NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2750278" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 305: Just TryIt wasn’t the first time, and probably wouldn’t be the last, that Jyren wondered it all children were like Tobias. It seemed like only had two modes. Sleep and wild. Currently, sleep mode had been switched off, and the little Alraxian was definitely in a stage of wild. They were in the small lounge-type area near the center of the living area in Loki’s cabin, with Tobias bounding around the few pieces of furniture there was to pounce at Jyren and ‘kill’ him.     This had been going on for at least an hour now, and Toby showed no sign of letting up. But Jyren, getting tired of having his legs, arms, and anything that Toby could find clawed up, was looking for a way to put Toby into the sleep mode...or at least something close to it. And there was something bugging him.    So Jyren sat in the center of the room, carefully eyeing the large couch where Tobias had scrambled behind. He was back there waiting for the right time to strike, and Jyren decided the best thing he could do was turn his back to invite the attack and attempt something he’d never tried with Toby before...talk.    Five minutes later, there was the distinctive ‘RAWR!’ and Jyren spun around and reached out, snatching the flying Tobias out of the air before he could reach Jyren. Tobias laughed and made some very unique noises but, for the first time, didn’t struggle. That was a relief, as Jyren’s wrists had taken enough of a beating. In fact, it looked like the little Alraxian was at least slightly tired.    So...carefully, Jyren asked the question that could very well cause another hour of pure energy, “Getting tired, little guy?”    This was it...the moment of truth. Either Tobias would shake his head, scratch the hell out of Jyren’s arms and scamper off again or...or...not. Jyren honestly wasn’t sure what else could happen...and then it happened. Tobias very slowly nodded, and kind of slumped down in Jyren’s grip, mumbling something that didn’t make sense.    “Hang on a second, Toby,” Jyren said quietly as he sat the child down in front of him, “No sleep yet, okay?”    Two big eyes looked up at him through the tired veil that was starting to take over Tobias’ face and he mumbled, “Whyfor...?”    “I’ve got a question for you,” Jyren answered, shifting to a more comfortable sitting position now that he wasn’t waiting for an impending pounce. Tobias tilted his head but said nothing, so Jyren decided to just go ahead and speak, “Earlier in the hangar...what did you do?”    Tobias tilted his head the other way, his ear twitched slightly, and then he blinked a few times, “Huh?”    Of course it wasn’t that easy. Not only was Tobias still a child, so toeing around the point just confused him, but there were still some blocks up against his own natural abilities that had been put up years ago to keep him safe. So, more carefully and knowing that it could be a dangerous question, Jyren tried to be more specific, “When you...when you helped me. What did you do?”    Jyren deliberately avoided the word ‘healed.’ It just felt too strong considering the situation. Tobias didn’t blink this time, and simply stared right back up at Jyren. This continued for a good few minutes, and it took Jyren that much time to realize that Tobias was really doing his best to think. The blank look on his face was just like Shadow’s...there was no thoughtful expression for either of them, instead there was nothing. All of their energy was focused on thought, leaving nothing for the rest of the body, especially for simple emotions.    But then, very slowly, the glazed nothingness began to give way to a whimper. After that, Tobias, on the verge of crying from the sound of it, whispered, “...I dunno...”    He came very, very close to wailing. So close, in fact, that just before Jyren cut in, the little Alraxian made the necessary inhale. But Jyren managed to cut in quickly, reaching down to gently scratch Toby’s ear(forcing a purr, whether the child wanted to or not), and then saying, “Its okay, little guy. Its okay...”    Tobias sat there, tilting his head into Jyren’s hand, on the verge of crying and purring the whole while. Doing both meant not being able to breathe, so the body picked one and stuck with it. Thankfully, the crying didn’t occur. It was, to Jyren, a sign to try a different way. So, after another few minutes, Jyren went on, “Don’t think so hard, okay? Just try to answer really quick before you have a chance to think.”    “You mean...like you do?” Tobias barely managed to speak through the purring.    Of course, that made Jyren grin. So Shadow had been spending a little time with the child, “Exactly. You think you can do that?”    Tobias nodded again, but did so in a way so that his ear never left Jyren’s scratching. That had definitely been a well practiced move. So, with that, Jyren tried yet again, “What did you do?”    “I just...just...” for a moment, Tobias trailed off and the glazed over look appeared that meant he was trying to think. But, amazingly, it only lasted for a few seconds before Toby shook his head to shrug it away and started mumbling towards the floor, “...I just didn’t want you to die...”    And that was it. Truthfully, it was exactly what Jyren figured he’d get, but hearing it said led to a very important step. Tobias was young, yes...but why not start young? He’d develop the discipline needed for it and wouldn’t run into all the problems that Jyren always did. So... “You want to try something else, little guy?”    Realizing that Tobias assumed he meant stopping someone else from dying, Jyren quickly made a move to show he meant otherwise. His eyes darted over and locked onto one of Toby’s toys...a small cube that changed shape when small symbols on each side were pressed. As quickly as he could, Jyren reached out to it with the Force and pulled it over to them. The object floated across the room rather quickly before Jyren caught it not far in front of Toby so the little Alraxian could see what he’d done.    “You think you can do that?” when Tobias didn’t respond and simply continued to stare, Jyren caught onto the fact that he really needed to push to get anything out of the child, “Just think really hard at it. Think really hard until you just make it happen. Can you do that?”    “I uh...I dunno?” Tobias tilted his head to look back up to Jyren, obviously unsure of what to do anymore.    Jyren smiled and patted his head gently, “Just try it.”    “...okay...” the words were barely spoken, as Tobias had turned down to stare blankly at the block that now sat on the floor between them. He thought at it just like he’d done with Jyren earlier...wanting to move it because he knew it’d make Jyren proud of him.    But then the door to the room opened and all concentration was lost as Shadow stuck her head in and nodded down the corridor, “We’ll be in the Sluis system in five minutes. Need you up in the cockpit with me.”    Jyren sighed but nodded, “You have any ideas on what to do next?”    “I might,” Shadow answered before disappearing down the corridor.    Oh well. But there were things to do. Jyren turned to Tobias and picked up the child as he got to his feet, “Come on. We’ll work on this later, okay?”((Sorry for the lack of updates. Gods, Thanksgiving is like pure chaos around here. That and its getting close to the end of the Semester(just two more weeks) so had a few papers to work on. Back on schedule(I hope) now!))</blockquote>

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