You're guided by X-9 down the path, leading away from the Choosening circle. You feel upset. When you had still lived with the Guardians you had heard about the Choosening and you had been excited to finally see what it was exactly.

But before it began, X-9 grabbed you by the hand and hurried you away. "You are too young," had been her explanation. So instead, you were going to spend the Choosening with the others who were too young, like B-3 and A-my, as well as those who were too old, like G-15 and B-11.

And Elder.

You scrunch your face and crinkle your nose at the clearing that is normally used as the art spot comes into view. You can still see the stacks of bark that are used to draw on, not to mention the few instruments that J-14 and To-ny have used to play songs on. But all of those have been pushed to the edge of the clearing. Now, everyone who isn't at the Choosening is gathered in the center of the clearing, all sitting around Elder, who smiles and waves as you and X-9 enter the clearing.

"Go on," X-9 instructs, giving you a gentle push forward. "Elder will watch over you until the Choosening is over."

You look up at X-9. You can tell she's eager to get back to the Choosening. You resist the urge to tell her that she could be at the Choosening now if you could have stayed. But you don't. Instead you just nod numbly and begin to walk to the center of the clearing.

You wish, not for the first time, that you still lived with the Guardians. They were nice and helped you do almost anything you wanted. Elder seems to have many rules, most of them involving more work. When you lived with the Guardians, they took care of everything , and there was no work at all.

You quietly take a seat next to G-15, trying your best not to be intimated by Elder's size. Even sitting, they are bigger than everybody else.

Elder nods at you, before beginning to speak, "Well. Now that everyone's here, we can begin."

"What story are you going to tell us, Elder?" A-my asks eagerly.

Elder taps their chin, their eyes scanning over the gathered crowd, before resting on you. You shift uncomfortably on your butt. Even though Elder looks their normal, calm self, their heavy gaze still makes you feel uncomfortable.

Elder tilts their head slightly at you before asking simply, "What story would you like to hear, Sar-ah?"

You jump in your seat at the question. "Uh-uh…" You wish Elder hadn't called on you. Why couldn't they have chosen anyone else? "Um… I don't know..," You mutter as you look at your lap and hope desperately that Elder will move on to someone else.

Elder smiles and chuckles a little at your reaction. "You truly have nothing you want to hear a story about?"

You vigorously shake your head. "No, nothing!"

A-my shakes her head at you. "Oh Sar-ah. Don't tell me you're still missing the Guardians."

You grimace at the ground and clamp your eyes shut. You can feel the embarrassment surging through you. "I'm sorry…" you mutter through clenched teeth.

You feel your shoulders shake as you hold back the sadness. No one likes it when you're sad, or when anyone is sad. And you already know that no one likes you, so you can't start crying now because if you do then everyone will hate you even more.

As your eyes start to sting and your cheeks start to get wet, you feel someone touch you. You open your eyes and rub them dry as best you can. You look up and see Elder is now kneeling next to you, their large hand resting on your shoulder. They are smiling at you easily as they wait for you to gather yourself.

"Feeling better?" Elder asked gently.

You nod your head, which is lying, which means you're doing something else you know you're not suppose to. "Thank you, Elder…"

Elder's smile widens as they carefully sat down next to you, everyone else readjusting where they were sitting in order to be around Elder. And now you. You don't like this change, as it now feels like everyone is focusing on you.

But Elder seems to sense your unease and moves their hand to your other shoulder, letting you rest against their strong arm.

"How about a story about the Guardians?" Elder asks you.

You sniffle. "The Guardians? There are stories about them?"

"Oh, yes," Elder nods. "The Guardians have watched over you before even I was born. They have been around for a long time."

You coo in amazement. You knew the Guardians were old, but older than Elder? That seems impossible. J-14 had told you that Elder is the oldest person ever.

"A long time ago, the Guardians were made on Earthland," says Elder.

"But I thought humans were made on Earthland," says A-my.

"We were," agrees Elders. They spread their arms wide. "That's where all humans come from originally. But some Gems were made on Earthland, and the Guardians were some of those Gems."

You lean in closer, eyes widening. You have already heard several stories about Earthland- fantastic stories, strange stories, about strange food that is not fruit, and funny shaped beings called animals, and a water so big you could not even see the other side, called the 'ocean'. This is the first time you have heard of Gems- Guardians- from Earthland. You will need to draw some pictures.

