Note to Reader: Parts 11 are all flashbacks to well before the coming of Nick and the Jedi to Anara. If you are reading this soley for those characters, feel free to skip these interludes.--kyer

Northern Yarcu [ 42 Anaran Years previous to events in Part 10 ]

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Laying on his back with one leg suspended from a rope snare while bits of bread and a bowl of water lay spread about him, Aven gave a sigh and tried again to sound pathetic.

(( This is stupid! }}

The food he could understand, but why had Pohl made *him* part of the bait? (( Because it was attracted to me even before it saw the way out. )) If anything his presence should make the kievet---the 'hypothetical kievet' he corrected himself---shy away. Especially since the Tanaken had insisted he make like he was in some sort of pain. "OOOHH, the agony, I'm stuck! "OOWWwwww!" {{ Oh---prairie! }} He *really* felt stupid.

Watching with the ambushers from their hiding point, Pohl stifled a chuckle. The boy was not a very confincing actor, but that shouldn't matter. If the animal was a Kievet---and the myths and his own observations were correct---, then the combined attractions of bakery, fruit, and distress should prove an effective combination. Kievet were supposed to embody curiousity and empathy.

Traven gave him a small nudge and pointed. Pohl nodded. He saw it and readied his tranq gun. From his vantage point of ground level, Aven saw it too---and his cries became a bit more confincing. Surrounded by night-tinted plants the greenish glints inside the dark hood seemed a lot more feral. The creature crouched some 20 feet from him and sniffed about. Cautiously, it advanced until it was almost within touching distance. Then it stopped and rose up in order to study the rope that disappeared into the tree. Aven gasped as it produced a finely-edged stone knife, and proceded to hack away at the thin cord. The deceptively primitive-looking blade made short work of the rope; a fact that was hidden from the watcher's view. Carefully, Pohl took aim and pulled the trigger. The dart gave a small sigh as it sailed through the air to imbed itself in the animal's furry collar piece. Unfazed and unhurt, his target plucked out the small missile and sniffed at it. Smelling the Anaran's scent, it snarled; throwing the failed dart away before grabbing Aven and propelling him out of the small clearing and into the surrounding foilage.

"Hey! Let go of me!"

The creature stopped and gave him a worried look. It glanced down at the boy's leg where the rope noose still dangled and whined. Then it tried to pick him up, but only managed one shaky step before hastily putting him back down. Pupil-darkened eyes looked frantically around as the adults crashed forward, almost upon them. The animal gave him one last apologetic look before sprinting away. Aven barely had time to stand up before Pohl and the hunters were there with him, the Doctor cursing as his quarry disappeared before he could get a bead on it.

"Get the qwads on it!" he tersely commanded of Traven. "You alright boy?" Pohl eyed him quickly, "Did it maul you any?"

Aven shook his head. "Na. I think..."

"Later!" Pohl grabbed the reins of his own ebony steed as the hunters let loose their brown Trackers. "C'mon, I want to watch the chase!" He hauled Aven up behind himself as he mounted and galloped after the Quad Trackers. It did not take long for the Unaka equines to surround their prey--- it hadn't gotten that much of a headstart to be able to even try to elude them. Instead it warned them off with its knife. Seeing an opening, it nimbly dodged underneath one of its harrassers and took off again heading for a nearby pond, whirling about and slashed the air in front of the equines whenever they got within nipping range.

Pohl scowled and yelled in frustration at the beasts. "Quads--- HERD! HERD! Damn it all--- donah let it get in the water!"

Traven's quad, Mask, screamed savagedly as it risked the blade to bite onto the creature's sleeve and fling it backwards just as one soft boot slid into the pond. Their prey rolled as it hit the ground to land on its feet once more; however, it lost its grip on the knife. Defenseless now, it could only try to evade the nipping teeth as they surrounded it once more. A scream of pain rent the air.

"Quads--- CEASE! STOP! Damn it--- TRAVEN! GET THOSE BLOODY QWADS OFF IT!"

The Unakan leader galloped up and began berating the browns, beating a few over the backs when they did not respond right away to his command. "Mask, Ravage! Let go---Now!" He finally got them away from their captive which lay in a fetal position, moaning to itself.

