A few days went by and the fight raged on.

Things had gotten so bad that tribers had actually started referring to the conflict as a war. Destan had overheard them talking. They were furious. They were terrified. They had no compassion left for their enemies.

The tribe was divided; not everyone felt this way. There were still people protesting for peace, too.

Every day, Destan went into the forest on his own. He spent hours and hours roaming around, trying to help, trying to keep people safe. He'd clean up traps, and chase away Inops before a triber could injure them instead.

Every day, Destan felt more and more desperate. It was as if things were only getting worse. Never better. Every time he'd gotten rid of a spike, a bear trap would take its place. Every time he'd chased away an Inops, three more would return.

By the end of the week, he was exhausted. Completely drained. Destan walked back to camp in the afternoon with his shoulders slumped and his knees shaking. He didn't want to go back yet, but his stomach wouldn't stop growling and his powers got weaker on an empty stomach. All week he'd been running around the woods like a headless chicken and the end wasn't even in sight.

Something had to be done. He knew this. He'd known it for a while now. Someone had to stop this madness, but no one seemed to be willing.

The thought crept up on him almost on a daily basis now. He had to do it. What else could he possibly do? He surely couldn't keep this running around up for very much longer!

His feet dragged across the forest floor. It was a stupid plan, Destan knew that. Telling his uncle what happened, the truth about what happened, was terrifying. His stomach turned even thinking about it.

This war had started because of him. All because he couldn't stay away from his sister. He had broken the tribe's rules and now they were all paying for it.

He had to tell them. But he couldn't. For what he'd done, Remus would have no choice but to ban him. Destan shuddered, just as he spotted the huts through the woods up ahead. Not banishment... Anything but banishment...

Destan made his way to his home to get himself some lunch. He'd been too busy the past couple of days to go out hunting, but now that he was helping out the tribe, he had a right to claim some food from the storages. He had gratefully taken this opportunity to get himself some more tins of beans. Since his mum was in her bedroom, probably asleep, he ate alone and wolfed down his food.

As he put his dirty bowl in the sink, movement outside the window caught his eye. Several people walked past his hut, towards the centre of camp. His curiosity peaked, Destan pushed himself up on the kitchen counter to be able to see over the roofs of some of the huts. From here he could see even more people walk in the same direction.

Are they going to the square? Destan frowned.

Eager for news, he decided to have a look and find out what was going on. He shut the door behind him quietly, so as not to wake up his mum.

As soon as he stepped foot outside, he heard the familiar, booming voice of his grandfather. He quickened his pace. If Remus was holding a speech, he needed to hear it.

Destan spotted uncle Lys before he could see his grandfather. Lys was standing towards the side, though still in front of the gathering crowd, the ever-present smile on his face, as he listened to Remus' speech. Nearly every triber was there, the square was packed.

"... during this terrible time. I know you are afraid. I know you are angry. But today, we will stand strong!" Remus looked around the crowd, making eye contact with each and every one of the people who counted on him.

Destan found himself a spot in the shadows of a house, where he could watch without having to be a part of the crowd. He pushed his hands into his pockets and trained his eyes on his Chief.

"The past week has been rough, for all of us. Many of you have faced a danger greater than you have ever faced before. But that will end today."

Destan's body tingled with nerves at Remus' words. He didn't like where this was going. He held his breath in anticipation as many of the tribers in the crowd cheered their Chief on.

"I need to ask you all to be strong just a little bit longer. Do not lose control. Of yourself, of your actions." The crowd murmured. "Yes, the Inops have terrified you over the past week. They've hurt you. But eliciting a war is not going to fix this. We'd invoke the wrath of Inops all over the country, all over the world.

"This is why I am standing here before you, and I'm asking you: Stop this madness. Lay your atraments to rest. This afternoon I am meeting the mayor of Grimsby, on the bridge outside the forest. We will come to an understanding of how to move forward. In the meantime, I am asking you, stand down."

Once again, Remus looked out over his tribers, his head held high and his face radiating nothing but confidence. The crowd was the complete opposite; they whispered amongst each other, their faces and voices uncertain. A few people towards the left of the crowd broke out into applause and cheers.

"When I come back tonight, it will be with more information and, hopefully, a solution. Until then, please, be the tribe, the people, I know you can be. Find it in your hearts to put a stop to this war. Thank you."

With those words, Remus stepped off his dais and made for the forest. A few tribers, two men and a woman, who had been standing near uncle Lys, followed their Chief. Destan guessed they'd been asked to accompany him to the meeting. Remus didn't fight – he was a healer. So if there was trouble, he'd need bodyguards.

