Well, I survived Hurricane Isabel, and now here we are with another update for you all. : ) I hope you enjoy, 'tis the beginning of the end for Qui an Tahl… da-da-daaaaaaaaa!!!! Oh, and a very special thank you to Sarah for allowing me to borrow Tahl's middle and last name from her excellent fic "Making." :D Hope everyone enjoys this! Thank you for your continued support!

His eyes opened and a blurred mix of green color and light floated in his vision. It took Qui-Gon a moment to remember where he was. His mind felt full of static, and it buzzed idly as he tried to concentrate. The green kaleidoscope swam into focus above him, and the chaotic memories of the previous night came back in a rush.

...darkness...black empty night...

...the storm...

...the light was fading from jewel-green eyes...

"Tahl!" he cried, a flood of terror drowning him suddenly. The boy struggled to sit up, and with another cold shock, found he could not. His body refused to respond. Confused, and on the verge of panic, Qui-Gon twisted around desperately. The woods around him were strewn with debris from the previous nights storm, and the evidence of natures fury unnerved him. His eyes finally found Tahl, and thus, relief.

She was lying next to him, her head resting on his stomach, using his body as a convenient pillow. At hearing her name she turned, propping herself up on one elbow and giving him a sleepy smile.

"'lo Qui..." Her voice was hoarse, roughened with sleep, but nothing could have lifted Qui-Gon's spirits more. Suddenly the forest was beautiful again.

He met her smile with his own weak one. "Comfortable?"

"Quite. Only..." She sighed softly. "I was just noticing...you've gotten so thin since everything." Tahl poked his bare mid drift. "Look, I can count your ribs..."

He squeaked and squirmed away from her prodding. "Sorry if I'm not an acceptable cushion anymore." He seized her hands half in a gesture of concern, half to stop her poking. "How are you though? How do you feel?"

She shifted her shoulder and winced slightly. "A little sore. But I'll live if that's what you mean..." She winked. "And you?"

"I know I'm alive because it hurts..." He gave her good arm a little shove, but with no real conviction. "I guess it's no good to ask you to move?"

Tahl didn't budge from his chest. "You would be correct in that assumption. Besides, don't think I could move if I wanted to."

"You and me both." Qui-Gon softly groaned.

Tahl smiled a little. There was a reflective silence between the two friends. Sunlight arched down through the leafy canopy above, patterning them with a soft, green light. Then Tahl spoke again. "You know, I can't remember much from last night..." She lay back against him, her gold-flecked eyes thoughtful. "But..." Brief color flushed her cheeks. "I know, I couldn't have got through it without you. You saved my life."

"Did not..." He blushed as well, self-consciously brushing at his braid. "Well, it wasn't that dramatic at least."

"You did," Tahl insisted quietly. "And I thank you." She gave a soft little sigh. She was beginning to feel tired all over again, even though she had hardly been awake for an hour. Her head was beginning to throb with the strain of it all. It was unnerving to feel this weak. She wondered if this was what it was like for Qui-Gon after he had gotten out of Conn's clutches.

Her friend, perhaps sensing her thoughts, smiled wanly. "Go ahead, rest. You're going to be a little tired for a few days, just until the poison completely leaves your system." He gave her a half-smile. "I'll take care of things, you just get better."

"You're nice..." Tahl surveyed him sleepily through half-closed eyes. "But you're hurt too..." she murmured.

"I'm doing much better. Don't worry about a thing..." Qui-Gon whispered to her. "...rest." He watched as consciousness waned in her weakened body, and she slept. Smiling slightly, he gently pushed her off him and onto her bed roll. Then he stood shakily, to retrieve her pack, intending to start a fire.

Perhaps it was because he stood so abruptly, or because he hadn't moved all night, but he found himself suddenly very dizzy. The forest blurred around him and he stumbled, catching his balance on a tree trunk. He squeezed his eyes shut to stop the spinning feeling, but when he opened them, darkness flickered on the edges of his vision. A sharp panic ran through him, and he found himself doing the thing that had always come so natural when he was afraid, the thing that had been habit up until the last few weeks. Not even aware that he was doing it, Qui-Gon reached for his mental bond with Dooku.

//Master!//

A second after he had reached out, Qui-Gon remembered that their link had been closed for weeks. But to his surprise he felt suddenly a connection. An answering burst of energy.

