Author's note: Well, hello to all that happen to still be reading this story this far! I apologize profusely if your favorite character is Ashelin, 'cause I kind'a dissed her alot last chapter, because I didn't really know how to write for her (0.o). Anyways, as required, appropriate credits... Stuff I own: Plot & OCs; Stuff I DON'T own: Any characters that aren't OCs, music I use in these chapters, & the places these characters live in. Now, I really do really need answers to the question I asked last chapter, & I have a new question to ask you guys, & IT NEEDS AN ANSWER! Besides that, enjoy!
Jak's POV
As I rode my jet-board through the dark back to the Lock, the cold air nipping at my exposed skin, I couldn't help but think at how roughly Torn took to learning Meldalvyna & I just started dating, & how Ashelin treated Meldalvyna. The way they completely dejected Meldalvyna ticked my right the hell off. When I saw Torn's unaccepting, close to appalled face, I wanted to punch him in the face then & there.
" What happened to not caring what others thought? You know what, we should go make them accept your relationship with Meldalvyna," Dark growls, an almost giddy tone, though still obviously annoyed, to his deeper version of my voice as I ride the lift across the chasm before the warp-gate.
"Though I normally do not like any sort of violence, I must agree with Dark. Though, I would not want to do it as violently as Dark is thinking," Light adds, a small annoyed growl to his voice even as I jump through the warp-gate.
"Then how should we do it?" I ask Light, curious as to what his suggestion is, knowing all to well what Dark wants to do as I walk to the Lock & punch in the code.
"Well, we COULD do something with your birth right to the throne of Haven City, but none of us want to do something that Baron Praxis could have done," Light starts, a thoughtful tone to his voice as I walk through the Lock.
"Or we could just let me smack them around until they accept us being with Meldalvyna, I wouldn't kill them, just beat the hell out'a 'em," Dark suggests, his voice gruff with annoyance as the Lock's door closes behind me.
"I can't stand this anymore! I have an idea, though I know we won't like it very much," I shout in my head, not wanting to deal with Light & Dark argueing. Not hearing any reply from Dark or Light, I take a deep breath & continue, getting onto my zoomer.
"I think we should give Torn a chance to get used to my relationship with Meldalvyna, & give Ashelin & Meldalvyna a chance to get to know each other, then let Asheling get used to me being with Meldalvyna," I say with a huff, hearing a groan from Dark & a thoughtful 'hm' from Light.
"And if that doesn't work, I can threaten to take my place as ruler of Haven City whatever the means, & then let you, Dark, punch Torn in the nose infront of Ashelin," I say, trying to satisfy both of my Eco alters. To my luck, neither one of them disagree, & I start my zoomer & drive to my apartment. Once home, I get ready for bed & fall into a deep, but fitful sleep lacking dreams.
As the week continued on, I couldn't help but to count down the days until Meldalvyna's mother & step-father return from their trip to the Chronicler's, each day making me more & more nervous. Even Dark was nervous, which is saying something huge, since usually he's fearless.
Thinking about Meldalvyna, though, made me feel a bit better. The day after the incident in the Naughty Ottsel, Meldalvyna got her hooded cloak, which was blue & black, & actually slid over her wings like a glove, & Torn didn't get a disgusted look on his face when she kissed me in her moment of glee. She looked absolutely beautiful in her new cloak, though a bit bulky in some areas where the cloak bubbled above the membrane of her wings. She didn't care though, & we went on patrol together, talking happily to each other the entire time. Later that same day after my shift was over, we went to the Naughty Ottsel, & were happy to find that Ashelin was nowhere to be seen, & celebrated her first day as an official Freedom League officer.
Today, though, I couldn't fell anything but a deep pit of fear in my stomach & the cold of the November morning wind whipping against my exposed skin as I flew through the city. The anxiety not leaving me as I drove to the Haven City Forest & Mountain Pass Lock, I couldn't help but think for the twentieth time today, "Meldalvyna's parents are supposed to come back tomorrow afternoon, & maybe even earlier."
Upon reaching the Lock, I see Meldalvyna's blue-cloaked form leaned against the jam of the Lock. Rubbing her gloved & armored hands together in efforts to make them warmer, clouds of steam rising from the opening of her hood repeatedly with each breath, I could tell she was cold, & speed up to get to her faster.
"Hey Jak," she say when I stop infront of her, a smile evident in her voice, as well a slight shiver. Meldalvyna climbs onto the back of my zoomer before I could reply & hugs herself tightly against my back, her arms wrapped around my waist.
