Erik wandered off soon after Oro left, having lost his appetite for the most part. He knew the wise thing to do would be to go back to his room and let the both of them cool off, but an odd sense of unease was settling in his stomach and he soon found himself seeking out Oro's steady presence.

The old man was in the gardens, sitting quietly on the bank of a small creek. Erik slowly walked up to him and sat down beside him. Oro had been obviously been crying, the plates covering his cheekbones still slightly damp. Erik wrapped his arms loosely around his knees and turned his gaze into the creek, feeling extremely uncomfortable at having been the cause, albeit indirectly, of Oro's distress. He didn't even protest when Oro wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him to his into his chest. The embrace wasn't as suffocating as the one of the previous night, but Erik still tensed up under it.

"I am sorry, Erik. I do not know what to do with Endo. I have always known his attitudes toward other races, but rarely is he so vocal about them. I had hoped your shared blood would mean something to him, but clearly I was mistaken. Promise me you won't let him run you off."

Erik didn't reply and Oro's grip tightened.

"Erik—Promise me that if you leave, it won't be because of Endo. I've just found my grandson and I do not want to lose him as I lost my son, please promise me!"

Erik swallowed and nodded his assent, mumbling in the positive. Oro relaxed and began rubbing his back gently.

"Thank you… I don't think my old heart could take losing another child. I shouldn't have lost the first, you know? I was an old fool even back then. Ohte and Endo never got along much, really. Endo had been quite a bold youth but Ohte was always rather sensitive… Endo's teasing was intended to be good-natured, I believe, but I don't think Ohte ever understood. He took their presumed rivalry as a deadly serious thing and Endo never realized what he was cultivating in his younger brother… Ohte got involved with a smuggling ring soon after I allowed them a part in the family's business. When he was caught, Endo would not forgive him for damaging the family's reputation, even after he spent his five years in prison… Ripped into him every time he laid eyes on his younger brother, much as he's been doing to you, and I never did anything to put an end to it. I thought that they were old enough to sort out their own differences. I should have intervened! But it is too late for that now, Ohte left home soon after and I did not see him again until his trial. Such awful crimes… He was not evil, not to begin with anyway. Just hurt I think, and angry, so very angry…"

Erik was unsettled by how closely Ohte's description matched his own, but found himself suddenly pitying the old fool. The plates on the old man's chest dug into his ribs slightly, but he began to relax into the embrace anyway, leaning his head against Oro's shoulder. It wouldn't hurt him any to indulge Oro a bit, after all. He was obviously in pain. That, at least, was something Erik could understand, all too well. He also recognized the man's inability to prevent his children from destroying each other. Giovanni's failure with Luciana and himself was much the same, really. In both cases, the father was undone by his own gentle nature and the children were allowed to suffer for their own wicked stupidity. It was another of the cruel ironies that seemed to follow Erik wherever he went.

Indeed, this alien's resemblance to Giovanni was uncanny in many ways. Erik wondered how two creatures born on opposite sides of the galaxy could be of the same mind in so many things. Giovanni had likely passed on some time ago, though, considering his advancing years when Erik had met him. He had no idea how old Oro was, or even how long Eranae were expected to live. He shuddered at the thought of Oro's death. Oro let go of him.

"Are you cold, Erik? Perhaps we should go inside."

"No, just… Someone must have walked over my grave, that is all."

"Walked over.. your grave?"

"A Tellurian figure of speech. Never mind."

"Ah… You must tell me about your mother's planet sometime, I think. Perhaps not now though. It is getting a bit cold. Let us return."

The day had started out bright, but clouds were thickening in the sky and brought a chill wind with them. It was starting to look like rain. Oro left toward the house and Erik eventually followed, trailing Oro all the way back to his study. Oro seemed surprised when he noticed Erik had followed him the whole way, but not unpleased.

"Sit down if you want. I have some accounts to look over, but you are welcome to stay. There are books on the shelf you might like."

"I don't know how to read your language."

"You don't? Well, I don't suppose you would. I should teach you then. Perhaps we can begin after I finish my work..."

