Lion Head Mesa welcome to the panic room

no one had ever spoken to him in this manner before, as far as zakariya could remember. he was immediately enchanted. germanicus, that was what he'd said, wasn't it?
zakariya crept closer again as the man spoke, unable to see his gesture but intrigued and trusting enough to take the risk. he didn't want to miss anything germanicus said. mereo was a place of soldiers, he said. they guarded against war. the boy only understood some of these things, and what little he understood was purely from context. they were fighters, he gathered. war was a fight. it had to be, if they were training to keep everyone safe, didn't it?
impulsively, he wanted to follow this man. he wanted to go to mereo. can i be a soldier? a note of hope crept into his voice despite his best attempts at masking it. before he could stop himself, he added, i don't want to be a fellahin. i hate cleaning. i would rather fight bad guys! if only he knew what he was saying, truly.