Aay'han

- Bittersweet moment of mourning, remembering

Sucellos had left the day after, biding farewell to his parents, and his two younger brothers. He had left for Dxun, where Mandalore was gearing up for his eventual attack upon the Republic.

It was the last time any of his family members ever saw him again.

Arminius, meanwhile, continued training Darius and Doug, having them practice sword fighting against each other, and firing rifles at deer. When they weren't training, they were working the farm with their mother. They had learned a lot, but now, most of the knowledge they had learned of the Mandalorians had to be applied as Mandalorians. They were four years old by now, and so the true reality of their culture would not hit them till they came of thirteen years of age.

There was, however, other knowledge they had to learn, at some point in their lives. Arminius and Athena agreed on that much. Those fine details, that didn't have to do with the Mandalorians, or fighting, or farming. This was about their origins.

Several nights later, after the Argyle family had dinner and cleaned up, Arminius and Athena tucked their sons into bed, as they had many times before. Arminius and Athena made love that night, one of the sensual and physical joys in life that they couldn't enjoy as of late. Athena went straight to sleep after that, but Arminius was unable to. Something was nagging at his conscious as he left to head outside, get some air and collect his thoughts. Finding a good rock to sit on, Arminius thought about all his dead comrades, and the Neo-Crusaders. Deep down, Arminius yearned to join the new generation of Mandalorians, to fight again, but he also knew that he had a duty here, to his wife and children. For a few minutes, Arminius sat in silence.

"Buir?"

Arminius turned to see Doug walking out of the house, his hair ruffled and wearing a tunic.

"I can't sleep." The young boy said, as he walked up beside Arminius. The man smiled, picked up the boy and set him on his lap.

"Neither could I, Doug'ika."

"Why not?" The boy asked.

"I was thinking about old friends." Arminius said. The young boy's face contorted in confusion.

"When you get to be as old as I am, you're going to have a lot of memories of people you once knew, but can't see anymore." Arminius explained.

"Why not?" The boy asked, in the same naïve tone as he asked previously. Arminius hesitated. There were grim facts of life he didn't want to share with his son yet. He persisted anyway. Better to shape the boys now than later.

"In our culture, people die a lot."

"Because of war?"

"Yes. Most of us do. I'll die of old age, if god wills it." Arminius said. The boy looked like someone had stabbed him through the heart. But this discussion would penetrate much further than a blade ever could.

"I don't want you to die, buir."

"Don't worry about me Doug. Every warriour has his end. What matters at that final moment is that you're dying alongside your brothers, your comrades in arms, fellow Mandalorians. What matters is that you put everything on the line, everything you love and cherish, and make that final battle of your life the best battle of your life. Everything you've ever done up to that point, everything you are will be your weapon. Don't ever forget that Doug. Do you understand me?" Arminius asked, edgy, serious. Doug nodded with an uh huh.

"Good." Arminius said. His mind drifted back to his long gone friends and comrades. Doug continued to think on what his father had told him.

"Did your friends die in war?" The boy asked. Arminius nodded grimly.

"It was a long time ago. There's a word for remembering lost friends. Aay'han."

"Aay'han." Doug repeated.

"When you lose someone important, you vow to remember them every day. We Mandalorians never forget the honoured dead. Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar dasaruum. Jervis, Aden, Comgell." Arminius said.

"They were my closest comrades. I'll always remember them. When you get out into the galaxy and join Mandalore, you'll make friends of your own as well." Arminius said. Doug's thoughts immediately drifted to the girl he had met at the Clan Gathering, Boudica.

"I met a girl, buir." The young boy said.

"What's her name?" Arminius asked.

"Boudica." Doug replied. Arminius saw the enthusiasm in his son's voice and realized this was another perfect opportunity to tell the boy about his culture.

"Doug, Mandalorians are adults when they turn thirteen. It's at that age that you go through the verd'goten."

"What's that?"

"It's a trial of strength and endurance. Your mother raised you and Darius for a time, but now it's up to me to teach you the way of the warriour. I'm preparing you two for that trial, and eventually for when you join Mandalore's army."

"So we'll fight for Mandalore then." Doug said. Arminius nodded.

"You'll be part of the newest generation of Mandalorians. Taung, Humans, aliens alike, as the Neo-Crusaders. You'll fight for Mandalore, you'll fulfill your duties of honour, and you'll succeed as Mandalorians." Arminius said. But, of course, there was something the boys had to know. How it would affect them, Arminius could only guess.

"And when the war is done?" Doug asked.

"As your last name implies, you and Darius will farm. Your Vhett ancestors did the same."

"Just like you and mom?"

"Just like your mother and I." Arminius said, smiling. The boy looked confused, but smiled when his brother Darius came out to join them. Arminius scooped the boy up and set him beside him, both his sons in his arms. Arminius filled in Darius what they were talking about, hoping Doug's racing mind had cooled down. It hadn't.

"But…why do you and mom have a different name than me and Darius?" Doug asked, sailing further down the dark corridor of truth. It was time. Time to tell the boys. Explanations of being orphans (the literal truth, anyway) were out the window.

"Doug, Darius, there's something you have to know. You two are orphans. I found the both of you in a hut north of here. Your blood parents abandoned you, so your mother and I adopted you. Adoption is quite normal in Mandalorian society." Arminius said coolly. The boys looked stunned. Everything they had been taught told him that this is normal, not having the same bloodlines as your parents. But it struck deeper than what the Mandalorians were used to.

Doug said nothing as he left to go inside, not sparing a glance at his father, as Darius followed him. Arminius looked on. Every fiber of his being assured Arminius that what he did was right, but he knew his two sons would be changed forever.

Arminius could only imagine what they would be like later on in life with this knowledge. He wouldn't live long enough to see what his two boys would become.