"Sorry about that, sir. They get kind of carried away when the previous hunts have not been the best. Overly excited." Angry, he directed another Hunter to take the Trackers away hoping they had not cost him the Tanaken's good will and money. Pohl left Aven on his quad in order to hop to the ground. The captive did not move or stop its crying as he stood over it. Taking careful aim, the scientist shot it in the neck. It yelped a little bit louder as the tranquilizer hit, but still refused to change its position on the ground. Pohl forced himself to wait until the cries faded into low whimpers before crouching down and laying hold of the purplish-black growth of hair at the head. It looked exceedingly soft and silky in the moonlight, as small as a young child. He took off a glove and felt it with his bare hand. It felt even better than it looked. Forcing the head back away from the chest, the zoologist got his first real look at the face. Downy, snow white hairs covered the skin until they gradually shifted to the darker color on the scalp and back. He could also see a bit of dark spotting down both sides of the neck accenting the pure whiteness at the throat. There was a light charcoal moutache bulged up from above the lip. Both eyes were tightly shut. He forced one back as the body trembled. A large, dark green iris was nearly obliterated by an almost equally huge ebony pupil. Pohl stared thoughtfully into the inky blackness. If it wasn't for the furred epidermis and the coloring, the thing could be mistaken for a thin child--- it was that humanesque. Much more so than any primate he had ever seen. If it could be domesticated there would surely be a market for its species. Qwanaten ladies especially loved exotic pets, and this animal was definitely exotic. If he had commissioned the Biology Department to design a creature sure to tug at people's heartstrings they might well have come up with this.

"So.. you are Aven's mysterious little pet. Welcome to Anar, little one." he whispered quietly to it. The eyes shifted the tiniest bit as he spoke.

"Sir?" Traven coughed. The scy seemed to have gone into a trance since kneeling down over the prey and everyone was beginning to get restless. He deliberately coughed louder.

"What?" The Tanaken shook himself out of his reverie. How long had he been petting it?

"The men are waiting to be paid." He stared hard at the creature his qwads had caught. "Never seen anything like *that* before. What kind of beastie is it?"

Silently, Pohl reached into a pocket and pulled out a handful of gold coins. He tossed them in the direction of the pond then lifted his prize up as the hunters ran after the gleaming metal. Traven growled after them that one of the coins had better find its way to him, then took hold of the Tanaken's mount's reins from Aven's hands.

"You did not answer my question."

Pohl tucked the paralyzed creature up against his chest like it was a sleeping child and grabbed the reins back. "Our agreement covered pay for services rendered, naught satisfying your curiousity." {{ Besides, oaf, I have na idea of its species tree until I can examine it.}} He motioned for Aven to scoot back so he could mount up as well.

"It's valuable isnah it?" Traven persisted. "It looks valuable, a crit like that. Maybe more than a few gold coins worth."

Protectively grasping his prize, Pohl gave him a deadly look. "Are you saying I cheated you? Think carefully before you answer--- the consequences could be far reaching."

Traven swallowed his reply. Tanaken had the support of Qwanaten. His complaint would likely not only fall on deaf ears, but cost Unaka dearly. His fellow Housememebers would not be to pleased to find inspections tripled and hunting offers halved. "Now sir, I was just speculating. You want help with that thing?"

"Na. Its naught at all heavy. I'm sure I can handle it fine, Unaka. And I would prefer that na one besides myself and young Aven touch it in the future. This animal seems to be delicately structured and I donah want your heavy-handed charges damaging it further." He mounted his quad and rode back to the Yarcu Domicels.

Behind him, Traven rubbed his chin thoughtfuly.

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"Are you going to put it in a zoo, sir?" Aven asked after Pohl and he were back in Savin's room. The Tanaken had entered quietly, secured the captive to the bed, and locked the window and door.

"Zoo?" Pohl mimicked distractedly as he moved the desk over to the bedside and began laying out various instruments.

"Aye, sir. I've heard that the Qwanaten have wonderful places where animals are kept happy. Is it going there?"

Pohl smirked at the thought. {{ Naught if I can help it. }} Having to seek some snob Qwanaten's permission to see his prize? Submit requests for research studies? Oh, na. He had to find out about this creature---especially where he could find more! Even if it wasn't a descendant of Captain Preston's 'mythical' Kievet, it was much too special to sacrifice to the Qwanaten's whims. Those bureaucrats would just lock it up for their own private enjoyment. Stupid. The animal could have useful properties. That fur, at least, was of a very high quality. "Watch its eyes and warn me if they move or change in any way," he instructed his temporary apprentice.

