DISCLAIMERDY: I do nbot ownb Anbimorphs!
Okay. Review Cornber Time!
Well. You're all pretty positive, and no questions, so...ON WITH THE RANDOMNESS!
Chapter 2
I felt something bump my host's tail in the water.
I jumped a little and heard a thoughtspeak giggle.
I looked down.
Dodi, that little terror, was at it again. She had floated downstream, right into my tail.
Float! She said and giggled again.
"NO! No floating!" I said, and scooped her up, out of the water and set her on land.
She formed a little pouting face, scrunching up her nose, and narrowing her large eyes.
I actually had to try not to laugh. It was like catching Visser Three bathing in oatmeal.
I smirked at that thought. She smiled, seeing my smirk.
And coyly hopped back into the water.
She lifted her legs up and began to move down stream again, floating along happily.
Float! She said, giggling, and floated out of my arm's reach.
"NO!" I yelled, panicking.
Hee heee! Was her reply as she floated away.
I got out of the water, ran along the shore, and reached in, snatching her roughly out of the water.
"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" I yelled at her.
She stared at me, shocked, wet, trembling.
Then she began to sob, shaking.
I looked over at the other two. They were still standing in the water, having just stopped floating and following her example, looking at her sadly. They looked with large eyes at me.
Dodi cry! The first one I had found said accusingly to me. He glared at me. Washju looked frightened.
I sighed. I reached over to comfort the sobbing little female. She pulled away from me and whimpered.
I looked sadly at her. She looked fearfully up at me.
She had probably never been yelled at before.
I felt a wave of guilt.
Then it hit me.
No. No. A million times no! Do NOT get attached to them! I told myself. You will regret it.
But I had made her cry...
I sighed. I reached over and roughly scooped her up. She let out a whimper.
I looked her in the eyes.
"Stop crying right now." I said firmly, trying to abandon the sofy approach.
She sobbed a little more. "Stop crying!" I snapped.
She began to wail and shake with sobs.
Washju floated downstream to us. Then he stopped and climbed out. The unnamed one did also.
DON'T YELL AT DODI! The unnamed one fussed at me.
I glared back at him. He glared back at me, actually pushing his little face forward.
I barked a laugh. They all jumped. The female cried harder.
"Shhhhh!" I said to her, and began to rub her torso back. She quieted after a while.
"Shhhhhh...there now..." She cuddled her furry little bulk to my chest and lay her head on my shoulder, nuzzling into my neck. She relaxed.
She was exhausted. I looked at the others. They were looking quite drained too.
Washju rolled over onto his back and stuck his legs in the air. He began to whine in thoughtspeak.
Nap!
My Hork-Bajir host was also getting tired. I sighed.
I looked nervously for the others. No sign.
And it was getting darker.
They had most likely either A. Captured the Andalite bandits ( I smirked at the thought.) or B. The Andalites had escaped and my unit was now all back at the pool laughing at what an idiot Elsap One-Two-Six was for getting lost.
I groaned. The children looked at me, fascinated. Dodi jerked awake and whimpered.
Then the unnamed one began to mimic me groaning in thoughtspeak. The two little males giggled. The little female smiled sleepily. Then she lay her head on my shoulder again and went back to sleep.
I lay my Hork-Bajir body down, the baby still on my chest.
I watched, surprised, as the little males came forward and snuggled close to me.
They were so trusting.
It made me feel...remorseful.
So what? I thought. I'm not doing anything wrong! This is my duty! Besides, they're just mammals...
They're someone's children.
And? Where are they then? If they let their children get lost, it's their fault. Besides, you'll get promoted!
Well, that's true... But...they trust me!
So? They do it because they're children. They don't understand you're their enemy yet.
Exactly! They're innocent! They have nothing to do with this war!
Oh, yes, innocent. Maybe they are now. But soon they'll be slaves. They'll be separated. And they'll hate you. They'll hate all Yeerks. Just like their parents. Just like all Andalites.
I thought back to what I'd been taught as a grub.
"They're meant to be our slaves!"
"It's their freedom- or ours!"
"Who cares?! It's not like they'll be able to do anything about it!"
"The Andalites would kill you if they had a chance!"
"When you first infest your host, you've got to get control. It will try to phase you no doubt. Confuse you with threats and emotions. But just ignore it. It will shut up after a while!"
I thought about my Hork-Bajir host. Falu Jamlak. He was already asleep. Dreaming.
He was dreaming about some female Hork-Bajir he'd meant while in a cage in the pool. Talking to her.
I had laughed when I'd looked at his memories of their little "romantic Hork-Bajir" conversation. Hork-Bajir romance is like something you'd find in an Earth kindergarten playground- a little human boy giving a girl a flower and so forth.
Now, with the fuzzy little bodies pressed to me, and their little wheezing breathing sleep noises, it didn't seem so funny...
I had once had a human. But I wanted a Hork-Bajir. Humans were constantly insulting you, and their bodies were flimsy compared to a Hork-Bajir frame.
Plus I enjoyed the blades. And just being able to vault right up a thirty foot tree was awesome.
Humans were always at work. Or inside. In a building. They couldn't take the heat. They could barely take cold.
Hork-Bajir, on the other hand, were quite flexible. And with incredible endurance.
I had always hoped my next host to be an Andalite. Forget climbing. They could morph. They could fly.
I looked at the little babies and realized that I could ask the Visser for one...
I slowly looked over at Dodi's little ear.
What did Andalite children think about?
What did they dream about?
I slowly moved one claw to flatten the upper part of her ear. I peered inside.
Too small.
They would have to wait until she was older. Until they were all older.
Where would they be until then? I wondered.
In a box. That was the answer. But no. They couldn't morph.
So they'd probably just go in a cage.
Would they keep them together, or separate them?
I sucked in my breath and exhaled slowly as I thought of another question.
How would they react if they were separated? How would little Dodi react if they took her brothers away and just threw her in a cage?
Furthermore, what would become of them when they were older?
I shook out of my reverie and forced myself to ignore these thoughts.
Who cares? I told myself. It's not my problem...
I forced myself to watch Falu Jamlak's dreams.
Falu Jamlak was now dreaming about touching his forehead to the female Hork-Bajir's and for some reason it just really, really depressed me, so I just decided pondering was probably best...
Once again, the questions surfaced.
What would become of them?
An entire life of slavery?
Not all Yeerks were kind to their hosts...most were not, really.
An entire life of having to sit out and watch someone else use and enjoy their body? An entire life of abuse?
How would they die?
I could imagine...
I shook away horrible thoughts.
I looked again at Falu Jamlak's dreams absentmindedly.
The private dream had ended, and he was now dreaming of little Hork-Bajir that looked surprisingly like him, climbing trees. The mother, guess who, was decorating a handsome tree top home with little carvings...
I sighed. I was getting tired myself.
Maybe I should just try sleeping.
I joined my host in sleep, and connected to him as I was, dreamed with him.
But now he chuckled in his sleep as he kept dreaming of little Andalites popping out of bushes and I kept trying to catch them and pick them up...
Okay, hope you guys and gals liked that! Tell me if it's cuddly-licious and satisfying or not...