Brant stirred early the next morning. Sitting up in his sleeping bag, he stretched his arms and yawned. Around him, his tent-mates still slumbered, with Aaron snoring loudly in his corner and shirtless Baird strictly contrasting with his own silence. Ace also dozed quietly, while Khemera wriggled in his coverings, appearing to struggle with phantoms. 

After he sat still for a few minutes to allow the sleepiness to wash off, Brant rose to his feet, folded his sleeping bag up, and crept his way out of the tent. 

Outside, the fresh air of the early morning rejuvenated Brant and made him grateful to have awakened. He stared up into the sky, streaked with pink and violet hues from the rising sun. Fork-tailed swallows swooped overhead, chattering at one another as they soared. 

Brant's gaze dropped downward and he eyed the enemy camp across the field. Even in the daytime, their base appeared like a cluster of opaque black rocks. More men paced about in the spaces between tents now, but they still seemed to pay the encampment opposite them no mind. Trying to give us false hope, no doubt. 

Brant turned his head to his own camp and widened his eyes at the sight of two more flags waving over them. Nearest him fluttered the colors of the Odegoan Confederacy, a recently formed rebel group to replace the senile Insurgence that had preceded them. Hannah's people, he reminded himself as he eyed the soldiers' plain brown uniforms. 

Farther off, Brant smiled, spotting the vivid purple flag of foreign Antapeño, with its golden icons of a crossed sword and a pen filling the middle of the space. Their troops' uniforms were no less vibrant, a shimmering blue that reflected differently in various lights, highlighted by golden buckles and shoulder patches. 

With a sigh of happiness, Brant lowered his gaze and saw Track heading his way, so he rubbed his hands together and closed the distance. 

"Good morning." the Innutukian said with a hint of pleasure in his hazel eyes, "You missed some good things in your sleep." 

"Oh, did I?" Brant asked, half-joking. 

"Well, Antapeño and Odego showed up, for one thing. And the deathbirds are getting close." 

Brant's eyes widened. "So your captain succeeded?" 

"He did, and now he's back. So yes...the deathbirds should be decloaking in the next five minutes or so." 

Brant nodded and cast a quick glance at the enemy camp. "And...nothing from them?" 

"Nothing at all. But they're probably squealing in their tents at what they think will be the biggest fortune to ever befall them—all their enemies arraying themselves against them so they can swipe them away with one blow." 

"Do you think there's any validity to that?" 

Track frowned. "Of course not. We have the bitter taste of defeat in our mouths, which would alone motivate most of us to fight to the last breath, for pride's sake, at least. And many have still stronger motives. I have no doubt that by the time the day is through, we'll have millions of our own, on this side of the line." 

Brant managed a smile and squeezed the general's shoulder. "I hope you're right." 

The two of them lifted their gazes skyward at a low rumble in the retreating clouds to the west. A blur resembling liquid spillage in the sky slowly lowered itself toward their camp. The roar loudened as the hazy fog drew closer. Finally, it dispersed to reveal a quartet of heavily armored ships, jet-black in color and egg-like in shape. Off of the elliptical body projected a pair of wings that currently cranked up to fold over its top, and in the front, a triangular cockpit protruded. 

Brant gave Track a brief smile. The Innutukian deathbirds had arrived. 

Four landing supports fashioned like robust birds' feet emerged from the underbellies of the vessels and clawed into the ground. After their weight settled, each ship opened a dozen circular hatches on its underside. Before long, thousands of Innutukian soldiers poured from the exits, bearing weapons, shields, cargo containers, and extra tents aplenty. 

Track cleared his throat. "And see, those aren't just troop transports, admirably as they serve for that purpose." 

"What else do they do?" Brant asked. 

"They're packed with such firepower that it makes their lack of speed and mobility basically irrelevant. They're called deathbirds for a reason." 

"Wow. And that thing's huge!" Brant said, noting how the ships dwarfed the tents around them. "How many men does that hold?" 

"Each bird has a doleggion each." Track said with excitement in his voice. 

Brant glanced back with a raised eyebrow. "What's that?" 

"Two legions' worth of troops." 

"Wait a minute...so altogether, we just got two corleggions' worth of fighting men?" 

Track let his head do the talking as it bobbed up and down, a proud smile on his lips. 

Brant's eyes laid to rest on the Alcontean encampment beyond. "We can do this." 

******************** 

"You're bloody daft, you know that?" 

Aaron winced and bit his lip. From where he hung, fingers wrapped around a horizontal bar, he glanced down at Wendy, who stood below with crossed arms. With a grunt, he summoned the last ounces of strength left in his arms and executed his last pull-up. That makes thirty. 

The moment he lowered himself, Aaron dropped onto his hindquarters below the bar. After wiping copious sweat from his forehead, he looked up at Wendy again. 

"Yeah, I know I am." he huffed when she threw his shirt at him. He promptly used the garment as a towel to wipe his sweaty head and chest down. 

"I thought Sila told you to take it bloody easy this morning." Wendy said, settling on her knees to attain eye level. 

"I'm not sure that was the wording—" 

"No need to dodge my bloody point by nitpicking. Look at you! You're a bloody sweaty mess!" 

Aaron smirked. "I've got sweat and tears, love, but no blood." 

"I can change that." 

"Be my guest." he replied with a chuckle. 

Wendy rolled her eyes. "My point is, Sila advised you to be careful this morning, and yet here you are, pumping away with a bloody intense exercise routine I haven't seen since—" 

"I'm making sure I'm ready for what's to come. And besides, I'm feeling fine!" 

