[Shieba]

Keirn, the Temple of the Voices, rarely saw visitors to begin with, but those few who came were hardened warriors who wished for more power. Or at least this was how it had been up to now, because the latest visitor to the shrine was rather small and curiously peeked into the room with the statues. "Hellooooo theeeere?" Lelouch, the little Fellox-prince of Pandovia, slowly entered and looked around. Since Roraldi wasn't as dangerous as Whisper Forest, he had been allowed to look around a bit when the rest of the Felloxes from Pandovia had come here for a picnic and had discovered the building.

Well, the shrine seemed empty, which was sad. There was, however, an inscription over the door. Lelouch squinted. He hadn't even learned all letters in his native language yet, let alone those of Evelon, but he knew a few. The words were also pretty complicated, but finally, he thought he had gotten the gist of it. "I can make wishes here! And get huggies!" An embrace was the same as a huggie, right?

He only had to find out how. Well, there were these statues! Maybe he had to ask them? Lelouch went to look at each one. Two of them looked rather evil and scary, so Lelouch quickly walked to the others. Since he knew what to wish for - a bunny he could take home to Pandovia, of course! - he quickly decided that Ithina wasn't the right one to pick, since she looked pretty much like someone who would eat bunnies. And since Selkat'aris seemed to have at least some feet formed like those of those evil birds who hunted bunnies as well, the decision wasn't all that hard.

Lelouch looked up at the huge statue of Sa'ouna. She looked pretty fluffy, too! He totally would like to hug her! "Helloooo there~! I'm Lelouch!" he told the statue. "I'm the prince of Pandovia and really cute! I like bunnies and huggies and ice-cream! I love visiting Evelon to care for the bunnies here, but Daddy doesn't allow me to take one home because he says I'm not old enough yet! But I'm already six! So would like to wish for a bunny I can take home! Maybe one from our Chateau or for one directly from Pandovia! I promise I'll always cuddle it and take care of it! I have experience!" He looked up at the statue. Hopefully, he had done it right. "I would also like a huggie", he finally added as well.

[Kodai]

It had been some time since she had last walked the realm of mortals. Having been tasked with giving aid to those who truly needed it, Sa'ouna had been circling the skies and watching out for needy individuals ever since the end of the War for the Tear. However, there hadn't been anyone that had been in need of her help since then, and so she had contented herself with gleaning whatever information about the mortal world as she could. Having once been restricted to divine matters only, Sa'ouna was glad to have the chance to expand her knowledge, but that didn't make her existence any less lonely. Each demigod existed to further the cause of their patron god (as did the Seraphim) and thus they were more often than not pursuing different projects.

She was glad, then, when she at last felt the gentle tug that signified a prayer.

A gentle wind blew into the shrine, ruffling Lelouch's fur before dying down and revealing the goddess. Bending her long neck down so that she could comfortably fit through the entrance, Sa'ouna wound herself about the entire room, the chains of the gold shackles around her wrists and ankles rustling along the stone floor as she did so. Once she was situated so that she was sitting before the little prince, she smiled down at him. "Why hello there, Lelouch," she began, not disappointed in the least that his prayer had nothing to do with needing help. Truthfully, she just glad for the chance at having company! "I am afraid I cannot allow you to take a Diosol home with you, if your father is against it. But I can still give you a hug, if that is all right?" Lifting a paw, Sa'ouna gestured for the Fellox to come closer, radiating nothing but a sense of goodwill.

[Shieba]

"Woooow!" Lelouch definitely hadn't expected someone so big. "Awesome!" He beamed at the demi-goddess. The little Fellox hadn't been sure what he had been expecting - he hadn't thought much about what he had done in the first place, after all - but this was definitely exciting.

"Awww, no bunny?" A bit sad, Lelouch glanced up at Sa'ouna. "Can't you try to talk to my Daddy? You're so big, I bet he'll be impressed! It's so sad; I love all the bunnies here, but I'm a Fellox in this world and at home I'm a human. I could pet bunnies and cuddle with them much better as a human boy."