The crowd parted only slowly. People still murmured amongst one another. Many didn't seem happy with their Chief's request. But they would just have to obey.

Though Destan could feel the annoyance among the crowd, he felt only relief himself. For a few long moments, he'd thought that Remus was inciting them all to go to war. He'd been talking almost as if he was preparing for battle. But then he'd turned it around completely and Destan felt like he could finally breathe again. Remus was doing something about it. Everything would be alright.

It was strange. His secret had been on the tip of his tongue – ready to be told, to uncle Lys, Remus, possibly even Aruna. But now he didn't have to tell anyone, yet the secret still lay there on his tongue, waiting to be revealed. He was almost disappointed that he wouldn't have to talk about it now.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Destan left his spot in the shadows and trudged off to the woods. Now that he finally had a break, all he wanted was to be alone for a while. To sit down and wait for Remus to fix things. That was what the Chief of the tribe did, after all.

He made his way to the spot where the tree stump lay and sat down, staring into the distance. His eye caught the dents in the tree opposite him – where the rock he'd been throwing last time had damaged it.

"I thought I might find you here."

Destan flinched. He turned to find Keara smiling down at him.

"Mind if I join you?"

Finding himself nodding, Destan muttered, "Sure," and watched her sit down on the ground next to him.

"I bet you're happy, aren't you?"

Destan raised his brows. "What do you mean?"

"That he's finally doing something about it," said Keara, gesturing with her head towards the path Remus had disappeared on. "I've seen you, you know. Running around, trying to save everyone."

Destan's face flushed. "So?" he shot back. "There's nothing wrong with trying to help." Unless it's trying to help the wrong people...

Keara chuckled. "I'm not blaming you. I think it's good that you want to help people."

"Even if it's... them?"

"I don't know," said Keara, shrugging. "Chief seems to agree with you, though."

She was right. His speech today had been about stopping this war, about making peace with the Inops.

"So does my brother, actually. He's been protesting to advocate peace, along with his farmer friends. Keeps saying we're all human and all that."

Julia's face popped into his head. "Yeah. Yeah, he's right about that."

Keara nodded, rolling her silver hair around her fingers. "I'm glad something's finally being done. All week I've had this... this horrible feeling that something bad was about to happen. I mean, it's bound to go wrong, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Destan agreed. "The Chief will fix it, though. You'll see. He'll come back tonight and he'll have it all figured out."

Keara smiled up at him. "I hope so."

A comfortable silence settled over them. It surprised Destan how easy this was. He'd never had anyone to sit in silence with before. Except his mum, of course, but that was different. That wasn't so... nice. How could sitting in silence with someone feel so nice?

"Keara, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course," she said, looking up at him curiously.

"You've never come here before. Why now? I mean, we haven't spoken in days."

Keara averted her gaze with a frown, making Destan's insides twist a little. Had he done something wrong? Maybe he shouldn't have said that. Maybe it was rude. He was just about to apologise when she spoke.

"I guess I do have a reason," she said. "I don't like being alone very much, but I just had to get away from camp."

"Why is that?" said Destan.

Keara hesitated, which only made him all the more curious. "Because Elias is there."

Destan's eyebrows knotted. "So? I thought you got along with him?"

"Yes," said Keara with a frown. "Well, it turns out he likes me a little bit too much."

"You're kidding!" said Destan, his jaw dropped.

"Nope. He pretty much just admitted that he's in love with me." She shot him a glance and added, "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

Destan scoffed. "Who am I going to tell?"

She smiled at him before turning her head to stare at the tree again. "I just don't know what to do, you know? I didn't expect this and I just don't know how to respond."

"Well, do you like him back?"

Keara was silent for a few moments, then shook her head. "I don't think I do. Not in that way."

A strange, warm feeling spread across his chest. Destan had no idea what it was, but he reckoned it just felt nice to have someone open up to him. It was a new feeling, and a strange one, too.

It made him want to do the same. Keara had just shared a deep secret with him. His own secret still lay on the tip of his tongue. It still wanted to be told. If she trusted him enough to tell him her secret, shouldn't he do the same for her?

"Keara?"

How would she respond? The fact that he even knew who Julia was, went against tribe law. It could get him banned. But keeping this secret tore him apart. Who else was he going to share this with, if not Keara?

"Yeah?"

Much worse was that this whole terrible war had started with him. That she would not like. But Remus was out fixing it, wasn't he? If he was successful, it didn't matter how it had started. It would all be over.

"I know who –"

A sudden voice behind them made Destan jump out of his skin, cutting off his sentence only just in time. "There you two are!"