Erik sat down on a small couch in the corner of the study while Oro went through datapad after datapad. It wasn't long before he was asleep. Oro pulled the blanket that was folded over the back of the couch, tossed it over Erik and returned to his work. It was nearly dinnertime before he finally finished going through the accounts. Business had been slow for a few months but was starting to kick up again, and he had a feeling that the long-term contract that Endo had arranged under his instruction would prove to be lucrative in the long run, despite his son's skepticism.

He shook Erik awake and led him into the dining room. Endo was absent. He stopped one of the servants and asked after his son's whereabouts.

"He left earlier this afternoon, sir. He said he had some business to attend to in the Delta quadrant and would not be back for several days."

"Hm. Typical. Well, at least there will be some peace and quiet in the house for a while."

Oro was surprised to see Anora walk in and sit down a minute later.

"You did not go with Endo?"

"No, I have had my fill of his petulant moods and childish behavior. Some time alone will do him good. Perhaps he will be a bit more civilized when he returns."

Oro had is doubts but did not voice them. Their dinner was brought to them and Erik ate with relish, having missed breakfast and half of his lunch. Oro seemed pleased at his renewed appetite.

"There's plenty more if you want it, Erik. When you are finished with your dinner, meet me in my study and I will begin your lessons."

"What are you teaching him, Oro?"

"He has not been taught to read our language, Anora. I intend to rectify the situation."

"No, I suppose he would not have been educated, being on such a backwards world."

Erik rankled slightly at the use of the term "backwards", wondering why he suddenly cared enough to defend the world that had so completely rejected him.

"It's not backwards, madam, simply young. And I was educated quite well in many areas."

"You may call me Aunt Anora, dear. And I apologize if I have offended you. Why don't you tell me of your natal world? I don't believe I am familiar with that region of the galaxy."

Erik found himself at a loss for words. What could he say that wouldn't paint the Earth exactly as 'backwards'? He shrugged and looked to Oro.

"I don't believe his memories of his homeworld are especially positive, Anora. Perhaps he will tell us some other time, when he is a bit further removed from the experience. Well, I think I will retire to my study for the moment. I will see you in a little while, Erik. There is no rush, so eat as much as you like."

Oro excused himself and left. Anora gave Erik an earnest but uncomfortable smile and returned to her dinner. She finished and left soon after Oro, but Erik ended up eating two extra helpings of everything, wondering at his own appetite. He rarely had much of one most of the time, and often had to force himself to remember to eat, lest he become ill. He eventually left the table and headed to Oro's study, somewhat relieved at not having to worry about running into his uncle. The man's absence itself left a slight paranoia in the back of his mind, but he shoved the feeling aside. He could do nothing at the present even if the man were plotting against him.

Oro waved him inside and pulled a chair next to his for Erik to sit in. Several thin books were stacked on the desk, all colorful storybooks obviously meant for young children.

"This might be a bit difficult. The translator implants that are so common these days have made the learning of second languages something of a lost art. It's a shame, really, as they are quite useless for the printed word."

Oro pushed the books aside and opened a drawer in the desk, pulling out paper and a few graphite pencils. He used a knife to pare the pencil leads into points and turned two leaves of the paper sideways, setting them side-by-side across the desk. He wrote out an unfamiliar syllabary across the top and turned to Erik. He pointed to each character in succession, reading them aloud. There were over seventy of them in all. He went over the first fifteen again several times while Erik listened silently.

"I do not expect you to memorize all of these tonight, but the first fifteen by tomorrow morning should be reasonable. I will leave you to copy them. Just fill a column beneath each, and say them aloud as you write. We will work on these for the next few days. Once you have syllables memorized, I will begin teaching you to speak and read the North Continent Eranae language."

Oro stood and left Erik to his work, which he completed swiftly. The characters were simple but curved and elegant, and he found himself preferring them over his Roman alphabet quickly.

The next two weeks passed quietly and peacefully in the Ohtamacil home. Oro continued his lessons with Erik when he was not tending the family business and by the end of the second week Erik was able to read most of the simple children's stories. Oro was obviously distracted by Endo's prolonged absence but Erik could not bring himself to worry for the arrogant man's safety. Indeed, he was quite pleased to have Oro to himself for the time being. It was like living with Giovanni again, before Luciana had returned from boarding school and wrecked his home. For only the second time in his entire life, he almost felt like he belonged somewhere and did not look forward to the return of his overbearing uncle.