To a huggie, though, he would never say 'no'. His father had told him often to not simply hug strangers, but Lelouch was sure that no one would hurt him anyway because he was cute and also, someone as awesome and nice as Sa'ouna surely gave great huggies. So he cuddled up to Sa'ouna right away. He had never hugged someone of this size! This was totally amazing! "Do you like bunnies? If I would be as big as you, I would hug all bunnies I have here at the same time!" Hugging a hundred bunnies was probably the most epic thing in the world, Lelouch thought.

[Kodai]

Sa'ouna waited patiently for Lelouch to approach her, which he did soon enough. She draped her raised paw around the Fellox's shoulders, pressing him gently into her soft white fur for a hug. "I could speak with your father," she replied, eyes twinkling cheerfully, "but if he says no, I cannot go against his wishes." Still, the demigoddess hoped that she might really get a chance to talk to the prince's father. The mention of another world, as fleeting as it had been, had intrigued her. It was likely that Lelouch wouldn't want to discuss it, though, seeing as he was a young boy and answering questions about the workings of his world was probably about as entertaining to him as listening to a lecture. Besides, he obviously had something else on his mind.

"I like all of Zu'hai's creations, provided they are being kind to each other," she smiled. "But I do not think I could hug so many at once. I may be long, but I still only have two arms." Besides, a small creature like a rabbit would probably get crushed if you tried to do that. Not that Sa'ouna would point this out to Lelouch – she knew that he had only good intentions and was pleased by the thought of cuddling up with so many bunnies at once. Releasing the Fellox, she looked towards the door and asked, "Shall I go talk to your father, then?"

[Shieba]

Lelouch cuddled up right away. "Yaaaaaay, huggie! You give awesome huggies!" Happily, he looked up at Sa'ouna. "And yeees, please talk to Daddy! I bet he would be all impressed!" Lelouch didn't know if his father would agree or not, but clearly, speaking to some magical, big being who fulfilled wishes had to make some impact. After all, all his other friends were from Pandovia or not grown up yet and since his father was the king, everyone just agreed with him. So someone from Evelon might actually be able to help much more with getting a bunny!

Lelouch also had no idea who Zu'hai was and how he was related to bunnies, but if he was a fan of bunnies as well, that was good enough for Lelouch. "So Zu'hai likes bunnies, too? Maybe you and him can talk to Daddy together? The more, the better! And you could curl around all the bunnies and they would climb around on you and you would have hundreds of bunnies all over you!" Lelouch beamed. "That would surely be aaaawesome!" He was a bit sad when the hug ended, but he was also excited about his new friend talking to his father. "Yaaay! Let's go to Daddy!"

[Kodai]

Sa'ouna couldn't help but chuckle softly when Lelouch confused her words. She'd only said that she liked Zu'hai's creations (which included bunnies), not that Zu'hai himself liked them. Though, surely the god cared for all of the beings he created, to some degree. Still, she didn't need to confuse the Fellox by trying to explain all that. "I don't believe Zu'hai could come speak; he's very busy. I will do my best in speaking with your father, though." Carefully she unwound herself from around the room and stepped outside, waiting for Lelouch to follow. "He is around here, yes? Your father?" The demigoddess was fairly certain she had seen other Felloxes nearby at the time of her arrival, although she had been so intent on finding the source of the prayer that she hadn't paid much attention to them.

[Shieba]

"That's sad! Daddy and Dio are always very busy, too, so it's nice that we come to Evelon to relax and cuddle bunnies...well, I cuddle bunnies, mainly! Zu'hai should maybe take a day off and meet some bunnies, too!" Lelouch watched pretty fascinated how Sa'ouna got out of her sitting position without knocking against anything. As someone who tended to hit his foot against the doorframe in the morning when he was still tired, Lelouch was clearly impressed and quickly followed the demi-goddess out of the temple. "Yes, it's not far, it's a clearing in the forest a bit away. Will you be okay? I dunno if you fit between the trees!" He paused, suddenly horrified with himself. His father had told him to never tell a girl that she might be not thin enough for something (because apparently, this was a bad thing for girls. Lelouch didn't understand, though - he liked all girls because they liked to hug him more than the boys). "But I'm sure it'll be fine! You're just really big! Not fat or something else that girls don't want to be!" he quickly added.

