It was no surprise that Sac was not happy when she heard Ahk had practically locked himself in his room. Handing Jean Baptiste to Teddy, she headed upstairs.
After knocking a few times, Sac opened the door to see Ahk lying on his bed.
"Ahkmen, you know that was disrespectful, what you did to Teddy, we do not yell at our superiors."
Ahk remained silent.
"Ahk? What is bothering you? Teddy told me about what those boys said. You know that what they said was not true."
"Spare me your lies, Sac." Ahk spat.
Sac frowned. He hadn't called her that in a long time. "Ahk-"
"Sac please, just... just leave me alone."
Feeling that was best, Sac turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her.
Once downstairs, she looked around, seeing that Teddy was alone. "Kah took Jamie to the play room." He explained. "Did you speak with Ahk?"
"I believe it is best to leave him alone for awhile."
"It angers me that children would say such things." Teddy said.
"It makes me upset that Ahk believed them." Sac replied.
"Surely that is not the only thing going on?"
Sac looked up at her husband, confused. "How do you mean?"
"Ahk is discovering new emotions, he's growing up. And if I am correct, feelings that were bottled up are making themselves known. When we rescued them from those blasted kidnappers, Ahk seemed to be in shock. I believe he began forcing himself to forget that day. He has also been trying to forget the day his parents passed."
"How do you know that?"
"When we first adopted them, Ahk told us about his parents. But slowly and slowy he began to grow quiet about them, as if they were from another life."
"We can't let that happen." Sac said. "He needs to remember them."
"We will help him do just that that." Teddy replied. "For now, we do as you suggest and leave him be, to cool off."
They did leave. Ahk sat alone in his room with only Dexter to comfort him. He never came down for supper even when Teddy came to ask. He ignored his brother's speech about blood families and when Jean Baptiste's cry filled the the house, he covered his ears to avoid the sound.
Early the next morning, he snuck out for a walk. Teddy noticed him as he looked out his and Sac's bedroom window. He took a deep breath, reminding himself to have a talk with the lad when he returned.
Despite it being summer, there was s slight chill in the air, possibly because of the heavy rain clouds that hung above. Ahk snuffed as he walked down the sidewalk, kicking a stone that lay in his path. He was just about to turn back and head for home when he noticed two boys coming down the same walk. The same boys who taunted him the the day before.
Remembering Teddy's words of just walking away when there's trouble, he avoided eye contact and turned to go the other direction. But the boys caught up quickly and grabbed his shoulder, turning him to face them.
"Haha, heya, cry baby, talk to your parents yet? Oh, wait, ya don't got none."
"I have parents." Ahk growled softly.
"Ha! Not any more, when they're done with you, they'll send ya back. They got a baby, what are they going to do with a skinny shrimp like you?"
"They love me."
"They're using ya." One of the boys said as he pushed Ahk back.
Ahk caught himself before he tripped onto the pavement. Suddenly, something snapped inside and he lost control. The boys hadn't been making fun of him for five minutes and he felt as if they were his worst enemy. He felt his hand curl into a fist and go sailing into one of the boys' face, sending him backwards. He landed with a grunt on his back and frowned as he sat up, his eye, already beginning to swell. He teared up and growled as he and his friend ran off, leaving Ahk alone.
The young teen frowned and walked back towards his house.
NATM
"You hit someone?"
Ahk frowned as he sat on the couch, arms crossed, avoiding his father's disappointed gaze.
"Ahkmen." Teddy said in a tone that made Ahk winced and look up. "You know we don't approve of fighting in this house."
"Maybe I don't want to be in this house." Ahk grumbled.
"What was that, lad?"
"I SAID MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO BE IN THIS HOUSE!!"
"Lower your tone with me, boy." Teddy said, ignoring the lad's sentence. "What brought on this behavior, was it those same boys?"
Ahk looked away. "What do you care."
"Ahkmen-"
"You're not my dad! Stop treating as such!"
