldn't help but glance back towards the portrait after Sri had said that her sister wore a lot of makeup. His eyes were unconsciously drawn towards the picture since Selenity was in it and Sri had mentioned her though his eyes worked their way right back to that gem while he listened to Sri babble on from one topic to another. Sometimes he was a little surprised how easily children could go from one thing to another but at least for the most part the topic stuck to her sister. He lowered his eyes from the portrait and focused on Sri again as she was telling about the different ways or things Selenity had done in order to be able to get away from her guards. He couldn't help laughing quietly and shaking his head a little. Somehow none of that really surprised him and he supposed the guards should just be lucky the princess didn't outright decide to forcefully get away from them. He watched Sri as she wandered over to one of her dressers and finally came back with something in hand. He raised a brow slightly when she asked if he knew any games and watched her flop down. Honestly... cards wasn't exactly something he expected a little girl to want to play... or at least Seina had never wanted to do such a thing. Then again... she was a little younger than Sri, or at least he was pretty sure that she was. He smiled a little and moved over to where she had sat down and went ahead and sat down himself. “Of course I know some games.” He answered. “But what games do you know how to play?” He asked since he knew quite a handful of card games... but not necessarily ones that he thought the princess would know... then of course it was just easier to ask what she knew then it was to play something she didn't that required him having to teach her.

Sri waited patiently for Nero to come and sit down with her and then tilted her head a little when he asked her what games she knew. "Not too many...," she admitted. She didn't usually have a playmate, so she didn't really know very many card games that involved more than one player. She thought for a moment and then tilted her head a little. "Do you know Go Boom?" she asked curiously. "It's easy," she added just in case he didn't know. It wasn't a hard game to grasp the concept of, or at least she didn't think it was. All you had to do was match cards in the middle that were either the same number or suit, and if you couldn't you had to draw until you could. The first person out of cards had to say "boom" and they won. She didn't mind trying another game if he didn't want to try that one, but that one was pretty easy and fun, or at least for her. There was no real skill involved, so it would leave her plenty that she could talk to Nero about while they played or something.

Nero crossed his legs once he had sat down and sat in such a way that his heels were either tucked below a knee or resting atop one. It was space saving in his mind for one and for two... it was a way he used to sit when he went through training. Sometimes he didn't even think about it and just found himself sitting that way... but that was usually only when there was a floor rather than somewhere outside. He let his hands rest on his ankle and looked to Sri once she had admitted that she didn't know too many card games and then asked if he knew 'Go Boom'. He smiled slightly when she followed up telling him that it was easy. He was fairly certain that he remembered the game. It wasn't one he had played in a long while but that was mostly because the people he ever played cards with preferred more... adult ranged... card games which more times than not involved some sort of gambling. He smiled at her a little. “I'm sure I've played it before, but how about refreshing my memory while you prepare the cards?”

Sri smiled brightly when Nero said that he had played before and then nodded her head a little when he told her to refresh his memory. She went ahead and started dealing out the cards one at a time, one for her and one for him, and then looked up at him. "Okay. We get seven cards and then one goes face up int he middle and you have to put down a card with the same picture or number and if you don't have one you have to draw until you get one that matches, and if you can't find one you have to pass. Then the first person with no cards says 'Boom!' and they win." She finished her explanation just as she finished handing out the cards. She stacked the remaining cards in a pile and then smiled at Nero again. "You can go first," she told him brightly. She looked down at her cards to see what she had and then smiled slightly. Sadly, even her cards were girly looking. Rather than traditional red and black they were hot pink and green, and the backs were decorated with pink and green diamonds all over. She watched Nero and waited expectantly for him to play a card before she did anything. "I haven't played this in a while. No one ever has time but sissy and she hasn't been here, so no one would play with me."

Nero watched quietly while Sri started to deal out the cards and took the ones that he was dealt, listening intently while she explained the game to him. Of course after listening to her explanation he did remember the game, but it had indeed been quite some time since he had last played such a game. He was giving the cards in his hand a once over while shifting them around so that they ran from lowest to highest while Sri was finishing and putting the rest of the cards in a pile. He smiled at her a little when she said that he could go first and then nodded his head a little. “Alright.” He responded quietly as he reached for the pile to set one card face up and then shifted his eyes back to inspect his hand. After a brief moment he pulled a card from his hand and set it down face up before glancing to Sri. “Your turn, right?” He asked just to be sure. It had been quite a while since he had played and honestly couldn't remember if it was one turn per person per time, or if the one person kept going until they were out of moves. “I haven't played this in a long while, though not for the same reasons...” He paused. “...I am sorry that your sister hasn't been here to play with you.” He told her quietly.