[Kodai]

Sa'ouna laughed pleasantly again when Lelouch suggested that Zu'hai take a day off to go meet some bunnies. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if the Gods could take breaks from their duties so they could relax, but then who would run the world while they were doing so? Still, the demigoddess didn't wish to dampen the prince's spirits by saying that there was simply no way that Zu'hai could follow his suggestion, and so she didn't respond. When Lelouch became worried that he had insulted her, however, Sa'ouna just had to say something. "Oh, my! Aren't you a little gentleman!" she chuckled, the sound light and cheerful. "It's quite alright; I know this form is rather large. But you don't need to worry about me. I can fit through the trees just fine." To demonstrate, the demigoddess began weaving her way through the forest, her body twisting around the trees as if she were a giant snake. Sure enough, she didn't get stuck. "You see?"

[Shieba]

"Daddy says boys have to be nice to girls when it comes to their looks because these things are important to girls. I don't really understand it, but that's probably because I'm not a girl." Lelouch watched pretty fascinated how Sa'ouna moved through the forest. "That's amazing! I always run against branches or trip over roots! Daddy always says I'm clumsy, but he's even worse." Lelouch wasn't even upset about being clumsy; even if he fell, people then just went and hugged him and while falling hurt, huggies were totally worth that sometimes. Also, he figured he probably looked cute while being clumsy, so he really didn't mind. "Daddy and Dio aren't far away. I bet they'll be really impressed with you! Dio has bunnies as well, but he always agrees with Daddy, so I don't think he will help much", Lelouch explained. "Daddy isn't even impressed with cute bunnies, though. I don't know what's wrong with him!"

(I'm tossing Zeo and Dio into this, right? We never planned this, soooo...xD)

[Kodai]

"That is true; some girls do take great pride in their appearance. But the fact of the matter is that most people -- boys and girls -- like getting compliments." Sa'ouna smiled back at Lelouch. "I'm sure that you like it when people call you 'cute', yes? Some girls get the same feeling when you call them 'pretty'." The demi-goddess didn't feel the need to point out that telling a girl she was 'fat' or 'ugly' often had the exact opposite effect; she was sure he had the idea.

She slowed her pace a little, not wanting the prince to work at having to keep up with her long body. "If you keep running into branches or tripping over roots, perhaps you should try slowing down?" she suggested cheerfully, not sure if the young boy could really slow down long enough to watch where he was going. "You really do need to be careful about where you're going in a place like this. If you fall, you could end up hurting yourself." Sa'ouna looked up when Lelouch mentioned that his father and Dio were nearby, hoping to catch sight of them. "Is that so?" she chuckled. "Well, perhaps I can ask him why that is. You will let me do all the talking, won't you?"

[Shieba]

Lelouch beamed at Sa'ouna. "I do like that! Because then I know I'm still cute even though I'm growing up! I hope I'll be cute forever so that I always get huggies from everyone!" He pondered what the demi-goddess had told him. "I think being cute is better than being pretty, though. Because if you're cute, then you're cute. But to be pretty, you need make-up and girly stuff in your hair." Lelouch, obviously, was not a fan of girly stuff or make-up. "But yes, I know that girls like to be pretty. But I don't get why they have to be all thin to be happy. I like squishy girls the most because they give better huggies."

Lelouch actually managed to keep up quite well, being used to run around a lot at home and having a lot of energy. "But if I go faster, I can see more things! And bunnies are fast, too, so if I want to be like a bunny, I have to be fast as well!" Like probably most boys his age, Lelouch was pretty fearless. "And as a Fellox, I have even more legs, so I'm totally fine!" Lelouch hurried up a bit more to peek through the trees. He could already see the clearing a bit. "Yes, Daddy and Dio are over there! And okay, I'll try to be quiet! I'm not very good at it, though", he had to admit. Happy when he could then see his father through the trees, he hurried up even more in excitement. "Daaaaaaddy! Look! Loooook!"

Zeo, king of Pandovia, was still enjoying his picnic (as well as one could enjoy a picnic when they were stuck with a mask on their face and unable to eat anything) with Dio. He had allowed Lelouch to run around a bit because Lelouch didn't like to sit still for any period longer than two minutes - and also because being alone with Dio was an awesome thing, especially when they weren't talking about work for once. But Lelouch had been gone for quite some time now, so Zeo was actually relieved when he heard his son shout. Obviously, the boy had found something in the forest - hopefully not a spider! - he wanted to show off and since carrying anything as a Fellox was difficult, this explained his longer absence.