"The first of the humans were taken away from Earthland," says Elder.

"To here," you say.

"To home," says B-11.

Elder nods. "Some Gems were taken with them. This was because others did not like them."

"What? Why?!" you shout.

"Because they were the wrong color, or too small, or the wrong shape." Elder shakes their head, and even though they are smiling, you do not think they are happy. "This was not true. They were perfect, just the way they were. But it was good they came here, because it meant they could look after us. So they became Guardians."

"Wow…" you mouth in amazement.

"Elder is the only person to ever leave our Land and enter the Guardian's Land," G-15 says. "Elder is a Guardian. So they can enter the Guardian's Land whenever they want."

You eyes light up in amazement. "Is that true Elder? You're a Guardian?"

Elder chuckles happily at the question as their hand shifts on your shoulder, reminding you of its presence. Though now, you don't really mind it as much.

"Well, I'm not quite a Guardian," Elder answers.

"But the Guardians visit you all the time," B-3 says.

"Again, I wouldn't say all the time," Elder corrects. "But yes. Sometimes the Guardians visit me."

"What do they say?" you ask eagerly. "What do you talk about?"

"The last time I talked to them, it was actually about you, B-3 and A-my coming to live with us."

"Really?" you ask.

Elder nods. "Yes. You three had grown old enough to be moved from the Guardian's care into our care."

"Oh," you respond, beginning to feel a little disappointed.

"You can't live with the Guardians forever," G-15 says. "The Guardian's Land is not for us."

You nod numbly, but G-15's words don't really do much to make you feel better. You wish you could. You miss the warm, soft rooms. You miss the Amethysts and Jaspers and Carnelian. You look back down at your hands in your lap, when you feel Elder drawing you closer to them. You look up and see their warm smile beaming down at you.

"It's hard leaving your home," Elder tells you softly. "But you're safe here and we all care for one another." They look up at the others. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes, we are happy here," G-15 says.

"Under the Guardian's and Elder's protection," B-11 adds.

"So you do not need to worry," Elder says easily. "We're all one family, Sa-rah. We love and support each other as best we can, understand?"

You nod again, slowly, but more earnestly now. "Yes. Thank you, Elder."

Elder is never wrong. That's what X-9 told you when you moved in with the grownups. You hadn't been too sure at first, but now, with Elder's bright eyes and kind smile beaming on you, you are beginning to think she is right.

Your day continues as normal. After storytime with the Elder, the Voices tell everyone it's eating time. Today's food is purple. Purple is good, but not as good as red. You eat as much as you can, leaving you feeling full and content.

After eating time, it is bathing time. It takes more than a little convincing from Elder to get you into the water. But once you are, the water feels cool and refreshing against your skin.

As you float in the water and wait for the Voices to tell you bathing time was over, you notice that all the grownups that were at the Choosening acting very silly. They're all hugging and hanging off each other, whispering things in each others ears and giggling afterwards.

You grimace at the display. You can't wait until you get to be in a Choosening…

And finally, after that, it is time for sleeping. The Voices instruct everyone to the sleeping area, with its soft grass. It gets darker as the Voices say 'Good-night' and you lay your head down on the ground. You have been having trouble sleeping here, away from your soft bed and the Guardians, and you think you will have trouble again. But the Voice in your ear is soothing, and as soon as you close your eyes, sleep comes easily and consciousness slips away from you.

But you wake up before the Voices tell you to. It feels weird. The Voices wake you gently and softly, but now you're awaken all at once and it feels terrible .

You sit up from your sleep spot underneath the tree. Everyone else is still asleep. Save for Elder, who was standing away from everyone else. Their back is to you and you wonder briefly if you should bother them now during sleep time.

But you do remember Elder telling you that you could come to them whenever you needed. So you get up from your sleep spot, still feeling a little tired and you walk over to Elder and lightly tug their long, braided hair.

They turned, looking a little startled and- Are those tears? Has Elder been crying ?

"Elder!" you cry out, unable to contain the volume of your voice. "Why are you crying?"

Elder looks down at you, rubbing their eyes before smiling gently. "Ah, Sar-ah. Have the Voices called for awakening?"

You shake your head. "Elder, why are you crying?" you repeat.

Before Elder can say anything, another voice calls out. "Elder. What is happening?"

