--What is the meaning of these resolutions?--
Marco looked up, and rolled his eyes. "Ax-man, don't tell me that your superior alien race doesn't know the meaning of New Year's resolutions."
Ax pawed the ground. --Yes, well—we use the lunar calendars, and those don't place such a heavy emphasis on trivialities like the passing of a year.--
"Okay, fine, I can forgive your ignorance of New Year's. But there is no excuse for not knowing about Halloween. You do know about Halloween?"
All four of Ax's eyes blinked. Marco shook his head. "Forget I ever said anything."
--Ah. So I understand humans celebrating the new year. What I don't understand is why the resolutions are so important to your ceremonies.--
"Look, Ax, we make resolutions in order to improve ourselves. For example, my resolution this year is to tone down my sheer degree of awesomeness. So I don't scare other people or intimidate the chicks so much, you see." All this was said with a perfectly straight face, causing Ax to wonder if this was yet another example of human humor, or whether Marco had simply bumped his head against a low-hanging tree branch.
"Of course, some people say that making resolutions can also increase your chances for luck in the next year—"
--—Like horoscopes? Ax interrupted eagerly. I believe that I am a Sagittarius, in human terms. Although that is statistically improbable, because if that was the case, I would have died a gruesome death at the hands of my loved ones five days ago.--
Marco stared. "That's it. You are so not allowed to watch CSI and read horoscopes at the same time. But back to resolutions."
--If I make a resolution, I will be lucky next year?--
"If you're into that kind of stuff, I guess. I think it's all a load of crap, though…do Andalites even do the whole luck thing?"
--Yes. We do the luck thing. But what is a good idea for a resolution for me?--
"You could resolve not to play with words so much. Or stay away from engine oil. And, you know, it would be nice if you limited your cookie-into-mouth ratio to five cookies per mouth."
Ax smiled. --That sounds like a viable option.--
Marco sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back on Ax's battered couch. Perfect. It wasn't even noon yet, and he had already exposed an alien to the "introspective ritual" of New Year's.
His resolution for next year?
Teach Ax about Halloween. And Valentine's Day, possibly. And this time? Keep the boy away from strawberry frosting. Who would have thought that an entire alien civilization would have some kind of a thing for heart-shaped cookies?
--
Woot. First Animorph-fic. Thoughts appreciated. And I'm not sure if Ax's thought-speak tags work, so I'm still trying to find a design that will.