Summary: The Animorphs are minus a teammate and alone in the wild. Then Rachel is rescued by a girl who could be the key to getting Ax back. WARNING: violence-gore, mild FF relationships
Standard Disclaimer: Animorphs belong to Applegate. I am merely borrowing them for my own purposes, hehe. Talya's mine. All mine. possessive grip All trespassors will be mauled.
Violence Disclaimer: Umm... a lot more detailed than in the books, that's for sure... sooo... yea.
Language Disclaimer: A few here and there.
Sex Disclaimer: Nope.
Thanks to: Daisyz (I'm glad you're hooked!) and Keio. Thank you, both of you, for the encouragement. Hopefully my next few chapters will be better. O
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Chapter 4: Surprise
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POV: Cassie
Perhaps it was not right of me to have asked the question, but I wanted to know.
"Because you hurt the Yeeks." It was a simple answer, and I was pretty sure I understood. She didn't like the Yeerks, either (then again, who DID?), and we were friends to her in that we were trying to destroy them like she was.
'An enemy of my enemy is my friend,' huh? It was a famous quote that's been said way too many times in movies, but I've never heard the name of the person who said it. Perhaps there never was one.
Talya nodded, "Basically."
Okay, I could understand that. What I didn't understand was what she gained from fighting these aliens.
Why do you fight? She gave me a confused look and started into a monologue about how she wanted to fight, but I cut her off. Why do you fight the Yeerks, I mean. What do you get out of it?
I saw something flicker in her golden eyes before she dropped them to the surface of the water; I believe it was uncertainty.
"Cassie? You'd better return to human morph. Follow me when you are ready."
That was not an answer.
But, I did as I had been instructed to do as Talya waded out of the lake and proceeded up the steep bank and vanished in the thick vegetation.
When I was completely human again, I followed her footprints until I nearly fell into her as she waited for me.
I started to ask her where we were going, but she anticipated the question and turned her back on me. Frowning, I bit my tongue and followed without another word.
We walked on for maybe twenty minutes before we arrived at our supposed destination. It was like a very small meadow, with a few gangly trees growing in random spots.
I jumped as the young woman burst into a howl that started up high, fell an octave, and then rose steadily until it tapered off.
My eyes flickered to a sudden movement in the bushes opposite of us, and I saw a wolf head pop up, ears alert. It stared at me for a moment and then crept forward, uncertain. Talya started making a whining sound, and the timber wolf completely forgot I was there; he burst into a run towards her, looking happy. There was a very small wolf behind him that wagged it's tail joyously and plodded along on oversized puppy feet.
The adult wolf sidled up alongside Talya and watched as the little puppy came ambling over. I was suddenly getting a strange feeling from this...
Back At the Burrow:
POV: Jake
"You let her go?!" I was suddenly furious at Rachel. "ALONE?!" No, I was PISSED. Cassie could be in trouble. That girl could have led her into a trap...
"What was I SUPPOSED to do, Jake? You were asleep, Marco wasn't asleep... but he wasn't very conscious, either, Tobias is off looking for his own food, and I was guarding us! Cassie was the only one free!!"
"But you let TALYA get away!" I think I was just irritable from lack of sleep, and this wasn't helping much. "For all we know, she could be one of Them! She could be reporting everything she knows about us to one of her Yeerk superiors!"
Rachel looked just as furious. She shoved me back, and I was surprised to see rage burning in her blue eyes. "Get a grip, Jake!! She's not a Yeerk!"
How did she know that?
"How do you know that?!"
She was hesitant, as if she didn't think it had been a good thing to have said that. But then the warrior was back again, "Because we talked earlier this morning before she came out to ask you to sleep." She stopped, then shook her head. "I'm not doing this. Forget it." She put her hands up as if to ward off the conversation and walked away, still shaking her head. The tension was palpable.
Back At the Meadow:
POV: Cassie
My feelings weren't wrong. Actually, they were dead on.
The little wolf puppy jumped into Talya's arms, but when I blinked, there was a small child there. Not just any little kid, but a kid that was very obviously related to Talya.
He had a wild headful of deep brown curls that bounced with his erratic movements, big deep blue eyes that glittered with happiness, and the same very pale skin that Talya had. He looked like he was four, but he wasn't speaking in any language she'd heard.