Aven did as he was told, feeling a little troubled. The animal had not only *not* hurt him during any of their encounters, he was convinced that it had actually tried to 'save' him from his fellow Anarans. Aven was sure no one in the Yarcu would have done so much for him. But Pohl was a Tanaken and Tanakens were not brutal. They were scientists. He wouldn't purposely hurt the creature. Erasing his misgivings from his mind, he watched the eyes as Pohl looked over the worn and soiled clothing, trying to figure out how to remove it while causing the least damage possible to the articles.

It looked to be mostly plant based, Pohl decided. Botanical would appreciate the chance to go over the whole suit. Fingering the green-stone ring through which a striped, many-hued neck scarf had been threaded, he remembered something. Damn. How could he have forgotten about its black knife? Undoubtedly one of the Hunters had pocketed it. Probably charge quite a bit to give it up too. He sighed and started to untie the colorful scarf. He would look into that later.

Aven saw the irises flex a bit--- like the shifting of colored sand--- and was about to say so when a series of loud bangs came from the door.

"Tanaken! Tanaken! Open up!"

"Go away, Savin!" Pohl yelled back. "I'm busy."

"Too busy to help us fight off attacking Raiders?!"

"Call Traven then. I didnah come here to help ward of a couple of Ruenam."

"Couple?! Damn it, Tanaken, there's a whole army of them!"

Irritated, Pohl got up and unlocked the door. "What are you raving about? What army?" Raiders were only a minor nuisance--- rarely being anything but split-off loners. However... Savin was clearly looking anxious. Something was seriously wrong.

"Finally! I hope you brought something more lethal than those tranqs of yours. Some twenty Raiders are stealing livestock and food! Thanks to your stupid animal hunt, the Hunter's werenah here to keep them from taking over strategic points. *And* nabbing your quad!." The last was uttered with just a hint of smugness. Scowling, Pohl retrieved his rifle and a pouch of regular bullets. He shoved the Farmer Director out as the man stepped in and headed for the bed.

"C'mon then. Traven will need you as well."

"I have to see to my son's safety." Savin asserted. Pohl didnah buy it.

"Aven, lock the door after us and donah let *anyone* in other than myself."

The boy looked nervously at his father, then back at Pohl. "But, Savin?"

"You can continue to be either a simple farm boy or go with the Hunter's sect. *Or* you can follow my directions and be adopted into Tanaken. Which is it?!" He challenged the boy with his eyes as Savin went pale behing him.

Aven blinked. Then the offer sank in.

"Na one comes in here but you, sir!"

Nodding his head in acknowledgement of their new pact, Pohl left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. "Now, lets go see this army of yours. If this is just a trick to get me out of the room, Aven will naught have to worry about you denying me custody. Clear?"

Savin understood. He began to sweat.

Once the adults were gone, Aven ran forward to lock it the door.

A Tanaken! Pohl was adopting him into that High House! Ha! Now he would be able to study plants and receive praises instead of hard blows. Hmm.. "Aven Unaka-Tanaken. Aven unaka-*Tanaken*. Yeah!"

"Tanak? Herrf. Rrrr Aven Una? Huhyiiii.. rr."

Aven slowly turned around at the unintelligible sounds. The animal was blinking rapidly and turning its head about as if trying to wake up from a deep sleep. The rich, verdant green eyes, now with more normally proportioned pupils, fastened on him. When the light hit them, he could make out tiny flashes of turquiose and red. It made a stream of clicks and whistles. Then tried to get up. A frown crossed the nearly hidden mouth as its attempt to move its limbs failed, the strange sounds took on an anxious note as it saw the cords that tied its limbs to the bed posts. Chest heaving, it began to hyperventilate, the eyes turning black again.

"Hey!" Aven crossed over to it and petted its head. "Calm down, Kievet. Na one's going to hurt you."

"FaEnk Kwi? Aven Kievet Kwi, aye? Tiv lai. Yif yshwas. Nasilv? Ayth!" Tears sprang from its eyes. "A'avesg mes Rek'a. Ava, K'yavanti. Ayth!" It cried disconsolantely, tears of fear and frustration gliding down its facial fur to soak into its tunic.

