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< I’m going for a walk, > Elfangor said after Mother put away the last of the decorations for the Cyllarrth Festival.
Elfangor rarely was able to come home, even for the major festivals. So for young Aximili, time with his elder brother, god-like in his eyes, was a precious commodity, not to be wasted. < May I come? > he asked.
< Don’t pester your brother, > Father warned.
< He’s not, > Elfangor replied. < I would be grateful for your company, Aximili-kala. >
There were fewer words in the universe that could have made Aximili more joyous in that moment. He was practically dancing on the grass as they fed, Aximili following Elfangor away from the scoop until they were far from its warm lights. Elfangor kept his stalk-eyes trained on the stars above, and Aximili did the same, neither speaking.
Finally, Aximili decided to break the silence, to take advantage of time in which his parents weren’t around to tell him not to be rude. < Why have you never taken a wife? > he blurted out. Herain, a friend at school, had a nephew, and it seemed like a wonderful thing. Aximili wished for one like Herain’s.
But when Aximili looked up at Elfangor, tail drooping low, eyes half-closed in sadness, Aximili realized that he had said something terribly wrong.
< Can you find the westernmost star in the Erritar constellation? > Elfangor asked, and Aximili motioned an affirmation. < Circling that star is a planet called Earth, and that is where I left my hearts. >
< Your hearts? > Aximili asked. As far as he had been able to piece it together, hearts didn’t factor into the mating process. < I do not understand. >
< No, > Elfangor replied. < I suppose you would not. But the people there, they have a figure of speech. A metaphor. They associate their hearts with…well… > he trailed off, his voice heavy with emotion, all four eyes looking at the distant star. He shook his head, one of Elfangor’s many odd mannerisms. < Nevermind, little one. I have a ritual I would like to perform alone. Can you find your way back to the scoop? >
As Aximili walked home alone, he couldn’t help but feel as though he had made some unspeakable mistake, though for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what had made Elfangor so sad.
***
Tobias had morphed human. As he told the story of the lawyer’s office, Rachel held one of his hands while Cassie had the other. This was typical behavior for Tobias and Rachel, but wasn’t customary for Cassie to join in. However, among Ax’s friends, Cassie was the one who tended most toward comforting gestures, so perhaps this was associated with reassurance.
“—said he wasn’t human. He was an alien, an Andalite hiding out on Earth. He loved my mother and really wanted to stay, but he had an important duty go back.”
“Whoa,” Prince Jake said. “That’s big. No wonder Visser Three was interested.” Rachel and Cassie both had water coming from their eyes—tears.
“There’s more. He didn’t say in the letter if he knew exactly what his duty was then, but I know it now. He had—” Tobias paused to wipe some of his own tears away. “He had to be back here in thirteen years to give us the power to morph.”
“Your father was Elfangor?” Marco asked, ever quicker than the rest.
< Oh, > Ax said. In a flash, everything connected: Elfangor’s sadness. The not inconsiderable amount of human televised entertainment Ax had watched, the way they talked about love.
“Can it be true, Ax?” Tobias asked.
< I don’t know how, > Ax said. < But it is true. I know it…I know it in my hearts, my nephew. >