"Hmm," Gunther grumbled as stared off into space, deep in thought at he clutched his chin, supported the elbow connected to the hand clutching said chin by laying it onto his other hand, and leaning back into the chair at the table in the mess hall that he was currently sitting at. "Yes, quite the predicament... quite the predicament, indeed."

"Well, you're looking more stern than usual," a familiarly monotonous voice said, earning him a mildly surprised gasp from the veteran knight as his voice had inadvertently caused said knight to temporarily lose his train of thought.

Gunther turned his head towards Ananias and gave him an acknowledging nod. "No thanks to you, I'm afraid," he said.

Ananias raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What did I do?"

Gunther sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "You've told me far too much is what you did," he replied. He then gave Ananias a disapproving look and asked, "What in blazes were you thinking, telling me all of that? Are you truly so reckless that you thought that telling someone like me all that was not going to lead to any serious consequences, hmm?"

"Well, you wanted the truth, so I gave it to you," Ananias answered simply.

"Yes, I'm very much aware of that," Gunther irritably admitted, "but do you not see the position that you've put me in? What exactly am I supposed to report?"

Ananias shrugged. "The truth?" When he saw Gunther's flabbergasted expression, he quickly added, "I mean, it's so far-fetched. Maybe they'll just write it off as you or me completely losing our minds."

"And how would that help anyone?" Gunther asked. "And what if, perchance, they believe your story?" Gunther shook his head solemnly. "No, I will not risk bringing innocents into our problems, not until it is absolutely necessary at the very least."

"Huh," Ananias said. "You know, when you put it like that, maybe that's the reason why Selena, Laslow, and Odin have refrained from telling anyone about where they're from. They didn't want to get their friends and family involved in another war."

Gunther nodded. "Yes, I suppose that's possible." He sighed. "But to tell absolutely no one of this... did they not realize that if no one could vouch for them then they would only arouse more suspicion and trouble than they would've otherwise bargained for?"

"Well... I guess all of us are a bit reckless in that regard, huh?"

Gunther stared at Ananias for a moment before folding his arms and letting out an amused chuckle. "Yes, I suppose you're right, but to be fair, recklessness seems to come hand-in-hand with youth of any generation. Why, I remember when I was just as much of a reckless lad as the four of you are now."

Ananias raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really?"

Gunther nodded. "Yes! Why, I'd even argue that I was even more reckless than you four were! After all, unlike the four of you, I had no real secrets to keep." He grimaced at the memory of his reckless younger self. "I dare say, some of the situations that I had accidentally gotten myself into... they were all quite embarrassing to say the least."

Ananias smirked knowingly at this. "Yeah, I've got my fair share of those too. Maybe too many, if I were to be completely honest."

Gunther chuckled. "Yes, I believe everyone has embarrassing moments that they'd rather forget or lock safely away rather than bring them out into the open or share." He then looked solemnly at Ananias. "But the important thing is that you learn from them. If there is one good thing that such experiences give us, it's that irreplaceable moment to truly learn from our mistakes and better ourselves with them. If it weren't for them, I'd say that the vast majority of people today would remain exactly the same as they were years ago!"

Ananias nodded. "Yeah, I'll try to keep that in mind the next time I mess up real bad."

Gunther smirked. "Well, as long as you promise to try..."

The two of them chuckled for a moment before Ananias folded his arms and said, "You know, despite the fact that we're not related and I've only ever been here for a short time... you've kind of become the grandpa that I've never had."

Gunther raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh? You never had one growing up?"

"Well, I mean, I have one, yeah," Ananias admitted. "But you know, my family is so big and so spread out... I barely saw some of them, you know? I never really had grandparents to visit regularly and tell me stories of their youth like how you did just now. It's nice."

Gunther smiled. "Why, thank you. I'm honored." He then looked around for a moment before whispering, "And just between us, despite how stern I can be on everyone, I must admit that I somewhat see all of you as surrogate grandchildren myself."

"Do you?" Ananias asked, sounding somewhat amused at the thought of Gunther being the doting grandparent of the army.

Gunther nodded. "Of course! Despite the fact that I initiated the interrogation in the first place, I have nothing but the highest opinion of all four of you! Despite all of your faults, the four of you have been exemplary in you duties as retainers, soldiers of war, and as people. This old man is proud to have stood beside such great men and women, Nohrians or otherwise!" He then sighed before shaking his head and saying, "And that may be precisely the problem. If word gets out of where the four of you are from or who sent your friends, there may be many unforeseen and unintended consequences." He held his chin and leaned back in his chair. "What to do... what to do indeed."

"Well, I mean, why don't we just say that Selena, Laslow, and Odin are orphans who were adopted into my family?" Ananias suggested. "After all, my family is pretty infamously neutral, right? And with how spread out we all are, we also protect anyone else from getting involved."

Gunther's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this. "That's... that's...," he then laughed and clapped his hands before standing up and giving the awkward Ananias a great big and proud hug. "My boy, I think you've done it! I think you've solved our problem!"

"Really?" Ananias incredulously asked. "Like, on the first try?"

"Well, we're certainly going to have to work out all of the kinks," Gunther admitted, "but other than that, yes! It's a wonderful plan!" He then looked at Ananias solemnly and asked, "Your family... would they be okay with us involving them in this?"

Ananias shrugged. "Why not? Selena, Laslow, and Odin are practically family already, and those that won't do it for free we can always just pay."

Gunther frowned. "Ah, yes, of course. Though if we don't want to raise any suspicion, I suppose that we'll both have to pay out of our own pockets then, yes?"

"Well, Selena, Laslow, and Odin too," Ananias replied. "I mean, it's their butts that we're covering, right?"

Gunther laughed and slapped Ananias on the back. "Well said, my boy! Well said!"

Author's Note #1: Well, that ends Ananias' supports with Gunther. I hoped you all enjoyed it! The next supports after Gunther will be Setsuna, followed by Kanna, Selena, Beruka, Xander, Azura, Flora, Odin, Laslow, Rinkah, Arthur, Silas, Leo, Keaton, and Subaki. Got someone else you want to support with Ananias that isn't on this list yet? Request it. Remember, all Nohr first generation characters, Soliel, Ophelia, Anna, Kanna, Rinkah, Subaki, and Setsuna are allowed to support with him as well and it is a first come, first serve system.

Author's Note #2: The Fire Emblem Warriors poll is now officially up on my profile! Vote for which five characters you want for Ananias to support with from that game the most and, in the end, ten characters will be selected for Ananias to support with, so make your voices heard. Happy voting!