Or so Zeo thought until he actually turned around and looked up.

"W-what...?!" Zeo instinctively stumbled a step back when he saw the very large, snake-dragon-like creature weave through the forest next to his son.

Dio was up in the same second, simply teleporting in front of his king to protect him from harm if needed. "L-little Heart! In Vorphied's name, who is this?!" Dio, as a mage, immediately sensed that whoever this being was, she was very powerful. Her aura was special as well - a bit like the one of Haephnes - which probably explained why the little prince looked so cheerful despite the size of his new aquaintance, but Dio knew that auras could be manipulated if the caster was powerful enough.

"Daddy! Dio!" Lelouch beamed upon seeing how surprised the adult were. "This is..." He stopped. His new friend had never told him her name. Well, she was nice, that was all that mattered. "This is my new friend! She gives awesome huggies and she likes bunnies and she has a statue and she grants wishes! And she wants to talk to you about bunnies!" He looked up at Sa'ouna, waiting expectantly for her to talk to Zeo.

"Bunnies...?" Zeo himself just...stared while feeling like someone had hit him over the head. He had known that Lelouch basically ran up to every stranger he saw, but he had assumed that someone of this size would maybe intimidate even his son a bit. Also, what was this about statues and wishes? It sounded all a bit fishy, but it was hard to assume that this being was evil. Zeo didn't know much about magic and auras, but he could tell that this being had one that affected him.

[Kodai]

"Do you really think that girls need make-up and girly stuff in their hair to be pretty?" the demigoddess mused, unable to help herself from asking the question. Maybe it wasn't her place to try to get Lelouch to avoid that sort of shallow thinking... but then, maybe he wasn't so shallow after all, if he liked 'squishy' girls? More likely he'd just never thought that one could call a girl 'pretty' without her being loaded with beauty products. Sa'ouna did avoid the confusion on being thin to be happy, believing that the prince would be just fine not knowing about peer pressure and the like. His father could teach that to him when he felt it was appropriate.

She shook her head good-naturedly when the prince argued for going fast. "But bunnies only move quickly when they need to," she protested in turn, though her efforts were likely in vain. He'd probably only slow down if he was forced to. Turning her head when Lelouch announced that he could finally see his father and... assistant (Sa'ouna wasn't quite sure who Dio was), the demigoddess glided effortlessly through the trees after the happily rushing prince. Instantly she could see the Pandovian king's apprehension, and she couldn't blame him; large dragons would hardly be the sort of thing a parent would want to see tagging along with their child, even in Evelon. She was a bit more surprised by Dio's teleporting, but again, she couldn't fault him. Being from another world as they were, they likely had no idea who she was, and thus were uncertain about how to handle her presence.

Drawing herself up to stand right before the king and his guardian as a breeze tousled the fur of all present, Sa'ouna dipped her head to the pair respectfully. "I apologize for not introducing myself properly to your son," she began, not having realized that Lelouch hadn't known her name. It had been written on her pedestal, but that would hardly be a help to someone who couldn't read it, now, would it? "I am Sa'ouna, the Winds of Discovery; Demigoddess under Yepha, Goddess of Wisdom." A bit long, perhaps, but since they were of a different world, it might help them to know her full title. "Your son offered up a prayer -- or I suppose one might call it a wish -- to be allowed to care for a bunny at your native home. I told him that I would need to discuss it with you." She smiled at Zeo, and then focused her attention on Dio. "Please do not feel alarmed. I mean none of you harm." An aura of sincerity punctuated her words, and she did her best to look non-threatening, though there was only so much the pale colored, fluffy dragon demigoddess could do.

[Shieba]

Would Lelouch have been in his normal, human form, he would have shrugged. "That's what girls say, right? I don't understand it, either, but one time, I was with Daddy when he had to talk to some noble woman and he knocked at her door, but she made us wait for a loooong time, even though Daddy is the king, and then she said that no resp...reps..." Lelouch paused, stumbling over the word 'respectable'. "...that no real noble woman would ever be seen by others without make-up. And all the noble girls wear make-up all the time, so it must be true. I actually don't like that - I like to get huggies, but then the older women all want to give me kissies and I get their lipstick all over my cheeks." Lelouch grimaced behind his mask. He really didn't understand girls and women, but he had heard from some adult men that no one did, so he figured it was okay.