Sri watched as Nero laid down the first card and then played one of his own. She looked at the card that he played, already examining her own before she laid down another of the same suit. "Yep," she responded as she let got of the card, "Your turn again." She shook her head a little when Nero said that he was sorry that her sister wasn't here. "...It's okay, I guess...," she said, though she didn't sound too happy about it, "It's been boring. But she's home now, so she can play with me again once she stops being moody," she stated in a more chipper tone. She watched Nero for a moment as she waited for him to play another card and then tiled her head a little. She still wanted to ask him a few questions, but hse thought they had better at least play through one game first before she tackled him with questions like that. She wasn't entirely oblivious to the fact that what she wanted to ask was probably going to make him uncomfortable, so she was trying to think of the bed way to bring it up since she didn't know when or if she would ever get another chance to get the answers she wanted.

Nero glanced down at the card that Sri played before looking back to his hand. He studied it for a moment before he reached for the pile and plucked a card from it, continuing to do so twice more before he found a card that he could play. He set down a card of the same number only a different suit and then started to adjust the cards in his hand so that the new ones were in order with the others. He looked back to Sri and uttered “Your turn.” since he had finished his turn. He smiled slightly at Sri's having said that it had been boring but her sister was back now so they could play again once she wasn't moody. “...She is rather moody right now, isn't she.” He commented quietly. Thanks to Kanone he knew all too well why Selenity was acting the way that she was. There wasn't anything that could be done about it and being a Princess... well... you should just go with it he supposed. He knew one didn't have many options when it came to being royalty. There were standards that had to be lived up to and Selenity was probably long overdue for a husband. Thankfully, he wasn't in Kyran's shoes. He could only imagine how it must feel to find out the woman you loved was marrying someone else. “You do know that your sister's trip isn't over yet, right?” He said as he waited for her to take her turn. “We've still got a couple other territories to go before she will be back here for good...”

Sir nodded her head slightly when Nero agreed that Selenity was rather moody right now. "Yeah.... Daddy made her mad because him and that mean lady decided to make her marry the mean lady's son. He's really nice, but Sissy doesn't know him. He's really nice to me, he played with me a few times when he was here. He doesn't want to marry Sissy either, but his mommy told him he had to or he was going to have to move. I don't get it though cause if he doesn't want to move it would be stupid to marry Sissy cause then he would have to move here." She watched him start to draw from the pile looking satisfied that he already had to draw and watched the card he played, smiling a bit when she saw him change the suit. She had a bunch of that one, so she was going to get to clear out most of her hand if it stayed there. She played another card and then looked back up to Nero again when he said that her sister's trip wasn't over. "...She's leaving again?" she asked, looking aghast for a moment. She lost the look of shocked horror quickly enough and replaced it with a pout before she looked away. "...Your turn," she muttered, not looking very thrilled anymore. She crossed her arms again and sighed as she stared at the pile for a moment and then looked back to Nero. "Sissy isn't going to your territory is she?" she asked, looking a little worried. "There's a bad man there...," she added really quietly.

Nero listened silently to Sri when she started to speak giving him the child version of what Kanone had told him about last night, save for a couple more details then Kanone could share because he likely didn't know. He couldn't quite see the point in making two people marry one another if neither of them wanted to marry the other. It would be a little different if maybe Ellior had wanted to marry her but if he didn't... it was just a little pointless. Then again it was sounding more like the parents cared more about the two of them getting married. Well... it didn't really matter to him either way if it really came down to it and he didn't need to be involved in such drama. “...If he's nice to you he will likely be nice to your sister.” He commented and left it at that. He watched her as she made her move and couldn't help smiling a little at the reactions she made. He was just fine until she reacted to what he had said about her sisters trip not being over. He felt a little bad that she hadn't known and his expression went a little softer than it already had been. “....I suppose you wouldn't have known.” He paused. “I am sorry you had to hear it from me.” He told her quietly. He took a moment to look over his cards again so that he could take his turn. He finally set down a card of the same suit and then lifted his eyes to look at Sri. “Your turn.” He told her though he just kind of stared at her for a moment when she asked if her sister was going to have to go to his territory and then said that there was a bad man there. He wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that right away. He sighed softly and shifted his glance towards the cards for a moment before looking back to her. “....She will have to go to my territory ...but I don't think anyone would force her to go if she didn't want to.” He paused. “...and I can assure you that everyone in the group would take care of her, myself and my cousin included.” He said to try and reassure her. As for her comment on a bad man being there... he wasn't really sure what to say to that. Then of course he wasn't sure he wanted to hear about a bad man....