You turn and see that everyone else has begun to wake up now. X-9 and J-14 are walking over to you, their confused expression matching how you're feeling. Behind them you could also see T-3 and Rob-ert coming over next, followed by G-15 and B-11 and To-ny.

Soon, all have gathered around the Elder, you in the very front wishing that you could move further back. It feels very crowded and hot standing so close to everyone.

"Elder!" X-9 exclaims. "What is happening? Why are we awake before the Voices?" There is a wave of similar questions murmured throughout the gathering. However, Elder just easily raising their hands above all your heads, and everyone goes quiet.

"It's alright, everyone." They speak in their comforting tone of voice, the kind you had heard earlier during story time. They lay a gentle hand on the top of your head. The weight is comforting and you're glad for it. "It seems I woke Sar-ah up."

"But why were you awake, Elder?" Rob-ert asks. "The Voices haven't sounded to get us up."

Elder slowly shakes their head. "No. And they won't, I think."

"They won't? Why not?" G-15 asks.

"The Voices have stopped," Elder answers. "They are no longer here."

You step out from underneath Elders gentle grasp. You can't believe what Elder said. The Voices are... gone? That sends a terrible feeling rippling through you.

"Without the Voices, how will we know when it is eating time?" J-14 asks, her voice very uneven.

"Or sleep time!" X-9 adds.

"Or play time!"

"Or bathing time!"

Everyone but you is talking now and it feels overwhelming. It's too loud and too many people gathered around. You clutch at your ears, feeling the Voices in both of your hands, smooth and cool. You briefly wished Elder was wrong and that the Voices would tell you that it was now time to eat.

You'd been looking forward to that. Today is a red day, and red is your favorite food.

"Everyone, please. The Voices are gone, but I am still here."

That seems to calm everyone, yourself included. The Voices may be gone, but Elder is still here with you. And they will keep you and the others safe, as Elder has always done.

When the talking has died away completely, Elder speaks again, "Something incredible is going to happen." They smile and even from your low angle you can see Elder's eyes beginning to shimmer.

"What is it, Elder?" To-ny asks. "What is happening?"

"We're going to see Earthland."

You gasp in utter shock. Standing on the tips of toes so as to make sure Elder could hear, you ask, "I thought you said Earthland was far away!"

Elder looked directly at you, even bending down so you could see the large, kind smile they often wore. "I did say that," Elder says. "But it is happening. We're going to Earthland."

"But how, Elder?" X-9 asks. "We've never left our Land."

"I admit, I don't know for sure, X-9," Elder says. "But I do know that we need to prepare." They nod at all of them, before cupping their Voices in their hands. "First, we need to remove our Voices."

"Elder!" J-14 is actually yelling. Everyone around her flinches away at the loudness of her voice. "We can't remove our Voices!"

However, Elder just gently shakes their head again. "The Voices are gone. They will not talk to us anymore."

"But the Guardians will be upset with us!" B-11 responds.

"They won't," Elder responds calmly. "In fact, the Guardians want us to remove our Voices."

You blink bewilderment. "They do? Did the Guardians visit you again, Elder?"

If the Guardians visited, you wonder why they did not come to say hello to you and the other children. You still miss them so, so much.

"In a sense," Elder responds. They pause as they grasp their Voices. Then there is a small clicking sound, and when they pull their hands away, their Voices are resting in their palms.

There is a deep uncomfortable silence as everyone stares at Elder's abandoned Voices.

"It's alright, everyone," Elder says. "Just remove your Voices. You can give them to me, and then we can start preparing for Earthland."

Slowly, only a couple at a time, people start to remove their Voices too and then hands them to Elder. You try to remove your own, but after struggling with it and pinching yourself in the process, Elder bends down onto their knees and helped you take them off, much to your embarrassment.

"Thank you, Elder," you say softly.

Elder doesn't say anything, only patting you on the head before getting back to their feet.

They look at all the Voices gathered in their large hand and then out at the crowd gathered around them and nods slowly. "Okay," Elder says, wrapping a fist around all the Voices. "We have work we need to do to prepare."

"What do we need to do, Elder?" Rob-ert asks earnestly.

"Well, Rob-ert," Elder says. "I want you to gather the artifacts and bring them to the Choosening circle. To-ny and X-9 can help you."

"Okay, Elder," Rob-ert nods.

