Rain

Aximilli-Esgarrouth-Isthill, more commonly known as Ax, was feeding near his scoop at sunset. He turned all four of his eyes to the west, where the sun barely showed though the thick cloud cover.

From the sun's rising, to it's setting, to it's rising again, we place what is hard to endure with what is sweet to remember, and we find peace.

He frowned as a rain drop splattered on his head, ruining the reverential moment. But he knew more rain was on the way, so he hurried back to his scoop.

As Ax huddled under his shelter, he thought inexplicably of the time he had morphed Prince Jake and had dinner with Cassie and her parents. That was one of his favourite memories. It often gave him comfort and warmth.

He shivered and wiggled deeper into the shelter, away from the lightning cracks and thunder growls, the lashing rain, and remembered.

* * *

Cassie bent over a cage that contained a racoon with a broken leg. It had been hit a glancing blow by a car, and refused to take any medication, no matter how much Cassie pleaded. Finally it saw reason and took the medicine, leaving Cassie free to wander up to her room and start her homework.

She only stuck at it for five minutes before sighing and giving up. Looking out the window, she saw that it was just after sunset – she also saw that it was starting to rain. In ten seconds, the sounds on the roof had gone from a gentle pitter patter to a thundering roar. Cassie lay down on her bed, curling up. Something about the rain made her do it. She glanced at the clock – it said 5:49pm. Her thoughts strayed to the leader of the Animorphs, Jake – her crush. What is he doing right now? she sleepily wondered. She never even noticed that she hadn't closed the window, and the wind was swirling the papers on her desk onto the floor. She was already fast asleep.

* * *

Jake got off the bed, and looked at the clock, which read 5:50pm. He had nothing to do. Of course, he could do his homework, or read, or play a video game – but he just couldn't. He was exhausted from a night of battling foes in his dreams, only to wake gasping, drenched in sweat. He would have been lucky to get two hours of sleep.

He paced, he lay on the bed, he looked out the window, even considered calling his best friend Marco. But he didn't. Finally, he flopped back on the bed, exhausted. And that just had to be the moment that he heard his mother calling out to him that dinner was ready.

No rest for the wicked, he thought.

* * *

Marco was in his room, studying. At least, he was trying to study. But the driving rain and the ticking of his analogue clock was burrowing into his brain, making it impossible to pay attention to Pythagoras Theorem. He sighed and slammed the book shut, and glanced at the ever ticking clock. 5:54pm. How could he pass so much time?

He looked out the window, and stuck a hand into the rain. It stung, and was as cold as ice. He winced and cradled his hand to his chest. I'd like to see Rachel stay dry in this, he thought grimly. Honestly, the tall blonde had some magical ability to look perfect in the middle of anything. Come rain, hail or shine, Rachel can be counted upon to look like a teen model.

Marco slid down the wall and collapsed at the base. Why was life so unfair?

* * *

Rachel was standing in the middle of her backyard, and she was indeed dry. But while Marco called it magic, Rachel called it an umbrella.

She was sitting in the branch of a tree, just listening to the roaring of the rain. It was strangely peaceful. She could just go to sleep here. And she was so… tired…

Rachel started to snore, but quickly awoke when she heard someone yelling her name. Coming, she thought tiredly. She climbed down from the tree and made her way inside, and stood firm against a lecture from her mother. But in her head, she was thinking of someone else. Someone with messy blonde hair and daydream eyes. Or, more commonly, someone with fierce golden eyes, wicked talons and a tearing beak.

Rachel sighed again and went into her room. 5:56pm. Someday… Rachel thought sleepily, and then she was snoring again.

* * *

Tobias shuffled his wings on the branch again, trying to get all of his small body under the only protection in his tree. No such luck. His tail feathers and his wingtips were already soaked, and he was very, very cold. With a little trill of fear, he realised that if he didn't get proper cover soon, he might just fade away from the cold, go to sleep and never wake up. So he spread his wings and, keeping to the most covered areas, made his way to Ax's scoop.

When he finally got there, thoroughly wet, chilled to the bone and very disgruntled, he noticed that Ax was sitting with his legs tucked under him in a corner of his scoop, trembling, asleep. Without a word, Tobias fluttered down next to him and huddled up beside him, trying to give as much body warmth as possible. A quick glance at the clock on top of Ax's TV said that it was 6pm – a little early to go to sleep, but hey, who was he to complain? Tobias nestled closer to his shorm, his true friend, and thought one last thing before sleep closed over him.

Normality is underrated.

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