Growling, he latched his little teeth to Talya's shoulder, the rest of his limbs attached firmly to her.
"Him," she said gently.
I'm sure I looked dumb to her, because she explained. "You asked me why I fight; my answer's him. He's all I have left, Cassie."
I was at a loss of words -to say the least. "You mean... he's-"
"My son." Talya replied, then tugged the rowdy boy over to her hip and stood up. She smiled suddenly. Not one of those fake smiles she'd forced earlier, but a real, genuine smile that lit up her pale features.
"What?" I realized she was smiling at me, and I started to get a little nervous. "What?"
"You still think I'm human."
That suddenly struck me as being weird, then I realized what she meant.
POV: Talya
This human, Cassie, was an intelligent creature. I had expected her to catch on a little sooner, but it seemed like a shock to her.
I laughed and shifted my son son's weight again as he twined his little hands into my hair and attempted to play with it. "I thought you, of all the others, would have known. Gold eyes are not exactly typical of the human species. Then again, neither is morphing."
Cassie suddenly looked a little embarrassed, and looked down at her feet.
I laughed softly, and then peeled the child from my arm. He growled, and attempted to keep a hold of my hair. When he finally came loose, I set him on the ground next to the wolf. "Go play with Uncle. Mommy needs to talk with her friend." He muttered something, but left, one hand dug into the neck fur of Uncle.
"Umm... then, what are you?" Cassie seemed to grow in confidence with looking at me, though I'm not sure why.
"I am a Nok'mijar." She gave me a confused look. "We are a very small population, even those Andalites don't know about us. We are the only two who live on Earth, though."
Nodding, Cassie glanced over her shoulder. "Who's that wolf?"
"Unlce. An old wolf who lives around here. He babysits for me when I cannot be there with him."
"Then... umm... who.. uh-"
I have also learned humans didn't like to ask questions that think of as 'personal.'
"The father is gone. He had to leave soon after our son was born."
I noticed a circling figure against the white clouds above us.
"Your friend Tobias has found us, and I suppose you were sent to bring me back. But, perhaps, you would like to find breakfast first?"
Okay, I understand I said this chapter would be more interesting, buuuut.... yea. It didn't exactly work out. I'm sorry.
Standard Disclaimer: Animorphs belong to Applegate. I am merely borrowing them for my own purposes, hehe. Talya's mine. All mine. possessive grip All trespassors will be mauled.
Violence Disclaimer: Umm... a lot more detailed than in the books, that's for sure... sooo... yea.
Language Disclaimer: A few here and there.
Sex Disclaimer: Nope.
Thanks to: Daisyz (I'm glad you're hooked!) and Keio. Thank you, both of you, for the encouragement. Hopefully my next few chapters will be better. O
------
Chapter 4: Surprise
------
POV: Cassie
Perhaps it was not right of me to have asked the question, but I wanted to know.
"Because you hurt the Yeeks." It was a simple answer, and I was pretty sure I understood. She didn't like the Yeerks, either (then again, who DID?), and we were friends to her in that we were trying to destroy them like she was.
'An enemy of my enemy is my friend,' huh? It was a famous quote that's been said way too many times in movies, but I've never heard the name of the person who said it. Perhaps there never was one.
Talya nodded, "Basically."
Okay, I could understand that. What I didn't understand was what she gained from fighting these aliens.
Why do you fight? She gave me a confused look and started into a monologue about how she wanted to fight, but I cut her off. Why do you fight the Yeerks, I mean. What do you get out of it?
I saw something flicker in her golden eyes before she dropped them to the surface of the water; I believe it was uncertainty.
"Cassie? You'd better return to human morph. Follow me when you are ready."
That was not an answer.
But, I did as I had been instructed to do as Talya waded out of the lake and proceeded up the steep bank and vanished in the thick vegetation.
When I was completely human again, I followed her footprints until I nearly fell into her as she waited for me.
I started to ask her where we were going, but she anticipated the question and turned her back on me. Frowning, I bit my tongue and followed without another word.
We walked on for maybe twenty minutes before we arrived at our supposed destination. It was like a very small meadow, with a few gangly trees growing in random spots.
I jumped as the young woman burst into a howl that started up high, fell an octave, and then rose steadily until it tapered off.