Sri giggled quietly when Nero said that if Ellior was nice to her that he would be nice to her sister too. "He is nice to her...it's her being nice to him that you have to worry about. She thinks he's in on it too, so she's maaaaaad at him." Of course her amusement was short lived after Nero burst her little bubble that her sister was home for good. She nodded her head a little glumly when he apologized for being the one to tell her. "...It's okay," she muttered. She had been mad at her sister for leaving without telling her she was going, but Ishta had tired to explain to her why her sister was gone...so she did forgive her.....eventually. She looked back up to Nero again when he told her that no one would make her sister go if she didn't want to. "...She will go. She isn't scared," she said, sounding pretty sure of that. She watched him closely with those wide trusting eyes of hers when he said that they would keep her sister safe. She nodded a little bit and then looked back down to the cards to play one before looking back to him again. "...Okay," she agreed quietly, "...If she gets scared you have to protect her, okay? She has to come home again." She glanced away again and bit her lower lip lightly without looking at him for a moment. Finally she spoke, though her voice was quiet and there was no hint of amusement left in her tone when she started to talk again. "...I wanted to ask you something before...but I didn't know how." She was quiet again for a moment before she she looked back up to him again, "...I want to know why everyone was fighting...and why my mommy had to die. She didn't do anything to anyone...and we didn't do anything. I remember what happened. There was a man that looked like you in our house and he hurt mommy bad because she was bleeding everywhere...then he cut her gen out and took it with him, and she wouldn't wake up. Me and sissy were hiding, so he didn't see up, but we both saw him. No one will ever talk about it either. Daddy just gets mad, he thinks all people who look like you are bad, and sissy just cries. I just want to know why he hurt mommy. She wouldn't have hurt him, so why did he make her go away?" Of course Sri's interpretation of looking like Nero was pretty wide. She remembered black hair, dark eyes, and black scales, and Nero had black hair, dark eyes, and black scales, so in her mind they looked like. She continued to stare at Nero while she waited for some kind of answer, though she wasn't sure he would have one. She was hoping that he would be able to explain to her since no one else could. He was older after all, he should know these things.

Nero shook his head lightly when Sri said that it was Selenity being nice to Ellior that you had to worry about. “She did kind of have this sprung on her without any knowledge right?” He paused. “I am not sure I could blame her for being a little mad.” He said as he stared down at the cards in his hand for a moment. He glanced up again when Sri said that Selenity would go, that she wasn't scared. He smiled slightly. “I don't think your sister is afraid of anything.” Or at least so far she hadn't seemed afraid of much of anything. He stared at her for a moment when she started to say that if her sister got scared he had to protect her. He couldn't believe this... he was winding up with another family member he had to promise to...What was it about him that made everyone think he was the person to trust? He was a dark dragon for God's sake... you weren't supposed to be so trusting of dark dragons! He couldn't have said no to her even if he wanted to, not with the way that she was looking at him. He merely gave her a genuine smile and set his hand over his heart, dipping his head a little to boot. “You have my word that I will ensure your sisters safety and make sure that she is able to return to you once again.” He told her in the most reassuring voice he could muster which wasn't really at all that difficult for him. It was just a matter of switching to the more commanding and strong voice he used when around people that he worked with, or just his military in general. Once he had for the most part pledged Selenity's safety he lowered his hand from his heart and started to look over the cards so that he could make his move. It was almost a little difficult playing such a simple card game while talking like this... especially since Sri didn't appear to be staying in one mood for very long. He wound up picking up a couple more cards before being able to play one in a different suit and then looked back to the little princess when she said that she had wanted to ask him something before but hadn't known how.