Talking about bunnies was much more awesome than talking about girly stuff anyway, though. "But I need to train so that I can be like a real bunny! They're much faster than me!" Lelouch insisted. "I want to become a bunny-king one day!" He was pretty sure that no one, no even the evil god, would attack Pandovia anymore if Pandovia became known for bunnies. Because obviously, bunnies were too cute to get attacked.

Despite wanting to talk about bunnies forever and ever, Lelouch went - as instructed - silent when Sa'ouna started to talk to his father and Dio. He hadn't even paid attention to the words on the pedestrals of the statues but had just started his wish right away, so he never had noticed her name and was happy that he finally knew it. His Daddy and Dio also still looked really shocked, which was pretty funny.

Zeo wasn't really all that amused, though, and neither was Dio. The Dracon, after the first shock had passed, did remember reading about the gods and demigods of this world, though, and since he could sense the aura of Sa'ouna well, he had little reason to doubt her words. Since it was all he could really do as a Fellox, he bowed his head deeply. "I...I apologize. While I have studied the mythology of Evelon somewhat, I was too startled to make the connection immediately. I am Dio, royal advisor and First Mage of the kingdom of Pandovia. It is a great honor to be allowed to meet you."

"W-what? Dio, are you serious?!" Zeo stared first at Dio, then at Sa'ouna. It wasn't so much that he couldn't believe that he was meeting a demi-goddess in the middle of the forest - after changing forms, finding a new world and meeting the companion of the Creator of his own world, that seemed to be not that much of an impossible event. But... He shook his head and looked at Lelouch, who was still beaming happily. Then, he - even though still a bit uncertain - followed Dio's example and bowed as well. "I...apologize for my son. I am Zeo, king of Pandovia. I am used to Lelouch being good for quite a few surprises, but I admit that after finding out that he had asked the head of my Secret Service to spy on me to find out my supposedly 'real reasons' for not allowing him a pet yet, I thought that it couldn't get any worse. Not even in my wildest dreams have I imagined that he would even try to get...divine help." Or that there would be gods willing to listen to a prayer like that, really, but Zeo decided to not say that aloud.

"I'm awesome!" Lelouch declared. He hadn't really known that Sa'ouna was a demi-goddess, having only thought that she was some magic creature who liked to fulfill wishes.

"Uhm..." Dio recovered more quickly than his king, but he, too, could hardly believe what Lelouch had managed to do. "Little Heart, why don't we wait over there so that your father can talk to the demi-goddess?"

"Nooo! I wanna listen!" Lelouch immediately complained. "It's about bunnies!"

"It's adult-talk", Zeo added instinctively. He was already confused enough, there was no reason why he would want to also deal with an upset Lelouch after explaining his reasons. It was crazy enough that he had to explain to a divine being why he wasn't allowing his little son a pet yet. Maybe this was all a dream?

Lelouch glanced at Sa'ouna, but he knew that his father never did adult-talk in front of him and Sa'ouna had asked him to be silent, after all. "Okaaaaay..." With drooping tails, he walked into Dio's direction. "But you need to listen to her, Daddy! She's a girl and you must be nice to girls! That's what you told me!"

Dio chuckled. "I'm sure Mylord knows that, Little Heart. Come on, let's go over there so that your new friend can talk to your father." He looked at Zeo. "Mylord, call if you need me, I shall be within hearing distance, but make sure the Little Heart is occupied."

