Yay Jak and Keria fluff! :) Sorry to those who are waiting for FD to update, but this plot bunny kinda tackled me the other night and didn't want to leave me alone! I hope you all enjoy :)
Jak lazed back on the sand, taking a deep sigh as he soaked up the warm summer sun. In the distance he could hear the birds tweeting and the ocean waves whispering against the sand. There was no place that he would rather be than on Sentential Beach. Above him, a flock of gulls wailed as they searched for something to eat, and the giant Pelican in the middle of the bay gave a cowed noise as a few of them got to close to his nest. Jak smiled, yes, this was the life. Making mischief, baking in the sun, not a care in the world...
"JAK! I'm bored!" Daxter flopped down beside him, and pouted. "Let's find something to do! Oh, I know! Let's go bug old fish breath!" Jak sat up and gave Daxter a sheepish look.
"Oh come on, I know he smells but I wanna get my hands on a river fish! They are sooooooooooo good!" Daxter grinned. Jak laughed, soundless, and more like panting, but Daxter knew that he was being made fun of.
"Hey! I will get one... eventually." Jak raised an eyebrow at him.
"No, I don't want to catch one! It doesn't taste as good that way!" Jak shook his head, and looked up towards the Forbidden Jungle and shrugged.
"I knew you would come around!" He cried. Jak smiled and stood up, stretching.
"Hey boys!" Jak and Daxter turned around to see Keira smiling at them. "You're not going into the Forbidden Jungle, are you? Daddy says it's dangerous, you know that!" Jak blushed, not making direct eye contact with the pretty blue haired girl. Daxter rolled his eyes.
"We aint afraid of no snakes or nothin', right Jak?" He asked. Jak nodded, and smiled wryly at Keira. She snorted and grinned at Daxter.
"Either way, daddy wants to see you Daxter, something about some of his faveorite plants going missing?" Daxter paled, and Jak sniggered silently behind his hand.
"Oh, wait, do I hear mom calling? Yes, uh, sorry guys!" Daxter waved at Jak and Keira and 'headed for the hills'. Keira smiled at Jak.
"Guess it's just the two of us." She said. "Want to help me find some sea shells on the beach over by the farmers hut? I promised Rose that I would collect some for he so she could attract a Yellow-Bellied Orange Rain Fray." Jak smirked and Keira put her hands on her hips.
"Jak, I am sure that the bird is not a part of her imagination." Jak rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I accept you apology. Let's go!" Keira trotted off towards the Farmers hut, excited for their mini quest.
~XxXxX~
"Look at this one, Jak!" Cried Keira, holding up a small conch shell. It was peach on the outside and a smooth, white and mother of pearl on the inside. They two preteens had never seen one like it before, and Keira was very exited about it. "Rose is going to be so happy for this one! I bet a Orange-Bellied bird would love it!" She held it up to her ear and sighed happily. Jak watched her contently, happy that she was happy. In the background, Jak could hear the Farmer snoring away.
"Zzzz... Gotta get them Yakow's! *snoring and jibberish* Gotta get them..." Jak smiled.
"Here! You try!" She passed him the shell, and he held it up to his ear. "Isn't the sound beautiful?" Jak suppressed a blush. Her voice was much more beautiful. He only wished he could tell her aloud. Instead, he nodded and passed the shell back to her. Carefully, Keira put it in her mesh bag and weighed it thoughtfully.
"I think we have enough to make Rose happy. Want to come with me to give them to her? I am sure she would love to thank you too for helping out!" Jak shrugged okay, and Keira grabbed his hand. Jak's heart skipped a beat, and he almost tripped over his own feet, but he kept up with her towards the Bird Lady's hut.
"Come one Jak, run faster!" She laughed. Jak smiled and ran faster, catching up easily. Keira veered to the left, the direction of the Bird Lady's hut, and jumped off out of site for a moment at the small ledge. There was a moment when Jak could not see or hear her, and then there was a scream and the sounds of a dog barking. Panicked, Jak ran faster than he ever had before and jumped down in front of Keira. One of the wild dogs had decided that she was easy prey and tried to attack her. He glared at the dog and punched it in the muzzle. It yelped and went for his arm. Luckily, Jak was just fast enough and only the teeth grazed him. While the dog was recuperating from missing, the boy gave it a swift kick and it ran away whimpering. Jak turned around and landed on his knees in front of Keira, looking her over for any wounds.
"It's okay Jak, I just scraped my hands is all." She showed him her palms; they were scraped up only a little except for one gash across her right palm. Jak tore the hem of his tunic and wrapped her hand, giving her a worried look.
