Requiem [Sirius the Jaeger]

Chapter 20 - Farewell

"Don't be dismayed by good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."
~Richard Bach

By the time all of us were gathered in one room again, the sun had already set, enveloping the sky in a wonderful bluish darkness. An endless sea of stars was to be seen on the royal blue canvas, making the night seem much more friendlier.

The common room was illuminated with a warm yellow light, yet the atmosphere was clearly that of a serious conversation. As I tore my gaze away from the wonderful scenery outside the window I was standing at, I let my eyes scan the small room instead.

The group of Jaeger was once again assembled at the little wooden table in the room's middle, a few cups of tea and the familiar snacks were placed on top of it. Fallon, Philip and Dorothea were the only once occupying the chairs at this moment, the Professor standing beside them with his old pipe in hand.

Yuliy stood in his usual corner, at this moment just behind Dorothea, looking out of the window. Ever since the talk we had with Professor Willard earlier today, he has been awfully quiet. For the others, that may have seemed as if things were normal again, but I simply knew it had to be something else.

A lucky guess of mine would be that he feared the upcoming events just as much as I did. After we had finished the conversation, the Professor went out to receive new orders from the HQ. Although there was a tiny bit of hope remaining inside of me, the possibility that the news were what we hoped for was almost zero.

As it appeared now, we probably had to sneak out of this mansion within the next few hours, leaving everything we knew behind in order to achieve our goal. Honestly, after everything we've been through, leaving without saying anything is going to be the hardest. Most Jaeger spent more time with their team than their actually families and for me, they simply became my family. However, if I could be sure they wouldn't be dragged into this, it would be worth it.

At least that's what I keep telling myself in hopes of easing this pain of goodbye.

One thing came to another and before I knew it, the team knew about Yevgraf hunting the Ark that had probably been hidden somewhere in Japan or close to its borders. Though thankfully, the Professor had mentioned nothing of what Yuliy and I had decided to do. Perhaps it was his way of saying it was up to us to decide and that he wouldn't stop us. At this point, I even doubt something like that would be possible.

"Yevgraf." Fallon said, letting the unfamiliar name roll over his tongue. Judging from the expressions of the Jaeger, no one had heard of him before. Understandable, considering we have never been in any kind of contact with him, but I had believed at least Dorothea knew something about him, just like she knew something about nearly everything. Nonetheless, it took her nothing more than one sentence to proof me wrong.

"Haven't heard of him." The tan woman sat in her usual thinking pose, legs and arms cross while her eyes were sharp and analytical. To be honest, it can be somewhat terrifying how fast Dorothea can change her personalities. At first, she is a lighthearted, kind and friendly woman with a warm smile, but do mention work even once and she becomes the sharp minded second in command we have come to adore.

"So, are we going to this place called Sakhalin?" Philip was the next to speak, his curious azure eyes glued to the Professor as he too anticipated the next instructions. Like I mentioned before, it was highly unlikely that we would actually be sent there. Missions are usually given according to the number of members in a team and their experience, not the current location.

Even though the most of our members had more than enough experiences to take such a mission on, it wouldn't surprise me if the council deemed Philip, Yuliy and me to be too young for something like this. Normally, I would understand and favor their actions, but at this moment it wasn't really helping. Well, at least they were refraining from sending children into a war, but by now it was sure hard dot avoid such a thing.