Its distress was so palatable that Aven found his own eyes watering in sympathy.

"Na, Na. This is only temporary. Soon as Pohl gets you to the city you'll be very happy. Everyone will be so excited to see you. You'll be famous, you'll see. I bet even the King and Queen of Anar will come. Or send for you. Its a good thing that you were captured by Pohl and not the Hunters. Pohl wonah let anyone hurt you. Pohl is Tanaken and all Tanakens are wonderful. Pohl is even making me one of them--- isnah that great!. So, you see, just relax because this is the best thing that could have ever happened to either of us."

The creature sniffed at him. "Pohl?"

Aven giggled. "Na--- naught me. I'm just Aven Unaka. Aven," he patted his chest badge as if that should explain everything. "Unaka. Pohl is Tanaken." He glanced about the room and picked up a bag, showing it the different crest. "Tanaken. He'll take us away from here on his black quad, I'll be his son and you will get to be our pet. I hope he gets the Quad back."

The kievet drew in a sharp breath and started to thrash against the binds in panic. "Ayth! Quad! Pet! Quadsss!"

Hurriedly, Aven clamped his hand over its mouth. Good Prairie, what a racket! For an animal, this 'Kievet' sure picked up on certain things fast---it understood the word for its harassers. He glanced at the tranqs, but wasnah sure how to use them. Instead he picked up a half-eaten bread roll and stuffed it in the animal's mouth. Startled, the Kievet mouthed the bread uncertaintly. Then it bit down and began to chew. "Ya. Aven Enkvet ativ. Hirrv.. hem," it mumbled after swallowing.

K'yer licked his lips. He had been hungry. Now he sniffed about the strange place again. He had no idea where he was or how long it had been since his mind had shut down from despair. The last thing he remembered clearly was being in an open area while watching R'ket's body burn in the flames. That was in the Enemy's Place. Now he was in yet another Enemy Place, trapped by an oddly kind sort of yellow being. At first he had thought that he had died and that this was Enkati welcoming him to join the Walk. But a whirl of hazy memories had squashed that assumption. The most terrifying involved large brown beings with fierce, snapping teeth called 'Quad'. Somehow the yellow beings were associated with those. Then again, he seemed to recall that the Enkati of Outside was not near as friendly as Ava's. What then, should he make of this smaller monster that called itself 'Helpful'? He knew he had seen it before and did not feel threatened by it. Yet he *did* feel a threat. The room smelled of a frightening odor similiar to this Aven's. He did not like it. Even more, he did not like being bound to the soft thing. That *couldnah* be good. The young K'tlyan sighed. It was all terribly confusing. Now that he could think right, he just wanted to go home. *Anywhere* home. Yet he was stuck here at the whims of these beings he did not trust without R'ket for protection or fellow K'tlyan for guidance. And he didnah have a clue as to what was going to happen to him. {{ Something's meal most likely. }} K'yer thought fatalistically.

A terrible sound of splintering wood came from the window. Both captive and guard jumped at the sudden noise. K'yer whined, getting a bad feeling, as Aven went over to the shuttered window.

"P-Pohl?"

There was a second loud crash as the shutters splintered inward revealing the grinning face of a Raider. He reached in and grabbed the startled boy by the collar before the boy could react. Aven fainted dead away.

Thinking that that might not be a bad choice, K'yer went limp as well; feigned unconsciousness. Predators tended to delay violent action if they thought you were comatose. And it wasn't like either fight or flight were valid options, considering he was tied up.

"Profit purse!" The lanky Ruenam exclaimed upon seeing both of the youngsters. Eyeing the K'tlyan, he untied K'yer from the bed then picked up both youngsters, one to each arm. "One weird little beastie for Traven, and one little Unakan ransom for us. Its so nice having a well-placed partner."

He manuevered back outside and headed for the Yarcu grove. Once concealed amongst the shady fruit trees, he looked for a good place to set his burdens down while waiting for his House mates.

"Hold it right there, Ruenam."

The thief went stiff. "Tanaken!" he yelped. {{ What the hell?! Savin was supposed to be keeping the scy busy!}}

Pohl smiled wickedly at the terrified man, motioning for him to drop his weapon. "It has a brain. Well, maybe not much of one. You seem to have two items that belong to me. I want them back. Kindly deposit them on the ground, please."