"I'm okay, really." She blushed. "Thank you for saving me from that dog." It was Jak's turn to blush; avoiding her eyes, he grabbed her bag of shells, all we intact, and handed them to her.
"Thank you." She said quietly. "Maybe we should stay close, just in case he brings friends?" Jak smiled and nodded, and they finished heading to the Bird Lady's hut. Keira knocked on the arch, and Rose hobbled out of the back room.
"Oh! My, it is Jak and Keira. What brings you two here?" She smiled warmly at them and welcomed them inside.
"We brought you some shells to find your bird." Answered Keira and she handed Rose the mesh bag. "Here! We found a beautiful conch shell!" Rose beamed as she pulled it out of the bag.
"My my! I certainly will be able to attract a Yellow-Bellied Orange Rain Fray with this one! Thank you so much you two! Anything I can do to repay you?"
"Just tell us if you ever see your Rain Fray!" Chirped Keira, and Jak nodded in agreement. The elderly woman laughed.
"Of course! And again, thank you! My, what wonderful children you two turned out to be!" The two teens smiled and waved good bye and headed outside.
"Where to now?" Jak shrugged and looked out over the village. In the distance, he spotted the sculptor standing outside his hut with some odd tools. He tilted his head in curiosity.
"Oh! The sculptor is trying painting!" She cried. "Let's go see if he will make us a little one!" Jak nodded excitedly in agreement. His uncle had paintings of faraway places, and he wanted to see how it was done. They ran to the village, and slowed when the spotted the Mayor. He was in a conversation with Jak's Uncle about building a boat that could take people over to Rock Village rather than taking a transport ring.
"You know Samos hates those rings! And so do I! I think a boat would be a marvellous idea!" Stated Jak's Uncle.
"Yes, yes, but do you know much work that would take? Not to mention the orbs! Oh, the orbs!" The Mayor put his hand on his face, thinking of the horror. Jak smiled over at Keira, and she giggled.
"Jak and I think that a boat would be very amazing!" She said to the Mayor.
"Of course you two children would! I've raised my Nephew right, and he is rubbing off on you!" Jak rubbed the back of his neck, and Keira grinned.
"You really think that we may be able to build a boat to take us to Rock Village? Or maybe even farther?" She asked. The Mayor wailed and out his face in both his hands.
"We will revisit it another time, then." Jak's Uncle mused. Jak hid a smile behind his face. "What are you two youngsters up to today? Aren't you missing your friend, the little ugly one?" Keira laughed.
"Daxter is in trouble with Daddy again, and Jak and I are going to see the sculptor will give us a painting!" She said excitedly. "We just came back from collecting shells on the beach for Rose so she can see her Rain Fray." Uncle chuckled.
"Good, good! Very good! Maybe Samos will whip that friend of yours into shape! Have fun, you two!"
"We will! See ya later!" Keira and Jak waved and headed off towards the Sculptor. He was musing deeply and some canvas in front of him and Jak looked curiously at the palette in his hands.
"Aw, man, this totally blows." The Sculptor, Greg, sighed.
"What's the matter?" Asked Keira.
"My Muse and I had a disagreement this morning and she ran off in a huff." He sighed. "Now I can't get anything done." Keira looked over at Jak, and he nodded.
"We could find her for you!" She suggested. "Do you know where she could be?" Greg perked up.
"I think she went to Samos' Eco collectors." He said thoughtfully. "That's where she wanted to work today, but I wanted to see the ocean from hear. I shoulda listened!
"If you find her, I will give you guys a painting in return!"
"Deal!" Said Keira. "C'mon Jak, we've got a Muse to find!" Jak smiled and nodded and followed Keira.
"Daddy's Eco collectors are just by Rose's house. Race you? Hey, I will be careful this time!" Before Jak could stop her, she sprinted off, laughing. Frowning, but slightly amused, Jak sprinted after her towards the cliffs where the Eco collectors were located.
All was quiet on the way to the Eco collectors, until they heard whimpering. Up ahead, against the rock wall, was Greg's Muse, surrounded by a back of wild dogs, including the one from earlier. Jak could tell because hits snout was swollen. The dog pack, consisting of five all together, kept snapping at it and playing with it, and the little Muse was terrified. Her sparkles were more like sparks, and her fur was spiked up allover the place.
"Hey, stop bugging her!" Cried Keira. She picked up a stone and hit one of the dogs in the head. It turned around and growled a warning at them. Keira gulped, but held her ground. Jak stepped in front of her, a stone of his own in his hand. Two of the other dogs turned and joined the other one so they could intimidate Jak and Keira away. Neither of them backed off, and Jak threw a stone as hard as he could at one of the new dogs. It hit the dog square between the eyes and it wailed. Unamused, the other two went straight for them. Keira screamed and threw another stone at one and Jak kicked the other. The two dog shrieked and fled, leaving the third dog behind as it tried to gain it's composure.
