John, Felix, Tyler, Nat and Mike were walking through the woods. Tyler was happily holding Gage as Felix swooned over him.

John walked on the outer side of their little group. Nat and Mike both looked at each other before Nat lightly tapped Felix's shoulder, prompting Felix to look at him. Nat motioned towards John, making Felix frown softly and nod. He walked slower, making himself walk side by side with John.

John glanced at him before looking away. Felix frowned more, "John... Can we talk?" He asked softly, making John look at him.

"Okay..." John replied. Felix took a deep breath before looking at John, "Listen. You've been really upset lately. I... I thought our talk last time was... helping?" He looked a bit confused. John sighed softly before grabbing Felix's hand, "A little, but this is gonna take some time. I'm sorry, it's not automatically gonna be better" Felix nodded solemnly, "Well if you -"

Screams made them both jump as they turned towards the ruckus. Mike growled, forming into his wolf form at the gang of Orcs in front of them. Nat hid behind Mike, holding onto his fur as one of the Orcs pointed a large spear at them, "Your gold. Hand it over, now" he spoke in a deep voice. Felix gasped as one of the Orcs separated Tyler from the group, "Hey!!" He shouted, making the Orcs turn to him.

Tyler swallowed nervously as he held Gage close, the baby clinging onto him as tight as he could. "Look at this" Another Orc said, "Is that what I think it is?" He prodded at Gage, making Gage whimper. Mike snapped and attacked the hand. Tyler ducked away, covering Gage with his body. The Orc screeched as he started hitting Mike with his club. The two started to duke it out, the loud noise causing Gage to start crying.

Felix instantly felt heat behind him as he slowly turned towards John.

John roared as he transformed into his dragon form, Felix jumping out of the way as his form grew bigger. Nat ran over to Mike, prying him away from the Orc as he pushed them both on the ground as John swooped over them and shot fire from his mouth.

Felix winced as fire covered the area. "Tyler!" He shouted, making Tyler peek up from the ground. "Tyler! Come over here!" He beckoned. Tyler got up quickly, making sure Gage was secure, as he ran towards Felix.

The fire started spreading like crazy as the Orcs tried attacking John wherever they could reach. John roared again as he grabbed them with his mouth and shook them around like they were mere toys.

Mike grabbed Nat as they both ran towards Felix. "Is he okay?" Mike asked, shape-shifting back to his human form. Gage whimpered and hiccuped, clearly shaken by the whole ordeal. Tyler nodded as he ran his hand through his hair, "Yeah. I think he's okay"

Felix noticed the fire growing closer, "Listen. We need to leave" Tyler looked at him, "But Felix, what about John?" Felix shook his head, "John is in full berserk mode. Or as he likes to call it. 'Daddy protection mode' he's lost in his head. He will only stop when the threat is neutralized. The best thing for us right now, is to leave. We'd only get in his hair" Nat and Mike both nodded. More roars and screams could be heard as John moved the Orcs farther and farther away from them.

"Let's go" Mike pushed them. "Avoid the trees. Stick to a large open path. That fire is gonna spread instantly when it touches those trees" They all agreed as they ran for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They made it to a rest stop where John found them soon after. Felix made sure he knew where they were with a trusty Raven message.

John sat down, exhausted. Nat grabbed his arm and started cleaning up his wounds. Felix hugged him tight and gave a kiss to the side of his forehead, "You're an idiot" Felix muttered. John smiled softly and tiredly replied, "Takes one to know one" he chuckled to himself. Mike appeared with a bowl of hot water, "Felix, give him space. He just fought three Orcs" Felix replied by sticking his tongue out at him, earning himself a bop on the head from Nat. "Off" he told him, Felix begrudgingly letting go of John.

"I'm just glad... Gage is okay" John looked over to Tyler. He was shifting lightly from side to side, pretty nervous. "I... I just shielded him.. that was all I could think of in the moment" Tyler felt his face flush a bit. Not really knowing how he'll react.

John lifted up his arm and beckoned him forward. Tyler stiffened up a bit before shaking out of it and walked towards him. He crouched down next to Mike, jumping slightly when he suddenly felt a hand on his face. "Thank you" John softly told him. "Thank you for protecting my son"

Tyler stared at him, looking into his eyes. Finding nothing but sincerity and admiration. Tyler felt his face flush instantly. "Y-you're welcome" he replied, muttering. John put his hand down, laying his head back. "I'm so tired" he muttered, making Nat coo in response. "Go to bed, Johnny. You deserve it!"

Felix, who watched the whole debacle go down, smiled at Tyler. Tyler glanced at him, his entire face going red once again, before getting up, "I'm gonna check on, Gage" he muttered before running off.

Felix never felt his smile grow bigger.