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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2190798" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 201: Human WaysThey went south. A great distance south into what Shadow told Ak---Jyren...Jyren now. She seemed to b e adapting to that better than he was. It was easy to just say ‘you’. But according to her, they had gone into the Blackflame Clan’s territory. They came to a stop in a rolling, tall grass covered field. It was like nothing Jyren had seen on the planet. He’d been so used to forests and...and forests that he hadn’t even thought about grasslands.    Off in the distance, he could see structures, not unlike what the Palace was made of, but it looked more separated compared to the single gigantic Palace. But that was in the distance, and his father had his full attention now. The three of them walked through the tall grass as the wind calmly whisked towards them. Jyren...he was still going over the name a thousand times in his head. Shadow had caught onto it at one point, and informed him that it meant something close to ‘Last Warrior’, which he couldn’t help but find appropriate, considering. It was a good name...it felt right. It felt like him.     Raan...Raan Maxwell. Where had that come from? It was so long ago that he didn’t even feel a connection to the name anymore. Almost as if it was just another person...well, in a way it was. More than one way. So much had changed since those days. He’d learned to survive on that name. He learned what friendship was with that name. He’d learned what real love was...and what real loss was. The meaning of life and death, and all of it just connected to two words. Two words that were his, and his alone for so many years. But where had the name come from? It just seemed to have always been there...    Now, Akan Tavos, he remembered well. For a while, he’d just told himself that it was something he’d thought up on the moment. That day he decided to just disappear. But there was more to it than that. There was something in that name. Something more than just sounds that he’d come up with to use as a new identity. And, truthfully, he still wasn’t sure of it, but he now made a point to find out. It was important...or at least, felt important.    Jyren. Jyren...Keros. His real name. Given to him by parents he’d never known until now...or at least, one of thme. But no, he was not Jyren Keros even now. Despite that, he was a part of the BlueIce family, still. Why that mattered, and why it even occurred to him, he didn’t know, but it was there, and it was true. Jyren BlueIce. Jyren...BlueIce. His past, present, and probably even future, all in just two words. It really was perfect.    “What are you smiling about?” Shadow interrupted his thoughts, and he was actually surprised that she’d spoken out loud. Probably...no, definitely trying to get his father’s attention him, too. She seemed to enjoy observing them and took at least some delight in watching Jyren get lost and confused.    “Ah...nothing,” Jyren mumbled, squirming a little as he knew she had been working through his thoughts and knew the answer anyway. She was just trying to get him worked up. He could see it in the grin tugging at her face and the thoughts through the link. She was actually...happy.    His father stopped them a moment and looked out across the fields. Glancing to Jyren, he smiled and motioned ahead of them, “Your mother and I used to bring you out here when you were just learning to walk. You would try to hide in the grass and sneak up on us,” the smile became a familiar grin, “...you were very good at it for your age.”    “He’s lost the edge,” Shadow added sarcastically.    In a few more moments, they’d all sat down in the grass, and Jyren couldn’t help but grin when he noticed that, while he and his father sat with their shoulders comfortably over the grass, Shadow was up to her chin. He was smart enough to only grin, though, as she glared at him when he thought it. Slowly, they started to talk. His father asked him about the war he’d fought in...and Jyren just found himself talking about it as a neutral observer. He wasn’t that person anymore, anyway.    And then, the conversation made its way to why they were back to Alraxia in the first place. As an ambassador, his father knew of the details of what was going on, so not much had to be explained. But it seemed to be going in circles.    For the third time, his father was shaking his head and saying, “It will not come to war, Jyren. There has not been a war for nearly five thousand years, and the Mrrakesh would never risk it with the strength of the alliances within the Empire.”    And Shadow, every single time, nodded and agreed. Finally, though Jyren was getting annoyed and glared at the ground, “You’ve said its come close before, but you’ve also said that there hasn’t been a Mrrakesh on this planet since the Darkwing Wars. Think about it. Put the pieces together! There is a traitor with a great deal of power to get that Mrrakesh here and it can’t be just a one time thing! Its too much of coincidence that Ket and Nine just happen to be lying low.”    “They are lying low because even the Mrrakesh would destroy them for risking a real war,” Shadow said flatly.    “You saw the droids!” he yelled suddenly, “There weren’t just a handful! They are waiting for us! I can feel a trap forming!”    “You are paranoid, son,” his father said calmly, resting a hand on Jyren’s shoulder, “The day after tomorrow, I will begin talks with the Mrrakesh. This will not come to a war. We don’t have wars. We don’t even have a military! The Mrrakesh don’t even have a military!”    “But Halpak does,” Jyren said slowly, grinding the word out one at a time.    Shadow actually nodded, “Yes, and we’ll deal with him, but the Mrrakesh aren’t stupid. Ket is the target, here, don’t get yourself confused.”    For some reason, that was just too much. Something in Jyren just clicked and he glared to both of the Alraxians next to him, “Have you all gone blind?! There was a Mrrakesh on this planet! Here! That can’t just happen! Why would Halpak have anything to do with that when he’s got his own army?! They are connected, but there is still more! If you don’t step back and look at the whole picture you’re going to get lost with the details!”    “We are not Humans!” Shadow snapped back harshly. The words silenced everyone for a short moment before she said a little calmer, but just as harshly, “Yes, Ket is greedy and out for revenge. Yes, the Mrrakesh would love to have the Empire. But neither Ket nor the Mrrakesh are stupid enough to gamble everything by attacking the Empire itself. They can’t. They know it.”    “They can’t do it alone, yes,” he responded simply, “But why not together? One has an army, the other the urge to take these planets. If you don’t see that, then I don’t even know why we’re here in the first place!”    “You don’t know anything about this, that’s the damned problem!” Shadow yelled at him suddenly, “You are not Human anymore! We are not! We do not work like Humans!”    She then stood up, and turned to storm off. After two steps, however, she turned back and bowed to Navik, saying flatly, “I apologize, but I will not stay here with your son. Maybe he will listen to you.”    And then she was gone. Between father and son, there was a long silence, and then, slowly, Navik said quietly “One day, you’ll have to tell me how the two of you met.”    Jyren, suddenly confused by the change in subject after the outburst, turned to stare blankly at his father. The older Alraxian just laughed and patted his son on the back gently, “She is very beautiful, son. There will always be little things though...learn to work through them and you’ll do fine.”    “What...?” he still looked just as confused as before, but had at least managed to speak instead of leaving his mouth wide open.    Again, his father laughed, getting to his feet and offering a hand. Jyren took it, and as he was pulled to his feet, Navik said, “Come, lets go. I’d like to show you our...my home before we eat.”((Thanks for the compliments. Just so you guys know, there's at least one more big moment on its way soon before we cut right into some action again. I believe its also something a few of you are waiting on, too. Hope no one minds the 'slow' stuff.))</blockquote>

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