Teddy took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Go to your room."
"Gladly." Ahk said before storming out.
Teddy rubbed his eyes before leaning on the fireplace.
"Teddy?"
The teacher looked up to see Sac walking up. "What is wrong?" She asked, concerned.
Teddy sighed before explaining to her what happened.
"He hit someone?"
"Afraid so." Teddy said. "I have no doubt it was those same boys who made fun of him in the first place." He said, his voice now dripping with venom."
"Where is he now?"
"I sent him to his room!" Teddy ran a frustrated hand through his brown hair. "An act like this will not go unpunished."
"What do you suppose we should do?"
Teddy thought for a moment. "It's summer, Clark and Lewis will be wanting help."
"What can Ahk do?"
"Clean cages for injured animals, work a bit in the gift shop, help with tours, the possibilities are endless."
"Will he do it?"
"He has no choice in the matter. We'll tell him at dinner tonight."
NATM
Ahk was not happy that night as he crawled into bed. It was not his fault, he was defending himself, wasn't he? Surely his real parents would understood.
The next morning, Sac drove Ahk to the Forest Expedition where Lewis and Clark were awaiting out front.
"Ah, nephew! Good morning, ready to work?" Lewis asked.
Despite his sour attitude, Ahk remembered his manners. "Yes, sir." He said, reluctantly.
"Good, let us start on the cages, eh? We were abe to catch and release two injured squirrels and their cage needs a good cleaning."
Ahk nodded as he followed Clark inside.
"I don't know what we're going to do with him. He's acting out." Sac said as she sighed.
Lewis put a comforting hand around her shoulder. "He's a teenager, dear sister, they're known to act rough every now and again. If I didn't know they were adopted, I would swear he was born with Clark's personality. Clark was often moody as you well remember."
Sac smiled. "Yes, I do. And now you both own a nature expedition."
"See, Clark turned out fine. Which means Ahk will be fine. Now, I know for a fact that you are still on vacation time, so please go care for our newest nephew whilst Clark and I handle this one."
Sac smiled as she kissed his cheek in thanks before going back to her car.
Inside, Ahk was listening to the instructions Clark was giving him. "...now, do you understand everything?"
"Yes, sir."
"Fantastic! I expect these cages to be clean for the next poor beast that wanders in here." Clark then turned to leave before he stopped short. "I almost forgot something. DO NOT go into the backroom."
Ahk frowned, his interest peaked. "What's back there?"
"A bobcat, only about a year old. A tour guide found it with a gun shot to it's leg. Nasty business. It's healing well though. But it is still a wild animal, understood? If given the chance, it could do serious damage to you, possibly kill you."
"Aren't bobcats small?" Ahk asked.
"Yes, but so are cobras and you don't see me judging those, do you?"
NATM
Ahk frowned as he wiped his brow and stepped back to take a look at his work. The cages were clean, so clean you could see your reflection. Despite recent events, Ahk was proud. Suddenly, he heard a hiss from the back room. Bobcat must be awake, he thought. The teen then looked over his shoulder, making sure he was alone. Once he was certain, he slipped to the door which opened into the back room. Ahk noticed a pail of meat on a counter and swiped a piece and held it out with his hand before making a clicking noise. Uncertain of the danger that awaited him and filled with excitement, he went farther in.
NATM
Teddy smiled as he unbuckled Jean baptiste's seat belt and handed him to his mother who held him up for his uncles to see.
"You're getting big, my little nephew." Clark smiled.
"How's Ahk getting on?" Teddy asked.
"Very well, I went to check on him half an hour ago. I don't suppose you'd let me hire him? He is doing a magnificent job." Clark explained.
Teddy frowned. The thought had occured to him, but... "I do not see the harm in asking."
Merry Christmas Eve!I am very sorry for the lack of updates in my stories, severe writers block and lack of motivation has really struck me. I am sorry this chapter is so short, but I will try and make up for it in the next chapter.
