The world wasn't the safe place they spoke of to reassure him when he was afraid. Out of their house, there were people and things from which his parents could not defend him.
One of them was standing right in the middle of the living room.
Whether it was a thing or a person, Liru couldn't tell. He was just five years old and Mogar's complexity still baffled him. To make matters worse, the wonder he once felt for the unknown had been replaced by fear.
Fear that new things and strangers could hurt him. Fear of facing another threat above his parents' means that might take them away from him forever. Liru was afraid of pain but loneliness horrified him.
Agra and Borj were all his little, imperfect world. Without them, he would be truly lost.
"It's okay, son." Borj left Lith's side and moved to the child's, quickly followed by Agra. "Please, don't move, Supreme Magus Verhen."
The creature blinked in acknowledgment, not moving a muscle.