"Hey Meldalvyna, you wan'na stop somewhere to warm up before we start patrol?" I ask, feeling her shiver from the cold. I feel her shift her position & her chin rest on my right shoulder.
"Nah, it's alright. I'll be fine, I just need to walk around a little to get back some warmth," Meldalvyna replies as she nuzzles her face into the crook of my neck, her face cold to the touch, only for her to pull away & push her cheeck up against the base of my neck between my shoulder blades.
"You know, I could ask Torn if we could use one of the transport zoomers for patrol if you want," I suggest looking behind me with a tone of hope as I feel her shiver for a second time, worry for her well-being taking me over. I feel Meldalvyna jump a little when the suggestion come out of my mouth.
"Sure!" Meldalvyna nearly yells, obviously wanting nothing more than to be warm, squeezing me slightly with her arms. With a small smile, I take off towards the Freedom League Head Quarters. To our luck, Torn agrees to let us use an air-tran, since it was, as he says 'a desert's winter out there'. The patrol goes without any ruckus from the citizens, which has become rare since the defeat of Cyber-Errol & the Dark Makers, & we return the air-tran just before the dinner rush.
"You know, we still haven't asked her about the significance of a purple dragon yet," Light says as I drive to the Freedom League HQ to clock out both Meldalvyna & myself.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that, thank's Light," I reply, the memory of that inquisition slapping me in the face. Coming to a stop outside the the HQ, I jump off the zoomer after turning the machine off & help Meldalvyna down from her seat.
"Hey Meldalvyna, I've been meaning to ask you, & I feel like you've told me this before, but, what is so important about a purple dragon?" I ask nonchalantly, looking her in the eye out of curiosity. Meldalvyna's hood turns toward me & I could feel her gaze on me. A second goes by in silence, the air cold & electric between us.
"Well," she begins, her voice thoughtful & very serious, "there have only been two purple dragons: the Dark Master & my step-father. So far, the trend is that they are born once every ten generations, & can master all the Elements & have special abilities no other color of dragon can possess."
"Wow... no wonder you made such a big deal out of it last week," I breath, the information sinking in like a ton of bricks in water. Meldalvyna simply smiles at me before continuing to the door of the HQ. We walk together into the building, & clock out, Torn nowhere to be seen in the main room.
Back on my zoomer, I drive to the Naughty Ottsel, wanting to stop there to warm up a little before walking Meldalvyna back to her house. Pulling up infront of the bar door, I notice three zoomers parked next to the door as well. One of them is the one I had seen three days ago, an other one is cherry red, & the final one, which is an ocean blue, I noticed belonged to Keira. Ignoring the creeping feeling from seeing the two mystery zoomers parked there, I jump off my single-seater & help Meldalvyna down from the contraption, giving her a light kiss on the forehead as her feet touch the ground. Together, we walk to the door & I knock on the door.
"Who is it?!" I hear Daxter shout on the other side.
"Jak & Meldalvyna!" I reply back with a shout. The door unlocks & flies open, revealing the owners of the two mystery zoomers. I see Torn & Ashelin sitting next to each other, their heads turned towards the door as Meldalvyna pulls down the hood to her new cloak. Upon seeing Meldalvyna & me, Ashelin's face contorts into one of surprise & her eyes go wide with slight fear.
"Torn, Ashelin, what a surprise," I say sarcastically, not really wanting another confrontation between the Baroness & Meldalvyna to happen.
"Hello Jak, Meldalvyna," Ashelin says while standing up, an actually happy tone to her voice, throwing me for a loop.
"What is going on? Did Ashelin suddenly decide to be nice or something?" I think to myself as Ashelin approaches us, Ashelin's actions confusing me to no end. Before either Dark or Light can put in their guesses, Ashelin starts talking again, now directly infront of us, a guitly look on her face.
"Meldalvyna, I'm extremely sorry for how I treated you last time we met, I'm just... uneasy around new faces, I do hope you forgive me," Ashelin says with a hopeful smile on her face, holding out her hand.
"I accept your apology, but if you cross me, I will not be as kind," Meldalvyna warns as she shakes the Baroness's hand, a light, forced smile on her face.
"Thank you. Now, what time tomorrow would you like me to come over to discuss the treaty with the King & Queen of... um?" Ashelin stutters off, forgetting the name of the dragon city, a genuinely curious look on her face. Meldalvyna's expression twitches for a second & she looks between Ashelin & I, a thoughtful gleam in her eyes.