Of course that worried him slightly though he wasn't entirely sure why. Children could ask some pretty off the wall questions so maybe he shouldn't have been worried. He nodded his head slightly and offered an encouraging smile. “Go ahead, ask away.” He told her, though once she had gotten around to asking he pretty much regretted giving her permission to ask whatever she wanted. Not only did he not really know how to answer her questions but he pretty much had confirmation right there that his father had been the one to kill their mother and that the gem he and his sister used to be so proud of his father snatching was well... something he wasn't quite so proud of anymore. He was pretty good at keeping a straight face, thankfully. So it wasn't easily read that he was practically panicking on the inside for once. He just stared at her for a good length of time before his expression went the softest it had ever been since he had been on this trip. “.....I can't really explain why everyone fights.” He told her honestly. “All I can really say is that it's an adult thing.... and as we get older not everything is as sweet and easy as it appears when we are young.” He sighed softly and shifted a little, setting his cards face down on the floor. He was careful about how he got up so that he didn't mess anything up and moved over closer to her. He knelt down and took her cards from her, carefully setting them down face down like his and doing so without being able to see them. He then reached over and picked her up without waiting to see if it was okay and gave her a hug. Of course he hoped she didn't know why he felt the need to hug her... or at least he hoped she interrupted the other way since there were two reasons he felt the need to hug her. One being that his father was a jerk and he couldn't believe that he had killed Sri and Selenity's mother and the other reason being that his father had unknowingly killed their mother right in front of them.

“...I am so sorry...” He said quietly as he hugged her. “...I can not believe that someone did that in front of you two.” He said quietly, genuinely sorry that his father had done that. He wasn't completely like his father.... his father would probably have gotten some satisfaction out of that knowledge but he hadn't known the girls were there. Nero had heard the story so many times from his father and people that he worked with and never once were the two princesses brought up. He continued to hug her so long as she would let him and sighed again softly. “....I can't say why your mother was taken from you...” He started. “....I am not really sure why.” He paused. “....My clan ...hasn't yet adopted the idea of getting along with everyone else.... I am not sure they ever will....” He didn't share all of the same views as his clan... but he had to share them when in the company of his clan or else he could be marked a traitor. “....I wish that I had better answers for you, really I do.” He told her quietly. “...but I can't explain the actions of someone else...” Actually... he probably could explain it... his father did it for the fun, the glory and the trophy. If his father could've taken down the King instead, he would have but there wasn't anything wrong with the second best prize... or at least in his fathers eyes. But of course he couldn't say that to Sri.

Sri nodded when Nero pointed out that Selenity had this sprung on her with no notice and that he couldn't blame her for being mad. "I know...but he's really nice and he's pretty too, so she shouldn't be that mad. I'd marry him," she said bluntly and then giggled a little. She smiled in satisfaction when Nero more or less formally vowed to protect her sister and then nodded her head. "Okay," she agreed easily, "Good. You make a good guard. She likes you, so she won't make it too hard," she told him brightly. Nero would work out better...since Selenity really seemed to think highly of him and Sri doubted she would be able to leave him locked in a room somewhere while she ran off without him or something. She looked at the cards he played, but by then she had already pretty much lost interest in the game, especially since she saw the card he played was one she couldn't counter without drawing.

She turned her attention away from the cards and back to Nero when he had told her to ask away, and she kept her eyes on him even after she had given him her little story. She watched every move he made after that closely, trying to figure out if he was going to answer her or not. Her ears started to fall back a little when he was silent for so long, but they perked up again slightly when he finally spoke. Unfortunately...she had a feeling she wasn't going to get too much out of him either since the first thing he said was that he couldn't explain. "...Oh," she said quietly when he had finished up by telling her that things weren't as easy when you were an adult. It still didn't make sense to her why everyone was always fighting, in her mind it wasn't hard to get along. Look at them now, she was in her room playing cards with the guy that had all the maids scurrying around in fear of being spotted. She watched him as he put his cards down and came over to her, and he let him have her cards easily. She was a bit surprised when he picked her up and hugged her, but she didn't mind. She just hung there for a moment before she hugged him back.

