We take a break from our regularly scheduled Gol and Maia chapter to visit Jak and Daxter again.

Chapter 13: Sprinkles

Things were uneventful in Haven City. The very next morning after their arrival, Jak and Daxter went about visiting all those they had left behind. Ashelin, as expected, was still busy with her usual duties as the Governess, and just as Torn had reported, nothing worth mentioning had happened in quite some time. The past damage to the city had long since been repaired, and Ashelin was simply working on maintaining the current peace. Samos was as hard at work as ever continuing his research on Green Eco and was still just as grouchy (even after their extended time apart, the disdain between Sage and ottsel hadn't lessened, either). And Keira was well on her way to becoming the world's first Light Eco Sage. Having little else to do, Jak went about performing errands for her, which normally involved obtaining different kinds of Eco for her to study and even the occasional Precursor artifact.

Several weeks later, the pair was in the middle of collecting Yellow Eco in Haven Forest. At least, Jak was pretty sure he saw a Yellow Eco vent out here once. The young man rode on his JET-Board over the lake, gliding smoothly over the still waters that reflected the canopy above, sprouting from the trees that grew right out of the shallow lake, while the breeze rustling his hair gave a welcome break from the warm, summer heat. Aside from Daxter slapping at himself whenever a mosquito decided to bite him, the forest was surprisingly peaceful. Normally, Metal Heads prowled these woods. Actually, they used to stalk pretty much everywhere outside the city. But lately, he had seen very few, and those that he did come across, he quickly dispatched. This visit, however, he hadn't seen any at all. Not one.

Daxter jumped as he heard gunshots ahead. "Scared ya, Dax?" Jak asked.

"No!" He slapped himself in the face as another mosquito landed on his nose. "Ow!" After rubbing the sight of his newest booboo, he said, "Who else would be out here, though? Better be careful, Jak. I'm not in the mood for rescuing you right now."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Jak hopped off his JET-Board once he reached the edge of the lake and headed towards the source of the noise. He crept forward until he caught sight of someone through the trees.

"Hey, tattoo-face!" Daxter said.

Torn shot one final Metal Head before turning to them. "You shouldn't sneak up on someone with a gun. Certain obnoxious animals might 'accidentally' get shot."

Jak smirked. "I can live with that."

"Hey!" Daxter glared down at his companion, ears back, before swatting at a leaf that fell on his head, no doubt mistaking it for a particularly large insect.

The young man looked upon all the dead Metal Heads surrounding Torn. "So that's where all the Metal Heads have gone."

"You didn't save any for us," Daxter said.

"Want me to find you some?" Torn asked, returning his pistol to the holster on his leg.

"No, that's fine. I wouldn't want Jak gettin' scared."

Jak came closer. There were a good fifteen Metal Heads laying about, a well-placed bullet in each of their heads. "What brings you out here, Torn?"

The man shrugged. "I felt like killin' something. Like I told you before, there's not much goin' on in the city, so I figure if the Metal Heads aren't comin' to us, I'll go to them. What about you?"

"Just getting some Yellow Eco for Keira."

"I think she's makin' us do all this stuff because she's mad we left her behind to go adventurin'," Daxter said.

Torn gave a half smile. "Just wait 'til you're married. I imagine you won't be allowed to go to the other side of the city without permission."

"Who said anything about getting married?"

"Yeah, Jak," Daxter nudged the side of Jak's head with an elbow. "I bet she's considering asking you soon, if you won't."

Jak crossed his arms. He still had other things to do before that.

"That's what I like about Tess," Daxter continued, "she understands a man needs his freedom. He needs to spread his wings and soar. Like a falcon."

"Unless he gets eaten by one first," Torn said.

"Nuh-uh, no falcon's eatin' me! I'll karate chop 'im!" Daxter mimicked doing just that, almost managing to fall off Jak's shoulder.

Jak shook his head. "Well, I guess we should—"

Daxter continued over his companion. "Speaking of gettin' married, when's Ashelin becoming Mrs. Tattoo-Face?"

Torn's expression became serious. "None of your business." Signaling this conversation was over, he started to walk by them, back in the direction of the city.

"Come on! When you gonna have a bunch of mini-tattoo-faces runnin' around? And you think they'll be as grumpy as you?"

Torn stopped, his back to them. "Jak."

"Yeah?"

"If the talking lint ball gets carried off by a falcon, take a picture for me, will ya?"

Jak had a devious smile on his face. "Already planned on it."

Daxter stomped a foot. "That's not funny! You guys stink!" As Torn walked away, he added in a louder voice, "And if a big bird manages to tote your tubby bodies off, I won't save you! That's right!"

Torn flipped the ottsel off shortly before he was lost from sight, sending Daxter into another fit. "Didja see that, Jak? You gonna let him treat your best buddy that way?"

Jak turned to continue their trek farther into the woods. "You started it."

"I did not! He started it! He always starts it!"

Jak sighed. "Let's just get the Yellow Eco and get out of here."

"Will you buy me an ice cream cone when we get back?"

"Last time I did, you dripped ice cream all over my shoulder plate."

"It's not my fault. I'm hot. Ice cream melts in my presence." He paused, as if considering something important. "I want chocolate. With marshmallows. And chocolate syrup."

Jak cringed, thinking about the future state of his shoulder armor.

"And sprinkles. The rainbow kind."

"We'll see." He thought he could see a Yellow Eco vent ahead.

"I had a rough day. You owe me."