"Warfang. And actually, I do believe you should come Sunday instead of tomorrow, so I can inform my mother & step-father of what happened while they were gone, if that is alright with you," Meldalvyna suggests, her voice less tense & angry.
"Oh, alright then, please call me when you have a time, I should be free Sunday, so feel free, here is my number," Ashelin replies with a genuine smile on her face, & hands Meldalvyna a calling card, which she puts into one of the chest pockets of her armor, nodding in settlement with a smile of her own.
"I must be going, it is getting late, see you again Sunday, Meldalvyna. See you tomorrow, Torn," Ashelin says with an air of finality, walking back to the bar counter to give Torn a hug before whisking out the door. As the door closes behind the Baroness, Meldalvyna turns to Torn, a question in her expression.
"Cheif of Arms Torn, can Jak & I have half of the morning shift tomorrow? My mother & step-father should be home around noon, & I would like Jak to be there when I tell them about my relationship with him," Meldalvyna asks quickly, a hopeful expression in everything about her. Torn's eyes widen with the suddenness of the question.
"Yes, if you two come back immediately afterwards & patrol an hour past the end of your normal shift," Torn replies, a stern expression on his tattooed face. Meldalvyna immediately looks to me, looking for my answer. I shrug a 'sure', to which she smiles & turns her attention back to Torn.
"Then it is settled! Thank you, sir!" Meldalvyna says with a huge smile on her face. Torn shrugs, & turns back to his drink.
"Something's off, I just can't place it, it's too quiet in here," Dark says, a curious tone to his deep voice.
"So Jak, Meldalvyna, how was patrol today?!" Daxter nearly screams from his spot on the counter, the fur on his chest puffed up in annoyance. That's when it hits me, Daxter or Tess hasn't spoken since before Meldalvyna & I came in.
"It was cold, but alright. Why did you have to yell though?" Meldalvyna replies, ending in a question while rubbing around a spot between the second longest & the shortest horns on the left side of her head, which is where I guess her ear would be.
"Because I asked you guys as soon as you two came in, & tried to ask a second time after Ashelin left & before YOU and Torn started talking!" Daxter says with an air of annoyance, pointing an accusing, furry finger at Meldalvyna as he finished.
"Sorry Dax, we didn't hear you, where's Tess?" I ask, looking around for my childhood friend's fiancée.
"She's in the back cooking her & I some dinner, you two want anything?" Daxter replies, a questioning look on his face to the possibilitly of our hunger. I look to Meldalvyna with a question in my expression, to which she shakes her head no.
"Nah, we're not that hungry, besides I need to get Meldalvyna back home," I reply, not feeling very peckish myself, Meldalvyna raising her hood as I speak.
"Oh, alright, see you two love-birds later then!" Daxter says teasingly, a smug grin plastered on his little face as I wrap my arm around Meldalvyna's waist.
"See you later, Dax. Say 'hi' to Tess for us," I reply with a laugh, leading a waving Meldalvyna to the door.
"I will!" Daxter shouts before the door closes & locks behind us, leaving us in the cold, November night air. Helping Meldalvyna up onto the back of my zoomer, I jump on after her & start the engine, taking off into the night a second later. Thirty-five minutes later, Meldalvyna & I stand outside the door of her house, the only light being a small, single candle lit up inside the slowly crumbling building.
"See you tomorrow," Meldalvyna says after giving me a goodbye kiss, "I'll call you when I want you to come over after patrol, unless they're already home by the time you bring me back."
"Alright, see you tomorrow Meldalvyna," I say, giving her a tight hug, which she returned. As I pull away & am about to walk away, Meldalvyna reaches out & catches my shoulder. I turn my head to her, & I notice a loving smile on her face as a small giggle escapes her.
"You know you can call me Mel or something, I AM your girlfriend after all," she says, a smile on her lips & her eyes sparkling in the moon light. I nodd in agreement as I submit it to memory. Turning around after giving her forehead a light peck, I ride off on my jet-board with a smile on her face, thinking of the countless nicknames I could make up for her.
Meldalvyna's POV
As I watched Jak ride away on his, as he called it, jet-board, I couldn't help but smile at the thought of him making up nicknames for me. Walking back inside, the house immediately lights up as I walk through it & up to my room. Slipping out of my armor & into my pajamas, I look at the painting of Jak, his painted, ocean blue eyes staring at me from inside the picture as I set my alarm clock.
