Our second world- Book two: War is coming

Chapter 9

~Haren~

"How much longer are we going to wait here?" Mary asked from behind him.
"Not much longer, now hush."
He was surprised when the princess showed up unannounced to inform him of her plan two months ago.
Haren and his squad of soldiers consisting of Marylyn, Artemis, Grace, and one other soldier, a dog beastman named Venus, were checking to make sure none of the villagers were left behind on the road anywhere.
They had been up all night searching for a child who had been reported as missing by the other squad of soldiers working with Haren's group. After a few more early hours, they found the child and safely returned them to their parents who gave the group tearful thanks.
"Well done, everyone. Let's head back to camp and regroup with the others," Haren instructed the girls.
"Yes, sir,"
Together, they headed back to their small base camp. The camp consisted of four medium-sized tents set up in a circle. One for food, one for supply storage, one for the girls to sleep in, and one for the boys.
Along with Harens group, there was one other squad under his command staying in their camp.
"Lieutenant Rachel and Lieutenant Carlos, where are you?" Haren called when they reached the camp.
"R-right here!"
A purple haired girl and a black-haired man ran out from the supply tent and stood at attention in front of him. The girls hair was tied up in a ponytail and reached her mid-back while the mans was cut short to keep it from his face.
They were both wearing the traditional uniform of a black coat, white shirt, gray pants and skirts, black leggings for the girls, and black combat boots. Along with their uniforms, the two wore red armbands on their upper left arm to show their status as lieutenants. Harens was black.
"Make your report, please."
"Sir. There were no reported injuries to our soldiers or to the civilians we were escorting. All have made it to the escort team safely. None are reported missing," Rachel said.
"Good work. Divide out rations and have one member from your squad post guard tonight. I want you to have a rotation of two-hour shifts In case something comes up." He said
"Yes sir."
While they ran off to relay the order, Haren headed to the supply tent, which also served as a meeting place when needed.
"August, are you done scouting the area?" Haren sent the message mentally and got an immediate reply. He sat down on one of the small supply crates to give his sore feet a moment of rest from walking for so long.
"Yes darling. Every village has been completely evacuated and all the villagers have made it to the escort point. We've successfully cleared the area of everyone. I'm returning now," As he said it, August appeared at Harens side," You should get something to eat and rest tonight."
"Yeah, I know," Haren muttered as August returned to him.
With a quiet grunt, he stood and headed out to the fire where the others were gathered to eat. He cleared his throat to get their attention and everyone fell silent to listen. If not for the sounds of the forest around them, it would have been possible to hear a pin dropping as the group waited for him to speak.
"Alright everyone, listen up. We're joining the main force at the base located on the inner border of the divided territory tomorrow. I want everything packed and loaded on the horses ready to leave by eight tomorrow morning," He announced to the group," In the meantime, enjoy your meal and get lots of rest tonight. We'll all be up early."
"Yes sir," They chimed together. Finished with his announcement, they went back to their happy chatter while they ate.
When he sat down in a clear patch of ground by the fire, Mary and Artemis came over to sit with him. Mary in his lap and Artemis at his shoulder. After spending the last two months with him, she'd become more relaxed around him. He was glad, and she was getting along especially well with Marylyn. They were almost like a sister to each other. That wasn't surprising since, despite their age difference, they shared a lot in common with each other.

~The next day~

As he had requested, the tents and supplies were packed into the two covered wagons before eight.
One wagon had most of their supplies and was driven by two members of Rachels squad. Amaranth and Ivy, blonde haired twins. The second wagon held the remaining members and was driven by Haren and Artemis primarily.
After a few hours of driving, Alfheim, who had decided to start taking the form of a black dove, went out to scout the road ahead.
She came back to rest and give reports every hour until they stopped to switch out for the night shift. Ivy, who had been driving switched with Amaranth so she could sleep and Rachel switched with Artemis.

The purple haired girl sat stiffly beside him in silence. She acted as if the smallest sound could offend him somehow. He didn't know why, but she was always stiff and tense around him. She jumped almost every time he spoke to her. He thought it was weird, but chose not to say anything in case he made her even more distant with him.