Daxter

The next morning was complete hell, and the 4 hours of sleep I got from last night wasn't helping things much either. I knew that today was going to be a busy day for everyone, especially Jak, but in my tired state, I hardly had the energy to care.

As I slowly started to seep my eyes open, the events from last night started to come back to me; The traumatically loud storm, my amazing display of acrobatics, reading Jak's diary, the fact that he's in love with me...OH MY GOD HE'S IN LOVE WITH ME.

Ok, I'll admit, it was stupid that I could almost forget something like that, but the revelation was enough to jolt me wide awake into reality, literally and metaphorically. My mind began to muddle with questions again; How long has he felt that way? And why? Doesn't he like, ya know, women?

It was still hard to believe, but I tried to put everything in the back of my mind; today had more urgent matters to think about, I could worry about stuff like that later.

"C'mon Dax, it's time to get up." The sound of Jak drawing back the curtains was the last thing I wanted to hear. A headache began to pulse through my head as I tried to shield my eyes from the sun.

For some reason, I always woke up around the same time Jak did, which normally, was very early in the morning. I guess it had to do with the amount of time we'd spend together, well, saving the world. I also couldn't help but blame Torn, for constantly demanding us to take part in early-morning metal-head hunts/suicide missions. Both of us needed to be wide awake for the other, because we were a team, and the world had become too dangerous for us to not look out for one another. Eventually it kinda turned into a habit, even though we stopped risking our lives a LONG time ago. Actually, I think a curse would have been a better word for it.

"Alright, big guy, I'm getting up!" I responded, which made it very clear how tired I really was. I did the typical morning stretches and yawned. "Just give me a minute to..."

Jak saw me trying to lay down again, but he wasn't going to play ball.

"Oh no you don't, we need to get going, now!"

Jak pinched me out of my hammock and quickly onto his shoulder. Amazingly, Jak had already gotten himself dressed, seconds after getting up, and we were already out of our bedroom before I could even open my eyes again. As we ran down the hallway, I couldn't help but be just a little annoyed.

"C'mon Jak, we've got plenty of time to prepare for the Haven Day season, what's with the big rush?"

I forgot to mention; once every year, everybody in the city celebrates something called Haven Day. It's supposed to celebrate Haven City's victory over the metal heads, and the ending of the centuries-long war against idea, surprisingly enough, had been made up by Ashlien, the sometimes too serious governor of Haven City. She believed that if the city were given a time to officially celebrate, it would "serve to increase the morale of the people, and look towards the possibility of a peaceful future". Of course, everybody in the city council, including Jak and I, agreed with Ashlien's idea, as it was her way of saying that we all deserved a break. It became Haven City's newest and most popular law, this year was going to be the first year to celebrate it.

Jak chuckled slightly, "Have you forgotten already? The Bazaar's going to be packed with people trying to purchase gifts, we've got to get a head start!" I had no energy to argue with him.

Now don't get me wrong, I love the idea of Haven Day more than anyone! In fact, if I wasn't so worn out from last night, I would have been just as eager to get out of the Palace as Jak was. I was glad that Jak had taken to enjoy such a celebration as well, it gave him something else to think about, which was good. The last couple of months ago had been hard on him; losing his father, his only family, must have been one of the hardest things he has to deal with. Hopefully, this celebration could help him to relax a bit more, and assure him that everything was ok now.

I needed to recompose myself, I didn't want Jak to start worrying about me again, and ruin the happy mood that he had going for himself. I didn't want to lie to Jak about what I had been doing last night, and the revelation I had made. I mentally slapped myself.

"Dammit Daxter, stop worrying about that and get yourself together!"

By this time, Jak and I had reached the outside of the Palace and were on our way to the Bazaar, which, luckily, was within walking distance. The weather had definitely improved from last night; it wasn't raining, thank god, and most of the clouds had passed by after the storm. I guess today was going to be a good day after all. Jak took off towards the market, not wanting to waste a second of the day. Having managed to adjust myself onto Jak's shoulder, I started to gain my bearings again.

"Ok! You've woken me up," I said, still slightly flustered "but do we have any ideas on what gifts we're going to buy, and for who? Because I sure don't!"

"I've got it all figured out!" Jak grinned with confidence "I've already got an idea for Keira, Sig and Torn, we can split up and you go fetch something for Tess and Ashlien." He tossed me a couple of Precursor Orbs "That should be enough to get something for everyone! Meet me back here when you're done, ok?"

"Alright!" I smiled with more energy than I had, leaping off of Jak's shoulder as we walked our separate ways towards different parts of the Bazaar. I felt more relieved now that I actually had a plan of action, I just needed to figure out what gifts I had to by for Ashlein and Tess. How hard could it be?

As I entered into the marketplace, I realized that Jak had made a good call getting up early. The lack of customers in the Bazaar was a rare sight to see; I think only a quarter of it's average amount of customers had shown up at this time of day, leaving virtually no crowds to dodge past in fear of getting stepped on. I began to wonder how anyone could have the willpower to get up as early as Jak did, and I had my deepest respect for the market tellers for getting up even earlier.
The market became one of Haven's top priorities for renovation, due to it's destruction when the old Palace was toppled down, and everything looked brand new. The Bazaar had been rebuilt in the same place, but had now been built to fit a lot more people in it, with the buildings accompanying it looking a lot more modern. Good thing it had been built in time for Haven Day, or else there would have been no presents!