"Should I give this to him, or should I just show it to him, & paint a different picture to give to him?" I ask myself without speaking, curiosity overtaking my mind. I lye down underneath my covers as the lights in my room automatically darkening, leaving the room pitch black as I fall asleep.
Loud beeping fills the room as I wake up with a start. Hopping up, I get dressed into my Freedom League armor & cloak, & walk down stairs to see that Sparx was nowhere to be seen.
"He must still be asleep," I think to myself as I make myself a light breakfast & scarf it down. Coming out of the bathroom after brushing my hair & teeth, I hear Sparx's bedroom door open upstairs. A second later, I see my double step-uncle groggily buzz down the stairs.
"Good morning, Melly," Sparx says with a sleepy smile as he flies over to his stash of food.
"Good morning, Sparx, I've got to go, see you when I get home. By the way, I have a half shift today, but I have to finish it later tonight, & Jak is coming over after Cynder & Spyro get back," I say as I wash my plate & walk to the door.
"Alright, see you when you get home," Sparx says with his mouth full of his own breakfast, giving me a small wave. Returning the wave, I walk out the door & take off into the air towards the Lock. Flying through the crisp, autumn morning air, I dive over the side off the cliff, pulling up just before I hit the ground. Speeding inbetween the many trees, I finally catch sight of the Haven City Forest & Mountain Pass Lock. Landing, I type in the code, not wanting to use up my Elemental energy.
Walking through both sets of doors, I see Jak waiting for me, a smile gracing his handsom lips when he catches sight of me. I walk up to him & greet him with a quick, tight hug.
"Hey Mel, Torn wanted us to start a bit earlier than normal today because of the favor you asked," Jak says after pecking me lightly on the forehead, causing my hood to fall back just enough to let light fall on the end of my short snout. Nodding to him, I climb onto the back of his zoomer before he could help me up himself.
"I wonder if he'll let me drive his zoomer to the HQ," I think to myself with an evil, toothy grin on my face. Jak looks up to me, about to jump on himself, & stops dead in his tracks, just barely tipping his head to the side with a curious look spread across his face.
"Hey Jak, can I drive?" I ask him, pushing out my bottom lip just enough for him to notice. Jak's eyes widen in thought, & I could practically see his mind working through his eyes as they flicked between me & the zoomer. Leaning forward so that I'm practically laying down on the machine & lifting my wings open slightly to show my hip, I slowly stretch out my hand until my arm is fully extended, & slowly drift my fingers across the blue-painted metal as I gracefully come back into a sitting position, my head cocked beckoningly to the side, a mischievous smile on my face.
"Fine, but don't drive too fast," Jak says warily after a few moments of thought, licking his lips lightly while rubbing the back of his neck. Climbing onto the zoomer behind me, I feel his lean, muscular arms wrap around my waist, his strong chest pressed against my back, resting his chin right between my wings & I have to contain a shiver with all my might. Starting the zoomer, I change zoomer zones to the Freedom League zone & revv the engine only to take off full blast a second later, no other Freedom League cruisers in the zone with Jak & I. As I drive, I feel Jak's taught muscles tense & relax every time we go around a corner. Every once in a while, I hear Jak chuckle lightly when I laugh from the adrenaline rush.
"Well that was fun," I laugh when I come to a stop outside the Freedom League HQ, jumping off after I shut off the zoomer, taking out the keys as I dismount. Turning back around to Jak, I see a dizzy grin on his face as I help him down, giving him a peck on the cheek as his feet touch the ground.
"Yeah, I should let you drive more often," Jak chuckles after returning my kiss, snaking his arm around my shoulder as we walk to the door of the HQ & I hand him the keys. Walking in, we find & punch out time-in & time-out cards, then walk back outside to get back on the zoomer, I not bothering to take down my hood.
As soon as the door opens for us though, two young men around the age of eighteen or nineteen, each carrying a helmet on their hip, stand infront of the door about to type in the entrance code. They look up simultaneously, & I notice they both have brown eyes, but they are different heights. The taller one has brown, almost black hair that comes to a rest just below his chin in length, while the shorter one has short, spiked strawberry-blond hair. I look to Jak & notice a look of recognition flash on the faces of all three men.
"C-Commander Jak!" the brown-haired one stutters out while letting us out of the doorway & into the alley, a surprised look on his face, flinging his hand up to his forehead in salute, the strawberry-blond haired one following suit, a surprised look overtaking his face as well, thier eyes never leaving Jak's in respect.
