The Thing

[Jak Brennagenn]

Jak whistled as he headed to his quarters. He was quite pleased, had just gotten a tattoo done. Actually, it was the tattoo. The one that had been promised to eventually appear on his back since he was nine. Jak had never gotten it done before for fear that he would become recognizable on the streets.

But he wasn't on the streets anymore.

Pocketing his key, Jak opened the door and walked inside...where he froze.

What...was...that?

The young man just stood and stared at the basket on his floor. Then his mind started working again.

"Oh my GOD!"

Jak turned and ran out the room, towards the stairs. Where was he going? Xazors. Xazor said she lived up there.

"Master! Master...there's a...thing! A thing....it got into my place and it's...alive! Whoa..."

He shouted as he bolted up the stairs, tripping every few seconds in his frantic hurry. Now this was weird. This was...just plain strange.

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor was in the middle of reading a very good book. It was a tale of her people and the culture that they loved so deeply. Suddenly a great disturbance washed over her mind as she felt one of her students in distress. Hastily she shut the old black book....its bindings nearly falling apart as she placed it upon the nightstand by her bed. She rushed to her door, gathering her red robes around her as she ran. The door flung open and out in the hall, she spotted none other than Jak. The Knight lofted a brow and walked over to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking into his eyes.

"What is wrong, young one?"

She questioned with an intensity that perhaps did not need to be there. He was not dying....or it did not appear that way.....so she relaxed a bit...waiting for him to answer her...

[Jak Brennagenn]

"There's a...thing...you know....like....it's little...me....but tiny..."

Jak sputtered, still creeped out. He sighed, exasperated with himself.

"I'll show you!"

He grabbed her hand and ran back down towards his quarters. The door was still wide open, his key on the floor. Jak peered in and pointed triumphantly to the basket.

"That!"

Wrapped in a bundle of old cloths and a worn blanket was an infant, perhaps eight months at the oldest.

"What is that doing here? I mean....what....how...it's in my place!"

"It" gurgled happily and Jak took a step back. His face was white, shocked.

"Well...see? Now you can see why I was so....I mean, look at it!"

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor followed Jak back to his room and when he flung the door open, she peered inside and set her eyes upon.....a child. A baby, actually. She nearly laughed at Jak's frightened state as she rushed over to the baby and lifted 'it' into her arms. Gently she pulled the worn and torn blankets from around it to reveal a smiling little face with rosy cheeks. Xazor canted her head to the side and smiled. The child seemed happy in her arms and she turned to face Jak.

"It's a baby! Why do you fear one whom could not hurt a bantha flea?"

She laughed to herself. The Knight held the child out from her and eyed 'it' quickly. The poor thing barly had any clothes on and what clothes there were, were tattered and soiled. She shook her head in sadness and then looked to him once again.

"She needs some care.......perhaps....we should go back to my Quarters. I don't think you have what it takes to care for her yet...."

This probably took him by surprise.....the gender, that is. A little girl and she had been set inside of his room. What was he to do now? The thoughts made her laugh, despite her own anxiousness for him. Why the child was there....and who she belonged to were still up in the air.

"Does this have something to do with your past?"

She questioned, pushing past her Padawan as she made her way out of his room and down the hall to the stairs that led to the upper floor where she was located. It sparked quite a curiosity within her as to this situation......and she hoped that he would shed some light upon it.....

[Jak Brennagenn]

Jak assumed a "manly" face, crossing his arms over his chest and eyeing the infant warily.

"I'm not afraid of it! I'm just...what is it doing here!?"

He almost slammed himself into the wall as he jumped back, away from the infant in Xazors arms. Jak hadn't been near a child since he himself had been one and never this young. Following form a distance, he shook his head.

"No! I've never seen it before in my life! I don't have kids... I haven't even had a girlfriend since Chenelle and that was..."

He froze in his tracks, face even whiter than before. Jak suddenly felt very lightheaded.

"Oh sweet mother of God... Aw no...no, no..."