"Thanks, Dio." Zeo nodded. He didn't really want to be left (mainly) alone with a divine being, no matter how nice, but if Dio deemed it alright, he would trust his advisor. Waiting until Dio had led Lelouch away a bit, he then sighed and looked up at Sa'ouna. "So, uh..." He already stopped. How did one address divine beings in this world? Zeo had the feeling he would end up making an idiot out of himself here. "Your Ladyship, I'm really sorry that my little son stole your time with what must be such a trivial thing to a goddess. Uhm...so let me explain my reasoning quickly? I'm not sure what he told you, but Lelouch simply is too young for a pet yet. I know other children his age have pets already, but they also have parents who have more time. Sadly, I'm a single father and also the king. While I make sure to be home in the evenings, I often have to return to work immediately after Lelouch went to sleep and a king also doesn't get any weekends. I'm already spending way too little time with my son - he basically stops by during the conferences I have after school, but then goes home to do his homework alone. So really, I have no way to help him to care for a pet so that he would basically be responsible for the animal alone. And he's not ready for that yet. See, our living room is my office at the same time. It would seem a bit odd for a king to have a bunny-pen in his office, so that it would be better if the pen would be in Lelouch's room. But Lelouch, like probably most children, is absolutely unable to keep his room even semi-tidy. As the prince, he gets tons of toys from all sorts of people for his birthday. Despite my best efforts to make him understand that toys cost money and people work hard for money, he doesn't grasp the concept fully yet since we, as the royal family, aren't poor and people just give him stuff for free because he's cute and charming - and the prince, really. And because of that, I don't want him to basically just ask a servant to help him to care for the animal. I don't want him to be even more spoiled and thinking that he can have everything and make others do the work for him. That's why, despite being the king, I have no personal cook, servant or anything else but a maid who cleans my office for me. Dio has bunnies, too, and offered to help since he can simply clean pens with his magic in a matter of seconds, but I want Lelouch to learn to do it on his own. But right now, he's too young. He can't and won't keep his room clean and that's why I don't think that it's okay with burdening him with the responsibility for a living creature yet, especially since all his little toys littering the floor might end up as a health hazard for a bunny which might or might not escape its pen thanks to a careless child - and with no one at home during the mornings and only Lelouch during the afternoons, I don't want to take that risk. Not just for the bunny, but also because I know that Lelouch could never forgive himself if something would actually happening to the bunny because he might make a mistake. And he's only six - he will make mistakes. I always said that I might be willing to talk about it again when he's eight or something, but right now, it's too early." He sighed. "Here, in Evelon, he cares for a lot of bunnies. I think there are over hundred here by now. And I must admit, I'm impressed - despite how children usually are, he hasn't lost interest at all in the bunnies and really cares for them. However, this 'caring' means that he feeds them and plays with them, and only as much as he wants. The owner of the Chateau, where the portal to our world is located, is also something of a divine creature and she simply does the rest and also observes everything all the time so that I can be sure that nothing bad will happen. Because of that, I had hoped that all the bunnies here would console Lelouch enough. He's allowed to go to Evelon whenever he wants as long at he stays at the Chateau, so it's almost like having lots of bunnies for himself without him needing to do any work...or so I thought. Obviously, I was mistaken, though I'm not sure why. He can't pet them like he could at home because we get forced into these Fellox-forms, but he said before that it didn't bother him." A bit nervous, Zeo looked at Sa'ouna. "Are you here to order me to get him a bunny?" He wasn't sure how to react then. Getting his authority undermined in front of his son, who was basically testing what he could do against parent-rules already, seemed to be a really bad thing, but maybe that wasn't why Sa'ouna was here at all?

(Waaaaaaaaaaaall of text!)

[Kodai]

Sa'ouna watched as first Dio and then Zeo bowed to her and tried to apologize -- Dio for not recognizing her right away, and Zeo for the actions of his son. "That is quite all right, First Mage Dio. Even those of this world often find it a surprise to be face-to-face with the divine," she replied to the first Fellox before pondering what to say to the second. It was obvious that Zeo was shocked that his son had gained the help of a demigoddess in his quest for a bunny he could keep himself; perhaps she should simply be quiet for a few moments and let the king speak his mind?

Dio and Zeo managed to shoo off Lelouch quickly, which Sa'ouna was thankful for. Even if she was technically helping the prince here, she wasn't about to simply demand that Zeo let his son take care of a bunny. She was going to listen to the king's thoughts on the matter and go from there, which was probably not the way Lelouch was hoping she'd handle it. Watching Dio and the prince move off to the side, the demigoddess turned her attention back to Zeo just in time for a very long explanation of why he hadn't allowed his son a bunny of his own.

Goodness, it had been better to let the king speak his mind after all!