Shrugging in defeat, the Raider did so, then started to lay down his gun. "How was I to know they belonged to---You!" Changing his grip in one quick manuever, he shot at the scientist, grazing him in the arm. Pohl winced and dropped the rifle. "Now!--- kick it over, Ta-nakan." The Ruenam menacingly grinned. Grimacing in pain, Pohl did so. At the same time the Ruenam let out his own cry of pain as a sharp set of incisors imbedded themselves into his hand. "Bloody hell!" Cursing, he struck at the creature that had bit into his gun hand. It yelped and fell backward, but now his shins were under attack by some well placed kicks. Aven had woken up.

"Dirty Raider! Take that!" Small feet aimed there shots with all the force an enraged boy could muster.

"Why, you--- Donah! Stop it!"

The Ruenam kept his gun trained on Pohl to keep the Tanaken at bay; while grabbing the little Farmer, intent on cracking the boy's skull, ransom or no. Instead, a sharp click made both men freeze. The odd look on the Doctor's face did not instill confidence. Fellow Ruenam or advesarial Yarcuans would have said something and he had the boy in a firm grip. That left only the..

{{ Fragish! }}

The hardened thief looked down to see the weird animal holding Pohl's rifle. It didnah look like it really knew what it was doing; but then, one claw *was* awfully close to the trigger while the business end was pointed in the adults' general vicinity. Shagsh! Any idiot could fire a rifle. It could shoot them by pure accident!

"Um.. you wouldnah happen to know just how *smart* that wee beastie is, would you?"

"Afraid naught. My research was rather interrupted." was Pohl's pointingly, scathing reply.

"Yeah." The Raider swallowed. Hard. "Nice, beastie. Give me the nasty rifle. C'mon."

K'yer looked at Aven who silently shook his head. He growled at the adults and brandished the long stick thing. They seemed to be afraid of it. Why, he had no idea, but he wasnah about to give up an advantage.

"Whoa-ho! Easy! Easy!"

"Enkrek aveneng Fa kwi. Avenen!"

"What?"

Pohl frowned. "I believe it wants Aven. Let the boy go."

"Na way! This kid is worth something from the Yarcu."

The Tanaken laughed. "Sarvin? Sarvin could care less about him. But I *do* want him--- and more to the point just now, the 'wee beastie' there wants him. I suggest you let the kid go to his pet before it decides to experiment with my rifle. The bullets can blast a leg off!"

Aven felt the grip on his collar slacken. He hit the ground. But not before wrenching the gun away from his kidnapper, who he immediately trained the weapon on. Pohl would have cheered; however, there was the little matter of the rifle.

"Good work, Aven. Now, take my gun away from your little friend."

Aven refused to move his gaze one iota from the Ruenam. "I canah. He might jump me."

"Aven mes K'yer?"

"Huh?"

"Aven mes K'yer?" K'yer repeated indicating himself and the boy. He pointed away from the farm.

"Um.. gee, K'yer. I like you a lot and it would probably be neat living with a myth, you know; but I've already been given two other membership offers, and I think I'll go with the Tanaken's. I like plants best."

K'yer listened, understanding the intent if not the words themselves. The little monster wanted to be with the others. That was probably best. Even a 'helpful' monster might not be accepted by the Guardians. Kind to kind. He purred to show his acceptance of the other's decision then flung the rifle as far away as he could; breaking into a sprint. It was time he tried to get home--- before Unayarek decided to stop him again.

"Hey! K'ievet! Pet! Beastie! Stop---! Damn everything!" Wishing he had left the tranqs in, Pohl ran forward and grabbed the rifle. Furious, he pointed it at the Ruenam's head. "You just cost me the most valuable thing I ever ran across, Raider. Give me one good reason why I shouldnah ventilate your skull right now and save the courts the trouble."

"I know where your quad is." The Ruenam trembled, certain he was going to die then and there.

"Really? How nice." The look on Pohl's face could have chilled a hot coal.

"Wait! I have valuable information!"

"Spill it then--- before something else spills from your head--- and I'm naught referring to your*saliva*!"

Aven's jaw dropped as the shaky Ruenam began to confess all.

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End of Episode Two: Part 11c