"Jak never told me he was a Commander..." I think to myself, looking at Jak's face in thought.
"At ease. Carl, Luke, I've said before that there is no need to call me that, & I mean it," Jak says after returning their salute, a friendly grin on his face, his face soft. The tall one flicks his eyes to me & looks me over in less than a second before returning to Jak.
"So... did you manage to get a picture of those mystery creatures we saw?" The shorter one asks, a curious smile on his face. Jak's face pales for a second as he flicks his gaze to me, a panicky look in his ocean-blue eyes, the expression mirrored only by the scent of the emotion coming off him. Then it hit me, I am one of those mystery creatures.
"Uh, no... but I... I did... meet them," Jak stammers out nervously, rubbing the back of his neck while looking between me & the two men. Their eyes go wide with surprise & I could smell fear coming off of them.
"Actually, uh... I'd like you to meet Meldalvyna, she's a rather new friend of mine, & a new recruit," Jak says while motioning to me, a thoughtful, hopeful look spread across his face. I can't help but whip my head at him in horror. Nonetheless, I stretch out my hand & shake both of their hands.
"Meldalvyna, this is Carl," Jak says motioning to the shorter of the two, " & this is Luke," motioning to the taller of the two.
"Carl, Luke, this is Meldalvyna, & she is... she is one of the mystery creatures you saw," Jak says, his voice teatering off near the end of his sentence as he revealed what I am underneath my hood & cloak to the other two. Both of their eyes go wide as they look me over again, the scent of horror coming off them in waves worthy of tsunamis.
"Please, do not be afraid, I mean you no harm, it hurts me extremely to see people afraid of me," I say with a pleading tone looking between the two.
"So you're... you're one of them? You don't sound like you'd be one... could you take down you're hood, I want to see you're face, if it's alright with you," the one Jak called Carl says, a nervous, yet curious tone to his voice, obviously trying to sound fearless, the one identified as Luke nodding in agreement.
"Sure, just... don't try to flinch as much when you see my face," I say softly, Jak's arm snaking around my side, trying to console me without it being obvious. Seeing them nodd, I pull down my hood slowly, resisting the urge to take off in a run. Once my face is visible, I see Carl's & Luke's eyes widen in surprise, but oddly, instead of staying that way, they soften once my hood is all the way down.
"You know, & I mean absolutely no offense if it does, ma'am, but you're much less scary than you were when we first caught sight of you fighting those metalheads two weeks ago, you're actually kind'a pretty up close," Luke says after a second, his voice completely sincere, Carl nodding in agreement, a friendly smile on his face.
"Um... thanks, we've gotta go, patrol to do..." I say awkwardly, a small smile on my face as I pull up my hood. They wave goodbye as we walk away to start patrol. Once out of earshot & around a corner, Jak & I laugh, not believing our luck. The remainder of our shortened morning patrol goes in happy, relative silence, a smile on my face, & though I couldn't see his face behind his face-mask, I know Jak is smiling as well.
Three hours later, Jak drops me off at the warp-gate on the mountain-side of the Lock after we clock out of our morning shift. Giving eachother a parting kiss, we part ways for now, & I fly all the way home from there, my mind happy & care-free. Landing outside the door of my house, I notice the lights are on inside & I can smell lunch cooking. I walk up to the door & slowly open it.
"Hello Mel, how was work?" my mother asks as soon as the door is fully open, scaring me. Looking into the room once my eyes adjust, I see my mother, step-father, & double-step uncle sitting around the kitchen table in their respective places.
Author's note: Well, there we go, but hey, character development, a problem I realized tied up (cough *carl&luke* cough), & a little bit of a cliff hanger (a bit anti-climactic though). Now, I really need to know the answers to these questions! 1.) Do I write enough dialogue for Dark & Light? The new question: 2.) SHOULD I GET MY OWN ACCOUNT? THE STORY WOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO THE NEW NAME IS ALL. So please, leave your answers in the reviews, & Tigre out!
Publisher: 1. It seems like you did enough in my eyes for Dark and Light but it would be up to the readers to decide. 2. Do wahtever you want and dont let my opinion get to you. 3. I should warn you Tigre that people normally don't awnser questions in the review, that's why they made polls we can use. 4. No I don't know how to use the poll function, I may have been on for a while but even I'm not familiar with everything yet. 5... there isn't really anything else for me to say. 6. Alright now I'm just pushing it for fun. 7. Can you tell this is getting rediculus yet? 8. maybe I should stop now... I'm off.