Chapter 553 Falling Into Place

GAR

Of course, it never happened. One thing after another, one change after another, one message to Rika, another from her to Gar… they were both delayed, both frustrated.

Then his parents had been called to their birds faster than anyone expected. Tarkyn, in talking further to Suhle and her daughter was concerned the humans might have advanced further than they'd initially expected, that a second wave might already be through, and it was going to take them days to get there even with the birds.

They'd all be forced to a hasty, public farewell that left Gar trembling and struggling to breathe. His father's eyes looked dead.

But there'd been no choice. They'd stood in the clearing and watched as his parents—rolled together into one of the cargo hammocks with four birds, one at each corner—took off and flew into the night sky.

Gar felt like a piece of his heart flew away with them.

"They'll be back in a few days, you watch," Elreth said, her voice tight and too high. "This is just… it's just a… a delay. They're going to win and the Creator's going to spit them back out into Anima and we're all going to wonder what we were worried about!"

Gar turned to her, but Aaryn was already there. He was left standing, with no one to hold, or be held by. Rika hadn't made it in time because they'd had no warning. But she sprinted into the clearing a few minutes later and Gar swept her up into his chest.

She'd come for him. She'd come in the dark, and through the City, despite her fear. She ran to him, holding him and whispering reassurance. And he'd almost embarrassed himself by weeping.

But two hours later, in another clearing busy with Protectors, Guards, and more birds, Gar had to reluctantly admit that everything was tightly, fearfully falling into place. There was a great tension and hum in the nearby Tree City. The guards that would be part of the forward guard with the Protectors were going to take off from another clearing. But there still seemed to be a few questions about how many of each group were actually going to move tonight.

Gar, Elreth, and Aaryn stood at the edge of the clearing where the males had been organizing the Protectors, and Elreth was overseeing the whole show. Before them the moonlight silvered a bustling, noisy crowd of mingled Protectors, Guards, and all the Anima trying to help them get ready—along with some family members, ready to say goodbye to their brothers or sisters, or young.

Tarkyn was in and out, growing more flustered every time he checked in with Gar and Elreth. And Elreth's braid had long fallen out because she kept ripping her hands through her hair.

But suddenly, as if there'd been a signal, everyone grew quiet.

It seemed that all the preparations had been made and the time had come. Before the moon rose high and everyone started on their way, Elreth had begun moving through the crowds, thanking warriors, setting visions, encouraging strength. Gar had suggested she give a speech, but she'd declined.

"It's about getting to their hearts. I'm not a soldier, they won't see one in me. I'm a Queen. What they need from me is to see that I recognize them, that I'm grateful for them. They'll get their rah rah from you and Tarkyn." Then she'd walked back off into the crowd to talk to them some more.

Gar had blinked at her back.

When had his sister become a real Queen? When had she started… understanding?

Humbled, and a touch disgruntled, he turned back to his conversation with Aaryn and the Captain in which they eventually decided that Tarkyn would give a speech to the guards, and Gar to the Protectors.

Gar wished he had his sister's clarity about how to handle this.

He was supposed to make these Anima, these brothers and sisters, feel good about walking into war.

Gar could barely breathe at the thought.

p War was nothing but ugliness and death. He hadn't even fought yet, only trained, and observed the consequences in the lives of his parents and heard the stories from the elders. And yet… even so, there was nothing in him that yearned for this.

If there had been a way to eradicate the humans from Anima, to close the traverses and never have to address this people again, he would have taken it.

War was not noble. War was death.

How was he supposed to make that sound like something they should be proud to do?

His instinct, immediately, was to ask his father, and he looked up thoughtlessly, expecting to scan the crowd for him, but… no…

Gar swallowed hard. That time with his parents had been the worst and best moment of his life. Now it was his time to step forward and make their sacrifice worth it. Not waste it. Make certain that while his parents fulfilled their duty, everyone under Gar's authority also fulfilled theirs.

And that was how it came to him.

When it was his turn to step up and speak, he didn't try to make them excited. He didn't attempt to make battle sound glorious. He just told them the truth.

"The strongest Anima I know are on their way to fight a war that we can't fight," he said, his voice loud and echoing across the clearing. Families gathered under the trees, some weeping, some whispering. He prayed they all heard him clearly as well. "I hate that feeling, that I'm helpless to affect an outcome that could steal my life." He met eyes with as many of them as he could see. "But there is another war, another battle that I can fight. An invader in my land, one that seeks to… eradicate us. To steal our way of life. To domesticate us."

Growls and snarls, stamps and grunts bubbled through the crowd. Gar nodded, affirming their anger. Because they would need their anger to face this. But he prayed that they could all find their way through it without becoming the animals the humans thought them to be.