//Qui-Gon?// His master's link with him was shaky at best, and the voice seemed to come from far off, but it was a reply. He could suddenly feel a rush of emotions that were not his own. Surprise...confusion....hope? The others presence he felt keenly through the force. // My Padawan?//

//Yes!// He screamed through their bond, with as much strength as he could muster. Joy flooded through his veins. It had been weeks since he had brushed Dooku's mind. If he could speak to his mentor...if he could only tell him...perhaps he could send Jedi aide! Perhaps they would both get home! Hope thrummed strong within him again.. //It's me! Please, don't let go!//

//You...it is...but...where are you?//

//Here! Childor! Please, please come soon!//

//It cannot be...// The voice seemed even further away now. //No...you are dead. I am dreaming.//

//You aren't dreaming! I'm really here!// Qui-Gon called desperately. But the link was fading, and the boy was still too weak to keep it open for long. He tried to cling to it, but he felt it recede, slipping away as if he were grasping at a cloud.

//Then you are but a spirit, punishing me, haunting me for my betrayal.//

//Betrayal?!//

//Please, leave me to my grief.//

Bitter, angry pain was the last thing Qui-Gon could feel of his Master, as their link crumbled. He felt his heart shatter with the bond, and the broken, jagged pieces digging deep inside him. Tahl's words came crashing back to him, with the force of a hurricane.

"....of course, I know you aren't dead...but to the rest of the galaxy..."

He had never before felt the full implication of what she had been saying. Now it was more than he could bear. Qui-Gon felt desperate tears well in his storm-gray eyes, but refused to let them fall. Some part of his pride, still surviving, would not let him. Maybe it was the Jedi he was growing up to be, or perhaps it was the streak of stubborn defiance that he had harbored since the day he had first spoken the word "no." Whatever had caused it, it had proven itself indestructible, and fed the fires of life in his soul. If Dooku wasn't going to help him, he would help himself. He had gone though too much to die here. They'd get home if it cost everything.

Still, Qui-Gon could not deny that he felt the pain. His Master thought he was dead, for the sake of the Force! He sighed, leaning back against a tree sadly. The dizzy, sick feeling came back. He nibbled on another ridiculous ration bar...he was getting so sick of them. But, then again, he was hungry. As the young Jedi lay back, the reality of his exhaustion crashed in on him. The last thing he heard before drifting off was a strange sound, like an inhuman scream, echoing far off into the forest...

~*~

A cooking fire burned low on the still-soggy ground. Little tendrils of light and warmth struggled feebly to consume the damp wood offered to fuel them. Occasionally there was a hiss or pop as a sodden twig snapped under the heat, and the boy sitting by the flames would jump at the crack. Sparks danced up from the embers, and he scooted a little further from the fire.

The girl sitting across from him curved her lips slightly, as a comment sprang into her mind, but at the look in his eyes she wisely held her tongue. Qui-Gon had been quiet for a long time, and she knew something was on his mind. He would talk when he was ready.

As it happened, he was ready a moment later. "Tahl, I've been thinking....we need to talk about something." He was wearing that funny expression he had learned from Dooku, the one that so clearly said "I'm going to make you guess what's on my mind and then give you a vague answer."

Tahl raised an eyebrow. She was still feeling somewhat weak from the poison and not really up to guessing his thoughts at the moment. She laughed a little. "Is this about ripping up my tunic the other night?"

He paused a moment, frowning, and blushing deep red in an exasperated sort of way. "...no.…it's not." He looked down and then up again. "We've come a long way, you know."

She was still smiling."I know we have, but it was only okay once, alright? That was special circumstances. Fully know that if you rip my tunic open like that again, I'll slap you, best friend forever or not."

Qui-Gon ignored her and went on. "We've walked a good ways, I think we're finally nearing the village." Tahl nodded, keeping quiet this time. Qui-Gon laughed. "Have you run out of things to say to make me blush, or are you actually taking me seriously now?"

She smiled sweetly. "All ears."

"Good. See, we need to-"

Suddenly a shrill wailing started up out of the forest, piercing the comfortable woodland still. Both Tahl and Qui-Gon stopped to look around.

"What-?" Tahl frowned as she searched for the source of the noise. "Qui-Gon, what in sith is that?!"

"It sounds like someone being tortured." A shadow of something passed over his face and for a moment he looked like someone else, someone older, someone more jaded, perhaps. He frowned. "I heard it last night too. But I thought I was just dreaming. I wonder what's going on..." He stood, in a fluid, easy motion that was his natural grace.

"Wait...where are you going?"