I decided to go for Tess' gift first; I knew she would be much easier to please ('cause it'll come from me of course) but I still wanted to take the time and put some thought into it anyways. But what would such a adorable, yet frighteningly eccentric, girl like her enjoy?
I doubted that she would be into anything flashy, like a shiny ring or a necklace, giving her something like that would be sending the wrong message anyway. I know how it is between Tess and I; she made it very clear on that one particular night when I had way too much to drink and way too much on my mind. It was surprising that I could even remember her response the next morning, and it kinda broke my heart.

Deciding she would prefer something more...dynamic, I headed towards the first stall that came to mind: a recent addition to the Bazaar, titled "Fun with Guns", seemed like the perfect idea.

The guy who headed the stall must have noticed me walking towards him, which was surprising considering my size, as he called me out in a cheery voice.

"Hey there man, the name's Barcuss! How can I help you out on this fine morning?" The man beamed an immense positive attitude, which used to be uncommon back in the early days of the marketplace. I guess things really have changed in Haven.

"Um, do you have anything suitable for a gift?" I asked him, not sure what to expect. It's been years since I've needed to buy anything for anyone, last time I did was back at Sandover, on Jak's 14th birthday. "Perhaps a special gun upgrade, or something.."

"Well, of course!" Barcuss was already rummaging underneath the stall for items. Within seconds, the man had already found something for me. "Here, will this do?" He tossed it to me.
It was an attachable holographic sight; colored brightly in pink, with it's reticle a cyan star with a black dot in it's center. I observed every side of the thing, just to be careful; nothing too suggestive, and it had a decent price for it.

I made up my mind "Actually, that's exactly what I wanted! Thanks a lot!" I gave him the Precursor Orbs and he wished me a good day. I could hardly believe it. That was a lot easier than I had on I remembered that I still had Ashlein's present to find.

From what I could remember from eavesdropping on Torn I knew that Ashlien had a certain taste for fancy soaps and perfurmes. Seemed out of character at first, but I guess the Governor of Haven city has to keep her posh agenda in check. It didn't take me long to find the appropriate fragrance stall; brightly colored and decorated with pink neon flowers, the smell reminding me of Keira's old bedroom from when we were kids. Nostalgic, yes, but a sickly memory nonetheless.

I tried to only breathe through my mouth as I made my way towards the stall. This one had been in the Bazaar for quite some time, even during the great conflict with the metal heads, and the owner of the stall had always been the same person.

"Welcome to- oh it's you..." The lady snarled in a somewhat posh, yet hostile tone of voice as she recognized me. I never knew the name of this woman, not that I cared to, and I'd only see her around the place once or twice, but she certainly remembered me. "You're that WEASEL that keeps prancing around with a certain menacing adolescent, aren't you?"

I crossed my arms "Well, I never saw YOU trying to save Haven City when it was crumbling to pieces, you wouldn't know half the things we had to do to save YOUR ass!" I was used to taking rude remarks, particularly from a certain tattooed ex-KG leader, but I was hardly prepared for this lady.
I sighed, calming myself down like Jak had taught me "Look, I just came here to get some perfume for a friend, do you have any of that?"

The lady at the stall sniffed "Of course I do, only the finest fragrances you can find in Haven! Although I don't think it's your friend that needs the perfume..."

I knew what she meant, but I decided to ignore it the best I could. "I'll just take the purple bottle on the top shelf..." It looked nice enough for Ashlien to use,even by her standards. I tossed the lady the orbs, so that I only had a few left to myself. She snorted, but I think she was sorta happy to have the sale anyway, and she passed me the bottle, not say another word.

I gave her one last stare before walking away "And a happy Haven Day to you too..." I grumbled. That couldn't have gone much worse, not that it's my fault, but I didn't want to get me down. The gift-shopping had been done and dusted, all that there was left to do was meet Jak at the rendezvous point outside the market.

Moments later, I could see Jak at our meeting place, from what I could see, he was holding four bags, presumably one to carry each gift separately.

"Wait a minute, four bags?" I began to count in my head, "One for Keira, Sig, and one for Torn. What's the fourth bag for?" And for the second time today, my memory jolted me into realization. I was missing one bag myself.

You IDIOT.

I pivoted in the opposite direction, away from Jak, and sprinted back to the Bazaar. It was the middle of the day now, and flocks of people had began piling in, all desperate to be getting into the Haven Day spirit. I had gotten so wrapped up into getting Tess and Ashlein's gifts, I'd completely forgotten the most gift to buy of the lot.

"Some kind of friend you are, Daxter..."

This wasn't going to be like last time. This time I would try to get the gift in time, this time I would be a better friend, after all that he has done for me.

This time, I wasn't going to let Jak down.

A/N: The King of Procrastination is back! Just a few things to say:

I'm considering, for the good cause of plot development, about having some POV character changes during each chapter, Game of Thrones style, mostly consisting the two main characters, Jak and Daxter, since the story is about them, after all. These chapters could vary in length, but I'll make sure, SOME juicy content is put into each of them.
This chapter is rather uneventful, I'm sure you've noticed by now, but I want to pace things out at this stage and take my time with the plot, I'm not even sure where this is going, but i'll think of something...

Anyways... Ladies, Gentlemen and others, The Sheep is out!