My eyes flickered to a sudden movement in the bushes opposite of us, and I saw a wolf head pop up, ears alert. It stared at me for a moment and then crept forward, uncertain. Talya started making a whining sound, and the timber wolf completely forgot I was there; he burst into a run towards her, looking happy. There was a very small wolf behind him that wagged it's tail joyously and plodded along on oversized puppy feet.
The adult wolf sidled up alongside Talya and watched as the little puppy came ambling over. I was suddenly getting a strange feeling from this...
Back At the Burrow:
POV: Jake
"You let her go?!" I was suddenly furious at Rachel. "ALONE?!" No, I was PISSED. Cassie could be in trouble. That girl could have led her into a trap...
"What was I SUPPOSED to do, Jake? You were asleep, Marco wasn't asleep... but he wasn't very conscious, either, Tobias is off looking for his own food, and I was guarding us! Cassie was the only one free!!"
"But you let TALYA get away!" I think I was just irritable from lack of sleep, and this wasn't helping much. "For all we know, she could be one of Them! She could be reporting everything she knows about us to one of her Yeerk superiors!"
Rachel looked just as furious. She shoved me back, and I was surprised to see rage burning in her blue eyes. "Get a grip, Jake!! She's not a Yeerk!"
How did she know that?
"How do you know that?!"
She was hesitant, as if she didn't think it had been a good thing to have said that. But then the warrior was back again, "Because we talked earlier this morning before she came out to ask you to sleep." She stopped, then shook her head. "I'm not doing this. Forget it." She put her hands up as if to ward off the conversation and walked away, still shaking her head. The tension was palpable.
Back At the Meadow:
POV: Cassie
My feelings weren't wrong. Actually, they were dead on.
The little wolf puppy jumped into Talya's arms, but when I blinked, there was a small child there. Not just any little kid, but a kid that was very obviously related to Talya.
He had a wild headful of deep brown curls that bounced with his erratic movements, big deep blue eyes that glittered with happiness, and the same very pale skin that Talya had. He looked like he was four, but he wasn't speaking in any language she'd heard.
Growling, he latched his little teeth to Talya's shoulder, the rest of his limbs attached firmly to her.
"Him," she said gently.
I'm sure I looked dumb to her, because she explained. "You asked me why I fight; my answer's him. He's all I have left, Cassie."
I was at a loss of words -to say the least. "You mean... he's-"
"My son." Talya replied, then tugged the rowdy boy over to her hip and stood up. She smiled suddenly. Not one of those fake smiles she'd forced earlier, but a real, genuine smile that lit up her pale features.
"What?" I realized she was smiling at me, and I started to get a little nervous. "What?"
"You still think I'm human."
That suddenly struck me as being weird, then I realized what she meant.
POV: Talya
This human, Cassie, was an intelligent creature. I had expected her to catch on a little sooner, but it seemed like a shock to her.
I laughed and shifted my son son's weight again as he twined his little hands into my hair and attempted to play with it. "I thought you, of all the others, would have known. Gold eyes are not exactly typical of the human species. Then again, neither is morphing."
Cassie suddenly looked a little embarrassed, and looked down at her feet.
I laughed softly, and then peeled the child from my arm. He growled, and attempted to keep a hold of my hair. When he finally came loose, I set him on the ground next to the wolf. "Go play with Uncle. Mommy needs to talk with her friend." He muttered something, but left, one hand dug into the neck fur of Uncle.
"Umm... then, what are you?" Cassie seemed to grow in confidence with looking at me, though I'm not sure why.
"I am a Nok'mijar." She gave me a confused look. "We are a very small population, even those Andalites don't know about us. We are the only two who live on Earth, though."
Nodding, Cassie glanced over her shoulder. "Who's that wolf?"
"Unlce. An old wolf who lives around here. He babysits for me when I cannot be there with him."
"Then... umm... who.. uh-"
I have also learned humans didn't like to ask questions that think of as 'personal.'
"The father is gone. He had to leave soon after our son was born."
I noticed a circling figure against the white clouds above us.
"Your friend Tobias has found us, and I suppose you were sent to bring me back. But, perhaps, you would like to find breakfast first?"
Okay, I understand I said this chapter would be more interesting, buuuut.... yea. It didn't exactly work out. I'm sorry.