Disclaimer I do not own Animorphs or Ben 10
Chapter 5: Free Time
Ax's POV
I ran through the forest. I wasn't chasing or being chased, I was simply running. I enjoyed the feel of the cool air on my skin as i my main eyes were facing forward keeping me from running into trees, my stalk eyes were looking around in case of predators. Although the predators of this planet were not much of a threat, I did it out of habit. I was feeling hungry and i decided to go to a part of the forest that i resided in where the grass was particularly fine.
I met up with Tobias after i had been feeding and was heading back to my scoop.
(Hey Ax-man.)
I slowed from my run, allowing him to land on a branch of a nearby tree. (Hello Tobias.) I greeted. Tobias was my shorm, a close friend. We talk often whenever there were no missions that were needed to be done.
(What's up Ax-man, why are you running around this time?) He asked me.
(I am feeding) I responded (The grass is particularly delicious in this area.)
(Okay, hey wanna go watch some TV? I got nothing to do and I just ate so i wouldn't need to do anything for the next few hours.)
(That would be pleasant Tobias. I was just heading back to my scoop when you called out to me.)
We headed back to my scoop. Tobias flew over the trees. We watched television for several hours, Tobias allowed me to choose which programs to watch, as always i kept one or both stalk eyes to scan the surroundings just in case something tried to sneak up on us.
After a while he said. (Hey Ax-man I'm gonna be heading back okay.) One of my stalk eyes swiveled towards the sky and saw that the sun was close to setting.
(Alright Tobias.) I said as the program that we were watching ended and These Messages started, and Tobias took off.
I continued to watch some programs, keeping one stalk eye scanning the surroundings and the other in the sky observing Earth's bright yellow sun as it begun to set.
When the sun had almost started to disappear i turned off the television. I stood up and exited my scoop. and began the evening ritual. I looked up at the horizon at the sun as its last few rays covered the landscape.
I said. (From the rising of the sun to the setting, to its rising again, we place what is hard to endure with what is sweet to remember, and find peace.) Then the last of the sun's rays disappeared and the ritual was done.
(From the water that gave birth to us.) I said and I dipped my hoof in the stream.
(From the grass that feeds us.) I said and stepped back to crush some grass.
(For the freedom that unites us.) I spread my arms out wide.
(We rise to the stars.) I looked up at the rising sun with all my eyes.
Bowing low I said. (Freedom is my only cause. Duty to my people, my only guide. Obedience to my prince, my only glory.) I paused. (Destruction of my enemies, my most solemn vow.)
straightened and assumed a fighting stance. (I, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, Andelite warrior-cadet, offer my life.) I drew my tail-blade against my throat.
I thought about my duty. If I had been doing what i had to do.
I relaxed and sighed. These days i have been doing the Morning ritual out of habit. I had thought before about not doing it since there were no other Andelites to reprimand me, but i guess that doing it out of habit was better than not doing it at all. Though it may be worse to just do it out of habit. The Morning ritual had to have meaning behind it.
There was very little to do these days. As far as we know from the Chee, the Yeerks had no plots to try and speed up their invasion and gain more hosts.
So i decided to run. Not like yesterday where i had ran to feed, but to just run for the sake of running. It is the same with Cassie I suppose. She would sometimes morph to a horse and run if she ever felt like she needed a distraction from what we did. I guessed that it is a similarity between our species. My people are also a herding species that lived in great plains so we enjoy running, it is a part of our instinct I should say.
I ran for a few hours occasionally stopping to catch my breath and take a drink from the river or stream. I ran until i was breathing hard and my legs burned from running so long. My hearts were racing, trying to bring oxygen to my tired muscles. It felt good to run on days like this, almost as if i had gone back to being just a little child and had no worries or responsibilities. But I was an aristh, a cadet and i had my responsibilities fighting in this war. Against the Yeerks
Rachel came to talk to me sometime in the afternoon, while i was taking a drink from the stream that i normally used. I saw her approach me with my stalk eye looking behind me. She wore her morphing clothes.
"Hi Ax." She said.
(Hello Rachel.) I responded before turning to face her with my main eyes.
"Have you seen Tobias?" She asked me.
(I haven't seen him today, why?) I asked her.
"I tried looking for him, but I can't seem to find him. Also I haven't seen him since the last meeting and I wanted to talk with him." She answered me.
Tobias and Rachel seem to have a special relationship, though i am not entirely sure as to the details of their relationship. (What is it that you wanted to talk about with him?) i asked her.
She shrugged, a motion that i now knew meant doubtful, ignorant, or dismissal of the subject. "Nothing really, i just want to talk with him. That's all"
(Well if i do see him today i will tell him that you wish to talk with him.) I said.
She smiled. Then she turned began to morph into her bald eagle morph. Her human features slowly melting away along with her morphing clothes. The morphing clothes became darker and started to make patterns of the feathers as her body started to shrink. Her hair was now shortening and turning white as her mouth and nose began to form a beak. Her feet were now scaly and the talons were growing while her legs re-orientated themselves. Soon she finished morphing and was now fully eagle.
Her sharp eyes looked towards me and she said. (Thanks for the help Ax.) Then she spread her large wings and took off. I watched her disappear from sight above the trees.
Tobias came to see me the next day. He seemed very excited.
(Hey Ax-man.) He said as he landed on a branch.
(Hi Tobias.) I said looking over at him with both of my stalk eyes.
(Wanna go flying? I wanna show you something cool.) He said.
(What is it you want to show me?) I asked him, curious as to what he wanted to show me. (Does it have something to do with the Yeerks?) I asked him.
(No it doesn't, does everything you do need to be about the Yeerks?) He said. (Just morph and come with me.) He said evading the questions. I quickly assumed that what he wanted to show me was a surprise and that letting him show it to me would be better.