Jak said nothing. There was no point in continuing the conversation. He just made a mental note to buy some kind of metal cleaner when they got back.

Jak headed in the direction of Keira's apartment in New Haven, Yellow Eco in tow, while Daxter sat on his shoulder, licking ice cream from a cone that was much too big for him. The ottsel held the cone closer to his friend's face.

"Sure you don't want some, Jak?"

Jak turned his face away, grimacing. "No, I'm fine."

Daxter shrugged. "Fine. Suit yourself."

They arrived at Keira's home, a narrow, but pleasant, place, squeezed in amongst countless other apartments, distinguishing itself by the abundance of brightly colored flowers she had grown using Green Eco, which now were threatening to overwhelm their window boxes. Being the newer part of town, built over the site of the Water Slums, it was also the cleanest part of Haven City. Jak knocked on the door and heard a voice from within.

"Be right there!"

After a few moments, Keira opened the door. "Hey, you got my Eco. Thanks."

She moved aside as Jak came in. The place was small, but bright, lit by windows on either side of the door. There was a small living room and kitchen, with a short hallway off to the side leading to a single bedroom and bathroom. Much of the space was filled with containers of different kinds of Eco and other tools no doubt meant for Eco-related research. Her makeshift lab wasn't quite as well-suited to work as the one she had shared with her father, but she had finally decided it was time to get her own place, and some sacrifices had to be made.

Jak set the container of Eco down on the table in the kitchen just as Daxter decided to jump down, a fairly impressive feat, as he had managed to do it without dropping his ice cream. It was now visible to Jak that the ottsel had chocolate and sprinkles all over his mouth. Several worrisome drips were running down the cone, threatening to come free and land on the table. He offered Keira the cone, as well, a large, toothy grin on his face.

"Want some, babe?"

She frowned at him. "Daxter, get off my table!" She grabbed a broom leaning in the corner and started to push him off.

"Hey!" He jumped to the floor, tripping and dropping his cone, the ice cream landing in a sad heap on the carpet.

"Daxter, now look what you've done!"

"It wasn't my fault! You saw it, Jak! She pushed me!"

Jak put his hand to his forehead and sighed. He should've known not to get Daxter ice cream. But, in his defense, it did buy him some silence from the ottsel for a little while.

Keira got a wet rag and went about scrubbing the now-stained carpet, while Daxter stared at what was left of his ice cream, ears drooping.

"Sorry about that," Jak said.

"I didn't even get to eat the cone."

Keira glared at the ottsel for a moment before continuing to clean up the mess. Daxter frowned at his lost treat for a short while longer before climbing back onto Jak's shoulder. "Eww, gross, your shoulder's sticky."

Jak narrowed his eyes, then, directed his attention back to the woman kneeling on the floor. "Uh, you want any help?"

"No, I'm almost done."

As Jak vowed to never give in to Daxter's demands for ice cream or any other messy snack again, at least, not right before going to someone else's house, Keira finished cleaning the floor and stood. She glared down at where the ice cream had fallen, at the pale, brown stain that would blemish the carpet forevermore, and then headed into the kitchen to wash the rag, now rather brown and dotted with sprinkles in a multitude of colors.

Jak scratched the back of his head, Daxter pouting on his shoulder. "So...how's the whole Sage thing coming along?"

She was silent for a moment as she attempted to clean the rag. "Oh, it's fine." She squeezed the water out of it and laid it out on the counter to dry before turning around.

"How much longer, do you think?"

She went over to the table where the Yellow Eco was. "Hmm?"

"Before you become a Sage."

Keira leaned on the table with one hand, a distant look on her face. "I don't know. I still have a lot to learn. But, now that I can channel Eco, I suppose it won't be much longer."

"Just don't become all angry like old greeney," Daxter said. "From what I saw today, it already seems—"

"Not now, Dax." Something was strange about Keira. She was looking at the ottsel, lips set in a tight line, but her previous anger at him didn't return. "Do you need us to do anything else?" Jak asked. Why had she suddenly become so quiet?

She stood up straighter. "No, that should do it. I'll let you know if I need anything else done. That is, if you're not planning on going anywhere again." She crossed her arms and tilted her head.

He thought he was starting to understand. "Keira, listen—"

She shook her head. "You don't need to explain anything to me."

"But—"

"I get it. You two can't settle down. You've always been looking for trouble, ever since you were kids. I shouldn't be surprised."

He opened his mouth to speak again as she headed towards the door, but she continued over him, "I have work to do." She opened the door and looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Keira…"

"I'll see you later. If you're still here by then."

This wasn't good, but she was pointing out the door. He came over to her, considering trying to speak again, but her expression deterred him. A kiss likely wouldn't be a good idea right now, either.

"Bye," was all he cautioned himself to say.

"Mm-hmm."

And she closed the door behind him. Jak stood there, staring at all the people passing by, utterly oblivious to what had just happened.

"Sheesh, what's her problem?" Daxter said.

"Dax?"

"What?"

"Shut up."

Jak started to head home, while Daxter kept a surprising amount of silence. As sudden as Keira's change in attitude had been, it wasn't entirely unexpected. He knew she had been bothered when he had told her that Dax and he were returning to the Brink, for little reason else but to travel and see the world a bit more, but he didn't think much of it at the time. It certainly didn't mean he didn't want to be around her, if that's how she took it. Maybe some other time, he could explain his side better.

Jak's lady troubles, and even more worrisome, the tragedy of Daxter's ice cream. And the cone is the best part. Please review.