Her icy blue eyes tracked him as he laced his fingers together behind his head, laid down flat on his back, and began another round of crunches. "When you put it that way...maybe I should join you." 

Aaron grinned. "Good idea! Let's see who lasts longer." 

Wendy narrowed her eyes as she slid into position beside him. "Okay, but wait a bloody second, because you're five ahead already." 

With a nod, he sat up and waited while Wendy cranked out a quintet of her own crunches. Her tank-top rode up a little ways, allowing him a glimpse of her toned stomach tightening and loosening with the movement. Once she finished, she met his eyes and nodded. 

Aaron rolled onto his back again, and without any attempt at synchronization, the pair began at the same moment. While Aaron found himself huffing and puffing with each repetition, the only noise coming from Wendy was a small poof of air from her nostrils when she reached the top of a contraction. 

After a dozen repetitions, Aaron found himself tiring. His abdominals shuddered, and he found himself unable to gather more leverage. In the time it took him to eke out that last crunch, Wendy made three more. 

Aaron collapsed to the floor with a grunt and watched with wonder as his blonde girlfriend continued for two dozen more. Finally, she struggled through her last and let herself down. 

"You gave up bloody quick." 

He chuckled, and the action aggravated his aching muscles. "To be perfectly fair, that's my second round today." 

"Third here." 

Aaron stared into her eyes for a moment. For once, a witty reply eluded him. 

"You're not the only one who's got bloody preparations to make, love." 

"Okay, that's fair." 

Wendy's lips twisted into one of her rare smiles. "Of course, for a bloke who nearly drowned a couple days ago before being rescued by his lass, you're not so rough." 

Aaron's chest jumped up and down as he laughed. "A couple years ago, I wouldn't have had a clue what in the world you just said." 

"A couple years ago, I didn't have you in my bloomin' life." 

He smiled. "How sweet of you." 

Wendy only grinned in response. With a suppressed grunt, she scooted her body closer to his and laid her head on Aaron's bare chest. 

"Sorry about the sweat—" 

"Don't even bother. I'm bloomin' sweaty myself." 

Aaron smirked and stared down at her. He reached his hand out and ran it through her silky blonde hair, musing to himself all the cliche metaphors and similes he could conjure up to describe it. Wheat fields, uncovered gold, sunshine itself, etc... he thought, remembering many occasions he'd actually verbalized those comparisons in jest, just to stir her up. And boy, did she get stirred up. 

"Aaron?" Wendy said, breaking the silence. 

He met her gaze again. "What?" 

"Is it just my bloody frazzled brain, or have you too had little time to realize, this is it?" 

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." 

Wendy's lips hovered apart, even when she wasn't speaking. "Tomorrow's it, and for better or worse, this fight'll be over! It feels surreal!" 

"Doesn't it? What comes to your mind as something relaxing to do when this all goes down?" 

"A bloody vacation." 

Aaron snorted. "Well, yeah, I could've seen that coming from a mile away. I mean, anything specific?" 

"You know...not really. I just want to settle down. This lass has been running around for long enough." 

"I feel the same way." he replied with a long sigh. "It'll be great." 

"What about you, love? Do you have anything planned?" 

"Not really. The only part of the plan I'm sure about is you." 

Wendy rolled her eyes, but counteracted it with a laugh. "I'm serious, Aaron." 

Aaron rustled her hair a bit with a smug grin on his face. "Well...traveling with this Insurgence group has been one big field trip, but one place I've always wanted to see is Diventier Falls." 

"In Danlash?" 

"Well yeah, it's not like it moved, silly." Aaron teased, "I think the only thing that's been stopping me is my lack of a tour guide." 

"Well, I have a good idea where you might get one." 

"That pretty much settles it, I guess. I do also need to move my stuff out of that Odegoan cave someday. It's not doing me any favors." 

Wendy let out a puff of hot air onto his chest. "Thank goodness you said that. I was thinking you were gonna ask to live out our whole bloody lives in that scorched, wind-forsaken wasteland." 

"Of course not. Assuming we get these 'conte bastards outta power, we'll be able to go anywhere we wish." 

"You've got me wanting to press the bloody 'fast forward' button." 

"I was gonna say that." Aaron remarked. 

With a chuckle, he pulled Wendy close and kissed the top of her head. Prompted by her, his lips made a second landing on hers. 

******************** 

A/N: This chapter did make me feel genuinely happy to write. After all, on the one hand, we've got reinforcements coming finally(!), and this battle feels so much more winnable. And on the other, we've got another adorable Aaron and Wendy scene where they get to talk about their post-battle plans. The only sour thought in my brain is that it'd be a shame if anything happens. 

It'd also be a shame if you refrained from voting and commenting on this chapter despite enjoying it, so let's not make that a reality, shall we? 😉🤣 

Alright, so my random question today is somewhat story-related: If you're in a relationship in real life, which couple in this series most resembles you with your significant other? (Or if you're single [like me], then which most resembles a relationship you'd *want* to be in?) 

(For me personally, Brant and Hannah's is so sweet and supportive that I can't help but say I'd want something like that. Maybe it has a little less of the banter-y spark of Aaron and Wendy, but then again, I'm not as quick on my verbal toes as they are to engage in such things. So yeah. 😆) 

And that'll be it for me this morning! Looking forward to binge-reading a book in my own library, so that'll be fun. I command you to have a spectacular day/night, and I'll see you in tomorrow's update!