I concentrated on morphing. My bird morph was called a norther harrier it was the same bird morph of Cassie and Marco.
Morphing is never logical, it never happens the same way twice. The first thing that happened was that i felt the bones in my tail shortening and growing weaker. I've always felt defenseless without my tail. My hind legs began to shrink and strengthen and I felt my bones shift and hollow, I could feel my hooves slowly change into feet and talons. My arms were growing and strengthening as they formed my wings. My fore legs were shrinking along with my body. I could feel two of my three hearts stop beating while the one remained. I looked down to my hind legs and saw that they were already mostly bird and my hooves had formed into the bird's talons, my legs had a scaly appearance to them. I started to feel a slight falling sensation as my body shrunk, along with feeling my organs shift and change. My stalk eyes darkened as they were sucked into my head. My nose and face began to form the beak and i felt it grow and then split as the beak grew and harden. I continued to shrink and then i felt an itching sensation as my blue fur was being replaced by feathers. By then my body had totally shrunk, my beak was just finishing to form, my arms were now full wings. I was now fully bird.
(I am finished.) I told tobias.
(Lets get going!) He said before taking off from his perch.
I took off from the ground I let the bird's mind take over to gain some altitude. Tobias was already high ahead, already having caught a thermal. I quickly ascended as well, catching the same thermal.
We headed towards the city, gliding from thermal to thermal. We kept our distance as it would look odd for human bird watchers down below to see two different species of birds of prey flying so close to each other. On the way i talked with Tobias.
(Tobias, Rachel was looking for you yesterday.) I said.
(Was she?) He asked me.
(Yes. It seemed important to her.) I told him.
(Well I'll just stop over to talk to her after this.)
(It's alright if you want to go straight to Rachel. I do not mind.) I told him.
(No, it's okay Ax-man. Besides i've been wanting to show you this for ages.) He said and guided me into the city.
We flew inside the twisting paths of the city. He led me through the parts where the wind was the weakest and that led to easy flying.
(Tobias?) I asked him.
(Yeah Ax-man?)
(I need to land and demorph soon.)
(Alright.) He understood. (Lets head over here, There's a out of the way building where no one can see you.)
We landed on the building and I quickly demorphed and remorphed. We were soon back in the air.
What tobias wanted to show me was a track that he discovered in the city. The track was a current of wind that formed a loop around the city. With all the tall buildings, the city made artificial air currents which made the track. Tobias told me that the wind was very weak that day so i would have very little trouble navigating the track. Though he used the term 'weak' loosely as the wind was quite strong. We flew past windows like bullets with the wind behind us. The experience was exhilarating unlike the roller coaster in The Gardens which were more terrifying than exhilarating.
The track was long since it took us almost an hour to reach our starting point. It was very complex as there were alleys which blew into the main air current and blow you into the side of a building. The entire time i had to keep alert as i could suddenly be blown off to the side by a gust of air from an alley. As i understood it, the currents of air were formed by the winds hitting the buildings, funneling through the streets and alleys. As the wind went through the streets they either gusted or blew continuously. There was never a pattern.
When we finished a round, the muscles of my wings ached and i was getting tired from having to concentrate on every turn and alley.
(Tobias, let's head back to the forest. My wings are aching.)
(Alright Ax-man I'm getting pretty tired too.) He said.
We landed and used the same building as before to demorph and remorph. We headed back to the forest.
Normally i wouldn't have needed a guide back to the forest, but it was nice to have Tobias with me.
(Tobias?) I asked him.
(Yeah?) He said.
(Do the others know about this?) I asked him.
The track would be excellent for going around the city much quicker and with the tail winds make escape easier and faster.
(They don't) He told me.
(Why?) I asked him. I was curious as to why he hadn't told of it to Prince Jake. It would be a great advantage.
(It's not like i'm trying to keep it all for myself) He told me. (It's just that it's so dangerous on normal days i don't want any of them to get injured.)
(But you let me come and try.) I pointed out.
(Yeah, but you're different. You had some free time and the wind was a lot weaker than normal so i was able to show it to you.)
(So if you knew when the winds would be weaker then you would let the others know about it?) I said.
(Exactly!) He said. (If i only knew which days and times the wind gets weak i could show them around and it would be safer.)
(Ah now you are making more sense.) I said.
I landed close to my scoop and said bye to Tobias. I assumed he went to see Rachel. I demorphed and took a drink of water from the stream.
I had discovered some odd tracks in the forest later that day. I found them while i had been going off to find a nice patch of grass to feed. The were very strange tracks, though i have very little experience with examining tracks. From what i was able to glean from them, they were approximately a day or two old and were unlike any animal's tracks that i had seen before. They did not have a noticeable print, not like a hoof or paw. They appeared to be almost spherical and made very shallow gouges in the soft soil. I couldn't think of any creature from Earth or otherwise that could make tracks like these. They were only visible in a small path as the dirt here was softer. The tracks didn't seem to be artificially made, they were too uneven to be made by mechanical means. I was perplexed as to what they could be.
(Interesting.) I said to myself as i kept on examining them.
Authors Notes: Hello Everyone! How did i do this chapter. I am not so sure about how i did Ax. I seem to have some difficulty with him as i'm not sure what to write about him in this stage of the story. Though the other Animorphs I have no problem as they have their families and school to deal with, but Ax and Tobias, I don't think im gonna be doing their POV that much. How did i do the morphing part? Did i do well? I'm not entirely sure about that part as i'm not comfortable writing that yet. Maybe it's just it was Ax that was morphing. I might do a better job if it was one of the other Animorphs. Anyway please tell me what you think and how can i improve it.
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