Quickly grabbing Keira's hand, he raced over and kicked one of the dogs cornering the Muse out of the way, scooped her up, and ran up the slope away from the three remaining dogs.
"Jak! They're right behind us!" Cried Keira. Suddenly, Jak stopped. They were at a cliff, over by the waterfall. He took one look at the dogs, and then the drop. Without another thought, he grabbed Keira around the waste, made sure the Muse was securely in his grasp, and jumped.
"Jak!" Keira shrieked as the fell. SPLASH into the water they fell! Jak fought to keep his composure and grip on Keira and the Muse, and kicked hard to the surface. Keira coughed and the Muse screeched in protest at the sudden dive into the water. Still holding onto them both, Jak guided Keira to the shore where she fell backwards onto the grass and puffed for breath.
"Warn me next time, hey Jak?" She laughed wheezily. The Muse crawled out of Jak's arms and shook out its fur before starting a thorough grooming session. Jak looked worried over at Keira, but she just smiled at him.
"That was amazing! Those dogs didn't even see that one coming!" She cried, and pointed at them up at the ledge, howling. Jak smiled sheepishly and laid back in the grass, letting the sun dry him off. Keira laid beside him, and the Muse sneezed at their indifference to her and sat between them, expecting the attention she deserved after such a harrowing experience. Absentmindedly, the two stroked the Muse, making it purr loudly. The silence between them was nice, and Jak just left time behind him as he watch some of the small fluffy clouds glide over the bright, blue sky.
When they were finally dry, Keira scooped up the Muse and smiled at Jak. Knowing exactly what she wanted, he got up to and they headed over to the Sculptor who was moping over the blank canvas.
"Hey! Little furry dude!" He cried happily. The Muse wiggled out of Keira's arms and landed on his shoulders. "Ah, thanks for findin' my Muse, guys! Let's get this painting done for you!" He looked up at his Muse with an apologetic look.
"We can go to the Eco collectors if you want. I'm sorry about earlier." The Muse sneezed in distaste and stayed on his shoulders.
"I don't think she will want to go up there for awhile." Keira mused. Greg gave her a quizzical look and she told him what happened.
"Jak was amazing! He got us away just in time! You should have seen those dogs!"
"Wow, man! You sure are brave!" Jak looked away modestly. "Now! Let's get this painting done! What would you like?" Keira thought for a moment, looked over at Jak, and then back at the Sculptor.
"How about the two of us? And could you make it small? I want us to be able to carry it around!" Jak's hear skipped a beat again and the thought of posing with Keria for a painting.
"Sure thing you two! Just make sure you hold still! The sun will be setting soon!" The two teens nodded and Jak stood awkwardly for a moment, not sure how to stand with Keira. She did the deciding for him and made it so they each had an arm around each other. He blushed, but managed to somewhat to keep his composure and Greg chuckled.
As the time passed, Keira started to lean more on him as she grew tired, and he gave her extra support. The sun was setting, giving their village a sleepy pink glow, and Jak felt relaxed as he felt Keira's breathing and listened to Greg hum as his Muse tracked the rising fireflies.
"There! Finished!" I said, and showed them the painting. He had had added the sunset around them, giving the painting a romantic look. Keira squeaked happily and hugged Greg.
"Thank you so much!" She said. "Don't you just love it, Jak?" He nodded and Greg handed them the painting.
"Thanks for finding my Muse, but I'm going to go and make us some dinner. See you two later!" Keira hugged Jak suddenly.
"I've had such a fun and eventful day today! Thank you so much for coming with me to collect sea shells and everything!" Jak smiled. There was a moment of silence, and then she gave him a peck on the cheek.
"I will see you tomorrow, Jak! Have a good night!" Jak's face was red, and his hand was up on his cheek. That wasn't something that he had been expecting. With a dreamy look in his eyes, Jak headed back to his Uncle's where Daxter was waiting on the porch.
"There you are!" He cried. "You know what Samos had me do today! CLEANING! All because some stupid plants!" Jak didn't have a response, he was too busy thinking about Keira.
"I scrubbed the floors, almost got eaten by a plant, and had to re-pot, that's right RE-pot some plants! Why would you wanna re-pot a plant, huh?" Daxter continued to ramble as the headed down to the beach. Jak smiled at his friends ramblings, and let himself soak in the perfect day that was all his.
-The End-