And another chapter for you guys today~! The three animals listed are symbolic to their respective cultures - Celts had the boar, Germanics had the bear and Rome had an eagle. However, all three cultures had a wide variety of animals that were considered as spiritual and held in high regard. Enjoy~!

Chapter 3 – The Boar, the Eagle and the Bear Reunite

"That is not my name..." Britannia deeply sighed, before letting the matter slide.

Britannia smirked at Germania. There were few ancient nations that Britannia had interacted with during her time on Earth (and in the Afterlife), but even so she liked even fewer of them and the number of them she'd genuinely consider to be her friends was alarmingly small – in fact, she could count them on one hand, especially if she ruled out her two brothers… Either way, Germania was one of those close friends and was perhaps even a best friend of sorts, though they hadn't met officially until they'd both died. Amusingly, their friendship had first been struck up over drinks while complaining to one another about a certain ancient golden boy…

Now, to say the countries of Europe were taken aback by this sudden revelation would have been the understatement of the century. Or maybe the millennium, come to think of it. Everyone, or atleast the vast majority of them, had heard of the infamous Britannia; famed for her savagery, her beastliness, her uncivilized ways! (…And she was the mother of all the British Isles siblings, which said a lot about her personality). But of course, all that everyone knew of Britannia had been gossip and reports spread by Rome and Hella (Ancient Greece), who both had a severe axe to grind with Britannia.

Of course, if the European countries had bothered to look past the scars and blue tattoos – which should have been a dead giveaway themselves – they'd have noticed her thick eyebrows (not as thick as England's but slightly thicker than an average woman's), her green eyes that contained different shades of green throughout, her high-set cheekbones that had a light dusting of small, light brown freckles on them that ran over the bridge of her nose too (both of her Irish sons had inherited those), the air of dignity and severe pride about her (Wales and Scotland respectively had nothing on their mothers' pride or dignity, it must be said). The younger countries did not know it yet, but Britannia's personality was very complex, much like that of all of her sons, but simply put, she was like the personifications of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all thrown together to create one person, then given a healthy dose of caution and easy-going playfulness to top it off. Even so, she was far more extreme than her sons in most things; exactly why none of her sons had ever picked a fight with their mother, or any serious arguments that didn't end in laughter and general merriment. Britannia was the second eldest of all the Kirklands in the Kirkland family, - having both an older and younger brother, though she looked younger than both of them – she was the wisest and the fairest. And the loudest/scariest when angered. She was also the only woman in the Kirkland family, which explained a lot about her, really.

"You're England's mother?!" Denmark gawped at her.

Britannia stared at the Dane for a moment, before something seemed to click into place inside her head. "Well now young Denmark, haven't you grown."

"Y-y-you know me?!" The poor Dane was doing his best to look tough, but his shaking knees rather ruined the effect.

"Come now, I hardly look any different from when we last met. Granted, you were much younger then and your father was invading my land." She chuckled at that, as if the thought of invasion was amusing to her.

England glanced at his mother, greatly confused now. What…? But I thought mum died during Rome's invasion…! I don't have any memories of her after that at all…! Instinctively, his uneasiness had him sliding up alongside his mother, a habit left over from his childhood and she must have sensed his change in mood, for she ruffled his hair gently, an arm coming around his shoulder to tug him closer to her. She did not know what bothered her son all of a sudden, but she was his mother and she'd make him feel at peace and safe in this place.

"Germania, may I proudly present my youngest son, Arthur, the embodiment of England, formerly of Albion. Arthur, this is Germania, a…friend…of mine."

"I consider it a great honour, to be classed as a friend to you, Britannia." Germania seemed surprised at first, but then he relaxed. "May I consider you likewise?"

"I should be most honoured and it brings me great joy to hear you say so."

Now Germania looked at England. "He is indeed your son. The resemblance is striking."

Britannia laughed openly and care free, not a typical woman's laugh, with her head thrown back, small crinkles by the sides of her eyes and shoulders shaking, it sounded mirthful and loud, but England was left speechless by so simple a statement, as were all the other non-ancient personifications; in truth, England did not look too similar to his mother for he lacked her freckles and auburn hair that made her stand out and he lacked her great height too, but he had her body build, lithe with hidden muscle like a sprinter or a swimmer. It bothered him that he did not look much like his mother yet here Germania stood announcing otherwise – perhaps the ancients could see things beyond physical appearances? Maybe their old eyes saw things younger eyes did not? He suddenly felt full of pride and he puffed his chest out, standing up straighter, trying to look noble and regal in front of his mother whom he respected, adored and looked up to more than any other.

"And may I have the…honour…of introducing my sons, Gilbert and Ludwig."

Germania's sons – the two that still lived, rather – were sweating by now. As were the other countries gathered around; Britannia cut a fearsome figure and even Germany wanted to stay out of whatever was going on between his father and England's mother. Ancients had weird ways of interacting with one another and it nearly always involved bloodshed, sharp objects and conversations that no modern day person could understand.

Germania placed his large hands on his sons' shoulders, pushing them slightly towards Britannia with a firm grip that screamed "behave Prussia and don't let me down Germany". Now they really started to sweat and their legs shook slightly, hairs on the back of their necks prickling. Prussia laughed nervously, gulped, then nodded at Britannia. Germany just nodded.

"Gilbert is the embodiment of Prussia while Ludwig is the embodiment of Germany."

"Germany, is it? Formerly…?"

"Yes." Germania replied quickly and the two left that particular point at that.

Britannia nodded at the Germanic brothers, kindly. "Well met, lads. But where are Saxony and…" She trailed off when she saw a flicker of something in Germania's eyes.

The red head winced, before placing a hand on Germania's shoulder, squeezing it lightly, sending him a genuinely sympathetic look. "You have my greatest sympathies, the three of you. Truly you do. If I can ever be of any help…"

Germania nodded at her kindly and they dropped the issue as Britannia moved her hand away. They looked at one another for a moment as if unsure how to continue. Their hands twitched, missing the comfort they used to take from holding their weapons. Britannia recovered first and she smiled again.

"Are there more of…us…returned to this world?"

Germania frowned for a moment. "Well…besides you and myself…there is one other, but…oh you're not going to like it…"

"You seem very sure of that." Britannia frowned. "It is a wonder to me, that you would think I'd take so badly to another ancient being alive once more. Gaul, Iberia and I have…well…reconciled, if you like. Not the best of comrades, I'll grant you that, but better than we were. And Scandia is…yes, well. Honestly Germania I am not a child and it's not as though we're discussing the return of Rome or somethi-!"

"Germania! I didn't know you were coming here! Why didn't you say so?!" A cheery voice called out as someone approached the two ancients from a little way off and Germania suddenly wished he was back in the Afterlife. "And I see you're already chatting up the pretty ladies~! That's not like you! You old dog, you! I knew you still had it in you! So who's the lucky lady? If she's pretty, I can't promise I won't steal her for myself~!"

The fine hairs on Britannia's arms bristled while those on her neck stood on end and her former smile split into a tooth-baring snarl. She spun around so suddenly that everyone had to quickly duck to avoid being smacked in the face by her impressively long braid. As she turned, Britannia used one of her arms to move England behind her slightly – tucking him safely away. She ignored the sudden sharp pains that flooded up her spine and blossomed in her gut. Rome had a very different reaction, but it was exactly the same as Romano's reaction to France being anywhere near him.

"Rome…!" Britannia snarled the other ancient's name as her grip tightened on the pool que, holding it as one would wield a spear.

Rome's blood ran cold and he froze on the spot, breaking out in a cold sweat. He shrieked; "B-BRITANNIA?!".