Taking in all the information, Sa'ouna decided to begin with Zeo's greatest worry. "No, I am not here to force you to allow Lelouch to care for a bunny," she said softly, figuring that the prince would be quite upset if he managed to overhear that. "I may be a divine being, but I am not a goddess. I cannot make you do something against your will." She wasn't the type to control people, anyway. "I am here simply because your son sent forth a prayer, and no one has prayed to me in a long time. Because of this, I will try to speak to you on his behalf, but you have the final say. Please excuse me if I make myself a bit more comfortable…" Before Zeo had time to blink, the demigoddess was suddenly coiled up like a great serpent, her chest and forelegs leaning over the top loop of her body. Golden chains dangled from her wrists and neck, reflecting little points of light as she considered the king's words and thought of a response of her own.

"I can understand many of your points. But, I wonder, does Lelouch understand them? I do not know the depths of your arguments with him; for instance, if you have already tried to tell him all that you have told me. He might not agree with everything you say, but I feel that he might recognize the truth in needing to keep a clean room for a bunny. Have you considered asking him to consistently clean his room as a way to show you how responsible he is, and thus worthy of raising a bunny himself? If you tell him that bunnies are only happy when they have clean places to live and thus a good bunny-caretaker must be good at keeping rooms clean, I feel that he may yet learn to keep his room tidy. Once he is able to do that, then perhaps he may have gained a strong enough sense of responsibility to care for a bunny – you would need to be the judge of that, of course."

[Shieba]

Lelouch watched how his father talked to Sa'ouna and for quite some time as well. He really wished he could understand what he was saying - not only was Lelouch as impatient as most children were, but he also couldn't believe that there was even a single reason for not owning a bunny, let alone more than one or one so big that it needed so much explaining. Being far too excited to even sit still, the Fellox-boy tried to sneak a bit closer.

"Little Heart, please remain with me." Dio quickly stopped Lelouch. "I am sure that your new...friend can handle this without your help. She is, after all, a divine being." Dio very obviously had still problems to believe that this was really happening. After all, the gods of his own world weren't exactly approachable for any mortal being.

Zeo meanwhile could only sigh. "I was always aware how much my son loves bunnies, but I would have never guessed that he would pray to a divine being for one." He shook his head and glanced at his son. "I am not sure how prayers are handled in this world or why you haven't gotten one in such a long time, if you are willing to do so much for such a minor wish. I thank you for taking the time to deal with Lelouch, though. I know he can be quite overwhelming sometimes." Zeo chuckled. "But yes, of course I have told Lelouch all these things before, though of course in a way more appropriate for a child. I explained that bunnies could get very sick if they end up gnawing on toys and that the toys would then also be broken. And Lelouch did try keeping his room clean then; however, he isn't able to keep it this way. It's understandable in a way - he does his homework after school and he does them all alone yet doesn't procrastinate, which is, for such a young child, quite the acomplishment. So I approve that afterwards, he wants to play. But as soon as I'm home in the evening and then comment on the state of his room, he doesn't want to clean up because we only have these few hours a day as family time and he wants to spend them with me. And then he has to go to bed and on the next day, it repeats this way and the mess piles up over the week - and on the weekends, the room looks so horrible that cleaning takes so many hours that he's too discouraged. As such, it's pretty understandable that he has problems and that he, in fact, claims that it's no use to clean because 'the chaos always comes back anyway'."

Zeo sighed. It seemed quite weird to discuss everyday life things with a divine being of another world. Sa'ouna seemed so nice and, seeing as she had gotten comfortable, actually also quite interested in this matter, but Zeo had problems to understand just why a demi-goddess would care for something like that. But he had also recovered a bit from his shock by now and since he was talking to a being who was probably very powerful... "I am grateful that you are not forcing anything onto me. But say, since you surely are very knowledgeable about this world: Do you know how we could change into our human forms? For a reason we don't understand, we get turned into Felloxes as soon as we enter Evelon, despite being normal humans - or Dracons - in our own world. If we could become human here as well, Lelouch could pet and cuddle all the bunnies he has here better. Maybe that would be enough to satisfy him for the moment, not to mention that being a Fellox is generally inconvenient and odd." It was worth a try, right?

(This is before Zeo hires Canan, by the way, in case you are wondering why Lelouch has to spend his days alone.)