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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 1852376" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 44: ReflectionThree months passed. Fast or slow, Akan didn’t take notice. Endor was strangely calm...or at least, the part they’d landed and pretty much camped out in was. Most of the time Akan had spent learning. Delving deeper into the Force, Shadow teaching him how to morph properly, ‘lessons’ in those other things about Alraxians that Shadow kept forgetting to mention, and even sparring. This, of course, was Shadow’s favorite, and she encouraged it as much as possible...though it never reached the point of their first sparring match. The one he’d not forget. Really, it was hard to forget death.    Shadow hadn’t spoken much at all about the Darkwing incident, and this in no way bothered Akan. Just thinking the word sent a chill up his spine. She had spent a good amount of time speaking with Loki, catching up as it were. Even Akan found himself just talking with Loki for hours at a time. It was interesting to hear the ship’s perspective on life and really anything else.    But despite the calm and rest they got, Akan never slept well. There had been no word from Voort or Jen the entire time. Akan had once mentioned going back to Coruscant not long after they’d first arrived on Endor, but Shadow quickly shot this down and Akan had to agree. They were fugitives now. That had been confirmed after Akan managed to link up to the holonet, and found the four of them listed with fairly high bounties. Thankfully, no one had any idea where Akan and Shadow were. The fact that the bounty was still up for Jen and Voort suggested they’d made it out alive, but Akan hadn’t been able to check it since that first month. To him, it meant the two of them had made it off Coruscant, but beyond that, they were off the scanners of the galaxy.    Sighing, Akan stepped around one of the larger trees, glad for the relative warmth of the forest moon. It meant he could wear a pair of trousers and the morphsuit and be nice and comfortable. Shadow only wore her morphsuit, and Akan had attempted that, but found it was just too awkward. He felt like he was walking around without anything on. This, he’ learned, was no trouble with Alraxians, as there weren’t the same stigmas against going without clothes due to the very young members of the species being all...fur covered. Shadow, still a child despite everything, had some of these old instincts wired into her.    Shadow...something...his mind went crazy. Not only the Force, but the link too. Thankfully, he’d learned to recognize that feeling in the past months. Quickly, he dove to the ground, hearing a loud crack against one of the trees next to him. Rolling to his feet, Akan bent low and looked at Shadow’s foot mark in the tree trunk. She wasn’t in as much of a playful mood this time...again, the feeling exploded in his mind. This time, Akan didn’t move, but planted his feet and put up his arms where the Force told him to. It was exactly where it needed to be. Shadow’s foot connected with his arms, and he slid back in the moss covered ground from the force of it.    She landed on the ground softly and only for enough time to push off again, diving at him with claws extended. Akan ducked enough that her extended arms went high, and he reached up to grab her wrists. Getting a good grip, his own claws extended into her wrists. A shadow pain shot through him but he had learned to deal with it in minor instances or if he was prepared. Using Shadow’s momentum, he pulled her around and over him, throwing her to the ground face first. She hit hard, a few small rocks and sticks adding to the bad landing, and as she attempted to get up, Akan was on her. His knee dug hard into her spine, and he held her down with an almost casual move.    Shadow struggled, but got nowhere. After a few moments, she sighed, stopped moving, and grumbled, “That wasn’t any fun.”    “Not in the mood today,” Akan said quietly, getting up and idly walking down the small path more. She wouldn’t have wanted his help getting up anyway. He’d learned to simply not offer. After a short walk, he found himself in front of a small, but fairly deep creek that was a good source for water and baths(as Loki had none). Akan sat down on the bank, letting his legs hang into the water and ignoring the heaviness that the trousers accumulated from the water. Despite his body’s aversion to cold, the cool water felt good. Soothing was probably the correct word.    [What’s bothering you this time?] Shadow’s voice invaded his thoughts as she approached from too far away to talk. She seemed to enjoy using the link more than her actual voice anyway. [Voort and Jen, again?]    His tail flicked slightly, getting a little dirt in it which would drive him crazy later. [No...just remembering what today is.]    “Oh?” Shadow asked as she plopped down next to him, kicking at the calm water to entertain herself, “What is today?”    Akan hung his head a moment, looking at his reflection in the water, yet against seeing how much he’d changed since the day should even matter. But for some reason, he still remembered it, and it still mattered. Slowly, he said, “Mare would be twenty two today.”    Shadow stopped kicking at the water. She knew about him and Mare. Or at least, how he’d seen it and from that, Shadow learned yet again that humans were both crazy and stupid. Especially when it came to emotions. Mostly, she dismissed it as a male thing, but that was most likely because Shadow had not had such intimate access to a female mind as she did with Akan’s. One thing she did know, however, was that she wasn’t good with this. She tried an old standby that had worked before, “Max never told me how old he was...”    Max. Akan had learned a lot about him in the last few months. He had been her smuggling partner for years. A human, from her description likely middle aged, with the usual roguish qualities that most smugglers had. But despite that, he was genuinely a good man. Shadow remembered him much like a father, teaching her about things she’d never experienced. Mostly emotions. As an assassin for so long, she knew nothing beyond what was necessary for her mission. But he’d died, killed by a group of Imperials who’d busted negotiations for shipment of gems. Shadow escaped, and not a month later found Ansion.    Akan had simply nodded at what she’d said, knowing that Shadow meant well just didn’t know what to do. He turned to her and attempted a smile, but failed, “I truly miss those days.”    Now he was getting even more depressive...Shadow knew that wasn’t a good thing. But yet again, she wasn’t sure what to do. Ah ha! She had an idea. An evil grin(well, all her grins were evil) appeared on her face, and she put a hand on his back, “Always one good thing to clear memories of the past!”    Then, she pushed him into the water. Sure, it was okay to be slightly cold on the legs, but being dunked like that. Akan yelped in surprise but was cut off when he went other. When Akan resurfaced, his blue stripe was shining brightly and there was a scowl on his face as Shadow laughed. Distracted as she was, she didn’t have a chance to defend herself when Akan reached up, grabbed her, and yanked her into the water, making sure to dunk her and smiling proudly before she pulled him under and dunked him again.    Moods changed quickly with Alraxians. Akan had gotten used to it only to a point...and the playfulness just was something one had to deal with. No matter how cold the water was, it satisfying to know Shadow was suffering as much as he was...even though she could hold her breath much longer than he could without cheating. In this case, that meant morphing.</blockquote>

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