A/N: And know, for the next no-so-eagerly-awaited chapter of A Dark Past! Enjoy!

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He glanced at me warily, eyes full of mistrust, and rightfully so – after all, I had just tried to kill him. "Who's Ardea?"

I looked away, anywhere but at him. "She's... She was your mother." Even with my eyes averted, I still saw him stiffen at the mention of his parents. I slowly lifted me gaze until it was level with his. "You have her eyes." I paused for a moment, then continued. "Most say you look like your father, and you do. But his eyes were more on the hazel side." A small smirk touched my lips. "Your mother's eyes were like sparkling emeralds, set in those dark lashes." I shut my eyelids briefly, transporting myself to another time, another place, before I had betrayed my friends. looking down at the boy again, I continued. "Yours are the same." I realised I was repeating myself. Sighing, I settled myself down on a large rock. "You might as well get comfortable," I advised him. "I don't think we'll meet like this again, so this will be the only time I'll explain."

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No matter how strange it would feel to be telling him, of all people, or how many voices in my head screamed at me to stop, it was something that I felt needed to be done. I was tired of hiding my past. It was too much to bear sometimes, and maybe telling someone that it involved would help with the pain. I took a deep, shuddering breath. "You already know that I was the one who defeated the original Storm Hawks. What you probably don't know is that, at the time, I was also a member." I ignored the incredulous look he gave me. "I do have my reasons, so let me explain. It's not something I'm proud of, but I'll explain. It started when your father, Lightning Strike, found me..."

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"I was younger than you at the time. The war between Atmos and Cyclonia had left me wandering the streets as an orphan-"

"Sorry," he interrupted, not sounding sorry at all, "what does that have to do with my mum? I was wondering about her, not your troubled childhood. I know all about those, thanks to you."

The boy really was insufferable.

"I'm getting to it," I growled. "You're lucky I don't kill you now.

"As I was saying, I was an orphan. I had been on my own for weeks, and I often went hungry, not having any money for food. One day, a baker started chasing me because I had apparently stolen some of his wares, even though I hadn't. Running down the streets with the fat baker after me certainly provided amusement for some people – I could see them laughing as I passed. Not watching where I was going, I ran straight into someone. The baker stopped, wheezing, and thanked him for apprehending the 'dangerous thieving criminal'. I thought I was done for, but the man just smiled and said that I was under his custody, and if he wanted me arrested, then he'd have to go through the Sky Knight council. The baker backed off, and then the man introduced himself as Lightning Strike, leader of the Storm Hawks. He offered me a position aboard his team."

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A/N: Oops. I went a little over the 400-500 word cap on that one. 550 word total. Oh well.