Disclaimer: K. A. Applegate is queen. I am not. Everyone except Erilase-
Petori-Winya and the Bloyd family belong to her.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Erin morphed into a red-tailed hawk to fly home and check her 'father's' room for any clues. Jake told me to fly along and make sure she followed his orders and didn't go off trying to save Charlotte on her own. He said I had the best morph to do so. But I knew he asked me to do this because he knew I wanted to talk to Erin.
The only thing was that I had no idea what I wanted to talk about.
She wasn't as good as I was at flying. Of course, she didn't spend ninty- percent of her day as a hawk. I just thought it was an uncanny coincidence that she chose to morph my morph, and not some other bird. No doubt she knew hawks were the way to go.
Tobias? Erin startled me by speaking first.
Yeah?
Do you remember anything about Prince Elfangor? When he was your... When he was human?
Not really. The Ellmist did a good job.
The Ellimist. Erin sighed. I should be grateful to him for bringing my prince home to me. But perhaps, if Prince Elfangor had remained on Earth as a human, he would still be alive today.
If Elfangor was still human, he'd still be with my mother. Could you deal with that?
Erin banked right and swerved into an open window. We'd arrived at her house. I would rather sacrifice my happiness than sacrifice his life, Tobias. Just as Prince Elfangor sacrificed his happiness to save your life, and the lives of many others. She demorphed, then remorphed into human form. Then she ran into Charlotte's room. But Charlotte was gone.
I concentrated on my human DNA, something I still had only by the miracle of The Ellimist's powers. I supposed I should be grateful too. after all, if not for The Ellimist, I would still be without my morphing powers and still largely unable to fight the Animorph battles.
But if not for The Ellimist, my father would still be my father.
"There is a safe here which I cannot open!" Erin called. I walked into the nearest room. Teddy bears lined the shelves. A stack of books rested nest to a laptop. Next to thee laptop was the strangest toy I'd ever laid eyes on.
It was about the size of an apple, and was mostly round, but for the spikes sticking out of it at regular intervals along its circumference. It was a dark gray shade, and it rested on a black pedestal. Carefully, I picked it up. I held it in my palm, feeling it's comfortable weight and marvelling at how it was cool to the touch. My forefinger traced the intricate patterns engraved into the ball. My fingertip felt the slightest bump at the top of the circle. I pressed down.
Oops.
It immediately emitted a series of high pitched bleeps, and the spikes began to whirl. I panicked and quickly set it down on its pedestal, trying desperately to find out how to get it to stop. The top half of the ball began to crack, and fine lines became bigger, until the top split into four quarters. The four shells were sucked slowly into the bottom half. A soft, haunting melody began to play. On the flat half of the ball, circling slowly, were the figures of two Andalites, fingers lovingly entwined.
"How dare you!" Erin hisses, running into the room. She shoved me aside. I was transfixed, staring at the rotating figurines. "Is it not impolite to meddle with the possessions of others?"
"I'm sorry." I said. Erin shook her head angrily and twisted the spikes in an anti-clockwise direction. The top quarters slid back out of the bottom half and the ball became immobile and silent. She set it carefully back on its pedestal. "It's beautiful."
"Of course it is." She replied. "Prince Elfangor crafted it."
"Wow." Was all I could utter.
"He was more than a warrior. He was an artist too." Erin sounded proud. "He gave this to me soon after we met. I could not bear to leave it behind."
"Wow." I repeated. "He must have cared a lot about you."
"Prince Elfangor cared for every living creature." Erin smiled fondly. "Once we found a dead krafit lying beneath her nest. Her young were left to starve and die. Prince Elfangor took care of the krafit young. He fed them, protected them, and when they were ready to be free, he morphed a krafit to teach them how to fly. He was a true prince."
"Yes, he was." I murmured, my eyes lingering on the 'music box'. It looked innocent, like any other trinklet.
"Come, we have a misson to accomplish." Our eyes met. Erin's shone with uncried tears. Mine smarted, but I blinked fiercely. Erin smiled and patted my shoulder sympathetically. I tried to smile back, struggled to control my facial muscles. A hawk never smiled or laughed. I wasn't used to facial expressions.