It did surprise her again when he apologized for what happened and she shook her head a little before raised a hand to the back of his head and petting his hair gently. "It's okay...you don't have to be sorry, it wasn't your fault," she told him quietly. She was at least certain of that. Nero was old, but he wasn't old enough to be the guy who hurt her mom. That guy was about her father's age, or looked to be. She listened quietly while he continued to explain...or try to explain. He really didn't tell her much that she understood or didn't already know. She had kind of gathered the dark clan was full of bullies. She hugged him a little more tightly once he was finished and then turned her head to kiss his cheek lightly. "It's okay," she told him again, though she sounded just a little disappointed that he didn't have better answers. She leaned her head into the crook of his shoulder and nuzzled against him lightly. It had been a while since anyone had held her so she was pretty content right where she was for the moment. "Adults fight over stupid things," she told him simply since that was the conclusion she had come to. "We all look the same except for the colors, but they're all pretty in their own way. I don't see why adults have to make everything so complicated. All of the maids are scared of you, but there's nothing to be scared of. You'd be nice if they just talked to you...and Keren's been really mean to Nanashi since she got here, but he's really nice too. He never did anything to her either, but he doesn't get mad at her for calling him names. I had to yell at her for it." She sighed heavily and just let her head flop against Nero's shoulder again. "...Grown ups are supposed to be smart, so why do they act so dumb?"

Nero continued to hold onto Sri, a little surprised that she had hugged him back. Honestly he had thought that he was just being a little selfish in giving her hug and hadn't really expected her to hug him back. But then again... maybe he would've been more surprised if the child didn't return the hug. He had gathered from listening to her responses to what he had said that he hadn't quite answered her questions the way that she would have liked. He probably could have given her all of the answers but she wouldn't have liked them. He was most surprised when she kissed his cheek after listening to her tell him he didn't have to be sorry since it wasn't his fault. He felt like he couldn't apologize enough actually... and he did feel like he needed to be sorry, at least since he knew his father never would be. He held her a little closer once she started to nuzzle against him and smiled a little. Topic of conversation aside he really was being reminded of his little sister and he missed her. He sighed softly and nodded his head a little when she said that adults fought over stupid things. “Yes... they do.” He agreed easily. He couldn't help but shake his head a little as he listened to her continue about everyone being the same save for their colors. Of course that was the simple way of thinking and he wasn't surprised that she thought that way. Her sister thought that way as well as far as he knew. He sighed softly once she had finished speaking and gave her a little squeeze. “.....Grown-ups forget just how simple life could be if they continued to think like you and your sister do.” He commented quietly. “...Adults get greedy ….they become overly concerned with pride, property, and things like social status.” He said quietly. “Regardless of clan... adults can't always escape those things.” Keren was a prime example in his eyes. She was a light clan dragon but she was greedy and hungry for a higher social standing. Honestly... she would probably make a good dark clan dragon from what he had heard of the woman. “....As for Nanashi and the way people treat him ….it's because he had a human parent.” He paused. “None of us, regardless of our clans get along with humans because they hunt us... so of course most of us look at people like Nanashi badly.” He said quietly. “...There is nothing wrong with Nanashi ...it's just some people think that he is below the rest of us because one of his parents wasn't a dragon.” He shook his head slightly. “But I am sure you probably already knew that.” He sighed softly. “At any rate it kind of goes right back to social standings because no one wants to think they're lowering themselves if they like people like Nanashi.” He wasn't sure that he was really explaining anything well for Sri to understand... but he was trying. “...I'm sorry if I'm not answering things easily for you to understand ….or giving you the answers you were looking for.” He told her quietly and gave her another little squeeze.