'I'm just going to take a look. Stay here." Qui-Gon shot her a keen look, then turned toward the woods.

"Qui-Gon...no!" she whispered softly. He stopped to stare at her. "Please stay here. You don't know what it could be!"

Qui-Gon shrugged. "No, I don't, but I've got my 'saber. I'll be fine."

Tahl bit her lip. "But…Qui-Gon… what if…?" She became very pale. "…and this forest…it's…no, don't go."

"I just want to see what it is, I'll be back in a few moments." He turned back to give her a characteristic lopsided smile, which crinkled the corners of his mischievous blue eyes and filled them with light. That smile. It was a tiny piece of her friend that had remained somehow intact during his period of hell. A shattered fragment of the innocent boy who had left Coruscant nearly a month ago, so full of dreams and life and today. "I'm always careful."

And with another smile, he was gone. Tahl shook her head, and repeated her plea softly. "Please be safe..."

~*~

After the last night's heavy rains, the forest floor was damp and spongy beneath his bare feet. Qui-Gon curiously followed the voice further into the trees, stopping now and then to recapture his bearings. The screaming was getting louder, or he was getting closer. His eyes narrowed briefly as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Tahl's words about caution echoed in his mind, and he placed a hand on the hilt of his saber. He turned toward the source of the disturbance warily.

The flicker of movement was near a bit of tree limb that had snapped during the previous nights powerful storms. As Qui-Gon neared it, he saw a tiny bit of crimson on the ground huddled beside the branch; an animal of some kind. He frowned again. It was this small thing that had been making so much noise? He crouched down to get a better look...

It was a bird. A tiny bird. It jumped up at him, and he gave a start of surprise and pulled away, startled and feeling somewhat foolish. Maybe Tahl was right when she said he was twitchy. But the creature hopped toward him. He could see now it was only a fledgling, perhaps cast down from it's safe nest in the canopy by the storm. Again he approached it, but this time, more slowly.

"What do you want?" He whispered to it, though he knew it could not possibly understand. "Why are you making such a racket? We were trying to sleep. You're such a tiny, beautiful little thing, aren't you?" The creature twittered as if in response, and cocked it's brightly colored scarlet head to one side. Though wild, the bird seemed to sense that he meant her no harm, only help. The living force pulsed within him, attractive to all creatures, great or small. Tahl was often amused by it, Dooku often exasperated, but the strange quality in Qui-Gon was undeniable. Life was drawn to him, and he to life.

The plaintive shrieking began again, and the bird opened its beak wide and pleading to be fed. After deliberating for a few moments, the Jedi boy picked up the creature gently, cupping the tiny body in his scarred hand. "Alright, I'll take you back and get you something to eat. But Tahl's not going to like this..."

~*~

Tahl stared at him horrified. "Put that thing down! You don't know where it's been!"

Qui-Gon glared at her and stroked the little creature's head. "She."

"What?!" Tahl asked exasperated.

"She." Qui-Gon repeated, looking irritated at her apparent lack of empathy, and motioning at the bundle of feathers in his hands. "Not it. And *she* isn't a 'thing.'"

"I don't even think it's a bird, Qui-Gon."

"She is!" Qui-Gon insisted as the animal began to shrilly chirp. "She'll be very handsome when she gets bigger...she's only a baby now." He laughed a little. "She's hungry." The creature had it's beak wide open, pleading and pecking at Qui-Gon.

Tahl closed her eyes. "Put it back, please Qui-Gon. Where ever you found it, just put it back." She moaned as the chirping increased in volume.

"I can't just put her back Tahl! You have to understand...she's just like me..."

The pleading note in his voice bewildered her. "Just like you?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow and laughed. "Um hm, I can definitely see the likeness..."

"Tahl!" He whined, looking hurt. "Don't laugh at me, I'm serious..." The young Jedi held the squeaking bird to his chest, peering down at it. "We're both lost, scared, a long way from home..." His grey-blue eyes suddenly were filled with agony, though they did not leave the creature. "And we've both fallen out of our nests before it was time."

Tahl suddenly felt somehow guilty. She looked down at the bird as well, unable to think of anything to say. But Qui-Gon went on.

"Besides, she found me for a reason. She needs me, she's too small to be out of her nest. She'll die out in this forest on his own." He finally met her gaze defiantly. "I'm not leaving her."

