A/N: Sorry, all, I know Chapter One was confusing. A lot of it was just setting up stuff for the rest of the story, so it had to be there even though it seemed weird. Plus, ya know, it was a confusing situation for poor Tobias. Well, hopefully, this next chapter will be more straightforward. At least on the surface...

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Ax stiffly emerged from his scoop. He had been brooding recently - ever since his battle with Visser Three. It's ironic, you know. The one thing he had wanted to do since all this started, and when he finally does it, he retreats, becomes morose and silent.

But I think I understood. I mean, it wasn't just Ax's brother that Visser Three killed. Elfangor was my father, too. And even though his murder had been avenged, I still felt my stomach tighten when I thought of the way in which he had died. I don't know how much I believe in an afterlife, but I just didn't feel like Elfangor was resting any easier now that Visser Three was gone.

I don't know. Maybe he was. Maybe Ax was moody for a completely different reason. Maybe I'd talk with him about it. Someday. Maybe.

{Hey, Ax-man!}

{Hello, Tobias.}

{How are you doing?}

{I am still quite tired from the battle,} he sighed.

I shuffled my sore wings. {Yeah, no kidding.}

He walked with long, listless steps onto the grass. He started to run, to eat. But his hearts weren't in it, and he stopped in the middle of the meadow and looked up at the sky.

I had to break him out of his blue funk somehow. {Hey, I have an idea,} I said. {Why don't you and I go get a Cinnabon?}

He turned one stalk eye back to look at me. It blinked. The rest of his head followed. {I'm not feeling very high-spirited, Tobias. But a Cinnabon does sound enjoyable.}

{Cool,} I said. {Well, get morphed. We'll fly over there and demorph behind the dumpsters.}

{What will we do for clothes and money?}

{Jake and Marco left their clothes there when morphing up for last night, remember?}

{Ah.} His tone had brightened, but a little of the life seeped out again when I mentioned the battle.

I registered it, pretended to ignore it, and kept talking brightly. {So morph already! Sugar calls! Grease calls! The human taste experience awaits!}

His eyes smiled wanly. Then he started to morph. {Yes. This will be fun.} He used the word "fun" like it was a concept he wasn't too clear on.

{'Course it's gonna be fun. We're talking Cinnabon, here, Ax. We're talking the culmination of the human experience.} Well, it was in Ax's book, anyway. As far as Ax is concerned, Aristotle, Newton, and Einstein are kids in the sandbox. But he worships the ground Julia Childs walks on. Although he does use her as an argument for the inefficiency of spoken language.

He morphed, and we began to fly. I mentally braced myself for the trip. I know it felt good to Ax, to stretch his wings and get some perspective on life.

My wings were killing me. I was so tired. But Ax really didn't need to know that. He needed to be cheered up. If he started worrying about me, I'd never get him out of his blue funk. So I clenched my beak tight and flew on through the pain in my wings.

After a few minutes of flying, Ax started to talk. I've noticed that when the others get in the air, it takes them a few minutes, but they loosen up. Any time I want Rachel to tell me what's on her mind, I get her to fly. For them, all troubles melt away in the sky. Their troubles are locked on the ground, and when they rise into the wind, they leave them behind.

I still enjoy the escape of flying. But there was a flock of crows loitering in the trees below us. To our left, above the school, was a big, mean old eagle. Either of which could be a serious threat if they took notice of us. Plus, I felt like I could barely fly, with my wings hurting so badly. I hadn't had any breakfast today, and a hawk doesn't have a big stomach. These and a dozen other worries that only the boy who lives the life of a bird can understand pressed in against my mind and heart.

Ax, fortunately, had no clue. And he was becoming increasingly cheerful as we got closer to the mall.

{I think this was a good idea, Tobias. I'll enjoy the change of scenery.}

{Yeah.}

{I haven't gone to the mall in almost a month. I've noticed that the mall seems to change rapidly. Stores appear and disappear, decorations change overnight.}

{Mm.}

{I had meant to ask you - why are there suddenly so many images of a corpulent man dressed in red everywhere? Is he running for a government position?}

{That's Santa Claus. I wish he'd run for office. We could use a president like him. I mean, come on. If Arnold can be governor . . . } I let the sentence trail off, fighting for breath as I pumped my weary wings for some altitude.

{Who is Santa Claus?}

{It's for Christmas, Ax. Remember Christmas?}

{But it's only early November! Christmas is over a month away!}

{Yeah, but they change all the decorations the night after Halloween.}

{Why?}

{Well, they have to change them sometime.} Keep flying, Tobias.

{Yes, that make sense. But I thought you had another major holiday in between Halloween and Christmas.}

{Thanksgiving, yeah.}

{Thanksgiving,} Ax said, thoughtfully. {Earth has much to be thankful for now.}

{Mhm.}

He fell silent again as his thoughts turned back to the war. I let him think. We were almost there, and I was having trouble staying stable in the wind. After a few minutes, I folded my wings and dove. {Okay, Ax! Let's go get you a Cinnabon!} I called.

{I think humans should have a holiday in honor of Cinnabons,} he announced.