Sri smiled a little when Nero gave her a squeeze and then nuzzled him a little more when he started to tell her why adults acted the way that they did. She stayed quiet for the most part though she made a face when he mentioned people wanting higher social status. "Why?" she asked flatly. "I don't like having statuses. That's why Sissy has to marry Ellior. She has to do a lot of things that she doesn't want to do. She doesn't even like dresses or makeup and she always has to wear it because people tell her to, and I have to too. I can't even get dirty or I get yelled at, and those shoes hurt my feet but I get yelled at if I don't wear them, too." She honestly didn't see why anyone would want that. She'd been being told how to dress and how to act since she was really little, and it was definitely no fun trying to be what everyone else expected you to be. She raised her head and stared at Nero again when he told her that people treated Nanashi bad because he had a human parent. "I know, he told me. That's why he doesn't have horns, because his dad was human." She made a bit of a face when he told her that humans hunted them. "They hunt dragons?" she asked skeptically. "...But Nanashi looks like us other than he doesn't have horns, so does that means they don't like him either?" She shook her head when he said that people didn't want to think that they were lowering themselves. "Well, I like him," she said firmly, "I don't care if he's part human, he's still nicer than Keren, and he talks to me." She smiled again slightly when he apologized again and wound up nuzzling against him again. "It's okay, I think I get it...some of it. I know kids my age fight over toys, but they get over it or learn to share. I think some adults need to take lessons." She laughed quietly and then sighed and rested her head back against him again. "At least some people are nice," she said simply as she closed her eyes.

Nero sighed softly when Sri asked him why in reference to people wanting status and when she didn't like having it. “It sounds silly I am sure... but people are treated differently according to their status... and the people who have no status or very little long for better treatment and nicer things whereas people who have all of the status in the world usually wish for less than what they have.” He paused and thought about it momentarily. “...It's kind of like other people want what you have and you want what they have ...but it isn't as easy of a fix as just giving something away or trying to share something.” He tried to explain. “It really does kind of all come back down to the fact that a lot of people are greedy... some lower status people just want to live comfortably which could mean they need a little more status in their lives whereas there are others who want to have everything in the world, and then some.” He sighed again quietly and shifted Sri's weight a little but didn't offer to let her down. “As for you and your sister and having to follow strict rules... well... that's just how it is when you're Royalty. I can assure you that you're not the only little Princess who dreads wearing shoes like that. Though the clans are different in many ways there are bound to be princesses, princes too, who want nothing more than to just be a kid as they're growing up.” He paused. “But being Royalty means that other people in the clan look up to you and you're supposed to be a young lady that they can be proud of.” He said quietly and then shook his head a little. “Honestly... I think people forget that you're just a child too and should be allowed to be one just like every other normal little girl or boy.” He understood why Royals were treated differently and why the children were raised the way that they were but that didn't mean much to him really. A child should be allowed to be a child regardless of what their status was.

He was slightly curious as to why Sri questioned him when he had said that humans hunted dragons. He couldn't believe that she wouldn't have heard about that or at least been slightly savvy to it. Somehow he had a feeling a lot of stuff was probably kept from her and so far he was probably doing a good of ruining whatever had been meant to be kept from her. “....Yes, humans hunt dragons.” He said quietly. “Not all humans do... but a good portion of them do.” He added but didn't bother to go into any greater detail. “Humans nor dragons accept Nanashi for what he is.... we as dragons look down on the fact that he has human blood in him just like humans look down on him for having dragon blood in him. Unfortunately being a dragon half means that he isn't really accepted by anyone and he isn't seen as a person really....” He smiled a little when she said so firmly that she liked Nanashi. “I'm sure that makes him happy.” He couldn't help laughing a little when she said that Nanashi was nicer than Keren. “I don't believe Nanashi has a mean bone in his body.” He laughed again quietly when she said that adults needed to take lessons from children. “If only it were that easy.” He commented quietly and gave her another little squeeze before looking down at her again. “....So are we done playing cards now?”

Sri listened to Nero try to explain to her about the whole status thing, but she just shook her head looking almost disgusted with the topic. "...Yeah, I think I get it. ...It's like I wish my hair would curl like Sissy's and she wishes hers would stay straight like mine, but we can't trade. ...Err...well I guess that isn't a good one cause we don't fight about it." She shrugged a little and then tightened her grip on him a little when he shifted her weight. She made another face when he said that things were just that way for royals. "I don't get people," she said simply before she dropped her head back against his shoulder again. She didn't see why they thought it was bad for her to get a little dirty or scraped up like other kids. She didn't even have a decent playmate. She had all the toys and games she could ask for but they weren't worth much when she had no one to enjoy them with.