By the time I managed a small smile, Erin had moved into another room.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Erin morphed into a red-tailed hawk to fly home and check her 'father's' room for any clues. Jake told me to fly along and make sure she followed his orders and didn't go off trying to save Charlotte on her own. He said I had the best morph to do so. But I knew he asked me to do this because he knew I wanted to talk to Erin.
The only thing was that I had no idea what I wanted to talk about.
She wasn't as good as I was at flying. Of course, she didn't spend ninty- percent of her day as a hawk. I just thought it was an uncanny coincidence that she chose to morph my morph, and not some other bird. No doubt she knew hawks were the way to go.
Tobias? Erin startled me by speaking first.
Yeah?
Do you remember anything about Prince Elfangor? When he was your... When he was human?
Not really. The Ellmist did a good job.
The Ellimist. Erin sighed. I should be grateful to him for bringing my prince home to me. But perhaps, if Prince Elfangor had remained on Earth as a human, he would still be alive today.
If Elfangor was still human, he'd still be with my mother. Could you deal with that?
Erin banked right and swerved into an open window. We'd arrived at her house. I would rather sacrifice my happiness than sacrifice his life, Tobias. Just as Prince Elfangor sacrificed his happiness to save your life, and the lives of many others. She demorphed, then remorphed into human form. Then she ran into Charlotte's room. But Charlotte was gone.
I concentrated on my human DNA, something I still had only by the miracle of The Ellimist's powers. I supposed I should be grateful too. after all, if not for The Ellimist, I would still be without my morphing powers and still largely unable to fight the Animorph battles.
But if not for The Ellimist, my father would still be my father.
"There is a safe here which I cannot open!" Erin called. I walked into the nearest room. Teddy bears lined the shelves. A stack of books rested nest to a laptop. Next to thee laptop was the strangest toy I'd ever laid eyes on.
It was about the size of an apple, and was mostly round, but for the spikes sticking out of it at regular intervals along its circumference. It was a dark gray shade, and it rested on a black pedestal. Carefully, I picked it up. I held it in my palm, feeling it's comfortable weight and marvelling at how it was cool to the touch. My forefinger traced the intricate patterns engraved into the ball. My fingertip felt the slightest bump at the top of the circle. I pressed down.
Oops.
It immediately emitted a series of high pitched bleeps, and the spikes began to whirl. I panicked and quickly set it down on its pedestal, trying desperately to find out how to get it to stop. The top half of the ball began to crack, and fine lines became bigger, until the top split into four quarters. The four shells were sucked slowly into the bottom half. A soft, haunting melody began to play. On the flat half of the ball, circling slowly, were the figures of two Andalites, fingers lovingly entwined.
"How dare you!" Erin hisses, running into the room. She shoved me aside. I was transfixed, staring at the rotating figurines. "Is it not impolite to meddle with the possessions of others?"
"I'm sorry." I said. Erin shook her head angrily and twisted the spikes in an anti-clockwise direction. The top quarters slid back out of the bottom half and the ball became immobile and silent. She set it carefully back on its pedestal. "It's beautiful."
"Of course it is." She replied. "Prince Elfangor crafted it."
"Wow." Was all I could utter.
"He was more than a warrior. He was an artist too." Erin sounded proud. "He gave this to me soon after we met. I could not bear to leave it behind."
"Wow." I repeated. "He must have cared a lot about you."
"Prince Elfangor cared for every living creature." Erin smiled fondly. "Once we found a dead krafit lying beneath her nest. Her young were left to starve and die. Prince Elfangor took care of the krafit young. He fed them, protected them, and when they were ready to be free, he morphed a krafit to teach them how to fly. He was a true prince."
"Yes, he was." I murmured, my eyes lingering on the 'music box'. It looked innocent, like any other trinklet.
"Come, we have a misson to accomplish." Our eyes met. Erin's shone with uncried tears. Mine smarted, but I blinked fiercely. Erin smiled and patted my shoulder sympathetically. I tried to smile back, struggled to control my facial muscles. A hawk never smiled or laughed. I wasn't used to facial expressions.
By the time I managed a small smile, Erin had moved into another room.