Dark Shadows

Almost an hour into the night, Cail stirred and let out a painful moan.

Nelkf looked over her shoulder into the back seat and put her hand on Cail's shoulder. "What's wrong with him?"

Jax shook his head. "He's got a hangover, that's all. He'll be okay in a few hours."

"But he's okay, right?"

"Right, don't worry." Jax slowed the speeder to a stop so Cail wouldn't be totally disoriented when he woke up.

Cail stretched slowly and opened his eyes. Nelkf was able to see that they were bloodshot to a deep red. She didn't understand Humans at all. Should one of her people have blue eyes and have them bloodshot, they would turn purple, not with red whites and blue pupils!

"How many angry osakan blood eaters," Cail muttered slowly, rubbing his head, "Can fit inside an eighteen year old's skull?"

Nelkf didn't think that question made any sense. A blood eater was a big animal, there was no way even one could fit in a skull, let alone an eighteen year old's one. "I have no idea," she replied instead.

"Neither do I," Cail replied with a laugh. "but it's way too many if you ask me." He attempted to sit up, but the pain in his head forced him back down. "Why does my head hurt so much?" he asked.

"You mean you don't remember?" Nelkf said, wondering how this could be. Even Sklinths remembered how their pain occurred. Hell, that's the easiest thing for us to remember.

Cail shook his head. "Not since I left the speeder when Jax went to get parts."

"You were drunk." Jax told him. "Very."

"Ooooh," Cail groaned and rubbed his head. "That explains a lot. I'm still surprised I don't remember. I think I might have been hallucinating."

"I don't doubt that," muttered Jax. Jax did not seem happy at all, but just the same, he didn't seem angry either. Nelkf marveled at this ability.

"Yeah," Cail replied cheerfully. "I thought Nelkf had a lightsaber," he laughed aloud, "and was going to be a Jedi!"

"And that really happened," Nelkf said, feeling just a bit annoyed at Cail's disbelief. For some reason she felt the ancient urge to bite Cail for being so cocky and sure of himself, but she buried this thought. She pulled out the cylinder, which she now was sure of what it was, out of her pocket and showed it to him. "See?"

"Wow!" Cail exclaimed. "Oh, wow! Oh...wait. That means I had.." he counted off several times on his fingers and shut his eyes under the pain. "Ohhhhhhhhhh. I don' want to do that again." he lay his head back on the side of the speeder and glanced at Nelkf curiously. "Nel, you remind me a lot of my sister."

Now it was Jax's turn to laugh. "You don't have a sister," he told Cail.

Cail yawned and shut his eyes again. "Really?" he asked. "For some reason, I remember having one..."

Nelkf shook her head and turned the lightsaber over and over in her hands. I don't understand this. I'm supposed to be a Jedi. She shook her head in doubt and put the saber away. How can I be a Jedi if I don't even know what one does? Perhaps she would seek out the Jedi Academy. It would change things, yes, but would it be for the good?

Not knowing what to do anymore then she had when the old woman had first given her the news, Nelkf fell asleep.