She was of course looking at him again by the time he started to explain to her about the humans hunting dragons. She looked a little confused still since she didn't know why they would want to hunt dragons. Her ears fell back a little when Nero started to explain to her that no one liked Nanashi because of what he was and didn't even see him as a person. "Do you?" she asked since she hadn't missed the way he kept saying 'we' like he included himself in the bunch that didn't like him. She smiled when he said that he was sure it made Nanashi happy that she liked him. "I hope so." She giggled when he said that Nanashi didn't have a mean bone in his body. "I didn't think so, he's too shy to be mean to people." She smiled again when he gave her a little squeeze and returned the gesture before she looked up to him again when he asked about the cards. "Huh?" she looked down at the cards in the floor and tilted her head. "Oh yeah...Hmmm...I guess so. That game isn't as fun as it used to be...." She turned back to Nero and let her chin drop to his shoulder with a sigh. "...But I don't know what else to do. I don't think you like dolls...and those are kind of boring too, all you can do is dress them up pretty." She thought it was kind of sad that with all the crap she had in her room she still couldn't find anything fun to do. "Hmm...do you want to go outside?" she asked as she looked up to him again.

Nero couldn't help but chuckle quietly at Sri's anaology. “No, that was actually pretty good.” He paused. “Though it would be most accurate if the two of you did fight about it.” He told her quietly. He merely smiled slightly when she said that she didn't get people. Of course he didn't expect that she would. She was only a child after all and hell, he didn't always get people either. He stared at her for a moment when she asked him if saw Nanashi as a person once they were on the topic. He almost wished that she hadn't asked that because he still wasn't entirely sure himself. Originally he didn't like halfbreeds... he would have been one of the people who willingly and openly exterminated them. Now... he wasn't entirely so sure... but that original feeling was still there, somewhere. “....I don't really know.” He answered quietly after a moment of thinking about it. “I used to completely dislike his kind... but I think I'm coming around, slowly.” He added. He looked back down at the cards momentarily when she answered about them and then nodded his head slightly. It probably would be kind of hard to get back into that game now... not to mention it wasn't that fun a game really... well... maybe unless you were younger. He smiled slightly and nodded when she said that she didn't think that he liked dolls. “Not particularly.” He agreed. He didn't really care for playing with dolls... that was really more of a girly thing but of course he knew that his sister would've loved to have played with dolls with Sri. It was kind of a shame that she couldn't be here since he knew she'd have a ball playing with Sri. He tilted his head slightly when she asked if he wanted to go outside. That of course worried him slightly. “....Where outside?” He asked firstly. He wasn't sure where she meant when she asked and he certainly wasn't willing to go anywhere near other light dragons with her so if it was anywhere outside of the palace's premisses... he would most likely say no.

Sri giggled softly when Nero said that it would be more accurate if she and her sister did fight about their hair. "We don't fight about it, we just fight with it. I try to curl mine and she irons hers, but it's not the same and it never looks as good." Of course by the time they had gotten to the topic of Nanashi she was looking at him curiously again and wondering why it was taking him so long to respond. Her ears laid back slightly when he admitted that he used to completely dislike his kind, but they perked just slightly when he said that he was coming around slowly. "...You should. He's really really nice so it's not fair not to like him because of something he can't help. That would be like not like me because I'm white and shiny...I can't help it. I wish my scales were purple sometimes, I like that color better than white, but I can't change them cause that's how I was born." She didn't know if her little lesson made any sense to Nero, but she did hope that he would stop not liking Nanashi because his daddy was human. From what little she knew of him Nanashi was one of the nicest people you could come across and he was pretty why...and pretty flinchy. She didn't see why anyone would want to be mean to him. Of course she giggled when he said that he didn't want to play with dolls. She hadn't thought so, she didn't know any boys who did, then again she didn't know too many boys. Once he asked where outside she smiled a little. "Out back, silly. I'm not allowed to leave without a bunch of guards. Sissy isn't supposed to either but she sneaks out all of the time. They always catch me when I try to. But there is a biiig garden out back. See?" she said as she pointed toward the window and her balcony, "You can see it from here. It's more fun out there."