"And everyone else, gather whatever else you think is important. Art, instruments, stories, anything you want to make sure comes to Earthland with us." Elder pauses for a moment before adding, "Also, if you see any food on the trees, gather it as well and bring it to the Choosening circle. Do you all understand?"

They all nod and Elder nods back at them.

But you feel uncertain, and you can see everyone else does too.

"Don't worry," Elder says. They smile broadly at them. "This is... a very frightening time. Everything is changing at once. But remember, trust each other and we will all get through this."

"Yes, Elder," J-14 says. There is an utterance of agreement with her, before they all began to break away into different direction to complete their tasks. You begin to walk away, trying to think of everything you want to bring to the Choosening circle. The pictures you've drawn for sure. And maybe the song you've written for J-14...

"Wait, Rob-ert." Elder catches Rob-ert's, To-ny's, and X-9's attention before they go too far. "I want to bring all the artifacts to the Choosening Circle, except one." Again they pause, considering. "I want to be the one to carry my sword."

You gasp audibly and all four of them instantly turned their attention on you. You feel your face redden as you sheepishly try to shuffle past a bush.

"Your sword, Elder?" To-ny asks. "But... the Guardians-"

The elder holds up one of their hands, stopping To-ny. "I don't know if I'll need it. But... just in case. Okay?"

The three of them nod in unison before they hurrying off to where the artifacts were kept.

You remain standing next next to the bush however, feeling as though your feet are rooted into the ground. According to the stories, Elder hasn't held their sword since before G-15 was born, and G-15 is the oldest among them, next to Elder. But if Elder wants their sword, that must mean that they think they'll need it.

But… they did say they weren't completely sure. So it'll probably be okay.

Probably.

Pressing your lips together, you scanned the ground and see a long stick. You pick it up and break off part of its end, making it perfect size to swing around. You promptly do so, striking a nearby tree, then a bush, before just swiping at the air.

You feel pretty good, until you realized that Elder was watching you, smiling silently at your display. You quickly drop your stick and scamper off before Elder can say anything.

It's only a short jog to the art spot. Almost everyone is there, looking around and gathering what they can or want to bring with them. You quickly scurry around the edge of the clearing and your tree. The one with the perfectly placed hole where you could slide all your drawings into. You reach in and remove the thick bundle of leaves and tree bark. You flip through them and make sure they're all there: your drawings and the all the parts to the song for J-14.

Once you are sure they are all there, you began making your way to the Choosening circle. However, you didn't go the way most everyone else did. Instead you began running through brush and ducking under low hanging branches. You've gone this way multiple times and you know it is faster than going along the path.

You smile to yourself as you clutch your art closer to your chest and feel very proud for your cleverness for remembering the path-

All of sudden there is a really loud noise.

It is the loudest thing you've ever heard. It shakes the ground. You almost drop your art as you hurried to cover your ears, but as soon as you do, the noise was gone.

You looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone else nearby. Without really thinking why (something Elder often said you shouldn't do) you began walking, and then running, in the direction you think the loud noise came from.

After only a few moments, you come upon the path, the part that ends at the Wall. And standing a ways away from the wall is Elder. They are staring at it very intently and very… scarily. In fact, you feel more than a little frightened by Elder. Their back is straight and they look even bigger than normal, and they have the sword in their hand.

There is another loud noise and you dash behind a bush, trying to remain hidden, but also wanting to see what's going on.

Another loud noise, but this time the Wall, the part Elder was looking at, vanishes in a cloud of smoke and bright lights.

You blink the light away. As the smoke clears, you can begin to make out a figure. She's big, though not as big Elder. That makes you feel better. If Elder is bigger, that probably means they're stronger.

The person steps more out of the hole in the Wall and you can see that she looks rather strange. A square head and half their face is reflective like water. And she's colored weirdly. Purple, like food. Is this person made out of food?

But most odd was what comes next. The person takes one more step forward before Elder drops their sword. Just... drops it. You have to resist the urge to rush over and pick it up. An artifact shouldn't just be left in the dirt like that.

This time Elder takes a step forward. Their expression was hard to read from here, but you could see their mouth is hanging open.

They are shaking.

Several moments of tense and almost uncomfortable silence surrounded them, before the strange person said, in a quiet, breathy whisper,

"Stevonnie..."