Tahl recovered her power of speech instantly. "Sith, Qui-Gon, you'd think I'd asked you to give up your only child or something." Qui-Gon was still glaring at her defensively, so she sighed. It wasn't like she could really make him get rid of the animal anyway. "Fine. Keep the bird. But it's your pet, not mine. I don't want anything to do with that feather-ball."

Qui-Gon grinned happily, pinching the bird's beak closed with his thumb and forefinger to stop it's wailing. "I'm glad you see my point of view." He winked as she rolled her eyes. "I'll even give you the honor of naming her!"

Tahl produced an odd little choking sound and turned it into an ill-disguised cough. "Ah, Qui-Gon...I don't think it's a good idea to name it-ah, I mean,...her. Name implies attachment."

"She has to have a name. We can't just call her 'the bird.'" Qui-Gon gave her an odd look, as if naming the misplaced little creature was the most obvious thing to do in the galaxy. We can name her Tahl even, if you'd like!" He continued cheerfully, trying various rations from their bag to quiet the bird.

"As flattered as I am..." she muttered dryly. "...I'd rather not have a possessed bird brain with my namesake."

"Well then you think of something." He grinned at her, shrugging.

Tahl paused a long moment, thinking. She thought it best to think of something and appease him and his tiny pet. But who knew? Maybe a creature to look after would be good for her friend. Suddenly she found herself laughing out loud. "Oh, I've got it!"

"Hm?" Qui-Gon looked up from feeding the bird part of a ration bar.

"I've thought up a name for the thing! Li!" She laughed. "Li! Isn't that perfect?!"

Qui-Gon actually choked, staring at her incredulously. "What?! Li? As in Li, the Muh-Hadden?!" His eyes grew wider as she nodded eagerly. "You have a sick, twisted view of what is funny and what is cruel, Tahl Suruanne Wildstar!"

She stared at him, the very picture of disbelieving innocence. "What? I think it's a good name. What's wrong with 'Li the Muh-Hadden' anyway?"

"Oh, the little fact that he tortured me! Tried to kill me? Remember that? Ringing any bells?!"

Tahl sighed and picked the bird out of his hand. "Yes, I remember that he was part of a group who did terrible things to you. But he also saved your life." She shrugged. "I liked him. I didn't mean to... upset you."

"Sorry if I don't remember his heroic deeds, I was a little unconscious at the time thanks to his not-so heroic ones." Qui-Gon shot coldly. "And I'm not upset."

"Right. I'm sorry, I thought you might have let some things go. I guess not. He was a nice man caught in a bad situation. He saved your life. But fine." Her cheeks flushed deep crimson. "Name it whatever you want." She deposited the creature back in his lap.

Qui-Gon sighed, frustrated. He didn't understand how the argument had sprung up so quickly. Tahl seemed on edge, and he realized he wasn't much better himself. Best to make things better. "Listen. I didn't mean to get snappy. I shouldn't let everything affect me like this. And you're right." He took a deep, steadying breath. At first, he hadn't been really sure if she was right, but he felt better as he spoke. "There's quite a few times I would have been dead if not for Li."

Tahl shrugged again wordlessly, but the hostile expression on her face faded back into calm.

Qui-Gon took another breath, and looked down. "Maybe you're right, we should call her Li. Just to make a point."

Tahl raised her eyebrows at him. "I told you, it doesn't matter. Call it 'the bird' for all I care." But as the delicate creature hopped out of Qui-Gon's lap again, and chirped about the camp, her face softened.

"Li-bird.." he hummed to it, feeding it a bit of the ration bar. "You're far too hungry for a such a small thing."

Tahl paled slightly, and patted at their now quite light pack. "We're all going to be pretty hungry if we don't reach the Philomel soon...we've stretched our rations about three times further than they were intended to go."

"Li." Qui-Gon frowned suddenly. "…Li...he told them we went to the village, didn't he?" His eyes grew distant and haunted. "So...we could escape. So we could get into the forest and they'd think we headed for the road...right Tahl?"

Tahl gave him a strange look. "Yes, I suppose he did. I thought you said you didn't remember."

Qui-Gon absently stroked Li-bird's head. "I didn't...it's strange...I just...now...thought about it. Do you think Co-the Muh-Hadden might be watching the road then?"

Tahl turned her head toward the direction they had been traveling. "Maybe...I mean, it's possible." She shrugged. "We'll just be extra careful. Are you alright?"

Qui-Gon got to his feet easily. "Yes, I'm fine. It's only..." he took a deep breath. "I've got a very bad feeling about this all."