Nero listened quietly to Sri when she spoke and said that it wasn't fair to dislike Nanashi for something that he couldn't help. He sighed softly once she had finished her little lesson. “I know that.” He told her quietly. “I know that he can't help who he is, just like none of us can help who we are. It's just difficult to completely warm up to someone when you've grown up being told that they weren't anything important.” He paused. “....I grew up being told to hate just about everyone for some reason or another. I'm not supposed to be friendly to any dragon from any clan other than my own ...especially not light clan dragons.” He shook his head slightly. “...Of course as I got older I did get the chance to realize that it was a little silly to hate everyone just because I was told I should ...but sometimes it is kind of hard to shake what has been taught to you for so many years.” He said as he looked at her. “It is easier to accept other dragon's... but it isn't impossible to accept dragon half's... it's just something that I am working on.” He told her with a slight nod. Of course all of that would go out the window as soon as he was in the presence of another dark dragon because he was expected to treat everyone a certain way and he would definitely be looked badly upon for being so chummy with a light dragon, even if it was a child. He mulled over the idea of going out back when Sri clarified where she had meant. Of course she couldn't go anywhere else without guards... thankfully he didn't have to worry about going elsewhere. The back yard area was fine... he just wasn't going to like the bright light. He glanced in the direction that she pointed when she said that you could see the garden from here and then smiled slightly. “I suppose if you would rather go outside, I don't mind.” He told her quietly. He was going to hate being blinded... or well... hate having issues with seeing but if she wanted to play outside he guessed he didn't really have any objections. He certainly wasn't going to tell her they couldn't play outside because of something as silly as an inability to see properly... he would just try and adapt as best as possible. He went ahead and started to set her back down onto her feet since he doubted she needed to be carried that far... not to mention he didn't exactly want to give anyone the wrong impression if he carried her anywhere in the palace.

Sri listened quietly while Nero explained to her that he had grown up being told that he was supposed to dislike everyone that wasn't from his clan, and especially if they were from hers. She looked confused by that, but she didn't ask. She had been taught the exact opposite by both her mother and sister, and even her grandmother. Her father had been the same way for a while, at least until her mother was killed, then he started severely disliking dark dragons. She shook her head a little when he said that he was working on it. "...Okay," she told him approvingly. So long as he was working on it she guessed it would be alright. She smiled slightly when he said that he would go outside to play with her and nodded. "Okay!" she said more brightly. Once he had set her back on her feet she grabbed his hand again and started to tug but then stopped and quickly fathered up her cards, shoving them all back in a pile before she scurried back to her dresser and put them back where she got them. Once she finished that she went back to snag his hand and started to tug him toward the door again.

Selenity had already given Jett the slip since having him as a shadow was getting on her nerves. As luck would have it for Nero, his new glasses were already finished since she had asked them to make it snappy, and she had them on her now since one of the maids had bought them to her. She had checked Nero's room but when she didn't find him there she took a wild guess at where he was and started up to where her and Sri's rooms were, though by the time she got to the top of the stairs she was practically gasping for breath since she had just hurried up and down several sets of stairs. She still wasn't too used to this style of dress after spending a few months in normal clothes, so her corset was about to kill her, as were her feet after climbing all of those stairs. She smiled weakly when she saw Sri pulling Nero out of her room. "...Hey...I thought...I might...find you up here...," she said breathlessly as she stepped away from the stairs and closer to the door to the room. "...Here," she said quietly as she held the glasses out toward Nero, "I just...got those.... ...Will they be alright?" Those glasses at least were closer to what he had before, though they still had a bit of silver decor, but it was nowhere near as girly looking as the ones Reyes had wound up with.

Sri blinked when she saw her sister upstairs. She wasn't too surprised to see that she was out of breath since she always was when she got to the top of those stairs. She titled her head a little when she handed the glasses to Nero ad then looked back to her again. "...What did you do with Jett?" she asked curiously.
"Oh....he's around here....somewhere...," she said with a weak laugh, "...Or...he may still be trying to figured out how to...get out of the library."
"Did you lock him in!?" she accused, sounding amused at the idea.
"Now...would I do that?" she responded, trying her best to ignore the tightening pain in her chest.
Sri laughed and shook her head. "You're mean," she told her sister playfully.
Selenity just smiled weakly in response, but all at once her eyes rolled back in her head and she just started falling forward. She couldn't breathe properly in that corset and her head had already been swimming by the time she got to the top of the stairs, so she was just lucky she was off of them before she finally hit the floor.